■ Telcos
SingTel eyes Vietnam
Singapore Telecommuni-cations Ltd said yesterday it wants to invest in Vietnam's telecom sector. "Vietnam is in our area of interest," SingTel deputy CEO Chua Sock-koong (蔡淑君) told a news conference. The Hanoi government has been considering liberalizing the country's telecommuni-cations sector for some time but no decisions have been made. "The timing [of the liberalization] is entirely up to the Vietnamese government," said Chua, who is due to take over from Lee Hsien-yang (李顯揚) as chief executive in April. She added that SingTel would like to increase its 30.5 percent stake in India's Bharti Airtel Ltd.
■ Internet
Cockfighting mags will stay
Amazon.com says it will keep selling two magazines about cockfighting, despite plans by the Humane Society of the US to file a lawsuit yesterday accusing the company of operating an illegal "animal-fighting paraphernalia sale and distribution scheme." The on-line retailer said, however, that it would again remove videos that depict dogfights, months after the issue was originally raised by Humane Society officials. The Humane Society said it would file the lawsuit yesterday morning in District of Columbia Superior Court.
■ Computers
Dell selling other brands
Dell Inc on Wednesday began selling flat-panel televisions from rival electronics manufacturer Sony Corp and said it would soon offer products from a variety of companies as it tweaks its consumer business strategy. A visit to Dell's Web site showed two Sony Bravia LCD televisions -- a 40-inch and a 46-inch model -- on sale alongside TVs made by the Round Rock, Texas, company. In a statement, Dell said it would continue to offer Dell-branded televisions from 37 inches and below, but would soon offer "a wide assortment of televisions from leading manufacturers that feature the latest technology and meet Dell's high standards for performance."
■ Trade
Malaysia drops FTA topics
Malaysia said yesterday that intractable "no-go" areas could be dropped from free trade talks with the US as Washington races to strike a deal before a March deadline. Malaysian Trade Minister Rafidah Aziz said she and her counterpart, US Trade Representative Susan Schwab, decided during a phone conversation on Wednesday to list areas where talks had broken down to see if any progress could be made. Difficult areas included Malaysian government procurement, where the US is seeking priority treatment in the awarding of international tenders for expensive government projects.
■ Forex reserves
Seoul to invest in blue chips
South Korea is considering investing part of its massive foreign reserves in overseas blue-chip stocks in an attempt to increase investment returns, the central bank chief said yesterday. The reserves totaled US$240.23 billion as of the end of last month, the world's fifth largest after China, Japan, Russia and Taiwan. Most were invested in US Treasuries and other foreign state bonds. "We are considering managing foreign reserves through overseas investment banks," Bank of Korea Governor Lee Seong-tae said. "One possible option is to invest them in blue-chip stocks in advanced nations," he said.
THREATS: Naval facilities have been built in Shanghai and Zhejiang, while airbases have been expanded in Xiamen, Fuzhou and Zhangpu, across the Strait from Taiwan The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is building large-scale military infrastructure at five sites along the eastern coast of China, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said in a recent report. The latest issue of the council’s Mainland China Situation Quarterly said satellite photos showed military infrastructure such as air force and naval bases being constructed along the eastern coast of China. That means the CCP might be preparing for potential conflict in Taiwan, it said, adding that there are five such construction sites from north to south. A naval base has been built in Shanghai’s Pudong New Area, with underground oil storage tanks, railway
MILESTONE: The foreign minister called the signing ‘a major step forward in US-Taiwan relations,’ while the Presidential Office said it was a symbol of the nations’ shared values US President Donald Trump on Tuesday signed into law the Taiwan Assurance Implementation Act, which requires the US Department of State to regularly review and update guidelines governing official US interactions with Taiwan. The new law is an amendment to the Taiwan Assurance Act of 2020 focused on reviewing guidelines on US interactions with Taiwan. Previously, the state department was required to conduct a one-time review of its guidance governing relations with Taiwan, but under the new bill, the agency must conduct a review “not less than every five years.” It must then submit an updated report based on its findings “not later
A trial run of the north concourse of Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport’s new Terminal 3 is to commence today, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday. The eight additional boarding gates would allow for more aircraft parking spaces that are expected to boost the airport’s capacity by 5.8 million passengers annually, Deputy Minister of Transportation and Communications Lin Kuo-shian (林國顯) said. The concourse, designed by a team led by British architect Richard Rogers, provides a refreshing space, Lin said, adding that travelers would enjoy the tall and transparent design that allows sunshine to stream into the concourse through glass curtain walls. The
The Presidential Office today thanked the US for enacting the Taiwan Assurance Implementation Act, which requires the US Department of State to regularly review and update guidelines governing official US interactions with Taiwan. The new law, signed by US President Donald Trump yesterday, is an amendment to the Taiwan Assurance Act of 2020 focused on reviewing guidelines on US interactions with Taiwan. Previously, the department was required to conduct a one-time review of its guidance governing relations with Taiwan, but under the new bill, the agency must conduct such a review "not less than every five years." It must then submit an updated
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