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World Business Quick Take

■ CHINA

Center to monitor food

China, which has been plagued by food safety problems, will set up a center to monitor food standards at the Summer Olympics, state media reported yesterday. The Olympic Food Safety Command Center will tackle the task during the Aug. 8 to Aug. 24 Games and will deal with any food-related emergencies, Xinhua news agency quoted Zhang Zhikuan, head of the Beijing Industry and Commerce Bureau, as saying. Xinhua said food supplied for the Olympics will be checked against specific technical standards.



■ AUTOMOBILES

Kia CEO paints rosy picture

Kia Motors Corp will probably return to profitability this year, helped by new vehicles and updated models, the company's CEO said yesterday. "This year, Kia Motors will likely post profits," chief executive and president Chung Eui-sun told reporters at the launch of the automaker's Mohave SUV. Including the Mohave, Kia Motors is introducing three new vehicles this year. It is also upgrading two existing models. For the January-September period last year, Kia posted a net loss of 24 billion won (US$25.6 million), compared to a net profit of 40 billion won during the same period in 2006.



■ ENVIRONMENT

Japan to buy Chinese quotas

Japan has agreed to buy greenhouse gas emissions quotas from China as part of efforts to meet its Kyoto Protocol target, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported yesterday. The two countries will seek a formal accord on the plan during Chinese President Hu Jintao's (胡錦濤) visit to Japan, scheduled for late March, the newspaper said. Japan plans to use the so-called clean development mechanism, under which industrialized countries can fund projects to cut greenhouse gas emissions in developing countries and offset these reductions against their own output. Japan hopes to purchase greenhouse gas emission quotas resulting from environment-related projects in China financed by Japanese loans, the daily said.



■ AVIATION

Firms set to join forces

China's two major aircraft makers are likely to join forces as part of the nation's ambitious efforts to build a domestic passenger jet that would rival Boeing and Airbus, state media said yesterday. China Aviation Industry Corp I (AVIC I) and AVIC II, both state-owned, may consolidate their commercial aircraft manufacturing businesses and set up a new firm to assemble the plane, the China Daily reported, citing company sources. The move is aimed at "strengthening the country's aviation manufacturing capabilities" and "pooling resources to carry out the large commercial airplane project," said an unnamed official with AVIC II.



■ GOLD

Price hits record high

The price of gold struck a new all-time peak of US$863.11 an ounce on the London Bullion Market on Wednesday. Unrest in Pakistan, a faltering dollar and surging oil sent the price of gold soaring to a record level, beating the previous highest level of US$850 set 28 years ago. The price slipped back slightly to US$861.57 yesterday. According to analysts, price movements were being slightly exaggerated by the lightness of holiday trade, which meant large transactions could influence the market more than usual.
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