business
SATURDAY, MARCH 19, 2011
N Zealand settles price-fix case with 3 airlines WELLINGTON: Three airlines have reached financial settlements with a New Zealand regulator for participating in a price-fixing scheme in the global air freight market, the regulator said yesterday. The New Zealand Commerce Commission also said it discontinued a similar case against United Airlines. The regulator’s statement did not reveal the size of the settlements with British Airways, Qantas Airways and Cargolux International Airlines for their actions from 2000 until 2006.
HK, China shares higher HONG KONG: China property issues led broad gains in Hong Kong stocks yesterday morning as investors turned cautiously optimistic after the Group of Seven rich nations agreed to a rare joint intervention to restrain a soaring yen. “A yen pull-back would reduce carry trade pressure,” said Ben Kwong, chief operating officer at KSI Asia Ltd. “If this continues, it will benefit the Nikkei and other stock markets, even commodity markets. ”The benchmark Hang Seng Index was up 0.75 percent at 22,451.29 by the midday trading break. China Overseas Land & Investment Ltd , the country’s largest developer by market value, was up 5.1 percent after reporting 2010 net profit rose by two thirds. Analysts said its strong earnings report gave fresh trading impetus after a double negative impact late last week, with Hong Kong banks beginning to raise mortgage rates around the same time as Japan’s earthquake. Other property counters also gained, including China Resources Land Ltd , up 5.8 percent, and Henderson Land Development Co Ltd , up 3.73 percent. The Hang Seng Index traded above its 200-day moving average after dipping below the key technical level at yesterday’s close. A close above this level, currently at 22,358.01, needed to come in good volume to encourage buyers to return to the market, said traders. China’s main stock index was up 0.6 percent by midday, led by large-caps such as PetroChina Co Ltd , after it posted a record quarterly profit. PetroChina, the world’s second-biggest oil and gas producer by market value, posted an 81 percent rise in fourth-quarter net profit on the back of strong crude oil prices and robust domestic economic growth. PetroChina, China’s largest listed company by market capitalisation, was up 0.7 percent, while Sinopec Shandong Taishan Petroleum Co rose 4 percent. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index was at 2,913.6 points. after a 1.1 percent fall on Thursday on concern over radiation leaks in Japan. Analysts said the most important influence on the index was China’s next policy tightening step. Japan’s crisis sparked worries in some sectors but would not change the index’s trend in the longer term. “The influence of Japan’s crisis is temporary,” said Wang Aochao, analyst at UOB Kay Hian in Shanghai. “What we need to worry about is the next tightening steps by the government.” Almost all 15 securities listed on the Shanghai and Shenzhen markets rose. Haitong Securities Co Ltd, China’s No.2 listed brokerage, was up 2.1 percent, and GF Securities Co Ltd rose 2.8 percent. Salt producers, the biggest gainer on Thursday, underperformed after China’s economic agency told shoppers to stop panic buying , blaming baseless rumours that its iodine content could prevent radiation sickness. Yunnan Salt & Chemical Industry Co Ltd tumbled 7 percent after jumping by its 10 percent daily limit on Thursday, while Inner Mongolia Lantai Industrial Co Ltd dropped 8.9 percent. — Reuters
But Qantas said it agreed to pay a 6.5 million New Zealand dollar ($4.7 million) fine and would continue to cooperate fully in the regulator’s case against other airlines. The Australian carrier said in a statement the fine represented a 50 percent discount for cooperating with the regulator’s investigation. Further terms of the deal are confidential. A number of countries are prosecuting airlines over a massive cartel that artificially inflated passenger and cargo fuel surcharges on routes
extending to the United States, Europe, South America and the Asia-Pacific region. New Zealand’s regulator started proceedings against 13 airlines in 2008, alleging they colluded on fuel surcharges on cargo into and out of New Zealand. The pending cases involve Air New Zealand, Cathay Pacific Airways, Emirates, Japan Airlines International, Korean Air, Malaysian Airlines, Garuda Indonesia, Singapore Airlines and Thai Airways. — Reuters
Supply concerns grow as Japan lacks parts, power Apple may face parts delays for iPad 2 TOKYO/SEOUL: From Apple Inc’s new iPad to Chevrolet pick-ups and many of the world’s airplane kitchens, concern is spreading down the global manufacturing supply chain about the impact from Japan’s earthquake last week. Plant shutdowns across Japan following the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear crisis threaten supplies of everything from semiconductors to car parts to manufacturers across the globe. Even where factories in Japan are operating, power outages, shortages of fuel and raw materials and ruptured logistics mean products and parts face delays in getting to customers. Honda Motor Co said yesterday it extended a production halt in Japan, where it makes more than a fifth of its cars, for a further 3 days until next Wednesday. And, citing a memo distributed by the automaker, the Wall Street Journal reported Honda had warned US dealers it was not sure if it could resume full production at some of its Japanese plants before May. Japan’s grip on the global electronics supply chain is causing particular concern. The world’s third-biggest economy exported 7.2 trillion yen ($91.3 billion) worth of electronic parts last year, according to Mirae Asset Securities. “Should the Japan crisis be prolonged, I expect a shortage of electronic parts in the second quarter,” said James Song, an analyst at Daewoo Securities, noting Japan provides 57 percent of the world’s wafers, used to make the chips that go into mobiles phones, cameras and other electronic devices. Apple may face shortages of key parts for its newly-released iPad 2, according to a report from research firm IHS iSuppli. Several parts of the new version of the popular iPad tablet PC come from Japan, including the battery and the flash memory used to store music and video on the device. “Logistical disruptions may mean Apple could have difficulties obtaining this battery, and it may not be able to secure supply from an external, non-Japanese source,” iSuppli
TOKYO: A man looks at the stock price board yesterday in Tokyo. — AP
said. Toshiba Corp , one of the companies that produces the NAND flash memory used in the iPad 2, according to IHS iSuppli’s research, had briefly shut a flash memory facility in Japan, and warned it could face problems getting raw materials. Apple launched the iPad 2 in the United States last week to strong demand, with many stores selling out and analysts estimating sales of 1 million units during the debut weekend. Several other iPad 2 parts are sourced from Japan, said the IHS iSuppli report, noting some of these, particularly the chips, could be procured from alternative suppliers. Goldman Sachs warned of potential bottlenecks in the supply of silicon wafers, conductive film used in LCD circuits and resin used to connect chips to boards-products made by Japanese companies such as Shin Etsu and divisions of Sony , Hitachi and Mitsubishi . In Taipei, shares of electronics supply companies rebounded from recent falls, with Hon Hai Precision and touch panel maker Wintek both gaining more than 1 percent. Japan’s top car manufacturers including Toyota Motor Co and Nissan Motor Co are struggling to restart pro-
duction amid a shortage of parts, labour and power following the 9.0 magnitude earthquake and tsunami. The largest US automaker, General Motors Co, said it would temporarily idle a pick-up truck plant in Louisiana, where it builds the Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon models, due to a parts shortage stemming from the crisis in Japan. “Like all global automakers, we will continue to follow the events in Japan closely to determine the business impact,” GM said in a statement on Thursday. North American output is likely to be affected unless Japanese suppliers revive their plants and send parts within 10 days, Wolfe Trahan & Co analyst Tim Denoyer said in a note. Renault Samsung, the South Korean unit of French car maker Renault SA, said it will cut back on weekend and overtime production because of a potential parts shortage, and GM’s South Korean unit said it was considering a similar move. “We have an inventory until the end of March. But we expect the crisis to be prolonged until April before being normalised in May,” said a spokesperson for Renault Samsung, which makes one in every 10 Renault vehicles. — Reuters