■ china
FX reserves hit US$1.65tn
The nation's foreign exchange reserves rose by US$118.9 billion in the first two months of the year to US$1.65 trillion, the China Business News reported yesterday. The reserves increased US$61.6 billion and US$57.3 billion in January and last month respectively, it said, citing unnamed sources. China's foreign exchange reserve, the world's biggest, rose by 43.32 percent or US$461.9 billion last year to US$1.53 trillion, figures released by the central bank showed. A spokesman with the State Administration of Foreign Exchange declined to comment on the report.
■ leisure
GIC teams with Host Hotels
Singapore has teamed up with US-listed Host Hotels and Resorts in a US$600 million venture to explore investments in the hospitality trade in Asia and Australia, the partners said. Host Hotels and Resorts will hold a 25 percent stake in the venture, which will have a maximum equity of US$600 million, they said in a statement late on Tuesday. An affiliate of the real estate arm of the Government of Singapore Investment Corp (GIC), which is partnering with the US hotelier in the venture, will own the remaining 75 percent, GIC said.
■ mining
Vale suspends Xstrata bid
Brazilian mining giant Companhia Vale do Rio Doce SA said on Tuesday it had halted negotiations to acquire Anglo-Swiss miner Xstrata PLC in a deal reportedly worth as much as US$90 billion. Vale said in a statement that talks were discontinued after Xstrata failed to agree to its latest offer of cash and stock. The company said it reserves the right to make a new offer within six months. The purchase would be the largest ever made by a Brazilian company. Two years ago, Vale paid US$17.6 billion for Canadian nickel miner Inco Ltd.
■ banking
Maybank to buy rival
Maybank, Malaysia's top lender, said yesterday it planned to acquire Indonesia's sixth-largest bank, Bank Internasional Indonesia, for US$2.7 billion as part of an aggressive regional expansion. In a statement to the stock exchange, Maybank said it had agreed to buy Sorak Financial Holdings Pte Ltd, which owns 56 percent of Bank Internasional, for US$1.5 billion. Maybank will then make a tender offer for the remaining 44 percent stake in Bank Internasional for US$1.2 billion, it said. Bank Internasional has a network of 230 branches and some 700 ATMs. Sorak is 75 percent held by Singapore's Temasek Holdings and 25 percent by South Korea's Kookmin Bank.
■ energy
Chevron reports find
Chevron Corp has found at least 142 billion cubic meters of natural gas in the Malay Basin offshore southwest Vietnam, it said yesterday. Chevron said in a statement that a three-month drilling program ended in the middle of this month confirmed a greater development potential than first believed. Chevron Vietnam operates exploration in several exploration blocks in the Malay Basin on behalf of partners PetroVietnam Exploration and Production Co, Japan's Mitsui Oil Exploration Co Ltd and Thailand's PTT Exploration and Production PCL. Timing of first production is contingent on further commercial negotiations with PetroVietnam, Chevron said.
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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