■ENERGY
Korea Gas wins bid
South Korea’s state-run Korea Gas has won a US$1.1 billion deal to jointly develop natural gas fields in Canada with a Canadian gas firm Encana, a news report said yesterday. Korea Gas has acquired a combined 50-percent stake in three Encana oil fields in northeast British Columbia under the deal, Yonhap news agency said. Korea Gas will invest US$1.1 billion to build gas exploration and production facilities in the fields, expecting to produce 1.1 million tonnes of natural gas every year for 40 years from 2017, it said. South Korea annually consumes around 25 million tonnes of natural gas. It is the world’s fifth largest crude importer. It has no proven oil or gas reserves on its own territory.
■ENERGY
Enron chief to take last shot
Former Enron chief executive Jeff Skilling lost the first half of the fight of his life when a jury convicted him nearly four years ago for committing fraud while at the helm of the once high-flying energy trader. Today before the US Supreme Court, lawyers for federal prisoner 29296-179 will take their last shot at shredding a lower court’s conviction that sentenced him to 24 years in jail. If Skilling succeeds, his sentence could be shortened or he could win a new trial. Skilling, 56, was convicted in May 2006 of 19 counts of conspiracy, securities fraud, insider trading and lying to auditors. He has been serving time at a prison in Colorado, where he has been teaching Spanish to fellow inmates.
■ENERGY
Oil firm to leave Curacao
Venezuelan oil company PDVSA may withdraw from the 320,000 barrel-per-day Isla refinery it operates in Curacao to protest US military operations on the Caribbean island, Ultimas Noticias newspaper reported on Saturday, citing an interview with Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez. Venezuela may order state-run PDVSA to abandon its lease of the Isla refinery because the US military has been staging “provocations” on Venezuela from Curacao, Ramirez was quoted as saying. PDVSA has operated the Isla refinery since 1985 under a long-term lease with the government of Curacao, a Dutch island 65km north of the Venezuelan coast.
■PAKISTAN
Government wants US$5bn
Pakistan aims to attract US$5 billion in foreign investment this year, but needs to tackle reform, maximize anemic growth and stem rampant violence to clinch its ambitious target. Last fiscal year, Pakistan recorded its worst economic growth in more than a decade, at 2 percent, and attracted only US$3.7 billion in investment. Yet Board of Investment chairman Saleem Mandviwalla is optimistic despite Pakistan’s immense challenges. “Traditionally the investment pace that we had kept — which was an average of US$5 billion a year — I think we should be able to go back to it very soon depending on if the global situation improves,” he said.
■RESOURCES
Ministry seeks sale approval
India’s Mines Ministry may seek government approval next week for the sale of shares in Hindustan Copper Ltd, the country’s largest copper miner, Press Trust of India reported, quoting Mines Secretary Santha Sheela Nair. The ministry last month approved a plan to sell 10 percent of the government’s share holdings in a public offer and raising fresh capital by diluting another 10 percent stake through a follow-on offer.
CELEBRATION: The PRC turned 75 on Oct. 1, but the Republic of China is older. The PRC could never be the homeland of the people of the ROC, Lai said The People’s Republic of China (PRC) could not be the “motherland” of the people of the Republic of China (ROC), President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday. Lai made the remarks in a speech at a Double Ten National Day gala in Taipei, which is part of National Day celebrations that are to culminate in a fireworks display in Yunlin County on Thursday night next week. Lai wished the country a happy birthday and called on attendees to enjoy the performances and activities while keeping in mind that the ROC is a sovereign and independent nation. He appealed for everyone to always love their
FIVE-YEAR WINDOW? A defense institute CEO said a timeline for a potential Chinese invasion was based on expected ‘tough measures’ when Xi Jinping seeks a new term Most Taiwanese are willing to defend the nation against a Chinese attack, but the majority believe Beijing is unlikely to invade within the next five years, a poll showed yesterday. The poll carried out last month was commissioned by the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, a Taipei-based think tank, and released ahead of Double Ten National Day today, when President William Lai (賴清德) is to deliver a speech. China maintains a near-daily military presence around Taiwan and has held three rounds of war games in the past two years. CIA Director William Burns last year said that Chinese President Xi Jinping
MAKING PROGRESS: Officials and industry leaders who participated in a defense forum last month agreed that Taiwan has the capabilities to work with the US, the report said Taiwan’s high-tech defense industry is to enhance collaboration with the US to produce weapons needed for self-defense, the Ministry of National Defense said in a report to the Legislative Yuan. Deputy Minister of National Defense Hsu Yen-pu (徐衍璞) discussed building regional and global industry alliances with US partners at the US-Taiwan Defense Industry Conference in Philadelphia held from Sept. 22 to Tuesday last week, the ministry said in the declassified portion of the report. The visit contributed to maintaining bilateral ties, facilitated Taiwan’s efforts to acquire weapons and equipment, and strengthened the resilience of the two nation’s defense industries, it said. Taiwan-US ties
CONCERNS: Allowing the government, political parties or the military to own up to 10 percent of a large media firm is a risk Taiwan cannot afford to take, a lawyer said A Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislator has proposed amendments to allow the government, political parties and the military to indirectly invest in broadcast media, prompting concerns of potential political interference. Under Article 1 of the Satellite Broadcasting Act (衛星廣播電視法), the government and political parties — as well as foundations established with their endowments, and those commissioned by them — cannot directly or indirectly invest in satellite broadcasting businesses. A similar regulation is in the Cable Radio and Television Act (有線廣播電視法). “The purpose of banning the government, political parties and the military from investing in the media is to prevent them from interfering
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