IN BRIEF

Japan's tax

vote delayed

TOKYO: Japan's ruling Democrats yesterday delayed a final vote on their tax hike plan to deal with a no-confidence motion filed by fringe parties, exposing Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda to more pressure from the opposition demanding an early election. Elections are not due until August 2013 and Noda is reluctant to call a snap poll, in which the Democrats look certain to suffer a heavy defeat. Initially the Democrats and their two main opposition rivals agreed to vote on the tax plan in the parliament's upper house on Wednesday and its passage appeared assured after the three parties backed the bill in a lower house vote in June.

Ethiopia inflation

stays high in July

ADDIS ABABA: Ethiopia's annual inflation rate remained stubbornly high at 20 per cent in July, data showed yesterday, though the pace of increase in food prices slowed marginally. Surges in global oil prices and poor harvests have driven inflation into double digits in several African countries in the past year. The International Monetary Fund says that is the biggest challenge facing policymakers in the Horn of Africa country, which has however registered one of the highest economic growth rates in the world for the last few years.

Mando moves to

thwart Visteon bid

SEOUL: South Korean car parts maker Mando wants to buy Halla Climate Control Corp and has moved to secure a stake, potentially thwarting any bid by Visteon Corp to take full control of this key link in Korea's automotive supply chain. Mando, which has close ties to Halla's chief customer Hyundai Motor, said on Tuesday it had agreed the right to buy an 8 percent stake in the maker of high-end air conditioning and heating systems from South Korea's National Pension Service, worth US$176 million at current market prices.

Thai PTT Global Q2

net profit down

BANGKOK: PTT Global Chemical (PTTGC) , Thailand's largest petrochemical firm, reported a 90 per cent drop in its second-quarter net profit yesterday as the drop in global oil prices hit the value of its product inventories. PTTGC, 49 per cent owned by oil firm PTT Pcl, posted a net profit o f 851.34 million thai baht (US$27 million) f or the April-June pe riod, down from 8.78 billion a year earlier. Ten analysts polled by Reuters had forecast profits in a range of 454 million to 1.5 billion baht for the quarter. The company has a production capacity of 8.2 million tonnes a year.Agencies