■COMPUTERS
Microsoft, Fujitsu ink deal
Microsoft and Japan’s Fujitsu have agreed on a partnership in global cloud computing, where data and programs are stored on servers that are accessed online rather than on users’ computers. The lower-cost concept, where clients can save by installing less powerful computers and less memory, has grown in popularity during the economic downturn and also thanks to higher Internet speeds. Under the tie-up, Fujitsu will deploy the Windows Azure platform in its data centers, starting at its Tatebayashi center near Tokyo by the end of this year, to be followed by other locations around the world.
■BEVERAGES
Starbucks expands in shops
Starbucks Corp is expanding in grocery stores in Japan and the UK. Starbucks VIA Ready Brew coffee will now be sold in Tesco stores and will soon be available in more than 2,000 grocery stores across the UK, the company said in a press release on Monday. Starbucks has already introduced VIA coffee in its own UK retail stores, and its whole bean coffees have been available in UK grocery stores since 2006.
■FINANCE
KB Financial to expand
The new head of KB Financial Group, South Korea’s largest financial services company, vowed to expand its presence in Asia as he took office yesterday. Shareholders at a special meeting approved Euh Yoon-dae, a close aide to South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, as chairman and chief executive. Euh announced a push to diversify income sources, almost 90 percent of which come from group flagship Kookmin Bank. He also said the firm must expand its presence in Asia to overcome the saturated domestic market.
■REAL ESTATE
DTZ back in the black
Real estate services company DTZ has swung back into profit as investors tiptoe back to recovering property markets but has cancelled a final dividend amid fears for a second plunge in global property values. The London-listed broker booked pre-tax, pre-exceptionals profits of £3.6 million (US$5.4 million) in the year to April 30 compared with a £35.1 million loss a year earlier, but has opted to withhold a dividend to preserve balance sheet strength as fiscal tightening measures cast a pall over the real estate revival.
■SOFTWARE
Infosys Q1 profit drops
India’s second-biggest software exporter Infosys announced yesterday a 2.4 percent fall in first-quarter consolidated net profit to 14.88 billion rupees (US$316 million) from 15.25 billion rupees a year earlier. The Bangalore-based software giant gained 38 extra clients for the quarter, which ended in June, it said in a statement to the Mumbai stock exchange.
■STEEL
POSCO’s Q2 profit soars
South Korea’s top steelmaker POSCO said yesterday its second-quarter net profit had almost tripled to 1.19 trillion won (US$981 million) due to price rises and growing demand as the world economy improved. The April-to-June figure compares with a net profit of 431 billion won in the second quarter of last year, the company said in a statement. Sales jumped 25 percent to 7.93 trillion won over the same period and operating profit surged to 1.84 trillion won from 170 billion won.
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
TRADE: A mandatory declaration of origin for manufactured goods bound for the US is to take effect on May 7 to block China from exploiting Taiwan’s trade channels All products manufactured in Taiwan and exported to the US must include a signed declaration of origin starting on May 7, the Bureau of Foreign Trade announced yesterday. US President Donald Trump on April 2 imposed a 32 percent tariff on imports from Taiwan, but one week later announced a 90-day pause on its implementation. However, a universal 10 percent tariff was immediately applied to most imports from around the world. On April 12, the Trump administration further exempted computers, smartphones and semiconductors from the new tariffs. In response, President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration has introduced a series of countermeasures to support affected
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
CROSS-STRAIT: The vast majority of Taiwanese support maintaining the ‘status quo,’ while concern is rising about Beijing’s influence operations More than eight out of 10 Taiwanese reject Beijing’s “one country, two systems” framework for cross-strait relations, according to a survey released by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday. The MAC’s latest quarterly survey found that 84.4 percent of respondents opposed Beijing’s “one country, two systems” formula for handling cross-strait relations — a figure consistent with past polling. Over the past three years, opposition to the framework has remained high, ranging from a low of 83.6 percent in April 2023 to a peak of 89.6 percent in April last year. In the most recent poll, 82.5 percent also rejected China’s
RSS