■ STEEL
Hyundai may build furnace
Hyundai Steel Co, South Korea's second-largest steelmaker, may spend 2.3 trillion won (US$2.4 billion) to build a third blast furnace by 2015 as demand for steel used in cars and ships soars. The plant, which burns iron ore and coal, may produce 4 million tonnes of steel a year, Kim Soo-min, executive vice president of the Incheon-based company, said on Friday. Output from its first two blast furnaces under construction will start from 2010.
■ OIL
Exxon reports flaring
Exxon Mobil Corp, the world's largest oil company, reported a jet vent gas compressor tripped and caused flaring yesterday at its refinery in Baytown, Texas. The incident at unit C901 didn't affect production and all customer needs are being met, Exxon Mobil said in a filing to the Texas Commission on the Environmental Quality Web site. The event began yesterday at 3:03am and was expected to continue until 9:03pm, the report said. The Baytown refinery, the largest in the US, has an oil-processing capacity of 586,000 barrels a day and accounts for about 3.3 percent of the US' total refining capacity.
■ AUTOMOBILES
Honda to build new plant
Honda Motor Co will spend US$485 million to build a new factory complex in Japan to produce small vehicles as consumers are shifting to less fuel-hungry models, a report said yesterday. The carmaker will build the complex in the western city of Yokkaichi at a cost of some ?50 billion (US$485 million), the Nikkei Shimbun said without naming sources. Honda plans to start operating an engine factory next year and assembly lines around 2010 with an annual output capacity of 240,000 vehicles, it said. The group aims to cut its production and distribution costs by at least 30 percent at the new complex, it said.
■ GOLD
Mine tax reviewed
Chile's government said Argentina has yet to agree to all the terms of a tax treaty that will allow Barrick Gold Corp to develop a gold project that straddles the border of both countries. The Argentine government is "still studying" a clause agreed to in a 2004 cross-border mining accord that it won't tax mineral Barrick smelts on its side of the border, the Chilean Internal Tax Service known as SII said in an e-mailed statement on Saturday. Argentine Mining Minister Jorge Mayoral said on Wednesday that Barrick would start construction of the mine-site in September. Barrick will spend 7.44 billion pesos (US$2.36 billion) developing the Pascua Lama project, which contains both gold and silver.
■ BANKING
Trader to undergo tests
The French trader charged in a 4.9 billion euro (US$7.1 billion) scandal at Societe Generale has been ordered to undergo psychiatric tests by investigating judges, a legal source said on Saturday. Jerome Kerviel, 31, has been in custody for the last month suspected of what Societe Generale says were unauthorized trades worth at least 50 billion euros -- more than the bank's own capital. He is charged with breach of trust, fabricating documents and illegally accessing computers, but escaped the more serious charge of fraud. His examination by a psychiatrist is aimed at determining if Kerviel's judgement was affected during his actions.
SECURITY: As China is ‘reshaping’ Hong Kong’s population, Taiwan must raise the eligibility threshold for applications from Hong Kongers, Chiu Chui-cheng said When Hong Kong and Macau citizens apply for residency in Taiwan, it would be under a new category that includes a “national security observation period,” Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. President William Lai (賴清德) on March 13 announced 17 strategies to counter China’s aggression toward Taiwan, including incorporating national security considerations into the review process for residency applications from Hong Kong and Macau citizens. The situation in Hong Kong is constantly changing, Chiu said to media yesterday on the sidelines of the Taipei Technology Run hosted by the Taipei Neihu Technology Park Development Association. With
CARROT AND STICK: While unrelenting in its military threats, China attracted nearly 40,000 Taiwanese to over 400 business events last year Nearly 40,000 Taiwanese last year joined industry events in China, such as conferences and trade fairs, supported by the Chinese government, a study showed yesterday, as Beijing ramps up a charm offensive toward Taipei alongside military pressure. China has long taken a carrot-and-stick approach to Taiwan, threatening it with the prospect of military action while reaching out to those it believes are amenable to Beijing’s point of view. Taiwanese security officials are wary of what they see as Beijing’s influence campaigns to sway public opinion after Taipei and Beijing gradually resumed travel links halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the scale of
A US Marine Corps regiment equipped with Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) is set to participate in the upcoming Balikatan 25 exercise in the Luzon Strait, marking the system’s first-ever deployment in the Philippines. US and Philippine officials have separately confirmed that the Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) — the mobile launch platform for the Naval Strike Missile — would take part in the joint exercise. The missiles are being deployed to “a strategic first island chain chokepoint” in the waters between Taiwan proper and the Philippines, US-based Naval News reported. “The Luzon Strait and Bashi Channel represent a critical access
Pope Francis is be laid to rest on Saturday after lying in state for three days in St Peter’s Basilica, where the faithful are expected to flock to pay their respects to history’s first Latin American pontiff. The cardinals met yesterday in the Vatican’s synod hall to chart the next steps before a conclave begins to choose Francis’ successor, as condolences poured in from around the world. According to current norms, the conclave must begin between May 5 and 10. The cardinals set the funeral for Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square, to be celebrated by the dean of the College
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