Gazprom chief sets out world vision

Gazprom chief sets out world vision

By Ed Crooks and Carola Hoyos in London and Catherine Belton in Moscow

Published: June 26 2008 22:34 | Last updated: June 26 2008 22:43

Gazprom set out a vaulting vision of its future status as the world’s most powerful energy company on Thursday as it belittled Opec, saying the oil producers’ cartel had in effect lost control of the market.

Alexey Miller told the Financial Times that the world was undergoing “a great surge in oil and gas prices . . . which will end with prices at a radically new level”.

He added that even Opec had no real influence on prices. “Not a single decision has been passed of late that would really influence the global oil market.”

Mr Miller continued: “In the coming years Gazprom will be not just a major company in the world, but the most influential in the energy business,” adding that its target was to reach a market capitalisation of $1,000bn.

He also said international energy companies should invest in Russia only alongside state-controlled companies, such as Gazprom, if they wanted to succeed. He stressed that the Russian market was increasingly attractive to Gazprom as domestic gas prices rose, but also talked of plans for expansion in the Americas, Asia, Europe and Africa. “We see North America as a region of our strategic interests,” he said, arguing that Gazprom was “creating a new configuration of gas supplies” to the US and Canada.

Gazprom hopes to serve the North American market from 2014 with liquefied natural gas from its proposed Shtokman project off Russia’s north coast.

“We are currently assessing several options of accessing the North American market,” he said, adding that Gazprom had received “many interesting proposals” from Canadian companies. He also confirmed that Gazprom was interested in the proposed Alaska gas pipeline.

Mr Miller said Gazprom was “quite close” to deals in Nigeria on joint ventures for production, gas utilisation to avoid flaring, and electricity generation. It also hopes to join in building a gas pipeline for exports from Nigeria.

But competition for gas and other energy resources was growing, he said, and stood by his prediction that the price of oil would hit $250 a barrel next year.

He also warned that Russian domestic demand was an increasingly potent destination for Gazprom’s production.

“Europe and Asia [have] encountered a new, powerful competitor, which is the Russian domestic market,” he said.

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Employers press UK ministers on migrants

By George Parker and John Willman in London

Published: June 26 2008 19:29 | Last updated: June 26 2008 19:29

Leading members of London’s financial services industry are to meet government ministers next week amid fears that new immigration rules could undermine the competitiveness of Europe’s premier financial centre and even lead to tycoons such as Bill Gates being turned away.

Employers in the City of London say they still do not know what they will be required to do under a new point-based system for migrant workers, and are worried that talented recruits from abroad who narrowly fail to accumulate sufficient points will be barred by an inflexible approach.

Kitty Ussher, City minister, on Thursday admitted the new system was arousing concerns in the financial centre – especially among international banks – but said she believed it would not cause any problems.

However, Ms Ussher said she and Liam Byrne, immigration minister, would hold talks with City employers next Wednesday to discuss how the points-based system “will work in practice” and to take on board any concerns.

“People have said to me that under the new system Bill Gates would be refused entry because he does not have a degree,” she said. “If he did want to come here, I suspect he may get in on the skills, experience and earnings categories.”

City businesses have broadly welcomed the new system, which replaces a plethora of work permit schemes with just five categories that give preference to entrepreneurs, financial high-fliers and skilled professionals.

However, the system is being phased in throughout this year and many details of how it will operate have yet to be decided.

There are also fears that the requirement for applicants to speak English could discriminate particularly against Japanese staff, who may not have a good grasp of the language.

The operation of the new system was raised by David Lewis, Lord Mayor of the City of London, in a keynote speech last week, when he said that “London is an international city or it is nothing”.

“There is some concern that, despite its laudable objective, the new points system will not in practice permit entry to some of the fresh foreign talent we need,” Mr Lewis said. “We must ensure those concerns are groundless.”

Ms Ussher said the system, based on the Australian model, would allow London to continue to attract the brightest people from around the world. “For intra-company transfers – which is often the situation with our international banks – the migrant has three years to learn basic English.”

Highly skilled migrants can already apply to work in the UK under Tier 1 of the system if they have enough points awarded on the basis of skills, experience, age and past earnings. Under Tier 2, which will come into effect in the autumn, employers will be able to sponsor skilled migrants if there is a shortage of local skills.

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Qatar to invest $8bn in Libyan companies

TRIPOLI, June 26 - Qatar will invest about $8bn in Libyan companies in the financial services, energy and real estate sectors, officials from the North African OPEC oil exporter said on Thursday.

Libya, with a population of 5 million and the biggest oil reserves in Africa, is moving to modernise, but faces an uphill struggle in a command economy where cash is still king, firms battle to get credit and politics dictate the progress of reform.

Visiting Qatari ruler Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani and Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi watched as officials from both countries finalised the accords late on Wednesday, according to officials, who declined to be identified.

Barwa Real Estate Co, an affiliate of the Qatar Investment Authority’s $40 billion property wing, agreed a $2 billion deal with state-owned Libyan Development and Investment Co to develop leisure, commercial and residential facilities, the officials said.

Separately, Barwa said in a regulatory filing on the Doha bourse website on Thursday its international arm would invest in an energy project.

The two countries also agreed to set up a $2 billion joint investment fund, a $600 million Libyan-Qatari bank and a $300 million sport and services project, the officials said, declining to give further details.

Libya and Qatar also signed other accords on energy and water projects.

The deals are the latest between Qatar and Libya. The Gulf Arab nation, the world’s largest exporter of liquefied natural gas and an oil exporter is looking to diversify its economy from hydrocarbons.

Qatar National Bank and Masraf al-Rayan two of Qatar’s largest lenders have either opened or are planning to open offices in Libya.

In February, Qatar Diar Real Estate Development, the real estate arm of the country’s sovereign wealth fund, set up a joint venture real estate firm with the Libyan government to invest in the North African country.

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Qatar Telecom in tender offer for Indosat

By John Aglionby in Jakarta

Published: June 27 2008 02:24 | Last updated: June 27 2008 02:24

Qatar Telecom on Friday said it plans to launch a tender offer to buy 44.9 per cent of Indosat, a move triggered by its $1.8bn acquisition of another 40.8 per cent of Indonesia’s second largest mobile phone company.

The Indosat deal will give Qatar Telecom a strong foothold in Indonesia, the world’s fourth most populous country. Indonesia has a mobile phone penetration rate of less than 30 per cent, much lower than its neighbours.

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Businessman draws fire over Egyptian law

By Heba Saleh in Cairo

Published: June 27 2008 01:54 | Last updated: June 27 2008 01:54

An anti-trust law adopted last week in Egypt has ignited a furious public debate about conflicts of interest.

Ahmed Ezz, a stalwart of the ruling National Democratic party who also controls some 60 per cent of steel production in the country, has been attempting to contradict allegations in the media and from the opposition that he influenced the law in order to protect his business interests.

Mr Ezz is the most prominent of a group of young businessmen closely associated with Gamal Mubarak, the son of the Egyptian president and a senior leader of the ruling party.

It has long been believed in Egypt that the younger Mr Mubarak is being groomed to succeed his father, though both men deny it.

“The presence of businessmen in government is evidence of chaos before it is proof of corruption,” said Diaa Rashwan, an analyst at the Al-Ahram Centre for Political and Strategic Studies. “There are no rules organising society. It is not known where are the limits of the businessman and those of the politician.”

The government’s draft anti-trust legislation had offered a full amnesty to anyone who reported monopolistic practices to the authorities, even if they were party to them. But parliament abolished that.

Mr Ezz subsequently introduced an amendment that was hastily adopted making whistleblowers liable to half of any financial penalty arising from their testimony.

NDP deputies in parliament also rejected a proposal in the government’s draft legislation to fine monopolies up to 15 per cent of profits realised through illegal practices. Instead the law now imposes a fine capped at about $55m (€34m, £28m).

The head of the country’s competition authority, Mona Yassin, was quoted in the government press as saying she did not consider the fine a sufficient deterrent against monopolistic practices by big producers.

She also said that punishing whistleblowers would act as a disincentive to those who wanted to go to the authorities. Her agency has been looking into allegations of anti-competitive practices by steel producers, but its report has been repeatedly delayed.

Mr Ezz has long been a target of attacks in the press because of the rising price of steel, which has sent construction costs soaring. His company and other producers have pointed out that the increases are tied to the rising costs of their imported raw materials.

Provoked into responding by the ferocious campaign against him, Mr Ezz, who normally shuns the press, has given a series of newspaper and television interviews denying that he has played any part in watering down the anti-trust law.

He told Al Masry El Youm newspaper that the legislation reflected the will of parliament and suggested there was a need to guard against “malicious” complaints.

Gamal Mubarak has injected new blood into the ossified party and is also credited with the pro-business tilt of the cabinet appointed in 2004, which includes several businessmen.

But in spite of a turnround in the economy which has produced three years of 7 per cent growth, many Egyptians are wary of the increasingly close relationship between business and government. And with the benefits of growth still to filter down this has increased hostility against figures such as Mr Ezz.

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China opens door to Europe but not to US

By Sundeep Tucker

Published: June 27 2008 01:51 | Last updated: June 27 2008 01:51

European investment banks have established momentum over their US rivals in the race to develop Chinese securities joint ventures, amid signs that Beijing is delaying the entry of Wall Street firms to the coveted marketplace.

Chinese authorities are opening up the sector to greater foreign investment after a two-year ban and bankers familiar with the situation believe it is significant that Europeans have made the running in recent weeks.

In the latest development Deutsche Bank has agreed a tie-up with Shanxi Securities to establish a venture that will offer investment banking services to mainland clients. It is expected to receive approval this year.

This month Credit Suisse secured regulatory approval to set up a securities joint venture with Founder Securities, a subsidiary of a mainland conglomerate, becoming the first foreign bank to gain entry since the moratorium was lifted in December. A five-year-old mainland securities joint venture part-owned by CLSA, the Asia-focused bank whose largest shareholder is France’s Crédit Agricole, has also gained approval to expand its business.

By contrast, Morgan Stanley and Citigroup, which signed separate agreements with mainland partners to set up securities joint ventures, have each been waiting months for regulatory clearance. Other US firms including Merrill Lynch, JPMorgan and Lehman Brothers remain in discussions with potential mainland partners.

Only Goldman Sachs and UBS won approvals for mainland securities joint ventures before China stopped such deals, fearing that the more experienced overseas companies would dominate the industry.

People familiar with the matter believe the issue of approvals for ventures involving US firms has become tied to bilateral talks between China and the US over market access. Washington is lobbying Beijing to open its financial services sector to foreign groups while China wants its leading banks, after years of trying, to be allowed to set up and expand branch networks in the US.

One banking executive said: “By approving the Credit Suisse and CLSA applications, Beijing is sending a message to Washington: the Chinese securities market is opening, but Wall Street firms may have to wait until other issues are sorted out.”

Ironically, the delays in securing approvals come at an opportune time for Wall Street. Senior bankers for US firms in Asia said the internal focus was to stabilise after the subprime crisis.

The collapse of the mainland stock market this year could also benefit Wall Street, with valuations of local securities firms likely to fall significantly. “No one would turn away a Chinese securities licence but I doubt any of us are in a panic to get one,” said another banker.

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Finland hits back on wood tariffs

By David Ibison in Stockholm

Published: June 27 2008 03:00 | Last updated: June 27 2008 03:00

Finland yesterday said it was considering imposing tariffs on Russia in the latest escalation of a dispute over wood imports that threatens to undermine Moscow's international ambitions.

In its most aggressive step yet in a stand-off that could delay Russia's bid for membership in the World Trade Organisation and a partnership deal with the European Union, Helsinki said it might offer state aid to its struggling paper industry and pay for it with charges on the tens of thousands of trucks that cross Finland into Russia every year.

Speaking on the eve of today's EU-Russia summit in Siberia, where Russia's WTO membership is expected to be discussed, Finland's foreign trade minister said a system of transit fees could come into force next year.

Paavo Väyrynen added the warning that if Moscow proceeded with plans to raise its tariffs on wood exports next year then "the transit fees could be raised". He said: "A sustainable solution to wood tariffs has to be found as part of Russia's WTO membership."

The origins of the dispute lie in Moscow's decision to impose export duties on raw timber to promote its own wood processing industry. Moscow doubled tariffs on exports to $15 a cubic metre on April 1 and said it would raise them to $50 next year.

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Saudi amphetamine seizures soar

By Stephen Fidler in London

Published: June 26 2008 22:54 | Last updated: June 26 2008 22:54

Seizures of amphetamines have risen sharply in Saudi Arabia, suggesting a surge in consumption of the illegal stimulant in the kingdom, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) reported on Thursday.

Saudi Arabia accounted for 28 per cent of all global amphetamine seizures in 2006, the latest year for which data are available, according to the UNODC’s annual report.

The quantities impounded in the kingdom started to rise sharply in 2004 and reached 12.3 tonnes in 2006. “This is equivalent to the sum of all UK seizures – the biggest amphetamine market in Europe – from 2000 to 2006,” the report said.

A further two tonnes of amphetamines destined for Saudi Arabia were seized in neighbouring Oman.

Antonio Maria Costa, the UN agency’s executive director, said his organisation was talking to the Saudi government about the trend, which appeared to have continued into last year.

“If you are asking me for an explanation, I don’t have it. I’m very perplexed,” said Mr Costa.

“Assuming that the efficiency of law enforcement doesn’t change very much over a short time, it suggests that this had been mostly for local consumption.”

In another important shift, the report noted a sharp increase in the area of coca cultivation in Colombia, reversing a five-year decline. It said that about 99,000 hectares were under coca bush last year – an increase of 21,000 hectares over 2006.

However, many of the areas now growing coca were higher and more remote than in the past and, as a result, yields were lower. This meant that overall cocaine output in Colombia had risen only a modest 1 to 2 per cent, the UNODC estimated.

Mr Costa said it was possible that eradication activity in Colombia had pushed cultivation into more remote areas.

He said the cocaine market seemed to be undergoing significant change. Colombia’s Farc guerrilla group, under whose protection much of Colombia’s coca is produced, was “in disarray”, he said, having lost some key leaders.

Colombian cartels had been pushed out of Mexico and, in the face of a slowly declining US market, new smuggling routes had been opened up to Europe via west Africa, threatening countries in that region such as Guinea-Bissau.

The journey to west Africa was made by aircraft or boat from Venezuela or Brazil. Small vessels tended to travel at night so they could not be picked up by satellite surveillance, and could make the transatlantic crossing in four to five nights, said Mr Costa.

In another development, he said Afghanistan rivalled traditional producers such as Morocco in the area of land under cannabis cultivation.

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Riyadh’s women’s mall lifts veil on business

By Andrew England

Published: June 26 2008 01:24 | Last updated: June 26 2008 01:24

Smoked glass screens hide the entrances to the Bab Rizq Jameel centre in Riyadh as though protecting some precious secret inside. Unlike most of the new shopping malls springing up in the Gulf, it has no windows.

Inside, however, the two-storey mall is all brightness: a hub of chic booths offering perfumes, cosmetics, clothes, handicrafts and – most significantly – a sanctuary where Saudi businesswomen can trade openly with other women.

Upstairs, Amani Hammad has an office where she runs a branch of her brother’s advertising company, while Samira Rasheed has a shop selling clothes, accessories and perfumes.

In total, there are about 60 businesswomen operating in the centre, which opened last month.

Women’s lives in the ultra-conservative kingdom are highly segregated, both socially and in the workplace. They are banned from driving and, apart from a tiny number of exceptions, are prevented from working in the same environment as men. Traditionally, many women have not sought jobs, instead marrying young and devoting their lives to raising families. Female unemployment in the oil-rich kingdom is estimated at more than 20 per cent.

Slowly, however, attitudes are beginning to change. A Saudi family-owned business – Abdul Latif Jameel (ALJ) – set up a non-profit scheme in 2003 under its corporate social responsibility programme that has helped thousands of women find employment and set up their own businesses.

The programme offers business loans to both men and women as well as job training and co-ordinates between job seekers and employers looking to hire, using consultants to research what companies are looking for and where there are opportunities.

Since 2007, it has also opened three female-only shopping malls – the one in Riyadh opened last month joining others in Jeddah and Dammam – under the Bab Rizq Jameel banner.

Women cannot work in normal malls but at Bab Rizq centres they can work and rent space for their own businesses. Those searching for jobs can visit to discuss their options with ALJ staff – other women.

“The objective is to empower women,” says Saad al-Ghamdi, senior vice-president at ALJ. “We need to show people there’s nothing wrong in working, that work is something that should be honourable.”

ALJ, whose core business interests include the automotive industry, property and electronics, donates 100m riyals ($26.7m, €17.2m, £13.5m) each year to the community services programme.

The organisation uses the funds to pay consultants and provide interest-free loans ranging from 5,000 riyals to 150,000 riyals to men and women seeking to set up their own businesses, as well as “micro-loans” ranging from 1,000 riyals to 5,000 riyals specifically for women.

Some 50,000 people have benefited from the loans, of which more than 65 per cent have been women.

Mrs Rasheed, a mother of five, says she has benefited both from the ALJ initiative and – just as importantly – from evolving attitudes.

She began her business some 10 years ago, working from home and designing women’s garments and accessories. She dreamed of opening a shop but, like other jobless women, knew she would not be able to get a loan.

Eighteen months ago, after discovering ALJ’s programme, she took a 25,000 riyal loan and moved her business into a female-only shopping centre. When the organisation opened its mall in Riyadh, she moved in.

“Without the loan I would be small and just in the house,” she says. “The first reason is the financial support; the second reason is we have become more developed. Day by day it is changing; you can communicate with people, there’s more newspapers, there’s more information.”

Last year, through loans and its job search programme, the scheme helped 22,000 people find some form of employment, the group says, including 14,000 women.

The group’s development plan is to open 20 new Bab Rizq Jameel centres across the country over the next three years, with the goal of creating 200 jobs a month from each location, says Ibrahim Badawood, director of ALJ’s community services programme.

It would also like to open branches in other countries where ALJ has a presence, including Egypt, Algeria and Turkey.

At present, the programme is only catering for between 15 per cent and 20 per cent of the demand in Saudi Arabia, officials say.

“We are just a drop in the ocean,” Mr Ghamdi says.

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Tabreed to sell cooling plants

By Robin Wigglesworth in Abu Dhabi

Published: June 27 2008 04:24 | Last updated: June 27 2008 04:24

A reshuffled board at Tabreed, the Middle East’s biggest cooling company, is pushing the company to support shares by selling $817m of refrigeration plants to finance the construction of new units.

The board of Tabreed is looking at raising about Dh1bn ($272m) a year through asset sales over the next three years, rather than borrowing to finance the construction of new, modern utilities. Concern over the expenditures has helped send shares down 23 per cent this year.

Tabreed, which means “cooling” in Arabic, is worth $809m on the Dubai stock exchange and is the Middle East’s biggest provider of so-called district cooling. While air conditioning uses electricity-run compressors to keep temperatures moderate, district cooling plants pump chilled water through pipes in buildings, in much the same way as the Soviet Union kept blocks of flats warm during winter.

The board “feel that the shares are very low, and I can’t argue with them about that”, said Karl Marietta, Tabreed deputy chief executive. “All that debt would put pressure on the company’s ability to maintain its investment-grade rating, and funding all that construction and growth puts pressure on profitability.”

Tabreed is considering selling between three and seven plants every year, which would affect profits “very positively” from 2009, said Mr Marietta. Tabreed, which was formerly known as National Central Cooling, appointed a chairman and seven new board members in March, who want the company to improve profitability.

The Dubai and Abu Dhabi-based company may also spin off parts of its other businesses in maintenance and services to focus on its core district cooling business, according to Mr Marietta. “It’s possible we might look into bringing in new investors, selling off some or all of our ownership, depending on the situation.”

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Unicredit, shifting east, plans 9,000 job cuts in western Europe
AFP
By Etienne Fontaine AFP - Thursday, June 26 01:05 pm

MILAN (AFP) - Unicredit, Italy's biggest bank by capitalisation, said on Thursday it would cut 9,000 jobs in western Europe and invest in central and eastern Europe to boost profits following massive acquisitions.
(Advertisement)

Staffing in western European markets, mainly Italy, Austria and Germany, is to be reduced, "which will affect some 9,000 of the 100,000 jobs" in the region, the company said in a statement presenting its strategic plan for 2008-10.

"(In) central and eastern Europe, the group will expand its network significantly, while in western Europe the focus will be on optimisation, efficiency, restructuring and cost control," the bank added.

The move reflects the attraction of the emerging eastern European economies where incomes are rising fast and consumers are demanding an increasing range of financial products.

"For the foreseeable future the CEE-region (central and eastern Europe) will continue to grow much faster than western Europe," the bank said.

Unicredit said it planned to open 1,300 branches in eastern Europe where 11,500 jobs will be created.

The Italian leader, which has a market capitalisation of 54 billion euros, has been on an acquisition streak over the last few years, snapping up German bank HVB, Italy's Capitalia, Ukraine's Ukrsotsbank and Kazakhstan's ATF, making it the leading bank in eastern Europe.

With Capitalia in its stable, it became what was then the biggest bank in the eurozone and the second-biggest in Europe, and says it has the biggest international network in eastern Europe with 3,600 branches.

The group employed 177,000 people as of the end of 2007, including 100,000 in western Europe.

By 2010, it expects the workforce to total about 180,000, half in eastern Europe, up from 44 percent.

Unicredit chairman Dieter Rampl said that following the string of acquisitions the bank would now concentrate on "extracting value" fom its activities.

By expanding in eastern and central Europe, it said revenues from the region would grow at an annual rate of 19 percent, compared with three percent in western Europe. Group revenues were forecast to increase by 6.7 percent between 2008 and 2010.

The cost-savings and investment will result in growth of net profit per share rising by 10-12 percent annually, excluding exceptional items, Unicredit said.

In eastern Europe the bank will pay particular attention to four countries with "high growth potential" -- Russia, Turkey, Romania and Ukraine -- where 900 of the 1,300 new branches will be located, it said.

Growth will be "more selective" in other countries such as Poland, Croatia, Bosnia and Bulgaria, where Unicredit is already the leading bank.

Some of the job cuts in western Europe are a result of the takeover of Capitalia last year when the two banks' computer systems were merged.

Following the announcement, shares in the bank shed 3.35 percent to 3.98 euros in mid-morning on the Milan stock exchange which was down one percent overall.

Its shares have lost over 40 percent in the past 12 months as a result of the ongoing crisis of the financial markets following the US subprime market collapse, the lowering of its first-quarter projections and the weakening of its capital ratios after the run of acquisitions.

Reacting to the plan, Deutsche Bank said it "seems prudent," while Cheuvreux said it "contains nothing especially new and confirms that Unicredit is affected by the slowdown."

Unicredit is aiming for a Tier 1 capital ratio -- the ratio of a bank's core equity capital to its total risk-weighted assets -- of 7.1 pecent in 2010, against 5.74 percent at the end of the first quarter.

The ratio, closely watched because of the financial crisis, should reach 6.2 percent by the end of 2008.

Unicredit boss Alessandro Profumo has reiterated that no capital increase will be needed to implement the new strategy.

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日本、ブルネイと租税条約締結で基本合意

　額賀福志郎財務相は27日、日本とブルネイの両政府が租税条約の締結で基本合意したと発表した。来年の発効を目指す。日本企業がブルネイに置く支店について、課税の範囲を限定することや、配当や利子などにかかる税率に上限を設けることなどが柱。二重課税の排除や税負担の軽減につながる。

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５月の家計消費支出、3.2％減　３カ月連続マイナス

　総務省が27日発表した5月の家計調査によると、2人以上の世帯の消費支出は1世帯あたり28万8128円と、物価変動の影響を除いた実質で前年同月比 3.2％の減少となった。3カ月連続のマイナス。暫定税率の復活で値上がりしたガソリンの購入量が減少したほか、幅広い品目の実質支出が落ち込んだ。同省は消費の基調判断を「減少の兆しがみられる」から「減少傾向が続いている」と下方修正した。

　曜日の影響で大型連休の休日数が少なかったことや燃油特別付加運賃（サーチャージ）の上昇などから、パック旅行費の支出が落ち込んだ。中国産食品を敬遠する傾向も続き、ウナギのかば焼きや冷凍食品の売れ行きもさえなかった。

　暫定税率復活で値上がりしたガソリンに対する実質消費は前年同月比6.1％減となり、買い控えが広がった。ただ、5月下旬には翌月の価格上昇を見越した買いだめが再び発生し、落ち込みは限定的だった。

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歴史上の人物名、商標登録を制限　特許庁、審査基準見直しへ

　「高杉晋作」や「吉田松陰」など歴史上の人物名は商標に使わずに――。特許庁は、企業や個人が歴史上の人物と全く関係ないのに、正当な理由なくその人物名を使った商標登録をできないようにする。来年1月にも商標登録の審査基準を改める。歴史上の人物の子孫や、人物とゆかりのある地域が「町おこし」に人物名を使いたいとの要望が出ていたためだ。

　現在の商標登録の審査基準は、歴史上の人物名を使った商標を認めるかどうかを定めていない。新たな基準では(1)故人の子孫の承諾を得ているか(2)地元住民の感情を損ねないか――などの項目を追加。また、故人が有名である点を利用し、不正な利益を得る可能性があるかどうかについても追加を検討する。

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高等教育の強化明記　「骨太08」の最終案固まる

　政府が27日に閣議決定する経済財政運営の基本方針「骨太方針2008」の最終案が固まった。調整が残っていた教育の項目では、高等教育の教育研究の強化や学校のＩＣＴ（情報通信技術）化の推進など10以上の個別施策を新たに掲げたうえで、「新たな時代に対応した教育上の諸施策に積極的に取り組む」と明記した。

　教員の増員や財政支出の数値目標を巡り閣議決定が遅れている教育振興基本計画の扱いについては、原案通り「計画に基づき、我が国の未来を切り拓（ひら）く教育を推進する」との表現を残した。ただ教員数や財源に関する数値は盛りこまなかった。

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株主総会1315社開催　ノーリツ鋼機は社長人事覆る

　3月期決算の上場企業の株主総会が27日、ピークを迎えた。警察庁によると、集中日としては前年より142社少ない1315社が全国で一斉に開催した。

　写真処理機大手のノーリツ鋼機の株主総会が和歌山市内のホテルで開かれ、5割弱の株式を保有する創業家側がセイコーインスツルメンツ（現セイコーインスツル）元社長の茶山幸彦氏を含む3人の取締役を選任する人事案を提出し、可決された。社長昇格予定の喜田孝幸副社長ら5人の取締役を選任する会社案が覆され、総退陣する異例の事態となった。引き続き開いた取締役会で茶山氏が新社長に就任した。

　プラント工事の失敗で巨額損失を出したＩＨＩは都内で株主総会を開いた。大幅な決算訂正で約16億円の課徴金支払いを勧告されていることについて、釜和明社長は「株主や関係者の方々に多大なご心配をかけ、改めて深くおわび申し上げる」と陳謝した。

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三菱商事、米天然ガス卸に出資　生産から販売、一貫体制に

　三菱商事は米国の天然ガス卸売事業者、シーマ・エナジー（テキサス州）に資本参加した。34％を出資して取締役2人を派遣、経営にも関与する。テキサス州に確保している液化天然ガス（ＬＮＧ）の受け入れ基地で気化したガスを、シーマ社を通じて販売する。ガス田開発やＬＮＧ生産などの上流から、消費地での受け入れ・販売までの一貫体制を整える。

　シーマ社を傘下に持つ持ち株会社から、保有株を買い取る。出資金額は明らかにしていない。

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乳価、年度中再交渉も　雪印、引き上げ受諾の可能性

　雪印乳業の高野瀬忠明社長は26日、札幌市で会見し、チーズやバターの原料として酪農団体から調達する生乳の価格について「これまでは1年単位で決めてきたが、今後はフレキシブルになってくると思う」と述べ、4月から始まった2008年度中に再び乳価引き上げ交渉に応じる可能性を示唆した。引き上げを受け入れればバターや国産チーズの値上がりにつながる公算が大きい。

　乳業会社と酪農団体は1月から翌年度の生乳価格について交渉し、年度中は合意した価格を維持するのが慣例だった。年度中の再交渉は異例だが、高野瀬社長は「飼料価格や原油の高騰で酪農家は厳しい。今年は（価格交渉は）終わり、とはならない」と語った。

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1800万円不正受給、元組員と妻逮捕　生活保護法違反容疑

　実際には治療を受けていないのに診療費や交通費を請求し、生活保護費を不正受給していたとして、埼玉県警捜査4課は27日、生活保護法違反容疑で、埼玉県深谷市上野台、指定暴力団稲川会系元組員で韓国籍の崔鳳海容疑者（60）と、妻育代容疑者（44）を逮捕した。

　2人がこれまでに不正受給した生活保護費は計約1800万円に上るとみられる。

　調べでは、2人は昨年10月、自宅から約100キロ離れた群馬県みなかみ町の病院に「通院した」と偽り、診療費やタクシー代などの名目で、深谷市から計約14万円を不正に受け取った疑い。調べに対し、2人とも容疑を認めているという。

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諫早湾干拓事業、５年間の水門開放を命じる　佐賀地裁

　有明海の漁業不振は、国営諫早湾干拓事業（長崎県）の潮受け堤防閉め切りが原因だとして、同海に面する長崎、佐賀、福岡、熊本各県の漁業者ら約2500 人が、国に堤防の撤去や排水門の開門などを求めた訴訟の判決で、佐賀地裁は27日、南北排水門の5年間常時開放を命じた。諫早湾の漁業被害と閉め切りの因果関係を認めた。

　判決理由で神山隆一裁判長は「有明海の漁業被害と堤防閉め切りの因果関係はデータは不足しており認めるのは困難だが、諫早湾内とその近くの漁場については相当程度の立証がされている」と認定。「中・長期の開門調査に国が応じないのは、原告が主張する被害の立証を妨害するものと言わざるをえない」と厳しく非難した。ただ準備に必要な3年間は開門を猶予するとした。

　諫早湾の干拓には、総事業費約2500億円が投じられ、費用対効果や環境への配慮をめぐり、大型公共事業の在り方が問われてきた。漁業被害については四県の漁業者らが公害等調整委員会に干拓事業との因果関係認定を求める裁定を申請したが棄却されていた。

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あなたの厚生年金が危ない…５６０万件に支給漏れ！？

　政府は２７日、年金記録問題の関係閣僚会議を開き、社会保険庁のコンピューター上の厚生年金記録と、元になった紙台帳を照合するサンプル調査の結果、１．４％に入力ミスなどがあったと発表した。厚生年金の紙台帳は全体で約４億件あり、今回の入力ミスの割合である１．４％を単純に掛けると約５６０万件に相当する。これらの記録の持ち主には、本来の年金額が支払われない可能性があるのだ。

　これまで舛添要一厚生労働相は、社保庁の後継組織「日本年金機構」が発足する２０１０年１月までに紙台帳との照合による記録補正を終える決意を示していたが、機構発足後に先送りされることも決まった。

　調査は約２万件を抽出。２７７件で不一致があり、このうち４８件は紙台帳の情報が全く入力されていなかった。残りの不一致は加入・脱退の年月日や給料水準が２１５件、氏名や生年月日などが１８件（重複あり）。このほか破損や汚れなどで判読できない紙台帳が１１件あった。

　紙台帳の記録をコンピューターに入力する際の漏れやミスが原因とみられるが、こうしたミスは年金額に影響するため、支給漏れが大量に発生している恐れもある。

　同庁は今後の対策として、アルバイト職員を２５００－３１００人雇用し、１０、１１年度の２年間でコンピューター上の記録との突き合わせを集中的に実施する方針。ただ、予算の制約などから突き合わせは当面、申請に基づいて実施する。

　今回のサンプル調査で明らかになった入力ミスは、基礎年金番号に未統合の「消えた」年金記録とは別問題。未統合記録がなくても、受給額が減ってしまう可能性があるだけに、福田政権にとって大きな打撃となりそうだ。

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年金記録：特定困難な記録　なお１９３４万件残る

　社会保険庁は２７日の年金記録問題に関する関係閣僚会議で、宙に浮く５０９５万件の年金記録について、６月時点での解明状況を報告した。持ち主の早期特定が困難な「今後解明を進める記録」は、３月公表時点の２０２５万件から９１万件減ったものの、依然１９３４万件残っている。

　３月までに５０９５万件の持ち主と想定される人に送られたねんきん特別便（１０３０万人分）のうち、記録訂正の有無を返信した人は、年金の受給者で２３８万人（７９．２％）、現役の加入者で３２１万人（４３．９％）の計５５９万人だった。「訂正あり」と答えた受給者は、２９．４％にとどまっている。現役加入者では、返信者の６９．１％が「訂正あり」と答えた。

　５月に持ち主が特定され、社会保険事務所で正しい年金額（年額）を試算した６万６７９５件の記録については、新たに３６．２億円の給付に結びつくことも判明。１人当たり約５．４万円となる計算だ。

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東京・表参道の土地詐欺：ジャーナリスト、執行猶予判決に－－地裁

　東京・表参道の一等地の取引を巡り、会社社長から多額の現金をだまし取ったとして詐欺罪などに問われたフリージャーナリスト、二瓶絵夢（えむ）被告（３２）に対し、東京地裁は２６日、懲役３年、執行猶予５年（求刑・懲役５年）を言い渡した。

　河本雅也裁判長は、同日午前に懲役４年の実刑判決を受けた元国会議員秘書、市川和久被告（４６）と同格の首謀者と認定したが「反省の態度を示して弁償を進めている」として執行猶予を付けた。

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東京・中野区職員無断欠勤中給与訴訟：区長にも賠償責任－－高裁

　東京都中野区が無断欠勤していた区職員（故人）に給与を支払ったのは違法として区民が給与の一部８２万円余の返還を求めた住民訴訟で、東京高裁（西田美昭裁判長）は２６日、１審・東京地裁判決（０６年１１月）が退けた田中大輔区長の賠償責任を認め、原告全面勝訴の判決を言い渡した。

　区総務部職員は０４年２～５月に病気で無断欠勤したにもかかわらず、当時の総務課長は総務部長の指示で出勤簿に「出勤」と記載し給与を支給した。１審は上司２人の賠償責任を認めたものの、区長に対する請求は「出勤偽装を見抜けなかった」として棄却した。しかし西田裁判長は「区長は不正の理由を問いただしたり、是正しなかった」として、区長に対しても賠償を請求するよう区に命じた。

　田中区長は「判決内容を十分検討し、今後の対応を決めたい」とのコメントを出した。

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Greenland denied on whale catch
By Richard Black
Environment correspondent, BBC News website, Santiago

Greenland village. Image: BBC

The first vote at this year's International Whaling Commission (IWC) meeting has resulted in defeat for Greenland's request to expand its hunt.

Many countries were unconvinced that Greenlanders need the extra meat that catching 10 humpbacks would provide, and believe the hunt is too commercial.

A Greenland delegate said the decision would deprive its indigenous Inuit communities of much needed whale meat.

The EU's decision to vote as a bloc on the issue drew harsh criticism.

"It's the volume and scale of trade in Greenlandic hunts that is simply not appropriate"
Claire Bass, WSPA

Greenland whale hunt 'commercial'

"I deeply regret that the IWC was not able to fulfil its obligations when all its requirements were met by Greenland," said Amalie Jessen from Greenland's fisheries ministry.

"I feel those opposing our proposal just wanted to find new excuses not to award humpbacks; and I anticipate that when we bring the proposal back in a year's time, they will have prepared other excuses."

Top trade

Aboriginal or subsistence whaling is designed to allow indigenous communities with a documented nutritional and cultural need for whale meat to hunt, under quotas approved by IWC scientists.

Many delegations were not convinced that Greenland - or Denmark, which speaks for its Arctic territory within the IWC - had made the case that its people needed more whale meat.

ANNUAL ABORIGINAL SUBSISTENCE QUOTAS 2008-12

* Alaska/Chukotka: 56 bowheads
* Chukotka: 124 grays
* Greenland: 212 minkes, 19 fins, 2 bowheads
* Makah (Washington state, US): 5 grays
* Bequia (St Vincent and the Grenadines): 4 humpbacks


And a report issued last week by the World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA) report raised questions over whether the hunt was too commercial.

Investigators found that about 25% of the meat was sold commercially, often through supermarkets.

"There's general acceptance that a limited amount of trade and sale in aboriginal hunts is acceptable," WSPA's marine mammals programme manager Claire Bass told BBC News.

"But really it's the volume and scale of trade in Greenlandic hunts that is simply not appropriate, and also the profit that's being made by third parties such as supermarkets and a private company that's processing the whales."

The IWC's scientific committee had concluded that taking 10 humpbacks each year would be sustainable. And a number of countries used this judgement to weigh in with some harsh words on Greenland's side.

"Am I to understand that in the spirit of saving money, the EU is proposing that we liquidate the (IWC) scientific committee?" asked Russia's IWC commissioner Valentin Ilyashenko.

Guide to the Great Whales
Right whale. Image: BBC

"A bloc has been created, all scientific arguments are useless... and the interests of countries here are divided by political motives."

Russia is home to the largest aboriginal hunt in the world, in Chukotka, and would be keen to pre-empt anything that might curtail that operation.

The US also voted on Greenland's side. Safeguarding the hunt of its Alaskan Inuit is a key domestic priority.

Greenland's claim to be acting solely on the basis of science and need was somewhat undermined by its offer to forego some of its annual fin whale quota if the humpback proposal went through.

Progress block

For the first time at IWC meetings, the EU had decided to formulate an agreed position and vote on it en bloc, as it does in other environmental treaty organisations.

On this occasion Denmark was excused, as it speaks for Greenland.

South Korea described the EU bloc vote as "interference with the legitimate process of this organisation and the due process of law".

A number of Caribbean speakers picked up the theme.

"We are seeing a group of countries, knowing perfectly well that they have the numbers to create confusion in our commission, is attempting to deny the human rights of a group of indigenous people," said Daven Joseph, a member of the St Kitts and Nevis delegation.

Counting whales: A fluky business

Southern right whale. Image: IWC

"At a time when the world is witnessing food shortages, we are seeing a small group of countries that are purporting to be world leaders depriving marginal peoples of the right to eat."

Japan too declared its support for the Greenland bid.

But environmental NGOs accused Japan and its Caribbean allies of hypocrisy, referring back to their blocking of quotas for subsistence whaling at the 2002 IWC meeting in Shimonoseki.

"Japan's intervention, saying how unfair and sad it was that the EU and others would not support a humpback quota for Greenland, can only be viewed as either a complete loss of memory or they are so cynical as to not remember their own actions in Shimonoseki," said Patricia Forkan, president of Humane Society International.

For seasoned IWC observers, the debate marked a return to the bitter tones of the past, after three days when the new spirit of conciliation has kept a lid on the fundamental divisions that endure.

Delegates had decided not to have any votes unless absolutely necessary, and this was the first time consensus could not be reached.

But the spat is not likely to affect the biggest material issue facing the commission - whether a compromise deal can be found between hunting and anti-hunting nations - though it does demonstrate that the inflammable nature of the whaling issue is very far from being dowsed.

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「そこまでやるか！」卸業者ら神港魚類に憤り　ウナギ産地偽装　
2008.6.26 23:54
中国産ウナギのかば焼きを愛知県三河一色産と偽装表示していたとされるウナギが入った段ボールを検査する東部衛生監視事務所の職員（右）＝２６日午前１１時１分、兵庫県神戸市東灘区・神洋冷凍　（竹川禎一郎撮影）中国産ウナギのかば焼きを愛知県三河一色産と偽装表示していたとされるウナギが入った段ボールを検査する東部衛生監視事務所の職員（右）＝２６日午前１１時１分、兵庫県神戸市東灘区・神洋冷凍　（竹川禎一郎撮影）

　「そこまでやるか」「一色フーズが実在しないのか！」－。中国産ウナギのかば焼きが愛知県の「三河一色産」として販売されていた産地偽装。販売していたマルハニチロホールディングスの子会社「神港魚類」（神戸市兵庫区）と取引があった仲卸業者の多くは、業界大手の“看板”を信用して商品を仕入れており、信用を裏切った同社への憤りと失望をあらわにした。

　同社と２０年来の取引があった北陸地方の水産卸会社の幹部社員は、偽装が発覚するまでの同社の印象を「取扱量も多く、すごい会社」と話す。４～６月、「同社の商品なら問題ない」と約３トン（約１５００万円相当）を仕入れた。

　仕入れの際、「念のために」と提示を求めた産地証明書には「一色産」と記され、「一色フーズ」の社印が押されていた。

　「まさか（一色フーズが）実在しない会社とは思わなかった」と振り返る。

　値段は国産の平均的な相場で、「中国産でも（国産と同じように）しっかりと作られたウナギはあり、見分けることはできなかった」という。

　６月中旬、神港魚類から「農林水産省の調査を受けている」と連絡があったが、詳しい内容は教えられず、報道で偽装を知った。

　幹部社員は「調査と聞いたときに嫌な予感はしたが、そこまでやるかという思い。古いつきあいだけに残念」と悔しさをにじませた。

　「神港魚類には謝罪と説明をしてもらわないと納得がいかない」

　こう話すのは、同社と８年ほど前から取引があった香川県内の水産業者。

　５～６月に「一色産」の産地証明がついたウナギ３８０キロを仕入れ、１９０キロを同県内のスーパーに卸した。

　同社も「見た目では分からなかった」といい、従業員は「水産卸は信用のもとに成り立つ商売なのに、これでは詐欺だ」と語気を強めた。

　広島県内の食品加工会社も、土用の丑（うし）の日（７月２４日）の売り上げを見込み通常の１５倍近いかば焼きを仕入れたが、偽装発覚を受け在庫をすべて返品。

　同社に謝罪と説明を求めたが、回答がないままだという。

　神港魚類によると、同社がかば焼きを販売したのは全国１６社。「こうした偽装のせいで商品としてのウナギが消費者から見放されていくと思うと、やりきれない」と涙ながらに訴える業者もあり、繁忙期を前に業界に暗雲が広がった。

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「ギョーザ事件で苦境」はウソ？　ウナギ偽装「魚秀」年初から計画　兵庫、徳島県警が強制捜査へ
2008.6.27 01:16
このニュースのトピックス：食の安全

　水産物輸入販売会社「魚秀（うおひで）」（大阪市）が中国産ウナギを「愛知県三河一色産」と偽装表示した問題で、中谷彰宏社長ら同社幹部が今年１月から偽装販売を準備していたことが農林水産省の調査で分かった。中谷社長は、偽装の理由を記者会見で「（１月末の中国）ギョーザ中毒事件などで中国産ウナギの売れ行きが不振となったため」としていたが、同省は説明は虚偽とみている。兵庫、徳島両県警は２６日、利益目的の悪質な偽装表示と断定、詐欺や不正競争防止法違反（虚偽表示）に当たる疑いがあるとみて、強制捜査に乗り出す方針を固めた。

　農水省などによると、中谷社長らは１月の早い段階で、偽装表示を計画。会社幹部数人で、偽装表示パッケージの準備や販売資金の調達などについて、詳細な役割分担を決め、偽装表示の準備を進めていた。ギョーザ事件発覚は同月３０日で、それ以前から準備は進められていたという。

　一方、５月下旬から偽装情報が流れ始めると、周辺に「ギョーザ中毒事件などで在庫がたまってやむを得なかった」と弁解。農水省が偽装表示を発表した６月２５日には、中谷社長が会見で「ギョーザ事件などで中国産のウナギの売れ行きが不振となり、在庫をさばきたかった」と説明した。しかし、それ以前の同省の調査で、社長らはギョーザ事件には触れず、ただ「不良在庫をなくしたかった」と説明したという。

　たまった中国産を国産と偽り、利益を得ることが偽装目的とみられ、警察当局は魚秀の実質的拠点がある徳島、ウナギを販売した神港魚類がある兵庫の両県警が合同捜査本部を設置するなどし、捜査にあたる。

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暴力団周辺者も関与　ウナギ偽装　ラベルに架空会社　２商社へ手数料４０００万円 (1/2ページ)
2008.6.27 01:16

　魚秀の産地偽装で、同社が暴力団の周辺者に手法を相談し、架空会社を製造者と記載した偽装ラベルを作らせていたことが２６日、関係者の話で新たに分かった。代金の支払いを受ける際も、偽装を知らない２商社と架空会社を経由させて、発覚を難しくさせていた。魚秀は、謝礼や代金、手数料などとして、この暴力団周辺関係者側に数千万円以上、２商社に４０００万円を流していたが、それでも偽装販売で約２億円近い利益を得ていたという。

一色フード

　中国産のかば焼き２５６トンを「愛知県三河一色産」と偽装表示していた魚秀。関係者によると、中谷社長ら幹部は、手法について、徳島県の暴力団周辺関係者に相談。偽装ラベルを張って、かば焼きを箱詰めする四国の業者も紹介してもらい、その業者に“偽装表示”を委託。その料金や謝礼などとして、魚秀から周辺関係者側に流れた資金は数千万円以上とみられる。

　こうして製造された偽装ラベルには、製造者として「一色フード」という架空会社を記載。住所は「愛知県岡崎市一色町字一色」となっていたが虚偽。その場所は山の中で、会社らしき建物は一戸もなかった。

隠蔽工作…

　偽装されたかば焼きは、水産大手「マルハニチロホールディングス」の子会社「神港魚類」に販売。４９トンは卸業者を通じ市場に販売された。神港魚類から代金７億７０００万円を支払わせたが、その際も発覚しないように、徹底的な隠蔽（いんぺい）工作を行った。

　魚秀が本当の製造者と発覚しないよう、７億７０００万円はまず都内の商社に振り込ませ、その商社はさらに別の商社に資金を振り込んだ。その上で、魚秀は商社に資金を銀行から引き出させ、中谷社長や別の役員に手渡しさせた。手渡しは４回に分け、架空会社の製造を装うため、一色フード名で領収書を発行する徹底ぶりだった。

　隠蔽工作は、１月下旬から２月中旬、魚秀の役員が２商社側に、偽装など細かい事情を一切告げず「神港魚類との取引」と持ちかけ、協力させていた。２つの商社には、それぞれ約３５００万円と約５００万円の手数料が支払われた。

　商社の役員は「商品のウナギは見たこともなかった。業界大手の神港魚類と取引できると喜んだ。契約関係や過去の経緯から販売しにくい相手に、関係ない会社を経由させて魚を売るという行為は業界では珍しくない。手数料も高かったし、引き受けた」と話す。

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三つ星シェフ「富裕税いや」、仏国籍捨てモナコに帰化

　【パリ＝林路郎】フランス料理界の大物で、日本でも高級レストラン「ベージュ　アラン・デュカス東京」などを手がけるシェフ、アラン・デュカス氏（５１）が、一定額以上の資産を持つ場合にかかる仏の富裕税を嫌って同国籍を捨て、隣国モナコに帰化し、仏社会に衝撃を与えている。

　サルコジ仏大統領は、「仏料理を世界遺産に登録する」と公言してきたが、出はなをくじかれた形だ。

　デュカス氏は、１９９０年に史上最年少の３３歳でレストランガイド「ミシュラン」の三つ星を獲得し、現在、パリ、東京、ニューヨークなどに計２０軒以上のレストランを持ち、２０００人近いスタッフを抱える。

　資産家への優遇税制を取るモナコには、欧州各国の著名人が多く住む。デュカス氏は帰化により、フランスに富裕税を納める必要はなくなるという。

　同氏の帰化は、モナコ元首のアルベール２世公が２３日の官報で発表。デュカス氏が翌日のテレビ番組で帰化の理由として、資産評価額の最高５０％の税率が適用される富裕税を挙げたため、仏国民議会（下院）では与党・民衆運動連合から富裕税廃止論が浮上。フィガロ紙は２５日、「この１０年で約５０００人が富裕税を理由に国籍を捨てた」などとする特集記事を組んだ。

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Tax exile chef puts France in a stew

By Paul Betts

Published: June 25 2008 20:32 | Last updated: June 25 2008 20:32

Alain Ducasse is probably the world’s most famous chef. He has accumulated more Michelin stars, 14 in all, than anyone else. He is today at the head of a gastronomic empire that employs nearly 2,000 people, with restaurants around the globe. He is even developing meals for astronauts for the European Space Agency. Understandably, he is regarded as the grand ambassador of modern French haute cuisine.

But Mr Ducasse, like so many of his rich countrymen, has decided to exile himself to escape France’s punitive wealth tax. He has just given up his French nationality and become a citizen of Monaco by sovereign order of Prince Albert II, ruler of the tiny Mediterranean tax haven.

For all the celebrity chef’s effusive explanations for changing nationality, his decision has inevitably sparked a noisy political controversy and renewed calls for the abolition of the French wealth tax, the so-called impôt sur la fortune. Mr Ducasse claims to have a “heartfelt” attachment to Monaco. After all, for 22 years he has been closely associated with the principality, where he runs the Louis XV restaurant in the Hotel de Paris. And it was in this luxurious establishment that he won his first three Michelin stars.

Mr Ducasse also insists that he will continue to pay French taxes on his many French ventures – he recently opened the new restaurant on the first floor of the Eiffel Tower. But this has not prevented a revival of the French wealth tax dispute.

The issue remains something of a political taboo – even, it seems, for France’s current reforming president, Nicolas Sarkozy. As with the 35-hour week, no government seems prepared to scrap outright what has become an archaic and incongruous tax. For these days it hits not only the very rich, but also middle-class taxpayers who have seen the value of property shoot up. Individuals have to pay this extra levy if they own assets, including their primary residence, worth more than €770,000.

Opponents note that the Madrid government is abolishing a similar tax in Spain. They also argue that it undermines the competitiveness and attraction of France, from where numerous high net worth individuals continue to exile themselves to more friendly fiscal countries such as Belgium or Switzerland – not to mention Monaco, where gaining Monegasque nationality is like gold dust. Only about 60 people are granted it each year.

Mr Sarkozy tried to sidestep the issue last year by lowering the cap on individuals’ tax burden to 50 per cent from 60 per cent. But the opposition parties have argued that this has simply helped the rich at the expense of the middle classes.

The veteran Franco-Belgian rock star Johnny Hallyday touched off a similar controversy last year when he decided to exile himself to Gstaad in the Swiss Alps. A close friend of Mr Sarkozy, he later decided to return to France. It is unlikely that Mr Ducasse will do the same. That said, his highly publicised decision to become Monegasque could well provide the political stimulus in Paris to scrap the wealth tax.

Turkish delight

Amid the cheers and tears of last night’s European quarter-final championship match between Germany and Turkey, there was never any question of who would win the European financial football league. Since the beginning of this year, Turkish soccer teams listed on the stock market have easily outperformed their European peers.

The Dow Jones Stoxx football index – whose components include 27 publicly traded clubs across Europe, the EU enlarged region and Turkey – has gained 8 per cent so far this year. But Turkey has scored by far the most impressive performance with four clubs, including three Istanbul-based teams, in the index top 10 gainers.

The Istanbul club of Fenerbache is the leader with its stock rising 79 per cent since January. Second is Trabzonspor, whose shares have gained 70 per cent. Istanbul’s popular Galatasary is fourth, with its shares rising 39 per cent, while Besiktas, another Istanbul club, is ninth with a more modest 7 per cent share price increase.

Italy’s Roma is third but its 48 per cent share price rise is largely owed to speculation that George Soros could be interested in buying the club. The veteran Hungarian-born financier has tried to kick these rumours into touch, with little apparent success. Another Rome club, Lazio, has also seen its shares rise about 34 per cent this year, while the best-performing UK club in this stock market league is Sheffield United, with a 19 per cent gain.

The remarkable performance of Turkish clubs reflects the country’s fanatical passion for football. The Turkish national team has also stimulated football fever by pulling off some miraculous last-minute victories in the European championship qualifying rounds. In so doing, it has provided a little Turkish delight in otherwise glum financial markets.

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Ducasse Becomes Monaco Citizen; to Still Pay French Taxes

By Alan Katz
Enlarge Image/Details

June 24 (Bloomberg) -- Alain Ducasse, holder of 14 Michelin stars for his restaurants worldwide, became a citizen of Monaco, renouncing his French passport and lowering his taxes.

Ducasse, 51, who made his international reputation through the Louis XV restaurant in the Hotel de Paris in Monte-Carlo, said the move was a heartfelt choice and that tax benefits weren't the reason for his move.

``If I really wanted to save money I would have moved my companies offshore,'' Ducasse said on RTL radio today. ``My companies are in France and pay their taxes in France. My personal savings will be very slight. It's an affair of the heart.''

In addition to his restaurants there, Ducasse plans to open a cooking school in Monaco in 2010 that will teach French cuisine, in English, to students from around the world.

``Monaco invented me and built me,'' Ducasse said. ``And the ability to develop the image of my companies is stronger from Monaco than from France.''

Ducasse took over the Louis VX in 1986 at the request of Prince Rainier III, his company said in a statement released yesterday. Rainier died in 2005 and was succeeded by his son, Prince Albert II.

Ducasse said his move to become Monegasque was started by Rainier. He added that he will continue to pay French income taxes on his ``personal activities'' in France.

Ducasse runs 22 restaurants, inns, bistros and bakeries, as well as cooking schools and a food consultaning company, according to his Web site.

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Turkmenistan to export gas to China in 2009 - Berdymukhammedov

27.06.2008, 13.49
ASHGABAT, June 27 (Itar-Tass) - In 2009 Turkmenistan will be exporting natural gas from the right bank of the Amu Darya River through Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan to China, Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov said making a welcoming address to the participants in the construction of a gas treatment facility at the Samandepe field that has been launched.

It is located on the right bank of Amu Darya and is part of the Bagtyyarlyk agreement territory according to the production sharing agreement with the Chinese National Oil and Gas Company. The future gas pipeline will run from this place.

“Diversification of the transportation of energy carriers to world markets is a priority sphere in the fulfilment of the country’s resource potential,” the president noted in his address. “According to independent foreign experts, our gas reserves are 24.6 trillion cubic metres,” the head of Turkmenistan stressed.

The cost of the Turkmenistan-China gas pipeline with a total length of 1,818 kilometres will exceed 6.7 billion US dollars, according to the state agency for management and use of hydrocarbon resources under the Turkmen president.

Over 500 million dollars have already been attracted for projects aimed at the development of the Bagtyyarlyk agreement territory. Complex work to prepare wells is currently underway. It is planned to build at the Samandepe gas field facilities for gas storage and treatment, as well as the compressor and measuring stations. In accordance with the general agreement on the construction of the Turkmenistan-China gas pipeline, the annual deliveries of natural gas will reach 30 billion cubic metres.

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Military-technical cooperation: does Russia need it?
15:04 | 26/ 06/ 2008

MOSCOW. (RIA Novosti political commentator Andrei Kislyakov) - Although sounding rhetorical, the question highlights one of the current weaknesses of Russia's defense industry.

In mid-June, General of the Army Nikolai Makarov, Chief of the General Staff of Russia, speaking at the Eurosatory-2008 defense exhibition in Paris, said "starting in 2011 we will begin formulating a new armament program through 2020." The program, he said, "should coordinate the development of all Russian weapons and equipment."

Makarov defined his mission at the Paris exhibition as "watching the direction of the world, minimizing possible mistakes and following the trends of the 2020s and 2030s."

The world, Europe in particular, is moving toward international cooperation, and abandoning the practice of each state developing and manufacturing its own weapon systems. The Organization for Joint Armament Cooperation (OCCAR) has served this purpose for almost ten years in Europe.

This cooperation has enabled a united Europe, early in the millennium, to expand to a new purchasing system. For example, a contract to buy 196 A-400M military transport planes for eight countries signed in Brussels in December 2001 was completed between Airbus Military and OCCAR, rather than between the manufacturer and each separate country.

Space is another arena for cooperation. The European Space Agency (ESA) coordinates the space efforts of all European nations involved in the program.

It is no secret that Russia's defense industry relies heavily on production facilities in Ukraine. Engines for strategic and converted launch vehicles are produced, for example, in Dneprepetrovsk, and there have been few complaints about their performance.

But NATO-dominated European military cooperation is one thing, and cooperation between Russian and Ukrainian defense plants is another thing. Today's reality is that most of Russia's defense products are manufactured abroad.

In mid-June, Russia's Prime Minister, Vladimir Putin, strongly urged an end to dependence on Ukrainian production of aero and rocket engines. He said he wanted engines for the Kh-35, Kh-55 and Kh-59M strategic air-launched cruise missiles currently produced in Ukraine to be manufactured in Russia.

His motives are easy to understand. Ukraine's uncertain policy, its possible NATO membership, and its anti-Russian rhetoric force Russian leadership to seek other options.

But does Russia need to hurry? The companies fulfilling Russian orders are located in eastern Ukraine, a territory whose population is set firmly against NATO membership. Without backing from this industrialized region, Ukraine is unlikely to join NATO any time soon.

Self-reliance on armaments is a good thing, but partnership is necessary, too. Should we sever industrial cooperation on cruise missiles, we might lose contracts for the production of components for RS-20 Satan strategic intercontinental missiles as well - the linchpin of Russia's nuclear deterrence. Russian-Ukrainian Sea Launch space cooperation and much else could suffer.

Forget for a moment that we need to produce a full range of weapons in specific quantities and of specific quality. Is Russia's defense industry ready to take such a step?

In June, Mikhail Babich, deputy chairman of the State Duma's defense committee, said: "One-third of our defense plants are in the red or are about to go bankrupt. Another third are barely making ends meet. And only one third are doing moderately well." Speaking of lead times, he said frankly that "production of modern fourth and fifth generation weapons and military equipment sometimes takes several years, and unless we solve these problems, any business planning, investment, or retooling is out of the question."

Babich was optimistic when he mentioned "several years." Pantsyr-S1 and S-400 surface-to-air missile systems designed to repel space attacks show that at least ten years might be needed. Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov made a similar remark about the Pantsyr's lead-time. Speaking at the end of March in Tula, he said the developer, Tula's Instrument-Making Design Bureau, had repeatedly pushed back its deadlines. The reason, he said, was its failure "to establish sound relations with its suppliers and co-producers."

Maybe Russia should not hasten to sever relations with its Ukrainian manufacturers, especially since international experience shows us the advantages of multi-national cooperation in weapons production.

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Natural Gas 75% Gain Speeds Horizontal Drilling at Devon, Range

By Joe Carroll
Enlarge Image/Details

June 27 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. natural-gas producers are drilling wells previously deemed too costly and resurrecting abandoned fields from Appalachia to the Rockies, spurred by the biggest rally in fuel prices in eight years.

Devon Energy Corp. and Range Resources Corp. are drilling horizontal wells that cost three times as much as traditional vertical shafts to unlock gas from rock formations that were unprofitable to exploit before this year's 75 percent gain by gas futures. The number of active U.S. gas rigs rose to a nine- month high last week, according to a survey by Baker Hughes Inc.

``As prices are better you want to drill more wells to get more production on line as quick as possible,'' said Larry Pinkston, chief executive officer at Unit Corp., a Tulsa, Oklahoma-based gas producer and drilling-rig operator. ``So we definitely are drilling more wells.''

The rise in gas futures in New York this year exceeded the 45 percent surge in oil and all commodities besides coal. U.S. gas demand probably will grow 4 percent this year, double the rate of new supply, said Roger Read, an analyst at Natixis Bleichroeder Inc. in Houston.

Gas gained the most since prices more than doubled in the first half of 2000. This month, futures rose above $13 per million British thermal units for the first time since 2005, when Hurricanes Katrina and Rita idled wells in the Gulf of Mexico. Read attributed the gain to ``unrelenting growth in electric power demand,'' lower-than-expected imports and increasing demand for alternatives to coal and oil.

Producer Shares Rise

An index of independent energy producers in the Standard & Poor's 500 climbed 29 percent this year, led by gains of more than 60 percent at Southwestern Energy Co. and Chesapeake Energy Corp. All 10 index members get most of their output from gas. Unit Corp., which isn't in the index, jumped 75 percent. The S&P index of integrated producers such as Exxon Mobil Corp., driven more by oil wells and refining, has fallen 1.7 percent.

New drilling projects will boost U.S. gas supplies in 2009 by 3.6 percent, the biggest increase since 1994, Read said. Gas is the most widely used U.S. furnace fuel and the third-largest source of power generation, according to the Energy Department.

The U.S. Bureau of Land Management, which oversees energy exploration on federal property, issued 7,124 permits to drill in the fiscal year ended Oct. 1, 5.7 percent more than fiscal 2006. Nine out of 10 of those permits were issued for projects in Wyoming, New Mexico, Utah and Colorado.

Drilling Accelerates

Range Resources, based in Fort Worth, Texas, increased its capital budget 40 percent this year to $1.27 billion to sink more wells in the Barnett Shale in Texas and the Marcellus Shale in Pennsylvania and West Virginia.

Range Resources, which gets most of its production from the Barnett Shale, expects to begin pumping commercial volumes of gas from the Marcellus in early 2009.

Drilling horizontal wells in deep, hard deposits such as the Barnett Shale costs about $3 million each, compared with $1 million to $1.5 million for a vertical well, Range Resources President Jeffrey Ventura said in a telephone interview.

Horizontal drilling is costlier because it requires more sophisticated rigs with more powerful motors, said Michael McMahon, managing director of New York-based leveraged buyout firm Pine Brook Road Partners LLC, which bankrolled three new gas producers in the past 15 months.

Horizontal Wells

Horizontal drilling is the only way to tap formations that otherwise won't give up their gas, Ventura said.

``There some areas of the Barnett Shale that didn't work at all as vertical developments but are very commercial as horizontals,'' Ventura said. ``Rock formations that people thought were non-prospective are now prospective.''

Unit Corp.'s Pinkston plans to drill at least 280 wells this year, up 11 percent from 2007. The program will let the company replace at least 150 percent of the gas and oil it pumps for the next several years, he said.

The company, which also owns 131 onshore rigs and a pipeline business, built two new rigs this year and plans to add another two in the fourth quarter, Pinkston said. Unit will decide in the next few weeks whether to order more rigs for 2009 delivery, he said.

Competition for drilling equipment and rig crews is escalating costs for producers, said Pine Brook's McMahon.

Pine Brook, founded in 2006 by former Warburg Pincus Vice Chairman Howard Newman, is stockpiling about 20 miles of pipe, enough to excavate six wells, in response to delivery delays from pipe makers because of soaring demand, McMahon said.