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[ariane] 22/2/2004 14:32

LONDON (AFX) - A deal between the UK and French governments could undermine
BAE Systems PLC's position as the lead contractor in the construction of two new
aircraft carriers for the Royal Navy, The Sunday Times reported citing an
alliance source.
The newspaper said this possibility has arisen after it became clear that
the UK and France are to work closely together in building the next generation
of super aircraft carriers.
A year ago the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) said Britain's two new carriers
would be built by a unique "alliance" of BAE, the French defence company Thales
SA and the MoD. The MoD stated that BAE would be the "preferred prime
contractor".
But according to the newspaper, one alliance source said that developments
in the past few weeks throw BAE's role into doubt. He pointed to increasing
Treasury frustration with the cost of defence projects run by BAE and a scathing
recent National Audit Office report.
"That wording was careful and it said 'preferred' because it was not set in
stone. This situation could change," the source is quoted as saying.
An MoD spokesman said the issue of leadership of the project was
"speculation". Sources at BAE said its position as prime contractor was not
under threat, according to the article.
A Separate article in The Sunday Telegraph reported that BAE chief executive
Mike Turner is this week set to embark on a "charm offensive" towards its
investors by setting out key strategic targets for this financial year.
Turner, who will present the targets with the defence group's interim
results on Thursday, still has a long way to go to rebuild trust with the City
after a series of cost overruns and profit warnings in the past few years. The
targets, which are expected to be presented as ambitions for this year, will
include commitments on certain key defence programmes, the newspaper said citing
executives close to the company.
ml/ak

[ariane] 22/2/2004 11:27

no no a thousands times no.

[grupo guitarlumber] 21/2/2004 07:46

LONDON, February 20 (New Ratings) – Analyst Andrew Carter of Deutsche Bank downgrades Alstom (AOM) from “buy” to “hold.” The target price is set to €2.

[waldron] 20/2/2004 08:17

PARIS (AFX) - Siemens AG is prepared to make acquisitions in a number of
sectors and has the financial muscle to do so, said CEO Heinrich von Pierer.
"I am above all in favour of organic growth but we will also grow through
acquistions," von Pierer said in an interview with French financial daily Les
Echos.
Asked in what sectors the company might look to make purchases, he added:
"There is always telecommunications, where we are looking to make adjustments,
and also medical (equipment) and (process) automisation. And there are other
sectors too."
Furthermore, "we are currently virtually debt-free ... and with a balance
sheet like that we are prepared for anything."
Von Pierer denied speculation that Siemens is actively targeting Alstom, but
said he believes that Europe will need a single large player in the
transportation segment to compete effectively in the global marketplace.
[e-mail]
jms

[maywillow] 18/2/2004 07:28

Repeating to amend name of newspaper to Asahi Shimbun in lead para)
TOKYO (AFX-ASIA) - Japan has been told it will lose a bid to build a
high-speed rail link between Beijing and Shanghai because of Prime Minister
Junichiro Koizumi's repeated visits to a controversial war shrine, the English
language version of the Asahi Shimbun reported, citing unnamed sources.
Beijing's resentment would probably also cost Tokyo success in another bid
-- to host the multi-billion dollar ITER experimental nuclear fusion project --
because China would back a rival French offer, the newspaper said.
The message was conveyed by a senior Chinese official to Takenori Kanzaki,
the head of the New Komei Party, Japan's junior ruling coalition partner, during
a visit to Beijing earlier this month, the paper said.
Japan would have won the lucrative contracts "if it had not been for the
Yasukuni issue," Liu Hongcai, the deputy head of the communist party's
international liaison departmenttold Kanzaki, according to the Asahi's sources.
Liu's reported reference was to Tokyo's Shinto Yasukuni Shrine, which is
viewed as a symbol of Japan's militarism for honouring war dead.
Koizumi paid his respects at the shrine on New Year's Day, his fourth
pilgrimage since he took office in April 2001, provoking Chinese anger.
Kanzaki reported the comments to Koizumi on Monday, the paper said.
A New Komei Party official who accompanied Kanzaki to China told Agence
France-Presse that there had been "casual, unofficial exchanges," but he and
other aides "do not recall anything that referred to the Yasukuni issues in
relation to the Shinkansen offers and ITER project."
Japan is offering its "Shinkansen" or "Bullet Train" technology for the
high-speed rail line, which would cut the travel time between China's two major
cities from 12 hours to five when it comes into service around 2010.
It is facing fierce competition from France's TGV high-speed technology and
aGerman maglev (magnetic levitation) system.
ITER, or the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor, aims to test
technology for nuclear fusion, billed as the clean, safe, inexhaustible energy
source of the future.
The EU, the US, China, Japan, South Korea and Russia are to vote in late
February on whether the French town of Cadarache or the northern Japanese
village of Rokkasho-mura should host the 10 bln usd project.
Japan has drawn backing from US and South Korea, while China and Russia are
backing France.
ja/rcw/rc

[maywillow] 16/2/2004 11:09

TOKYO (AFX-ASIA) - Japan's Vice Land, Infrastructure and Transport Minister
Noriyuki Kazaoka said the Chinese government has denied a newspaper report
saying Beijing has selected French technology, rather than rival Japanese or
German systems, for a planned high-speed rail link between Beijing and Shanghai,
Kyodo News reported.
Kazaoka told reporters that the Ministry of Railways in China, in response
to an inquiry about the report, has assured that no decision has been made yet,
Kyodo said.
Kazaoka was referring to a report in the Hong Kong daily Ta Kung Pao last
week, which said China had selected France's TGV high-speed technology for the
planned 1,300-kilometer railway.
Alstom SA earlier said it has not yet received any contract to provide the
technology for the high-speed railway link in China.
Japan, France and Germany are competing to have China select their rival
high-speed train technologies for the Beijing-Shanghai line, which the Chinese
government hopes to complete before the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.
[e-mail]
rte/mas

[grupo guitarlumber] 14/2/2004 13:12

2.16 euros.

One French weekend financial journal has set a 3 Euros target.

[grupo guitarlumber] 14/2/2004 09:48

French aircraft carrier choice reinforces UK ties

[maywillow] 13/2/2004 19:44

PARIS (AFX) - Thales SA chief executive Denis Ranque said the company is
seeking to collaborate with companies including state-owned French Naval
Construction Directorate DCN and Alstom on the construction of France's second
aircraft carrier.
"We will suggest forming a team," Ranque told Agence France-Presse, noting
that Thales aims to be a "major player" and will offer DCN a significant part of
the work.
He said Alstom is likely to be involved "in one way or another".
The French government chose conventional rather than nuclear propulsion for
its future second aircraft carrier, which paves the way for cooperation with the
UK.
[e-mail]
ea/sr/jkm/

[maywillow] 13/2/2004 12:23

but today, i have that sinking feeling.

[maywillow] 13/2/2004 12:22

Big Tender around September 2004

[maywillow] 12/2/2004 12:06

PARIS (AFX) - Alstom SA said it has not yet received any contract to provide
the technology for a high-speed railway link in China.
"We have not yet officially received the order," an Alstom spokesman said.
Hong Kong newspaper Ta KungPao reported today that Alstom had beaten off
competition from Germany and Japan to win a 100 bln yuan contract to provide the
technology for the construction of a high-speed rail link between Beijing and
Shanghai, but a ministry spokesman denied the report.
[e-mail]
lwl/cmr

[maywillow] 12/2/2004 09:03

Bombardier quits Tel Aviv light rail project

[maywillow] 11/2/2004 17:28

2.04 euros

[maywillow] 11/2/2004 15:45

PARIS (AFX) - Ste Nationale des Chemins de Fer Francais confirmed a
consortium including Alstom SA and Siemens AG has won an order worth 1.065 bln
eur for 500 locomotives from the national rail operator.
[e-mail]
lwl/jkm/

[ariane] 10/2/2004 18:13

PARIS (AFX) - The national railway operator Societe Nationale de Chemins de
fer Francais has made an order for 500 diesel locomotives for its freight
operations from a consortium of Alstom and Siemens AG, according to sources
familiar with the matter.
The total includes a firm order for 400 locomotives, they told Agence
France-Presse.
No financial details were disclosed.
SNCF has earmarked investments of 600 mln eur over three years to upgrade
its freight rolling stock.
A spokeswoman for Alstom said the company has not been formally notified of
any order, but confirmed it had tendered for the provision of 400-500
locomotives in partnership with Siemens.
paj/dd/jad/lam

[ariane] 10/2/2004 17:13

1.86 euros

[grupo guitarlumber] 09/2/2004 18:59

1.72 euros

[maywillow] 09/2/2004 14:44

PARIS (AFX) - Alstom said it has won two contracts from the national railway
operator SNCF, for a total value of 207 mln eur.
The first contract, for 170 mln eur, calls for the supply of 60 electric
locomotives that will provide passengerservice in the Ile-de-France region.
A second contract, for 48 mln eur, was awarded to an Alstom-led consortium
that will renovate Z2 regional trains, including the installation of air
conditioning systems. The work will be carried out until March 2008.
Alstom's share of the second contract is 37 mln eur.
[e-mail]
js/cml