■ Electronics
Samsung aims for Slovakia
Samsung Electronics Co plans to invest a total of US$422 million by 2011 to build its first liquid crystal display assembly plant in Slovakia, the company said yesterday in a public disclosure. The decision comes after Samsung said last week it would initially spend 147.4 billion won (US$156 million) to start construction of a production line assembling liquid crystal display panels in the first half of this year. The panels are used for flat screen televisions, which are fast replacing older and bulky cathode ray tube types.
■ Energy
Mitsubishi to build reactors
Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries will win an order to build two nuclear reactors in Texas, becoming the first Japanese firm to export reactors on its own to the growing US market, a report said yesterday. In a deal valued at an estimated US$5.17 billion, US operator TXU has tapped Mitsubishi Heavy to expand its nuclear power plant operations in the suburbs of Dallas, the Nikkei Shinbun said. Mitsubishi Heavy will build two reactors for TXU, which plans to construct five reactors by 2020, the newspaper said.
■ Finance
Lone Star rejects audit
US buyout fund Lone Star yesterday rejected a South Korean state audit that could nullify its 2003 takeover of Korea Exchange Bank (KEB) after it pointed to alleged financial irregularities in the deal. The Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI) said on Monday the US fund was "not qualified" in 2003 to be KEB's largest shareholder and that KEB's losses had been deliberately inflated to undercut the value of the bank. Lone Star chairman John Grayken said in response yesterday that the BAI still left "a number of unanswered questions," including how and why many different state bodies had approved the deal.
■ Retail
Giants to merge in Japan
Japanese retailers Daimaru Inc and Matsuzakaya Holdings Co said yesterday they would merge operations to form the nation's biggest department store chain to fend off tougher competition amid shrinking consumer demand. Daimaru, Japan's fourth-biggest department store chain by sales, and No. 8 Matsuzakaya will set up a holding company on Sept. 3, the companies said in a release. Under the accord, one Daimaru share will be exchanged for 1.4 shares of the joint holding company, while Matsuzakaya shareholders will get a one for one exchange. The new company will be the biggest in the industry with combined sales of ?1.167 trillion (US$10.1 billion).
■ Aviation
AirAsia plans delayed
Take-off for Malaysian long-haul budget carrier AirAsia X has been delayed, possibly until September next year, as delays in Airbus' new A380 super-jumbo have disrupted the aircraft leasing market, a top executive said yesterday. At its launch in January, the carrier had promised flights to Britain beginning this July. Raja Mohamad Azmi, chief executive officer of Fly Asian Express, the operating company for the service, said however the service had been put back because aircraft leasing costs were higher than projected because of the A380 problems. "We remain committed to begin the long-haul service. The new take-off date is by September 2008 when we begin to receive delivery of our new aircraft," Azmi said.
Taiwanese actress Barbie Hsu (徐熙媛) has died of pneumonia at the age of 48 while on a trip to Japan, where she contracted influenza during the Lunar New Year holiday, her sister confirmed today through an agent. "Our whole family came to Japan for a trip, and my dearest and most kindhearted sister Barbie Hsu died of influenza-induced pneumonia and unfortunately left us," Hsu's sister and talk show hostess Dee Hsu (徐熙娣) said. "I was grateful to be her sister in this life and that we got to care for and spend time with each other. I will always be grateful to
REMINDER: Of the 6.78 million doses of flu vaccine Taiwan purchased for this flu season, about 200,000 are still available, an official said, following Big S’ death As news broke of the death of Taiwanese actress and singer Barbie Hsu (徐熙媛), also known as Big S (大S), from severe flu complications, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and doctors yesterday urged people at high risk to get vaccinated and be alert to signs of severe illness. Hsu’s family yesterday confirmed that the actress died on a family holiday in Japan due to pneumonia during the Lunar New Year holiday. CDC Deputy Director-General Tseng Shu-hui (曾淑慧) told an impromptu news conference that hospital visits for flu-like illnesses from Jan. 19 to Jan. 25 reached 162,352 — the highest
COMBINING FORCES: The 66th Marine Brigade would support the 202nd Military Police Command in its defense of Taipei against ‘decapitation strikes,’ a source said The Marine Corps has deployed more than 100 soldiers and officers of the 66th Marine Brigade to Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) as part of an effort to bolster defenses around the capital, a source with knowledge of the matter said yesterday. Two weeks ago, a military source said that the Ministry of National Defense ordered the Marine Corps to increase soldier deployments in the Taipei area. The 66th Marine Brigade has been tasked with protecting key areas in Taipei, with the 202nd Military Police Command also continuing to defend the capital. That came after a 2017 decision by the ministry to station
PETITIONS: A Democratic Progressive Party official quoted President William Lai as saying that civil society groups are organizing the recall drives at the grassroots level Some civil society groups yesterday announced that they have collected enough signatures to pass the first-stage threshold to initiate a recall vote against Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators in 18 constituencies nationwide, saying that they would submit the signatures to the Central Election Commission (CEC) today. They also said that they expected to pass the threshold in eight more constituencies in the coming days, meaning the number of KMT legislators facing a recall vote could reach 26. The groups set up stations to collect signatures at local marketplaces and busy commercial districts. The legislators their petition drives target include Fu