■Automakers
Hyundai issues US recall
Hyundai Motor Co, South Korea’s largest automaker, will recall about 139,500 cars in the US because of steering issues that could result in a loss of or reduction in maneuvering capability, the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said. The model-year 2011 Sonata sedans manufactured between Dec. 11 last year and Sept. 10, are subject to the plan, the agency said in a statement on its Web site. Hyundai Motor America informed the agency it is voluntarily initiating a safety recall of Sonata sedans to inspect the steering issues, Hyundai Motor said in an e-mailed statement yesterday.
■Automakers
Ford plans new China plant
US auto giant Ford Motor Co said on Saturday that it signed an agreement with Chinese officials to open a second engine plant in the southwestern city of Chongqing. Plant construction is set to begin next year, with engine production scheduled to begin in 2013, the company said in a statement. The US$500 million investment will be funded entirely by Changan Ford Mazda Automobile Ltd (CFMA) — a three-way joint venture involving Ford, Changan Motors and Mazda Motor Co — and located in Chongqing’s New North Zone. “With the additional capacity of 400,000 units at the new plant, CFMA is more than doubling its existing engine capacity of 350,000, to 750,000 engines annually,” Ford said.
■Banking
German banks worry officials
European Commission officials are worried about the fragility of three regional banks in Germany, the weekly Der Spiegel reported on Saturday. A letter from the commission to State Secretary to the Ministry of Finance Joerg Asmussen expresses concerns about the threat that WestLB, BayernLB and HSH Nordbank might pose to market stability. “For the commission, it is indispensable to have the certainty that rescued institutions are viable in the long term and that they do not represent a permanent threat to the stability of the financial markets,” the letter said. Describing the three banks’ latest results as “disappointing,” the letter adds: “Given the good current conditions, these figures, in the three cases, are not convincing.”
■Banking
China starts inter-bank loans
China has begun allowing banks to sell loans to each other, in a move designed to reduce financial risks and help banks meet stricter capital requirements, the central bank said on Saturday. The interbank loan transfer system launched in Shanghai will also help improve monetary policy transmission and strengthen control in the financial sector, People’s Bank of China Governor Zhou Xiaochuan (周小川) said in a statement. The system launched amid growing concerns among policymakers about the potential for an explosion of bad debts in the banking sector, after new loans nearly doubled to 9.6 trillion yuan (US$1.4 trillion) last year.
■Communications
UAE says RIM talks ‘positive’
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is “very optimistic” about reaching an accord with Research in Motion Ltd (RIM) to solve a dispute about BlackBerry services in the country, Abu Dhabi Executive Council secretary-general Mohammed Ahmed al-Bowardi said. “Talks are very advanced and positive,” al-Bowardi told reporters in Abu Dhabi yesterday. “We are very optimistic it will be resolved before the deadline.” BlackBerry Messenger, e-mail and Web browsing services will be halted in the UAE on Oct. 11.
DEFENDING DEMOCRACY: Taiwan shares the same values as those that fought in WWII, and nations must unite to halt the expansion of a new authoritarian bloc, Lai said The government yesterday held a commemoration ceremony for Victory in Europe (V-E) Day, joining the rest of the world for the first time to mark the anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe. Taiwan honoring V-E Day signifies “our growing connections with the international community,” President William Lai (賴清德) said at a reception in Taipei on the 80th anniversary of V-E Day. One of the major lessons of World War II is that “authoritarianism and aggression lead only to slaughter, tragedy and greater inequality,” Lai said. Even more importantly, the war also taught people that “those who cherish peace cannot
STEADFAST FRIEND: The bills encourage increased Taiwan-US engagement and address China’s distortion of UN Resolution 2758 to isolate Taiwan internationally The Presidential Office yesterday thanked the US House of Representatives for unanimously passing two Taiwan-related bills highlighting its solid support for Taiwan’s democracy and global participation, and for deepening bilateral relations. One of the bills, the Taiwan Assurance Implementation Act, requires the US Department of State to periodically review its guidelines for engagement with Taiwan, and report to the US Congress on the guidelines and plans to lift self-imposed limitations on US-Taiwan engagement. The other bill is the Taiwan International Solidarity Act, which clarifies that UN Resolution 2758 does not address the issue of the representation of Taiwan or its people in
Taiwanese Olympic badminton men’s doubles gold medalist Wang Chi-lin (王齊麟) and his new partner, Chiu Hsiang-chieh (邱相榤), clinched the men’s doubles title at the Yonex Taipei Open yesterday, becoming the second Taiwanese team to win a title in the tournament. Ranked 19th in the world, the Taiwanese duo defeated Kang Min-hyuk and Ki Dong-ju of South Korea 21-18, 21-15 in a pulsating 43-minute final to clinch their first doubles title after teaming up last year. Wang, the men’s doubles gold medalist at the 2020 and 2024 Olympics, partnered with Chiu in August last year after the retirement of his teammate Lee Yang
The Philippines yesterday criticized a “high-risk” maneuver by a Chinese vessel near the disputed Scarborough Shoal (Huangyan Island, 黃岩島) in a rare incident involving warships from the two navies. The Scarborough Shoal — a triangular chain of reefs and rocks in the contested South China Sea — has been a flash point between the countries since China seized it from the Philippines in 2012. Taiwan also claims the shoal. Monday’s encounter took place approximately 11.8 nautical miles (22km) southeast” of the Scarborough Shoal, the Philippine military said, during ongoing US-Philippine military exercises that Beijing has criticized as destabilizing. “The Chinese frigate BN 554 was
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