■TECHNOLOGY
Firm sues top tech firms
A Canadian company said on Thursday that it has filed suit against Acer (宏碁), Apple, Lenovo (聯想), LG Electronics, Sony, Toshiba and 14 other top technology firms, accusing them of patent infringement. WiLAN Inc, which describes itself as a technology innovation and licensing company, filed the suit on Wednesday against the 20 US and Asian companies in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Texas. WiLAN accuses them of violating a patent it holds on Bluetooth technology, a wireless communications system that allows for hands-free calling among other uses. The firms named in the lawsuit are Acer, Apple, Atheros, Belkin, Broadcom, D-Link (友訊), Dell, Gateway, Hewlett-Packard, Intel, Lenovo, LG Electronics, Marvell Semiconductor, Motorola, Personal Communications Devices, Sony, Texas Instruments, Toshiba and UTStarcom.
■MINING
Zijin extends takeover bid
China’s largest gold miner Zijin Mining Group Co (紫金礦業) said yesterday it has extended its US$500 million takeover offer for Australian mineral explorer Indophil until next month. Zijin had gained 32.19 percent of Indophil shares by Thursday and will extend the offer period to May 14 from April 16, the company said in a statement to the Shanghai and Hong Kong stock exchanges. The Chinese miner made the bid in December, seeking to gain access to Indophil’s stake in the Tampakan copper-gold project in the Philippines. Indophil directors have unanimously recommended the A$545 million (US$508 million) offer, which valued it at A$1.28 per share, as an “excellent outcome.”
■ITALY
Bank halts Amex issue
Italy’s central bank on Thursday ordered a stop to the issuance of new credit cards by American Express in the country until the company can improve compliance with laws combatting money laundering and usury. The Bank of Italy said there was concern that supplementary cards were being issued without sufficient checks to ensure they weren’t being used buy front men for money laundering operations. It also said there was concern that the way interest rates are calculated could violate anti-usury laws.
■GERMANY
February exports rebound
Official figures show that German exports rebounded in February — increasing by 5.1 percent on the month after declining in January. The Federal Statistical Office also said yesterday that exports were up a strong 9.6 percent on the year in February. February’s month-on-month rise beat economists’ 4 percent prediction. Still, January’s decline — the first since August — was revised downward to 6.5 percent from an initial estimate of 6.3 percent. Imports were up 0.2 percent on the month and 4.2 percent on the year in February. Germany’s foreign trade surplus stood at 12.6 billion euros (US$16.8 billion) — up from 8.9 billion euros a year earlier. The country is the world’s second-largest exporter after China.
■SOUTH KOREA
Bank keeps rate frozen
South Korea’s central bank yesterday froze its key interest rate at a record low for the 14th straight month, citing risks to the global economic recovery. At his first rate-setting meeting, the new Bank of Korea governor Kim Choong-soo and five policymakers left the benchmark seven-day repo rate unchanged at 2.0 percent for April. The bank said the domestic economy, Asia’s fourth largest, was sustaining its recovery trend.
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