■ PROCUREMENT
China vows equal treatment
Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping (習近平) yesterday promised to treat foreign firms equally in government procurement, amid growing complaints that China’s business climate has worsened, state media said. “With regard to government purchases and construction projects, the Chinese government will adopt an open, transparent plan to let foreign companies and technological products enjoy equal treatment,” Xi said, according to state-run television. Xi said at an investment forum that China was taking “a serious and responsible attitude” in talks to join the WTO’s Government Procurement Agreement.
■ AUTOMOBILES
Suzuki expanding in India
India’s leading car maker, Japan-owned Maruti Suzuki, said yesterday it would invest ¥35 billion (US$416 million) to build a new factory to meet growing local demand. “We had not estimated the pace at which car demand would grow [in India],” Suzuki Motor Corp chairman Osamu Suzuki said in a speech to Maruti Suzuki shareholders. The new factory will be the third unit at Maruti’s complex in Manesar, Haryana state.
■ BONDS
Barroso suggests EU bond
European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso yesterday proposed the creation of a joint European bond to finance major infrastructure projects, an idea not shared by all EU members. “Pooling money at the European level allows [EU] member states to cut their costs, avoid overlaps and get a better return on their investment,” Barroso said in a speech before the European Parliament. “We should also explore new sources of financing for major European infrastructure projects. For instance, I will propose the establishment of EU project bonds, together with the European Investment Bank,” he said.
■ ELECTRONICS
Philips to sell stake to fund
Dutch electronics group Philips yesterday said it would sell its remaining equity stake in chipmaker NXP Semiconductors NV to its underfunded British pension fund. Philips said it would make a cash contribution of 350 million euros (US$448 million) to the pension fund, which the fund would then use to buy the 17 percent of NXP the Dutch firm still owns. The sale will lead to a gain of 140 million euros in the third quarter, Philips said.
■ ELECTRONICS
Samsung mulls Google TV
Samsung Electronics Co, the world’s largest television manufacturer, may manufacture sets run by Google Inc’s software to compete with Sony Corp and Apple Inc in the market for TVs that access movies, shows and games online. “We will have to see, but we are reviewing” whether to use Google’s Android operating system, Yoon Boo-keun, head of Samsung’s TV business, told reporters yesterday on the sidelines of a forum in Seoul. A key question is whether South Korean movie, TV and music providers will cooperate with Google, he said.
■ INTERNET
AOL adds DeGeneres
AOL is adding talk show host Ellen DeGeneres to its family of Web properties as it looks for ways to draw more people to its sites. The firm was to begin sharing traffic, content and promotions with the Web site for The Ellen DeGeneres Show” yesterday. AOL sites such as KitchenDaily.com and Popeater will promote DeGeneres and provide links to her site, and vice versa.
The US government has signed defense cooperation agreements with Japan and the Philippines to boost the deterrence capabilities of countries in the first island chain, a report by the National Security Bureau (NSB) showed. The main countries on the first island chain include the two nations and Taiwan. The bureau is to present the report at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee tomorrow. The US military has deployed Typhon missile systems to Japan’s Yamaguchi Prefecture and Zambales province in the Philippines during their joint military exercises. It has also installed NMESIS anti-ship systems in Japan’s Okinawa
‘WIN-WIN’: The Philippines, and central and eastern European countries are important potential drone cooperation partners, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung said Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) in an interview published yesterday confirmed that there are joint ventures between Taiwan and Poland in the drone industry. Lin made the remark in an exclusive interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper). The government-backed Taiwan Excellence Drone International Business Opportunities Alliance and the Polish Chamber of Unmanned Systems on Wednesday last week signed a memorandum of understanding in Poland to develop a “non-China” supply chain for drones and work together on key technologies. Asked if Taiwan prioritized Poland among central and eastern European countries in drone collaboration, Lin
Renewed border fighting between Thailand and Cambodia showed no signs of abating yesterday, leaving hundreds of thousands of displaced people in both countries living in strained conditions as more flooded into temporary shelters. Reporters on the Thai side of the border heard sounds of outgoing, indirect fire yesterday. About 400,000 people have been evacuated from affected areas in Thailand and about 700 schools closed while fighting was ongoing in four border provinces, said Thai Rear Admiral Surasant Kongsiri, a spokesman for the military. Cambodia evacuated more than 127,000 villagers and closed hundreds of schools, the Thai Ministry of Defense said. Thailand’s military announced that
CABINET APPROVAL: People seeking assisted reproduction must be assessed to determine whether they would be adequate parents, the planned changes say Proposed amendments to the Assisted Reproduction Act (人工生殖法) advanced yesterday by the Executive Yuan would grant married lesbian couples and single women access to legal assisted reproductive services. The proposed revisions are “based on the fundamental principle of respecting women’s reproductive autonomy,” Cabinet spokesperson Michelle Lee (李慧芝) quoted Vice Premier Cheng Li-chiun (鄭麗君), who presided over a Cabinet meeting earlier yesterday, as saying at the briefing. The draft amendment would be submitted to the legislature for review. The Ministry of Health and Welfare, which proposed the amendments, said that experts on children’s rights, gender equality, law and medicine attended cross-disciplinary meetings, adding that
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