Business news with words aim+market. 60 or more news.

As City types took some time off to celebrate Christmas and usher in the new year, there was little small talk around. The peace and quiet gave us time to reflect on the year gone by, and we looked to AIM (the alternative investment market) for inspiration. Unfortunately, there was little forthcoming.

Aim is to compete in global market Two of China's biggest automakers announced a deal yesterday to combine their production assets in hopes of creating a company able to compete in global markets.

CAP Gemini SA rose the most in almost five years in Paris trading after the Hindustan Times reported that India's Wipro Ltd may offer to buy Europe's largest computer-services company for as much as US$7 billion. Cap Gemini isn't in talks with Wipro about a takeover, the Paris-based company said after the market closed. The shares climbed 4.29 euros, or 11 percent, to 45 euros, the biggest advance since February 2003. Wipro gained the most since May 2004 on the Bombay Stock Exchange. Cap Gemini, led by Chief Executive Officer Paul Hermelin, in February bought Houston-based Kanbay International Inc for US$1.25 billion, doubling its Indian work force. Bangalore-based Wipro, India's third-largest software services exporter, may bid for Cap Gemini by the end of January, the Hindustan Times newspaper reported on Sunday, citing "investment banking sources." "There's arguably a super merger to do between a large Indian and a large European player," Jonathan

Supplier of suits to Moss Bros and Next will be 12th Chinese company to list on London's junior market this year

WALL Street extended last week's losses yesterday as investors remained concerned about flagging growth and rising prices, and were skeptical that a special Federal Reserve credit auction will be a solution. The Dow Jones industrial average fell nearly 175 points and all the major indexes lost at least 1 percent. The Fed offered US$20 billion in 28-day credit through an auction yesterday. The central bank will not release the results until Wednesday, but the aim of the auction is to encourage commercial banks to borrow from the Fed. That, in turn, is designed to boost banks' lending to businesses and consumers and keep the economy humming. Last week, the Fed disappointed investors when it cut interest rates by only a quarter of a percentage point, which was less than some analysts expected. Wall Street is pleased that policy makers say they will keep trying to lift market confidence, which has dwindled since home foreclosures started soaring, but the market is so far

By forcing dollars into the market for short-term credit, central banks are trying to drive down the price of borrowing until confidence is restored.

MYHOME, which joined London’s Aim market in December of last year, offers residential services such as cleaning, gardening and plumbing to customers who have plenty of cash but little free time. The company operates a franchise model through which it earns an initial start-up fee followed by a share of the profits. It has added a number of services to its portfolio over the years by acquiring companies that provide services related to its current offerings. The most recent of these was of ChipsAway, a mobile service which repairs scratches, chips and other minor damage to car

GOOGLE Inc, Microsoft Corp and Yahoo! Inc aim to generate billions of dollars in new revenue over the next decade by selling advertising on mobile phones. Their biggest obstacle isn't each other. It's wireless carriers such as AT&T Inc and Verizon Wireless which have kept mobile Internet rates high while defending other revenue sources that the advertising may undermine, Bloomberg News reported. At stake is a market that may surge 10-fold to US$16.2 billion globally by 2011, says EMarketer Inc, a research firm in New York. Google, based in Mountain View, California, sees as much as half of future sales coming from mobile phones. While the US accounts for about 50 percent of global revenue from promotions viewed on computers, the figure drops to 27 percent on phones and may rise to 29 percent by 2011. "The carriers are too busy trying to protect the money they are making now to look at the next way to make money," said Chad Stoller, who heads the mobile practice at

BANK for Foreign Trade of Vietnam, the country's third-biggest commercial bank, plans to raise 9.75 trillion dong (US$608 million) in an initial share sale. The dual aim is to boost finances and attract foreign investors, Bloomberg News reported. The bank is selling 97.5 million shares for at least 100,000 dong each on December 26, according to an announcement by the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange. The Hanoi-based bank, known as Vietcombank, would become the first of the Southeast Asian nation's state-owned banks to sell shares. The government is selling assets to bolster state finances, encourage competitiveness and attract overseas investors to its seven-year-old stock market. The 127-member VN Index has gained 32 percent this year. The measure ended a five-day decline on Monday on speculation the Vietcombank shares would be sold at a higher price than anticipated. Vietcombank plans to use the sale to gauge a price for so-called strategic investors to take a stake,

The US defence company plans to brave the Aim market to finance a mass production facility as it seeks to capitalise on 'skyrocketing' demand in volatile parts of the world

NIPPON Sheet Glass Co, the world's second-largest maker of glass used in cars and buildings, aims to raise as much as 50 billion yen (US$454 million) from the sale of its 50-percent stake in a television-centered venture. Five insiders made the revelation to Bloomberg News, saying the first round of bidding was expected to close today. They asked not to be identified because the plan isn't public. Hoya Corp, Japan's largest maker of optical glass, owns the other half of Yokohama, Japan-based NH Techno Glass Corp. Nippon Sheet Glass shifted its focus to glass for windows and automobiles after paying 1.8 billion pounds (US$3.7 billion) last year for St Helens, England-based, Pilkington Plc, the world's largest windshield maker. NH Techno Glass supplies glass that envelops liquid crystals used in flat panels for televisions, and has a five-percent market share, according to DisplaySearch. "Nippon Sheet Glass is in an important phase of global expansion," said Yuuki

Pacific Northwest HipCricket went public this week on AIM, the London Stock Exchange's market for growing companies, under the ticker HIP...

HipCricket Inc. this week began listing its shares on the London Stock Exchange's Alternative Investment Market (AIM) and raised slightly more than $17 million in an initial placement of 3.16 million shares.

AIM has undoubtedly established itself as the world's leading stock market for young, growing companies, with more than 2,300 UK companies and more than 400 foreign compan

ITALY'S Pirelli Tyre is eying a 10 percent share of China's premium car tire market as it opened a US$97 million plant yesterday in Shandong Province. "We aim to have 10 percent, but this could take at least three to four years to happen," Chief Executive Officer Francesco Gori said in an interview in Yanzhou, launching the firm's new factory. The plant is initially capable of producing three million tires a year, with the potential to expand to 10 million later. Pirelli launched a truck tire plant at the same site in 2005. The tire plants are operated under a 75-25 joint venture between Pirelli and Yinhe Group, a local enterprise. Gori said Pirelli has invested more than US$200 million in China. Yanzhou is its only manufacturing base in Asia Pacific. "In addition to the Chinese market, the new plant will serve Japan, Australia, Southeast Asia as well as North America," Gori said. "We hope we can export half the production eventually, and if exports

Asia's third-largest banking market faces the challenge of stimulating diversity, innovation and expansion in its financial sector to boost global competitiveness

Zadik Bino's company Paz intends to expand the Yellow chain of convenience stores, attached to its gasoline stations throughout Israel, with the aim of transforing the chain into the third largest grocery chain in Israel. The holding company plans to increase the number of Yellow outlets, located at most of Paz's 260 gas stations, and expand some of the existing stores. It has apparently not been decided whether the stores would be branded as Yellow, Yellow Market, or some other brand. ...

A South African renewable energy company has decided to press ahead with a listing on London's Aim market.

Cambridge Soft Corp, the US group that develops software for the life sciences industry, has pulled its planned flotation on Aim owing to adverse market conditions