Biding start for Cadbury

US chocolate maker Hershey is considering launching a solo bid of at least $17 bn (£10 bn) for British firm Cadbury, according to reports. Under pressure from its charitable trust, Hershey has lined up funding from Bank of America and JP Morgan, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday. But the US company is still also considering a joint bid with Italy's Ferrero, the paper said. Cadbury has already rejected a £9.8 bn offer from food firm Kraft.

ECB reduces their emergency fund

The European Central Bank (ECB) will scale back its liquidity measures for fear of fuelling inflation. ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet said some fiscal stimulus measures were no longer needed to the same extent. He said any measures that pose "a threat to the achievement of price stability must be undone promptly and unequivocally". The eurozone emerged from recession during the third quarter. Its annual inflation rate is currently 0.5 %. Back in June, eurozone inflation turned negative for the first time, falling to -0.1 % after it was dragged down by lower energy and fuel prices. In July 2008 it peaked at 4.1 %, driven by the record oil prices at the time. Crisis not over Some economists have warned that the growth in the third quarter was purely driven by state aid, and fear the region will slip back into recession if it is removed. Mr Trichet himself said that it is too early to declare the crisis over. "Recent financial developments have been more benign," he added. "However a significant volume of official support underlies these developments." The central bank governor said he was keen to make sure the private sector does not become dependent on government, or central bank support. He has already signalled that the bank is unlikely to renew its offer of 12- month bank loans after the third tranche in December. Earlier this week, a second ECB council member also said the bank may offer fewer three-month and six-month loans next year. Bankers bonuses Trichet also spoke out over bankers bonuses. "Profits earned should be used, as a priority, to build capital and reserves rather than to be paid out as dividends or undue compensation," he urged. "The financial sector must not forget that it is to serve the economy and not the other way round, " he concluded. "Compensation and bonuses must remain contained."

Valero energy shuts another energy plant

Valero Energy has announced it is permanently shutting down its oil refining plant in Delaware City, with the loss of 550 jobs. The company says the closure of the 210 ,000 barrel a day plant will reduce operating expenses by $450 m (£273 m). The plant is the largest refinery in the US to close this year. Valero also closed its Aruba refinery indefinitely in August. The recession and slumping fuel demand have squeezed margins for US refiners. The Delaware City refinery was losing the company $1 m a day, according to Valero spokesman Bill Day. Delaware is already wrestling with rising joblessness. The state's unemployment rate has jumped to 8.7 % this year.

Car company Volkswagen will increase their production

Volkswagen (VW), Europe's biggest car company, has announced plans to invest 26 bn euros ($28. 5 bn; £15.8 bn) over the next three years to boost production. It will also invest 4.4 bn euros in China through joint ventures. The firm has said it plans to overtake Toyota as the world's biggest carmaker by 2018. VW executives also signed contracts clearing the way to complete the takeover of rival Porsche. The two firms agreed to merge in August, ending four years of acrimony. VW also approved the purchase of the bankrupt carmaker Karmann. It will begin vehicle production at Karmann's plant in Osnabrueck, in north-west Germany, in 2011. The announcements came out of the firm's supervisory board meeting. "The Volkswagen Group is vigorously driving forward its long term growth strategy by investing in environmentally friendly models, innovative technologies and new plants," said chief executive, Martin Winterkorn. "We are continuing to make focused investments in our future."

Computer company Dell's profit fall

US computer maker Dell has reported another decline in quarterly profits, sending its shares lower. Net profit at the US giant was $337 m (£202 m) in the three months to October, down from $727 m last year. Dell's revenues also dropped 15 % to $12.9 bn. Both figures missed analysts' expectations, sending shares down 7 % in after-hours trading. Although Dell did not provide a formal outlook, it said it expects fourth-quarter revenue to improve. Global computer sales have been knocked by the worldwide recession, as customers cut back on their spending. Since returning as chief executive in 2007 , founder Michael Dell has cut more than 10 ,000 jobs and acquired several companies. Dell bought IT services provider and fellow Texan firm Perot Systems for $3.9 bn in September.

Malaysian mobile oparetor Maxis make a good profit

Malaysia's top mobile operator, Maxis, made a strong return to the bourse Thursday in Southeast Asia's biggest ever IPO worth $3.3 billion. Maxis Berhad, controlled by reclusive Malaysian tycoon Ananda Krishnan and Saudi Telecom, opened on Bursa Malaysia at a 9.2 per cent premium to its 5 ringgit ($1.49) reference price. The opening price of 5.46 ringgit was at the top end of forecasts for Maxis' return to the stock market, two years after it was taken private and de-listed. 'Today's listing marks another milestone on our bourse — the largest IPO in the history of Southeast Asia and the largest telecommunications IPO in Asia-Pacific since 2000,' said second finance minister Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah. Ahmad Husni said at 5 ringgit per share, Maxis' market capitalisation stands at 37.5 billion ringgit, expanding the capitalisation of the nation's bourse by 4 per cent. 'The offering was met with strong demand from international and Malaysian investors,' he said at the launch ceremony. 'On the global front, the return of Maxis has attracted the attention of the international investment community to the Malaysian equity market.' Maxis Berhad said earlier this month it had raised 11.2 billion ringgit ($3.3b) in the IPO. It offered 2.25 billion, or 30 per and the majority were taken up by institutional investors. Parent company Maxis Communications, which is not listed, is expected to deploy the proceeds of the sale on funding expansion in the booming Indian and Indonesian markets, and to reduce debt. The listing includes only Maxis' Malaysian mobile business and excludes its ventures in India and Indonesia — a factor that has raised questions over the company's growth prospects. But analysts said that funds were obliged to buy the new heavyweight counter as it will be included as a component of the bourse's main index, the Kuala Lumpur Composite Index. The IPO also benefited from a 'scarcity premium', as many local institutions received smaller applications than they had applied for. 'This is a powerful return to the bourse and will be a boost for the index going forward' said Ikmal Hafizi, a telco analyst with TA Securities. 'The bourse hasn't seen this kind of market trading in at least three years' he said, but warned the performance might not be sustainable and that in a few weeks the share price could slide to 5.00-5.10 ringgit.

Bangladeshi industries minister said to removing barriers from pla stic sector

Industries minister Dilip Barua Thursday underscored the need for exploring opportunities and removing barriers to give a boost to the country's potential plastic sector. 'We are committed to strengthen regional, sub- regional, south-south cooperation in the days ahead for flourishing the potential sector,' he said while addressing the inaugural ceremony of a daylong workshop at Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry auditorium. The DCCI in cooperation with industries ministry organised the workshop on 'Achieving global value chain competitiveness: a strategic analysis of the plastic sector of Bangladesh.' The minister said the government would take necessary steps for the development of this sector and the Small and Medium Entrepreneurs involved in it. Stressing the need for a comprehensive industrial policy, Dilip Barua said his ministry was currently working to finalise the 'Draft Industrial Policy 2009' where plastic sector has been included as one of the 18 most thrust sectors.

Energy chief warning to invest in energy sector

The economic crisis is jeopardising key energy industry investments that are needed to cope with future growth in demand and shifts to cleaner energy, executives and officials warned on Wednesday. Executives from gas, oil and power generation firms said at a UN conference in Geneva that they were delaying and cutting back investments due to the credit crunch, the economic downturn and volatile oil and gas prices. But, they added, fresh capital is needed to renew and expand infrastructure such as production capacity and gas pipelines, cut carbon emissions from traditional fuels or build up more costly alternative energy sources. Global energy needs are expected to grow by more than 40 per cent by 2030, according to an International Energy Agency report last week, despite a decline this year due to reduced economic activity with the recession. 'The danger is that under-investment in key energy producing countries could reduce availabilities leading to strong renewed price pressures,' said Jan Kubica, Director General of the UN's Economic Commission for Europe. 'The financial crisis has made it all the more uncertain whether the full energy investment needed in the long term to meet growing energy needs can be mobilised,' he added at the UNECE conference on energy security. A World Energy Council survey of 60 executives presented at the conference showed that industry sentiment had declined sharply in 2009. Stefan Ulreich, of German power group E.ON, said the pattern of current and future investments revealed by the survey was 'a threat to energy security.' Half of the executives were ready to cut investments by more than 20 per cent in some sectors or postpone them by more than two years, the survey showed. Just 20 to 40 per cent of executives said the financial crisis would have no influence on their investment levels, and only 10 per cent were prepared to rule out postponements. Ulreich also predicted that 'unsustainable' public debt in the United States and Britain in particular would affect their planned spending on energy projects. The cost of investing in new alternative energy sources was also about three times higher per kilowatt than current power technology, he cautioned. But thoughts about investing in cheaper power plants with high carbon energy such as oil or coal might be misguided, as governments legislate to tackle climate change, he cautioned. 'It is a cheap solution now but perhaps an expensive solution in the future,' Ulreich pointed out. 'Wrong investments are also a threat to energy security.' Gazprom executive Sergei Pankratov showed data suggesting that the Russian gas giant had scaled down short term investment plans after the financial crisis. But he insisted that longer term investment was continuing and forecast that hydrocarbons would remain 'more competitive' than renewables. 'We believe that the share of gas in the energy mix will be maintained or even increase,' Pankratov said. OPEC oil-producing nations had partly blamed the surge in crude oil prices to a record $147 a barrel in July 2008 on the lack of refinery capacity, producing a bottleneck in the supply line. Meanwhile, the industry has also repeatedly complained that volatile energy prices were undermining their long term planning. On Wednesday, oil prices climbed towards $80, just months after they had slumped below $40 a barrel.

Forbes said Indian billionaires are bounce back

The number of billionaires in India almost doubled in the past 12 months to 52 , mainly thanks to a recovery in global stock markets, a rich-list from US magazine Forbes showed Thursday. "Happy days are definitely back again for India's richest," said Naazneen Karmali, India editor for Forbes Asia, in a statement accompanying the India Richlist survey. "This year's list shows yet again that when conditions in the financial markets and the economy are right, India has the scale and resources to produce billionaires faster than most of the countries on Earth." A rebound in the Mumbai stock exchange, which is up 76 percent since the start of the year, and continuing economic growth helped enrich the mostly male list of company owners, whose accumulated net worth is equivalent to a quarter of India's gross domestic product.

Mitsubishi auto parts exhibition in Dhaka

Rangs Ltd yesterday organised a three-day exhibition in a bid to introduce its Mitsubishi customers to the spare parts retailers in the city. As many as 17 Mitsubishi spare parts retailers from different parts of Dhaka gathered at the Mitsubishi showroom at Tejgaon in Dhaka, showcasing electronic and electronics parts to customers. There is a misconception in the auto market that Mitsubishi car parts are not readily available. " We are organising the exhibition to forward a message to our customers that Mitsubishi spare parts are always available in the market," said Md Munir Uddin, deputy general manager (head of operations) of Rangs Ltd. Rangs Ltd is the sole distributor of new Japanese Mitsubishi cars in Bangladesh. The company has sold 5 ,500 cars on the local market so far. In 2008 , Rangs sold 750 Mitsubishis of different models, while this year they expect to continue their sales performance, Munir said. He said luxury car sales dropped significantly as the current budget imposed high duties on imported cars. "Therefore, most customers are interested in buying cars up to 1 ,500 cc." Middle-class and upper-middle class people are the main customers of Mitsubishi cars. Mitsubishi customers can get an idea about the exact cost of spare parts by visiting the exhibition. The exhibition remains open from 10 am to 7 pm. The fair ends tomorrow.