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World Business Quick Take

■ FINANCE

Bank of China posts risks

Bank of China (中國銀行) said it had posted 26.3 billion yuan (US$3.8 billion) in potential losses on assets at the end of last month, partially related to US subprime mortgage-backed securities. China’s largest foreign exchange bank also reported a net profit of 17.8 billion yuan in the third quarter, up 11.5 percent from a year earlier, according to a filing with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange late on Wednesday. The potential losses on assets for the first nine months of the year more than doubled from 10.8 billion yuan a year earlier because of new paper losses on loans and foreign currency investment securities, the bank said.



■RUSSIA

Foreign reserves drop

Foreign currency reserves fell by US$31 billion last week, the Central Bank said yesterday, as Moscow defended the ruble against volatility and poured money into struggling firms. Currency reserves fell from US$515.7 billion to US$484.7 billion in the week ending last Friday, the Central Bank said in a statement, a fall of 6 percent. The country has the biggest foreign currency reserves in the world after Japan and China, amassed in recent years thanks to high oil prices.



■ELECTRONICS

Hitachi reports quarterly loss

Hitachi Ltd reported a quarterly loss of ¥17.4 billion (US$167 million) yesterday amid a global slowdown in export markets and a surge in prices for oil and other raw materials. The quarterly loss compared with a net profit of ¥558 million in the same period last year. The company also slashed its profit forecast for the fiscal year ending March to ¥15 billion from ¥40 billion. Sales were projected at ¥10.9 trillion, down 3 percent from last year. For the July to September period, soaring raw materials costs and slack demand hurt Hitachi’s automotive systems and semiconductor businesses, the company said.



■ELECTRONICS

Sharp reports lower profits

Sharp Corp said yesterday its net profit in the first half slumped 35 percent because of the global economic downturn, which has eroded demand for its products and forced prices down. The company said in a statement that net profit fell to ¥28 billion for the six months to Sept. 30. Operating profit dropped 35.8 percent to ¥50.76 billion on sales of ¥1.56 trillion, down 4.8 percent from the same period last year. The company left its forecast for the full year unchanged from a downward revision made earlier this month, with net earnings to drop 41.1 percent to ¥60 billion. It forecasts operating profit to fall 29.2 percent to ¥130 billion on revenue barely changed at ¥3.42 trillion.



■ELECTRONICS

Hynix reports higer losses

South Korea’s Hynix Semiconductor, the world’s second-largest memory chipmaker, said yesterday its net loss rose sharply in the third quarter on lower world prices and losses on write-offs. The net loss was 1.65 trillion won (US$1.2 billion) for July to last month, the fourth consecutive quarterly deficit. The figure compared with a 707 billion won loss in the second quarter and a 168 billion won net profit in the third quarter of last year, the company said in a statement. The third-quarter operating loss was 463 billion won, from a profit of 262.9 billion a year earlier.


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