■ BANKING
Consider rival bids: Darling
British finance minister Alistair Darling has asked troubled mortgage lender Northern Rock to consider rival bids to the one launched by Richard Branson's Virgin Group, the Financial Times said yesterday. The paper, which cited people close to the deal, said that private equity groups Cerberus and JC Flowers had submitted separate bids, after Northern Rock named a consortium led by Virgin as its preferred long-term saviour a week ago. "Clearly it makes sense to have more than one interested party, from the taxpayers' point of view and also from the standpoint of Northern Rock shareholders," an unidentified official close to the deal was quoted as saying.
■ FRANCE
State sells EDF shares
France sold as much as 3.7 percent of Electricite de France SA (EDF) yesterday to raise 5.6 billion euros (US$8.2 billion) for renovating the country's universities. The government offered an initial 45 million shares to money managers, Finance Minister Christine Lagarde said in a faxed statement. That's more than the 3 percent stake announced for sale by President Nicolas Sarkozy on Thursday. "EDF is a unique case in that it has relatively low profitability," Per Lekander, a UBS AG analyst, said by phone yesterday. "Regulated rates in France are incredibly low. If ever they rise to market price EDF margins would be quadrupled, so the leverage is significant."
■ INSURANCE
AIG cancels REIT listing
American International Group Inc (AIG), the world's largest insurer, canceled plans to list shares of a real estate investment trust in Japan. AIG's real estate unit had planned to list shares of J-REIT Toshi Hojin this month. "We are canceling the December listing because of the market environment," said Takashi Yamauchi, general manger of finance and accounting at AIG's real estate unit in Japan. "We still plan to list a REIT, it's just that it will be delayed."
■ OIL
Caracas opposes quota hike
Venezuela will oppose any increase in crude oil output quotas during Wednesday's OPEC meeting in the United Arab Emirates, Venezuelan Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez said on Sunday. A key issue at the Dec. 5 meeting in Abu Dhabi will be a proposal to create a currency basket to price crude sold by all OPEC members, Ramirez told reporters in Caracas. "We don't see a need to increase oil production ... The market is well supplied," he said. "The basket of currencies is something we have pending and we will touch on that."
■ TELECOMS
SK Telecom takes stake
South Korea's top mobile carrier SK Telecom said yesterday that it has signed a US$1 billion deal to take a controlling stake in Internet service operator Hanarotelecom. The deal "will help promote competition through a wider range of new services and revitalize the currently saturated telecommunications market," SK Telecom said in a statement. The firm will buy 38.89 percent of Hanarotelecom for 1.087 trillion won (US$1.17 billion). Along with its existing stake it will become the largest shareholder with 43.59 percent. Hanarotelecom is the country's second-largest broadband service provider. The conditional deal is subject to government approval.
QUIET START: Nearly a week after applications opened, agencies did not announce or promote the program, nor did they explain how it differed from other visitor visas Taiwan has launched a six-month “digital nomad visitor visa” program for foreign nationals from its list of visa-exempt countries who meet financial eligibility criteria and provide proof of work contracts. To apply, foreign nationals must either provide proof that they have obtained a digital nomad visa issued by another country or demonstrate earnings based on age brackets, the Bureau of Consular Affairs said. Applicants aged 20 to 29 must show they earned an annual salary of at least US$20,000 or its equivalent in one of the past two years, while those aged 30 or older must provide proof they earned US$40,000 in
SERIOUS ALLEGATIONS: The suspects formed spy networks and paramilitary groups to kill government officials during a possible Chinese invasion, prosecutors said Prosecutors have indicted seven retired military officers, members of the Rehabilitation Alliance Party, for allegedly obtaining funds from China, and forming paramilitary groups and assassination squads in Taiwan to collaborate with Chinese troops in a possible war. The suspects contravened the National Security Act (國家安全法) by taking photos and drawing maps of key radar stations, missile installations and the American Institute in Taiwan’s headquarters in Taipei, prosecutors said. They allegedly prepared to collaborate with China during a possible invasion of Taiwan, prosecutors said. Retired military officer Chu Hung-i (屈宏義), 62, a Republic of China Army Academy graduate, went to China
AIR DEFENSE: The Norwegian missile system has proved highly effective in Ukraine in its war against Russia, and the US has recommended it for Taiwan, an expert said The Norwegian Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS) Taiwan ordered from the US would be installed in strategically important positions in Taipei and New Taipei City to guard the region, the Ministry of National Defense said in statement yesterday. The air defense system would be deployed in Taipei’s Songshan District (松山) and New Taipei City’s Tamsui District (淡水), the ministry said, adding that the systems could be delivered as soon as the end of this year. The US Defense Security Cooperation Agency has previously said that three NASAMS would be sold to Taiwan. The weapons are part of the 17th US arms sale to
UNITY MESSAGE: Rather than focusing on what Trump said on the campaign trail about Taiwan, Taipei should be willing to engage with the US, Pompeo said Taiwan plays a key role in Washington’s model of deterrence against China, former US secretary of state Mike Pompeo said in a speech in Taipei yesterday. During US president-elect Donald Trump’s first term, “we had developed what we believe was a pretty effective model of deterrence against adversaries who wanted to undermine the set of rules and values that the people of Taiwan and the people of the US hold dear,” Pompeo said at a forum organized by the Formosa Republican Association. “Succeeding in continuing to build this model will not solely rest at the feet of president Trump and his team,
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