■SOUTH KOREA
Economy may shrink 2.4%
The South Korean economy is expected to shrink 2.4 percent this year as a global recession dries up export demand and domestic demand stays weak, the central bank said yesterday. The forecast by the Bank of Korea is a downward revision from its estimate of 2.0 percent expansion made last December. Asia’s fourth-largest economy grew 2.2 percent last year. The bank said the country was tipped to record growth of 3.5 percent next year. On Thursday the bank froze its key interest rate at a record low of 2.0 percent for the second straight month, saying a sharp fall in economic activity had moderated.
■FINANCE
China cuts executive pay
China has ordered pay cuts for executives at state-owned banks and other finance firms as public anger grows over their high salaries amid the global economic crisis. Last year’s pre-tax income for top executives, including salaries, bonuses and benefits, must not exceed 90 percent of their earnings in 2007, the Ministry of Finance said in a statement on its Web site late on Thursday. It added that the cap would be 80 percent for executives at financial companies whose operating profits fell last year.
■AVIATION
Three airlines to pay fines
Three international airlines have agreed to plead guilty to price fixing and pay a total of US$214 million in criminal fines, the US Justice Department said on Thursday. The move brought to 15 the number of companies fined by the US in a long-running criminal investigation of the industry. The latest charges implicate Luxembourg’s Cargolux Airlines International SA, Japan’s Nippon Cargo Airlines Co Ltd and South Korea’s Asiana Airlines Inc. The plea agreements must still be approved by a US court. Under the deals, Cargolux will pay US$119 million and Nippon US$45 million for fixing cargo rates over a six-year period starting in 2000. Asiana was fined US$50 million for price fixing of both passenger and cargo rates over the same timeframe.
■STEEL
POSCO’s net profit sinks
South Korea’s top steelmaker POSCO said yesterday its net profit plunged 68.5 percent year-on-year in the first quarter to 325 billion won (US$244 million) because of the global downturn. Operating profit in the first three months slumped 70.7 percent to 373 billion won as demand from automakers and construction companies declined sharply. For this year, POSCO has set a production target of 28 million tonnes of crude steel, down 15 percent year-on-year, and sales of 25 trillion won, down 18 percent.
■COMPUTERS
Conficker virus mutating
A computer virus that has spread worldwide began mutating overnight, German government computer experts warned on Thursday. The Conficker worm uses the Internet to install new functions on millions of infected computers, the government’s BSI information technology agency said in Bonn. The creators of the virus intend to create a botnet or network of zombie computers to do their bidding. BSI said it was still analyzing the new Conficker code, which spreads thanks to a security gap in the Windows operating system. BSI advised computer users to update their Windows, Web browsers, Acrobat Reader and Flash software and use firewalls and anti-virus software to defeat the virus.
DEATH THREAT: A MAC official said that it has urged Beijing to avoid creating barriers that would impede exchanges across the Strait, but it continues to do so People should avoid unnecessary travel to China after Beijing issued 22 guidelines allowing its courts to try in absentia and sentence to death “Taiwan independence separatists,” the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday as it raised its travel alert for China, including Hong Kong and Macau, to “orange.” The guidelines published last week “severely threaten the personal safety of Taiwanese traveling to China, Hong Kong and Macau,” MAC Deputy Minister and spokesman Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) told a news conference in Taipei. “Following a comprehensive assessment, the government considers it necessary to elevate the travel alert to orange from yellow,” Liang said. Beijing has
Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) yesterday said that the Chinese Communist Party was planning and implementing “major” reforms, ahead of a political conclave that is expected to put economic recovery high on the agenda. Chinese policymakers have struggled to reignite growth since late 2022, when restrictions put in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic were lifted. The world’s second-largest economy is beset by a debt crisis in the property sector, persistently low consumption and high unemployment among young people. Policymakers “are planning and implementing major measures to further deepen reform in a comprehensive manner,” Xi said in a speech at the Great Hall
CIVIL DEFENSE: More reservists in alternative service would help establish a sound civil defense system for use in wartime and during natural disasters, Kuma Academy’s CEO said While a total of 120,000 reservists are expected to be called up for alternative reserve drills this year, compared with the 6,505 drilled last year, the number has been revised to 58,000 due to a postponed training date, Deputy Minster of the Interior Ma Shih-yuan (馬士元) said. In principle, the ministry still aims to call up 120,000 reservists for alternative reserve drills next year, he said, but the actual number would not be decided later until after this year’s evaluation. The increase follows a Legislative Yuan request that the Ministry of the Interior address low recruitment rates, which it made while reviewing
DETERRENCE: Along with US$500 million in military aid and up to US$2 billion in loans and loan guarantees, the bill would allocate US$400 million to countering PRC influence The US House of Representatives on Friday approved an appropriations bill for fiscal year 2025 that includes US$500 million in military aid for Taiwan. The legislation, which authorizes funding for the US Department of State, US foreign operations and related programs for next year, passed 212-200 in the Republican-led House. The bill stipulates that the US would provide no less than US$500 million in foreign military financing for Taiwan to enhance deterrence across the Taiwan Strait, and offer Taipei up to US$2 billion in loans and loan guarantees for the same purpose. The funding would be made available under the US’ Foreign Military