Sun, Jun 27, 2010 page11

• Business Quick Take

  • AGENCIES
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  ■TRADE

  Taiwan awards 273 deals

  Taiwan’s government gave foreign companies 273 business deals worth NT$16.73 billion (US$520 million) in its first 11 months as a member of the WTO’s Agreement on Government Procurement, the Public Construction Commission reported on Friday. Among the foreign businesses, US enterprises won contracts worth NT$7.07 billion, or 42.25 percent of the total, followed by EU companies at NT$6.28 billion or 37.53 percent, and Japanese firms at NT$1.86 billion, the commission said. As of the end of last month, a total of 1,905 government procurement deals worth NT$244.57 billion were open to domestic and international bidding, the commission said.

  ■FINANCE

  Shanghai seeks foreign firms

  China’s State Council has approved setting up a so-called loan-transfer exchange in Shanghai, the city’s vice mayor, Tu Guangshao (屠光紹), said at a financial forum in Shanghai yesterday, without disclosing more details. Shanghai is seeking to attract more foreign institutions to issue yuan-denominated bonds and stocks, Tu said at the forum. Shanghai is also seeking to boost yuan investments from overseas, he said.

  ■AUTOMAKERS

  Hybrid model sales halted

  Toyota Motor Corp, the world’s largest automaker, halted sales of a new hybrid Lexus model because too much fuel spilled in government crash tests, posing a fire risk, the company said on Friday. Toyota, which paid a record US$16.4 million fine this year for not complying with auto safety regulations, said in a letter to the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration yesterday that about 17,000 of the HS250h sedans for this year’s model are being recalled. Toyota has not received any reports of accidents or injuries related to the defect, it said.

  ■MEDIA

  News Corp sells Beliefnet

  News Corp sold Beliefnet, a multi-faith spirituality Web site it purchased two-and-a-half years ago, to an investment group on Friday. The sale of Beliefnet, which was acquired in December 2007 by Rupert Murdoch’s Fox Entertainment Group, was announced by its new owner, BN Media. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. BN Media describes itself as a company with a mission to “serve the vast online market for spirituality and inspiration.”

  ■AEROSPACE

  Mahindra to enter aerospace

  Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd, India’s biggest maker of sport-utility vehicles and tractors, plans to invest 2.5 billion rupees (US$54 million) in its aerospace business, vice chairman Anand Mahindra said at a news conference in Bangalore yesterday. The company intends to bid for South Korea’s Ssangyong Motor Co by next month, Mahindra said. The company’s aerospace unit said in a statement it is in the final stages of setting up an aircraft parts plant. The company is in the process of selecting a site, it said.

  ■BANKING

  Banco Sabadell bids on rival

  Spain’s Banco Sabadell said on Friday its board had agreed to launch a takeover for smaller rival Banco Guipuzcoano in the first such operation between two listed Spanish banks since the start of the financial crisis at the end of 2008. Banco Sabadell is offering five shares and five mandatory convertible bonds for every eight ordinary shares of Guipuzcoano, it said in a statement. Banco Guipuzcoano, based in Basque region, will retain its legal identity and operate as a separate brand, it added.
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