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World Business Quick Take

■ Free trade
Korea, US hold talks
South Korea and the US were to launch negotiations yesterday on a free trade agreement that would be the biggest such accord for Washington since the North American Free Trade Agreement in 1993. The deal is seen as part of a strategic US attempt to boost business with an ally while countering China's huge presence in a crucial region. The agreement faces strong resistance, especially among South Korean farmers, who have staged violent street demonstrations to protest giving up farm protections. Any agreement would also have to be approved by the US Congress, where some lawmakers contend Bush's free-trade policies cost US jobs.

■ Aviation
Takeover battle steps up
The Commonwealth Bank of Australia said yesterday it may put up more than A$1 billion (US$752 million) if a consortium led by US investment bank Goldman Sachs makes a formal bid for British airports operator BAA. The Australian bank said its asset management unit, Colonial First State Global Asset Management, was a member of the consortium but that no formal decision had been made about a possible offer for BAA, which operates London's Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted airports. In April, BAA rejected an informal approach from the consortium which valued the airports group at around £9.4 billion (US$17.7 billion) or 870 pence per share. Reports in British newspapers over the weekend said the Goldman-led panel was considering making a £10 billion (US$18.8 billion) offer for BAA, to counter a rival bid by Spanish construction group Grupo Ferrovial. Britain's Takeover Panel told the consortium last week that it must make a formal bid by Friday or withdraw from the race.

■ Electronics
Pioneer may halt DVD work
Shares of Pioneer Corp rose on a report the company, which had a record net loss last year, will end development of the DVD recorders it invented in 1999. The stock rose 1.4 percent to ¥1,933 (US$17.30) at the 3pm close of trading on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Pioneer will stop development of all DVD recorders except for high-definition Blu-ray models, which it will develop with Matsushita Electric Industrial Co, the Nihon Keizai newspaper reported on Sunday. Pulling out of the DVD recorder business will help Pioneer focus on its profitable car electronics division, the newspaper said. Spokesman Kohei Iwamoto said Pioneer will continue to develop DVD recorders and is not in discussion with Panasonic-brand maker Matsushita about allying on Blu-ray disc recorders. Blu-ray discs are a high-definition DVD format being developed by a group of companies led by Sony Corp. The Blu-ray can store at least five times more data than conventional DVDs.

■ Energy
Toshiba bid approved
Toshiba Corp, Japan's largest maker of nuclear power equipment, said it won approval last week from the US committee on foreign investment for its planned US$5.4 billion takeover of Westinghouse Electric Co. "This as a significant step forward," said Keisuke Ohmori, a Toshiba spokesman, confirming an earlier report in the Financial Times. Toshiba in February agreed to buy Pittsburgh-based Westinghouse Electric Co to expand its power plant operations because it expects the atomic energy market to expand 50 percent by 2020.

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