■ENERGY
GDF buys stake in Santos
French energy giant GDF Suez has bought a 60 percent stake in Australian offshore gas fields held by Australian firm Santos for US$200 million, GDF Suez said yesterday. GDF Suez will also lead a joint venture with Santos to develop a floating plant to turn gas from the Petrel, Tern and Frigate fields into liquefied natural gas (LNG) with an initial capacity of 2 million tonnes a year, it said. The fields will increase GDF Suez’s reserves by around 20 percent, it said.
■ENERGY
Essar bids for refineries
Indian conglomerate Essar has made a bid to buy one British and two German refineries from Anglo-Dutch oil giant Royal Dutch Shell, the Financial Times reported yesterday, without citing its source. Energy-to-telecoms group Essar has bid for the British-based Stanlow refinery in Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, and two German refineries, the daily business newspaper said. It said US company Valero Energy, Libya’s National Oil Corp and an investment vehicle controlled by the Saudi royal family had also expressed interest. A Shell spokesman declined to comment.
■AVIATION
Australia sues Emirates
Australia yesterday took legal action against airline Emirates for alleged cargo industry price-fixing, extending a campaign that has netted several carriers and tens of millions of dollars in fines. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission said the Dubai carrier had colluded with other airlines to fix cargo and other rates, adding that it was seeking financial penalties. Emirates rebutted the accusations and said it would defend its position in court. The hearing is scheduled for Sept. 11 in Sydney.
■GERMANY
Investor confidence up
Investor confidence bounded higher this month, the closely watched ZEW index showed yesterday, less than a week after data showed Europe’s biggest economy was emerging from recession sooner than expected. The ZEW index, based on a survey of institutional investors and analysts, rose 16.6 points to reach 56.1 points. Last Thursday, data from the federal statistics office showed German GDP growing 0.3 percent in the second quarter of the year from the previous quarter, the first time the economy expanded in more than a year.
■TELECOMS
Tycoon loses PCCW appeal
A Hong Kong tycoon suffered another setback yesterday in his effort to buy out the city’s major telecommunications company after a court blocked him from appealing. A group led by chairman Richard Li (李澤楷) attempted to take the company, PCCW (電訊盈科), private for about US$2 billion earlier this year. But Li and his allies were forced to bow out of the controversial deal after a court sided with the local securities watchdog, which said the shareholder vote approving the buyout appeared to have been rigged. Li sought to appeal the lower-court ruling, but his request was denied by the Court of Appeal.
■AUTOMOBILES
GM inks deal over SAAB
General Motors (GM) said yesterday it had signed a binding agreement with Swedish sports carmaker Koenigsegg over the sale of SAAB Automobile. The US auto giant signed a tentative agreement to sell SAAB to Koenigsegg on June 16. GM said it expected the transaction to be completed by the end of the year.
DETERRENCE: With 1,000 indigenous Hsiung Feng II and III missiles and 400 Harpoon missiles, the nation would boast the highest anti-ship missile density in the world With Taiwan wrapping up mass production of Hsiung Feng II and III missiles by December and an influx of Harpoon missiles from the US, Taiwan would have the highest density of anti-ship missiles in the world, a source said yesterday. Taiwan is to wrap up mass production of the indigenous anti-ship missiles by the end of year, as the Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology has been meeting production targets ahead of schedule, a defense official with knowledge of the matter said. Combined with the 400 Harpoon anti-ship missiles Taiwan expects to receive from the US by 2028, the nation would have
North Korea yesterday fired about 10 ballistic missiles to the sea toward Japan, the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said, days after Pyongyang warned of “terrible consequences” over ongoing South Korea-US military drills. Pyongyang recently dashed hopes of a diplomatic thaw with Seoul, Washington’s security ally, describing its latest peace efforts as a “clumsy, deceptive farce.” Seoul’s military detected “around 10 ballistic missiles launched from the Sunan area in North Korea toward the East Sea [Sea of Japan] at around 1:20pm,” JCS said in a statement, referring to South Korea’s name for the body of water. The missiles
North Korea tested nuclear-capable rocket launchers, state media reported yesterday, a day after Seoul detected the launch of about 10 ballistic missiles. The test comes after South Korean and US forces launched their springtime military drills, due to run until Thursday. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Saturday oversaw the testing of the multiple rocket launcher system (MRLS), the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said. The test involved 12 600mm-caliber ultra-precision multiple rocket launchers and two artillery companies, it said. Kim said the drill gave Pyongyang’s enemies, within the 420km striking range, a sense of “uneasiness” and “a deep understanding
‘UNWAVERING FRIENDSHIP’: A representative of a Japanese group that co-organized a memorial, said he hopes Japanese never forget Taiwan’s kindness President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday marked the 15th anniversary of the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, urging continued cooperation between Taiwan and Japan on disaster prevention and humanitarian assistance. Lai wrote on social media that Taiwan and Japan have always helped each other in the aftermath of major disasters. The magnitude 9 earthquake struck northeastern Japan on March 11, 2011, triggering a massive tsunami that claimed more than 19,000 lives, according to data from Japanese authorities. Following the disaster, Taiwan donated more than US$240 million in aid, making it one of the largest contributors of financial assistance to Japan. In addition to cash donations and
RSS