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World Business Quick Take

■ Privatization
France sells Dassault stake
France is selling its entire 15.74-percent stake in French industrial software group Dassault Systemes, French bank Societe Generale said Tuesday. The sale, through a placement of shares with qualified investors on the internat-ional market, was expected to generate between 530 million and 580 million euros (US$571 million to US$625 million), the bank, which is managing the deal with Credit Suisse First Boston, said. Groupe Industriel Marcel Dassault, which owns 45.22 percent of Dassault Systemes, will waive its pre-emption rights on the state holding, Societe Generale said. Shares in Dassault Systemes surged 3 percent to 3.66 euros in opening trading while the CAC 40 index of leading French stocks gained 0.96 percent.

■ Real estate
Singapore rents drop 12.5%
Office rents in Singapore's prime districts dropped by a steep 12.5 percent, the biggest quarterly drop among major Asian cities, a research report said yesterday. Rents in the city-state for the three-month period ending in June slipped to S$3.10 (US$1.78) per square foot (psf), ranking behind Tokyo, Bombay, New Delhi, Hong Kong, Seoul and Beijing. The report by CB Richard Ellis (CBRE) cited the SARS outbreak and economic uncertainty as reasons behind the fall. Tokyo saw a milder 1.47 percent decline in monthly prime office rents to US$7.87 psf, but remained the most expensive in the region. Taking second was Bombay where office rents declined 4.6 percent to US$2.26 psf, ahead of Hong Kong where grade A office rents were US$2.15 psf.

■ Macroeconomics
Japan watches interest rates
Bank of Japan governor Toshihiko Fukui said yesterday he would be watching to see if the recent surge in long-term interest rates thwarts emerging expectations of a much-awaited economic recovery in Japan. Fukui also stressed the central bank was still "obliged to pursue monetary easing" to get the economy back on a sustained recovery path and overcome deflation. His comments came after the yield on the most-actively traded No. 252 10-year government bonds reached the highest levels since December 2000. The yield stood at barely above 0.40 percent just a few months ago. "The possibility of an economic recovery in Japan is strengthening ... in line with our scenario," Fukui said in a speech to a gathering in the central Japanese city of Nagoya, citing positive economic data and surging share prices.

■ Labor
Nestle to vacate Korea
Nestle, the Swiss-based multinational food giant, said yesterday it is considering pulling out of South Korea because of "reckless" labor unrest. "Our head office has instructed us to consider legal steps for the closure of Nestle's plant in South Korea," a Nestle Korea spokeswoman told reporters. She said Nestle's manage-ment was exasperated by "reckless" labor action by workers affiliated with the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), a militant labor group. The group has led a wave of labor strife, demanding shorter working hours and union participation in manage-ment decision-making which has already led to the closure of four foreign-invested firms operating in South Korea this year. Nestle Korea's 460-member union went on strike on July 7 demanding a 11.7 percent pay hike and a say in management. The company has proposed a 5.25 percent wage increase.

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