UK group might buy Alex Forbes

JOHANNESBURG – South African financial services group Alexander Forbes is still in talks with a private equity consortium but no formal offer for the firm’s outstanding shares had been received yet, it said yesterday.

“Shareholders are advised that whilst discussions with a consortium comprising private equity investors are continuing, no formal offer has been received,” the group said in a statement. Financial daily Business Day reported yesterday a consortium of private-equity firms led by Britain’s Actis was in the final stages of preparing a 9,1 billion rand bid to buy Alexander Forbes.Alexander Forbes said in June it was in talks with private-equity firms about a deal to buy the firm.Business Day, quoting “insiders close to the deal”, said the deal to buy the company and delist it would be the largest private-equity deal in South Africa.Mittal SA to increase prices JOHANNESBURG – Mittal Steel SA, a unit of the world’s biggest steel group Arcelor Mittal, will increased prices on some of its products by up to 7,5 per cent, the company said yesterday.The increases will take effect on November 1.Flat steel products, including plate, hot rolled coil and cold rolled coil, will increase by five per cent while in the long steel products category structural steel, window sections and fencing material prices will increase.Certain wire-rod products will increase by 7,5 per cent.Mittal SA said there would be no increases on galvanised, colour, automotive, appliance and tin steel products.EgyptAir gets more Boeing 737s SEATTLE – Egypt’s national carrier, EgyptAir, has exercised options for six new Boeing 737 passenger planes, doubling a previous order for the narrow-body jets, Boeing Co.said Sunday.The Chicago-based aerospace manufacturer said EgyptAir’s total order for 12 737-800s was worth US$850 million at list prices, though airlines typically negotiate discounts on bulk orders.Cairo’s EgyptAir received its first 737-800 on Sunday and will begin taking delivery of the planes in its latest order in 2009, Boeing said.EgyptAir placed its original order for six 737s with options for six more in August 2005.The airline offers 400 weekly flights from Cairo and several Egyptian cities, connecting to more than 66 destinations across Asia, Europe, Africa and North America.Nissan to move production to Japan TOKYO -Nissan Motor Co.said yesterday it will move production of its Quest minivan from the United States to a plant in Japan to improve efficiency.Production will be shifted from Nissan’s factory in Canton, Mississippi, to a plant on the southwestern Japanese island of Kyushu, a Nissan spokeswoman told Dow Jones Newswires.The company expects to cut costs by producing other vehicles at the Kyushu facility that would use the same platform, or basic frame, as the Quest.Tokyo-based Nissan hasn’t decided when the move will take place, the spokeswoman said.The Quest is mainly targeted at the North American market, and the company sold about 40 000 units in the United States last year, she said.Morgan Stanley breaks into China BEIJING – Stealing a march on its rivals, US investment bank Morgan Stanley said yesterday it had gained access to the key Chinese market by buying a small local lender.The acquisition of Nan Tung Bank, based in the south Chinese city of Zhuhai, seemed to open the door to the potentially lucrative business of providing products denominated in the local yuan currency to corporate customers.”We are pleased to be the first among our peers to establish an onshore commercial banking platform in China,” Morgan Stanley CEO John Mack said in a statement.Foreign banks would normally have to operate for at least five years in China, clear tough regulatory hurdles and obtain a commercial banking license before being able to apply to conduct business in the yuan.Nan Tung Bank was previously owned by Nam Tung (Macao) Investment Limited, a subsidiary of Bank of China, one of the nation’s top four state-owned commercial lenders.Nampa-Reuters-AP-AFPFinancial daily Business Day reported yesterday a consortium of private-equity firms led by Britain’s Actis was in the final stages of preparing a 9,1 billion rand bid to buy Alexander Forbes.Alexander Forbes said in June it was in talks with private-equity firms about a deal to buy the firm.Business Day, quoting “insiders close to the deal”, said the deal to buy the company and delist it would be the largest private-equity deal in South Africa.Mittal SA to increase prices JOHANNESBURG – Mittal Steel SA, a unit of the world’s biggest steel group Arcelor Mittal, will increased prices on some of its products by up to 7,5 per cent, the company said yesterday.The increases will take effect on November 1.Flat steel products, including plate, hot rolled coil and cold rolled coil, will increase by five per cent while in the long steel products category structural steel, window sections and fencing material prices will increase.Certain wire-rod products will increase by 7,5 per cent.Mittal SA said there would be no increases on galvanised, colour, automotive, appliance and tin steel products.EgyptAir gets more Boeing 737s SEATTLE – Egypt’s national carrier, EgyptAir, has exercised options for six new Boeing 737 passenger planes, doubling a previous order for the narrow-body jets, Boeing Co.said Sunday.The Chicago-based aerospace manufacturer said EgyptAir’s total order for 12 737-800s was worth US$850 million at list prices, though airlines typically negotiate discounts on bulk orders.Cairo’s EgyptAir received its first 737-800 on Sunday and will begin taking delivery of the planes in its latest order in 2009, Boeing said.EgyptAir placed its original order for six 737s with options for six more in August 2005.The airline offers 400 weekly flights from Cairo and several Egyptian cities, connecting to more than 66 destinations across Asia, Europe, Africa and North America.Nissan to move production to Japan TOKYO -Nissan Motor Co.said yesterday it will move production of its Quest minivan from the United States to a plant in Japan to improve efficiency.Production will be shifted from Nissan’s factory in Canton, Mississippi, to a plant on the southwestern Japanese island of Kyushu, a Nissan spokeswoman told Dow Jones Newswires.The company expects to cut costs by producing other vehicles at the Kyushu facility that would use the same platform, or basic frame, as the Quest.Tokyo-based Nissan hasn’t decided when the move will take place, the spokeswoman said.The Quest is mainly targeted at the North American market, and the company sold about 40 000 units in the United States last year, she said.Morgan Stanley breaks into China BEIJING – Stealing a march on its rivals, US investment bank Morgan Stanley said yesterday it had gained access to the key Chinese market by buying a small local lender.The acquisition of Nan Tung Bank, based in the south Chinese city of Zhuhai, seemed to open the door to the potentially lucrative business of providing products denominated in the local yuan currency to corporate customers.”We are pleased to be the first among our peers to establish an onshore commercial banking platform in China,” Morgan Stanley CEO John Mack said in a statement.Foreign banks would normally have to operate for at least five years in China, clear tough regulatory hurdles and obtain a commercial banking license before being able to apply to conduct business in the yuan.Nan Tung Bank was previously owned by Nam Tung (Macao) Investment Limited, a subsidiary of Bank of China, one of the nation’s top four state-owned commercial lenders.Nampa-Reuters-AP-AFP