Alinghi ropes in F1’s Red Bull for America’s Cup
Alinghi ropes in F1’s Red Bull for America’s CupReutersRed Bull has teamed up with Swiss sailing syndicate Alinghi to challenge for the America’s Cup, marking the second such Formula One deal after Ineos Britannia joined forces with Mercedes. Red Bull Racing team principal Christian Horner said that Red Bull Advanced Technologies would share experiences and engineering tips with Alinghi Red Bull Racing in a “two-way cooperation” plan. For Alinghi’s Brad Butterworth, a four-time winner of the America’s Cup, the Red Bull partnership marks a new chapter. “The America’s Cup is a technology race which is won on the water with race strategy and tactics. Red Bull has demonstrated that time and time again in F1 and in many of the other sports it competes in,” Butterworth said.
Source:Taipei Times
December 15, 2021 22:10 UTC
SBI Funds IPO back on table
The State Bank of India, the country’s largest lender, aims to sell a 6 percent stake in SBI Funds Management Pvt, while Amundi intends to sell 4 percent, the firms said in separate filings yesterday. The State Bank of India owns 63 percent of SBI Funds, and Amundi holds the rest. “The IPO would be achieved on the Indian stock market in 2022,” Amundi said in its filing. The State Bank of India and SBI Funds did not respond to e-mails seeking comment. The mutual fund’s IPO process was delayed by a COVID-19 wave that struck India in March.
Source:Taipei Times
December 15, 2021 21:57 UTC
TRI raises this year’s GDP growth forecast to 6.07%
People around the world should eventually become used to living with the virus — resuming normal business operations and private consumption — as the virus mutates. Taiwan Research Institute president Wu Tsai-yi, center, speaks at a seminar in Taipei yesterday. The trend should energize private consumption, which was a drag on GDP growth in the second and third quarters, Liu said. The two drivers have compensated for lackluster private consumption this year and should help push economic expansion above 4 percent next year, Wu added. Private consumption this year is likely to only edge upward 0.06 percent, but might accelerate its GDP contribution next year with a 5.3 percent gain, Wu said.
Source:Taipei Times
December 15, 2021 16:43 UTC
Invasion difficult to achieve: report
Invasion difficult to achieve: report‘NATURAL MOAT’: China’s logistics face challenges, as any landing forces would need to be resupplied with weapons, food and medicine across the StraitBy Ben Blanchard / Reuters, TAIPEIA full Chinese invasion of Taiwan with troops landed and ports and airports seized would be very difficult to achieve due to problems China would have in landing and supplying troops, the Ministry of National Defense said in its latest threat assessment. “However, the nation’s military strongly defends ports and airports, and they will not be easy to occupy in a short time. Landing operations will face extremely high risks,” the ministry said in its report, a copy of which was reviewed by Reuters. Tanks fire shells during the 37th annual Han Kuang military exercises in Penghu County on Sept. 15. “It is difficult to concentrate all its efforts on fighting with Taiwan.”Experts say that China has other means at its disposal to bring Taiwan to its knees short of a full invasion, including a blockade or targeted missile attacks.
Source:Taipei Times
December 14, 2021 22:10 UTC
‘Taiwan Bravo’ shows experiences of new immigrants in Taiwan
‘Taiwan Bravo’ shows experiences of new immigrants in TaiwanStaff writerTaiwan Bravo (我們一家人), produced by the National Immigration Agency and SetTV (三立電視台), records the experiences of new immigrants in 368 towns and villages across Taiwan, including in Penghu and Lienchiang counties. It is no wonder, then, that many Hong Kongers choose Taiwan as a new home. The stories of these new immigrants in Taiwan Bravo, which is sponsored by the New Immigrants Development Fund, relate their experiences living in Taiwan and show how different cultures can unite. Taiwan Bravo is broadcast on Sundays at 2pm on SetTV, channel 54. Taiwan Bravo online:Line: https://lin.ee/UvcPzddFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/SETwearefamilyWeb site: http://setwearefamily.setn.comYouTube: https://bit.ly/331eyXb
Source:Taipei Times
December 14, 2021 22:07 UTC
Tatung chairman, president quit
Tatung chairman, president quitSUBSTANTIAL ASSETS: After 20 years with no dividend payments, Wang Kuang-hsiang said ‘Tatung shareholders are like paupers sitting in a house made of gold’By Angelica Oung / Staff reporterTatung Co (大同) chairman Lu Ming-kuang (盧明光) and president Chaney Ho (何春盛) yesterday announced their resignations, adding further uncertainty at the troubled conglomerate which has undergone several changes to its management team since last year. Tatung Co chairman Lu Ming-kuang, left, speaks at a news conference in Taipei yesterday, as director Wang Kuang-hsiang looks on. Photo: CNALu came out of retirement to take over as chairman in December last year after his predecessor, Lin Wen-yuan (林文淵), stepped down from the position after 50 days in office amid a disagreement with major shareholder Shanyuan Group (三圓建設) chairman Wang Kuang-hsiang (王光祥). There are rumors that Wang is likely to take over as Tatung chairman when the company holds a board meeting on Tuesday next week. “Chairman Lu was hardworking and conscientious, but it’s been 20 years since Tatung paid a dividend, we will not let our investors wait another five.”Chung Yi-wen (鍾依文), who made way for Ho in June, is expected to return as president.
Source:Taipei Times
December 14, 2021 00:58 UTC
Myanmar’s garment workers grow desperate
Myanmar’s garment workers grow desperateAs unions demand more sanctions, low-paid factory laborers fear for their jobsBy Matt Blomberg / Thomson Reuters Foundation, YangonAt a garment factory on the outskirts of Myanmar’s biggest city, Zin Mar Htun has been working through the night — doing unpaid overtime in a desperate attempt to keep her job. Myanmar workers, mostly from garment and shoe factories, take part in a May Day march in 2018 in Yangon, Myanmar. Workers in the Great Forever factory stitch clothes in the Hlaing Tharyar industrial zone outside Yangon, Myanmar in 2015. Since the coup, union leaders from the sector have used established networks to mobilise workers in strikes and protests. “We are doing what we believe.”’RACE TO THE BOTTOM’But critics say deeper economic sanctions could do irreversible damage to the sector and put workers at further risk.
Source:Taipei Times
December 13, 2021 19:00 UTC
Turkish lira plummets on expectations of a rate cut
Turkish lira plummets on expectations of a rate cutReuters, ISTANBULThe Turkish lira yesterday crashed as much as 7 percent in just a few minutes to a new record near 15 to the US dollar, gripped by worries over Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan’s risky new economic policy and prospects of another interest rate cut on Thursday. The central bank had previously kept the lira below the 14.0 level, intervening in the foreign exchange market three times in the past two weeks by selling US dollars. The lira slid as far as 14.99 against the US currency, losing 7.3 percent of its value since Friday’s close of 13.889. Turkey’s central bank is expected to cut its policy rate by 100 basis points to 14 percent this week, a Reuters poll showed on Friday, despite inflation soaring to 21.3 percent last month. Investors and savers are concerned about recent aggressive monetary easing under which the central bank has slashed its policy rate by 400 basis points since September last year.
Source:Taipei Times
December 13, 2021 19:00 UTC
Catcher to sell China subsidiaries
Catcher would sell Topo Technology (Suzhou) Co (蘇州可勝科技) and Meeca Technology (Suzhou Industrial Park) Co (蘇州工業園區可利科技) for a total of 1.27 billion yuan (US$199.38 million), a regulatory filing showed. The entrance to the Catcher Technology Co building in Tainan’s Yongkang District is pictured in an undated photograph. Catcher shares closed at NT$156 in Taipei on Friday, down 0.64 percent from the previous session. On Thursday, the company started to buy back its own shares on the open market to bolster its share price. Catcher would continue the program past that date if the share price falls below the lower limit, it added.
Source:Taipei Times
December 13, 2021 04:00 UTC
MAC pans calls for unification at Xiamen event
MAC pans calls for unification at Xiamen eventBy Chung Li-hua and Kayleigh Madjar / Staff reporter, with staff writerTaiwan would never accept Beijing’s “deceptive and insolent” approach to cross-strait relations, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said on Saturday in response to accusations at China’s 13th Straits Forum that Taipei is endangering peace in the Taiwan Strait. The name and logo of the Mainland Affairs Council are pictured at its headquarters in Taipei in an undated photograph. China — not Taiwan — is the one posing a threat to peace in the Taiwan Strait, the MAC said, citing Beijing’s attempts at political coercion and “united front” sabotage. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has adopted an erroneous and inflexible strategy toward cross-strait relations and has “trapped itself in a vicious cycle of contradictions,” it said. The council also urged Taiwanese to see that the CCP is two-faced and work together to protect the nation’s best interests.
Source:Taipei Times
December 13, 2021 04:00 UTC
Employment rises as virus woes abate
Photo: CNAIt was the fourth consecutive month of increase in employment, it said. Employment figures have improved since the government downgraded a national COVID-19 alert level, easing restrictions on people’s movement, DGBAS Census Department Deputy Director Chen Hui-hsin (陳惠欣) said. In October, the average monthly regular wage in the industrial and service sectors was NT$43,593, up NT$214, or 0.49 percent, from a month earlier, the DGBAS said. In the first 10 months of this year, the average regular wage and average monthly earnings rose 1.82 percent and 2.91 percent from the previous year respectively, to NT$43,088 and NT$56,387. However, after inflationary adjustments, the average regular wage and average monthly earnings rose only 0.01 percent and 1.8 percent respectively.
Source:Taipei Times
December 13, 2021 00:58 UTC
Listed firms’ overseas profits exceed NT$900bn
Listed firms’ overseas profits exceed NT$900bnStaff writer, with CNACompanies listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE) and the over-the-counter (OTC) market raked in a record NT$918.1 billion (US$33.1 billion) in the first nine months of this year, the Financial Supervisory Commission said. It comprises NT$881.4 billion from companies listed on the TWSE and NT$36.7 billion from firms listed on the OTC market, the data showed. Listed firms investing in China reported a record NT$379.5 billion in total profit in the first nine months, rising NT$102.6 billion from a year earlier, the commission said. The figure comprises NT$357 billion posted by companies listed on the TWSE and NT$22.5 billion by those listed on the OTC market, the commission said. As of the end of September, 1,202 listed companies had invested in China, accounting for 73.5 percent of the companies listed on local equity markets.
Source:Taipei Times
December 13, 2021 00:57 UTC
Ministry expands chatbot services for migrant workers
Ministry expands chatbot services for migrant workersStaff writer, with CNAAn automated chatbot service for migrant workers on instant messaging app Line has been upgraded with automatic visa and employment status notifications, the Ministry of Labor said on Friday. The “1955 E-Line” chatbot was set up in May by the Workforce Development Agency to give migrant workers easier access to COVID-19 prevention information, offering services in English, Indonesian, Vietnamese and Thai. Migrant workers show their “yellow cards” after receiving Moderna COVID-19 vaccine shots at Taipei Main Station on Thursday. Photo: CNABy signing up, the workers would gain access to services and notifications related to their personal employment and visa status in the four languages, it said. The agency is implementing the upgrade in response to the high number of migrant workers who have called the ministry’s 1955 hotline seeking help on a wide variety of issues, he said.
Source:Taipei Times
December 11, 2021 22:14 UTC
Nicaragua embracing China to shield against sanctions, US official says
Nicaragua embracing China to shield against sanctions, US official saysReuters, WASHINGTONNicaragua’s sudden diplomatic switch from Taiwan to China was part of efforts by Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega’s government to protect itself from recent international sanctions against Managua, a senior US administration official said on Friday. China and Nicaragua on Friday re-established diplomatic ties after the Central American country broke relations with Taiwan, boosting Beijing in a part of the world long considered the US’ backyard, and angering Washington. Nicaragua’s abrupt break with Taiwan followed months of worsening ties between Ortega and US President Joe Biden’s administration. Washington viewed Nicaragua’s diplomatic switch as partly in response to such pressure from the international community, the official said. “They have felt that pressure and perhaps need the PRC [People’s Republic of China] support, or think they need the PRC support, for their way forward as they hunker down in a more authoritarian posture,” the official said.
Source:Taipei Times
December 11, 2021 22:13 UTC
Taiwan, Nicaragua cut diplomatic ties
Taiwan, Nicaragua cut diplomatic tiesOVERCOMING PRESSURE: Nicaragua’s decision would not dissuade Taiwan from its ‘determination to adhere to democracy and freedom,’ President Tsai Ing-wen saidAgencies, TAIPEI and MANAGUATaiwan severed diplomatic ties with Nicaragua shortly after the Central American nation on Thursday switched recognition to China, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday. “As of today, Nicaragua breaks its diplomatic relations with Taiwan and ceases to have any official contact or relationship.”Flags of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies flutter outside the embassy complex in Taipei yesterday. Photo: Ritchie B. Tongo, EPA-EFEAlthough Nicaragua’s diplomatic switch leaves Taiwan with just 14 diplomatic allies, it comes as Taipei bolsters ties with multiple unofficial Western friends, including the US. The ministry added that Taiwan was not part of the PRC, which has never ruled over Taiwan. Since May 2016, when Tsai came to office, Taiwan has lost eight diplomatic allies: Burkina Faso, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Kiribati, Nicaragua, Panama, Sao Tome and Principe, and the Solomon Islands.
Source:Taipei Times
December 11, 2021 04:00 UTC