In Brief

FirstRand in Moz talks JOHANNESBURG – South Africa’s second-biggest banking group, FirstRand, is in talks with Mozambique’s BDC bank and other parties over buying into the country’s banking sector, a spokeswoman said yesterday.

“We are in discussions with a number of parties, BDC is one of them and the discussions are continuing,” FirstRand spokeswoman Sam Moss said. Mozambique’s AIM news agency earlier reported that FirstRand’s banking arm FNB was interested in taking a majority stake in small commercial bank BDC.Oil prices remain flat SINGAPORE – Oil prices were flat in Asian trade yesterday, after falling to six-month lows below US$60 on Monday, amid institutional trading and second-guessing over Opec’s supply moves, dealers said.At 0641 GMT New York’s main contract, light sweet crude for November delivery, was unchanged at US$61,45 a barrel, after gaining 10 cents earlier in the day, compared with US$61,45 in late US trades Monday.The contract fell to US$59,52 Monday, the lowest since early March.Brent North Sea crude for November advanced eight cents to US$60,88 falling back from US$60,99 earlier.Dealers said the market is now concerned that the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries may begin to trim production if prices drop precipitously.Pan Am pays up NEW YORK – After shutting down for 15 years, Pan American World Airways is expected to pay leftover wages to its ex-employees.Some 15 000 former employees can expect to get cheques this December, marking the end of the liquidation of an iconic airline.In July, a federal bankruptcy judge authorised the Pan Am Corp.to distribute the money it had secured in a settlement with the government of Libya.Sending out those cheques marks the end of a long process of winding down Pan Am.The defunct Pan Am, which started in 1927 and helped create what was then a new industry, shut down on December 4, 1991, after declaring bankruptcy in January of that year.Hyundai wins US$1,6 b order SEOUL – South Korea’s Hyundai Heavy Industries, the world’s largest shipbuilder, said yesterday it had won a US$1,6 billion order to build oil and gas rigs for an United Arab Emirates company.The contract – to supply Abu Dhabi Marine Operating with three fixed platforms, pipelines and bridges by 2010 – is the world’s biggest project of its type, Hyundai said in a statement.The facilities would produce 300 000 barrels of crude oil and one billion cubic feet (30 million cubic metres) of natural gas per day, it said.Nampa-AFP-APMozambique’s AIM news agency earlier reported that FirstRand’s banking arm FNB was interested in taking a majority stake in small commercial bank BDC.Oil prices remain flat SINGAPORE – Oil prices were flat in Asian trade yesterday, after falling to six-month lows below US$60 on Monday, amid institutional trading and second-guessing over Opec’s supply moves, dealers said.At 0641 GMT New York’s main contract, light sweet crude for November delivery, was unchanged at US$61,45 a barrel, after gaining 10 cents earlier in the day, compared with US$61,45 in late US trades Monday.The contract fell to US$59,52 Monday, the lowest since early March.Brent North Sea crude for November advanced eight cents to US$60,88 falling back from US$60,99 earlier.Dealers said the market is now concerned that the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries may begin to trim production if prices drop precipitously.Pan Am pays up NEW YORK – After shutting down for 15 years, Pan American World Airways is expected to pay leftover wages to its ex-employees.Some 15 000 former employees can expect to get cheques this December, marking the end of the liquidation of an iconic airline.In July, a federal bankruptcy judge authorised the Pan Am Corp.to distribute the money it had secured in a settlement with the government of Libya.Sending out those cheques marks the end of a long process of winding down Pan Am.The defunct Pan Am, which started in 1927 and helped create what was then a new industry, shut down on December 4, 1991, after declaring bankruptcy in January of that year.Hyundai wins US$1,6 b order SEOUL – South Korea’s Hyundai Heavy Industries, the world’s largest shipbuilder, said yesterday it had won a US$1,6 billion order to build oil and gas rigs for an United Arab Emirates company.The contract – to supply Abu Dhabi Marine Operating with three fixed platforms, pipelines and bridges by 2010 – is the world’s biggest project of its type, Hyundai said in a statement.The facilities would produce 300 000 barrels of crude oil and one billion cubic feet (30 million cubic metres) of natural gas per day, it said.Nampa-AFP-AP