Boeing’s bid in the 8.3 trillion won ($7.4 billion) tender to supply South Korea with 60 fighter aircraft was the only one below the price ceiling set by the country’s arms procurement agency, sources close to the process said on Monday. A final decision is not expected until mid-September, the sources said, but the price submitted by the US company appears to be a significant step towards winning the contract. Boeing is pitching the latest variant of its F-15 fighter, dubbed the F-15 Silent Eagle, against the Eurofighter consortium’s Typhoon and Lockheed Martin’s F-35 stealth jet. South Korea’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA), which led the assessment of the fighters, said on Friday that at least one bid, which it did not identify, came within its overall budget.
Indonesia oil regulator suspends energy tenders
Indonesia’s energy regulator has suspended all oil, condensate and natural gas sell tenders as it reviews internal procedures after its chairman was caught taking an alleged bribe from an oil trader last week. The suspension is the first evidence that the graft scandal engulfing SKKMigas is starting to impact day to day operations for Indonesia’s huge oil and gas industry. SKKMigas suspended a tender to sell around 400,000 barrels of condensate from Total’s Senipah complex that was due to close on Monday, said an agency official who wished not to be named. ?The tender process is on hold. We aren’t continuing the tender process,? he told Reuters, adding that he was not sure how long the halt would last.
Lloyds readies sale of German insurance unit
Lloyds Banking Group is readying a sale of its German life insurance business, a source with knowledge of the matter said, as the British state-backed bank exits overseas markets to focus on lending at home. Lloyds could raise around 400 million euros ($533 million)from the sale of Heidelberger Leben, the source said, with German reinsurer Hannover Re tipped as the most likely buyer. The government is preparing to start selling its 39% stake in Lloyds, acquired as part of a bailout during the 2008 financial crisis, after the shares surged above its breakeven price of 61 pence. Lloyds’ German insurance sale, which the source said could be announced as early as this week, follows the disposals of its $5 billion US mortgage book, Spanish retail banking operations and international private banking business.
German govt may relaunch ?Neuer Markt?
The German government is in talks with Deutsche Boerse on relaunching the ?Neuer Markt?, the market for technology stocks which soared during the internet boom of the late 1990s before shutting six years later when share values collapsed. Economy minister Philipp Roesler told Reuters in an interview that recreating the market, hailed over a decade ago as Germany’s answer to the US Nasdaq, could make it easier for start-ups to get the capital they needed to grow. ?If you look at the current situation with our digital companies, then it is clear that almost all of them have a solid foundation, contrary to 2000,? Roesler said. ?That means that it is worth investing in these companies again.? He said talks were underway with Deutsche Boerse, with the goal of ?creating something special to make it easier for them to go on the market?.
UK financial firms raise pay ahead of EU bonus cap
Nearly two thirds of UK financial services firms have increased salaries in a bid to prevent an exodus of talent when the EU bonus cap takes effect next year, a survey found on Monday. The cap, which lawmakers say is needed to crack down on excessive risk-taking at banks, sets a basic 500,000-euro ($667,000) salary threshold above which a bonus can be no higher than fixed pay, or twice fixed pay with shareholder approval. Recruitment firm Robert Half Financial Services found 93% of financial services executives were concerned about losing staff to international opportunities due to the cap, which will apply to awards for performance from 2014 onwards. As a result, 65% have increased salaries by an average of 20% to offset the cap’s effect, while 60% have increased staff benefits, the survey showed.
