Business and City in Brief

Rolls wins pounds 60m Indonesia deal

Rolls-Royce has won a pounds 60m contract from PLN, Indonesia's national electricity utility, to build a power station at Samarinda in East Kalimantan. The deal is a welcome fillip for Rolls, which has been badly affected by the Malaysian government's ban on British firms in public sector projects.

Work on the Samarinda project will start in two years. Most of the prime components will be supplied by Rolls-Royce.

Deutsche resignations

Deutsche Bank said it had accepted the resignations of four managers who granted Jurgen Schneider, the fugitive real estate developer, big loans. Mr Schneider disappeared in April, owing about DM5bn ( pounds 2bn). The four managers had been closely involved in granting Mr Schneider huge credits without checking thoroughly enough into his assets, the bank said.

Hotpoint price inquiry

The Office of Fair Trading has launched an investigation into the pricing of Hotpoint appliances after allegations that the company refused to supply its products to discount resellers. Claims have been made that the appliances could be sold for 25 per cent less.

GKN Kuwait plan

GKN Defence yesterday signed an offset agreement worth USdollars 250m on a sale of armoured vehicles to Kuwait and said it was studying investments related to environmental management. The memorandum of agreement is the fourth and largest under a fledgling offset programme aimed at diversifying Kuwait's economy away from dependence on oil.

British Steel bonus

Brian Moffat, chairman and chief executive of British Steel, saw his pay rise last year from pounds 321,630 to pounds 496,190 including a pounds 109,500 performance bonus. Last year British Steel turned round from losses of pounds 149m to pre-tax profits of pounds 80m and doubled its dividend payment.

EIB caution

The European Investment Bank should undergo a period of consolidation before embarking on further expansion, Sir Brian Unwin, its president, said. This means the bank should not become involved in lending to Russia.

Fewer TVs in Japan

Colour television production declined for the ninth month running in Japan in May, dropping 9 per cent year-on-year to 743,769 units. Video cassette recorder production declind by 10.9 per cent to 1.21 million units.

Small business job

(First Edition)

The Government should recognise the increasingly important role played in the economy by small businesses by creating a ministerial post with cabinet rank, according to the Chartered Association of Certified Accountants. The association says the solution would be 'a separate and influential ministry subsuming the Ministry of Agriculture'

Gold reserves drop

(First Edition)

Britain's gold and foreign reserves fell in June by an underlying dollars 14m (pounds 9.3m), to dollars 43.3bn.

Delisting allowed

(First Edition)

Minority shareholders in Bredero Properties cannot prevent Slough Estates delisting the company's stock after declaring the bid unconditional with 56.79 per cent acceptances, the Takeover Panel said.

World Markets

NEW YORK: Closed (holiday).

TOKYO: Futures-linked buying lifted the Nikkei average 88.52 points to close at 20,631.93.

HONG KONG: Very light trade saw the Hang Seng index ease 6.09 points to 8,628.28.

SYDNEY: Bouncing back after the mauling suffered last week, the All Ordinaries index recorded a 21.3-point upturn to 1,987.1.

BOMBAY: Mild selling pressure in anticipation of a further decline in the market took the index down 23.78 points to 4,095.2.

JOHANNESBURG: Early gains were extended in the afternoon to leave the overall index with a 35- point improvement at 5,437.

FRANKFURT: Bonds provided some support for the continuing technical recovery. The DAX index added 17.88 points to 2,054.4.

PARIS: Opening gains were not sustained as the CAC-40 index fell back to close nursing a loss of 6.68 points at 1,866.18.

ZURICH: Firmer domestic bonds helped the Swiss Performance Index to climb 26.42 points to 1,743.76 in minimal trading.

LONDON: Report, page 26.