■ Singapore
Q3 economy up 7.1 percent
Third-quarter real GDP is estimated to have grown 7.1 percent from the same period last year, largely in line with forecasts, official figures showed yesterday. This compares with GDP growth of 8.0 percent year-on-year in the second quarter and 10.6 percent in the first quarter, Ministry of Trade and Industry figures showed. On a quarter-on-quarter seasonally adjusted annualized basis, real GDP rose 6.0 percent in the July to September period, compared with a 3.4 percent rise in the preceding quarter,it said.
■ Telecoms
Motorola challenges bid
Motorola Corp has gone to court to challenge a decision by India's state-run telephone service firm that disqualified the US telecom equipment maker from bidding on a large contract. India's BSNL Ltd is the only company offering landline and mobile phone services across all states and federal territories. The contract on offer involves laying 62 million GSM lines and supplying 3-G equipment. BSNL's technical evaluation committee disqualified Motorola and Chinese telecom giant ZTE from the bidding process last week. Bidding opened on Monday and newspapers reported yesterday that Sweden-based Ericsson emerged as a favorite, offering to execute the contract at a cost averaging US$107 per line.
■ Internet
Google sets up R&D center
Google Inc, which has failed to make major inroads in tech-savvy South Korea, plans to establish a research and development center in the country and hire local employees, the commerce ministry said yesterday. "Now we will have the chances to experience and learn Google's advanced technology and know-how," said Commerce Minister Chung Sye-kyun. "We hope Korea will become a global R&D hub." Google's senior vice president, Robert Eustace, said that the Seoul government's strong encouragement persuaded the company to make the investment.
■ Investment
China fund picks US banks
China's multi-billion-dollar National Social Security Fund said yesterday it had selected US financial heavyweights Citigroup and Northern Trust as its custodian banks for overseas investment. The fund secured approval in May to invest up to 44 billion yuan (US$5.5 billion), or 20 percent of the more than 200 billion yuan it has under management, the fund said in a statement. The Chinese national pension schemes are currently composed of global equities, such as US and Hong Kong stocks, as well as fixed-income products. At the end of last year, China had around 210 billion yuan in its national-level pensions that fall under its social security system.
■ Automobiles
Four Toyota staff arrested
Four Toyota sales subsidiary employees were arrested yesterday on charges of inflating vehicle sales numbers in reports to the government, police said. Earlier in the day, police had searched the subsidiary, Osaka Toyota, company officials said. They said the subsidiary, which operates about 60 stores, has been under police investigation about overstating sales figures for used vehicles. A subsidiary spokesman said earlier that results of an internal investigation have already been submitted to police and transport ministry authorities, and the company is cooperating fully with the investigation.
SLOW-MOVING STORM: The typhoon has started moving north, but at a very slow pace, adding uncertainty to the extent of its impact on the nation Work and classes have been canceled across the nation today because of Typhoon Krathon, with residents in the south advised to brace for winds that could reach force 17 on the Beaufort scale as the Central Weather Administration (CWA) forecast that the storm would make landfall there. Force 17 wind with speeds of 56.1 to 61.2 meters per second, the highest number on the Beaufort scale, rarely occur and could cause serious damage. Krathon could be the second typhoon to land in southwestern Taiwan, following typhoon Elsie in 1996, CWA records showed. As of 8pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 180km
STILL DANGEROUS: The typhoon was expected to weaken, but it would still maintain its structure, with high winds and heavy rain, the weather agency said One person had died amid heavy winds and rain brought by Typhoon Krathon, while 70 were injured and two people were unaccounted for, the Central Emergency Operation Center said yesterday, while work and classes have been canceled nationwide today for the second day. The Hualien County Fire Department said that a man in his 70s had fallen to his death at about 11am on Tuesday while trimming a tree at his home in Shoufeng Township (壽豐). Meanwhile, the Yunlin County Fire Department received a report of a person falling into the sea at about 1pm on Tuesday, but had to suspend search-and-rescue
RULES BROKEN: The MAC warned Chinese not to say anything that would be harmful to the autonomous status of Taiwan or undermine its sovereignty A Chinese couple accused of disrupting a pro-democracy event in Taipei organized by Hong Kong residents has been deported, the National Immigration Agency said in a statement yesterday afternoon. A Chinese man, surnamed Yao (姚), and his wife were escorted by immigration officials to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, where they boarded a flight to China before noon yesterday, the agency said. The agency said that it had annulled the couple’s entry permits, citing alleged contraventions of the Regulations Governing the Approval of Entry of People of the Mainland Area into the Taiwan Area (大陸地區人民進入台灣地區許可辦法). The couple applied to visit a family member in
CELEBRATION: The PRC turned 75 on Oct. 1, but the Republic of China is older. The PRC could never be the homeland of the people of the ROC, Lai said The People’s Republic of China (PRC) could not be the “motherland” of the people of the Republic of China (ROC), President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday. Lai made the remarks in a speech at a Double Ten National Day gala in Taipei, which is part of National Day celebrations that are to culminate in a fireworks display in Yunlin County on Thursday night next week. Lai wished the country a happy birthday and called on attendees to enjoy the performances and activities while keeping in mind that the ROC is a sovereign and independent nation. He appealed for everyone to always love their
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