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World Business Quick Take

■ Aviation
Tibetan airport planned
China will build the world's highest airport in Tibet as part of a US$13 billion investment splurge in the Himalayan region, state media reported yesterday. The airport in northern Ngari Prefecture will be located at about 4,300m above sea level, making it the highest airport in the world, the Xinhua news agency said. The airport will be the fourth in Tibet and another important plank in China's plan to link the remote Himalayan region with the rest of China. A third airport began operating in Nyingchi, southeast Tibet, last September, two months after China launched a railway line from Beijing to Lhasa.

■ Energy
Biofuels may be costly
Increased production of biofuels such as ethanol might help farmers' bottom lines and address climate-change concerns, but it could inflate food prices worldwide, a former White House economist said. "Worldwide, especially in developing countries ... food price increases are definitely something we're going to have to come to grips with," said David Sunding, who served on former president Bill Clinton's Council of Economic Advisers. The combination of rising energy prices and the demand for corn, which is used to produce ethanol, will continue to drive up commodity prices, he said. The resulting higher market prices could then dampen the public's support for government subsidies that are designed to help farmers reap profits when markets are down.

■ Electronics
Sanyo president quitting
The president of Japan's struggling electronics maker Sanyo will step down, two weeks after the firm's chairwoman also quit amid window-dressing allegations, the Yomiuri Shimbun said yesterday. Toshimasa Iue, a member of the family that founded Sanyo, will quit on Sunday, the Yomiuri said, without identifying its sources. A company spokesman declined to comment, but added: "Nothing has been decided on the matter." The Yomiuri said Goldman Sachs, now the firm's top shareholder, has clashed with Iue on how to restore the firm's flagging fortunes.

■ Automobiles
Hyundai chief pleads case
Hyundai Motor chairman Chung Mong-koo, who is facing a three-year jail term for creating a multimillion dollar slush fund, yesterday pleaded for another chance so he could continue leading the world's sixth-biggest automaker. The tycoon was sentenced last month by a lower court for breach of trust and embezzling 90 billion won (US$95 million) in company funds through fraudulent accounting. "If I can have another chance, as there are many challenges that my company is confronted with, I will do my best to overcome them," he told the Seoul High Court. "I'm ashamed and have been reflecting on myself a lot."

■ Steel
Nippon Steel, Tata team up
Japan's leading steelmaker is planning to enter the booming Indian market through a tie-up with the nation's major conglomerate Tata, the Nikkei Shimbun said yesterday. Nippon Steel, the world's second-largest manufacturer after the new Arcelor-Mittal behemoth, would be the first Japanese steelmaker in India. It is in talks with Tata Steel to turn out steel sheets for Japanese automakers operating in India as early as 2010, the Nikkei said, citing Nippon Steel president Akio Mimura.

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