■ BANKING
UK to hold major RBS stake
The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) said yesterday that the British government would end up with a 57.9 percent stake in the bank after a share issue to raise funds to help it cope with the financial crisis. RBS said that ordinary shareholders had agreed to take up only 0.24 percent of the share issue, with the government then taking up the balance, as provided for in its recapitalization plan for the British banking system. Last week, shareholders approved plans to raise £20 billion (US$29.5 billion) in fresh capital as part of a state rescue deal for Britain’s banking sector. Under the plan, RBS was to raise £5 billion directly from the government in return for preference shares.
■ SEMICONDUCTORS
Q4 revenue to miss goals
STMicroelectronics NV, Europe’s largest semiconductor maker, said fourth-quarter revenue and gross margin will miss forecasts after a slowdown in demand from the wireless, automotive and computer peripherals industries. Sales will be US$2.2 billion to US$2.35 billion, down 13 percent to 18 percent from US$2.7 billion in the previous quarter, the company said in a statement yesterday. The company had predicted sales being unchanged or falling 8 percent. The gross margin will be about 38 percent, down from a forecast of 38.8 percent, both allowing moves of plus or minus 1 percentage point. STMicroelectronics will cut output further to adjust to lower demand and reduce sourcing from third-party contractors. Because of the increased idle capacity, the Geneva-based company’s gross margin will be lower than anticipated on Oct. 28.
■ PHARMACEUTICALS
Drug firms block generics
Drug companies are delaying or blocking the entry of cheaper generic medicines in Europe, pushing up bills for taxpayers and reducing the incentive for innovation, an EU report said yesterday. EU Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes said preliminary results of a probe showed competition in the pharmaceuticals industry did not work as well as it should. Practices such as multiple patent applications for the same drug, litigation and settlement deals delayed generics going on sale, the EU executive said. Based on a sample of medicines facing patent expiry in 17 EU states, the EU executive estimated that delays in getting those generics on the market had cost healthcare providers some 3 billion euros (US$3.9 billion) between 2000 and last year.
■ COMPUTERS
FSC plans more job cuts
Fujitsu Siemens Computers Holdings (FSC) plans to slash around 700 jobs in Germany — 12 percent of its workforce in the country, it said on Thursday. FSC is Europe’s biggest maker of personal computers and employs about 10,500 worldwide, most of whom are in Germany. It said the job cuts were not a result of its new ownership structure but rather a move to improve profitability and competitiveness. Management began talks with union representatives about the plans on Thursday, it said
■ AVIATION
Chinese-made plane tested
China tested its first home-made commercial airliner yesterday, with the pilots praising the handling of the Advanced Regional Jet for the 21st Century (ARJ21), the China News Service said. The one-hour maiden flight of the ARJ21 took place in Shanghai, the report said. The maiden flight, which did not rise above 900m in altitude, had been expected earlier this year, the report said. So far only six ARJ21 have been produced, it said.
ENDEAVOR MANTA: The ship is programmed to automatically return to its designated home port and would self-destruct if seized by another party The Endeavor Manta, Taiwan’s first military-specification uncrewed surface vehicle (USV) tailor-made to operate in the Taiwan Strait in a bid to bolster the nation’s asymmetric combat capabilities made its first appearance at Kaohsiung’s Singda Harbor yesterday. Taking inspiration from Ukraine’s navy, which is using USVs to force Russia’s Black Sea fleet to take shelter within its own ports, CSBC Taiwan (台灣國際造船) established a research and development unit on USVs last year, CSBC chairman Huang Cheng-hung (黃正弘) said. With the exception of the satellite guidance system and the outboard motors — which were purchased from foreign companies that were not affiliated with Chinese-funded
‘CROWN JEWEL’: Washington ‘can delay and deter’ Chinese President Xi Jinping’s plans for Taiwan, but it is ‘a very delicate situation there,’ the secretary of state said US President Donald Trump is opposed to any change to Taiwan’s “status quo” by force or extortion and would maintain that policy, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told the Hugh Hewitt Show host on Wednesday. The US’ policy is to maintain Taiwan’s “status quo” and to oppose any changes in the situation by force or extortion, Rubio said. Hewitt asked Rubio about the significance of Trump earlier this month speaking with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電) chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家) at the White House, a meeting that Hewitt described as a “big deal.” Asked whether the meeting was an indication of the
PERMIT REVOKED: The influencer at a news conference said the National Immigration Agency was infringing on human rights and persecuting Chinese spouses Chinese influencer “Yaya in Taiwan” (亞亞在台灣) yesterday evening voluntarily left Taiwan, despite saying yesterday morning that she had “no intention” of leaving after her residence permit was revoked over her comments on Taiwan being “unified” with China by military force. The Ministry of the Interior yesterday had said that it could forcibly deport the influencer at midnight, but was considering taking a more flexible approach and beginning procedures this morning. The influencer, whose given name is Liu Zhenya (劉振亞), departed on a 8:45pm flight from Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) to Fuzhou, China. Liu held a news conference at the airport at 7pm,
KAOHSIUNG CEREMONY: The contract chipmaker is planning to build 5 fabs in the southern city to gradually expand its 2-nanometer chip capacity Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s biggest contract chipmaker, yesterday confirmed that it plans to hold a ceremony on March 31 to unveil a capacity expansion plan for its most advanced 2-nanometer chips in Kaohsiung, demonstrating its commitment to further investment at home. The ceremony is to be hosted by TSMC cochief operating officer Y.P. Chyn (秦永沛). It did not disclose whether Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) and high-ranking government officials would attend the ceremony. More details are to be released next week, it said. The chipmaker’s latest move came after its announcement earlier this month of an additional US$100 billion
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