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World Business Quick Take

■ TRADE

Danone China head resigns

French giant Danone said yesterday the head of its operations in China had resigned, a development that could help build bridges with its Chinese joint venture partner Wahaha (娃哈哈) after legal battles. "Emmanuel Faber resigned as chairman of the board," Danone spokeswoman Ying Ding said after Faber said he would quit in a letter sent to joint venture board members on Tuesday. "Taking into account the status of the joint venture company within the Groupe Danone, and Groupe Danone's internal corporate policy, I can no longer serve as the chairman of the board," Faber said in the letter.



■ TRADE

LSE set to open in Beijing

The London Stock Exchange (LSE) is to open an office in Beijing today to better tap the rapidly growing Chinese market, its public relations agency said. The move, coming after the inauguration last month of offices by the New York Stock Exchange and NASDAQ in Beijing, will display the London bourse's commitment to the Chinese market, according to Burson-Marsteller. "[It is also] to more greatly assist Chinese enterprises which are already listed on the stock exchange," Matthew O'Mara, a Burson-Marsteller executive, said yesterday. So far, 68 Chinese companies have been listed in London, he said, including Sinopec and Air China.



■ BANKING

eBANK to debut in US

The US Federal Reserve said on Wednesday it had approved a request by the Japanese Internet bank eBANK to establish its first office in the US. The Tokyo-based eBANK's application to set up a representative office in San Francisco, California, is only its second outside Japan, after Hong Kong, the Fed said in a statement. The proposed representative office would research technology related to Internet banking and identify business and investment opportunities in the US for the bank's dollar-denominated deposits in Japan.



■ AVIATION

Airport efficiency listed

Travelers wanting to avoid flight delays should head to Japan and South Korea and avoid Brazil, Forbes.com said. Six of Japan's airports figured in the US Web site's top 10 for on-time departures, with Osaka Itami International airport emerging as the world's most efficient airport with 97 percent of flights leaving on time last year. By comparison, Brasilia International emerged as the world's worst airport terminal for on-time departures, with less than 27 percent of flights taking off within 15 minutes of their scheduled departure time. New York's LaGuardia was the worst US airport for arrivals, with just 58 percent of flights arriving on schedule, Forbes.com said.



■ CURRENCY

Zimbabwe issues new notes

Zimbabwe's central bank on Wednesday introduced higher denomination banknotes and increased daily cash withdrawal limits, barely a month after a similar move to end a severe cash shortage spawned by inflation. Central bank Governor Gideon Gono told journalists and bankers that the 1,000,000 Zimbabwe dollar notes (US$33 at the official exchange rate but US$0.33 on the black market) as well as new Z$5,000,000 and Z$10,000,000 bills, would start circulating today to help thousands of people who have jammed banks seeking cash.
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