■FINANCE
Citigroup names new head
Troubled US banking giant Citigroup on Wednesday named as its new chairman Richard Parsons, a longtime top executive at media giant Time Warner, to steer it through its most challenging period. Parsons pledged to revamp the bank as it moves to split into two business entities amid retrenchments, massive losses and a deepening global financial crisis. Parsons will succeed Win Bischoff as chairman of the board of directors, effective Feb. 23. Bischoff, with the bank since 2000, will retire later this year.
■AUTOMAKERS
Hyundai profits plunge
Hyundai Motor’s fourth-quarter profit fell sharply as the South Korean automaker absorbed increased branding expenditure while sales fell in its home market. Hyundai Motor Co earned 243.6 billion won (US$177.6 million) in the three months ended Dec. 31, down 27.9 percent from 338 billion won in net profit posted a year earlier, it said in a release yesterday. The company, which, with affiliate Kia Motors Corp, forms the fifth-largest automotive group in the world, said sales in the quarter rose 1.1 percent to 8.83 trillion won from 8.74 trillion won. For all of last year, net profit declined 13.9 percent to 1.45 trillion won, while sales gained 5.1 percent to 32.2 trillion won.
■ELECTRONICS
LG posts loss in Q4
South Korea’s LG Electronics said yesterday it swung to a loss in the fourth quarter of last year, hit by big shortfalls at its flat-screen panel unit and tougher competition. Its net loss for the period stood at 671 billion won (US$489 million) compared to a 621 billion won net profit a year earlier. Sales increased 12.2 percent to 6.59 trillion won, but the operating balance recorded a 309 billion won loss from a 154 billion won profit a year earlier.
■ENTERTAINMENT
Disney trims management
Walt Disney Co said on Wednesday that it had offered severance packages to about 600 executives at its theme parks and resorts in the US to cut costs in the economic downturn. Disney said the voluntary separation plan was made to managers earning US$100,000 or more per year in an effort “to contain costs and maximize efficiency.” “Given the continued uncertainty of the economic environment, we must manage our business even more productively,” Walt Disney Parks and Resorts spokeswoman Leslie Goodman said in a statement.
■FINANCE
Belgium helps ailing KBC
Authorities in the Flanders region of Belgium have agreed to provide struggling bank KBC with 2 billion euros (US$2.6 billion) in exchange for a non-voting stake in its capital, KBC said yesterday. “The group is further strengthening its capital base by a two-billion-euro non-dilutive core capital issue to be subscribed by the Flemish regional government,” KBC said in a statement. “In addition, a stand-by core capital facility of 1.5 billion euros is also being provided,” it said.
■MALAYSIA
No hiring of foreign workers
The government has banned the hiring of new foreign workers in the manufacturing and services sectors amid fears the economic crisis will lead to more job losses for locals, reports said yesterday. Home Minister Syed Hamid Albar told the New Straits Times there was no reason to bring in foreigners after a report found 45,000 people would be laid off over Lunar New Year.
US President Donald Trump yesterday announced sweeping "reciprocal tariffs" on US trading partners, including a 32 percent tax on goods from Taiwan that is set to take effect on Wednesday. At a Rose Garden event, Trump declared a 10 percent baseline tax on imports from all countries, with the White House saying it would take effect on Saturday. Countries with larger trade surpluses with the US would face higher duties beginning on Wednesday, including Taiwan (32 percent), China (34 percent), Japan (24 percent), South Korea (25 percent), Vietnam (46 percent) and Thailand (36 percent). Canada and Mexico, the two largest US trading
China's military today said it began joint army, navy and rocket force exercises around Taiwan to "serve as a stern warning and powerful deterrent against Taiwanese independence," calling President William Lai (賴清德) a "parasite." The exercises come after Lai called Beijing a "foreign hostile force" last month. More than 10 Chinese military ships approached close to Taiwan's 24 nautical mile (44.4km) contiguous zone this morning and Taiwan sent its own warships to respond, two senior Taiwanese officials said. Taiwan has not yet detected any live fire by the Chinese military so far, one of the officials said. The drills took place after US Secretary
CHIP EXCEPTION: An official said that an exception for Taiwanese semiconductors would have a limited effect, as most are packaged in third nations before being sold The Executive Yuan yesterday decried US President Donald Trump’s 32 percent tariff on Taiwanese goods announced hours earlier as “unfair,” saying it would lodge a representation with Washington. The Cabinet in a statement described the pledged US tariffs, expected to take effect on Wednesday next week, as “deeply unreasonable” and “highly regrettable.” Cabinet spokeswoman Michelle Lee (李慧芝) said that the government would “lodge a solemn representation” with the US Trade Representative and continue negotiating with Washington to “ensure the interests of our nation and industries.” Trump at a news conference in Washington on Wednesday announced a 10 percent baseline tariff on most goods
‘SPECIAL CHANNEL’: Taipei’s most important tasks are to stabilize industries affected by Trump’s trade tariffs and keep negotiations with Washington open, a source said National Security Council Secretary-General Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) arrived in the US for talks with US President Donald Trump’s administration, a source familiar with the matter said on Friday. Wu was leading a delegation for a meeting known as the “special channel,” the Financial Times reported earlier. It marked Trump’s first use of the channel since returning to the White House on Jan. 20. Citing a source familiar with the matter, the Financial Times reported that Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) was also a part of the delegation. The visit came days after China concluded war games around Taiwan and amid Trump’s
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