■ Petroleum
Yukos, Sibneft to merge
The owners of Russia's largest oil company, Yukos, and the country's No. 5 producer, Sibneft, are close to a deal on a merger, people briefed on the talks said on Sunday. If completed, the combination would create one of the world's largest oil companies. It would produce 2.16 million barrels of oil a day, roughly equal to Canada's daily production, and more than the world's fourth-largest publicly held oil company Chevron-Texaco. It would have a market value of US$34 billion, making it the most valuable company in Russia. The companies are expected to make an announcement today.
■ Semiconductors
Sony to boost production
Japanese electronics giant Sony today unveiled a plan to invest US$1.7 billion in the next three years to boost semiconductor production for its next-generation computer games. Sony and its computer games arm, Sony Computer Entertainment Inc (SCEI), said it would invest ¥200 billion (US$1.7 billion) to produce chips using the so-called 65nm process on 12 inch wafers. "With this investment, SCEI will manufacture the new microprocessor for the broadband era, code-named `Cell,' as well as other system LSIs [large-scale integrated circuits], to be used for the next generation computer entertainment system," the two companies said in a joint statement. As a first step, SCEI will spend ¥73 billion by March 2004 to introduce new production lines for semiconductor production at its plant in Nagasaki, western Japan.
■ Mobile Phones
Japan's sales decline
Japan's cellphone sales declined for a second consecutive year last year, falling 3 percent as users delayed buying new models, Gartner Dataquest said. Sales totaled 39.4 million units in the 12 months ended Dec. 31, Gartner's Japan unit said in a faxed news release. Sharp Corp's sales were the fastest growing, rising 75 percent to 5.3 million units for a 13.4 percent share of the market thanks to sales of its camera-equipped mobile phones for NTT DoCoMo Inc, the market researcher said.
■ Insurance
Tokio plans investment
Japan's top non-life insurer Tokio Marine and Fire said yesterday it plans to invest some ¥15 billion (US$126 million) in Sino Life Insurance, a Shanghai-based life insurer. Under the deal, Tokio Marine and its group firm Millea Asia Pte of Singapore, which handles insurance operations in Asia, will first invest Y5 billion in the Chinese firm, said Kazushi Miya, Tokio Marine spokesman. The amount is equivalent to a 24.9 percent stake, the maximum allowed for foreigners investing in a Chinese life insurer, he said.
■ Disinfectants
Sales in Singapore soar
Sales of disinfectants are soaring in SARS-hit Singapore with the sharp "hospital smell" pervading offices, hotels and homes, it was reported yesterday. Cleaning service companies told the newspaper Streats that practically everyone wants their premises disinfected over fears that the severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS, could spread by the virus being left on surfaces touched by an infected person. Sales of disinfectants and anti-bacterial products have doubled at some super-markets. An online grocery service reported disinfecting products are "flying out" five times faster than usual.
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