■FOOD & BEVERAGES
Burger King in sale talks
Burger King, the second-largest US hamburger chain, is in talks with private-equity firms for a potential sale, the Wall Street Journal reported yesterday. Among the interested firms is Britain’s 3i Group PLC, the Journal said, noting that the talks had already lasted several weeks and that their status was unclear. Burger King last week reported a drop of 2.3 percent in its global sales for its 2010 fiscal year, compared to a 1.2 percent gain during the same period last year.
■MEDIA
Paper could sell for US$1
A memo from an adviser to the company that owns the financially struggling Washington Times says the paper could be sold for US$1 to a company affiliated with the Unification Church. The paper was founded in 1982 by Unification Church leader the Reverend Sun Myung-moon and is often viewed as a conservative alternative to the much larger Washington Post. Moon’s son and News World Communications currently own the paper. In the memo released on Tuesday, Michael Marshall advises that the paper could be sold to News World Media Development, a firm headed by one of Moon’s allies.
■CONSTRUCTION
Doosan wins Saudi order
South Korea’s Doosan Heavy Industries and Construction said yesterday it has won a US$1.46 billion order to build a huge water desalination plant in Saudi Arabia. The company said in a statement it had received a letter from Saline Water Conversion Corp, a Saudi state body, confirming that it had secured the deal. The plant at Ras Az Zawr will provide drinking water to the capital Riyadh and will be completed in January 2014. It will produce 1 million tonnes of water a day, enough for 3.5 million people.
■MEDIA
Vivendi reports profit boost
French media and telecom group Vivendi yesterday reported a 6.6 percent rise in net profits to 1.26 billion euros (US$1.59 billion) for the first half of the year. The firm, which has interests in television, telecommunications and music, said its sales were up 6.1 percent to 13.9 billion euros for the period. It also raised its revenue outlook for the year. Vivendi, which controls video game giant Activision Blizzard, Universal Music Group, French telecom giant SFR and entertainment firm Canal Plus, saw its net earnings slide 68.1 percent last year.
■ SOUTH KOREA
Trade surplus forecast rises
South Korea yesterday sharply raised its forecast for this year’s trade surplus to US$32 billion from US$20 billion, following better-than-expected exports in the first half. The Ministry of Knowledge Economy said in a statement it now expects exports to rise 26 percent this year to US$458 billion and imports to increase 32 percent to US$426 billion. The country last month recorded a trade surplus of US$2.08 billion, much smaller than the previous month’s US$5.51 billion.
■ THAILAND
Inflation still increasing
Thailand said yesterday that inflation hit 3.3 percent last month — the 11th straight monthly rise — as the kingdom’s economy recovers from the global downturn. The figure also showed consumer prices lifted 0.23 percent from July, when the rate stood at 3.4 percent year on year. Inflation so far this year stands at an average of 3.5 percent, commerce ministry permanent secretary Yanyong Phuangrach said.
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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