■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
CSBC Corp, Taiwan (台灣國際造船) yesterday released the first video documenting the submerged sea trials of Taiwan’s indigenous defense submarine prototype, the Hai Kun (海鯤), or Narwhal, showing underwater navigation and the launch of countermeasures. The footage shows the vessel’s first dive, steering and control system tests, and the raising and lowering of the periscope and antenna masts. It offered a rare look at the progress in the submarine’s sea acceptance tests. The Hai Kun carried out its first shallow-water diving trial late last month and has since completed four submerged tests, CSBC said. The newly released video compiles images recorded from Jan. 29 to
DETERRENCE EFFORTS: Washington and partners hope demonstrations of force would convince Beijing that military action against Taiwan would carry high costs The US is considering using HMAS Stirling in Western Australia as a forward base to strengthen its naval posture in a potential conflict with China, particularly over Taiwan, the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday. As part of its Indo-Pacific strategy, Washington plans to deploy up to four nuclear-powered submarines at Stirling starting in 2027, providing a base near potential hot spots such as Taiwan and the South China Sea. The move also aims to enhance military integration with Pacific allies under the Australia-UK-US trilateral security partnership, the report said. Currently, US submarines operate from Guam, but the island could
RESTRAINTS: Should China’s actions pose any threat to Taiwan’s security, economic or social systems, China would be excluded from major financial institutions, the bill says The US House of Representatives on Monday passed the PROTECT Taiwan Act, which states that Washington would exclude China from participating in major global financial organizations if its actions directly threaten Taiwan’s security. The bill, proposed by Republican Representative Frank Lucas, passed with 395 votes in favor and two against. It stipulates that if China’s actions pose any threat to Taiwan’s security, economic or social systems, the US would, “to the maximum extent practicable,” exclude Beijing from international financial institutions, including the G20, the Bank for International Settlements and the Financial Stability Board. The bill makes it clear that China must be prepared
Taiwanese trade negotiators told Washington that Taipei would not relocate 40 percent of its semiconductor production to the US, and that its most advanced technologies would remain in the nation, Vice Premier Cheng Li-chiun (鄭麗君) said on Sunday. “I told the US side very clearly — that’s impossible,” Cheng, who led the negotiation team, said in an interview that aired on Sunday night on Chinese Television System. Cheng was referring to remarks last month by US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, in which he said his goal was to bring 40 percent of Taiwan’s chip supply chain to the US Taiwan’s almost
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