■ BANKING
Demand high for stock
French bank Societe Generale, forced into a capital increase by a massive rogue trader scandal, said on Tuesday that demand for the new shares totaled almost twice the amount of stock on offer. The group launched the operation in February to raise 5.5 billion euros (US$8.5 billion) to bolster confidence and compensate for losses attributed to unauthorized trading by Jerome Kerviel, who faces criminal charges. Societe Generale said demand for the new shares totaled 1.8 time the number of shares being issued. The total losses from Kerviel's trading were put at 4.911 billion euros by the bank.
■ AUTOMOBILES
Yachiyo builds new plant
A Honda subsidiary is building a new plant in Japan to build mini-vehicles, the Japanese car maker said yesterday, as soaring gas prices boosts demand for the cheap, fuel-efficient tiny cars. Yachiyo Industry Co Ltd, a subsidiary of Honda Motor Co, will build a new plant in Mie Prefecture in central Japan, with engine production set to start next year and auto production a year later, the Tokyo-based company said in a statement. Production capacity, when combined with an older nearby plant, will total 240,000 a year, and the new plant will make mini-vehicles such as Life and Zest models, Honda said.
■ FOREX
China seeks alternatives
China's vast sovereign wealth fund is expanding the scope of its investments beyond traditional assets like stocks and bonds to private equity and hedge funds, state media reported yesterday. The US$200 billion China Investment Corp (中國投資公司) has already entrusted money to external asset managers to focus on these alternative investments, the China Securities Journal said, citing Jesse Wang (汪建熙), the fund's vice president. Wang also said that the fund planned to set up branches in global financial centers. "The basic point for our overseas investments is being a financial investor. We seek maximum investment returns with manageable risks," the newspaper quoted Wang as saying.
■ AVIATION
Boeing to protest contract
Boeing said on Monday that it would protest the Air Force's award of a US$35 billion contract to build aerial refueling planes to a group that includes its European rival Airbus. The protest, to be made yesterday to the Government Accountability Office, had appeared increasingly likely in recent days as Boeing officials issued a series of statements indicating that they felt they had been treated unfairly. Boeing has a long history of making refueling tankers and was widely expected to win the contract. The GAO would have 100 days to review the action.
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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