VIENNA, Sept 28, 2007 (AFP) - Wiener Boerse, the Vienna stock exchange, said Friday that it had signed a deal to cooperate with the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange, one of the emerging markets in central Asia.

The joint heads of the Vienna exchange, Heinrich Schaller and Michael Buhl, signed a corresponding memorandum of understanding with the president of the Kazakhstan market, Azamat Joldasbekov, in the Austrian capital on Friday, Wiener Boerse said in a statement.

The Kazakhstan Stock Exchange, based in Almaty, was created in 1993 as a market for foreign exchange trading.

NEW YORK, Sept 27, 2007 (AFP) - Starbucks, the ubiquitous US coffee chain, and food and drinks giant PepsiCo will launch 'ready-to-drink' bottled coffee beverages in China, the companies said Thursday.

China will be the first international foray for the partnership which until now has distributed bottled beverages such as Starbucks's Frappuccino and DoubleShot coffee drinks only in North America, the partners said.

PepsiCo will distribute the bottled beverages in China, where Starbucks operates more than 540 stores.

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 23, 2007 (AFP) - Volkswagen boss Martin Winterkorn will visit Malaysia in the next few weeks to conclude a deal between the German auto giant and state-owned carmaker Proton, a report said Sunday.

The trip '... should be to finalise a deal between Volkswagen and the (Malaysian) government with regards to Proton Holdings Bhd,' the Edge business weekly newspaper said.

Malaysian officials could not be reached for comment.

TOKYO, Sept 19, 2007 (AFP) - Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. plans to enter the market for power plant facilities in Russia under a tie-up with conglomerate Renova Group, a newspaper said Wednesday.

The partnership, which is expected to be announced within the next few days, will make Mitsubishi Heavy the first Japanese heavy electric machinery manufacturer to enter the Russian power systems market, the Nikkei daily said.

COPENHAGEN, Sept 18, 2007 (AFP) - Danish brewing company Carlsberg said on Tuesday it was creating a joint venture with Vietnamese state brewing company Hanoi Beer & Beverage Corporation (Habeco) to build a new brewery in the south of the country.

Carlsberg and Habeco will each hold 29 percent of the joint venture, while other unnamed external investors will hold the rest, Carlsberg said in a statement.

The brewery will be called the Hanoi Vung Tau Joint Stock Company and will have 500,000 hectolitre capacity, it said.

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 13, 2007 (AFP) - German auto giant Volkswagen is keen to take a 20 percent stake in Malaysia loss-making carmaker Proton, a senior official said Thursday amid reports talks will soon secure a partnership.

'Volkswagen is eyeing a 20 percent stake (in Proton). That is what they want,' the official familiar with the negotiations told AFP on condition of anonymity.

The official said Proton and Volkswagen held their fourth round of talks in Bangkok two weeks ago and will be meeting again soon.

LUXEMBOURG, Sept 10, 2007 (AFP) - Arcelor Mittal, the world's largest steel group, said Monday it was seeking a 51 percent stake in Turkish steelmaker Rozak.

Arcelor Mittal did not disclose the cost of the proposed acquisition, which must now be approved by regulatory authorities.

'This acquistion is an important step for Arcelor Mittal to meet the strong Turkish demand in all products,' said Gonzalo Urquijo, a member of Arcelor Mittal's management board.

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 8, 2007 (AFP) - Malaysia on Saturday expressed optimism about securing a partnership for loss-making carmaker Proton with German auto giant Volkswagen, with high-level talks planned in the coming weeks.

'I can confirm that we have a good feeling about this,' second finance minister Nor Mohamed Yakcop told reporters.

Volkswagen said Friday that it will intensify talks with Malaysian authorities, a major shareholder in Proton, with a view towards a possible cooperation or shareholding in the passenger car maker.

FRANKFURT, Sept 7, 2007 (AFP) - German auto giant Volkswagen will intensify talks with Malaysian authorities, a major shareholder in the Proton auto group, with a view towards a possible cooperation or shareholding in the passenger car maker, VW said Friday.

A meeting with high-level Malaysian government officials is planned in the coming weeks, it said in a statement.

It added that VW aimed to strengthen its presence in the southeast Asia region.

STUTTGART, Germany, Sept 4, 2007 (AFP) - German auto giant DaimlerChrysler said Tuesday it planned to build luxury coaches in India with local partner Sutlej Motors.

The collaboration 'encompasses the development, production, marketing, sales and after-sales of luxury rear-engine coaches,' DaimlerChrysler said in a statement.

The coaches will comprise a Mercedes-Benz chassis, built by DaimlerChrysler India, while the body will be built by Sutlej.

'The first vehicles will roll off the line in the first quarter of 2008,' the statement said.

SHANGHAI, Sept 4, 2007 (AFP) - The state-owned Chinese partner of MSN, Microsoft's online services group, wants to sell its holdings in the China-based joint venture, state press reported Tuesday.

Shanghai Alliance Investment, which established the Shanghai MSN Network Communications joint venture with Microsoft in May 2005, is looking for buyers of its stake, the 21st Century Business Herald reported.

'Alliance Investment started to approach potential buyers last month,' the report said, citing a source close to Alliance Investment.

PRAGUE, Aug 30, 2007 (AFP) - Czech electricity giant CEZ and Hungarian oil and gas group MOL are seeking to form a major energy partnership aimed at boosting their businesses in Central and Eastern Europe with the possibility that CEZ will buy up to a 10.0 percent of MOL, CEZ said on Thursday.

The companies have signed a deal covering 'the establishment of a strategic alliance,' CEZ confirmed. 'To strengthen that strategic alliance, CEZ is considering the possibility of a capital entry into MOL by the purchase of up to a 10.0 percent stake in the company from it,' it added.

PRAGUE, Aug 30, 2007 (AFP) - Czech electricity giant CEZ and the Hungarian oil and gas group MOL are to form a major energy partnership aimed at boosting their businesses in Central and Eastern Europe, Czech media reported Thursday.

The companies are poised to sign a cooperation deal, the first fruits of which would be the construction of two gas-fired power plants, one in Hungary and the other Slovakia, with a total capacity of 800 MW, according to the online version of the Czech business magazine, euro.

FRANKFURT, Aug 30, 2007 (AFP) - German heavy lorry maker MAN said Thursday it would begin exclusive talks with the Chinese industrial group Weichai on joint manufacturing of lorries, engines, parts and large marine engines.

A MAN statement said that an agreement to launch the negotiations was signed during the recent visit of German Chancellor Angela Merkel in China.

MILAN, Aug 7, 2007 (AFP) - The Italian industrial conglomerate Fiat and Chery Automobiles of China said Tuesday they had signed a preliminary agreement to create a joint auto manufacturing company.

The new company, located in Wuhu in China's Anhui province, would produce and distribute Fiat and Alfa Romeo models as well as Chery group vehicles.

Production, expected to total 175,000 vehicles a year, is projected to begin in 2009.

PARIS, July 30, 2007 (AFP) - Air France is pursuing joint-venture talks with US partner Delta Air Lines but has yet to finalise a deal described by a French newspaper as imminent, an airline spokeswoman said Monday.

Air France 'is still in negotiations with Delta, but nothing has been finalised,' the spokeswoman told AFP in reaction to a report in the financial daily Lesotho Echos.

According to the report, talks between the two airlines, both members of the Skyteam alliance, had progressed and 'the agreement being negotiated should be signed in the autumn.'

MOSCOW, July 24, 2007 (AFP) - The US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer said Tuesday it was considering opening a factory in Russia in the light of growing economic stability in the country.

'Since the economic situation in the country has become evermore stable ... it has become apparent that it is high time to produce in Russia,' Pfizer`s representative in Russia, Regis Lhomme, told the Interfax news agency.

PARIS, July 24, 2007 (AFP) - French mobile phone operator Orange and telecommunications equipment maker Sony Ericsson said Tuesday they planned to strengthen their partnership in music-playing mobile phones.

The groups said in a statement they hoped to sell more than three million telephones combining their two services by the end of the year.