■ TelecomNingbo doubles profits
Ningbo Bird Co, the biggest seller of cellular phones in China, said profit almost doubled in the first half of this year as price cuts boosted its sales in the world's biggest mobile phone market. Net income rose to 107 million yuan (US$13 million), or 0.67 yuan a share, from 56 million yuan, or 0.35 yuan a share, in the first half of last year, the company said in a statement. Sales surged to 5.8 billion yuan from 2.2 billion yuan. Ningbo Bird's slice of the market rose to 8.1 percent in June from 5.2 percent in December, while Motorola's share fell to 19.3 percent from 26 percent and Nokia's dropped to 16.7 percent from 18.2 percent, according to figures from independent auditor Sino Marketing Research Ltd. China had an estimated 235 million mobile phone users at the end of June.
■ SARS outbreak
Disease cost HK$46 billion
SARS may have cost the city's economy as much as HK$46 billion (US$5.9 billion,) the South China Morning Post said, citing a report commissioned by the Better Hong Kong Foundation. The foundation, set up in 1995 by a group of Hong Kong's businesses to "enhance confidence" in the city, yesterday presented a report on the financial consequences of SARS to a government committee on economic recovery, the paper said. Consultants McKinsey & Co. drafted the report. Hong Kong's airlines, hotels, restaurants and retailers lost between HK$33 billion and HK$46 billion during the outbreak of SARS, the paper cited the report as saying. The report was based on figures from the Hong Kong Retail Management Association, the Travel Industry Council, the Hong Kong Hotel Association and government statistics. Retailers, who lost as much as HK$22 billion, were the hardest hit.
■ Airlines
Emirates expands to NZ
Emirates, the Middle East's fastest growing airline, began daily flights to Auckland, New Zealand's most populous city, from Sydney and Melbourne, as demand from travelers is increasing. The flights begin as Air New Zealand Ltd and Qantas Airways Ltd, Australia's largest airline, seek antitrust approval to form an alliance on the same routes. Virgin Blue Airlines Pty, Australia's No. 2 carrier, last month won approval from the government to operate unlimited services to New Zealand. The number of tourists to New Zealand rose in June by 6.9 percent from May, halting a two-month decline amid signs the SARS outbreak was under control. The pick up in demand is prompting airlines such as Singapore Airlines Ltd. to add three weekly services on its New Zealand routes from October.
■ Pensions
Japanese fund short 30%
The Japan Pension Fund Association's unfounded obligations almost doubled to ¥1.9 trillion (US$15.8 billion) in the year ended March 31 because yields from its investments fell, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported, without saying where it obtained the figure. The association, which manages pension assets for 25.8 million workers, had a yield of minus 12 percent on its investments in stocks and bonds as of March 31 due to falling share prices, the report said. The association will have to make up the shortfall, equal to about 30 percent of its assets, to enable payment of future pension benefits, the paper said. The association has pension obligations of ¥:7.93 trillion, with ¥:1.9 trillion unfunded, the report said.
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