■ JAPAN
Industrial output hits record
Industrial production rose sequentially by 1.6 percent last month to a record high, boosted by output of semiconductors and autos, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said yesterday. Production dropped 1.4 percent in September after jumping 3.5 percent in August. The index of industrial output climbed to 112.1 against a base of 100 for the year 2000. That's the highest the production index has recorded since the government began tracking relevant production data in 1953, the ministry said. Still, analysts remained skeptical whether Japan's output could continue growing amid recent sluggishness in the housing construction sector.
■ BANKING
Temasek sells China stocks
Singapore's state investment agency said it sold shares in two Chinese banks this week, netting more than US$500 million in proceeds. Temasek sold 280 million shares in China Construction Bank (中國建設銀行) on Wednesday, representing less than 2 percent of its holding in the bank, a company spokeswoman said yesterday. Two days earlier, Temasek confirmed it sold 1.08 billion shares in Bank of China (中國銀行) for HK$4.45 billion (US$570 million), reducing its stake in the mainland lender from 15.5 percent to 14.2 percent. Both sales were part of Temasek's ongoing rebalancing of its portfolio, the spokeswoman said in a statement.
■ ELECTRONICS
Canon to build new plant
Japanese high-tech giant Canon Inc announced yesterday plans to spend ?80 billion (US$727 million) on a new domestic plant to step up production of toner cartridges amid growing demand. Canon will start construction of the new plant in December next year in Hita City in the southern prefecture of Oita, with operations expected to begin in September 2009, the group said. "In recent years, steadily growing demand for toner cartridges and other consumables has created a pressing need to expand production capacity," a company statement said. Canon expects record profits this year on the back of brisk sales of digital cameras and printers.
■ ADVERTISING
Adobe, Yahoo team up
Adobe Systems Inc and Yahoo Inc were to launch a service yesterday allowing publishers to insert ads into many online newsletters or other electronic documents. The deal requires publishers to opt into the program, and it will distribute revenue from advertisers between publishers, Adobe and Yahoo. Financial details were not disclosed. The service marks the first time Adobe has allowed dynamic ads into portable document format, or PDF, documents. Dynamic ads -- like those placed online through Google Inc -- can be updated for particular audiences, or rotated so the same reader never sees the same ad twice.
■ SEMICONDUCTORS
Hynix welcomes ruling
South Korea's Hynix Semiconductor welcomed yesterday a WTO ruling that Japan's punitive tariffs on imports of its dynamic random access memory (DRAM) chips were illegal under international trade rules. Japan imposed 27.2 percent tariffs in January last year on DRAM chips produced by the world's second-largest memory chipmaker. Japan accused Hynix of selling subsidized products, while South Korea insisted the duties breached world trade rules. The WTO's appellate body made its ruling on Wednesday.
MORE VISITORS: The Tourism Administration said that it is seeing positive prospects in its efforts to expand the tourism market in North America and Europe Taiwan has been ranked as the cheapest place in the world to travel to this year, based on a list recommended by NerdWallet. The San Francisco-based personal finance company said that Taiwan topped the list of 16 nations it chose for budget travelers because US tourists do not need visas and travelers can easily have a good meal for less than US$10. A bus ride in Taipei costs just under US$0.50, while subway rides start at US$0.60, the firm said, adding that public transportation in Taiwan is easy to navigate. The firm also called Taiwan a “food lover’s paradise,” citing inexpensive breakfast stalls
US PUBLICATION: The results indicated a change in attitude after a 2023 survey showed 55 percent supported full-scale war to achieve unification, the report said More than half of Chinese were against the use of force to unify with Taiwan under any circumstances, a survey conducted by the Atlanta, Georgia-based Carter Center and Emory University found. The survey results, which were released on Wednesday in a report titled “Sovereignty, Security, & US-China Relations: Chinese Public Opinion,” showed that 55.1 percent of respondents agreed or somewhat agreed that “the Taiwan problem should not be resolved using force under any circumstances,” while 24.5 percent “strongly” or “somewhat” disagreed with the statement. The results indicated a change in attitude after a survey published in “Assessing Public Support for (Non)Peaceful Unification
PLUGGING HOLES: The amendments would bring the legislation in line with systems found in other countries such as Japan and the US, Legislator Chen Kuan-ting said Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Kuan-ting (陳冠廷) has proposed amending national security legislation amid a spate of espionage cases. Potential gaps in security vetting procedures for personnel with access to sensitive information prompted him to propose the amendments, which would introduce changes to Article 14 of the Classified National Security Information Protection Act (國家機密保護法), Chen said yesterday. The proposal, which aims to enhance interagency vetting procedures and reduce the risk of classified information leaks, would establish a comprehensive security clearance system in Taiwan, he said. The amendment would require character and loyalty checks for civil servants and intelligence personnel prior to
The China Coast Guard has seized control of a disputed reef near a major Philippine military outpost in the South China Sea, Beijing’s state media said, adding to longstanding territorial tensions with Manila. Beijing claims sovereignty over almost all of the South China Sea and has waved away competing assertions from other countries as well as an international ruling that its position has no legal basis. China and the Philippines have engaged in months of confrontations in the contested waters, and Manila is taking part in sweeping joint military drills with the US which Beijing has slammed as destabilizing. The Chinese coast guard
RSS