■ BONDS
China boosts S Korea bonds
China more than doubled its holdings of South Korean Treasury bonds in the past six months, Seoul officials said yesterday, as Beijing seeks to diversify its foreign currency portfolio into Asia. Beijing’s holdings of South Korean Treasuries stood at 3.9 trillion won (US$3.3 billion) as of late June, up from 1.8 trillion won in late December, a Financial Supervisory Service official said. The world’s second-largest economy bought a net 2.2 trillion won in bonds, mostly Treasuries, in the first half of the year, making it the third-largest investor in South Korea’s fixed-income debts, after Luxembourg and the US.
■ BONDS
McDonald’s to issue bonds
Fast-food giant McDonald’s said yesterday it would issue almost US$30 million in yuan-denominated bonds in Hong Kong, the first such move by a non-financial foreign firm in the territory. Standard Chartered, which will handle the offering, said McDonald’s three-year yuan bond will carry an annual coupon of 3 percent and will be sold only to institutional investors.
■ TELECOMS
China Mobile profit up 4.2%
China Mobile (中國移動), the world’s largest mobile phone operator, said yesterday that the “healthy momentum” of the Chinese economy had boosted its profits in the first half of the year. The company earned 57.64 billion yuan (US$8.48 billion) in the first six months of the year, up 4.2 percent from 55.33 billion yuan in the same period last year, it said. Sales rose 7.9 percent to 229.82 billion yuan, up from 212.91 billion yuan last year, it added.
■ COMPUTERS
HP hires Spencer Stuart
Hewlett-Packard Co (HP) said it had hired executive search firm Spencer Stuart to lead the hunt for a new chief executive to replace Mark Hurd. The job is coveted because of HP’s role as the world’s largest technology company. It is also troubled: Hurd and his predecessor, Carly Fiorina, were both forced out in public dispute with the board of directors. HP named director John Hammergren as chair of the search committee, which also includes board members Marc Andreesen, Laurence Babbio Jr and Joel Hyatt. The firm’s hiring was announced on Wednesday.
■ AUTOMOBILES
Tata plans US$700m issue
India’s leading vehicle maker, Tata Motors, may raise US$700 million through a share offering as part of a drive to cut its debt, the DNA newspaper reported yesterday. Senior officials from the company, part of the tea-to-steel Tata Group, have made presentations to foreign investors and mutual funds about the offering, the DNA said. Tata Motors, which owns the luxury Jaguar and Land Rover marques, said in June it would raise 47 billion rupees (US$1 billion) by issuing shares, bonds and other debt instruments after getting shareholders’ approval.
■ AVIATION
American charges for seats
American Airlines has found another fee. The Fort Worth, Texas, airline said on Wednesday it is now charging US$19 to US$39 for “Express Seats” — those spots in the first few rows of coach that include bulkhead seats. The carrier, which is operated by parent AMR Corp, is following in the footsteps of several other US airlines that already charge for special seats. UAL Corp’s United Airlines, Continental Airlines, US Airways, JetBlue, Frontier, Spirit and AirTran all have some seats that cost extra.
CLOSURES: Several forest recreation areas have been closed as a precaution, while some ferry and flight services have been suspended or rescheduled A land warning for Tropical Storm Danas was issued last night at 8:30pm, as the storm’s outer bands began bringing heavy rain to southeastern regions, including Hualien and Taitung counties, and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春半島), according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). As of 9:15pm, the storm was approximately 330km west-southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost tip, moving north-northeast at 10-20kph, the CWA reported. A sea warning had already been issued at 8:30am yesterday. The storm had maximum sustained winds near its center of 83kph, with gusts of up to 108kph, according to the CWA. As of 9:30pm last night, Kaohsiung, Tainan,
POWERFUL DETERRENT: Precision fire and dispersed deployment of units would allow Taiwanese artillery to inflict heavy casualties in an invasion, a researcher said The nation’s military has boosted its self-defense capability with the establishment of a new company equipped with the US-supplied High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS). The company, part of the army’s 58th Artillery Command, is Taiwan’s first HIMARS unit. Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄), who presided over the formation ceremony in Taichung on Friday, called the unit a significant addition to the nation’s defensive strength, saying it would help deter adversaries from starting a war. The unit is made up of top-performing soldiers who received training in the US, according to the Ministry of National Defense. The HIMARS can be equipped with
UNILATERAL: The move from China’s aviation authority comes despite a previous 2015 agreement that any changes to flight paths would be done by consensus The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday slammed Beijing for arbitrarily opening the M503 flight route’s W121 connecting path, saying that such unilateral conduct disrespected the consensus between both sides and could destabilize the Taiwan Strait and the wider region. The condemnation came after the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) earlier yesterday announced it “has activated the W121 connecting path of the M503 flight route,” meaning that west-to-east flights are now permitted along the path. The newly activated west-to-east route is intended to “alleviate the pressure caused by the increase of flights,” China’s state-run Xinhua news agency quoted China’s Taiwan Affairs Office
STRONG WINDS: Without the Central Mountain Range as a shield, people should be ready for high-speed winds, CWA weather forecaster Liu Yu-chi said Danas was yesterday upgraded to a typhoon and could grow stronger as it moves closely along the nation’s west coastline, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Hsinchu and Chiayi cities, Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung, as well as Hsinchu, Miaoli, Changhua, Yunlin, Nantou, Chiayi, Penghu and Pingtung counties have canceled work and school today. Work and school in Keelung, Taipei, New Taipei City and Taoyuan, and Yilan, Taitung, Hualien, Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties would continue as usual, although offices and schools would be closed in Taoyuan’s Luju (蘆竹), Dayuan (大園), Guangyin (觀音) and Sinwu (新屋) districts. As of 5pm yesterday, the typhoon’s
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