■BEVERAGES
Foreigners eye Coke bid
Foreign firms are keeping a close watch on the fate of Coca-Cola’s bid for Chinese juice producer Huiyuan (匯源) as suspicions about economic nationalism increase, a European business group said yesterday. “Economic nationalism appears to be a growing concern,” said Joerg Wuttke, president of the European Chamber of Commerce, at the launch of the 2008 European Business in China Position Paper in Beijing. “Of course, M&A [merger and acquisition] is a very difficult point,” he said. “Therefore we do watch the ongoing Coca-Cola Huiyuan case very closely to see if that is done by the law.”
■SHIPBUILDING
South Korea tops orders
South Korean yards won half of the world’s shipbuilding orders in the first half of this year, strengthening the country’s dominance in the industry, the government said yesterday. The Ministry of Knowledge Economy and the shipbuilding industry said yards secured orders for 12.4 million compensated gross tonnes, or 50.6 percent of the world total. It said overall global demand fell sharply compared with last year, but the proportion of orders won by local companies increased. Last year South Korea secured 38.9 percent of all orders placed against 37.3 percent for its main rival China. In the first half China’s share dipped to 34.3 percent.
■ENERGY
BG admits defeat
British gas firm BG Group conceded yesterday that its hostile bid for Australia’s Origin Energy would fail because it would not raise its offer after Origin teamed up with US oil giant ConocoPhillips. “The price implied by this newly announced joint venture is higher than BG Group is able to justify,” BG Group chief executive Frank Chapman said in a statement. “We have therefore decided not to extend or amend our offer, which we expect will now lapse” when its term expires on Sept. 26.
■FINANCE
IMF deputy backs takeover
The US government’s move to take control of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will help shore up the housing market, the banking system and the wider economy, a senior IMF official said yesterday. In the text of a speech in Frankfurt, IMF first deputy managing director John Lipksy also said the two mortgage giants would need to be restructured over the longer term. “The intervention in [Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac] and the broader support to the mortgage market should stabilize [their] balance sheets and the funding of mortgages in the near term,” Lipsky said. “This will help underpin the US housing market, the banking system, and the broader economy.”
■ENERGY
Shell, Iraq to form venture
Anglo-Dutch energy giant Royal Dutch Shell has agreed on a gas joint venture with Iraq worth up to US$4 billion, the Iraqi oil ministry and the Financial Times said yesterday. The deal, which will see the gas extracted from Iraqi fields being both sold in Iraq and abroad, will be signed next month, ministry spokesman Assem Jihad said. Shell will become the first Western oil group to sign a deal with Baghdad since the US-led invasion of 2003, with a venture the Financial Times estimated at about US$4 billion. Iraq’s Cabinet has agreed to the contract, which gives the state-owned Southern Oil Company 51 percent and Shell 49 percent in the venture.
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
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
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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