■ PRODUCT SAFETY
Fake toothpaste seized
Mozambican authorities have seized thousands of boxes of counterfeit toothpaste which they fear may contain a potentially deadly chemical. State radio said yesterday that the health ministry had banned all sales of Colgate Maximum Cavity Protection toothpaste and ordered storekeepers to remove it from their shelves. The fake toothpaste -- which has been sold by discount retailers in a number of countries including the US -- has nothing to do with Colgate-Palmolive Co. It contains diethylene glycol, a chemical used in antifreeze, which damages the kidneys and liver and can ultimately prove fatal to humans.
■ CAMBODIA
Economy too narrow
Cambodia's economy is too narrowly focused on its garment sector, World Bank chief Robert Zoellick said yesterday, suggesting it needs to build on its successes to draw investors to other industries. "Cambodia has a particular opportunity and need to develop a global brand," Zoellick said at the end of a two-day visit to the country, which has carved out a lucrative niche by selling itself to buyers as a labor-friendly textile producer. Cambodia's garment sector continues to expand, employing some 330,000 people in more than 200 factories and accounting for 80 percent of the country's export earnings.
■ FINANCE
Doha Bank opens in PRC
Doha Bank Ltd, Qatar's fourth-biggest lender by market value, said its representative office in China will begin operations on Wednesday in Shanghai. The office, part of the bank's expansion strategy, adds to its branches in New York and Dubai and its representative offices in Singapore, Tokyo and Turkey, the Doha-based bank said in a statement posted on the Doha Securities Market.
■ HOTELS
IFA to build in Seychelles
IFA Hotels & Resorts Co KS, a Kuwaiti hotelier partly owned by Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, said it will build a US$450 million resort in the Seychelles to expand its overseas operations. IFA will form a joint venture with Indian Ocean Resorts Ltd to build a five-star hotel, villas and a marina on the island of Ste Anne in the Indian Ocean island chain, the Kuwait-based company said. IFA aims to increase its overseas operations by developing four properties in Namibia, after opening its Yotel at the UK's Gatwick Airport in June and buying 25 percent of Thai property developer Raimon Land Pcl last year.
■ OIL
Refiners resume pay talks
Oil refiners in South Africa including BP Plc and Royal Dutch Shell Plc were to resume pay talks in Johannesburg yesterday to end a strike that has caused fuel shortages in Africa's largest economy, a labor union said. Keith Jacobs, deputy secretary-general of the Chemical, Energy, Paper, Printing, Wood and Allied Workers' Union didn't give further details in a telephone interview yesterday. South Africa's largest refinery, BP and Shell-owned Sapref, earlier said it is preparing for a shutdown as a result of the strike. Sapref can process 180,000 barrels of oil a day. Some South African filling stations have already run dry as truckers and fuel-depot workers joined the strike that began last Monday.
CSBC Corp, Taiwan (台灣國際造船) yesterday released the first video documenting the submerged sea trials of Taiwan’s indigenous defense submarine prototype, the Hai Kun (海鯤), or Narwhal, showing underwater navigation and the launch of countermeasures. The footage shows the vessel’s first dive, steering and control system tests, and the raising and lowering of the periscope and antenna masts. It offered a rare look at the progress in the submarine’s sea acceptance tests. The Hai Kun carried out its first shallow-water diving trial late last month and has since completed four submerged tests, CSBC said. The newly released video compiles images recorded from Jan. 29 to
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) plans to make advanced 3-nanometer chips in Japan, stepping up its semiconductor manufacturing roadmap in the country in a triumph for Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s technology ambitions. TSMC is to adopt cutting-edge technology for its second wafer fab in Kumamoto, company chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家) said yesterday. That is an upgrade from an original blueprint to produce 7-nanometer chips by late next year, people familiar with the matter said. TSMC began mass production at its first plant in Japan’s Kumamoto in late 2024. Its second fab, which is still under construction, was originally focused on
DETERRENCE EFFORTS: Washington and partners hope demonstrations of force would convince Beijing that military action against Taiwan would carry high costs The US is considering using HMAS Stirling in Western Australia as a forward base to strengthen its naval posture in a potential conflict with China, particularly over Taiwan, the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday. As part of its Indo-Pacific strategy, Washington plans to deploy up to four nuclear-powered submarines at Stirling starting in 2027, providing a base near potential hot spots such as Taiwan and the South China Sea. The move also aims to enhance military integration with Pacific allies under the Australia-UK-US trilateral security partnership, the report said. Currently, US submarines operate from Guam, but the island could
RESTRAINTS: Should China’s actions pose any threat to Taiwan’s security, economic or social systems, China would be excluded from major financial institutions, the bill says The US House of Representatives on Monday passed the PROTECT Taiwan Act, which states that Washington would exclude China from participating in major global financial organizations if its actions directly threaten Taiwan’s security. The bill, proposed by Republican Representative Frank Lucas, passed with 395 votes in favor and two against. It stipulates that if China’s actions pose any threat to Taiwan’s security, economic or social systems, the US would, “to the maximum extent practicable,” exclude Beijing from international financial institutions, including the G20, the Bank for International Settlements and the Financial Stability Board. The bill makes it clear that China must be prepared
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