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World Business Quick Take

■ Forex
Baht reaches 10-year high
Thailand's baht rose for a second day yesterday, trading at the highest level since September 1997, after the central bank said it can't prevent exporters from buying the currency. The baht gained 0.3 percent to 34.83 against the US dollar in onshore trading from a close of 34.92 last Friday, data compiled by Bloomberg showed. The currency is also rising because of inflows into the country's current account, said Thanomsri Fongarunrung, an economist at Phatra Securities Plc in Bangkok. The baht will likely "strengthen to 34 during the course of the year" as the account surplus widens, she said.

■ Electronics
Sanyo chairwoman resigns
Sanyo Electric chairwoman Tomoyo Nonaka, one of Japan's highest-profile female executives, has tendered her resignation over the board's refusal to fully probe suspected window dressing of its figures, a report said yesterday. Nonaka, a former TV anchorwoman who also holds the role of chief executive, submitted her resignation after her calls for a full in-house investigation were rejected by the Sanyo board, the Nikkei Shimbun said. Sanyo said last month it would review its past earnings and might correct its unconsolidated results for the four financial years up to March 2004, after Japan's securities watchdog launched a probe.

■ Aviation
China to build large aircraft
China has approved a plan to build large passenger aircraft to compete with Boeing and Airbus, who together dominate the market, the government and state-run media said yesterday. The decision was made at a meeting of the Cabinet presided by Premier Wen Jiabao (溫家寶) after listening to details of a feasibility study on the project, the State Council said in a statement posted on the government's Web site. The plan is to "design and build airplanes that can carry more than 150 passengers and compete with Airbus and Boeing," the state-run China Daily said in a report.

■ Aviation
JAL tries to avoid strike
Officials from Japan Airlines Corp (JAL) were negotiating with representatives from pilots and other labor unions to avert a planned 24-hour strike over pay, airline officials said yesterday. The strike, slated for today, will not affect any international flights, Japan Airlines spokesman Atsushi Abe said. But 26 percent of JAL's domestic flights will be canceled, affecting 17,000 passengers, if the walkout goes ahead as planned, Abe said. JAL, based in Tokyo, is the country's largest airline. A group of four unions, including the JAL Flight Crew Union comprising 1,154 pilots and the JAL Cabin Crew Union with 1,828 workers, have jointly threatened to walk out the whole day today.

■ Aviation
Tiger sets up subsidiary
Tiger Airways has set up a subsidiary in Australia after getting regulatory approval, the Singapore-based budget carrier said yesterday. Tiger Airways Australia Pty Ltd was incorporated last Friday in the Northern Territory. Darwin, the territory's capital, was the airline's first Australian destination, the company said in a statement. The carrier, 49 percent owned by Singapore Airlines, last month announced plans to expand into the Australian market by the end of the year, a move that would pit it against the likes of flag carrier Qantas and Virgin Blue.

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