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World Business Quick Take

■ ELECTRONICS

RIM countersues Motorola

Research In Motion Ltd (RIM) is suing Motorola Inc over several patents used for wireless devices such as RIM's BlackBerry e-mail devices and Motorola's Razr smart phones. The Waterloo, Ontario-based company is asking a court in Dallas, Texas, to declare Motorola is breaching commitments it made to license essential patents to competitors on a fair and reasonable basis. RIM also says in a court filing on Saturday that Motorola is violating nine RIM patents and is breaching a 2003 agreement by refusing to negotiate reasonable terms for an extension beyond last month. RIM's filing came one day after Motorola filed a suit against RIM, claiming it violated some of Motorola's patents.



■ ELECTRONICS

Sony plans bigger screens

Sony Corp plans to invest ?22 billion (US$204 million) to make larger organic displays. Sony will start making the investment in the six months starting in October, the company said yesterday in a statement to the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Chief executive officer Howard Stringer said on Dec. 11 that Sony will develop larger-sized organic screens -- organic electroluminescent flat panels -- as one of the main engines of growth. Organic displays are made of materials that emit light when electrically charged; consume less power than liquid-crystal displays. Sony now sells TVs with an 11-inch organic screen. The investment is "the first step toward making 20-inch organic screens, and bigger ones," Sony spokesman Chisato Kitsukawa said in a telephone interview.



■ INVESTMENT

New fund for Asia

JPMorgan Chase & Co said yesterday it is expanding into Asian private equity with the launch of a US$750 million fund to invest in retail, industry, health care and other areas. The fund will be an extension of the bank's New York-based private equity business and will be led by Varun Bery and John Troy, cofounders of TVG Capital Partners, JPMorgan Asia Pacific said. "We see a big opportunity to enhance JPMorgan's private equity base in the region," Bery said in the statement. "There is significant potential to invest in our target sectors and geographies and we are looking forward to taking advantage of JPMorgan's strength to capitalize on it."



■ AUTOMOBILES

Cayenne SUVs recalled

Porsche AG said on Monday that it has recalled nearly 19,000 of its Cayenne sport utility vehicles (SUVs) after it found instances of the fuel line coming into contact with the engine block while the car was being driven. The company said the decision affected 18,856 Cayennes sold worldwide between Nov. 30, 2006 and Jan. 18. In a statement, Porsche said that there was a possibility that movement by the engine while driving the Cayenne could cause the fuel line to make contact with the engine compartment's cladding that can cause a knocking sound and leave abrasions on the fuel line. Porsche said there had been five complaints so far, but no injuries or accidents. The company said the free repair takes about 40 minutes.



■ TRADE

Mexico offers Cuba help

Mexico has agreed to restructure US$400 million in Cuban debt in an effort to boost trade between the two nations, Mexico's export development bank Bancomext said. Cuba stopped payments on the defaulted debt in 2002, undermining bilateral trade.
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