■ Aviation
Don Muang to reopen
Thailand agreed yesterday to reopen Bangkok's Don Muang airport for interna-tional and domestic flights amid growing problems at the new Suvarnabhumi Airport. "We need to time to make repairs and improve-ments at Suvarnabhumi airport because of the many flaws," Thai Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont told reporters after a Cabinet meeting. "Today the Cabinet has agreed to reopen Don Muang as an international airport." The move, which still needs final approval, means that international flights would be divided between the two airports. A government-appointed committee will submit a detailed plan for reopening Don Muang to the Cabinet in two weeks, after which Don Muang could be reopened in 45 days, Transport Minister Thira Hao-Charoen said.
■ Computers
IBM selling Lenovo shares
US computer giant IBM Corp yesterday planned to sell a substantial part of its stake in China's Lenovo (聯想), the world's third-largest personal computer group, to raise up to HK$990 million (US$127 million). According to a term-sheet sent to institutional investors, the sale price of the 300 million shares on offer will be HK$3.20 to HK$3.30 each, a 4.07-6.98 percent discount to the stock's closing price of HK$3.44 on Monday. The deal accounts for 3.5 percent of Lenovo Group's total issued share capital. After the share sale, IBM's shareholding in Lenovo will be reduced to 11.5 percent from 15 percent. Lenovo also requested a suspension of trade in it shares yesterday pending an announcement of "price-sensitive information" relating to the placing of its shares by a substantial shareholder, a statement posted on the Hong Kong stock exchange showed.
■ Automobiles
Toyota reports profit jump
Toyota yesterday reported a 7.3 percent jump in quarterly profit on booming sales in North America and Europe that offset sluggish demand in Japan. Toyota Motor Corp recorded group net profit of ¥426.8 billion (US$3.6 billion) in the three months ended Dec. 31, up from ¥397.6 billion in the same period the previous year. Quarterly sales climbed 15.2 percent to ¥6.15 trillion from ¥5.33 trillion a year ago, as the remodeled RAV 4 sport utility vehicle and Camry mid-sized sedan sold briskly in North America and demand was strong for the Yaris compact in Europe, Toyota said in a release.
■ Automobiles
Layoffs at DaimlerChrysler
DaimlerChrysler plans to slash 10,000 factory jobs in the US as part of a sweeping cost-cutting plan for its struggling Chrysler Group, the Detroit News reported on Monday. Citing a plan expected to be unveiled next Wednesday, the News said the German-US auto group also plans to implement "unprecedented" collabora-tion between the mass-market Chrysler and luxury Mercedes groups.
■ Securities
State Street to buy Investors
State Street Corp said on Monday that it would buy Investors Financial Services Corp in a US$4.5 billion stock deal that highlights the accelerating pace of consoli-dation in the securities processing business. The deal has been approved by the boards of the two rivals, both based in Boston. State Street is offering 0.906 shares of its stock for each share of Investors Financial Services common stock, based on last Friday's closing share price. That places the value of the deal at just less than US$4.5 billion.
SCHEDULE: The delegation is due to meet with President Tsai Ing-wen this morning and witness the signing of an MOU on bilateral health cooperation in the afternoon US Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Alex Azar yesterday arrived in Taipei aboard a US government plane at the head of a delegation that is the highest-level visit by a US official since Washington switched diplomatic recognition to China in 1979. Azar’s flight landed at Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) at 4:48pm, nearly one hour earlier than scheduled, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. The apron where it landed is reserved for military aircraft, the Songshan Air Force Base Command said. The members of Azar’s delegation included HHS Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response Robert Kadlec, HHS Chief of Staff Brian
ALEX AZAR: The first visit by a head of the Department of Health and Human Services would strictly observe the CECC’s special regulations, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said US Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Alex Azar is to lead a delegation to Taiwan — the highest-level visit by a US Cabinet official since the two sides cut formal relations in 1979. The plan was announced yesterday morning by the US Department of Health and Human Services and confirmed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA). Beijing has expressed its concerns to Washington, Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Wang Wenbin (汪文斌) said later yesterday. Taiwan and the US only issued statements saying that the visit would happen “in the coming days.” MOFA said that due to security concerns, it would
‘CROSS-STRAIT CONSIDERATIONS’: Groups said that the Ministry of Education’s policies excluded Chinese and students should not be blocked over political issues The Taiwan International Student Movement yesterday said it would protest today outside the Ministry of Education in Taipei against a policy that excludes some Chinese students from returning to Taiwan amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Since June 17, the ministry has allowed foreign students from 19 “low risk” and “medium-low risk” countries and regions to enter Taiwan. On July 22, it announced that it was relaxing restrictions to include students from all countries and regions who are graduating this semester and on Wednesday it further expanded entry to students enrolled in degree programs. A letter sent by the ministry on Wednesday to universities did
The military last week sent “no small number” of Marine Corps officers to the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Island, 東沙群島) following reports of a Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) drill targeting the islands scheduled for this month. In an interview with Hong Kong’s Bauhinia Magazine published on Saturday last week, PLA National Defense University professor Li Daguang (李大光) confirmed that the Chinese army was planning to stage a simulated invasion of the Pratas Islands in the South China Sea this month. The islands comprise three atolls, with Pratas Island, at 1.74km2, being the largest. They lie southwest of Taiwan proper in the South
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