■AUTOMAKERS
Daimler reaffirms forecast
Germany’s Daimler AG has reaffirmed its revenue forecast for this year and says it expects increases in sales and revenue. Chief executive Dieter Zetsche told shareholders at its annual meeting yesterday that Daimler plans to grow sales at about double the rate of the global car market this year. The company reaffirmed the outlook delivered in February. It said it expects unit sales and revenue to increase “but that they will still be significantly lower than the good levels of 2008.” Daimler forecast earnings before interest and tax from ongoing business operations of 2.3 billion euros (US$3.1 billion).
■BANKING
Macquarie buying aircraft
Australian investment bank Macquarie Group Ltd said yesterday it is buying 53 aircraft from a unit of American International Group Inc, which is raising money to repay US government bailout funds. Macquarie said 47 aircraft from International Lease Finance Corp will go to Macquarie Bank Ltd and six to a partly owned subsidiary, Macquarie AirFinance Ltd. The total price is just under US$2 billion. Macquarie said the aircraft are being leased to 35 airlines in 27 countries. Most aircraft are Boeing 737 Next Generation or Airbus A320 Family aircraft.
■REAL ESTATE
PRC price growth speeds up
Chinese property prices rose at the fastest pace in nearly five years last month, official data showed yesterday, amid growing fears of a bubble developing in the real estate market. Prices in 70 major cities rose 11.7 percent year-on-year in March, the National Bureau of Statistics said on its website, marking the biggest on-year increase for a single month since the survey was widened in July 2005. The statistics bureau had previously collected data on 35 major cities. That topped the 10.7 percent increase in residential and commercial property prices recorded in February and the 9.5 percent jump in January.
■AVIATION
Korean Air profit up 33-fold
South Korean flag carrier Korean Air yesterday announced its operating profit rose more than 33-fold in the first quarter from a year earlier on increased demand. Operating profit for the three months ended March 31 soared to 220.2 billion won (US$197 million) from 6.6 billion won a year earlier as a strong won and economic recovery boosted outbound travel and cargo shipments. Net profit for the same period was not immediately available. Sales rose 15 percent to 2.599 trillion from 2.264 trillion a year earlier. “Increased travel to China and Southeast Asia and exports by IT companies pushed up the quarterly results,” Korean Air said.
■COFFEE SHOPS
Starbucks plans expansion
Global coffee chain Starbucks plans a major expansion in China by opening “thousands of stores” while eyeing the promising Indian and Vietnamese markets, reports said yesterday. Starbucks chief executive Howard Schultz told the Wall Street Journal that China will overtake Japan as its biggest market outside North America. “Asia clearly represents the most significant growth opportunity,” he told the US newspaper during a visit to Tokyo. “Over time there will be thousands of stores in China,” he said. “India and Vietnam are two markets we’d like to get to at some point. We are still at the embryonic stages of what Asia will be for the company.”
SECURITY: As China is ‘reshaping’ Hong Kong’s population, Taiwan must raise the eligibility threshold for applications from Hong Kongers, Chiu Chui-cheng said When Hong Kong and Macau citizens apply for residency in Taiwan, it would be under a new category that includes a “national security observation period,” Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. President William Lai (賴清德) on March 13 announced 17 strategies to counter China’s aggression toward Taiwan, including incorporating national security considerations into the review process for residency applications from Hong Kong and Macau citizens. The situation in Hong Kong is constantly changing, Chiu said to media yesterday on the sidelines of the Taipei Technology Run hosted by the Taipei Neihu Technology Park Development Association. With
CARROT AND STICK: While unrelenting in its military threats, China attracted nearly 40,000 Taiwanese to over 400 business events last year Nearly 40,000 Taiwanese last year joined industry events in China, such as conferences and trade fairs, supported by the Chinese government, a study showed yesterday, as Beijing ramps up a charm offensive toward Taipei alongside military pressure. China has long taken a carrot-and-stick approach to Taiwan, threatening it with the prospect of military action while reaching out to those it believes are amenable to Beijing’s point of view. Taiwanese security officials are wary of what they see as Beijing’s influence campaigns to sway public opinion after Taipei and Beijing gradually resumed travel links halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the scale of
A US Marine Corps regiment equipped with Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) is set to participate in the upcoming Balikatan 25 exercise in the Luzon Strait, marking the system’s first-ever deployment in the Philippines. US and Philippine officials have separately confirmed that the Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) — the mobile launch platform for the Naval Strike Missile — would take part in the joint exercise. The missiles are being deployed to “a strategic first island chain chokepoint” in the waters between Taiwan proper and the Philippines, US-based Naval News reported. “The Luzon Strait and Bashi Channel represent a critical access
Pope Francis is be laid to rest on Saturday after lying in state for three days in St Peter’s Basilica, where the faithful are expected to flock to pay their respects to history’s first Latin American pontiff. The cardinals met yesterday in the Vatican’s synod hall to chart the next steps before a conclave begins to choose Francis’ successor, as condolences poured in from around the world. According to current norms, the conclave must begin between May 5 and 10. The cardinals set the funeral for Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square, to be celebrated by the dean of the College
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