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■ Automobiles
Hyundai denies report
Hyundai Motor Co, the world's sixth-largest automaker, yesterday denied a British newspaper report that it was interested in acquiring Chrysler, the US unit of German automaker DaimlerChrysler AG. "We are not considering to buy Chrysler because our hands are full," Hyundai spokesman Jake Jang said, responding to a report in the Times. The Times reported on its Web site that Hyundai was thought to be interested in joining possible bidders for the US automaker, without citing sources. The paper said that Hyundai was believed to be interested in gaining access to Chrysler's network of dealerships in the US.

■ Electronics
Philips keen on Kleisterlee
Royal Philips Electronics NV, the world's largest maker of light bulbs, wants to reappoint chief executive officer Gerard Kleisterlee for a four-year term. Kleisterlee's present term is due to expire next year, the Amsterdam-based firm said in an e-mail yesterday. Philips wants him to stay in the post to ensure the continuity of the company's strategy, it said. Kleisterlee has invested in units that make medical scanners, lighting products and coffee machines, and last year sold most of its business that makes semiconductors.

■ Entertainment
EMI Music facing the music
EMI Group, the world's third-biggest music company, may sell or demerge its recorded music division as part of a radical overhaul of the firm to reverse falling profits, the Observer said on Sunday. The weekly newspaper quoted unnamed sources close to the firm as saying the board was giving "serious consideration" to the plan for EMI Music after issuing its second profit warning in little over a month last Wednesday. EMI said it expected revenue at its recorded music business -- EMI Music -- to decline by about 15 percent in the year to March 31 compared with the previous 12-month period.

■ Logistics
Nippon, Dongfeng link up
Japanese transportation provider Nippon Express said yesterday that it had linked up with a logistics subsidiary of Chinese automaker Dongfeng Motor, targeting growth in the Asian economic powerhouse. Nippon Express said it had started transporting auto parts for a venture firm jointly created by Dongfeng Motor Group Co and US engine manufacturer Dongfeng Cummins Engine Co. The Japanese firm said it was its first full-scale tie-up with a shipping company affiliate of a Chinese automaker. Nippon Express will initially offer shipping services for 13 autoparts suppliers in Hubei Province and expand the operation to other auto-related sectors in China, the Japanese group said in a statement.

■ Pharmaceuticals
Schering to lose 1,000 jobs
Bayer, the chemicals and pharmaceuticals specialist based in Germany, plans to axe 1,000 jobs at its Berlin-based drug maker Schering, the daily Der Tagesspiegel reported in an advance copy of its issue for yesterday. The company was to inform its Berlin staff on March 2 about the job cuts, which are to be made by the end of the year, the report said, citing company sources. The German maker of Aspirin painkiller had bought Schering last year for about 17 billion euros (US$22 billion). Bayer chairman Werner Wenning said at the start of takeover negotiations that some 6,000 jobs would be slashed from the merged company, or about 10 percent of the workforce. Schering employs about 5,500 people in Berlin.

■ Investment
Foreign investment falls
Approved expatriate and foreign investment in Taiwan totaled US$577 million last month, down 87.3 percent from the same month last year, the Investment Commission said on Friday. Commission officials attributed the decrease mostly to the high comparison base for January last year. Meanwhile, the commission approved 28 outbound investment projects last month worth a total of US$193.8 billion, up 246 percent from a year ago. For investment in China, the commission approved 105 investment projects worth US$809.81 million, up 47 percent from the same period last year.

■ Oil
Prices fall over Nigeria
Oil prices fell yesterday amid news of the release of an American oil worker kidnapped in Nigeria. Worries of escalating unrest in Africa's largest crude producer had pushed oil futures up more than US$1 a barrel on Friday. Light, sweet crude for March delivery lost US$0.28 to US$59.13 a barrel in Asian electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange mid-afternoon in Singapore. April Nymex crude dropped US$0.07 to US$59.79 a barrel. April Brent crude oil futures on London's ICE futures exchange lost US$0.04 at US$58.91 a barrel. Trading was quiet across Asia due to the Lunar New Year holiday.

■ Stocks
Japanese bourse upbeat
Japanese share prices closed up 0.36 percent yesterday at a new near-seven-year high as market sentiment remained upbeat despite jitters over a possible interest rate rise, dealers said. The Tokyo Stock Exchange's NIKKEI-225 index of leading shares gained 64.44 points to 17,940.09, the best finish since May 8, 2000. The broader TOPIX index of all first-section companies added 5.43 points or 0.31 percent to 1,779.96. Financial markets were closed yesterday in Taiwan, China, Hong Kong, South Korea and Malaysia for the Lunar New Year. Markets in Hong Kong and Malaysia will reopen tomorrow, while markets in Taiwan and China will reopen next Monday.

■ Tenders
Ethnic deals anger Malaysia
Malaysia may withdraw government projects awarded to ethnic Malay contractors who pass them on to other "races," state Bernama news agency reported late on Sunday. Deputy Finance Minister Awang Adek Hussin added they may also blacklist contractors from winning any future contracts as part of an effort to stop some Malays from abusing government projects awarded to them under positive discrimination policies. Malaysia's economically disadvantaged bumiputra -- ethnic Malays and indigenous groups -- are favored under government policies to boost their economic development.

■ Aviation
JetBlue cancels flights
JetBlue called off almost a quarter of its flights for yesterday but hoped that this would be the last round of cancelations as it struggles to recover from the snowstorm that saw some travelers sitting on grounded planes for hours. JetBlue canceled 139 of its 600 flights. Because yesterday was a US federal holiday, Presidents' Day, the airline had scheduled more than its usual 550 to 575 flights to accommodate people who took advantage of the long weekend to travel. The cancelations were needed to ensure flight crews had had the legally mandated amount of rest.

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