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World Business Quick Take

■ Electronics
Samsung aims for Slovakia
Samsung Electronics Co plans to invest a total of US$422 million by 2011 to build its first liquid crystal display assembly plant in Slovakia, the company said yesterday in a public disclosure. The decision comes after Samsung said last week it would initially spend 147.4 billion won (US$156 million) to start construction of a production line assembling liquid crystal display panels in the first half of this year. The panels are used for flat screen televisions, which are fast replacing older and bulky cathode ray tube types.

■ Energy
Mitsubishi to build reactors
Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries will win an order to build two nuclear reactors in Texas, becoming the first Japanese firm to export reactors on its own to the growing US market, a report said yesterday. In a deal valued at an estimated US$5.17 billion, US operator TXU has tapped Mitsubishi Heavy to expand its nuclear power plant operations in the suburbs of Dallas, the Nikkei Shinbun said. Mitsubishi Heavy will build two reactors for TXU, which plans to construct five reactors by 2020, the newspaper said.

■ Finance
Lone Star rejects audit
US buyout fund Lone Star yesterday rejected a South Korean state audit that could nullify its 2003 takeover of Korea Exchange Bank (KEB) after it pointed to alleged financial irregularities in the deal. The Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI) said on Monday the US fund was "not qualified" in 2003 to be KEB's largest shareholder and that KEB's losses had been deliberately inflated to undercut the value of the bank. Lone Star chairman John Grayken said in response yesterday that the BAI still left "a number of unanswered questions," including how and why many different state bodies had approved the deal.

■ Retail
Giants to merge in Japan
Japanese retailers Daimaru Inc and Matsuzakaya Holdings Co said yesterday they would merge operations to form the nation's biggest department store chain to fend off tougher competition amid shrinking consumer demand. Daimaru, Japan's fourth-biggest department store chain by sales, and No. 8 Matsuzakaya will set up a holding company on Sept. 3, the companies said in a release. Under the accord, one Daimaru share will be exchanged for 1.4 shares of the joint holding company, while Matsuzakaya shareholders will get a one for one exchange. The new company will be the biggest in the industry with combined sales of ?1.167 trillion (US$10.1 billion).

■ Aviation
AirAsia plans delayed
Take-off for Malaysian long-haul budget carrier AirAsia X has been delayed, possibly until September next year, as delays in Airbus' new A380 super-jumbo have disrupted the aircraft leasing market, a top executive said yesterday. At its launch in January, the carrier had promised flights to Britain beginning this July. Raja Mohamad Azmi, chief executive officer of Fly Asian Express, the operating company for the service, said however the service had been put back because aircraft leasing costs were higher than projected because of the A380 problems. "We remain committed to begin the long-haul service. The new take-off date is by September 2008 when we begin to receive delivery of our new aircraft," Azmi said.

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