IN BRIEF

India slammed over huge coal mining losses

NEW DELHI: India's national auditor slammed the government yesterday over the way it has allocated coal mining rights since 2004, saying private groups had profited by as much as US$33.4 billion. The hotly awaited report, likely to pile more pressure on beleaguered Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, criticised how coal blocks were given to private companies instead of being sold in a competitive bidding.

Hon Hai looking to double its Sharp stake

TOKYO: Taiwan's Hon Hai Precision Industry is looking to double its stake in Sharp Corp to 20 per cent, the Nikkei business daily said on Friday, as the struggling Japanese electronics maker works on a restructuring plan to appease its lenders. Those lenders are telling the cash-strapped TV maker that a capital-tie up with Hon Hai, the world's leading contract electronics maker and a key supplier to Apple Inc, is a prerequisite for further financial support, the Nikkei said. Hon Hai is looking to raise its stake in Sharp to about a fifth from a previously agreed 9.9 per cent, and wants to pay about 200 yen per share, compared with the 550 yen initially agreed in March, the newspaper said.

China eyes Canadian giant's Africa assets

BEIJING: A state-owned Chinese firm is in talks to buy some of the African assets of the world's largest gold miner Barrick Gold Corp, Beijing's latest move into the resource rich continent. "Our group is currently having very preliminary contact and discussion with Barrick" on possible acquisition of African Barrick Gold (ABG), an official with China National Gold Group, who declined to be named, told AFP. He did not elaborate on details of the talks but Dow Jones Newswires reported that analysts have estimated the deal could be worth up to US$3.9 billion. Agencies