IN BRIEF (Page 16)

Deal 'in jeopardy'

HSBC Holdings Plc may abandon its $6.2 billion purchase of Korea Exchange Bank if the South Korean government doesn't approve it soon, the Financial Times reported, without saying where it got the information.

A visit this week to the United Kingdom by members of the new South Korean government may help to move the deal along, the newspaper said.

Stake snapped up

Criteria CaixaCorp, the investment company of Spain's biggest savings bank, agreed to buy 20 percent of Carlos Slim's Grupo Financiero Inbursa SA for 1.5 billion euros to expand in the Americas.

Criteria will take part in a stock sale by Mexico City-based Inbursa paying 38.5 pesos ($3.71) a share for the stake, Criteria said yesterday in a filing to regulators.

Purchase ruled out

Hitachi Ltd has no plans to buy General Electric's appliance-manufacturing business, its president Kazuo Furukawa said yesterday, after the US conglomerate indicated it could be for sale.

GE chairman and chief executive Jeff Immelt said on Friday his company has begun a review of its appliance-making operations that could involve a sale, spinoff or partnership with another company.

Indian investment

Swedish truck maker AB Volvo Monday said it will invest 1.84 billion kronor ($312 million) in forming a joint venture with Indian vehicle manufacturer Eicher Motors.

The company said the joint venture will include Eicher Motors entire truck and bus operations and Volvo's Indian truck sales operations and service network for trucks and buses.

Agencies

(China Daily 05/27/2008 page16)