World Business Quick Take

■ Energy
Alstom wins China contract
French energy and engineering group Alstom said yesterday it has won a contract to provide power generation equipment for the extension of the Ling Ao nuclear power plant in southern China. Alstom had announced during the visit to China last month by French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin that the 80 million euro (US$100 million) contract with Dongfang Electric Group Corp was being discussed. It was finalized yesterday and will see the French group supply two Arabelle turbines for the second phase of construction of the nuclear power plant in the southern province of Guangdong. It is the third nuclear power contract Alstom has won in China in recent years. China plans to increase its nuclear power generating capacity at least five-fold within the next 15 years.

■ Auto industry
Nissan, GM top survey
Nissan Motor Co and General Motors Corp were the top performers in a new survey of vehicle quality, with satisfied owners praising power and styling. BMW was the highest-scoring individual nameplate in the survey by Strategic Vision Inc, a San Diego-based marketing research firm. The tenth annual survey, which was released yesterday, questioned around 40,000 owners of 2004 vehicles between October and November. The survey asked owners about their emotional response to vehicles as well as any problems they have experienced. Six GM vehicles got top ratings in the survey's 20 vehicle categories, the highest number of any automaker. The ranking was news for GM, which saw its US vehicle sales fall 7.7 percent in the first four months of this year. Nissan delivered five first-place winners and got the highest overall quality scores.

■ Digital cameras
Nikon's net profit soars
Japan's Nikon Corp said yesterday its net profit jumped ten-fold to ?24.14 billion (US$226 million) in the year to March on robust global demand for high-quality digital cameras. Nikon said its net profit was also boosted by a US$145 million out-of-court settlement paid by ASML Holding of the Netherlands and other firms to settle patent disputes in its semiconductor equipment business. Nikon said sales rose 26.1 percent to ?638.47 billion. "Rising global sales of digital cameras, as well as brisk sales of liquid crystal displays [LCD] and chip-making equipment, boosted our profits during the year," a Nikon spokesman said. Nikon shipped 6.61 million digital cameras worldwide in the past year, up 22 percent. The audio-visual segment, which includes sales of digital cameras, accounted for over 55 percent of Nikon's overall sales.

■ Sports Franchise
Glazer raises stake
US financier Malcolm Glazer seized full control of Manchester United yesterday, raising his stake in the British soccer club to just over 75 percent as part of a £790 million (US$1.47 billion) takeover, a source close to the matter said yesterday. At that level Glazer can now delist Manchester United Plc from the London Stock Exchange and implement new plans for the club without having to seek approval from other shareholders. It is not clear if Glazer intends to continue buying shares in the market until he reaches the next key threshold of 90 percent, above which he can force out any remaining minority shareholders.