IN BRIEF (Page 16)

Sale approved

Mexican retailer Gigante's shareholders approved a deal on Monday to sell the company to its larger rival Soriana for $1.35 billion.

Soriana, Mexico's No 2 retailer, said earlier this month it was buying more than 200 stores from Gigante, the fourth-largest player in Mexican retail.

Property project

Russia's second-largest bank is investing some $260 million in a residential development project in London, the RBK business daily reported yesterday, citing lawyers.

Vneshtorgbank is investing in "the purchase and construction of a residential complex" in Hammersmith in west London, the company's legal consultants, Dewey and LeBoeuf, were quoted as saying in a report.

Google tie-up

Japan's leading mobile phone operator NTT DoCoMo Inc, trying to fight off resurgent competitors, will tie up with US search-engine giant Google Inc to upgrade its services, a report said yesterday.

DoCoMo will incorporate Google's search and e-mail features into its popular "i-mode" Internet service as part of a broader alliance that may lead to the development of new functions and handsets, the Nikkei business daily said.

Price hikes likely

Tata Steel Ltd, Steel Authority of India Ltd, JSW Steel Ltd and other producers of the metal may raise prices next month, the Financial Express reported, citing sources it didn't identify.

Prices of hot rolled steel may be increased by as much as 1,000 rupees ($25) a metric ton, prompted by a surge in raw material costs, the report said.

Bourse to relax rules

South Korea's stock exchange will ease rules for initial public offerings in a bid to attract more foreign listings and streamline the process.

Korea Exchange Inc will allow consolidated financial statements that comply with US or international accounting standards in IPO applications beginning next year, it said in an e-mailed statement.

Bank probe

Italy's central bank will investigate Banco di Sicilia SpA for possible fraud, la Repubblica reported, without saying where it got the information.

The Bank of Italy is looking into possible fraudulent practices including mortgages issued in 2005 for 80 million euros, through a company linked with Banco di Sicilia, according to the newspaper.

Carrier snapped up

Air France-KLM Group, the world's largest airline, agreed to buy regional carrier VLM Airlines to expand its business travel to London.

VLM operates a fleet of 18 Fokker 50 airplanes and uses London City Airport as its main hub, Paris-based Air France-KLM said in an e-mailed statement. No financial details were disclosed by the companies. Air France is buying the airline from Panta Holdings BV.

Profit boost

OAO MegaFon, Russia's third-largest cellular company, said third-quarter profit rose 26 percent as it signed up more customers.

Net income climbed to 10.4 billion rubles ($420 million) from 8.25 billion rubles a year earlier, Moscow-based MegaFon said in a statement distributed by the Regulatory News Service. Sales rose 11 percent to 38.1 billion rubles. MegaFon had 35 million subscribers at the end of November.

Stake acquired

Tele2 AB, Sweden's second-biggest phone company, said it bought 16 percent in Tele2 Netherlands Holding NV for SEK1.15 billion ($175 million).

The company will own about 98 percent of Tele2 Netherlands Holding, Stockholm-based Tele2 said in a statement distributed by Hugin.

Agencies-Bloomberg News

(China Daily 12/26/2007 page16)