Singapore's PSA Corp. eying China port market
Singapore's PSA Corp. eying China port market
SINGAPORE: Singapore port operator PSA Corp. is eying locations around the Pearl River Delta near Hong Kong in its bid to tap the giant China market, the company's chairman said in remarks published Monday.
"China today is a very large originator of boxes (containers) so we are looking at China with a lot of interest... so of course we are trying places like Shanghai," new PSA chairman Stephen Lee was quoted as saying in the Business Times.
There are not yet any giant ports in mainland China but areas like Shanghai are showing huge potential as they grow rapidly, he said.
Lee said "all along the coast we've seen a pick-up in many of the smaller ports with some of them very active, especially around the Pearl River Delta, near Hong Kong." -- AFP
Nikon sees red in April-September
TOKYO: Japan's Nikon Corp. said on Monday it posted a group net loss of 3.48 billion yen (US$29.2 million) in the April- September period from a profit of 3.04 billion yen a year earlier.
The Japanese camera maker said it had a group pre-tax profit of 1.70 billion yen in the first six months of fiscal 2002, falling 91.1 per cent from the year-earlier period.
Nikon's group sales were down 8.5 per cent from April- September 2001, to 215.2 billion yen in April-September 2002.
The company expects group sales to total 480 billion yen in the fiscal year ending March 31, 2003. The company also expects both a group pre-tax profit and net profit of 0 in the fiscal year to March. -- DPA
ABB Grain warns the effect of modified crops
CANBERRA: Australian exporter and trader ABB Grain Ltd. Monday warned that production and export of genetically modified (GM) crops from Australia could result in loss of major overseas markets.
The company also warned that Australia's grain storage and handling system needs to be upgraded in order to ensure separation of GM and non-GM grain if and when GM-grains are brought into wider production.
ABB Grain, formerly Australian Barley Board, is a major exporter of barley, and a minor exporter of some other grains.
The company said some of its major buyers now want certification to assure them that their purchases are free of genetically-modified organisms.
Saudi Arabia requires a GMO-free certificate with every shipment, "while also indicating that they may refuse to trade barley with ABB if Australia produces any commercial GM grain crops in the future," it said in an occasional newsletter to shareholders. -- Dow Jones
Toyota eyes Fiat's Sicilian factory
MILAN: Japanese carmaker Toyota is interested in taking over Fiat's Termini Imerese plant in southern Sicily, which is threatened with closure as part of a restructuring of the Italian industrial group's auto unit, Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera said Monday.
"Toyota is putting together a bid to take over Fiat's Termini Imerese factory", the newspaper said.
Fiat Auto, a major employer and an icon of Italian industry, has been forced into substantial restructuring to jump start sputtering sales.
The newspaper said economics professor Edward Luttwak, acting as a consultant for Toyota, had been in contact with the Italian economy ministry over the issue. -- AFP
Mitsubishi aims to sell 7,000 new 'Colt'
TOKYO: Mitsubishi Motors Corp. said Monday it aims to sell 7,000 units monthly of its new "Colt" compact over the model's life cycle of around five years in Japan.
The Japanese carmaker, ailing since the discovery of its decades-long coverup of product defects, is hoping its first car developed jointly with DaimlerChrysler AG (DCX) will help it achieve a product-driven recovery. DaimlerChrysler has a 37.3 percent stake in Mitsubishi Motors.
The "Airtrek" and "eK-Wagon" passenger cars launched since the product-defect scandal broke in mid-2000 didn't manage to convince the market of the firm's bright future as a carmaker.
Presenting the Colt to the press and analysts Monday, Mitsubishi Motors President Rolf Eckrodt said: "The Colt is a new symbol for a new Mitsubishi Motors... This car is very, very important for Mitsubishi because it symbolizes a change in our company." -- Dow Jones
United reaches cutbacks agreement with workers
CHICAGO: United Airlines has reached a tentative cost-cutting agreement with its flight attendants union as part of an effort to avoid bankruptcy, the carrier announced.
Terms of the agreement announced Sunday were not released. United said it is in line with the airline's plan to achieve US$5.8 billion in labor cutbacks with its flight attendants and machinists.
The reductions are key to its application for a $1.8 billion federal loan guarantee, which it says is needed to avoid a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing.
"United continues to make great progress toward implementing its financial recovery program," United CEO and chairman Glenn Tilton said in a statement.
United spokesman Joe Hopkins would not discuss details of the agreement, other than to confirm it includes wage cuts. The deal still must be ratified by members of the Association of Flight Attendants and the company's board. -- AP