Hong Kong talks pull back from the edge — draft approved
Hong Kong: The World Trade Organization's 149 members on Sunday narrowly averted a collapse of the trade talks by agreeing to end agricultural export subsidies by 2013.

Although the attending trade ministers expressed relief that they had averted a repeat of failed conferences in Seattle in 1999 and Cancun in 2003, they nevertheless described the Hong Kong pact as disappointing. They also expressed the apprehension that it would be difficult to wrap up the talks by the end of 2006, after which U.S. President George W. Bush may lose his congressional authority to negotiate trade deals.

European Union trade commissioner Peter Mandelson said, "It is not enough to make this meeting a true success. But it is enough to save it from failure."

The developing nations, led by India and Brazil, gave their approval to the draft but voiced their frustration over the EU's refusal to agree on 2010 as the cutoff date for export subsidies.

"The EU owes one to the developing countries. We showed a real will to negotiate and we didn't feel it was the same from the other side," Argentina's Alfredo Chiaradia said.

Although the discussions covered services, non-agricultural market access and other areas, the primary focus was agricultural. For the primarily agricultural based economies of the developing world, export subsidies for farm products, domestic support programs and tariffs are issues of key concern and understandably have been the most contentious of issues to settle satisfactorily at the various trade summits held over the years.
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Euronext may bid 600p for LSE - UK regulator to investigate Macquarie
London: Dutch exchange Euronext N.V. (24151.AE) may put in an offer of 600 pence for the London Stock Exchange PLC, although it is already in merger talks with German operator Deutsche Boerse AG, UK newspaper, the Independent reported on Sunday.

The offer, if made, would be above the 580 pence per share bid made by Macquarie Bank Ltd (MBL.AU) of Australia last week. Euronext has not commented on the news story so far.

Another UK paper, The Observer, also reported on Sunday that the U.K. regulator, the Financial Services Authority (FSA), is to investigate Macquarie's GBP1.5bn bid for the London Exchange. According to the paper, the FSA will consider whether the Australian bank fulfills the rules that require new owners of financial institutions to be "fit and proper" and to give proof that Macquarie's plans don't involve undue financial risk.
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Shanghai to triple Pudong airport's capacity
Beijing: Shanghai's Pudong International Airport, the city's only international one, will start an expansion project later this month, which will triple annual passenger capacity.

The scheme will add another terminal, plus two more runways and another cargo transportation centre, according to the China Daily.

The total cost of the construction work at the Pudong Airport, which opened in 1999, will be nearly 20 billion yuan (US$2.5bn). Work is scheduled to finish by the end of 2007, well in time for use for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Upon completion, the expansion project will increase the airport's annual passenger handling capacity from current 20 million to 60 million, making Shanghai one of the most important airports in the world.

The airport plans to handle around 100 million passengers a year and 5.7 million tons of cargo by 2020. It will become the biggest international airport in China.

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