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World Business Quick Take

■ RETAIL

Carrefour in Indonesia deal

Carrefour SA, Europe's biggest retailer, agreed to take control of PT Alfa Retailindo for 674 billion rupiah (US$72 million) to bulk up in Indonesia. Alfa Retailindo has 29 stores across the country, 13 of which are in Jakarta, Paris-based Carrefour said yesterday in a Business Wire statement. It's buying a 75 percent stake in the Indonesian company.



■ TELECOMS

DoCoMo cancels alliance

NTT DoCoMo Inc, Japan's biggest mobile-phone company, canceled a wireless service alliance agreement with Acca Networks Co after rival companies won a license. DoCoMo and Acca in August formed a venture to provide high speed wireless services and have sought to acquire a broadband wireless access license. Japan's communications ministry last month awarded a license to KDDI Corp and Willcom Inc. DoCoMo announced the cancelation in a release distributed through the Tokyo Stock Exchange.



■ BANKINGbr />
WestLB planning job cuts

Troubled state-owned German bank WestLB is planning to cut 2,000 jobs, the regional Rheinische Post newspaper reported yesterday. The newspaper said the bank would cut 1,000 jobs in Germany and as many abroad. Several German newspapers have reported in recent days that WestLB needed to raise 1.5 billion euros to 2 billion euros (US$2.2 billion to US$2.9 billion) in fresh capital to cover huge writedowns on bad investments. The bank has been hit hard by the US subprime home loan crisis as well as dubious stock market investments by its staff. The Rheinische Post cited sources among WestLB shareholders as saying the bank would post a loss for last year of over 1 billion euros.



■ HEALTHCARE

Optical giant eyes eyeonics

Bausch & Lomb announced Sunday that the eye health company plans to acquire eyeonics, a privately held California company that makes a special lens used in cataract repair. Bausch & Lomb did not disclose financial terms. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter. Once acquired, eyeonics will be wrapped into Bausch & Lomb's surgical business, the company said. The US surgical business will be led by J. Andy Corley, eyeonics' co-founder, chairman and chief executive officer, it said. Eyeonics, founded in 1998, developed and markets the crystalens intraocular lens, which has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of cataracts. The intraocular lens replaces the eye's natural lens and has been implanted in more than 95,000 eyes worldwide. Last year, eyeonics generated revenues of approximately US$34 million.



■ AVIATION

Branson eyes Indian market

Richard Branson, who controls UK carrier Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd, has sought permission to start a domestic airline in India. Branson hopes the Indian government will change its rules on allowing foreigners to run local services, he told reporters in New Delhi yesterday, without elaborating. India's air passenger travel is expanding at about 25 percent a year as economic growth and higher disposable incomes enable more people to fly. India doesn't allow overseas airlines to hold stakes in local carriers directly or indirectly.
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