■HONG KONG
Finance chief meets banks
Hong Kong’s financial services chief yesterday weighed in on the dispute over the possible mis-selling of investment products backed by failed US bank Lehman Brothers. Financial Services Secretary Chan Ka-cheung (陳家強) met representatives of 21 banks that disgruntled investors accused of mis-selling “mini-bonds” that could now be worthless. As of yesterday noon, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority said it had received more than 3,500 complaints about Lehman bonds. The investors bought HK$12.7 billion (US$1.63 billion) of the complex financial products.
■ENERGY
Linde buys stake in Elgas
The German group Linde, the world leader in industrial gases, said yesterday it had taken full control of the Australian company Elgas for 126 million euros (US$175 million). Linde bought the outstanding stake in Elgas from AGL Energy, which co-owned the Australian specialist in liquified gases with Linde. Elgas was created in 1984 and posted sales of 225 million euros last year, Linde said.
■MUSIC
Sony buys out partner
Japan’s Sony Corp said it had completed the acquisition of German media giant Bertelsmann’s 50 percent stake in their Sony BMG joint venture, the world’s second-largest recorded music company. The venture, which is now a wholly owned subsidiary of the Japanese electronics and entertainment conglomerate, will be renamed Sony Music Entertainment Inc, Sony said in a statement late on Wednesday. The two firms joined forces in 2004 to save costs in the face of declining CD sales and the growing popularity of Internet downloads, but Bertelsmann announced in August that it was selling its stake to its Japanese partner.
■BANKING
Bank of Japan looks abroad
State-owned Development Bank of Japan plans to boost investment in overseas financial firms as it seeks to develop an investment banking group ahead of full privatization. The Tokyo-based lender, which became a joint-stock company on Wednesday, plans to double lending and investment abroad to ¥500 billion (US$4.7 billion) as foreign firms seek capital amid the global credit crisis, bank president Minoru Murofushi said at a press briefing in Tokyo yesterday. “We have a very big opportunity,” Murofushi said.
■TELECOMS
Apple drops iPhone NDA
Apple said on Wednesday it was dropping a controversial non-disclosure agreement (NDA) that software developers who wanted to create applications for the iPhone mobile telephone had been forced to sign. The NDA prevented software developers seeking to take part in the iPhone Developer Program from discussing their work, even with colleagues. Outside developers seeking to create applications for the iPhone are still required to go through Apple’s “App Store,” which controls which applications are approved or not.
■AVIATION
BA mulls Alitalia tie-up
British Airways (BA) is interested in forming a partnership with a revived Alitalia but does not want a stake in the Italian flagship, the Corriere della Sera reported yesterday. “[Investor group] Italian Air Company’s plan is satisfactory to us, it marks the start of a new era for Alitalia and, in this context, we are prepared to aim for a strategic commercial alliance,” said Yannick Hoyles, BA’s commercial representative for Western Europe.
Japan has deployed long-range missiles in a southwestern region near China, the Japanese defense minister said yesterday, at a time when ties with Beijing are at their lowest in recent years. The missiles were installed in Kumamoto in the southern region of Kyushu, as Japan is attempting to shore up its military capacity as China steps up naval activity in the East China Sea. “Standoff defense capabilities enable us to counter the threat of enemy forces attempting to invade our country ... while ensuring the safety of our personnel,” Japanese Minister of Defense Shinjiro Koizumi said. “This is an extremely important initiative for
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) today accepted an invitation from Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) to lead a delegation to China next month, saying she hopes to promote the peaceful development of cross-strait relations and bring stability to the Taiwan Strait. “I am grateful and happy to accept this invitation,” Cheng said in a statement from the KMT chairperson’s office. Cheng said she hopes both sides can work together to promote the peaceful development of cross-strait relations, enhance exchange and cooperation, bring stability to the Taiwan Strait and improve people’s livelihoods. At today's news conference, Cheng said any efforts to
MORE POPULAR: Taiwan Pass sales increased by 59 percent during the first quarter compared with the same period last year, the Tourism Administration said The Tourism Administration yesterday said that it has streamlined the Taiwan Pass, with two versions available for purchase beginning today. The tourism agency has made the pass available to international tourists since 2024, allowing them to access the high-speed rail, Taiwan Railway Corp services, four MRT systems and four Taiwan Tourist Shuttles. Previously, five types of Taiwan Pass were available, but some tourists have said that the offerings were too complicated. The agency said only two types of Taiwan Pass would be available, starting from a three-day pass with the high-speed rail and a three-day pass with Taiwan Railway Corp. The former costs NT$2,800
The nation’s fastest supercomputer, Nano 4 (晶創26), is scheduled to be launched in the third quarter, and would be used to train large language models in finance and national defense sectors, the National Center for High-Performance Computing (NCHC) said. The supercomputer, which would operate at about 86.05 petaflops, is being tested at a new cloud computing center in the Southern Taiwan Science Park in Tainan. The exterior of the server cabinet features chip circuitry patterns overlaid with a map of Taiwan, highlighting the nation’s central position in the semiconductor industry. The center also houses Taiwania 2, Taiwania 3, Forerunner 1 and
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