■ ENERGY
Clean energy investment up
Investments in solar power, wind energy, bio-fuels and fuel cells surged 40 percent last year to US$77.3 billion and will more than triple in the next decade, the US industry group Clean Edge said. Investment in alternative energy has jumped as oil topped US$100 a barrel, coal reached records in global markets and governments faced increasing pressure to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Installations of wind turbines, which last year reached a record 20,000 megawatts worth US$30.1 billion, will jump to US$83.4 billion in 2017, Clean Edge said. Solar, with almost 3,000 megawatts installed last year, will more than triple to a US$74 billion market by 2017.
■ CHINA
Beijing mulls equity funds
Beijing is considering a proposal to set up four private equity funds to help finance development of ship building, water treatment and other key industries, a state-run financial magazine reported yesterday. The National Development and Reform Commission has submitted the plan to the State Council for approval, Caijing magazine said without naming sources. The proposed 30 billion yuan (US$4.2 billion) Huayu Water Industry Investment Fund would target water services in inland cities such as Xian, the report said. The other three funds named were the Tianjin Ship Industry Investment Fund, the Northeast Equipment Manufacturing Industry Investment Fund and the Urban Infrastructure Construction Investment Fund.
■ AUSTRALIA
Consumer confidence down
Consumer confidence has plunged to a near 15-year low this month, figures showed yesterday, which economists said could signal the end of rising interest rates. The Westpac-Melbourne Institute consumer sentiment index fell 9.1 percent this month to 88.6 points, its lowest reading since September 1993, after successive rate hikes and stock market turmoil spooked consumers. "The decline over the last three months -- 23.9 points or 21.2 percent -- is the sharpest three-month decline since the index was first measured in January 1975," Westpac chief economist Bill Evans said.
■ JAPAN
Growth rate revised down
Japan's economy grew 3.5 percent at an annual pace in the October-December quarter, the government said yesterday, revising down the previously announced figure of 3.7 percent. The downward revision was due largely to weaker-than-expected business investment. Japan's GDP increased a price-adjusted 0.9 percent on quarter during the October-December period, or 3.5 percent in annualized terms, the Cabinet Office said.
■ FINANCE
GIC to take Sintonia stake
A Singapore sovereign wealth fund will invest about 1 billion euros (US$1.5 billion) into the share capital of Italian holding company Sintonia, the Italian company said. Sintonia SA, one of the Benetton family's two holding companies, said on Tuesday it had signed an agreement with the Government of Singapore Investment Corp, or GIC. GIC's private equity unit will acquire a 3 percent stake in Sintonia SA, based in Luxembourg, Sintonia said. GIC will also subscribe to a capital increase in the company that will raise its stake to about 14.3 percent, the statement said.
NO HUMAN ERROR: After the incident, the Coast Guard Administration said it would obtain uncrewed aerial vehicles and vessels to boost its detection capacity Authorities would improve border control to prevent unlawful entry into Taiwan’s waters and safeguard national security, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday after a Chinese man reached the nation’s coast on an inflatable boat, saying he “defected to freedom.” The man was found on a rubber boat when he was about to set foot on Taiwan at the estuary of Houkeng River (後坑溪) near Taiping Borough (太平) in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), authorities said. The Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) northern branch said it received a report at 6:30am yesterday morning from the New Taipei City Fire Department about a
IN BEIJING’S FAVOR: A China Coast Guard spokesperson said that the Chinese maritime police would continue to carry out law enforcement activities in waters it claims The Philippines withdrew its coast guard vessel from a South China Sea shoal that has recently been at the center of tensions with Beijing. BRP Teresa Magbanua “was compelled to return to port” from Sabina Shoal (Xianbin Shoal, 仙濱暗沙) due to bad weather, depleted supplies and the need to evacuate personnel requiring medical care, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman Jay Tarriela said yesterday in a post on X. The Philippine vessel “will be in tiptop shape to resume her mission” after it has been resupplied and repaired, Philippine Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, who heads the nation’s maritime council, said
REGIONAL STABILITY: Taipei thanked the Biden administration for authorizing its 16th sale of military goods and services to uphold Taiwan’s defense and safety The US Department of State has approved the sale of US$228 million of military goods and services to Taiwan, the US Department of Defense said on Monday. The state department “made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale” to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the US for “return, repair and reshipment of spare parts and related equipment,” the defense department’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in a news release. Taiwan had requested the purchase of items and services which include the “return, repair and reshipment of classified and unclassified spare parts for aircraft and related equipment; US Government
More than 500 people on Saturday marched in New York in support of Taiwan’s entry to the UN, significantly more people than previous years. The march, coinciding with the ongoing 79th session of the UN General Assembly, comes close on the heels of growing international discourse regarding the meaning of UN Resolution 2758. Resolution 2758, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1971, recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the “only lawful representative of China.” It resulted in the Republic of China (ROC) losing its seat at the UN to the PRC. Taiwan has since been excluded from
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