■ BANKING
Chinese buy UCBH stake
China Minsheng Banking Corp (中國民生銀行) said yesterday it will pay up to US$317 million for a 9.9 percent stake in UCBH Holdings Inc, the NASDAQ-listed parent company of US-based United Commercial Bank. The Beijing-based mid-sized lender announced the deal, its first overseas acquisition, in a notice to the Shanghai Stock Exchange. The deal requires approval from both China's banking regulator and US authorities, Minsheng Bank said. "The deal will help Minsheng Bank realize its international strategy," the bank said in the notice. San Francisco-based UCBH Holdings likewise has also been seeking to expand its business in China.
■ BANKING
Funds eye Northern Rock
US investment funds Apollo Management and Blackstone have shown interest in buying out the crisis-hit British bank Northern Rock, the Wall Street Journal reported yesterday. The two firms showed interest separately last week, the paper said, citing people close to the matter. It said the takeover approaches could prompt an auction for the ailing British lender. Two other US firms have reportedly been in detailed talks with the troubled bank: J.C. Flowers & Co and Cerberus, the paper said.
■ LABOR
Postal workers strike again
Postal workers started a second 48-hour strike yesterday as a dispute over pay and restructuring remained unresolved. Postal staff belonging to the Communication Workers Union walked out at 3am after weekend talks with management failed to break a long-standing deadlock. A similar strike was staged last week. Royal Mail employees have staged four national strikes and other forms of industrial action since the summer, when they rejected a 2.5 percent pay increase and the Royal Mail's modernization plans, which the union claims would cut 40,000 jobs.
■ AVIATION
Air India plans IPO
State-owned Air India will likely unload 15 percent of its equity in an initial public offering (IPO) when its merger with Indian Airlines is completed, the Press Trust of India reported yesterday. V. Thulasidas, chairman of the National Aviation Company of India Ltd (NACIL), the airlines' new parent company, said the government would make the final decision on the size of the IPO. But he told reporters his "personal view" was that NACIL would dispose of 15 percent of its equity, the Press Trust said. The government has said it is merging the two airlines in a bid to create a "world-class airline" that can compete globally and domestically.
■ TRADE
Chavez rethinks CAN
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said on Sunday that Caracas is considering rejoining the Andean Community (CAN) because leftist leaders in Bolivia and Ecuador who have resisted free-trade deals with the US could help to transform the regional bloc. Chavez, who pulled Venezuela out of the five-nation bloc last year after Peru and Colombia signed trade pacts with the US, said on his weekly broadcast program that he was studying "the possible path toward a new Andean Community." But he insisted the bloc should become "Bolivarian" -- a reference to his anti-US political movement named after 19th-century independence hero Simon Bolivar. "Changes in the CAN are necessary," he said.
RISK REMAINS: An official said that with the US presidential elections so close, it is unclear if China would hold war games or keep its reaction to angry words The Ministry of National Defense said it was “on alert” as it detected a Chinese aircraft carrier group to Taiwan’s south yesterday amid concerns in Taiwan about the possibility of a new round of Chinese war games. The ministry said in a statement that a Chinese navy group led by the carrier Liaoning had entered waters near the Bashi Channel, which connects the South China Sea and the Pacific Ocean and separates Taiwan from the Philippines. It said the carrier group was expected to enter the Western Pacific. The military is keeping a close watch on developments and “exercising an
FIVE-YEAR WINDOW? A defense institute CEO said a timeline for a potential Chinese invasion was based on expected ‘tough measures’ when Xi Jinping seeks a new term Most Taiwanese are willing to defend the nation against a Chinese attack, but the majority believe Beijing is unlikely to invade within the next five years, a poll showed yesterday. The poll carried out last month was commissioned by the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, a Taipei-based think tank, and released ahead of Double Ten National Day today, when President William Lai (賴清德) is to deliver a speech. China maintains a near-daily military presence around Taiwan and has held three rounds of war games in the past two years. CIA Director William Burns last year said that Chinese President Xi Jinping
RESILIENCE: Once the system is operational, there would be no need to worry about the risks posed by disasters or other emergencies on communication systems, an official said Taiwan would have 24-hour access to low Earth orbit satellites by the end of this month through service provided by Eutelsat OneWeb as part of the nation’s effort to enhance signal resilience, a Chunghwa Telecom Co (中華電信) official said yesterday. Earlier this year the Ministry of Digital Affairs, which partnered with Chunghwa Telecom on a two-year project to boost signal resilience throughout the nation, said it reached a milestone when it made contact with OneWeb’s satellites half of the time. It expects to have the capability to maintain constant contact with the satellites and have nationwide coverage by the end
REACTION TO LAI: A former US official said William Lai took a step toward stability with his National Day speech and the question was how Beijing would respond US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday warned China against taking any “provocative” action on Taiwan after Beijing’s reaction to President William Lai’s (賴清德) speech on Double Ten National Day on Thursday. Blinken, speaking in Laos after an ASEAN East Asia Summit, called the speech by Lai, in which he vowed to “resist annexation,” a “regular exercise.” “China should not use it in any fashion as a pretext for provocative actions,” Blinken told reporters. “On the contrary, we want to reinforce — and many other countries want to reinforce — the imperative of preserving the status quo, and neither party taking any
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