IN BRIEF (Page 16)

Writedown warning

UBS AG, Europe's largest bank by assets, said that difficulties in the US subprime housing market may lead to further writedowns.

The Zurich-based bank, which reports its third-quarter earnings tomorrow, said yesterday that it's still exposed to "further deterioration in the US housing and mortgage markets as well as rating downgrades" on mortgage-related securities.

Loss forecast widens

Victor Co of Japan Ltd, the Japanese electronics maker that plans to combine with Kenwood Corp, almost doubled its annual loss forecast because of expenses to cut jobs.

The producer of JVC branded electronics forecast a net loss of 32.5 billion yen ($285 million) in the year ending March 2008, the company said in a statement filed to the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Victor had earlier projected a full-year loss of 17.2 billion yen.

New chief?

Claudio Costamagna (above), former chairman of European investment banking at Goldman Sachs Group Inc, may be a candidate to replace Antoine Bernheim as chairman of Assicurazioni Generali SpA, la Repubblica reported without saying where it got the information.

Bernheim's position may be at risk after Algebris Investments LLP, a London-based hedge fund, last Wednesday criticized governance at Italy's biggest insurer, the daily said.

Singaporean plant

Novartis AG, Europe's second-biggest drugmaker, said it will spend $700 million on a biotechnology manufacturing plant in Singapore.

About 300 jobs will be created by the new plant, which will make so-called monoclonal antibodies used in treatments for rheumatoid arthritis, cancer, asthma and spinal cord injury, Basel, Switzerland-based Novartis said yesterday. It expects the plant to start operations in 2012.

Estimate raised

Vodafone Group Plc, the world's largest mobile-phone company, had its price estimate raised to 212 pence from 190 pence by analysts at Merrill Lynch & Co because of higher demand for mobile-data services and emerging- markets growth.

"Additional positive indications on mobile data" in October from rivals including Telefonica SA and AT&T Inc "give us higher conviction ahead of H1 results", analysts including Graham Ruck wrote in a note to investors yesterday.

Shipments suspended

Finmeccanica SpA, the Italian company building carbon fiber pieces of Boeing Co's Dreamliner, has suspended shipments to Boeing until the US planemaker is ready to fix a new schedule for production of the aircraft, which is delayed. There will be no financial impact, it said.

Boeing's 787, or Dreamliner, is six months behind schedule, with the initial test flight planned for first quarter of 2008 and first delivery around December 2008.

African investment

MTN Group Ltd, Vodacom Group Ltd and other mobile phone operators plan to invest $50 billion in sub-Saharan Africa over the next five years, double the rate of investment in the past five years, Business Day reported.

The data was collated from mobile phone operators in Africa, including Celtel International BV, Orange SA and other smaller companies, the Johannesburg-based newspaper reported, citing Tom Phillips, chief officer for government and regulatory affairs at the GSM Association.

Bloomberg News

(China Daily 10/30/2007 page16)