■ 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.
FREEDOM OF NAVIGATION: The UK would continue to reinforce ties with Taiwan ‘in a wide range of areas’ as a part of a ‘strong unofficial relationship,’ a paper said The UK plans to conduct more freedom of navigation operations in the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea, British Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs David Lammy told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. British Member of Parliament Desmond Swayne said that the Royal Navy’s HMS Spey had passed through the Taiwan Strait “in pursuit of vital international freedom of navigation in the South China Sea.” Swayne asked Lammy whether he agreed that it was “proper and lawful” to do so, and if the UK would continue to carry out similar operations. Lammy replied “yes” to both questions. The
Two US House of Representatives committees yesterday condemned China’s attempt to orchestrate a crash involving Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim’s (蕭美琴) car when she visited the Czech Republic last year as vice president-elect. Czech local media in March last year reported that a Chinese diplomat had run a red light while following Hsiao’s car from the airport, and Czech intelligence last week told local media that Chinese diplomats and agents had also planned to stage a demonstrative car collision. Hsiao on Saturday shared a Reuters news report on the incident through her account on social media platform X and wrote: “I
SHIFT PRIORITIES: The US should first help Taiwan respond to actions China is already taking, instead of focusing too heavily on deterring a large-scale invasion, an expert said US Air Force leaders on Thursday voiced concerns about the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) missile capabilities and its development of a “kill web,” and said that the US Department of Defense’s budget request for next year prioritizes bolstering defenses in the Indo-Pacific region due to the increasing threat posed by China. US experts said that a full-scale Chinese invasion of Taiwan is risky and unlikely, with Beijing more likely to pursue coercive tactics such as political warfare or blockades to achieve its goals. Senior air force and US Space Force leaders, including US Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink and
Czech officials have confirmed that Chinese agents surveilled Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) during her visit to Prague in March 2024 and planned a collision with her car as part of an “unprecedented” provocation by Beijing in Europe. Czech Military Intelligence learned that their Chinese counterparts attempted to create conditions to carry out a demonstrative incident involving Hsiao, which “did not go beyond the preparation stage,” agency director Petr Bartovsky told Czech Radio in a report yesterday. In addition, a Chinese diplomat ran a red light to maintain surveillance of the Taiwanese
RSS