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World Business Quick Take

■ Nuclear power
Westinghouse may get deal
US-based Westinghouse Electric Co could be awarded a multi-billion dollar contract for a set of nuclear reactors during the upcoming visit of Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) to Washington, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday. Westinghouse is the US nuclear arm of British Nuclear Fuels PLC, and has been vying with companies from France and Russia for contracts to build four pressurized water reactors in China. The paper said a Chinese official at China National Nuclear suggested a deal could be in the works, but Westinghouse executives said they hadn't heard about their bid. Hu will meet with US president George W. Bush in Washington on Sept. 7 and is expected to visit the US companies of Boeing and Microsoft in Seattle, Washington.

■ Business outlook
German confidence falls
German business confidence declined slightly this month, a key survey showed yesterday. The closely watched business climate index, calculated each month by the Ifo economic research institute, slipped to 94.6 points in August from 95.0 last month, Ifo said in a statement. The figure fell below analysts' consensus forecast of a slight rise to 95.2 points. "All in all, the results are not an obstacle to a modest upward trend in the next few months," Ifo president Hans-Werner Sinn said in a statement. The index had posted a noticeable rise last month from 93.3 points in June. A breakdown of this month's data showed the six-month expectations sub-index edged up 0.3 points to 95.4, while the current sentiment sub-index fell 1.1 points to 93.8.

■ Telecoms
Telestra sale to go ahead
The Australian government's plan to sell its A$30 billion (US$23 billion) stake in the country's giant telecommunications firm Telstra overcame a final hurdle yesterday when a rebel senator agreed to back it. Senator Barnaby Joyce of the governing coalition's junior partner, the National Party, had threatened to block the sale for fear people living in the sparsely populated outback would be ignored after privatization put profits first. But Joyce, who held a deciding vote in the senate where the coalition has a majority of just one, said yesterday he would accept the sale provided regulations obliging the company to provide services to the outback were toughened up.

■ Flat-panels
Sony, Samsung expand JV
Sony will broaden its involvement in a joint venture with Samsung making hi-tech flat-screen televisions in an effort to drive down costs and boost quality, a spokeswoman said on Thursday. The Japanese electronics giant has already invested about ?100 billion (US$910 million) on a joint venture with Samsung in South Korea that started producing liquid crystal display (LCD) panels in April. "We are in talks to improve the LCD production, the cost and quality of the panels, in cooperation with Samsung," said Mina Saito, a spokeswoman at Sony. At present LCD screens made by the joint venture are based on products developed by Samsung, while Sony completes production by adding components such as drivers, backlights and turners. Sony aims to make the screens more competitive by participating more in the early stage of their production.

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