■ ENERGY
KNOC looking to buy
South Korea's state-run Korea National Oil Corp (KNOC) is seeking the acquisition of a foreign oil firm this year in an effort to compete with global players, Yonhap news agency reported yesterday. The acquisition would help boost the self-sufficiency rate of crude oil and gas being produced in fields that were wholly or partially owned by South Korean companies, Yonhap said. KNOC has just seven fields in six countries that produce oil, with 21 others in the developmental stage or under exploration. Seoul has struggled to buy oil fields in an effort to secure a stable supply.
■ CHINA
IFC to keep funding level
The International Finance Corp (IFC), the World Bank's private investment arm, expects to provide more than US$600 million in funding for China in the current fiscal year, Xinhua news agency said yesterday. This means China will maintain its position as the third-largest destination of investment from the IFC during the fiscal year ending June 30, Xinhua said. The final figure would be "similar" to that of the last fiscal year, when a total of US$639 million of IFC funds entered China, Xinhua said, citing IFC executive vice president Lars Thunell. Half the funds this year will be for the financial sector. But 40 percent of the total will go toward developing private sectors in rural and less developed areas, Xinhua said.
■ ENERGY
China calls for plans
China urged local officials yesterday to prepare their own energy efficiency plans in a bid to save a floundering plan to drastically reduce energy consumption, Xinhua said. Local government departments and state enterprises must report back to Beijing with detailed plans by June 30, Xinhua reported, citing a circular issued earlier in the day by the State Council. The government set a goal of reducing energy consumption per unit of GDP by 20 percent by 2010, but failed miserably last year, the first year of implementation. Energy consumption fell only 1.23 percent last year, less than one-third of the annual goal of 4 percent.
■ ACQUISITIONS
SABIC outlines financing
State-owned Saudi Basic Industries Corp (SABIC) said on Saturday it would fund its US$11.6 billion purchase of General Electric's plastics division with bonds and loans. "I expect the bonds will make up 25 percent and the bank loans the remaining 75 percent," SABIC chairman Prince Saud bin Thunayan Al-Saud said, adding that the bonds would be sold in the US and Europe. The deal marks one of the largest acquisitions of a US business by a Middle East company. Saud said that GE Plastics would be completely transferred to SABIC in the third quarter of this year.
■ TELECOMS
AT&T reshuffles job duties
AT&T Inc reshuffled the responsibilities of several of its top leaders yesterday after Randall Stephenson officially took over as chief executive officer. Human resources will shift to senior executive vice president Bill Blase from group president Forrest Miller, who will still be in charge of corporate strategy. Ralph de la Vega, group president for regional telecommunications, added entertainment to his duties. Stephenson faces the task of fending off competition from cable firms that sell phone and high-speed Web service. He had been chief operating officer, and AT&T isn't filling that position now, a spokesman said.
SECURITY: As China is ‘reshaping’ Hong Kong’s population, Taiwan must raise the eligibility threshold for applications from Hong Kongers, Chiu Chui-cheng said When Hong Kong and Macau citizens apply for residency in Taiwan, it would be under a new category that includes a “national security observation period,” Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. President William Lai (賴清德) on March 13 announced 17 strategies to counter China’s aggression toward Taiwan, including incorporating national security considerations into the review process for residency applications from Hong Kong and Macau citizens. The situation in Hong Kong is constantly changing, Chiu said to media yesterday on the sidelines of the Taipei Technology Run hosted by the Taipei Neihu Technology Park Development Association. With
CARROT AND STICK: While unrelenting in its military threats, China attracted nearly 40,000 Taiwanese to over 400 business events last year Nearly 40,000 Taiwanese last year joined industry events in China, such as conferences and trade fairs, supported by the Chinese government, a study showed yesterday, as Beijing ramps up a charm offensive toward Taipei alongside military pressure. China has long taken a carrot-and-stick approach to Taiwan, threatening it with the prospect of military action while reaching out to those it believes are amenable to Beijing’s point of view. Taiwanese security officials are wary of what they see as Beijing’s influence campaigns to sway public opinion after Taipei and Beijing gradually resumed travel links halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the scale of
A US Marine Corps regiment equipped with Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) is set to participate in the upcoming Balikatan 25 exercise in the Luzon Strait, marking the system’s first-ever deployment in the Philippines. US and Philippine officials have separately confirmed that the Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) — the mobile launch platform for the Naval Strike Missile — would take part in the joint exercise. The missiles are being deployed to “a strategic first island chain chokepoint” in the waters between Taiwan proper and the Philippines, US-based Naval News reported. “The Luzon Strait and Bashi Channel represent a critical access
Pope Francis is be laid to rest on Saturday after lying in state for three days in St Peter’s Basilica, where the faithful are expected to flock to pay their respects to history’s first Latin American pontiff. The cardinals met yesterday in the Vatican’s synod hall to chart the next steps before a conclave begins to choose Francis’ successor, as condolences poured in from around the world. According to current norms, the conclave must begin between May 5 and 10. The cardinals set the funeral for Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square, to be celebrated by the dean of the College
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