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World Business Quick Take

■ Bankings
Chinese staffers disciplined
China Construction Bank has disciplined 40,000 officials and Bank of China at least 18,000 over the misappropriation of funds and issuing of unauthorized loans, a press report said yesterday. The disciplinary action came as the state-owned banks restructure and clean up their bad debts as they prepare for public listings this year, the South China Morning Post reported, citing Guo Shuqing (郭樹清), director of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange. Some of the cases have resulted in legal action. In others, the officials were disciplined by the banks or issued warnings, it said. Both lenders are investigating thefts by branch officials involving million of dollars in the northwestern rust-belt provinces.

■ Communications
Microsoft goes real-time
Microsoft Corp on Tuesday announced an aggressive move in the growing software niche of real-time communications that uses instant messaging, Web conferencing and Internet telephony to keep office workers in closer touch. The Microsoft Office unit will debut three products over the next several months as part of its emphasis on "real-time collaboration," chairman Bill Gates told a press conference. The software will allows users to write messages in chat groups, watch real-time videos at their computer terminals, receive phone messages delivered by e-mail, edit Word documents, present PowerPoint displays and conduct instant online polls simultaneously with more than 1,000 people worldwide.

■ Investing
Telstra auction mulled
Australia's government will consider an Internet share auction similar to Google Inc's initial public offering as part of the sale of its A$35 billion (US$28 billion) stake in Telstra Corp, the nation's largest phone company. The government is seeking an adviser to undertake a study into a possible auction of its remaining 51.8 percent stake in the Melbourne-based phone company, according to tender documents on the government's Web site. The government is looking to limit fees paid to bankers in what will be Australia's biggest-ever stock sale.

■ Retailing
Aeon eyes Carrefour outlets
Japan's largest retailer Aeon said yesterday that it has been in "talks" with Carrefour following a report that it was planning to buy the French retailer's eight Japanese outlets. "The two firms have been engaged in certain discussions although I cannot disclose the nature of the talks," an Aeon spokesman said. The Asian Wall Street Journal said yesterday that Carrefour had decided to pull out of the Japanese market and had sealed a deal to sell its eight stores to Aeon. The deal was expected to be announced later this week, the report said.

■ Aviation
JAL planning job cuts
Asia's biggest airline Japan Airlines (JAL) plans to cut 6,000 jobs in the next two years under a new business revival plan, the Sankei Shimbun newspaper said yesterday. JAL will also cut executives salaries by 20 to 35 percent, the newspaper said, without citing sources. At the same time, JAL will appoint a new chief executive officer now that the current management has set the company on course for further corporate reorganization, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun business daily said. JAL will announce the new business plan today.

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