Business & Financial News

The South-Korean court on Monday has sentenced the chief of company Hyundai Motor Co. Chung Mong-koo guilty of no-purpose use of the capital and waste of more than 100 million dollars; he has also been sentenced to three years of imprisonment.

The 68-year-old head of the largest in Korea and the sixth in the world automobile corporation has organized an illegal fund, in which the money was transferred from company’s resources. Now it became known that the money was subsequently spent for bribes to officials who should lobby interests of the company.

In the Court Chung Mong-koo has apologized for the damage that he has brought to the company by his illegal actions.

Lawyers of the protective party have declared about the intention to submit the appeal on a judgment, and also have asked about conditional punishment to their client. The Public Prosecutor asked to sentence Chung Mong-koo to six years of prison.

The Chapter has actually recognized his infringements made to Hyundai Motor Co. after the first interrogations and together with son has offered 1, 1 billion dollars on charity, having named it as his apology before the Korean society.

Chung Mong-koo has been arrested in April, 2006 and he has been let out on the security in 1 million dollars. He has occupied a post of chairman of board Hyundai Motor Co. since 2000. In 2000 in the BusinessWeek report Chung Mong-koo has been named as one of the best top-managers in the world.

The USA has submitted to Friday in the World trading organization (WTO) the new claim against China. They accuse Peking of reception of unfair competitive advantages in trade due to a tax policy and support by the government of the Chinese companies and firms.

Explaining this step, the representative of the USA at trading negotiations in a rank of member of the cabinet Susan Schwab has declared that Washington will resolutely achieve the «alignment of a platform» so that the American corporations competed with Chinese on equal.

According to experts, the submission of claim in Geneva entails opening trading consultations between the participants of dispute. If they do not bring desirable result, it will be necessary to define right and guilty to corresponding body of WTO. If it recognizes claims of the USA fair, and Peking will not refuse subsidizing the companies, Washington will acquire the right to enter compensatory economic sanctions against China.

China possesses enormous proficiency in bilateral trade from the USA. The American authorities and business consider this skew as a consequence of unreasonable course and a tax policy of Peking and demand its updating.

The Chinese party regrets, that the USA has submitted to the World trading organization the claim against China. It was declared today by the official representative of the Ministry of commerce of China.

Also the representative of the Ministry of commerce of China has declared that China and the USA support constant bilateral consultations concerning our measures of subsidizing of the export goods. And despite of this the USA submit claim to the WTO. China expresses regret, and now studies the submitted claim.

The Parisian international conference on problems of the environment, passed under the motto “We are the citizens of the Earth”, has called for creation of the World Ecological Organization.

In the declaration accepted on results of work of conference it is said the World Ecological Organization calls to transform the Program of the United Nations on an environment to the present international organization of global scale like the World Organization of Public Health Services.

The World Ecological Organization could engage to the deciding of such problems, as an estimation of ecological damage, promotion of environmentally safe technologies, development and realization at the international level of decisions on preservation of the environment.

Participants of the Parisian forum have also expressed for the acceptance of the General Declaration of the ecological rights and duties which would guarantee to the person the right to the pure and protected environment.

In participants’ opinion, the efforts on preservations of an environment should be divided fairly between the richest, developing and least advanced countries.

Work of the Parisian conference has coincided with the publication of the report of the International commission of experts of the United Nations on climatic changes. According to this document, the global warming caused first of all by activity of the person, will be prolonged more than thousand years.

The experts predict, that by 2100 average temperature on a planet, according to optimistic estimations, will increase for 1, 8-4 degrees in comparison with last twentieth anniversary XX centuries. The most pessimistic script assumes that increase of average temperature will make 6, 4 degrees.

Global warming will lead to that the level of the World Ocean by the end of a current century will rise on 18-59 centimeters. More frequent become the periods of heat and plentiful deposits, force of cyclones and hurricanes will increase.

The most part of the states-members of the United Nations has not carried out their financial obligations. For February, 1st, 2007 the states have underpaid 5, 8 billion dollars into the United Nations’ treasury. Such information has been declared by the press-secretary of the Organization Michel Montas.

Each UNO’s member should make a payment into the regular budget of the United Nations, a payment on peace safety programs and a payment on the maintenance of the international tribunals. Besides the separate estimate of charges on repair of the United Nations office in New York is accepted. According to the United Nations’ requirements, payments for 2008 should be paid by January, 31st, 2007. However by February, 2007 only 31 countries have completely brought payments into the regular budget of the United Nations’ treasury. In Michel Montas’s message it was not specified, which countries were included into the list of debtors.

In December, 2006 the General Assembly of the United Nations has approved a new scale of payments of the states in the budget of the organization for 2007-2009. So, the USA will pay 22 percent of charges of the United Nations, and Russia - will pay 1, 2 percent. Thus in the message of the United Nations it is not specified, which countries were included into the list of debtors. In total in 2007 2, 2 billion dollars has been listed into the United Nations’ budget.

The Eurocommission has approved the purchase of OAO “Sual” and aluminous actives Glencore by the group EN +, which is representing interests of the shareholder of OAO “Russian Aluminium “.
Thus, the Eurocommission has approved the transaction on merge “Rusal“, “Sual” and Glencore.
 In opinion of the “Rusal” general director Alexander Bulygin, the approval by Eurocommission of creation of the incorporated company is one of key stages on a way to the transaction, which completely answers to the logic of development of the world aluminium industry and creates a good platform for successful dynamical development of the established corporation.
As it was informed earlier, the transaction on merge of “Rusal“, “Sual” and aluminous actives of the Glencore can be finished with an advancing of the schedule - in February, 2007.
In October, 2006, the commission on regulation of the financial markets of the Jersey Island has registered Rusal Limited on Jersey United Company. It is already known, that Rusal Global Management BVWill operates actives of this company. Transactions on actives translation, including “Sual“, on Rusal Global Management, registered in the Netherlands, will be approved by the shareholders in February at emergency assemblies.
Thus at present the main thing for the companies is the reception of approval from antimonopoly bodies. In the beginning of November, 2006 “Rusal“, “Sual” and Glencore submitted petitions to Federal antimonopoly service of the Russian Federation for the reception of the sanction to purchase the  “Rusal” and “Sual”’s actives by the incorporated company.
Last week the Federal antimonopoly service has declared that it will make the final decision under the transaction after consultation with a management of the Russian Federation, and also taking exhaustive measures on protection of the Russian consumers of aluminium which can contain in the instruction of antimonopoly body.
Besides the companies should meet with approval of Antimonopoly committee of Ukraine, which documents have been submitted simultaneously with the submission of documents to Eurocommission.
In Europe “Rusal” owns 56, 2 % of Italian aluminous factory EurAllumina, the other 43,8 % belong to the Swiss trader Glencore. In Ukraine “Rusal” possesses the aluminous factory in Nikolaev and “Sual” possesses the aluminium factory in Zaporozhye.