■AUTOMOBILES
Electric cars booming
Nissan chief executive Carlos Ghosn says the automaker has received 13,000 orders in the US and Japan for its new electric car, the Leaf, exceeding production capacity. Ghosn said yesterday the company was seeking to add capacity to meet demand. The first models of the zero-emissions Leaf will be delivered to customers in December. Ghosn said he was bullish about Nissan’s future as demand grows in emerging markets like China, and consumers warm to electric cars.
■ELECTRONICS
Pioneer net loss down
Japanese electronics maker Pioneer Corp said yesterday its net loss had narrowed by more than 50 percent on-year thanks to cost cutting, and forecast a return to profit in the year to March next year. Pioneer, scrambling to tackle its poor financial health, has quit the television business and slashed 10,000 jobs. In March, it completed a 4.5 percent stake sale to Honda Motor for ¥2.5 billion (US$26.88 million). Pioneer said its group net loss contracted to ¥58.3 billion for the fiscal year from ¥130.5 billion a year earlier. For the year to March next year, the company forecast a net profit of ¥11 billion on sales of ¥480 billion.
■SUPERMARKETS
Sainsbury profits soar
British supermarket chain Sainsbury said yesterday that profits more than doubled in 2009-2010, as new floor space and non-food products boosted the group despite tough trading conditions. Net profit soared to £585 million (US$865 million) in the year to March 20, compared with £289 million in the previous fiscal year. Sales rose 5.6 percent to £19.964 billion. Chief executive Justin King warned that the trading environment would remain “challenging” for the time being.
■TELECOMS
SingTel profit rises 12%
Southeast Asian leader Singapore Telecom (SingTel) said yesterday its net profit rose 12 percent in the fourth quarter to March from a year earlier on strong performances at home and by its associates. SingTel, which has business footprints across the Asia-Pacific region, said net profit in the three months to March was S$1.02 billion (US$740 million), beating market expectations. Fourth quarter revenue totaled S$4.47 billion, up 25.4 percent on last year. For the full year ended on March 31, SingTel earned S$3.91 billion on revenue of S$16.87 billion.
■JAPAN
Account surplus surges
The current account surplus in March surged by 65.1 percent from a year ago, thanks to a strong rise in exports outpacing the growth of imports, the finance ministry said yesterday. The surplus in the current account — the broadest measure of trade with the rest of the world —reached ¥2.53 trillion, up ¥999.6 billion from a year ago. Exports rose 45.4 percent to ¥5.71 trillion, while imports rose 22.0 percent to ¥4.63 trillion.
■UNITED STATES
Trade deficit widens
The trade deficit struck a 15-month high in March, the government said on Wednesday, as growth in both exports and imports suggested economic recovery is gaining steam. The trade deficit widened for the second consecutive month in March to US$40.4 billion, an increase of 2.5 percent from February’s downwardly revised US$39.4 billion, the US Commerce Department said.
INSURRECTION: The NSB said it found evidence the CCP was seeking snipers in Taiwan to target members of the military and foreign organizations in the event of an invasion The number of Chinese spies prosecuted in Taiwan has grown threefold over a four-year period, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said in a report released yesterday. In 2021 and 2022, 16 and 10 spies were prosecuted respectively, but that number grew to 64 last year, it said, adding that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) was working with gangs in Taiwan to develop a network of armed spies. Spies in Taiwan have on behalf of the CCP used a variety of channels and methods to infiltrate all sectors of the country, and recruited Taiwanese to cooperate in developing organizations and obtaining sensitive information
Seven hundred and sixty-four foreigners were arrested last year for acting as money mules for criminals, with many entering Taiwan on a tourist visa for all-expenses-paid trips, the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) said on Saturday. Although from Jan. 1 to Dec. 26 last year, 26,478 people were arrested for working as money mules, the bureau said it was particularly concerned about those entering the country as tourists or migrant workers who help criminals and scammers pick up or transfer illegally obtained money. In a report, officials divided the money mules into two groups, the first of which are foreigners, mainly from Malaysia
SILICON VALLEY HUB: The office would showcase Taiwan’s strengths in semiconductors and artificial intelligence, and help Taiwanese start-ups connect with global opportunities Taiwan has established an office in Palo Alto, one of the principal cities of Silicon Valley in California, aimed at helping Taiwanese technology start-ups gain global visibility, the National Development Council said yesterday. The “Startup Island Taiwan Silicon Valley hub” at No. 299 California Avenue is focused on “supporting start-ups and innovators by providing professional consulting, co-working spaces, and community platforms,” the council said in a post on its Web site. The office is the second overseas start-up hub established by the council, after a similar site was set up in Tokyo in September last year. Representatives from Taiwanese start-ups, local businesses and
‘DETERRENT’: US national security adviser-designate Mike Waltz said that he wants to speed up deliveries of weapons purchased by Taiwan to deter threats from China US president-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for US secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth, affirmed his commitment to peace in the Taiwan Strait during his confirmation hearing in Washington on Tuesday. Hegseth called China “the most comprehensive and serious challenge to US national security” and said that he would aim to limit Beijing’s expansion in the Indo-Pacific region, Voice of America reported. He would also adhere to long-standing policies to prevent miscalculations, Hegseth added. The US Senate Armed Services Committee hearing was the first for a nominee of Trump’s incoming Cabinet, and questions mostly focused on whether he was fit for the
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