■ INTERNET
PRC okays Google license
Google Inc says it has received preliminary approval from Chinese regulators for its own Internet license, possibly boosting the search engine's campaign to expand its market share in China. Google announced the decision on Tuesday without saying how it might affect its operations in China or when it might receive final approval. Google already operates in China using the Internet license of its local partner, Ganji.com. Google is China's second-most-popular search engine, with 19 percent of search engine revenues. Industry leader Baidu.com Inc has 57 percent of revenues.
■ ELECTRONICS
Matsushita aims high
Japan's Matsushita Electric Industrial Co expects to double its production capacity for plasma display panels when a new plant begins production in western Japan in May 2009, a company spokesman said. The Osaka-based maker of Panasonic-branded electronics plans to manufacture 300,000 42-inch plasma display panels a month at a new plant to be built in the western Japan city of Amagasaki, spokesman Akira Kadota said. Combined with a planned output increase at another Amagasaki plant that began operating this month, Matsushita will be able to turn out 1.26 million panels a month by May 2009, up from the current 640,000 panels, Kadota said. The company currently has four plasma display panel plants in Japan and another one in Shanghai, he said.
■ BANKING
German bank mulls buyout
Deutsche Bank AG, Germany's biggest bank, is planning on an acquisition in central Europe to complement its global transaction business, the group's global banking business head said yesterday. "We are looking geographically within Europe," Michael Cohrs said on the sidelines of a conference in Frankfurt, Germany. "I don't want to give details because the deal that we are working on will be announced relatively quickly." Cohrs said the deal would be relatively small, less than US$670 million.
■ ENERGY
PetroChina to sell A shares
PetroChina Co (中國石油天然氣), a listed unit of state-owned China National Petroleum Corp, said yesterday that it is planning to sell up to 4 billion yuan-denominated A shares in a public offering in Shanghai in order to raise money for further exploration and development, construction of a refinery and overseas acquisitions. PetroChina, which is listed in Hong Kong and has American Depositary Receipts that trade in New York, did not disclose a target price for its share sale in Shanghai. Last month, PetroChina announced the discovery of proved crude oil and natural gas reserves amounting to 3.72 billion barrels of oil equivalent, in China's Bohai Bay.
■ TECHNOLOGY
S Korea helps small firms
South Korea's government offered yesterday to set up a US$1.08 billion fund to help small and medium-sized firms with high technology. Finance Minister Kwon O-kyu did not say when the fund would be set up but promised to create a better business environment for small firms. Kwon said the government would take ease restrictions and financial burdens on small firms. Business groups have urged the government to improve market conditions.
LONG FLIGHT: The jets would be flown by US pilots, with Taiwanese copilots in the two-seat F-16D variant to help familiarize them with the aircraft, the source said The US is expected to fly 10 Lockheed Martin F-16C/D Block 70/72 jets to Taiwan over the coming months to fulfill a long-awaited order of 66 aircraft, a defense official said yesterday. Word that the first batch of the jets would be delivered soon was welcome news to Taiwan, which has become concerned about delays in the delivery of US arms amid rising military tensions with China. Speaking on condition of anonymity, the official said the initial tranche of the nation’s F-16s are rolling off assembly lines in the US and would be flown under their own power to Taiwan by way
OBJECTS AT SEA: Satellites with synthetic-aperture radar could aid in the detection of small Chinese boats attempting to illegally enter Taiwan, the space agency head said Taiwan aims to send the nation’s first low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite into space in 2027, while the first Formosat-8 and Formosat-9 spacecraft are to be launched in October and 2028 respectively, the National Science and Technology Council said yesterday. The council laid out its space development plan in a report reviewed by members of the legislature’s Education and Culture Committee. Six LEO satellites would be produced in the initial phase, with the first one, the B5G-1A, scheduled to be launched in 2027, the council said in the report. Regarding the second satellite, the B5G-1B, the government plans to work with private contractors
MISSION: The Indo-Pacific region is ‘the priority theater,’ where the task of deterrence extends across the entire region, including Taiwan, the US Pacific Fleet commander said The US Navy’s “mission of deterrence” in the Indo-Pacific theater applies to Taiwan, Pacific Fleet Commander Admiral Stephen Koehler told the South China Sea Conference on Tuesday. The conference, organized by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), is an international platform for senior officials and experts from countries with security interests in the region. “The Pacific Fleet’s mission is to deter aggression across the Western Pacific, together with our allies and partners, and to prevail in combat if necessary, Koehler said in the event’s keynote speech. “That mission of deterrence applies regionwide — including the South China Sea and Taiwan,” he
‘NARWHAL’: The indigenous submarine completed its harbor acceptance test recently and is now under heavy guard as it undergoes tests in open waters, a source said The Hai Kun (海鯤), the nation’s first indigenous defense submarine, yesterday began sea trials, sailing out of the Port of Kaohsiung, a military source said. Also known as the “Narwhal,” the vessel departed from CSBC Corp, Taiwan’s (台灣國際造船) shipyard at about 8am, where it had been docked. More than 10 technicians and military personnel were on deck, with several others standing atop the sail. After recently completing its harbor acceptance test, the vessel has started a series of sea-based trials, including tests of its propulsion and navigational systems, while partially surfaced, the source said. The Hai Kun underwent tests in the port from
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