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World Business Quick Take

■ Aviation
Delta shares rise
Delta Air Lines stock moved skyward on Thursday as new shares traded for the first time since the third-largest US carrier emerged from bankruptcy this week. The shares quoted under the DAL symbol closed up 1.6 percent at US$20.72. Delta executives were participating in the opening and closing bell ceremonies on the New York Stock Exchange to mark resumption of trading in the shares. The company is making the initial distribution of its new common stock to some unsecured creditors and to 39,000 employees.

■ Oil
China touts new oil find
China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC, 中國石油天然氣) announced it has found an oil field with proven reserves of 405.1 million tonnes of oil equivalent in north China's Bohai Bay, state media said yesterday. CNPC said in a statement on Thursday that Jidong Nanbao oil field, located in the Bohai Sea near Caofeidian port in Hebei Province, has proven reserves of 405.1 million tonnes of oil equivalent. However, oil analysts have said reserve figures released by mainland state firms are often inflated compared to standards used by Western companies when calculating how much oil can be economically produced.

■ Tourism
Chinese visiting HK booms
The number of mainland Chinese visitors to Hong Kong soared 24.5 percent during the week-long Labor day holiday despite a string of scandals to recently hit the city's tourism industry. The Tourism Commission said yesterday that numbers from the mainland increased to 355,681 in the first six days of the "Golden Week" holiday, accounting for 61.7 percent of 576,752 arrivals. Total visitor numbers gained 19.8 percent on the same period last year. Official figures showed that those traveling in tour groups fell 13.5 percent to 20,996 during the period, while those visiting independently jumped 43.5 percent to 238,442.

■ Entertainment
EMI confirms interest
Shares of EMI Group PLC rose yesterday after the company confirmed that it had received several indications of interest in taking over the business. EMI, which has long flirted with Warner Music, did not identify any of the potential suitors. "There can be no certainty that any offer will ultimately be made," the company said. EMI shares were up 7.9 percent at 245.5 pence (US$4.89) on the London Stock Exchange. The statement followed a report in yesterday's Financial Times that the private equity group One Equity made an approach for EMI last month. The approach valued EMI at about ?3 billion, the FT said.

■ Beverages
US chain nears Ethiopia deal
Starbucks expects to complete a licensing, distribution and marketing deal with Ethiopia this month that would settle a dispute over trademarks for three coffees produced in the African nation. In a joint statement on Thursday, neither the Seattle-based coffee retailer nor the Ethiopian government released details about an agreement in principle that both said they signed after two days of talks in Seattle. Ethiopia wants to secure rights to three coffee names -- Harar, Sidamo and Yirgacheffe -- through the US Patent and Trademark Office. So far it has trademarked the name Yirgacheffe, but a final decision has yet to be made on the others.


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