■TAKEOVERS
Westpac eyes St George
St George, Australia’s fifth-largest bank, agreed to a revised A$17.3 billion (US$14.4 billion) takeover proposal by larger rival Westpac Banking Corp yesterday, in what would be the biggest banking acquisition in Australian history. In a joint statement, the Sydney-based banks said the takeover was approved by Grant Samuel, an independent expert hired by St George to analyze the bid. Samuel called the offer “fair and reasonable and in the best interests of St George shareholders,” the statement said. St George’s shareholders would receive an additional special dividend of A$0.28 per share, worth A$160 million in total.
■INVESTMENT
Nomura sells bonds
Nomura Holdings Inc, Japan’s biggest investment bank, sold ¥108.4 billion (US$998 million) in three-year bonds to retail investors, the company said in a statement yesterday. The bonds carry a coupon of 1.26 percent and were sold at par. The debt was rated AA- by Rating and Investment Information Inc, and AA by Japan Credit Rating Agency Ltd. It was the biggest retail bond sale in Japan since Citigroup Inc sold ¥186.5 in samurai bonds to individuals on June 12.
■MINING
BHP resumes operations
Resources giant BHP Billiton said yesterday it has resumed iron ore mining operations in Western Australia after they were shut down when two workers were killed in separate accidents. The miner closed operations at all mines in the vast state on Thursday after an employee of HWE Mining died at the Yandi mine in the resource-rich Pilbara region following a collision between a light vehicle and a haul truck. It was the second fatality at Yandi, which is operated by HWE Mining on behalf of BHP Billiton Iron Ore, in under two weeks.
■ECONOMY
Finnish growth up 2.8%
Finland’s economic growth accelerated to an annual 2.8 percent in the second quarter as rising wages boosted domestic demand. Growth picked up from a revised 2.3 percent in the previous three months, the slowest pace in more than two years, Statistics Finland said on its Web site yesterday. The median forecast of three economists in a Bloomberg survey was for growth of 3 percent. From the previous quarter, GDP rose 0.8 percent, compared with a revised 0.3 percent in the previous three months. “Consumption has been surprisingly strong in the second quarter compared with other European countries,” Eero Lehto, chief economist at the Labor Institute for Economic Research, said in a telephone interview.
■AVIATION
Passenger traffic up
Air France-KLM Group, Europe’s biggest airline, said passenger traffic rose 2.8 percent last month, led by travel to the Americas. The load factor, or proportion of seats filled, declined 1.6 percentage points to 83.7 percent, as capacity rose 4.7 percent, Paris-based Air France-KLM said in a statement yesterday. The number of passengers rose 1 percent to 6.8 million. Traffic growth accelerated from July, when the increase was 1.8 percent. Unlike SkyTeam partner Delta Air Lines Inc or British Airways Plc, both of which are reducing capacity, Air France is adding seats, though by less than planned. It will restrict capacity increases in the October-to-April winter schedule and next summer to 2 percent.
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
TRADE: A mandatory declaration of origin for manufactured goods bound for the US is to take effect on May 7 to block China from exploiting Taiwan’s trade channels All products manufactured in Taiwan and exported to the US must include a signed declaration of origin starting on May 7, the Bureau of Foreign Trade announced yesterday. US President Donald Trump on April 2 imposed a 32 percent tariff on imports from Taiwan, but one week later announced a 90-day pause on its implementation. However, a universal 10 percent tariff was immediately applied to most imports from around the world. On April 12, the Trump administration further exempted computers, smartphones and semiconductors from the new tariffs. In response, President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration has introduced a series of countermeasures to support affected
MORE VISITORS: The Tourism Administration said that it is seeing positive prospects in its efforts to expand the tourism market in North America and Europe Taiwan has been ranked as the cheapest place in the world to travel to this year, based on a list recommended by NerdWallet. The San Francisco-based personal finance company said that Taiwan topped the list of 16 nations it chose for budget travelers because US tourists do not need visas and travelers can easily have a good meal for less than US$10. A bus ride in Taipei costs just under US$0.50, while subway rides start at US$0.60, the firm said, adding that public transportation in Taiwan is easy to navigate. The firm also called Taiwan a “food lover’s paradise,” citing inexpensive breakfast stalls
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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