■AUTOMOBILES
Peugeot announces loss
French auto giant PSA Peugeot Citroen said yesterday it slumped to a first half loss of 962 million euros (US$1.37 billion) as the global economic crisis hit the auto industry. In its first half last year, the company reported a net profit of 733 million euros but finished the year with a net loss of 343 million euros as the economic crisis decimated auto sales. PSA said it was maintaining its forecast for a 12 percent fall in the European vehicle market this year, with “the beginning of a recovery seen towards the end of 2010.”
■MINING
BHP settles iron contracts
Anglo-Australian mining giant BHP Billiton said yesterday it had settled half its controversial iron ore contracts, with one-quarter of customers agreeing to cuts of between 33 percent and 44 percent. The company said it had agreed to sell 23 percent of its volume through contracts and 30 percent through a mix of quarterly negotiated pricing, spot market and index-based pricing. It did not detail which countries the settled contracts were from, but analysts said it appeared they were Japanese or Korean steel mills.
■ELECTRONICS
Toshiba announces loss
Japanese high-tech giant Toshiba said yesterday it lost more than US$600 million in the three months to last month as the economic downturn hit sales of televisions and other electronics. Toshiba announced a net loss of ¥57.8 billion (US$610 million) for the fiscal first quarter, compared with a loss of ¥11.6 billion in the same period of the previous year. The group maintained its forecast that it would end the full financial year to March ¥50 billion in the red, after a record net loss of ¥343.6 billion last year.
■CELLPHONES
SK to sell stake in Virgin
South Korea’s top mobile carrier SK Telecom said yesterday it planned to sell all its 15.3 percent stake in US-based wireless operator Virgin Mobile USA. Sprint Nextel announced it will buy Virgin Mobile USA for US$483 million and absorb it. “As Virgin Mobile is being absorbed by Sprint Nextel, we will be offered a 0.53 percent stake in Sprint Nextel,” an SK Telecom spokesman said.
■SECURITIES
Nomura announces profit
Japan’s top securities firm Nomura, digesting a takeover of large parts of failed US bank Lehman Brothers, announced yesterday its first profit in six quarters as financial turmoil eases. Nomura Holdings announced a net profit of ¥11.42 billion for the fiscal first quarter, returning to the black after a record loss of ¥709.4 billion in the last business year through March. Its revenue jumped 41 percent from a year earlier to ¥363.6 billion, helped by recovery on global financial markets.
■INVESTMENT
Temasek seeks co-investors
Singapore’s state-owned investment company Temasek Holdings is looking for ways to invite the public to co-invest, chief executive officer Ho Ching (何晶) said yesterday. Temasek would first pilot such a program with “sophisticated co-investors” and test it over the next five to eight years, she said. “If this pilot is successful, we may then consider a co-investment platform for retail investors in perhaps eight to ten years’ time,” said Ho, adding that the plans “may become clearer over the next six to 12 months.”
NO HUMAN ERROR: After the incident, the Coast Guard Administration said it would obtain uncrewed aerial vehicles and vessels to boost its detection capacity Authorities would improve border control to prevent unlawful entry into Taiwan’s waters and safeguard national security, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday after a Chinese man reached the nation’s coast on an inflatable boat, saying he “defected to freedom.” The man was found on a rubber boat when he was about to set foot on Taiwan at the estuary of Houkeng River (後坑溪) near Taiping Borough (太平) in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), authorities said. The Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) northern branch said it received a report at 6:30am yesterday morning from the New Taipei City Fire Department about a
IN BEIJING’S FAVOR: A China Coast Guard spokesperson said that the Chinese maritime police would continue to carry out law enforcement activities in waters it claims The Philippines withdrew its coast guard vessel from a South China Sea shoal that has recently been at the center of tensions with Beijing. BRP Teresa Magbanua “was compelled to return to port” from Sabina Shoal (Xianbin Shoal, 仙濱暗沙) due to bad weather, depleted supplies and the need to evacuate personnel requiring medical care, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman Jay Tarriela said yesterday in a post on X. The Philippine vessel “will be in tiptop shape to resume her mission” after it has been resupplied and repaired, Philippine Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, who heads the nation’s maritime council, said
CHINA POLICY: At the seventh US-EU Dialogue on China, the two sides issued strong support for Taiwan and condemned China’s actions in the South China Sea The US and EU issued a joint statement on Wednesday supporting Taiwan’s international participation, notably omitting the “one China” policy in a departure from previous similar statements, following high-level talks on China and the Indo-Pacific region. The statement also urged China to show restraint in the Taiwan Strait. US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell and European External Action Service Secretary-General Stefano Sannino cochaired the seventh US-EU Dialogue on China and the sixth US-EU Indo-Pacific Consultations from Monday to Tuesday. Since the Indo-Pacific consultations were launched in 2021, references to the “one China” policy have appeared in every statement apart from the
More than 500 people on Saturday marched in New York in support of Taiwan’s entry to the UN, significantly more people than previous years. The march, coinciding with the ongoing 79th session of the UN General Assembly, comes close on the heels of growing international discourse regarding the meaning of UN Resolution 2758. Resolution 2758, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1971, recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the “only lawful representative of China.” It resulted in the Republic of China (ROC) losing its seat at the UN to the PRC. Taiwan has since been excluded from
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