World Business Quick Take

■ Computing
New graphics chip unveiled
Samsung Electronics, the world's top memory chip maker, said yesterday it has developed a new graphic memory chip which is the world's fastest in processing mass visual data. GDDR4 is the latest of the graphics double-data-rate memory chip series largely used for computer graphic cards. It can process 4 gigabytes of data, equivalent to eight DVD-class films, per second, the South Korean firm said. The new graphic memory chip has increased the data-processing speed of currently available ones by two-thirds, the company added.

■ Technology
Ericsson in TV company bid
Swedish wireless equipment maker Ericsson AB said yesterday it offered to buy Norway's Tandberg Television ASA for 9.8 billion kronor (US$1.6 billion) in cash as it tries to position itself for the convergence of the telecoms and television industries. The company's offer is about 10 percent higher than one made in January by American company Arris Group Inc. Ericsson said buying Tandberg would allow it to offer complete networks for the fast-growing technology area of television over the Internet. It also brings Ericsson new customers such as cable and satellite operators.

■ Real estate
China battles surging prices
China's government is promising more low-cost housing for the poor amid efforts to restrain surging home prices, a government newspaper reported yesterday. Vice Premier Zeng Peiyan (曾培炎), speaking at a government meeting on house prices, promised to put more real estate up for sale and offer "more and better houses to low-income families," the China Daily said. The government is trying to restrain a surge in house prices and force developers to build more low-cost housing following a frenzy of construction of villas and other luxury projects.

■ Finance
NTT, McDonald's team up
NTT DoCoMo Inc, Japan's biggest mobile-phone operator, will offer its electronic payments services at McDonald's Japan Holdings Co restaurants, letting users pay for meals by swiping their handset across terminals. DoCoMo and McDonald's Japan will invest ¥300 million (US$2.5 million) to establish a company that promotes the service through e-mail advertisements, Masanori Goto, a spokesman for the company, said by telephone yesterday. The service will be available from October and will include the "iD" credit and "Toruca" debit payment systems. McDonald's Japan will own 70 percent of the new company, with DoCoMo controlling the rest, the companies said today at a press conference in Tokyo.

■ Finance
Citigroup appoints new CFO
Citigroup Inc said on Sunday that it has named Gary Crittenden as its chief financial officer. Crittenden, formerly executive vice president and chief financial officer at American Express Co, will begin his new job on March 12. He will report directly to Citigroup chairman and chief executive Charles Prince. "Gary has demonstrated an exceptional ability to help the organizations he has worked for to generate superior value by supporting the successful execution of their business strategies with the development and implementation of sophisticated financial strategies," Prince said in a written statement.