Lada carmaker to cut 27,600 jobs

Lada may be a well-known brand, but sales have dropped 40% this y

Russia's largest carmaker, Avtovaz, is to cut up to 27,600 jobs as it tries to cope with the global slump in demand.

The job cuts are more than a quarter of the 102,000-strong workforce at Avtovaz, which makes Lada cars.

Reports had suggested that 36,000 job losses were considered, but the company said that it managed to "significantly lower the initial figure".

Russia had the fastest growing car market in Europe until the financial crisis hit demand.

Overhaul

"Today, 102,000 people work at Avtovaz," the carmaker said.

"Such a number cannot guarantee effective and profitable production, therefore we have agreed to reduce the personnel by 27,600 people."

This includes 5,000 job cuts in "white collar" jobs announced last week, it said.

Of the workers being eliminated, Avtovaz said 13,000 employees would retire with pensions while another 5,500 would be forced to take early retirement.

The remaining 9,100 employees would leave the firm, but Avtovaz said 6,000 of those would have the option to work at the carmaker again in 2012.

Sales have dropped 40% this year as consumers, hard hit by the financial crisis, have shunned the carmaker.

Production freezes

Avtovaz, which is 25%-owned by French automaker Renault, had imposed month-long production freezes while it tried to reduce levels of its unsold stock.

No cars were built in August and the plant will work two weeks in four from September to February, which meant that the workers will have to survive for six months on half pay of $300 (£176) a month.

The decision led to large worker protests.

The carmaker was set up with Italy's Fiat during the Soviet years.

It is a key employer in the southern city of Togliatti based by the Volga River, which has a population of 700,000.

Japan Airlines requests bail-out

The airline had said it expected to make a heavy loss this y

Loss-making carrier Japan Airlines (JAL) has asked for a government bail-out to help it survive.

JAL president Haruka Nishimatsu made the requests after meeting Japan's new transport minister. He also proposed a more drastic restructuring.

The airline recently announced plans to cut 6,800 jobs.

JAL's shares had already tumbled 18% to a record low on rumours that it was seeking public money, or that it might seek to break up the company.

Tie-up hopes

"Ultimately, we think that the use of more funds will reduce our debts to the public," Mr Nishimatsu said.

He made the comments to reporters after meeting Transport Minister Seiji Maehara, who took over the role after the Democratic Party took charge of the government.

Mr Nishimatsu plans to apply for public funds under the industrial revitalisation law.

The law means that companies need to obtain approval from the government to restructure. They can then apply for loans from banks, which are backed by the Japanese government's wholly-owned Japan Finance Corp.

Media reports recently have said that several US and European airlines - including Air France-KLM, Delta Airlines and American Airlines - are in the running to take a stake in JAL and expand into Asia via code-sharing agreements.

Mr Nishimatsu said last week that he hoped JAL would have a deal in place with an international carrier by the middle of October.

Sector suffers

The airline industry as a whole has suffered in the global downturn, hit by a combination of falling passenger numbers and high oil prices.

The International Air Transport Association (Iata) has increased its forecast for losses across the whole industry to $11bn for 2009, from the $9bn it predicted earlier this month.

Airlines have already lost $6bn in the first half of the year alone, Iata said, with Asian airlines among the hardest hit.

In the Asia-Pacific region, Iata predicts airlines will report losses of $3.6bn for 2009.

China takes $850m commodity stake

Lou Jiwei is the head of the Chinese sovereign fu

China's sovereign wealth fund has bought a stake in a Hong Kong-based commodities trading firm.

China Investment Corp, the country's $200bn (£123bn) fund, took a 15% stake in Noble Group in return for $850m.

The deal comes after China recently signed a pact with another commodity trader, Glencore, in an attempt to increase its influence in the sector.

China's rapid economic growth has made it one of the world's largest consumer of raw materials such as oil and steel.

Rising interest

Noble, whose shares are listed in Singapore, is one of the few publicly-listed commodity trading houses.

China's fund bought its shares at an 8% discount to Noble's last traded share price of 2.30 Singapore dollars.

Noble has investments in Australian coal, soybean crushing plants and sugar and ethanol mills in Brazil, among others.

In July, China Investment Corp paid $1.5bn for a 17% stake in Canadian miner Teck Resources Ltd.

"A lot of sovereign wealth funds or state-linked firms are increasingly showing interest in resources, so this is in line with the trend," said OCBC Securities analyst Lee Wen Ching. "Noble provides access to a diversified portfolio."

Sovereign wealth funds are the investment funds established by governments in Asia and the Middle East mainly, who have large surpluses of money which they wish to invest abroad.

Abu Dhabi has the largest fund, at $800bn, while Norway's is $400bn and Singapore has a $330bn sovereign fund.

China's fund was established in September 2007.

G20 'to call for economy balance'

Nations such as China need to spend more, the G20 is set to sa

This week's G20 summit in the US will call for major reforms to promote a more balanced global economy, according to a document seen by the BBC.

A draft paper hints at significant policy changes from G20 countries, including the UK, the US and China.

And while stimulus packages should continue for now, the document called for the creation of "transparent and credible" means to unwind that support.

Leaders will meet in Pittsburgh with the economy high on the agenda.

No enforcement

The document says huge imbalances in the global economy must be ironed out.

If this does not happen, the world will "face anaemic growth" at levels that are "unacceptably low", it says.

However the paper does not suggest any mechanism for enforcing its plans - other than countries coming under pressure from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

And while no countries are mentioned by name, BBC business correspondent Joe Lynam says the document is suggesting that rich indebted countries, such as Britain and the US, should save more while cautious and savings-oriented nations such as Germany and China increase spending.

The document is ambitious, our business correspondent adds, and is aimed at removing some of the wild economic swings that have marked the opening decade of the 21st Century.

There have long been calls for China to allow its currency, the yuan, to rise, encouraging Chinese consumers to spend more on foreign goods.

But others argue that in the longer term, China should work on improving pensions, healthcare and other policies, to reduce the incentive people have to save so much.

Stimulus withdrawal

The document appears to back comments made by British Prime Minister Gordon Brown that there will be no early end to the international stimulus package aimed at taking the world out of recession.

But it calls on the IMF and the G20's Financial Stability Board to draw up, by November, "transparent and credible" ways of withdrawing that financial support.

The document also acknowledges that each country will have to find its own way of winding back its support in terms of the scale and timing of the pullback of support.

Forecasts for Asian growth raised

Government stimulus packages have helped to boost domestic d

The economies of China and India are set to grow by more than previously thought in 2009, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) has said.

Government spending in developing Asian economies had enhanced the region's growth prospects, it said. It now expects China to grow by 8.2% in 2009, up from an earlier forecast of 7%. India's forecast has been raised to 6% from 5%. But it also warned governments not to withdraw stimulus policies too soon.

"Expansionary fiscal and monetary policies have softened the blow of the global slump on the economy," the ADB said in its updated annual outlook. "A surge in bank lending and vigorous fixed-asset investment has maintained growth at a higher pace than was expected in March." But it added: "This is not the time for an exit from expansionary policies - the recovery remains fragile and subject to serious downside risks." The ADB raised its growth forecasts for the region to 3.9% in 2009, from its previous forecast of 3.4%. It also raised its 2010 forecasts to 6.4% from its previous estimate of 6%.

आउने भयो टेलिफोनको तारबाट टिभी

काठमाडौं, भदौ २१-टेलिकमको लक्ष्यअनुसार काम हुन सके आउँदो एक वर्षभित्र तारवाला टेलिफोनका उपभोक्ताले केबुल टिभीसमेत प्रयोग गर्न पाउने छन्। त्यसपछि अहिले जस्तो टेलिफोन, केबुल टिभी र इन्टरनेटका लागि छूट्टाछूट्टै तार प्रयोग गर्नूपर्ने छैन। नेपाल टेलिकमले टेलिफोनको तारबाट टेलिफोनमात्र नभै इन्टरनेट र केबुल टिभीसमेत दिने प्रविधि ल्याउन लागेको हो। एक वर्ष अघिदेखि यस्तो प्रविधिको चर्चा भए पनि टेलिकमले उपकरण किन्न हालै सुचना प्रकाशित गरेको छ। अहिले टेलिफोनको तारबाट एडिएसएल प्रविधिबाट इन्टरनेट चल्छ। तर, केबुल टिभी भने चलिसकेको छैन। एनजिएनअर्न्तगत वितरण हुने इन्टरनेट अहिलेको एडिएसएल दाँजोमा सस्तो र द्रूतगतिको हुन्छ। 'नेक्स्ट जेनेरेसन नेटवर्क (एनजीएन)' भनिने यस्तो प्रविधि ल्याउन टेलिकमले काम सूरु गरिसकेको छ। 'हामीले उपकरण किन्न टेण्डर आव्हान गरिसकेका छौं,' टेलिकमका नायव प्रवन्ध निर्देशक अनुपरन्जन भट्टराईले भने। टेलिकमले चारलाख लाइन एनजीएन किन्ने योजना बनाएको छ। यसका लागि तीनदेखि चार करोड अमेरिकी डलर खर्च हुने अनुमान छ। 'बढीमा चार करोड डलर खर्च हुने अनुमान गरिएको छ,' भट्टराईले भने।

एनजीएनको मुल्य अन्तर्राष्ट्रिय बजारमा छोटो समयमै तलमाथि भैरहने हूँदा टेलिकमले अनुमान गरेको यो मुल्यभन्दा अझै सस्तोमा पनि पाउनसक्छ। टेलिकमको लक्ष्यअनुसार काम भए एक वर्षभित्र काठमाडौंबासीले एउटै तारबाट तीन किसिमको सेवा लिन सक्ने छन्। अहिले टेलिकमले तारबाट टेलिफोन र इन्टरनेट सेवा दिइरहेको छ। केबुल टिभीसमेत टेलिफोनको तारबाट प्रशारण गरेर ग्राहकका घरसम्म पूर्‍याउन निजी कम्पनीसँग 'सेयरिङ' गर्ने प्रस्ताव गरिएको छ। टेलिफोनको तारबाट केबुल टिभी दिन दूई विदेशी कम्पनीले चासो देखाएका छन्। यसका लागि चीनको जेडटीई र अमेरिकाको यूटिस्टार कम्पनीले केही महिना अघि टेलिकमलाई प्रस्ताव बुझाएको स्रोत बताउँछ। टेलिफोनको तारबाट प्रसारण हुने केबुल टिभीलाई आइपी (इन्टरनेट प्रोटोकल टिभी) भनिन्छ। यस अर्न्तगत लाइभ र रेकर्डेड टेलिभिजन कार्यक्रमसमेत ग्राहक कहाँ पूर्‍याउने तयारी सूरु गरेको हो। भारतमा दुरसञ्चार सेवा प्रदायक कम्पनी एअरटेलले गत माघ पहिलो सातादेखि आइपी टिभी सूरु गरेको छ। एअरटेलले टेलिफोन तारबाटै एक सय च्यानल टिभी सेटसम्म पूर्‍याइरहेको छ। सूरुको चरण भएकाले शूल्क च्यानलको संख्याअनुसार कम्तिमा ६ सय देखि १ हजार भारतीय रुपियाँसम्म तोकिएको छ।