■ BANKING
DPJ eyes BoJ candidates
Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) Secretary-General Yukio Hatoyama said his party could consider Haruhiko Kuroda and Hirofumi Watanabe as candidates for the next head of the Bank of Japan (BoJ). On March 12, the upper house of Japan's parliament controlled by the opposition rejected the government's nomination of BoJ Deputy Governor Toshiro Muto to succeed Toshihiko Fukui as head of the bank. DPJ leaders have asked Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda to propose a candidate other than Muto, arguing that his previous career at the Ministry of Finance threatens the bank's independence.
■ AVIATION
HK airport gets busier
Hong Kong International Airport, Asia's third-busiest airfield by passenger numbers, handled 7.3 percent more people last month than the same month last year because of increased Lunar New Year travel. The airport handled 3.9 million people last month, Airport Authority Hong Kong said in an e-mailed statement yesterday. Cargo volume increased 5.1 percent 247,000 tonnes, it said. "It was a good start to the year," chief executive officer Stanley Hui (許漢忠) said in the statement. "Hong Kong people took advantage of the buoyant local economy and treated themselves to a Lunar New Year holiday."
■ OIL
PDVSA turns to euro
Venezuelan state oil giant Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) will sign some oil contracts in euros in the face of a plummeting dollar, local media reported, citing officials. "There are some contracts in euros, contracts for crude, products and spot markets in euros. This is a subject which we are working on," Energy Minister and PDVSA chief Rafael Ramirez said in an interview with the journal El Universal published on Friday. It remained unclear which oil sales would require payment in euros. Venezuela, Latin America's leading petroleum producer, has previously backed Iran's proposals for OPEC to abandon the dollar and use the euro for oil pricing.
■ MALAYSIA
Projects on, Abdullah says
Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi pledged to push ahead with big-spending development projects amid concerns of possible economic fallout after his ruling coalition's election losses. The stock market fell 7.8 percent last week after the opposition won control of five states and a third of parliament. Abdullah's government remained in power, but with its lowest parliamentary majority in 51 years of rule. Abdullah insisted the economy remained "fundamentally strong" and said plans for US$325 billion in public and private investment to create five economic zones in rural areas would go ahead even though some of the states were in opposition hands.
■ BANKING
China loan growth healthy
Chinese banks' loan growth may top a government target for the first quarter, Wu Xiaoling (吳曉靈), a former vice governor of the People's Bank of China, said yesterday. "We still have one month to watch lending growth for the first quarter and it may still exceed our target," Wu, a deputy head of the Fiscal and Economic Committee, said in an interview in Beijing. She didn't specify the target. The government is trying to prevent excess liquidity from fueling 11-year high inflation and investment leading to industrial overcapacity.
SECURITY: As China is ‘reshaping’ Hong Kong’s population, Taiwan must raise the eligibility threshold for applications from Hong Kongers, Chiu Chui-cheng said When Hong Kong and Macau citizens apply for residency in Taiwan, it would be under a new category that includes a “national security observation period,” Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. President William Lai (賴清德) on March 13 announced 17 strategies to counter China’s aggression toward Taiwan, including incorporating national security considerations into the review process for residency applications from Hong Kong and Macau citizens. The situation in Hong Kong is constantly changing, Chiu said to media yesterday on the sidelines of the Taipei Technology Run hosted by the Taipei Neihu Technology Park Development Association. With
CARROT AND STICK: While unrelenting in its military threats, China attracted nearly 40,000 Taiwanese to over 400 business events last year Nearly 40,000 Taiwanese last year joined industry events in China, such as conferences and trade fairs, supported by the Chinese government, a study showed yesterday, as Beijing ramps up a charm offensive toward Taipei alongside military pressure. China has long taken a carrot-and-stick approach to Taiwan, threatening it with the prospect of military action while reaching out to those it believes are amenable to Beijing’s point of view. Taiwanese security officials are wary of what they see as Beijing’s influence campaigns to sway public opinion after Taipei and Beijing gradually resumed travel links halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the scale of
A US Marine Corps regiment equipped with Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) is set to participate in the upcoming Balikatan 25 exercise in the Luzon Strait, marking the system’s first-ever deployment in the Philippines. US and Philippine officials have separately confirmed that the Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) — the mobile launch platform for the Naval Strike Missile — would take part in the joint exercise. The missiles are being deployed to “a strategic first island chain chokepoint” in the waters between Taiwan proper and the Philippines, US-based Naval News reported. “The Luzon Strait and Bashi Channel represent a critical access
Pope Francis is be laid to rest on Saturday after lying in state for three days in St Peter’s Basilica, where the faithful are expected to flock to pay their respects to history’s first Latin American pontiff. The cardinals met yesterday in the Vatican’s synod hall to chart the next steps before a conclave begins to choose Francis’ successor, as condolences poured in from around the world. According to current norms, the conclave must begin between May 5 and 10. The cardinals set the funeral for Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square, to be celebrated by the dean of the College
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