Business news for Mon, 24 Dec 2007 & with words air+price. 5 news.

APPLIANCE maker Sichuan Changhong Electrical Co yesterday bid for a 29.92-percent stake in Huayi Compressor Co to expand its business. The TV company said in a statement to the Shanghai Stock Exchange yesterday that it would acquire 91.7 million shares from Huayi's parent Huayi Electrical Appliance General Co via an auction. The Jiangxi-based Huayi, which produces compressors for air conditioners and refrigerators, was suspended from trading in the Shenzhen stock market since December 14 when it announced the auction plan. The 91.7 million shares are valued at 956 million yuan (US$129 million) based on its closing share price of 10.42 yuan per share on December 13. Changhong wasn't traded yesterday, and its closing price on Friday was 8.45 yuan. Share price of the Shanghai-listed company has doubled this year. Changhong's net profit in the first nine months of this year totaled 340 million yuan, jumping 39 percent from a year earlier on the booming electronics market.

CATHAY Pacific Airways Ltd said yesterday it had received a formal letter of complaint from European Union regulators investigating allegations of price fixing in the air cargo business. The EU and the United States have been investigating more than a dozen airlines since at least early 2006 to discover if there was collusion in the air cargo industry to fix prices on surcharges for fuel, security and insurance. The European Commission said on Friday it had sent out Statements of Objections to a number of airlines, but did not name them. British Airways, Air France-KLM, and Scandinavian airline operator SAS Group later confirmed they had each received a letter. Cathay said it was reviewing the letter with its legal counsel and would make a "timely response" to the objections. "It is a lengthy and complex document, and only sets out the (regulator's) preliminary findings resulting from its investigation into the air cargo sector of the aviation industry. The

APPLIANCE maker Sichuan Changhong Electrical Co today bid for a 29.92 percent stake in Huayi Compressor Co. China's second-biggest TV maker said in a statement to the Shanghai Stock Exchange today that it would acquire 91.7 million shares from Huayi's parent Huayi Electrical Appliance General Co via an auction. The Jiangxi-based Huayi, which produces compressors for air conditioners and refrigerators, has been suspended from trading on the Shenzhen stock market since December 14 when it announced the auction plan. The 91.7 million shares are valued at 956 million yuan based on its closing share price of 10.42 yuan a share on December 13. Changhong wasn't traded yesterday and its closing price on Friday was 8.45 yuan. The share price of the Shanghai-listed company has doubled this year. Changhong's net profit in the first nine months of this year was 340 million yuan, jumping 39 percent from a year earlier on the booming electronics market and investment income. The

British Airways is one of several airlines accused of fixing the price of fuel in its air freight business.

Cathay Pacific Airways has received a letter of complaint from EU regulators investigating allegations of price fixing in the air cargo business.