■TRADE
ECCT re-elects chairman
The European Chamber of Commerce Taipei (ECCT) re-elected Philippe Pellegrin as chairman of its board of directors on Friday at its annual general meeting. Pellegrin, who has been on the ECCT board for three years, serving as treasurer in his first year and now chairman, acclaimed this year as one of the group’s best years ever. ECCT membership increased by 22 member companies and 50 individual members to a record high of 702 individual members this year, Pellegrin said, and the group also was able to organize meetings with government officials at all levels. Pellegrin, the senior country officer of Calyon Taiwan, said the new board will hit the ground running next week when ECCT members meet with Minister of Economic Affairs Yiin Chii-ming (尹啟銘) to discuss how European companies can work with the government to stimulate Taiwan’s economy.
■INDIA
Bank cuts interest rates
The central bank cut its two key interest rates by 100 basis points each yesterday to spur economic growth and counter fallout from the global financial crisis. The Reserve Bank of India reduced its repo rate — the rate at which it lends to commercial banks — to 6.5 percent and its reverse repo rate to 5.0 percent. The rate cuts were part of a wider stimulus package to bolster India’s trillion-dollar economy, which has been hit by the global recession and shaken further by last week’s deadly attacks in the financial capital Mumbai.
■BANKING
ANZ to cut 800 workers
Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ANZ), the nation’s fourth-largest, will cut 800 workers, or 2 percent of its workforce, amid a global economic downturn. Chief executive officer Mike Smith told staff at a briefing on Friday of the job losses, Kevin Foley, a spokesman for Melbourne-based ANZ, said yesterday by telephone. ANZ said on Nov. 14 that more than 500 jobs would be cut to cushion the company from the impact of the global credit crisis. Royal Bank of Scotland Plc is also cutting between 120 and 150 workers from the Australian unit of ABN Amro Holding NV, which it acquired this year, the Australian Financial Review said yesterday.
■INTERNET
Microsoft still wants Yahoo
Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer said on Friday the US software giant remained interested in acquiring Yahoo’s search business and would rather do a deal “sooner than later.” in an interview published in the online edition of the Wall Street Journal, Ballmer said: “I think a search deal makes great sense for Microsoft, and Yahoo. I think I’ve been very open about that.” Asked by the newspaper whether the Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft and Sunnyvale, California-based Yahoo were in talks, Ballmer replied: “The answer is no, but I wouldn’t tell you if there were.”
■AIRLINES
Lufthansa acquires Austrian
Lufthansa AG signed a deal in Vienna to buy 41.65 percent of Austrian Airlines from Austria’s state holding OeIAG on Friday, creating Europe’s biggest airline. The debt-ridden flag carrier will be sold for the token price of 366,000 euros (US$465,000), OeIAG confirmed in a statement, while Austria will inject 500 million euros into the company. The German carrier plans to take over 100 percent of Austrian Airlines, first through the privatization, and then through buying free-floating shares. The closing of the deal still depends on approval from the European Commission, which is expected for next spring.
When an apartment comes up for rent in Germany’s big cities, hundreds of prospective tenants often queue down the street to view it, but the acute shortage of affordable housing is getting scant attention ahead of today’s snap general election. “Housing is one of the main problems for people, but nobody talks about it, nobody takes it seriously,” said Andreas Ibel, president of Build Europe, an association representing housing developers. Migration and the sluggish economy top the list of voters’ concerns, but analysts say housing policy fails to break through as returns on investment take time to register, making the
NOT TO WORRY: Some people are concerned funds might continue moving out of the country, but the central bank said financial account outflows are not unusual in Taiwan Taiwan’s outbound investments hit a new high last year due to investments made by contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and other major manufacturers to boost global expansion, the central bank said on Thursday. The net increase in outbound investments last year reached a record US$21.05 billion, while the net increase in outbound investments by Taiwanese residents reached a record US$31.98 billion, central bank data showed. Chen Fei-wen (陳斐紋), deputy director of the central bank’s Department of Economic Research, said the increase was largely due to TSMC’s efforts to expand production in the US and Japan. Investments by Vanguard International
WARNING SHOT: The US president has threatened to impose 25 percent tariffs on all imported vehicles, and similar or higher duties on pharmaceuticals and semiconductors US President Donald Trump on Wednesday suggested that a trade deal with China was “possible” — a key target in the US leader’s tariffs policy. The US in 2020 had already agreed to “a great trade deal with China” and a new deal was “possible,” Trump said. Trump said he expected Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) to visit the US, without giving a timeline for his trip. Trump also said that he was talking to China about TikTok, as the US seeks to broker a sale of the popular app owned by Chinese firm ByteDance Ltd (字節跳動). Trump last week said that he had
STRUGGLING TO SURVIVE: The group is proposing a consortium of investors, with Tesla as the largest backer, and possibly a minority investment by Hon Hai Precision Nissan Motor Co shares jumped after the Financial Times reported that a high-level Japanese group has drawn up plans to seek investment from Elon Musk’s Tesla Inc to aid the struggling automaker. The group believes the electric vehicle (EV) maker is interested in acquiring Nissan’s plants in the US, the newspaper reported, citing people it did not identify. The proposal envisions a consortium of investors, with Tesla as the largest backer, but also includes the possibility of a minority investment by Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) to prevent a full takeover by the Apple supplier, the report said. The group is
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