CHINA

Asia-Pacific nations are trying to map out a more robust approach to strengthening the region's food and product safety standards as ministers from the 21-member bloc opened their annual meeting on Wednesday.

Hyping China's food and product safety problem is a sickness in itself, the country's new health minister said on Wednesday, a day after Mattel announced a third global recall of Chinese-made toys.

China on Wednesday relaxed a recently introduced regulation that many exporters say would have added greatly to their cost of doing business.

U.S. President George W. Bush said on Wednesday China could help reduce trade imbalances by floating its currency, and a White House aide said Bush may discuss the thorny issue in a meeting with Chinese President Hu Jintao.

The world's leading toymaker, Mattel Inc, on Tuesday announced a third recall of Chinese-made toys, saying it would take back more than 800,000 units globally that contain impermissible levels of lead. In total, 522,000 U.S. toys and 322,000 outside the United States are being recalled.

HSBC Holdings Plc's Chinese fund arm aims to launch two new funds over the next year amid feverish demand for asset management services fuelled by a bullish local stock market, the venture's head said on Tuesday.

Boeing Co said on Tuesday China will remain its top market outside the United States for the next 20 years, as it vies with arch rival Airbus to supply the country's booming airline industry.

AstraZeneca Plc is not planning any major changes to its investments in India after a recent court ruling backed a law viewed as weakening patent protections, Chief Executive David Brennan said on Tuesday.

Bayer Schering Pharma, the drug business of Germany's Bayer AG, expects its revenues in Asia to rise by around 17 percent to more than 1.9 billion euros.

Growing dependence on cheap coal to power rapid economic growth in the Asia-Pacific could undermine efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that is blamed for harmful changes in the world's climate, experts said on Tuesday.

Usually derided as teetering on the tip of irrelevance, this year's Asia-Pacific leaders' summit in Sydney hopes to rise above its reputation for glacial action and have a real impact on the course of climate change. Leaders gathered for the meeting hope to build on June's G8 summit, in which nations agreed to consider a 50 percent cut in emissions by 2050 and build momentum ahead of a U.N. climate change meeting later this month.

Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN) said on Monday it had reassured customers over the merger that created the telecom equipment maker, after uncertainty dented sales in the second quarter.

President George W. Bush hopes to spur momentum for a world trade pact and a global target on climate change at this week's APEC summit in Sydney, but host Australia has warned not to expect binding greenhouse targets. The Asia Pacific Economic Co-operation (APEC) summit will draw 21 leaders including Bush.

European plane-maker Airbus expects Chinese airlines will need up to 150 of its jets over the next five years, including its giant A380s, as Chinese airlines expand to serve a domestic and international travel boom.

China's biggest chipmaker, Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp, is in advanced talks to acquire Japanese tech giant NEC's China venture to boost scale in the country's competitive chip market, two sources familiar with the situation said on Monday.

China said on Monday none of its massive foreign exchange stockpile was invested in the teetering U.S. subprime mortgage sector, while a top EU official predicted the crisis would not choke off economic recovery.

Brewer Scottish & Newcastle Plc expects quick growth in India, China and Vietnam, with its ventures in these markets contributing a larger share of its overall revenue, a senior company official said.

Toyota Motor Corp said on Friday it expects its group's worldwide sales to expand to 10.4 million vehicles in 2009, up 18 percent from last year, as it grabs a bigger share in mature markets and taps growing demand in China and other emerging countries.

Sweden's IKEA said on Friday the contribution from Asia-Pacific to the group's total sales could triple to 10 percent in 5 to 6 years, creating a huge challenge for the world's largest furniture retailer.

L'Oreal said on Friday it was confident on the outlook for 2007, despite signs of a slowdown in the United States, thanks to booming demand in new markets and the launch of new brands like Sanoflore and Diesel.

The shorter Sept. visit to the Asia-Pacific economic summit is seen as neglecting Asia's concerns. An Iraq military report and 9/11 commemorations loom.