Business News

China authorities reject Coca Cola takeover of soft-drink maker

China authorities reject Coca Cola takeover of soft-drink maker Beijing - Chinese authorities on Wednesday rejected the takeover of China Huiyuan Juice Group Ltd, a leading producer of fruit juices, by the Coca Cola Company, the world's largest maker of beverages.

A takeover could have negative effects on competition, the Ministry of Commerce said in a statement, the official Xinhua news agency said. Coca Cola's bid failed to meet China's anti-monopoly law, the ministry added.

Australia outlaws excessive golden handshakes

Sydney  - Severance payments worth more than a year's base salary would need shareholder approval under proposed changes outlined Wednesday by Australian officials.

"The community has been rightly offended by the excessive golden handshakes in firms where directors and executives are rewarded for poor company performance," Treasurer Wayne Swan said.

"The government's reforms will empower shareholders to more easily reject such payments where they are not in the interests of the company, the shareholders or the community," he said.

Under current law, there is no need for shareholder approval until a termination payment is valued at more than seven times a base salary.

Biggest New Zealand retailer to charge for plastic bags

Biggest New Zealand retailer to charge for plastic bags Wellington  - New Zealand's biggest retail variety chain, The Warehouse, will start charging 10 New Zealand cents (about 5 US cents) for plastic shopping bags next month to protect the environment, according to news reports Wednesday.

The company, which has 128 variety and discount stationery stores, says it wants to take 20 million bags out of circulation in the next year.

New Zealand to ease restrictions on foreign investment

Wellington - New Zealand's 4-month-old conservative government moved Tuesday to relax rules governing foreign investors, hoping to attract more outside capital to the country, which has been in recession since early last year.

Finance Minister Bill English said overseas investment could play an important role in an economic recovery and job creation.

Announcing a review of the Overseas Investment Act, English said the current law was cumbersome and the rules often difficult to interpret.

He said an application to buy land near the sea, or otherwise declared "sensitive" because of historical or cultural importance to the indigenous Maori population, had to pass 27 different criteria.

Telstra cancels 32 m dollar deal with Satyam

Telstra cancels 32 m dollar deal with SatyamMelbourne, Mar. 17: Australian software major Telstra has dumped scandal-ridden outsourcing partner Satyam from an applications support contract believed to be worth 32 million dollars a year.

EDS will pick up the embattled Indian outsourcing firm’s IT contracts with Telstra, sources told The Australian.

Telstra chief executive Sol Trujillo, who leaves the company on June 30, sat on the board of EDS before joining TELCO in 2005.

Dispute halts 500-million-dollar expansion of Hong Kong Disneyland

Dispute halts 500-million-dollar expansion of Hong Kong Disneyland Hong Kong  - An anticipated 500-million-US-dollar expansion of Hong Kong's struggling Disneyland theme park has been put on hold, a news report said Tuesday.

Disney has laid off 30 planners and halted all creative and design work on the expansion after learning the Hong Kong government had no timetable for the work, the South China Morning Post reported, citing unnamed sources.

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