■INTERNET
Web spending rises 4%
Online spending increased to US$15.3 billion this holiday season, a gain of 4 percent from the same period last year, ComScore Inc said. Sales of US$886 million last Tuesday nearly met this year’s record-matching Cyber Monday spending of US$887 million, research company ComScore said in a statement on its Web site. The report includes the first 34 days of the holiday shopping season that began on Nov. 1. Cyber Monday “was followed by several other strong online spending days helping to accelerate the growth rate,” ComScore chairman Gian Fulgoni said in the statement. The first Monday after Thanksgiving is known as Cyber Monday because consumers return to work after the holiday and make purchases online. ComScore has said it expects Internet retail spending to rise 3 percent for the entire season. Sales of consumer electronics and computer hardware have achieved “double-digit” growth rates compared to the same period last year, Fulgoni said.
■STEEL
German production rises
German steel production increased last month, a report said yesterday, a sign the economic situation in Europe’s largest economy is improving. The Federal Statistical Office said German mills produced 2.49 million tonnes of pig iron, an 8.1 percent increase over November last year. They produced 3.9 million tonnes of raw steel, up 8 percent. Compared with October, production of pig iron was up 7 percent while raw steel was up 2.4 percent. Despite the improvements, the impact of the recession over the past year remained evident. For the first 11 months of the year, pig iron production was 35 percent below last year’s levels, while raw steel production was 32 percent lower.
■ENERGY
PNG LNG project announced
US energy group Exxon Mobil said yesterday it had reached an agreement with Tokyo Electric Power Co Inc to supply it with gas from its liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in Papua New Guinea. Under the binding agreement, the PNG LNG Project to be operated by Exxon would feed the Japanese company some 1.8 million tonnes of LNG each year for 20 years, it said. The project plans to develop gas fields in Papua New Guinea’s Southern Highlands and Western Province and transport the gas via pipeline to a LNG facility near Port Moresby for shipment overseas. Although final investment decisions are yet to be made, it is expected that the first shipments will be delivered by late 2013 or early 2014.
■BEVERAGES
Plans brewing at Heineken
Heineken NV agreed to buy Asia Pacific Breweries India and sell stakes in PT Multi Bintang Indonesia and Grande Brasserie de Nouvelle-Caledonie. Heineken signed a shareholders’ agreement with United Breweries Ltd and agreed on terms for the brewing and distribution of Heineken in India, the Amsterdam-based company said in a statement distributed by Hugin yesterday. Heineken will sell a stake of 68.5 percent in PT Multi Bintang Indonesia to Asia Pacific Breweries for 157 million euros. The brewer will also sell its 87.3 percent interest in Grande Brasserie de Nouvelle-Caledonie to APB for 57 million euros (US$232 million). Heineken said the effect of the transactions will be “broadly neutral” at net income level. The company expects a book gain of 145 million euros next year. Heineken will continue to hold a 42 percent stake in APB.
ENDEAVOR MANTA: The ship is programmed to automatically return to its designated home port and would self-destruct if seized by another party The Endeavor Manta, Taiwan’s first military-specification uncrewed surface vehicle (USV) tailor-made to operate in the Taiwan Strait in a bid to bolster the nation’s asymmetric combat capabilities made its first appearance at Kaohsiung’s Singda Harbor yesterday. Taking inspiration from Ukraine’s navy, which is using USVs to force Russia’s Black Sea fleet to take shelter within its own ports, CSBC Taiwan (台灣國際造船) established a research and development unit on USVs last year, CSBC chairman Huang Cheng-hung (黃正弘) said. With the exception of the satellite guidance system and the outboard motors — which were purchased from foreign companies that were not affiliated with Chinese-funded
‘CROWN JEWEL’: Washington ‘can delay and deter’ Chinese President Xi Jinping’s plans for Taiwan, but it is ‘a very delicate situation there,’ the secretary of state said US President Donald Trump is opposed to any change to Taiwan’s “status quo” by force or extortion and would maintain that policy, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told the Hugh Hewitt Show host on Wednesday. The US’ policy is to maintain Taiwan’s “status quo” and to oppose any changes in the situation by force or extortion, Rubio said. Hewitt asked Rubio about the significance of Trump earlier this month speaking with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電) chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家) at the White House, a meeting that Hewitt described as a “big deal.” Asked whether the meeting was an indication of the
PERMIT REVOKED: The influencer at a news conference said the National Immigration Agency was infringing on human rights and persecuting Chinese spouses Chinese influencer “Yaya in Taiwan” (亞亞在台灣) yesterday evening voluntarily left Taiwan, despite saying yesterday morning that she had “no intention” of leaving after her residence permit was revoked over her comments on Taiwan being “unified” with China by military force. The Ministry of the Interior yesterday had said that it could forcibly deport the influencer at midnight, but was considering taking a more flexible approach and beginning procedures this morning. The influencer, whose given name is Liu Zhenya (劉振亞), departed on a 8:45pm flight from Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) to Fuzhou, China. Liu held a news conference at the airport at 7pm,
KAOHSIUNG CEREMONY: The contract chipmaker is planning to build 5 fabs in the southern city to gradually expand its 2-nanometer chip capacity Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s biggest contract chipmaker, yesterday confirmed that it plans to hold a ceremony on March 31 to unveil a capacity expansion plan for its most advanced 2-nanometer chips in Kaohsiung, demonstrating its commitment to further investment at home. The ceremony is to be hosted by TSMC cochief operating officer Y.P. Chyn (秦永沛). It did not disclose whether Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) and high-ranking government officials would attend the ceremony. More details are to be released next week, it said. The chipmaker’s latest move came after its announcement earlier this month of an additional US$100 billion
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