■ FINANCE
IMF board approves loan
The IMF said on Thursday it had awarded a loan of US$15.7 billion to Hungary to help the country combat negative fallout from the global financial crisis. The IMF executive board approved the emergency loan, with about US$6.3 billion immediately available, the Washington-based multilateral institution said in a statement. The IMF and a group of European countries are also preparing a US$6 billion loan to Iceland, which has been hit hard by the financial crisis, Poland’s finance ministry said yesterday.
■ ECONOMY
ADB warns of recession
The world could easily slide into a global recession, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) warned yesterday, adding that growth in Asian economies would slow further next year amid weaker demand for exports. Recent dismal trade, employment and manufacturing data all point to a shrinking global economy and falling consumer demand for products made in Asia, ADB managing director general Rajat Nag said. “The global slowdown could easily turn into a global recession,” Nag said in a speech in Singapore. “Growth in developing Asia will likely slow further in 2009.”
■ BANKING
Manila cuts reserve ratio
The government unexpectedly reduced the size of deposit lenders need to set aside as reserves to shield the economy from the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. The central bank cut the reserve requirement to 19 percent from 21 percent effective next Friday, it said in a statement in Manila yesterday. Every 1 percentage-point reduction in the reserve ratio will free up about 30 billion pesos (US$615 million) in cash, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said.
■ BANKING
DBS to lay off 900 staff
Singapore’s DBS Group, Southeast Asia’s biggest bank by assets, said yesterday it was cutting 900 staff to trim costs amid the global credit crisis and reported a slump in third-quarter net profit. Chief executive Richard Stanley said most of the cuts, to be carried out at the end of the month, would come from its offices in Singapore and Hong Kong and account for 6 percent of the work force.
■ INTERNET
Microsoft not interested
Microsoft Corp said it had no interest in acquiring Yahoo Inc, after Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang (楊致遠) said the Internet company was willing to sell. Microsoft, the world’s largest software maker, has “moved on” and isn’t planning to make another bid, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said yesterday at a conference in Sydney. It may still have partnership deals with Yahoo, he said. “We’re not interested in going back and re-looking at an acquisition,” Ballmer said. “I’m sure there are still opportunities for some kind of partnership around search.”
■ FINANCE
PRC may turn ‘proactive’
China may adopt a more aggressive fiscal policy next year to maintain fast growth amid the global economic downturn, state media reported yesterday. Beijing may shift its policy to “proactive” next year from “prudent” this year in a move experts said would lead to an expansion in government spending, the China Business News said, citing an unnamed source. The decision is likely to be announced at the Central Economic Work Conference, a gathering of top leaders held at the end of the year.
GEARING UP: An invasion would be difficult and would strain China’s forces, but it has conducted large-scale training supporting an invasion scenario, the report said China increased its military pressure on Taiwan last year and took other steps in preparation for a potential invasion, an annual report published by the US Department of Defense on Wednesday showed. “Throughout 2023, Beijing continued to erode longstanding norms in and around Taiwan by employing a range of pressure tactics against Taiwan,” the report said, which is titled “Military and Security Developments Involving the People’s Republic of China (PRC) 2024.” The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) “is preparing for a contingency to unify Taiwan with the PRC by force, if perceived as necessary by Beijing, while simultaneously deterring, delaying or denying
‘ONE BRIDGE’: The US president-elect met with Akie Abe on Dec. 15 in Florida and the two discussed a potential Taiwan-China conflict’s implications for world peace US president-elect Donald Trump has described Taiwan as “a major issue for world peace” during a meeting with Akie Abe, the widow of late Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe, Japanese newspaper the Yomiuri Shimbun quoted sources as saying in a report yesterday. Trump met with Akie Abe on Dec. 15 at the Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, where the two discussed the Russo-Ukrainian war and the situation in the Taiwan Strait. During the meeting, Trump spoke on the implications for world peace of a potential Taiwan-China conflict, which “indicated his administration’s stance of placing importance on dealing with the situation in
QUICK LOOK: The amendments include stricter recall requirements and Constitutional Court procedures, as well as a big increase in local governments’ budgets Portions of controversial amendments to tighten requirements for recalling officials and Constitutional Court procedures were passed by opposition lawmakers yesterday following clashes between lawmakers in the morning, as Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) members tried to block Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators from entering the chamber. Parts of the Public Officials Election and Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法) and Constitutional Court Procedure Act (憲法訴訟法) passed the third reading yesterday. The legislature was still voting on various amendments to the Act Governing the Allocation of Government Revenues and Expenditures (財政收支劃分法) as of press time last night, after the session was extended to midnight. Amendments to Article 4
ALLIANCE: Washington continues to implement its policy of normalizing arms sales to Taiwan and helps enhance its defense, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said US President Joe Biden on Friday agreed to provide US$571.3 million in defense support for Taiwan, the White House said, while the US State Department approved the potential sale of US$265 million in military equipment. Biden had delegated to the secretary of state the authority “to direct the drawdown of up to US$571.3 million in defense articles and services of the Department of Defense, and military education and training, to provide assistance to Taiwan,” the White House said in a statement. However, it did not provide specific details about this latest package, which was the third of its kind to
RSS