■CHINA
Loans dropped after quake
Millions of dollars in bad loans caused by China’s massive earthquake will be written off in an effort to help disaster victims, the China Banking Regulatory Commission said in a statement posted on its Web site yesterday. The commission also ordered banks to write off bad credit card loans whose holders and guarantors died or went missing in the quake and who have no other assets to pay back the loans. It was not immediately clear how many loans would be written off, but the Agricultural Bank of China estimated it was facing up to 6 billion yuan (US$863 million) in bad loans linked to the earthquake.
■AUTOMOBILES
Hyundai chief stays home
The chairman of Hyundai has pulled out of a visit to China with South Korea’s president, an official at the presidential office said yesterday. Chung Mong-koo, who has been convicted of embezzling millions of dollars from Hyundai Motor Co, was among a group of South Korean business leaders due to accompany President Lee Myung-bak on an official visit to Beijing. Chung, 69, was sentenced to three years in jail in February last year for breach of trust and embezzling US$93 million in company funds.
■AVIATION
Boeing delays new jet
The Boeing Co has pushed back the date for a possible replacement to its popular 737 jet by several years, saying it needs more time to advance the underlying technology. Chicago-based Boeing spokeswoman Sandy Angers said in an interview on Friday that conversations with airline customers made it clear that requirements for a replacement plane — 15 percent to 20 percent better fuel efficiency, 25 percent lower maintenance costs — would require major technological advances in aerodynamics, materials, and the jet’s engine and electrical systems, among other areas. Angers said that first deliveries of a replacement 737 are now expected in the latter part of the next decade instead of in 2012.
■AUTOMOBILES
Suzuki may import Splash
Suzuki Motor Corp is considering selling its European-made Splash family car in Japan, the first time the automaker would import vehicles for the domestic market. “We’re considering the introduction of the model” in Japan from our Hungarian plant, company spokesman Yoichi Kojima said yesterday by telephone. Suzuki will import the model this year because its factories at home are already running at full capacity, the Nikkei Shimbun reported. The Splash was developed as the third global strategic model after the Swift and SX models.
■FINANCE
Brazil to vote on fund
Plans for the country to invest state assets in a new sovereign wealth fund will likely head to the nation’s congress in the next few weeks, Finance Minister Guido Mantega said on Friday. The fund will likely hold the equivalent of US$10 billion to US$20 billion, Mantega said when he announced its creation about 10 days ago. Much of the cash would be lent to Brazilian companies looking to boost trade and investments abroad, he said. The bill will be sent next week for the president’s approval before being forwarded to the legislature for consideration, the finance minister said.
STIMULUS PLANS: An official said that China would increase funding from special treasury bonds and expand another program focused on key strategic sectors China is to sharply increase funding from ultra-long treasury bonds this year to spur business investment and consumer-boosting initiatives, a state planner official told a news conference yesterday, as Beijing cranks up fiscal stimulus to revitalize its faltering economy. Special treasury bonds would be used to fund large-scale equipment upgrades and consumer goods trade-ins, said Yuan Da (袁達), deputy secretary-general of the Chinese National Development and Reform Commission. “The size of ultra-long special government bond funds will be sharply increased this year to intensify and expand the implementation of the two new initiatives,” Yuan said. Under the program launched last year, consumers can
Citigroup Inc and Bank of America Corp said they are leaving a global climate-banking group, becoming the latest Wall Street lenders to exit the coalition in the past month. In a statement, Citigroup said while it remains committed to achieving net zero emissions, it is exiting the Net-Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA). Bank of America said separately on Tuesday that it is also leaving NZBA, adding that it would continue to work with clients on reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The banks’ departure from NZBA follows Goldman Sachs Group Inc and Wells Fargo & Co. The largest US financial institutions are under increasing pressure
FUTURE TECH: Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang would give the keynote speech at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show, which is also expected to highlight autonomous vehicles Gadgets, robots and vehicles imbued with artificial intelligence (AI) would once again vie for attention at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) this week, as vendors behind the scenes would seek ways to deal with tariffs threatened by US president-elect Donald Trump. The annual Consumer Electronics Show opens formally in Las Vegas tomorrow, but preceding days are packed with product announcements. AI would be a major theme of the show, along with autonomous vehicles ranging from tractors and boats to lawn mowers and golf club trollies. “Everybody is going to be talking about AI,” Creative Strategies Inc analyst Carolina Milanesi said. “From fridges to ovens
TECH PULL: Electronics heavyweights also attracted strong buying ahead of the CES, analysts said. Meanwhile, Asian markets were mixed amid Trump’s incoming presidency Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) shares yesterday closed at a new high in the wake of a rally among tech stocks on Wall Street on Friday, moving the TAIEX sharply higher by more than 600 points. TSMC, the most heavily weighted stock in the TAIEX, rose 4.65 percent to close at a new high of NT$1,125, boosting its market value to NT$29.17 trillion (US$888 billion) and contributing about 400 points to the TAIEX’s rise. The TAIEX ended up 639.41 points, or 2.79 percent, at 23,547.71. Turnover totaled NT$406.478 billion, Taiwan Stock Exchange data showed. The surge in TSMC follows a positive performance
RSS