BP in talks over sale of oil projects to TNK: BP

July 30, 2010 By Leave a Comment

(Reuters) – BP is in talks with its Russian venture TNK-BP over the sale of a $1 billion package of oil projects in Venezuela, the Times newspaper said on Thursday.

The newspaper said, without citing sources, that the talks revolve around BP’s minority stakes in two exploration and production joint ventures in Venezuela with Petroleos de Venezuela, the country’s state-owned oil producer.

A BP spokesman dismissed the report as “rumors and speculation.”

Morgan Stanley and Royal Bank of Scotland are thought to be involved in the discussions with TNK-BP, the Times said, adding that no announcement is expected imminently and rival bidders could emerge for the assets.

BP’s outgoing chief Tony Hayward told the Times on Tuesday that TNK-BP “may well be looking” to acquire some of BP’s assets as part of a disposal program, but did not give details.

(Reporting by Karolina Tagaris; editing by Dhara Ranasinghe)

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BMW and Daimler to cooperate on car seat development

July 26, 2010 By Leave a Comment

(Reuters) – BMW (BMWG.DE) and Daimler (DAIGn.DE) will jointly develop and purchase seat frames as part of a cooperation agreement designed to save costs, BMW said on Sunday.

The cooperation will focus on metal seat frames for some of their premium car models, with the exterior finish still done independently, a BMW spokesman said, confirming a report that will appear in German weekly Der Spiegel this week.

“In cooperation talks, BMW and Daimler decided in future to jointly develop and purchase the structures of seats for some of their models,” a spokesman said, adding that the cooperation could be expanded in the future.

The companies are in talks to create savings for premium auto brands Mercedes-Benz and BMW.

In an advance copy of its Monday edition, Spiegel said the companies would invest a double digit million euros amount in the project, which could yield up to 200 million euros ($257.5 million) in annual savings.

The companies have identified a double-digit number of components that could be jointly purchased among auto suppliers, the spokesman said.

($1=.7766 Euro)

(Reporting by Irene Preisinger; writing by Edward Taylor; editing by Karen Foster)

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BMW, Daimler to cooperate on car seat development

July 26, 2010 By Leave a Comment

July 25 (Reuters) – BMW (BMWG.DE) and Daimler (DAIGn.DE) will jointly develop and purchase seat frames as part of a cooperation agreement designed to save costs, BMW said on Sunday.

The cooperation will focus on metal seat frames for some of their premium car models, with the exterior finish still done independently, a BMW spokesman said, confirming a report that will appear in German weekly Der Spiegel this week.

“In cooperation talks, BMW and Daimler decided in future to jointly develop and purchase the structures of seats for some of their models,” a spokesman said, adding that the cooperation could be expanded in the future.

The companies are in talks to create savings for premium auto brands Mercedes-Benz and BMW.

In an advance copy of its Monday edition, Spiegel said the companies would invest a double digit million euros amount in the project, which could yield up to 200 million euros ($257.5 million) in annual savings.

The companies have identified a double-digit number of components that could be jointly purchased among auto suppliers, the spokesman said. ($1=.7766 Euro) (Reporting by Irene Preisinger; writing by Edward Taylor; editing by Karen Foster)

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Central Bangkok explosion wounds 4 people-officials

July 26, 2010 By Leave a Comment

July 25 (Reuters) – An explosion wounded four people in central Bangkok on Sunday, emergency officials said, but it was unclear what caused the blast and if it was related to a closely watched special election in the Thai capital.

The explosion occurred near a busy intersection at the heart of Bangkok’s commercial district, the same area occupied by thousands of “red shirt” anti-government protesters for several weeks until an army crackdown on May 19.

“We were told by the police that there are four wounded from the incident,” said a spokesman for the Erawan Emergency Centre, adding the blast took place opposition Central World, a shopping area that was set on fire by protesters in May.

It coincided with a Bangkok by-election that is being seen as a referendum on Thailand’s recent political unrest. (Reporting by Ploy Ten Kate; Writing by Jason Szep; Editing by Mark Heinrich)

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Taliban hold one missing soldier, 2nd killed – spokesman

July 26, 2010 By Leave a Comment

July 25 (Reuters) – One of two U.S. soldiers who went missing in Afghanistan was a captive of the Taliban and the other had been killed, a spokesman for the insurgents said on Sunday.

The Taliban leadership would decide later on the fate of the captive, Zabihullah Mujahid told Reuters by phone from an undisclosed location.

The two U.S. servicemen were reported missing on Friday after failing to return in a vehicle they had taken from their compound in Kabul, the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said on Saturday. [ID:nSGE66N02C] (Reporting by Sayed Salahuddin; Editing by David Fox) (sayed.salahuddin@thomsonreuters.com; Kabul newsroom: +93 799 335 285)) (If you have a query or comment about this story, send an e-mail to news.feedback.asia@thomsonreuters.com)

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TeliaSonera says raised sales outlook for 2010

July 21, 2010 By Leave a Comment

July 20 (Reuters) – TeliaSonera’s (TLSN.ST) new outlook for sales growth in local currencies in 2010 is an upgrade of its previous outlook, the company said on Tuesday.

The company said it now expected growth in net sales in local currencies and excluding acquisitions for 2010 to be in line with the first half of 2010.

Previously the company forecast “somewhat higher” net sales.

“This is an upgrade of the year’s growth forecast,” a Telia spokesman quoted Chief Executive Lars Nyberg saying.

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Taliban hit Afghan police posts; free 23 prisoners

July 19, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Afghanistan (Reuters) – Taliban guerrillas staged a series of raids in western Afghanistan Sunday, blowing up the gate of a jail and freeing 23 insurgent prisoners, officials said.

Ousted in a U.S.-led invasion in 2001, the Taliban have made a comeback in recent years, dealing heavy losses to Afghan and foreign forces and carrying out brazen attacks on key locations, including in the capital.

Insurgents attacked four police posts leading to the center of Farah town early Sunday, said Mohammad Younus Rasooli, the governor of western Farah province, bordering Iran.

“They kept the police preoccupied and the same time blew up the gate of Farah’s jail, which resulted in the escape of 23 prisoners,” Rasooli told Reuters by phone.

Four of the inmates were immediately arrested because they had suffered wounds in the escape, he said, adding seven more were captured.

A policeman was killed during the incident, which lasted several hours, he said.

A spokesman for the Taliban, Qari Mohammad Yousuf, confirmed that members of the movement were behind the attacks.

(Reporting by Sharafuddin Sharafyar; writing by Sayed Salahuddin; Editing by David Fox)

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Suicide bomber kills four civilians in Kabul

July 19, 2010 By Leave a Comment

(Reuters) – A suicide bomber killed four civilians in an attack apparently aimed at a convoy of foreign forces on Sunday, security sources said.

The attack happened opposite a clinic on a road often used by foreign troops, one said, adding four more civilians were wounded.

There were no immediate word about casualties among the foreign forces, he said. The site of the attack was cordoned off.

A spokesman for the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said they were aware of the incident but had no details immediately.

The blast took place just two days before dozens of foreign ministers — including U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and Secretary of state Hillary Clinton — were due in the capital for an international conference of Afghanistan’s future.

Some 150,000 foreign troops are squared off against a Taliban insurgency at its strongest since the hardline Islamists were overthrown by a U.S.-led force in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks.

(Reporting by Sayed Salahuddin; Editing by David Fox)

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Taliban hit Afghan police posts; free 23 prisoners

July 19, 2010 By Leave a Comment

HERAT, Afghanistan, July 18 (Reuters) – Taliban guerrillas staged a series of raids in western Afghanistan on Sunday, blowing up the gate of a jail and freeing 23 insurgent prisoners, officials said.

Ousted in a U.S.-led invasion in 2001, the Taliban have made a comeback in recent years, dealing heavy losses to Afghan and foreign forces and carrying out brazen attacks on key locations, including in the capital.

Insurgents attacked four police posts leading to the centre of Farah town early on Sunday, said Mohammad Younus Rasooli, the governor of western Farah province, bordering Iran.

“They kept the police preoccupied and the same time blew up the gate of Farah’s jail, which resulted in the escape of 23 prisoners,” Rasooli told Reuters by phone.

Four of the inmates were immediately arrested because they had suffered wounds in the escape, he said, adding seven more were captured.

A policeman was killed during the incident, which lasted several hours, he said.

A spokesman for the Taliban, Qari Mohammad Yousuf, confirmed that members of the movement were behind the attacks. (Reporting by Sharafuddin Sharafyar; writing by Sayed Salahuddin; Editing by David Fox) (For more Reuters coverage of Afghanistan and Pakistan, see: here) (sayed.salahuddin@thomsonreuters.com; Kabul newsroom: +93 799 335 285)) (If you have a query or comment about this story, send an e-mail to news.feedback.asia@thomsonreuters.com)

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Formosa to restart No.1 naphtha unit in 2-3 mths

July 16, 2010 By Leave a Comment

July 15 (Reuters) – Taiwan’s Formosa Petrochemical Corp will restart its 700,000 tonne-per-year (tpy) No. 1 naphtha cracker within two to three months, its spokesman said on Thursday.

But the company is still uncertain when it will shut down its No. 2 cracker for maintenance. This unit was initially scheduled for maintenance on Aug. 20, but the outage at the the No. 1 cracker has disrupted the plan for now.

“The No. 1 cracker will resume operations around end September or October, but we cannot assume that the No.2 cracker will shut for maintenance following that,” he said.

Crackers have to be shut for mandatory inspection every few years, and the 1.03 million-tpy No. 2 cracker was supposed to be taken down for a 30-40 day maintenance.

“We are hoping that we don’t have to shut two crackers at the same time as the impact would be significant,” he added. (Reporting by Seng Li Peng; Editing by Ramthan Hussain)

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Tata Steel denies $2 bln fund raising report

July 15, 2010 By Leave a Comment

July 14 (Reuters) – India’s Tata Steel (TISC.BO), the world’s No. 8 steelmaker, on Wednesday denied a media report the company was planning to raise about $2 billion through fresh equity over the next quarter to help fund expansion. “Nothing at this point,” a Tata Steel spokesman told Reuters when asked about fund raising plans. The Financial Chronicle newspaper had reported citing bankers familiar with the development, the steelmaker had sounded out investment banks to finalise a lead arranger for the offering. [ID:nSGE66D03D] (Reporting by Surojit Gupta; Editing by Ranjit Gangadharan)

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LUKOIL close to getting Caspian Sea tax breaks-paper

July 14, 2010 By Leave a Comment

July 13 (Reuters) – Russian private oil major LUKOIL (LKOH.MM) is close to winning tax breaks from the government for developing its Caspian Sea oil fields to allow it to save up to $460 million in taxes in 2011, a newspaper reported on Tuesday.

Business daily RBC Daily quoted industry sources as saying LUKOIL, Russia’s No. 2 oil producer, had reached a preliminary deal with the Finance Ministry that its oil production in the Caspian Sea would have lower export duties.

The system of tax breaks would be similar to the earlier applied scheme for East Siberian fields where producers pay 45 percent of regular export duties when the price of crude exceeds $50 per barrel.

Tax breaks are meant to help producers develop new fields and allow Russia, the world’s largest oil producer, to maintain its output.

LUKOIL spokesman Dmitry Dolgov said tax-break talks continued after the company asked the government to lower taxation for its two key deposits in the Caspian Sea, Korchagina and Filanovskogo. (Reporting by Dmitry Zhdannikov; editing by Sue Thomas)

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Indonesia’s Bumi says H1 coal output up 13 pct

July 11, 2010 By Leave a Comment

July 10 (Reuters) – Bumi Resources (BUMI.JK), Indonesia’s biggest coal miner, said on Saturday that it produced 30.2 million tonnes of coal in the first half of 2010, up 13 percent from the same period a year ago.

It said its average selling price in the second quarter rose to $71.6 a tonne, up from $62.7 a tonne in the first quarter.

“We are on track to cross our FY2010 guidance of sales of 64 million tonnes, production of 67 million tonnes and average FOB price of a minimum $67 a tonne,” Bumi spokesman Dileep Srivastava told Reuters.

(Reporting by Janeman Latul; writing by Neil Chatterjee; Editing by Ruth Pitchford)

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Afghan Taliban kill 11 Pakistani travellers – official

July 11, 2010 By Leave a Comment

KABUL, July 10 (Reuters) – Suspected Afghan Taliban insurgents killed 11 Pakistanis who crossed into Afghanistan in order to detour around a dangerous part of the border area, officials said on Saturday.

Paktia governor spokesman Rohullah Samon said gunmen opened fire on a bus carrying the travellers in Samkani district, as they made their way from Kurram to Peshawar via Afghanistan.

Tribesmen frequently take the circuitous Afghan route as the direct road linking the two regions is often the scene of Pakistan Taliban attacks on travellers.

While the Pakistan and Afghan Taliban are different organisations, they have close links and draw the overwhelming bulk of their fighters from the Pashtun ethnic group which was divided by a colonial-era border known as the Durand Line.

While Pakistan has taken some steps against its own Taliban insurgency, Kabul and its allies accuse Islamabad of secretly supporting the Afghan Taliban and giving sanctuary to their leadership.

Islamabad denies the charges, but Pakistan has long seen Afghanistan as “strategic depth” in case of war with its eastern neighbour, India. (Writing by David Fox; Editing by Jeremy Laurence) (For more Reuters coverage of Afghanistan and Pakistan, see: here)

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Straumann CFO to step down after 4 months in job

July 10, 2010 By Leave a Comment

ZURICH, July 9 (Reuters) – Straumann’s (STMN.S) finance chief will step down after four months in the job because it didn’t fit his expectations, the world’s second-largest maker of dental implants said on Friday.

Chief Financial Officer Wolf-Ruediger Daetz, who joined Straumann from Siemens Building Technologies, will leave in the autumn and his role will be covered on an interim basis by Chief Executive Beat Spalinger, the Swiss company said.

“Basically the job just didn’t fit his expectations. He is staying until the end of September and he will fulfil his responsibilities,” a Straumann spokesman said.

“Spalinger was the previous CFO. He knows the team. He has done the job before,” the spokesman added.

(Reporting by Katie Reid; Editing by Erica Billingham)

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Spyker avoids more debt in final Saab payment

July 6, 2010 By Leave a Comment

(Reuters) – Dutch carmaker Spyker Cars (SPYKR.AS) used internal funding rather than external debt to pay General Motors GM.UL the final $24 million purchase price for Sweden’s Saab, ending concern over how it would foot the bill.

Niche carmaker Spyker, which has never made a profit, took over the larger Saab from GM earlier this year and is now working to revive the flagging brand, but the final installment of the purchase price had been due on July 15.

Spyker Cars said it made the payment without increasing its external debt or issuing new shares, adding the internal funding became available after the acquisition of Saab Great Britain Limited by Spyker on May 31.

Spyker shares were up 0.43 percent at 2.311 euros at 3:13 a.m. ET, in line with a higher Amsterdam market.

A Spyker Cars spokesman said the company paid the final installment to GM using cash from Saab Great Britain.

“Saab Great Britain is a wholly own subsidiary of Spyker Cars and has given an inter company loan to Spyker,” spokesman Mike Stainton said.

Further concern had been sparked about the company’s ability to fund the final part of the deal after it said in February it still needed to secure financing for the $24 million payment.

Spyker Cars had said it intended to fund the payment primarily through senior debt and that it had pledged assets to GM as security for the final payment.

“The early payment of the second and last installment underlines our desire to finalize the transaction with GM as soon as it was possible, enabling management to fully focus on the future of the group,” Spyker Cars Chief Executive Victor Muller said in a statement.

Spyker spent $400 million buying the iconic Swedish brand Saab, $74 million of which was paid in cash for Saab, including $25 million borrowed from a Muller investment vehicle and $25 million from an issue of shares, largely to GEM Global Yield Fund Ltd.

(Editing by Simon Jessop)

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UPDATE 2-Spyker avoids more debt in final Saab payment

July 6, 2010 By Leave a Comment

AMSTERDAM, July 5 (Reuters) – Dutch carmaker Spyker Cars
(SPYKR.AS) used internal funding rather than external debt to
pay General Motors [GM.UL] the final $24 million purchase price
for Sweden’s Saab, ending concern over how it would foot the
bill.

Niche carmaker Spyker, which has never made a profit, took
over the larger Saab from GM earlier this year and is now
working to revive the flagging brand, but the final instalment
of the purchase price had been due on July 15.

Spyker Cars said it made the payment without increasing its
external debt or issuing new shares, adding the internal funding
became available after the acquisition of Saab Great Britain
Limited by Spyker on May 31.

Spyker shares were up 0.43 percent at 2.311 euros at 0713
GMT, in line with a higher Amsterdam market.

A Spyker Cars spokesman said the company paid the final
instalment to GM using cash from Saab Great Britain.

“Saab Great Britain is a wholly own subsidiary of Spyker Cars
and has given an inter company loan to Spyker,” spokesman Mike
Stainton said.

Further concern had been sparked about the company’s ability
to fund the final part of the deal after it said in February it
still needed to secure financing for the $24 million payment.
[ID:nLDE61H0GS]

Spyker Cars had said it intended to fund the payment
primarily through senior debt and that it had pledged assets to
GM as security for the final payment.

“The early payment of the second and last instalment
underlines our desire to finalise the transaction with GM as
soon as it was possible, enabling management to fully focus on
the future of the group,” Spyker Cars Chief Executive Victor
Muller said in a statement.

Spyker spent $400 million buying the iconic Swedish brand
Saab, $74 million of which was paid in cash for Saab, including
$25 million borrowed from a Muller investment vehicle and $25
million from an issue of shares, largely to GEM Global Yield
Fund Ltd.
(Editing by Simon Jessop)

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Fortescue wants wider input before Australia tax deal

July 2, 2010 By Leave a Comment

July 1 (Reuters) – Any compromise on Australia’s controversial mining tax should include input from the nation’s entire mining sector, iron ore producer Fortescue Metals Group (FMG.AX) said on Thursday,

“We would want to see all mining companies consulted on this, not just BHP (BHP.AX), Rio (RIO.AX) and Xstrata (XTA.L), Fortescue spokesman Paul Downie told Reuters, following reports a deal may have been struck in closed-door talks with Australia’s three biggest mine operators. (Reporting by James Regan)

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UPDATE 1-Fast Retailing, DNP Hldgs set up Malaysia venture

July 1, 2010 By Leave a Comment

June 29 (Reuters) – Japan’s Fast Retailing Co (9983.T), the operator of Uniqlo casual wear shops, said on Tuesday it has set up a joint venture with a unit of DNP Holdings (DPBM.KL) to open stores in Malaysia.

The company, which competes with Gap (GPS.N) and H&M (HMb.ST) in the budget apparel sector, has been aggressively expanding in Asian markets to feed its growth.

The Uniqlo chain has about 800 stores in Japan and runs 60 in China and 50 in South Korea.

The company said it plans to open its first store in Malaysia by the end of this year.

“We have positioned Asia as a strategic region and we think Malaysia has a very good business potential,” said Uniqlo spokesman Daisuke Hase.

Fast Retailing said it would hold a 55 percent stake in the joint venture with DNP Clothing, a wholly owned unit of DNP Holdings. (Reporting by Sachi Izumi and Taiga Uranaka; Editing by Michael Watson)

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UPDATE 2-Blaze hits Dutch Rabobank tower, probes underway

June 29, 2010 By Leave a Comment

AMSTERDAM, June 27 (Reuters) – Firefighters in the Dutch city of Utrecht put out on Sunday a fire that raged in one of two new towers being built for Dutch bank Rabobank [RABO.UL] as its headquarters.

Rabobank is the country’s largest retail savings bank and has recently set its sights on substantial expansion in India and China as well.

The tower had never been at any risk of collapse, however, despite earlier media reports that it could come down, a fire brigade spokesman said.

The fire broke out overnight on the tower’s top two floors and a gas bottle exploded two hours later at about 0415 CET (0215 GMT) with a few dozen firefighters inside the building.

“This caused us immediately to abandon the building and get everyone out and ensure no one was missing, but fortunately there were no injuries,” the fire brigade spokesman said. Firefighters later fought the blaze from the adjacent tower, bringing the fire under control at about 6:30 a.m. local time (0430 GMT).

The brigade spokesman said it was unclear what had caused the fire and investigations were continuing.

Firefighters, police and the construction company are also assessing the extent of the damage, working from both inside the building and using images taken earlier by a police helicopter.

Rabobank [RABN.UL] is building the new towers at a cost of 200 million euros just down the street from the central train station in Utrecht, the Netherlands’ fourth-largest city.

“It is clear there is significant damage and we are taking into account the possibility of significant costs,” Rabobank spokesman Rene Loman said, adding however that the building is insured.

According to a presentation on the bank’s website, the towers are meant to have 27 floors each and reach to a height of 105 metres (345 ft).

Employees were due to start moving in early next year, with the official opening planned for mid-2011.

“Rabobank takes into account that there will be a delay,” Loman said, but said any estimate on the costs and length of the delay cannot be made until investigations have been completed. (Additional reporting by Aaron Gray-Block)

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