■ ENERGY
Hyundai signs power deal
South Korea's third-largest builder Hyundai Engineering and Construction said yesterday it had signed a US$680 million deal with the Libyan government to build a power plant. The plant will be 20km west of Tripoli, it said in a regulatory filing, and will take 52 months to complete. Last October the firm signed a preliminary deal to build two power plants. Hyundai Engineering said it had yet to sign a formal contract for the second one.
■ INVESTMENT
China to invest in UK stocks
Chinese banks will be able to invest client money in British stocks and mutual funds, China said after striking a deal with the European nation's regulators. Britain will become only the second overseas investment destination after Hong Kong for Chinese banks, which can invest client money overseas under China's Qualified Domestic Institutional Investor program. The China Banking Regulatory Commission said banks would be able to invest in the US stock market once it strikes a similar arrangement with US regulators.
■ MEDICINE
Bristol to sell imaging unit
Drug developer Bristol-Myers Squibb Co said on Monday it will sell its medical imaging unit to private equity firm Avista Capital Partners for about US$525 million in cash. The unit makes and sells medical imaging products used during ultrasound and diagnostic procedures. It had been on the sales block since earlier this month, when the company announced a series of restructuring moves. Earlier this month, the company said it would lay off about 4,300 employees and close more than half of its manufacturing plants in a move to save US$1.5 billion in costs by 2010.
■ TOBACCO
Loews to spin off Lorillard
US conglomerate Loews Corporation said on Monday that it had decided to spin off its ownership interest in Lorillard, one of the US' oldest tobacco companies. Loews said the spinoff, if approved by regulators, would see Lorillard become a separate publicly traded company. It is presently a subsidiary of Loews, which owns a range of businesses straddling finance, leisure and hospitality, energy and luxury goods. Lorillard claims to be the US' oldest tobacco firm. It was founded by Pierre Lorillard in New York in 1760. Loews' shareholders will still be able to own stakes in Lorillard under the deal's terms. The conglomerate wants to complete the spin-off by the middle of next year.
■ INVESTMENT
Centro shares plummet
Stocks in Australia's second-largest shopping center owner Centro plummeted 40 percent yesterday in the wake of a profit warning prompted by the global credit crunch. The losses added to a 75 percent plunge recorded on Monday, when Centro announced it was considering asset sales because it could not secure sufficient financing in the tight credit market. The stock opened the week at A$5.79 (US$4.98), but has sunk to less than a tenth of its initial value over the past two days. Shares hit A$0.82 in afternoon trading on a falling overall market. Centro warned on Monday that it was reviewing its structure after failing to secure short-term loans worth A$1.3 billion.
The Taipei MRT is open all night tonight following New Year’s Eve festivities, and is offering free rides from nearby Green Line stations. Taipei’s 2025 New Year’s Eve celebrations kick off at Taipei City Hall Square tonight, with performances from the boy band Energy, the South Korean girl group Apink, and singers Gigi Leung (梁詠琪) and Faith Yang (楊乃文). Taipei 101’s annual New Year’s firework display follows at midnight, themed around Taiwan’s Premier12 baseball championship. Estimates say there will be about 200,000 people in attendance, which is more than usual as this year’s celebrations overlap with A-mei’s (張惠妹) concert at Taipei Dome. There are
LOOKING FOR WHEELS: The military is seeking 8x8 single-chassis vehicles to test the new missile and potentially replace the nation’s existing launch vehicles, the source said Taiwan is developing a hypersonic missile based on the Ching Tien (擎天) supersonic cruise missile, and a Czech-made truck has been tentatively selected as its launch vehicle, a source said yesterday. The Ching Tien, formerly known as Yun Feng (雲峰, “Cloud Peak”), is a domestically developed missile with a range of 1,200km to 2,000km being deployed in casemate-type positions as of last month, an official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity. The hypersonic missile to be derived from the Ching Tien would feature improved range and a mobile launch platform, while the latter would most likely be a 12x12 single chassis
UP AND DOWN: The route would include a 16.4km underground section from Zuoying to Fongshan and a 9.5km elevated part from Fongshan to Pingtung Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) yesterday confirmed a project to extend the high-speed rail (HSR) to Pingtung County through Kaohsiung. Cho made the announcement at a ceremony commemorating the completion of a dome at Kaohsiung Main Station. The Ministry of Transportation and Communications approved the HSR expansion in 2019 using a route that branches off a line from Zuoying Station in Kaohsiung’s Zuoying District (左營). The project was ultimately delayed due to a lack of support for the route. The Zuoying route would have trains stop at the Zuoying Station and return to a junction before traveling southward to Pingtung County’s Lioukuaicuo Township (六塊厝).
The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday vowed to investigate claims made in a YouTube video about China’s efforts to politically influence young Taiwanese and encourage them to apply for Chinese ID cards. The council’s comments follow Saturday’s release of a video by Taiwanese rapper Chen Po-yuan (陳柏源) and YouTuber “Pa Chiung (八炯)” on China’s “united front” tactics. It is the second video on the subject the pair have released this month. In the video, Chen visits the Taiwan Youth Entrepreneurship Park in Quanzhou in China’s Fujian Province and the Strait Herald news platform in Xiamen, China. The Strait Herald — owned by newspaper
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