Toyota, Honda global output halved after quake

Production at Toyota Motor Corp and Honda Motor Co is likely to
recover more quickly than initially feared after Japan's massive
earthquake wreaked havoc with their supply chains and halved output in
April. Japanese automakers have been plagued by shortages of hundreds
of components after a magnitude 9.0 earthquake and tsunami damaged
factories in Japan's northeast, and have said they expect to lose
significant share in some markets as a result. But their public
predictions of a recovery to pre-quake production levels late this
year are increasingly seen as conservative. 'April is likely to be the
bottom and we might see back-to-normal production levels in July or
August,' said Yoshihiko Tabei, chief analyst at Kazaka Securities.
'Some parts suppliers say they are resuming full production in June in
time for automakers' summer operations. And the widely anticipated
disruption in power supply during summer is not likely to have a big
impact on production,' he said. Toyota, which is this year set to lose
its crown as the world's biggest automaker, said its global output
tumbled 47.8 per cent in April versus a year ago to 3,08,555 vehicles.
Honda said its production fell by 52.9 per cent, while Nissan Motor Co
logged a 22.4 per cent decline. The Nikkei business daily said on
Friday that domestic output for Nissan is expected to return to normal
levels in June while Toyota's is likely to rise to 90 per cent of
normal levels. Officials at Toyota and Nissan said the report was not
based on company announcements and their plans have not changed.
Toyota has said it expects its production at home and overseas to be
around 70 per cent of normal levels in June while Nissan has said it
expects a recovery to full-capacity production globally in October.
Honda expects a recovery by the year end but has also said that this
was a worst-case scenario. It said on Thursday it said its North
American assembly plants will not reach full production until August
for most vehicles, and the high-volume Civic compact car will take
even longer.
---------------NEWAGEBD ONLINE

iPhone 4 launched in India

Apple's iPhone 4 hit store shelves in India on Friday, nearly a year
after the next-generation version of the popular smartphone was rolled
out worldwide. Mobile phone carrier Aircel launched the iPhone 4 with
a new pricing model, allowing customers to recover the upfront cost of
the smartphone on select plans over 24 months, the company said in a
press release. Aircel will charge 34,500 rupees for iPhones with a 16
GB capacity and 40,900 rupees for the 32 GB model, it said. Bharti
Airtel, India's top mobile phone carrier, also launched the phone. The
iPhone 4 boasts a higher-quality screen and longer battery life than
the previous model. With more than 800 million mobile subscribers,
India is the world's second-biggest market for mobile phone services
and is also the fastest-growing. But smartphones are estimated to
account for just over 5 per cent of the mobile handset sales. Indian
carriers have recently started rolling out high-speed third-generation
mobile networks, which is expected to boost sales of smartphones.
---------------NEWAGEBD ONLINE

Indonesia eyes faster growth

Indonesian president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Friday unveiled a
plan to boost economic growth to as high as 9.0 per cent a year
between 2015 and 2025, from the 6.1 per cent expansion last year.
Southeast Asia's biggest economy will focus on investments in six
designated growth centres in four provinces, while slashing inflation
to 3.0 per cent annually, he said. 'With strong economic growth, we
will reduce poverty and unemployment rates,' the ex-general said in a
speech that elaborated on an economic expansion plan unveiled last
year. The government is offering incentives to private investors to
increase the contribution of investment to economic growth after
decades of relying primarily on household consumption. Long-term
targets hinge on attracting private investment of $465 billion until
2025. Direct foreign investment last year was $24.4 billion, according
to official figures. Economists have said property ownership rules
will have to be liberalised for foreigners, infrastructure will have
to be overhauled, corruption tackled and red tape in the form of
levies and taxes slashed. 'The biggest hurdles for infrastructure
(investments) are regulatory in nature — land acquisition, competing
regulatory jurisdictions, cost recovery issues, corruption, and lack
of effective disbursal of public funds, among others,' Citigroup said
in a report Friday. 'Unfortunately, near-term prospects for resolving
these issues remain uninspiring,' it added. The World Bank said
earlier this month that Indonesia, along with Brazil, China, India,
South Korea and Russia, would account for more than half of global
growth by 2025. Among the projects planned for the growth centres, PT
Weda Bay Nickel will invest around $5.8 billion to develop a nickel
and cobalt mine and a hydrometallurgical processing plant in North
Maluku.
---------------NEWAGEBD ONLINE

Chinese firm at centre of Yahoo dispute gets licence

Alipay, the firm at the centre of a dispute with Yahoo, has received a
licence from China's central bank. Alipay was spun off from China's
Alibaba Group, which is 43% owned by Yahoo, in order to apply for the
online payments licence. These are only available to wholly Chinese
firms. Earlier in May, Yahoo said Alibaba had spun off Alipay without
informing it, sending its shares down sharply. Investors are concerned
Yahoo may lose control over its Chinese investments. Yahoo and Chinese
partner Alibaba have said they are trying to resolve their
disagreement, presenting a united front after a public spat. In a
joint statement, the two companies said that they were "engaged in and
committed to productive negotiations", but provided no other details.
Shares in Yahoo continued to fall in New York on Thursday, closing
more than 1% lower.Alipay is an online payment system.
---------------BBC ONLINE

Fiat to take majority stake in Chrysler

Fiat says it will buy the US government's 6% stake in Chrysler, which
will give the Italian carmaker a majority share in the US company.
After Chrysler emerged from bankruptcy protection in 2009, Fiat agreed
with the US government to share technology and management in return
for a 20% stake and has quickly built that up. Buying out the
government would give Fiat 52% ownership of Chrysler. The price will
be negotiated within 10 business days, Fiat said. In a statement, Fiat
notified the US Treasury that it was exercising its option to buy the
government's share. Its stake is likely to increase to 57% by the end
of the year, when it is expected to have met certain government
targets. On Tuesday, Chrysler said it had repaid $7.6bn (£4.7bn) in US
and Canadian government loans, six years ahead of schedule. Earlier
this month, it reported a profit of $116m (£69m) in the first three
months of the year, its first quarterly profit since it emerged from
bankruptcy protection.
---------------BBC ONLINE