■UAE
Developers merge
The Dubai developer behind the world’s tallest building says it is merging with three rivals owned by the sheikdom’s ruler, a deal that will create a real estate giant with a low debt and greater flexibility in a market hard hit by the global recession. The proposed merger between Emaar Properties and Dubai Holding subsidiaries Dubai Properties LLC, Samar Dubai LLC and Tatweer LLC marks a push to shore up the property market in an Arab boomtown where an oversupply of units has driven prices down sharply over the past year. In a statement issued yesterday, Emaar said the new company would have a total asset base of 194 billion dirham (US$52.8 billion) and debt of 13.4 billion.
■HONG KONG
Economy uncertain: Tsang
Hong Kong, heading for its first full-year economic contraction since 1998, has “yet to emerge from the impact of the financial tsunami,” Chief Executive Donald Tsang (曾蔭權) said yesterday on Radio Television Hong Kong. “While recent statistics have shown some signs of economic stability returning, there are still many uncertainties in the global market,” he said, according to a statement released on the government’s Web site. The city’s GDP will probably shrink as much as 6.5 percent this year, after a 2.4 percent expansion last year, the government has forecast.
■ENERGY
Iraq to award oil contracts
Iraq will this week unveil which foreign firms have won contracts to develop its oil and gas fields, nearly four decades after Saddam Hussein nationalized the country’s energy infrastructure. The deals, likely to be announced live on television today and tomorrow, will provide the government with much-needed revenue as it struggles to rebuild the country after three wars and 20 years of debilitating economic sanctions. Thirty-one companies have submitted bids to develop six giant oil fields and two gas fields.
■AUTOMOBILES
Luxury brands enter India
India’s Tata Motors yesterday announced the entry of luxury British marques Jaguar and Land Rover into India, but insisted there were no plans to assemble them in the country for the time being. Six models — three each from Jaguar and Land Rover — will be sold from today in India, which is among the world’s fastest-growing global automobile markets. “This launch ushers in a new breed of vehicles in India, which had been disconnected with consumers here for some years,” Ratan Tata, chairman of the Tata Group, told a news conference in Mumbai. Senior Jaguar and Land Rover executives were reluctant to divulge how many cars they expected to sell in India, where the luxury car market already includes Porsche, BMW, Mercedes and Audi.
■ELECTRONICS
GE to open Michigan center
General Electric Co (GE) said on Friday it will build a US$100 million manufacturing technology center in Michigan that will eventually employ about 1,200 workers. The Advanced Manufacturing and Software Technology Center will include a GE research and development facility. They will develop manufacturing technologies for GE’s renewable energy, aircraft engine, gas turbine and other products. The center, which is expected to open later this year in Van Buren Township, Michigan, also will develop software, networking and other services. GE has four other research facilities in Munich; Shanghai; Niskayuna, New York, and Bangalore, India.
INVESTIGATION: The case is the latest instance of a DPP figure being implicated in an espionage network accused of allegedly leaking information to Chinese intelligence Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) member Ho Jen-chieh (何仁傑) was detained and held incommunicado yesterday on suspicion of spying for China during his tenure as assistant to then-minister of foreign affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮). The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said Ho was implicated during its investigation into alleged spying activities by former Presidential Office consultant Wu Shang-yu (吳尚雨). Prosecutors said there is reason to believe Ho breached the National Security Act (國家安全法) by leaking classified Ministry of Foreign Affairs information to Chinese intelligence. Following interrogation, prosecutors petitioned the Taipei District Court to detain Ho, citing concerns over potential collusion or tampering of evidence. The
Seventy percent of middle and elementary schools now conduct English classes entirely in English, the Ministry of Education said, as it encourages schools nationwide to adopt this practice Minister of Education (MOE) Cheng Ying-yao (鄭英耀) is scheduled to present a report on the government’s bilingual education policy to the Legislative Yuan’s Education and Culture Committee today. The report would outline strategies aimed at expanding access to education, reducing regional disparities and improving talent cultivation. Implementation of bilingual education policies has varied across local governments, occasionally drawing public criticism. For example, some schools have required teachers of non-English subjects to pass English proficiency
NEGOTIATIONS: The US response to the countermeasures and plans Taiwan presented has been positive, including boosting procurement and investment, the president said Taiwan is included in the first group for trade negotiations with the US, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, as he seeks to shield Taiwanese exporters from a 32 percent tariff. In Washington, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said in an interview on Fox News on Thursday that he would speak to his Taiwanese and Israeli counterparts yesterday about tariffs after holding a long discussion with the Vietnamese earlier. US President Donald Trump on Wednesday postponed punishing levies on multiple trade partners, including Taiwan, for three months after trillions of US dollars were wiped off global markets. He has maintained a 10 percent
TRADE: The premier pledged safeguards on ‘Made in Taiwan’ labeling, anti-dumping measures and stricter export controls to strengthen its position in trade talks Products labeled “made in Taiwan” must be genuinely made in Taiwan, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said yesterday, vowing to enforce strict safeguards against “origin laundering” and initiate anti-dumping investigations to prevent China dumping its products in Taiwan. Cho made the remarks in a discussion session with representatives from industries in Kaohsiung. In response to the US government’s recent announcement of “reciprocal” tariffs on its trading partners, President William Lai (賴清德) and Cho last week began a series of consultations with industry leaders nationwide to gather feedback and address concerns. Taiwanese and US officials held a videoconference on Friday evening to discuss the
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