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World Business Quick Take

■ Japan
Mobile tie-up mulled
Japan's biggest power company, Tokyo Electric Power Co, is in talks with KDDI Corp, the country's No. 2 cellphone operator, to combine telecommuni-cations businesses in a move that could rival Nippon Telephone & Telegraph Corp, the companies said yesterday. A tie-up could tap the combined strength of TEPCO's fiber-optic broadband service and KDDI's wireless unit. KDDI has also been more successful than NTT DoCoMo, its main mobile competitor, in attracting customers to its third-generation wireless service. But the company's fixed-line business has been losing customers to cheaper Internet-protocol telephony. Spokesman from the two companies confirmed that cooperation talks are underway, but said nothing has been decided.

■ China
State groups might merge
China is set to order the merger of two major state electronics groups to create a multi-billion-dollar conglomerate as part of its bid to improve corporate competitiveness. The merger of China Electronics Corp (CEC) and China Great Wall Computer Group would make for a company worth more than 50 billion yuan (US$6.17 billion), the China Daily reported yesterday. The plan has already been submitted to the State Council's Asset Supervision and Administration Commission, which is meant to guide the growth of China's state enterprises. CEC had assets of 39.6 billion yuan in 2003, including Amoi Electronics and silicon-chip manufacturer Shanghai Huahong Corp, while Great Wall owns 12.2 billion yuan in assets, including Hong Kong-listed Great Wall Technology Co. Beijing is also studying the possibility of including the Panda Electronics Group in the tie-up as well another electronics conglomerate, China Putian Corp.

■ Hospitality
Singapore is cheaper
Five-star hotel rates in Singapore lagged behind those in Bangkok, Hong Kong, Beijing and Shanghai during the first six months of this year, a report on key Asian markets said yesterday. The city-state's top hotels had an average daily room rate of US$120 for the period, up 16.6 percent from the corresponding months of last year, according to Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels. Shanghai enjoyed the highest growth, 27.6 percent to US$199, the report said. Singapore's average daily room rate was US$1 lower than five-star hotels in Bangkok and US$22 lower than Beijing's. Hong Kong was at the top of the stack with an average rate double that of the city-state's.

■ Auto industry
Proton CEO ousted
Proton, Malaysia's national carmaker, was without its chief executive, Mahaleel Ariff, yesterday after forcing him out weeks after he criticized the government's auto-sector policies. Mahaleel's contract was not being renewed and the company will search for a new chief executive, Proton said in a statement. Mahaleel, who had served as chief executive since 1997, was "on leave" starting yesterday but would no longer be involved in company matters before he officially retires in September, it said. Former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad, who is Proton's adviser, said Mahaleel had refused to agree to the terms in his new contract, which he claimed to be "inferior," prompting the company to decide not to renew it.

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