■ TRADE
EU takes dispute to WTO
The EU has requested WTO talks to resolve a dispute with Bangkok over Thai customs measures, the EU said on Sunday. The EU claims Thai authorities frequently reject the declared price of imported EU products and impose an arbitrary price. An EU statement said the practice violates WTO rules and was particularly damaging for European wine and spirits exports. It said the EU took the case to the WTO on Friday. "These measures are arbitrary and damaging for EU companies seeking to do business in Thailand," EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson said. "We believe they are not compatible with WTO rules." The EU said it was turning to the WTO after failing to resolve the issue in bilateral talks with Thailand.
■ ENTERTAINMENT
Sony Ericsson inks deals
Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications Ltd, the world's fourth-largest maker of mobile phones, signed accords with 10 major record labels to widen its content offer. The music labels include Sony BMG, Warner Music Group, EMI, IODA, Bonnier Amigo and VidZone, the London-based company said on Sunday. Artists represented by the labels include Norah Jones and Bruce Springsteen. The move expands the company's PlayNow catalog and will add more than 5 million new tracks to its catalog, the company said. PlayNow will become available in Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland in May, and more European markets by the end of the second quarter. The company will roll out the catalog in the Americas and Asia in the third and fourth quarters.
■ ACQUISITIONS
Nokia acquires Trolltech
Nokia Oyj, the world's biggest maker of mobile phones, agreed to buy Norway's Trolltech ASA to accelerate its software strategy and develop Internet services. Nokia offered 16 kroner (US$2.91) per share, the Finnish company said yesterday in a statement.
■ ACQUISITIONS
Mozilo gives up US$38m
Countrywide Financial Corp CEO Angelo Mozilo will voluntarily give up US$37.5 million in severance and consulting pay in connection with the proposed takeover by Bank of America Corp. Mozilo's stock and employee equity awards will be treated the same as that of other shareholders and employees if the US$4.2 billion sale goes through, Countrywide said in a statement released at midnight on Sunday. "My primary focus today, as it has been for the past 40 years, is to do what is in the best interests of Countrywide's employees, customers and shareholders," Mozilo said in the statement. Under the terms of the deal, Mozilo would be entitled to US$36.4 million in cash severance pay and US$400,000 per year in consulting fees, as well as the use of a private airplane, Countrywide said. Mozilo held 0.24 percent of Countrywide's shares valued around US$8 million as of Oct. 12 last year, Bloomberg data shows.
■ UAE
Business courts to be set up
The Abu Dhabi government plans to set up special courts to deal with economic disputes as part of its efforts to attract foreign investment, the official WAM news agency said on Sunday. The courts will handle financial, investment and industrial cases. "The powerful economic development witnessed in the emirate makes an effective judicial system a must," judiciary department undersecretary Sultan al Baadi said.
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
EMERGING FIELDS: The Chinese president said that the two countries would explore cooperation in green technology, the digital economy and artificial intelligence Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) yesterday called for an “equal and orderly multipolar world” in the face of “unilateral bullying,” in an apparent jab at the US. Xi was speaking during talks in Beijing with Uruguayan President Yamandu Orsi, the first South American leader to visit China since US special forces captured then-Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro last month — an operation that Beijing condemned as a violation of sovereignty. Orsi follows a slew of leaders to have visited China seeking to boost ties with the world’s second-largest economy to hedge against US President Donald Trump’s increasingly unpredictable administration. “The international situation is fraught
Opposition parties not passing defense funding harms Taiwan’s national security, two US senators said separately in rare public criticism. “I am disappointed to see Taiwan’s opposition parties in parliament [the legislature] slash President [William] Lai’s (賴清德) defense budget so dramatically,” Roger Wicker, a Republican who chairs the US Senate Armed Forces Committee, said on social media. “The original proposal funded urgently needed weapons systems. Taiwan’s parliament should reconsider — especially with rising Chinese threats,” he added. Wicker’s post linked to an article published by Bloomberg that said that the two opposition parties’ move was “potentially jeopardizing the purchases of billions of dollars of
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