IN BRIEF (Page 13)

Nissan recalls Infiniti sedans

Nissan Motor Co recalled Infiniti G35 sedans and coupes affecting as many as 134,000 cars due to a connector that could cause airbags not to deploy during a crash, US regulators said on Tuesday.

The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said as many as 134,215 Infiniti G35 sedans from model years 2005-2006 and G35 coupes from model years 2005-2007 are subject to the recall. The affected models were made at a Nissan plant in Japan. Nissan spokesman Colin Price said no injuries or accidents have been reported.

Global financial assets up 17%

China's overseas financial assets gained 17 percent last year to $3.46 trillion at the end of 2009, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange said on Tuesday.

The nation's overseas financial debt increased 12 percent last year to $1.64 trillion at the end of 2009. China's cumulative outbound investment was $229.6 billion in 2009, it said. The nation's cumulative outbound equity investment was $242.8 billion.

Sinopec eyes Syrian oil deals

Sinopec Group is considering bidding for eight onshore oil blocks in Syria, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing an unnamed source.

The company has set up a team to evaluate the blocks and has yet to decide whether to make a bid, the report said. The company has purchased data packages for the fields offered by Syria.

Rongsheng ropes in Morgan

Jiangsu Rongsheng Heavy Industries Co Ltd has appointed Morgan Stanley to finalize plans for its long-awaited IPO in Hong Kong, aiming to raise up to $1.5 billion in the fourth quarter, Reuters reported on Tuesday, citing unnamed sources.

This is Rongsheng's latest bid to go public after it failed to raise more than $2 billion from a planned IPO in Hong Kong in 2008, as a result of the global financial crisis.

Bloomberg-Reuters

(China Daily 05/05/2010 page13)