IN BRIEF (Page 16)

Microwave recall

General Electric Co is recalling 92,000 microwave ovens because they pose a fire hazard, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission said on Wednesday.

The agency said the ovens in question were sold at department and appliance stores from January 2000 to December 2003 under the GE and GE Profile brands, as well as the Kenmore brand of Sears Holdings Corp.

Sales on hold

European Aeronautic, Defence & Space Co is freezing the sale of six Airbus SAS factories in Europe, Le Figaro reported, citing a person familiar with the plan. The decline in the dollar against the euro is a key reason for the decision, the newspaper said.

Chief Executive Officer Louis Gallois (above) told reporters that a decision on the sale of the plants would be made "as soon as possible" to enable the selection of partners to build the Airbus division's new A350 airliner.

Tata's Thai investment

Tata Motors Ltd, India's biggest truck and bus maker, will invest 1.3 billion baht ($43 million) in a Thai factory to produce pickup trucks as part of the company's strategy of overseas expansion.

"This will go mainly towards equipment for the assembly facility," Ajit Venkataraman, chief executive officer of the Thai unit said in a statement yesterday in Bangkok. "We expect to roll out the pickup trucks in 2008."

Meaty partnership

JBS SA, the world's largest beef producer, agreed to acquire a half share in a unit of Cremonini SpA for 225 million euros as part of a meat production partnership between the two companies.

JBS will buy new and existing shares in Inalca SpA and Modena, Italy-based Cremonini will transfer assets worth 70 million euros to the unit, the companies said yesterday in a statement distributed by the Italian stock exchange.

Tommy goes to Frankfurt?

Tommy Hilfiger Corp, the US designer-label company owned by Apax Partners, may choose to list its shares on the Frankfurt stock exchange and raise up to 1 billion euros, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reported yesterday, without saying where it got the information.

Hilfiger may start selling shares in the first quarter, according to the newspaper. The company's decision in favor of Frankfurt is not final as Hilfiger is also considering London for its initial public offering, FAZ said.

'Additional interest'

BASF AG has received additional interest from companies possibly looking to buy its plastics operations, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung said.

The company opened its data room to additional investors, the newspaper said in an article, citing an unidentified spokesman.

So far, Basell Holdings NV had been the only company in talks about buying BASF's plastics operations, FAZ said.

Lender's loss

Regional bank WestLB AG said yesterday it made its first nine-month loss in four years, with results hampered by global market turmoil and the spread the of the US subprime crisis.

The state-owned regional bank said it lost 148 million euros in the January to September period compared with a profit of euro142 million a year ago because of "disruptions on the international capital markets". The bank said the loss was burdened by some 355 million euros in exposure to the US subprime mortgage morass.

Agencies-Bloomberg News

(China Daily 12/07/2007 page16)