■AUTOMOBILES
Toyota to increase hybrids
Toyota Motor Corp plans to double its global production of hybrid vehicles in about two years, positioning fuel-sipping cars as a core profit earner, a report said yesterday. The automaker recently notified parts suppliers that it intends to roll out about 800,000 hybrids domestically this year, with the figure to be raised to about 900,000 in 2011 and 1.1 million in 2012, the Nikkei reported. Last year’s output was estimated to be about 500,000, it said without citing sources. Toyota also plans to sell an additional 10 new hybrid models, from minivans and subcompacts to luxury cars, within a few years, on top of its current lineups such as the Prius, Sai and Lexus HS250h, the Nikkei said.
■FINANCE
French bank considers exit
French bank Societe Generale yesterday said it was considering pulling out of Australia and was in discussions with regulators regarding its banking license. Australian branch chief executive John Harvey said no decision had yet been made but that a total exit was “clearly on the agenda,” adding that the bank was in talks with the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA). “We are in regular dialogue with APRA and their position is that we retain our branch banking licence while Societe Generale continues to conduct banking operations in Australia,” Harvey said, Dow Jones Newswires reported. “There is no official close date as we continue to operate substantial businesses in treasury and equipment finance.”
■SINGAPORE
Exports jump again
Exports jumped last month for the second month as global demand for the city-state’s electronics surged. Exports excluding oil rose 26.1 percent from a year earlier to S$13.2 billion (US$9.5 billion), Trade and Industry Ministry figures showed yesterday. The ministry said sales abroad rose a seasonally adjusted 1.7 percent from November. Electronics — which account for 40 percent of non-oil exports — rebounded strongly, rising 25.2 percent from a year earlier after falling 6.1 percent in November.
■LUXURY GOODS
Richemont sales gain
The Swiss group Richemont, which markets watches and other luxury items, reported yesterday a modest third-quarter sales gain thanks to a strong performance in Asia. Richemont said sales rose 2 percent from October to last month to reach 1.6 billion euros (US$2.3 billion), beating a forecast of 1.5 billion euros from analysts surveyed by the financial agency AWP. Sales last month alone were up 12 percent, said Richemont, whose product range includes such names as Cartier, Vacheron-Constantin, Piaget, Montblanc and Baume & Mercier. Richemont recorded a quarterly sales gain of 25 percent in Asia, notably in China and Hong Kong.
■FINANCE
Thai lending to grow 9.8%
Thailand’s central bank said lending by commercial banks is expected to grow 9.8 percent this year, boosted by a recovery in the economy. “Lending started to pick up late last year and the trend should continue,” Assistant Governor Sorasit Soontornkes told reporters in Bangkok yesterday. The combined loan portfolio of Thailand’s banks contracted 1.78 percent last year as demand for new money declined amid the nation’s economic recession, he said. Lenders including Bangkok Bank PCL, the nation’s biggest, have said loans will probably expand this year, led by demand from consumers and small and medium-sized companies.
CSBC Corp, Taiwan (台灣國際造船) yesterday released the first video documenting the submerged sea trials of Taiwan’s indigenous defense submarine prototype, the Hai Kun (海鯤), or Narwhal, showing underwater navigation and the launch of countermeasures. The footage shows the vessel’s first dive, steering and control system tests, and the raising and lowering of the periscope and antenna masts. It offered a rare look at the progress in the submarine’s sea acceptance tests. The Hai Kun carried out its first shallow-water diving trial late last month and has since completed four submerged tests, CSBC said. The newly released video compiles images recorded from Jan. 29 to
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) plans to make advanced 3-nanometer chips in Japan, stepping up its semiconductor manufacturing roadmap in the country in a triumph for Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s technology ambitions. TSMC is to adopt cutting-edge technology for its second wafer fab in Kumamoto, company chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家) said yesterday. That is an upgrade from an original blueprint to produce 7-nanometer chips by late next year, people familiar with the matter said. TSMC began mass production at its first plant in Japan’s Kumamoto in late 2024. Its second fab, which is still under construction, was originally focused on
DETERRENCE EFFORTS: Washington and partners hope demonstrations of force would convince Beijing that military action against Taiwan would carry high costs The US is considering using HMAS Stirling in Western Australia as a forward base to strengthen its naval posture in a potential conflict with China, particularly over Taiwan, the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday. As part of its Indo-Pacific strategy, Washington plans to deploy up to four nuclear-powered submarines at Stirling starting in 2027, providing a base near potential hot spots such as Taiwan and the South China Sea. The move also aims to enhance military integration with Pacific allies under the Australia-UK-US trilateral security partnership, the report said. Currently, US submarines operate from Guam, but the island could
The partisan standoff over President William Lai’s (賴清德) proposed defense budget has raised questions about the nation’s ability to adequately fund its own defense, the US Congressional Research Service (CRS) said in a report released on Tuesday. The report, titled Taiwan: Defense and Military Issues, said the government has increased its defense budget at an average annual rate of 5 percent from 2019 to 2023, with about 2.5 percent of its GDP spent on defense in 2024. Lai in November last year proposed a special budget of about US$40 billion over eight years, and said he intends to increase defense spending to
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