■SOUTH KOREA
Economy may shrink 2.4%
The South Korean economy is expected to shrink 2.4 percent this year as a global recession dries up export demand and domestic demand stays weak, the central bank said yesterday. The forecast by the Bank of Korea is a downward revision from its estimate of 2.0 percent expansion made last December. Asia’s fourth-largest economy grew 2.2 percent last year. The bank said the country was tipped to record growth of 3.5 percent next year. On Thursday the bank froze its key interest rate at a record low of 2.0 percent for the second straight month, saying a sharp fall in economic activity had moderated.
■FINANCE
China cuts executive pay
China has ordered pay cuts for executives at state-owned banks and other finance firms as public anger grows over their high salaries amid the global economic crisis. Last year’s pre-tax income for top executives, including salaries, bonuses and benefits, must not exceed 90 percent of their earnings in 2007, the Ministry of Finance said in a statement on its Web site late on Thursday. It added that the cap would be 80 percent for executives at financial companies whose operating profits fell last year.
■AVIATION
Three airlines to pay fines
Three international airlines have agreed to plead guilty to price fixing and pay a total of US$214 million in criminal fines, the US Justice Department said on Thursday. The move brought to 15 the number of companies fined by the US in a long-running criminal investigation of the industry. The latest charges implicate Luxembourg’s Cargolux Airlines International SA, Japan’s Nippon Cargo Airlines Co Ltd and South Korea’s Asiana Airlines Inc. The plea agreements must still be approved by a US court. Under the deals, Cargolux will pay US$119 million and Nippon US$45 million for fixing cargo rates over a six-year period starting in 2000. Asiana was fined US$50 million for price fixing of both passenger and cargo rates over the same timeframe.
■STEEL
POSCO’s net profit sinks
South Korea’s top steelmaker POSCO said yesterday its net profit plunged 68.5 percent year-on-year in the first quarter to 325 billion won (US$244 million) because of the global downturn. Operating profit in the first three months slumped 70.7 percent to 373 billion won as demand from automakers and construction companies declined sharply. For this year, POSCO has set a production target of 28 million tonnes of crude steel, down 15 percent year-on-year, and sales of 25 trillion won, down 18 percent.
■COMPUTERS
Conficker virus mutating
A computer virus that has spread worldwide began mutating overnight, German government computer experts warned on Thursday. The Conficker worm uses the Internet to install new functions on millions of infected computers, the government’s BSI information technology agency said in Bonn. The creators of the virus intend to create a botnet or network of zombie computers to do their bidding. BSI said it was still analyzing the new Conficker code, which spreads thanks to a security gap in the Windows operating system. BSI advised computer users to update their Windows, Web browsers, Acrobat Reader and Flash software and use firewalls and anti-virus software to defeat the virus.
MILESTONE: The foreign minister called the signing ‘a major step forward in US-Taiwan relations,’ while the Presidential Office said it was a symbol of the nations’ shared values US President Donald Trump on Tuesday signed into law the Taiwan Assurance Implementation Act, which requires the US Department of State to regularly review and update guidelines governing official US interactions with Taiwan. The new law is an amendment to the Taiwan Assurance Act of 2020 focused on reviewing guidelines on US interactions with Taiwan. Previously, the state department was required to conduct a one-time review of its guidance governing relations with Taiwan, but under the new bill, the agency must conduct a review “not less than every five years.” It must then submit an updated report based on its findings “not later
The Presidential Office today thanked the US for enacting the Taiwan Assurance Implementation Act, which requires the US Department of State to regularly review and update guidelines governing official US interactions with Taiwan. The new law, signed by US President Donald Trump yesterday, is an amendment to the Taiwan Assurance Act of 2020 focused on reviewing guidelines on US interactions with Taiwan. Previously, the department was required to conduct a one-time review of its guidance governing relations with Taiwan, but under the new bill, the agency must conduct such a review "not less than every five years." It must then submit an updated
CROSS-STRAIT COLLABORATION: The new KMT chairwoman expressed interest in meeting the Chinese president from the start, but she’ll have to pay to get in Beijing allegedly agreed to let Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) around the Lunar New Year holiday next year on three conditions, including that the KMT block Taiwan’s arms purchases, a source said yesterday. Cheng has expressed interest in meeting Xi since she won the KMT’s chairmanship election in October. A source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said a consensus on a meeting was allegedly reached after two KMT vice chairmen visited China’s Taiwan Affairs Office Director Song Tao (宋濤) in China last month. Beijing allegedly gave the KMT three conditions it had to
STAYING ALERT: China this week deployed its largest maritime show of force to date in the region, prompting concern in Taipei and Tokyo, which Beijing has brushed off Deterring conflict over Taiwan is a priority, the White House said in its National Security Strategy published yesterday, which also called on Japan and South Korea to increase their defense spending to help protect the first island chain. Taiwan is strategically positioned between Northeast and Southeast Asia, and provides direct access to the second island chain, with one-third of global shipping passing through the South China Sea, the report said. Given the implications for the US economy, along with Taiwan’s dominance in semiconductors, “deterring a conflict over Taiwan, ideally by preserving military overmatch, is a priority,” it said. However, the strategy also reiterated
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