■RETAI
Adidas seeks No. 1 spot
German sportswear and equipment group Adidas aims to become No. 1 in Asia and Latin America by 2010, its boss Herbert Hainer said in a press interview released yesterday. “We want to reach sales of around 3.5 billion euros (US$5.4 billion) for all of Asia in 2010,” Hainer told the magazine Focus Money. “We would then be No. 1 in Asia, No. 1 in Latin America and No. 1 in Europe,” he said. Adidas is currently the second-biggest sportswear group worldwide, after the US company Nike. In China, Adidas plans to open more than 3,500 new stores within the next two years. Annual sales in China are then projected to surpass 1 billion euros.
■ECONOMY
Food prices will drop: OECD
Average world food prices will retreat from current peaks but will still be up to 50 percent higher in the coming decade than in the previous 10 years, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) chief Angel Gurria said yesterday. “We have the view that ... food prices are not going to remain at their present level — although they are going to remain anywhere from 10-50 percent higher than they were in the last decade on average in the next 10 years,” he told reporters at the Paris-based OECD. “In the case of oil prices, which are part and parcel of food prices, we are not envisaging a very dramatic reduction, he said, adding: “We may see some easing.”
■THAILAND
Cabinet cuts ethanol taxes
In a bid to curb oil imports and rising inflation the Cabinet yesterday approved tax cuts on E85 (a biofuel mix of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline) and E85-using car models. Energy Minister Poonpirom Liptapanlop said the Cabinet had approved his proposal to cut the excise tax on E85 from 3.65 baht (US$0.11) per liter to 2.75 baht, to encourage local ethanol producers and refineries to produce more of the biofuel. Ethanol in Thailand is made from sugarcane or tapioca. The Cabinet also reduced the excise tax between 25 percent to 35 percent on imported completely built up vehicles using E85-compatible engines, depending on their engine size.
■BANKING
Germany propped up IKB
The German government backed IKB bank with 500 million euros more than previously known and might provide another risk guarantee worth 1.5 billion, a press report said yesterday. The government injected 500 million euros into IKB after the specialist in business loans ran into serious trouble in the middle of last year, the daily Handelsblatt said, citing government sources. Berlin then contributed an additional 1.2 billion euros as part of a multibillion aid package for IKB. IKB was underpinned with 8.5 billion euros provided by the government, state-owned development bank KfW and a group of private banks, to prevent its collapse last year.
■AVIATION
Cargo deal reached
Air France-KLM said on Monday it has reached agreement with China Southern Airlines, the largest Chinese carrier by fleet size, on setting up a cargo joint venture. It said the two airlines reached “an overall accord with a view to setting up a Sino-European cargo joint venture ... [that] should be in place between now and the end of the year. Last June, Air France-KLM said it was in discussions with China Southern on setting up a cargo venture.
Agencies
INVESTIGATION: The case is the latest instance of a DPP figure being implicated in an espionage network accused of allegedly leaking information to Chinese intelligence Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) member Ho Jen-chieh (何仁傑) was detained and held incommunicado yesterday on suspicion of spying for China during his tenure as assistant to then-minister of foreign affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮). The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said Ho was implicated during its investigation into alleged spying activities by former Presidential Office consultant Wu Shang-yu (吳尚雨). Prosecutors said there is reason to believe Ho breached the National Security Act (國家安全法) by leaking classified Ministry of Foreign Affairs information to Chinese intelligence. Following interrogation, prosecutors petitioned the Taipei District Court to detain Ho, citing concerns over potential collusion or tampering of evidence. The
‘FORM OF PROTEST’: The German Institute Taipei said it was ‘shocked’ to see Nazi symbolism used in connection with political aims as it condemned the incident Sung Chien-liang (宋建樑), who led efforts to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lee Kun-cheng (李坤城), was released on bail of NT$80,000 yesterday amid an outcry over a Nazi armband he wore to questioning the night before. Sung arrived at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office for questioning in a recall petition forgery case on Tuesday night wearing a red armband bearing a swastika, carrying a copy of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf and giving a Nazi salute. Sung left the building at 1:15am without the armband and apparently covering the book with a coat. This is a serious international scandal and Chinese
Seventy percent of middle and elementary schools now conduct English classes entirely in English, the Ministry of Education said, as it encourages schools nationwide to adopt this practice Minister of Education (MOE) Cheng Ying-yao (鄭英耀) is scheduled to present a report on the government’s bilingual education policy to the Legislative Yuan’s Education and Culture Committee today. The report would outline strategies aimed at expanding access to education, reducing regional disparities and improving talent cultivation. Implementation of bilingual education policies has varied across local governments, occasionally drawing public criticism. For example, some schools have required teachers of non-English subjects to pass English proficiency
TRADE: The premier pledged safeguards on ‘Made in Taiwan’ labeling, anti-dumping measures and stricter export controls to strengthen its position in trade talks Products labeled “made in Taiwan” must be genuinely made in Taiwan, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said yesterday, vowing to enforce strict safeguards against “origin laundering” and initiate anti-dumping investigations to prevent China dumping its products in Taiwan. Cho made the remarks in a discussion session with representatives from industries in Kaohsiung. In response to the US government’s recent announcement of “reciprocal” tariffs on its trading partners, President William Lai (賴清德) and Cho last week began a series of consultations with industry leaders nationwide to gather feedback and address concerns. Taiwanese and US officials held a videoconference on Friday evening to discuss the
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