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World Business Quick Take

■ Trade
China's surplus swells
China's trade surplus surged to US$12 billion last month, the highest monthly total this year, as exports continued to outpace imports, the government reported yesterday. For the first 10 months of the year, China's global trade gap totaled US$80.4 billion, already more than twice its size last year, when the surplus stood at US$32 billion. In September, the trade gap was US$7.6 billion. Exports last month rose 29.7 percent from a year earlier to US$68.1 billion, while imports climbed 23.4 percent on-year to US$56.1 billion, the General Administration of Customs said in a statement. The higher-than-expected export figures were expected to bring more pressure from the US on Beijing. US President George W. Bush is expected to raise that issue, and US complaints over China's currency policies, during a visit to Beijing later this month.

■ Airlines
Bangkok Airways to expand
Thailand's largest private carrier Bangkok Airways said yesterday it will spend 24 billion baht (US$585 million) to buy new long-range aircraft in the face of brisk tourism demand in Asia. The airline plans to buy six aircraft from either US aviation giant Boeing or its European rival Airbus and is in separate negotiations with the two firms, a spokeswoman for Bangkok Airways said. "It is part of our expansion. We believe the future of tourism in this region including Thailand is very positive," she said, adding the company is expected to sign a purchase order for new aircraft next year. The spokeswoman said the purchase would be for the long-haul Airbus A350 carrier or the competing Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft.

■ Corporate Crime
Doosan executives charged
Prosecutors said yesterday the owner of South Korea's Doosan Group has been indicted along with three of his brothers for embezzling more than US$30 million from the company. They also indicted 14 former and incumbent executives of the country's 10th largest family-run firm on embezzlement and other charges. They accused owner Park Yong-sung and his brothers of diverting 32.6 billion won (US$31 million) from the firm for private purposes over several years. Park, 65, resigned last week as the group's chairman and head of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, an industry lobby group representing South Korea's leading companies. Doosan, one of the country's oldest business groups, has 19 affiliates involved in construction, machinery and trading.

■ Energy
IAEA cuts demand forecast
The International Energy Agency shaved yesterday its forecast for growth of oil demand this year and next and said the market appeared to have weathered the latest price shock. But it stressed uncertainty over the effects of hurricane damage in depressing US demand and warned that cold weather or buoyant economic growth could again spark market tensions. This year, global demand for oil would rise by 1.5 percent to 83.3 million barrels per day, and by 2.0 percent to 85.0 million barrels per day next year. The IEA said that it was revising down its forecast for growth of global oil demand this year by 70,000 barrels per day to 1.20 million barrels per day and for next year by 90,000 barrels per day to 1.66 million barrels.

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