■AUTOMOBILES
i MiEV gets production boost
Mitsubishi Motors Corp will increase production of its planned electric vehicle after orders for its first 2,000 cars were quickly filled, a spokesman said yesterday. The automaker aims to roll out the “i MiEV” zero-emissions car for leasing in Japan by July. The first year’s planned production of 2,000 units has already sold out with Japanese corporate leasers, including utility Tokyo Electric Power Co and convenience store chain Lawson, said company spokesman Kai Inada. Due to the strong interest, Mitsubishi Motors is raising its output of the model for next year from 4,000 to 5,000 units, he said.
■CHINA
Recovery signs for economy
China’s economy is showing signs of recovering, the nation’s statistics chief said as government data indicated manufacturing activity expanded last month for the first time in six months. The official Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for China’s manufacturing sector rose to 52.4 last month, up from 49 in February, the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing said in data released late on Thursday. A reading above 50 means the manufacturing sector is expanding, while a reading below 50 indicates an overall decline. It was the first time the official PMI had moved into positive territory since it hit 51.2 in September.
■FINANCE
Eurozone index rises
Business activity in the 16 countries sharing the euro contracted less sharply last month, though remaining at depressed levels, survey results on Tuesday showed. The eurozone’s purchasing managers’ index, compiled by data and research group Markit, rose to 38.3 points from 36.2 points in February, up on an early estimate for the month. However while the points rise was the largest since October 2003, the base is low and the March rate of business contraction was the same as that seen in January. The outcome marked the tenth month in a row that the index had come in below the key 50-point threshold that indicates contracting activity in the private sector.
■COMMUNICATIONS
RIM reports strong earnings
Canada’s Research In Motion Ltd (RIM), maker of the popular BlackBerry handheld devices, reported strong quarterly earnings on Thursday despite the slowing economy. RIM reported net profit in the fourth quarter of its fiscal year of US$518.3 million, or US$0.90 per share, up 25 percent compared with the same period last year. For the full year, RIM reported a net profit of US$1.89 billion, or US$3.30 a share, up 46 percent over the same period last year. The company said full-year revenue was US$11.07 billion, up 84 percent. Fourth quarter revenue was US$3.46 billion, also 84 percent higher than the corresponding quarter last year. RIM said it shipped 7.8 million devices in the fourth quarter and 26 million devices during this fiscal year.
■CONSTRUCTION
UAE scraps Samsung order
South Korean construction firm Samsung C and T said yesterday that a real estate developer in the United Arab Emirates has scrapped a US$1.08 billion order. Samsung said Nakheel canceled the deal to build apartments, shopping malls and other commercial structures by October 2013. “The cancelation came via unilateral notification by the contractor,” the firm, a unit of South Korea’s biggest business group, said in a statement. It declined to give details. The move is the second time in recent weeks that South Korean firms have seen a big Middle Eastern order canceled.
INSURRECTION: The NSB said it found evidence the CCP was seeking snipers in Taiwan to target members of the military and foreign organizations in the event of an invasion The number of Chinese spies prosecuted in Taiwan has grown threefold over a four-year period, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said in a report released yesterday. In 2021 and 2022, 16 and 10 spies were prosecuted respectively, but that number grew to 64 last year, it said, adding that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) was working with gangs in Taiwan to develop a network of armed spies. Spies in Taiwan have on behalf of the CCP used a variety of channels and methods to infiltrate all sectors of the country, and recruited Taiwanese to cooperate in developing organizations and obtaining sensitive information
Seven hundred and sixty-four foreigners were arrested last year for acting as money mules for criminals, with many entering Taiwan on a tourist visa for all-expenses-paid trips, the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) said on Saturday. Although from Jan. 1 to Dec. 26 last year, 26,478 people were arrested for working as money mules, the bureau said it was particularly concerned about those entering the country as tourists or migrant workers who help criminals and scammers pick up or transfer illegally obtained money. In a report, officials divided the money mules into two groups, the first of which are foreigners, mainly from Malaysia
SILICON VALLEY HUB: The office would showcase Taiwan’s strengths in semiconductors and artificial intelligence, and help Taiwanese start-ups connect with global opportunities Taiwan has established an office in Palo Alto, one of the principal cities of Silicon Valley in California, aimed at helping Taiwanese technology start-ups gain global visibility, the National Development Council said yesterday. The “Startup Island Taiwan Silicon Valley hub” at No. 299 California Avenue is focused on “supporting start-ups and innovators by providing professional consulting, co-working spaces, and community platforms,” the council said in a post on its Web site. The office is the second overseas start-up hub established by the council, after a similar site was set up in Tokyo in September last year. Representatives from Taiwanese start-ups, local businesses and
‘DETERRENT’: US national security adviser-designate Mike Waltz said that he wants to speed up deliveries of weapons purchased by Taiwan to deter threats from China US president-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for US secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth, affirmed his commitment to peace in the Taiwan Strait during his confirmation hearing in Washington on Tuesday. Hegseth called China “the most comprehensive and serious challenge to US national security” and said that he would aim to limit Beijing’s expansion in the Indo-Pacific region, Voice of America reported. He would also adhere to long-standing policies to prevent miscalculations, Hegseth added. The US Senate Armed Services Committee hearing was the first for a nominee of Trump’s incoming Cabinet, and questions mostly focused on whether he was fit for the
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