■ ENERGY
BP's Moscow offices raided
Raids on the Moscow offices of British oil giant BP on Wednesday were conducted by secret service agents and may be part of a looming "redistribution" of oil assets in Russia, newspapers said yesterday. "Market sources do not exclude that the measures could be a new serious step in the redistribution of assets in large companies" as Russian President Vladimir Putin prepares to leave power in May, the Vremya Novostei daily said. An interior ministry spokeswoman said on Wednesday that the raids on BP and its joint venture TNK-BP were part of a long-running criminal inquiry into Sidanko, a company that was merged to form TNK-BP in 2003. But the newspapers did not find that argument convincing and quoted company officials as well as security officers saying that the Sidanko inquiry has long been wrapped up. TNK-BP is Russia's third-largest oil company.
■ INVESTMENT
Ping An eyes Fortis stake
China's Ping An Insurance (平安保險) said it plans to buy a 50 percent stake in the asset management arm of Belgian-Dutch financial group Fortis for 2.15 billion euros (US$3.35 billion). The insurer has entered a non-binding memorandum of understanding with Fortis on the purchase of the stake in Fortis Investment Management NV/SA, Ping An said in a statement to the Shanghai Stock Exchange late on Wednesday. The companies will continue talks on the proposed deal, aiming to reach a final agreement by the middle of next month, Ping An said, adding that the proposed deal would improve its integrated platform of financial services, increase its asset management capability and "enhance the process of the company's globalization."
■ METALS
Australian gold firms merge
Australian gold producers Lahir and Equigold said yesterday they are merging, a deal that will create one of the world's largest gold companies with combined assets of A$9 billion (US$8.4 billion). Equigold had agreed to a Lahir offer of 33 shares for every 25 Equigold shares, valuing Equigold at A$5.33 a share or A$1.1 billion, the companies said. The combined group will have assets in Australia, West Africa and Papua New Guinea, producing in excess of 34,000kg of gold a year from next year, they said. The deal, expected to be completed in June, subject to regulatory approval.
■ SOUTH KOREA
Import tariffs to be lifted
The government said yesterday that import tariffs on dozens of grains and raw materials will be lifted and it will try to freeze public utility charges in an effort to battle inflation. The announcement came after the Korean won plunged to a 26-month low against the US dollar this week. Starting on April 1, tariffs will be lifted on imports of about 70 grains and raw materials, including wheat, corn, soybean cake and coffee cream, and will be cut on 18 other items, the president's office said in a statement.
■ AVIATION
Alitalia deal in jeopardy
A bid by Air France-KLM to take over Alitalia was under threat as the head of the French-Dutch company warned unions at the loss-making Italian airline there was little or no room for negotiation. "It's not a traditional negotiation," chairman Jean-Cyril Spinetta told a news conference in Rome on Wednesday, a day after failed talks with union leaders over the bid.
Taiwan is projected to lose a working-age population of about 6.67 million people in two waves of retirement in the coming years, as the nation confronts accelerating demographic decline and a shortage of younger workers to take their place, the Ministry of the Interior said. Taiwan experienced its largest baby boom between 1958 and 1966, when the population grew by 3.78 million, followed by a second surge of 2.89 million between 1976 and 1982, ministry data showed. In 2023, the first of those baby boom generations — those born in the late 1950s and early 1960s — began to enter retirement, triggering
ECONOMIC BOOST: Should the more than 23 million people eligible for the NT$10,000 handouts spend them the same way as in 2023, GDP could rise 0.5 percent, an official said Universal cash handouts of NT$10,000 (US$330) are to be disbursed late next month at the earliest — including to permanent residents and foreign residents married to Taiwanese — pending legislative approval, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. The Executive Yuan yesterday approved the Special Act for Strengthening Economic, Social and National Security Resilience in Response to International Circumstances (因應國際情勢強化經濟社會及民生國安韌性特別條例). The NT$550 billion special budget includes NT$236 billion for the cash handouts, plus an additional NT$20 billion set aside as reserve funds, expected to be used to support industries. Handouts might begin one month after the bill is promulgated and would be completed within
NO CHANGE: The TRA makes clear that the US does not consider the status of Taiwan to have been determined by WWII-era documents, a former AIT deputy director said The American Institute in Taiwan’s (AIT) comments that World War-II era documents do not determine Taiwan’s political status accurately conveyed the US’ stance, the US Department of State said. An AIT spokesperson on Saturday said that a Chinese official mischaracterized World War II-era documents as stating that Taiwan was ceded to the China. The remarks from the US’ de facto embassy in Taiwan drew criticism from the Ma Ying-jeou Foundation, whose director said the comments put Taiwan in danger. The Chinese-language United Daily News yesterday reported that a US State Department spokesperson confirmed the AIT’s position. They added that the US would continue to
IMPORTANT BACKER: China seeks to expel US influence from the Indo-Pacific region and supplant Washington as the global leader, MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng said China is preparing for war to seize Taiwan, Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said in Washington on Friday, warning that Taiwan’s fall would trigger a regional “domino effect” endangering US security. In a speech titled “Maintaining the Peaceful and Stable Status Quo Across the Taiwan Strait is in Line with the Shared Interests of Taiwan and the United States,” Chiu said Taiwan’s strategic importance is “closely tied” to US interests. Geopolitically, Taiwan sits in a “core position” in the first island chain — an arc stretching from Japan, through Taiwan and the Philippines, to Borneo, which is shared by
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