■OIL
OPEC chief likes prices
Some US$75 to US$80 a barrel is a satisfactory price for oil, OPEC president Jose Maria Botelho de Vasconcelos told reporters in Abu Dhabi yesterday. “US$75 to US$80 a barrel is a good price ... for the recovery of the world economy,” De Vasconcelos, who is also Angola’s oil minister, told reporters on the sidelines of a conference on Gulf energy security. The rate of compliance by OPEC members with their production quotas “is around 65 percent,” he said, adding that this rate is satisfactory. OPEC members will review production quotas during a meeting in Luanda on Dec. 22.
■AVIATION
EADS posts big Q3 loss
The parent company of planemaker Airbus says it lost 87 million euros (US$130 million) in the third quarter as the weak dollar ate into revenues. European Aeronautic Defense and Space Co (EADS) warned yesterday that charges to its troubled A400M military transport airplane and its A380 superjumbo programs could hurt earnings in the fourth quarter. EADS said it is unable to give a full year forecast for earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) — the measure that analysts watch most closely — because of “ongoing uncertainties on the magnitude of the potential A400M and A380 charges.” The third quarter loss compares to a 679 million euro profit a year earlier. EBIT in the July to September period fell 77 percent to 201 million euros. Revenue was down 2 percent at 9.5 billion euros.
■AVIATION
Rolls-Royce wins orders
British plane engine maker Rolls-Royce said yesterday it had secured orders worth US$2 billion from Air China (中國國際航空) and Ethiopian Airlines. Air China is spending US$1.5 billion for Trent 700 engines for its 20 A330 long-haul jets. Ethiopian Airlines is spending US$480 million on Trent XWB for Airbus A350 planes on order, the company said.
■AVIATION
GE unit teams up with AVIC
General Electric’s GE Aviation Systems unit is teaming with China’s Aviation Industry Corp of China (AVIC, 中國航空工業) to develop and market electronic systems for commercial aircraft customers, including the C919 narrow-body aircraft that China hopes will compete with jets made by industry giants Boeing and Airbus. The goal is to launch the new China-based company by the middle of next year, subject to regulatory approvals. GE Aviation provides jet engines, parts and systems for current commercial and military aircraft, and the AVIC joint venture will offer electronics and services for future commercial aircraft programs. GE has more than 12,000 employees currently based in China. Financial terms of the partnership were not disclosed. The deal will create 200 jobs in the US, said Lorraine Bolsinger, president and CEO of GE Aviation Systems, in announcing the venture in Beijing on Sunday.
■ELECTRONICS
Hitachi to seek funding
Hitachi Ltd, reeling from massive losses, said yesterday that it planned to raise ¥415.7 billion (US$4.6 billion) from investors to shore up its shaky finances. Hitachi aims to drum up the cash by selling convertible bonds and new shares. It has been hit hard by the global economic downturn. It is restructuring with measures including 7,000 job cuts, after losing ¥787.3 billion in the year to March — the biggest ever loss for a Japanese manufacturer. Other cash-strapped Japanese firms are also going cap in hand to investors to bolster their capital, including electronics giant NEC.
STILL COMMITTED: The US opposes any forced change to the ‘status quo’ in the Strait, but also does not seek conflict, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said US President Donald Trump’s administration released US$5.3 billion in previously frozen foreign aid, including US$870 million in security exemptions for programs in Taiwan, a list of exemptions reviewed by Reuters showed. Trump ordered a 90-day pause on foreign aid shortly after taking office on Jan. 20, halting funding for everything from programs that fight starvation and deadly diseases to providing shelters for millions of displaced people across the globe. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who has said that all foreign assistance must align with Trump’s “America First” priorities, issued waivers late last month on military aid to Israel and Egypt, the
France’s nuclear-powered aircraft carrier and accompanying warships were in the Philippines yesterday after holding combat drills with Philippine forces in the disputed South China Sea in a show of firepower that would likely antagonize China. The Charles de Gaulle on Friday docked at Subic Bay, a former US naval base northwest of Manila, for a break after more than two months of deployment in the Indo-Pacific region. The French carrier engaged with security allies for contingency readiness and to promote regional security, including with Philippine forces, navy ships and fighter jets. They held anti-submarine warfare drills and aerial combat training on Friday in
COMBAT READINESS: The military is reviewing weaponry, personnel resources, and mobilization and recovery forces to adjust defense strategies, the defense minister said The military has released a photograph of Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄) appearing to sit beside a US general during the annual Han Kuang military exercises on Friday last week in a historic first. In the photo, Koo, who was presiding over the drills with high-level officers, appears to be sitting next to US Marine Corps Major General Jay Bargeron, the director of strategic planning and policy of the US Indo-Pacific Command, although only Bargeron’s name tag is visible in the seat as “J5 Maj General.” It is the first time the military has released a photo of an active
CHANGE OF MIND: The Chinese crew at first showed a willingness to cooperate, but later regretted that when the ship arrived at the port and refused to enter Togolese Republic-registered Chinese freighter Hong Tai (宏泰號) and its crew have been detained on suspicion of deliberately damaging a submarine cable connecting Taiwan proper and Penghu County, the Coast Guard Administration said in a statement yesterday. The case would be subject to a “national security-level investigation” by the Tainan District Prosecutors’ Office, it added. The administration said that it had been monitoring the ship since 7:10pm on Saturday when it appeared to be loitering in waters about 6 nautical miles (11km) northwest of Tainan’s Chiang Chun Fishing Port, adding that the ship’s location was about 0.5 nautical miles north of the No.
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