■ FINANCE
Turner may be new UK chief
The former director of the Confederation of British Industry is the British government’s top choice to become the new chairman of the country’s financial watchdog, the Sunday Times reported. The report said that Lord Adair Turner was expected to be appointed to the Financial Services Authority, which admitted earlier this year it had done a poor job of supervising Northern Rock, the mortgage lender that became Britain’s most prominent victim of the subprime mortgage crisis. Britain’s Treasury declined comment on the report, saying an announcement would be made “in due course.”
■ OIL
CNOOC eyeing Talisman
Chinese oil giant CNOOC (中國海洋石油) is in talks with Canadian-based Talisman Energy over a possible takeover deal, the South China Morning Post reported yesterday. CNOOC, China’s third-largest oil company, is in discussions that could lead to asset sales or a complete takeover, the report said, citing unnamed sources. It also said that energy giant PetroChina (中石油) was looking at taking a stake in Santos, the third-largest oil and gas company in Australia.
■ AUTOMOBILES
Toyota making road-rail car
Japan’s Toyota Motor Corp and its truck-making affiliate have joined a project to develop an environmentally friendly vehicle capable of moving both on roads and railways, an official said yesterday. Toyota and affiliate Hino Motors Ltd will take part in the development of a new model of a road-rail vehicle originally created by railway operator JR Hokkaido, a Hino spokesman said. The two auto companies are providing technology and materials to strengthen the front part of the “dual mode vehicle” so that it can carry up to 25 people. The railway firm, which operates railways in the northern island of Hokkaido, is already developing several prototypes of road-rail vehicles and has begun test drives. The vehicle has eight wheels — four iron wheels for railways and four rubber tires for roads — and is powered by a diesel engine. It is expected to be completed by the middle of next month and will be displayed at a welcome event for this year’s G8 summit in Hokkaido in July for which climate change is high on the agenda.
■ FINANCE
‘Shariah’ fund launch today
Daiwa Asset Management (Singapore) plans to launch Singapore’s first Shariah-compliant exchange-traded fund today as the Singapore attempts to attract more Islamic investment from overseas. The Daiwa FTSE Shariah Japan 100 will track 100 of Japan’s largest companies by market capitalization that comply with Islamic law, including Toyota Motor Corp, Canon Inc and Nintendo Co, Daiwa said in a statement to the stock exchange in Singapore yesterday. The exchange-traded fund is scheduled to list in Singapore today.
■ HOLLYWOOD
Contract talks continue
The smaller of two actors unions says contract talks with the major Hollywood studios are being held over the holiday Memorial Day weekend. The American Federation of Television and Radio Artists sent its members an e-mail on Sunday saying says the talks, which began on May 7 over a handful of TV shows, including Curb Your Enthusiasm, have been constructive. Sunday marked the 15th day of negotiations. The union’s three-year contract expires on June 30.
SEPARATE: The MAC rebutted Beijing’s claim that Taiwan is China’s province, asserting that UN Resolution 2758 neither mentions Taiwan nor grants the PRC authority over it The “status quo” of democratic Taiwan and autocratic China not belonging to each other has long been recognized by the international community, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday in its rebuttal of Beijing’s claim that Taiwan can only be represented in the UN as “Taiwan, Province of China.” Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi (王毅) yesterday at a news conference of the third session at the 14th National People’s Congress said that Taiwan can only be referred to as “Taiwan, Province of China” at the UN. Taiwan is an inseparable part of Chinese territory, which is not only history but
CROSSED A LINE: While entertainers working in China have made pro-China statements before, this time it seriously affected the nation’s security and interests, a source said The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) late on Saturday night condemned the comments of Taiwanese entertainers who reposted Chinese statements denigrating Taiwan’s sovereignty. The nation’s cross-strait affairs authority issued the statement after several Taiwanese entertainers, including Patty Hou (侯佩岑), Ouyang Nana (歐陽娜娜) and Michelle Chen (陳妍希), on Friday and Saturday shared on their respective Sina Weibo (微博) accounts a post by state broadcaster China Central Television. The post showed an image of a map of Taiwan along with the five stars of the Chinese flag, and the message: “Taiwan is never a country. It never was and never will be.” The post followed remarks
INVESTMENT WATCH: The US activity would not affect the firm’s investment in Taiwan, where 11 production lines would likely be completed this year, C.C. Wei said Investments by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) in the US should not be a cause for concern, but rather seen as the moment that the company and Taiwan stepped into the global spotlight, President William Lai (賴清德) told a news conference at the Presidential Office in Taipei yesterday alongside TSMC chairman and chief executive officer C.C. Wei (魏哲家). Wei and US President Donald Trump in Washington on Monday announced plans to invest US$100 billion in the US to build three advanced foundries, two packaging plants, and a research and development center, after Trump threatened to slap tariffs on chips made
CONSISTENT COMMITMENT: The American Institute in Taiwan director said that the US would expand investment and trade relationships to make both nations more prosperous The US would not abandon its commitment to Taiwan, and would make Taiwan safer, stronger and more prosperous, American Institute in Taiwan Director Raymond Greene said. “The US’ commitment to Taiwan has been consistent over many administrations and over many years, and we will not abandon our commitment to Taiwan, including our opposition to any attempt to use force or coercion to change Taiwan’s status,” he said in an exclusive interview with the Liberty Times (the sister newspaper of the Taipei Times) on Friday last week, which was published in the Chinese-language newspaper yesterday. The US would double down on its efforts
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