Business: Convergys to acquire Intervoice, enhancing leadership in relationship management

-- Acquisition Provides a Complementary Growth Platform and Expands Convergys’ Integrated Automated and Live Agent Offering --

Cincinnati and Dallas - Convergys Corporation (NYSE: CVG) and Intervoice, Inc. (NASDAQ: INTV) announced today that the Boards of Directors of both companies have approved a definitive merger agreement under which Convergys will acquire Intervoice for $335 million in cash or $8.25 per share. The consideration represents a premium of 24 percent to Intervoice’s closing stock price on July 15, 2008, the last trading day prior to the announcement of the agreement. Convergys expects the acquisition to be accretive beginning in 2009 on a non-GAAP basis, excluding amortization and one time costs.

With its strong global brand, innovative technology, and large and loyal customer base, Intervoice is a leader in the software-based interactive voice response, contact center, and mobile messaging technology and applications markets. Intervoice is also recognized in the leader's quadrant among its peers as acknowledged in Gartner, Inc.’s ‘Magic Quadrant for Interactive Voice Response Systems and Enterprise Voice Portals, 2008’ report published February 19, 2008. The report states that “Intervoice has a strong track record and experience in delivering IVR and speech applications through packaged applications, complemented by service engagements.”

Acquisition Strategic and Financial Benefits

Comprehensive product and services offering – By integrating Intervoice’s complementary speech automation, Web self-care, and mobile applications, Convergys will be able to offer a comprehensive array of automated and live agent services. Intervoice’s products and services portfolio provides Convergys with an expanded offering, reduced time to market, and enhanced differentiation in the large and growing automated services market.

Expanded client base and growth opportunities in global market – Intervoice serves thousands of enterprises and network service providers in 80 countries across multiple industries, including financial services, healthcare, retail and manufacturing, telecommunications, utilities, and transportation and travel. Intervoice’s extensive global channel and technology partnerships and sales presence provide Convergys with a number of cross-selling opportunities to further penetrate current markets and access new markets and geographies. These cross-selling opportunities as well as the new bundled product offerings are expected to accelerate Convergys revenue growth in 2009 and beyond.

"Separately, these companies have been strong strategic partners delivering products that have created opportunities for customers like us," said Robert Strickland, Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer at T-Mobile USA. "If they come together, we look forward to seeing them continue to build on their ability to bring solutions to the market that place customer relationships at the center."

Predictable revenue with attractive contribution margins – Intervoice revenues for its fiscal year ended February 28, 2008, were $202.4 million. More than fifty percent of these revenues are maintenance and hosted services revenues that are predictable and recurring. These maintenance and hosted services, along with the rest of Intervoice’s portfolio of products and services, generate attractive contribution margins.

“This acquisition is part of our plan to be the market leader in Relationship Management solutions,” said Dave Dougherty, Convergys President and CEO. “Clients are demanding high-quality, integrated, relationship management solutions, combining both automated and live agent services, to drive more value from their relationships with their customers and employees. We believe acquiring Intervoice allows us to compete more effectively as a single-source provider and enables us to grow our revenues and our earnings. We're very excited about this transaction and the value we expect it to create for our clients and shareholders, as well as the opportunities we expect it to create for Convergys and Intervoice employees.”

“While Intervoice has performed well independently for 25 years, this transaction should create significant value for our shareholders, new opportunities for our employees, and enhanced ways to drive our customers’ success,” said Robert Ritchey, CEO of Intervoice. “Convergys is an industry leader that shares our passion for innovative technology and excellence in customer service. We expect our complementary product and services suites to optimize relationship management across all industry segments. We look forward to joining the Convergys team.”

Transaction Summary

Under the agreement, Convergys will commence a tender offer for all outstanding shares of Intervoice common stock for $8.25 per share no later than August 1, 2008. Following completion of the tender offer, the parties will effect a second-step merger in which remaining Intervoice shareholders will receive the same price per share.

The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals as well as the valid tender of two-thirds the outstanding shares of Intervoice common stock. Convergys expects the transaction to close in the third quarter of 2008.

Convergys intends to initially fund the transaction through existing and new credit facilities and cash on hand. The tender offer is not subject to a financing contingency.

Following the close of the transaction, Intervoice results will be included in the results of Convergys’ Customer Management Segment.

Conference Call and Webcast

Convergys and Intervoice will host a conference call on July 16, 2008, at 9:00 AM, Eastern Daylight Time, to discuss today’s announcement. A live webcast of the conference call and accompanying slides can be accessed at www.convergys.com and www.intervoice.com

About Intervoice

Intervoice (NASDAQ: INTV) is a world leader in delivering natural, intuitive ways for people to interact, transact, and communicate. Intervoice software and professional services enable innovative voice portal, IP contact center, hosted and mobile messaging, and self-service applications. More than 5,000 customers in 80 countries have relied on Intervoice, including many of the world’s leading financial and healthcare institutions, telecommunications companies, utilities, and governments. For more information, visit www.intervoice.com

(Intervoice and the Intervoice logo are registered trademarks of Intervoice, Inc.)

About Convergys

Convergys Corporation (NYSE: CVG) is a global leader in relationship management. We provide solutions that drive more value from the relationships our clients have with their customers and employees. Convergys turns these everyday interactions into a source of profit and strategic advantage for our clients.

For 25 years, our unique combination of domain expertise, operational excellence, and innovative technologies has delivered process improvement and actionable business insight to clients that now span more than 70 countries and 35 languages.

Convergys is a member of the S&P 500 and has been voted a Fortune Most Admired Company for eight consecutive years. We have approximately 75,000 employees in 87 customer contact centers and other facilities in the United States, Canada, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia, and our global headquarters in Cincinnati, Ohio. For more information, visit www.convergys.com

(Convergys and the Convergys logo are registered trademarks of Convergys Corporation.)

To receive Convergys news releases by email, click on http://www.convergys.com/news_email.html

Additional Information

This news release is neither an offer to purchase nor a solicitation of an offer to sell shares of Intervoice. At the time Convergys commences the tender offer, it will file a Tender Offer Statement on Schedule TO with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) and Intervoice will file a Solicitation/Recommendation Statement on Schedule 14D-9 with respect to the tender offer.

THE TENDER OFFER WILL BE MADE SOLELY BY THE TENDER OFFER STATEMENT. THE TENDER OFFER STATEMENT (INCLUDING AN OFFER TO PURCHASE, A RELATED LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL, AND ALL OTHER OFFER DOCUMENTS) AND THE SOLICITATION/RECOMMENDATION STATEMENT WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION AND SHOULD BE READ CAREFULLY BEFORE ANY DECISION IS MADE WITH RESPECT TO THE TENDER OFFER.

The Offer to Purchase, the related Letter of Transmittal, and certain other offer documents, as well as the Solicitation/Recommendation Statement, will be made available to all stockholders of Intervoice, at no expense to them. The Tender Offer Statement (including the Offer to Purchase, the related Letter of Transmittal, and all other offer documents filed by Convergys with the SEC) and the Intervoice Solicitation/Recommendation Statement will also be available for free at the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov

Forward Looking Information

This news release contains certain forward-looking statements with respect to the financial condition, results of operations, and business of Convergys and Intervoice and certain of the plans and objectives of Convergys and Intervoice with respect to these items, including without limitation, completion of the tender offer and merger and comments regarding the post-transaction business of Convergys. Completion of the tender offer and merger are subject to conditions, including satisfaction of a minimum tender condition and the need for regulatory approvals, and there can be no assurance those conditions can be satisfied or that the transactions described in this news release will be completed. The remarks concerning the post-transaction business of Convergys are subject to risks associated with the ability of Convergys to successfully integrate Intervoice’s business with its own, as well as factors commonly affecting these businesses. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risk and uncertainty because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that will occur in the future and there are many factors, including, the risk factors detailed in Convergys and Intervoice filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the Annual Reports on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, that could cause actual results and developments to differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are only as of the date they are made, and we do not undertake to update these statements to reflect subsequent changes except as required by federal securities law.

Contacts

Convergys
Investor Contact, David Stein
+1 513 723 7768 or investor@convergys.com

Media Contact, John Pratt
+1 513 723 3333 or john.pratt@convergys.com

Intervoice
Investor Contact, Rob Sutton
+1 972 454-8891 or rob.sutton@intervoice.com

Media Contact, Michelle Basch
+1 650 386 3386 or michelle.basch@intervoice.com

Business: Australian online tour operator Euroscape diversifies

Sydney (BUSINESS WIRE) - Euroscape is strengthening its global business by diversifying its payment capabilities with a new multi-currency conversion system from Transaction Network Services (NYSE:TNS).

The deal, using TNS' Merchant Payment Gateway Solution, will help Euroscape expand its customer base by allowing the firm to accept payments in US, Singapore and New Zealand Dollars, British Pounds and Euros, as well as Australian Dollars as it does currently.

Iva Dalco, Managing Director at Euroscape, explained: "This is a key part of our strategy to grow our business and sell our products throughout the world. Using TNS' Merchant Payment Gateway will allow us to accept payments securely in six of the major currencies, ideally positioning us to serve a substantial amount of consumers around the globe.

"In addition to our Australian customers, we are enjoying significant levels of business from across the world, but particularly in Europe. As an online business we target a global market and it is essential our payments technology supports this with the flexibility to accept multiple currencies."

Euroscape acts as a tour and accommodation wholesaler, providing services for individual travellers. TNS has processed the company's payments in Australian Dollars since last November.

Chris Hughes, Vice President of Sales at TNS Asia Pacific, said: "We're delighted that Euroscape has chosen to extend its relationship with us. TNS' Merchant Payment Gateway Solution provides Euroscape with one complete package, boasting a range of additional services, but most importantly capable of accepting payments in foreign currencies, while continuing to process transactions through Euroscape's local acquirer.

"Euroscape is a fast growing company and enjoying heightened levels of traffic to its website, so the ability to convert as much business as possible is a key component of its expansion strategy."

TNS' PCI-DSS compliant Merchant Payment Gateway enables companies to easily and economically process internet and card-not-present payments in local and overseas markets. As part of TNS' Global Payment Gateway solutions, merchants can authorise and settle multi-regional card transactions securely, reliably and cost-effectively.

The TNS Global Payment Gateway processes payments for an ever-growing ecosystem of over 18,000 merchants, more than 110 banks and major card schemes worldwide.

About TNS

Transaction Network Services (TNS) is an international communications company that enables payments, money and voices to move data around the world.

In June of 2007, TNS acquired local Australia Payment Gateway provider Dialect Payment Technologies. Dialect's products - Safepay Lite, SafePay Standard and SafePay Enterprise are now offered within TNS' Merchant Payment Gateway Solutions product family.

TNS' mission is to enable the world to transact. It does this through a broad range of networking, communications and value added services, which it provides to many of the world's leading retailers, banks/processors, telecommunications companies and financial markets.

Since its inception in 1990, TNS has designed and implemented multiple data networks, each designed specifically for the transport of transaction-oriented data. TNS' networks support a variety of widely accepted communications protocols and are designed to be scalable and accessible by multiple methods.

Today, TNS has 32 offices across 28 countries with the ability to provide services in other countries. For further information about TNS' transaction solutions, please refer to www.tnsi.com.

Statements and information contained in our press releases and newsletters that are not descriptions of historical fact may contain forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties or other factors beyond our control, which could cause actual results to differ materially from historical results or performance and from any opinions or statements expressed with respect to future periods. www.tnsi.com

TNS
Clare Cockroft Tel: +44 (0)114 292 6416 ccockroft@tnsi.com
or
Beka HortonTel: + 1 703 453 8432 bhorton@tnsi.com

Technology: Telegent enables free mobile access to TV sporting broadcasts

71 per cent of Chinese consumers surveyed interested in watching this summer's sports competitions on free-to-air mobile TV phones

Shanghai, (ANTARA News/PRNewswire-AsiaNet) - Millions of viewers worldwide will stay abreast of live sports coverage this summer with TV handsets that incorporate Telegent's free-to-air mobile TV technology.

According to SINO-MR, a leading China market research firm, 71 per cent of China consumers surveyed were interested in watching the 2008 Beijing games on a TV phone, with 41 per cent considering buying one to gain mobile access to the summer sports coverage.

SINO-MR estimates that domestic sales of free-to-air analog TV handsets will exceed 21 million by year-end, propelling China to the forefront of mobile TV adoption worldwide and suggesting that this summer's quadrennial games are set to smash world records with the number of people viewing the event on mobile TV.

According to Telegent's chief executive officer Weijie Yun, the Beijing games could be the first major sporting event to be widely viewed on mobile devices.

"Free-to-air mobile TV provides consumers with a compelling, free and easy-to-use method of watching the same news, sports and other programming that consumers receive on their TV sets at home," said Yun.

"This explains why sales of analog TV handsets have already outpaced the number of digital subscription mobile TV viewers worldwide."

Analyst firm In-Stat predicts that 34 million analog TV handsets will be sold globally in 2008.

This view is backed up by major handset manufacturer ZTE. Mohamed Ben Hanzaz, vice president of ZTE Brazil noted, "In Brazil, the penetration of mobile technology combined with strong consumer interest in television for news and entertainment makes free-to-air mobile TV a compelling feature for driving consumer demand for handsets."

A separate survey conducted by Telegent in Brazil revealed that 58 per cent of respondents were interested in mobile access specifically to news and sports.

The benefits of free-to-air mobile TV are enjoyed not only by consumers but also by broadcasters and operators. The TV handsets extend the broadcasters' viewing audience by putting the same programming that broadcasters deliver to living room TV sets in the consumer's pocket.

Yun added, "For operators, free-to-air TV handsets provide access to the most popular content without any infrastructure investment, providing a platform for improving their competitive position in the marketplace."

Telegent's mobile TV technology supports free-to-air standards NTSC, PAL, SECAM and DVB-T, as well as the digital mobile TV standard DVB-H.

About Telegent Systems

Telegent Systems is a leading fabless CMOS semiconductor company that makes television mobile by providing high-performance, single-chip solutions enabling free-to-air and subscription mobile TV in mobile handsets and portable devices. Telegent's solutions deliver analog and digital broadcast reception with unparalleled sensitivity and picture quality, ultra-low power consumption and the highest integration simplifying mobile device design and manufacture.

For more information, visit www.telegent.com.
SOURCE Telegent Systems
NOTE TO EDITORS: Photos for this release: http:/www.telegent.com/news/graphics/sports.html
CONTACT: Mark Leeper of Bond PR,
+852-2122-9000,
mark@bondpr.com, for Telegent Systems
Web site: http://www.telegent.com

Business in Asia Today - July 16, 2008

UAE'S ETIHAD AIRWAYS ANNOUNCES DEALS WORTH US$20.4 BLN
Farnborough (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - National carrier of United Arab Emirates, Etihad Airways, announced deals for 100 fuel-efficient passenger planes worth US$20.4 billion (over Rs 800 billion) and unveiled its purchases at the Farnborough International Airshow.
Abu Dhabi-based Etihad said it is considering the purchase of an additional 105 passenger planes shared between Airbus and Boeing, worth about US$22.6 billion.
"The new generation aircraft we have ordered from both Boeing and Airbus are among the most fuel efficient and will help maintain Etihad's fleet as one of the youngest and greenest in the sky," the airline's chief executive James Hogan said. Aircraft deliveries will begin in 2011 and be completed in 2020.

PETRONAS PUMPS US$19.6 BLN INTO MALAYSIAN GOVT'S COFFER
Kuala Lumpur (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - An exceptionally good financial year for Petronas has enabled Malaysia's national oil company to contribute RM62.8 billion (US$19.6 billion) to the federal government's coffer.
Company president Mohd Hassan Marican attributed the performance not only to higher oil prices and sales volume but also improvement in the group's operational efficiency and prudent management.
For its financial year ended March 31, 2008, net profit increased to RM61 billion, or by 31.5 per cent, and revenue jumped to RM223.1 billion, up 21.2 per cent amidst an increasingly challenging global industry environment, he said Tuesday.

AUSTRALIA'S WOOLWORTHS FY'08 SALES RISE TO US$46 BLN
Sydney (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - Australia's biggest retailer, Woolworths Ltd (ASX:WOW), is set to meet its annual earnings forecasts after yearly sales rose on the back of a strong performance by its supermarkets division.
Chief executive Michael Luscombe said fiscal 2008 earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) are expected to grow faster than sales while net profit is expected to grow between 21 to 25 per cent.
Total sales for the 53 weeks ended June 29 rose to A$47.035 billion (US$46.0 billion), or 10.7 per cent.

AIR CHINA TO BUY 45 AIRCRAFTS FROM BOEING
Beijing (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - Chinese airline giant Air China (SSX:601111, SEHK:0753) Tuesday signed an agreement with Boeing to purchase 15 Boeing 777s and 30 Boeing 737s.
The basic price of the aircraft totaled US$6.3 billion, which includes the cost of aircraft bodies, accessory parts and engines, but the real transaction price will be a lower figure as Boeing has provided a favorable price for Air China in the form of a credit memorandum.
Air China noted that based on its available ton kilometers in 2007, the aircraft purchase will lift its transport capacity by 35 per cent.

STAR CONSORTIUM IN US$2 BLN DEAL WITH LIBYA'S NATIONAL OIL CO
Dubai (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - In a landmark achievement, the United Arab Emirates-based Star Consortium (comprising the Al Ghurair Investments subsidiary TransAsia Gas International and ETA Ascon Star Group's Star Petro Energy) have successfully
concluded a deal with the National Oil Company (NOC) of Libya to set up a joint venture company that will take ownership of and upgrade its Ras Lanuf refinery. The refinery produces 10 million tonnes of refined petroleum products per year.
The project is estimated to cost US$2 billion over five years and is to start immediately.

RIO DELIVERS RECORD IRON ORE PRODUCTION IN Q2
Melbourne (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - Rio Tinto Ltd (ASX:RIO), the focus of a US$153 billion (A$156.43 billion) takeover by BHP Billiton Ltd, has delivered strong output for iron ore and aluminium in its second quarter.
Global iron ore production rose by 13 per during the three months to June 30 from the same period in 2007, despite a significant gas outage caused by a fire at Apache Energy's Varanus Island processing plant.
Aluminium output gained 374 per cent to 1.014 million tonnes, reflecting a full quarter from the Alcan business acquired for US$38.7 billion (A$39.57 billion) last year.
BHP Billiton says a merged company could provide more product, more quickly and estimates US$3.7 billion (A$3.78 billion) in synergies could be realised by a takeover of Rio Tinto.

INDIA'S RIL, ONGC OFFSHORE OPS MAY FACE SHUTDOWN
New Delhi (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - Reliance Industries (BSE:500325) and Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (BSE:500312) may face an imminent shutdown of offshore oil and gas operations after India's Shipping Ministry issued new norms for vessels operating in Indian waters.
Directorate General of Shipping had in May banned operations of all vessels that are more than 25 years old.
"Offshore oil and gas operations will collapse if these norms are implemented," ONGC chairman R S Sharma said today, and a Reliance Industries executive said the company faced a similar fate for its 40-plus vessels working on bringing the gas field in Krishna Godavari basin to production.
Sharma added global safety certification is the criteria for operations of vessels, not vintage.

INDONESIA'S TELKOM GETS US$1.25 BLN LOAN, CANCELS BOND ISSUE
Jakarta (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - Indonesia's largest telecommunication company PT Telkom (JSX:TLKM) has cancelled a plan to issue bonds after signing an agreement on a US$1.25 billion credit pledged by three local banks on Monday.
The state-owned company will use the loan fund from state-owned banks - Bank Negara Indonesia (BNI) (JSX:BBNI) and Bank Rakyat Indonesia (JSX:BBRI) - and Bank Central Asia to finance its investment this year.
Telkom is also expected to receive a credit of Rp3 trillion (US$325 million) on July 24 from a syndicate led by BNI.
With the support in loans from the banks the plant to issue bond is cancelled, Telkom chief financial officer Sudiro Asno said yesterday.

NIPPON OIL MAKES NORTH SEA DRILLING UNIT FULLY OWNED SUBSIDIARY
Tokyo (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - Nippon Oil Corp. (TSE:5001) said Tuesday a unit developing oil and natural gas fields in the North Sea has been made a wholly owned subsidiary as part of a plan to boost lucrative overseas production amid weakening domestic gasoline sales.
MOC Exploration (UK) Ltd. is involved in production at eight sites in UK territorial waters, with a total daily output of roughly 88,000 barrels.
Fiscal 2007 sales were 15.4 billion yen, with a net profit of 5 billion yen (US$47.18 million).
The transaction was valued at 22 billion yen and the acquisition doubles Nippon Oil's daily output of crude from fields for which it holds concessions to around 5,800 barrels.

SAMSUNG LIFE INSURANCE EXPLORES VIETNAM MARKET
Hanoi (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - Samsung Life Insurance Company inaugurated Tuesday its representative office in Hanoi, marking its presence as one of South Korea's leading insurers in Vietnam.
South Korean Ambassador to Vietnam Im Hong Jae said the opening of the representative office was an indication of Samsung Life Insurance Company's confidence in the future growth of the Vietnamese insurance market.
Samsung Life will join 35 other foreign life and non-life insurers to explore the insurance market in Vietnam where 5 per cent of the population currently have life insurance.

Source:
Business in Asia Today - July 16, 2008
published by Asia Pulse

Business: ASEANs largest trade show for gifts, home decorative items is back

BIG&BIH: with Greater Choices!

Bangkok - /InfoQuest-AsiaNet/ - The second edition of Bangkok International Gift Fair and Bangkok International Houseware Fair 2008 (BIG&BIH) is closing in, with more than ever the variety, creativity and quality of lifestyle products ranging from gift, premiums, home decorative items, household products, home textiles, toys and novelties, stationery, and office supplies.

BIG&BIHOctober 2008, organized for the 26th time by the Department of Export Promotion (DEP), the Ministry of Commerce, will take place on October 14-19, 2008 at the Challenger, IMPACT Exhibition and Convention Center, Thailand. The first four days are reserved for trade negotiations only, while last two days are opened for the public.

Being held twice annually for over a decade, BIG&BIH - the largest and most established trade show for gifts, home decorative items and housewares in ASEAN region, has been recognized among international buyers as one of Asias most attractive sourcing platforms for lifestyle products with unique designs and high quality.

Visitors to BIG&BIH are promised to experience a vast variety of lifestyle products, ranging from gifts, premiums, home decorative items, housewares, home textiles, toys, stationery, and office supplies to fulfill every needs:

Pure Pleasure: Gifts/Handicrafts Decorative Items
Pure Earth: Artificial Flowers/Plants, Potpourri, Candles
Fun and Favorites: Christmas, Toys and Games, Stationeries
Life Styling: Home Textile, Fabric Decorative Items
Heart and Home: Household Products, Tableware, Kitchenware
Comfort Zone: Bathroom Accessories, Cleaning Equipment, Small Electrical Appliances

At the October 2008 edition that occupies a total of 46,000sq.m exhibiting space, DEP - the fair organizer expects approximately 750 exhibitors from Thailand and neighboring countries to participate in. These include producers and exporters of internationally acclaimed brands such as Voravan, the up-and-coming producer of rubber home decorative items; Seagull, Thailands first stainless steel housewares brand with ISO 9002 certified by the AJA Institute, as well as those with international design awards like Harnn&Thann, the body-care international chain that won a patent for natural rice bran oil soap formulation along with numerous design excellence awards from all over the world.

The first edition of BIG&BIH 2008, held on April 17-22, attracted a total of 17,762 trade visitors, a 4.67 percent increase from the previous show. Among them were 4,130 international buyers from 110 countries around the globe.

The application for exhibitors is now opened until July 31st.
For more information, please contact big@depthai.go.th or
visit www.bigandbih.com.
Source: TTIS Company Limited

Business: OPEC crude output rises to 32.47 mln BPD in June: Platts survey

London, (ANTARA News/PRNewswire-AsiaNet) - The 13 members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) pumped an average 32.47 million barrels per day (b/d) of crude oil in June, an increase of 230,000 b/d from the May level of 32.24 million b/d, according to the latest Platts survey of OPEC and oil industry officials. Higher volumes from Saudi Arabia accounted for almost all of the increase.

Excluding Iraq, the 12 members bound by OPEC output agreements pumped an average 29.98 million b/d in June, up from 29.75 million b/d in May, and 307,000 b/d in excess of their 29.673 million b/d output target, the survey showed.

Saudi Arabia produced an average 9.45 million b/d, which is up 210,000 b/d from the previous month. The Saudi government, during US President George Bush's visit in May, said that it would boost output to 9.45 million b/d in June. The government has since said it will increase output further in July, to 9.7 million b/d, in line with increased demand.

Other smaller increases totaling 80,000 b/d came from Iran, Angola, Kuwait and Qatar.

The only production decrease in June came from Nigeria, whose output fell 60,000 b/d to 1.8 million b/d as militant activity disrupted some operations.

Iraqi output was largely unchanged; a dip in exports was offset by higher internal consumption.

"The Saudis did their part, raising their output precisely to the levels they promised," said Platts Global Director of Oil John Kingston. "It isn't clear whether this additional Saudi crude is going to go into consumption or inventory, but either way, it should find a home."

For more information on OPEC, go to the "Platts Guide to OPEC" at http://www.opec.platts.com. For production numbers by country, a table is available at http://www.platts.com/Oil Resources/News%20Features/opec/prod_table.xml.

About Platts:

Platts, a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies (NYSE: MHP), is a leading global provider of energy and commodities information. With nearly a century of business experience, Platts serves customers across more than 150 countries. From 17 offices worldwide, Platts serves the oil, natural gas, electricity, nuclear power, coal, emissions, petrochemical, shipping and metals markets. Platts' real time news, pricing, analytical services, and conferences help markets operate with transparency and efficiency. Traders, risk managers, analysts, and industry leaders depend upon Platts to help them make better trading and investment decisions. Additional information is available at http://www.platts.com.

For additional information on The McGraw-Hill Companies visit http:/www.mcgraw-hill.com.

SOURCE Platts
CONTACT: Kathleen Tanzy
+1-212-904-2860
Kathleen_tanzy@platts.com
Europe: Shiona Ramage
+44207-1766153
Asia: Casey Yew,
+65-653-06552
Web site: http://www.platts.com
http://www.opec.platts.com

Technology: Greystripe, Celltick sign a global deal to deliver ad-funded mobile games

London, (ANTARA News/PRNewswire-AsiaNet) - Celltick, the pioneer of mobile idle screen marketing solutions, today announces a new partnership with San Francisco-based Greystripe, the leading ad-supported mobile games and applications distributor. The partnership will see the two companies team up to distribute advertising-funded games for mobile devices through Celltick's innovative LiveScreen(TM) Media platform.

LiveScreen(TM) Media broadcasts messages and teasers to the idle screen of mobile handsets, communicating with subscribers in a non-intrusive fashion, and turning the idle screen into a personal billboard through which advertisers and publishers can promote their content and products.

By integrating the LiveScreen(TM) Media platform into its existing business, Greystripe will be able to increase the advertising opportunities available to its partners, using LiveScreen(TM) Media's targeted approach to ensure it communicates the right messages to the right customers. In addition, it will be able to offer its games not only to its existing subscribers but also to all mobile users who have the LiveScreen(TM) Media application.

Greystripe's innovative AdWRAP technology allows consumers to download free content via a series of ad-funded portals. As a result, it has become an expert in driving mass consumer adoption of mobile games and applications. Game publishers working with Greystripe include Sega, Digital Chocolate, Vivendi Games Mobile and Hands-On Mobile.

Greystripe is largely funded by Steamboat Ventures, the venture capital firm affiliated with The Walt Disney Company.

Michael Chang, CEO of Greystripe, comments: "We continue to scale our distribution by partnering with leaders in mobile marketing like Celltick in order to provide the broadest reach for our brand advertisers. Working with Celltick creates a range of new marketing opportunities for our brands, which will be able to engage with a new user base in an accessible and non-intrusive fashion. Its targeted approach will increase not only the effectiveness of the adverts but also the value to the customers themselves."

Stephen Dunford, Celltick's CEO, adds: "This deal enables us to increase the value we offer to our operator partners and their subscribers by incorporating Greystripe's gaming products into the existing range of ad-funded content available through LiveScreen(TM) Media. It also has a strategic value for us as a demonstration of Celltick's role at the heart of the mobile marketing ecosystem, providing a medium through which all the players in the mobile marketing spectrum are able to benefit."

About Greystripe http://www.greystripe.com

Greystripe is the world's first and leading ad-supported mobile games and applications distribution platform. Greystripe's AdWRAP product suite enables: brand advertisers to communicate their brand message to a unique mobile audience; publishers to gain advertising revenue by serving ads through their games; and consumers to download high quality games for free. The AdWRAP currently serves ads into more than 800 game titles from 110 publishers supporting over 1,400 handset models and iPhone. Greystripe reaches millions of mobile game players by powering over 80 AdWRAP Catalog distribution partners and through GameJump.com its online and mobile web portal com (http://www.gamejump.com/).

About Celltick http://www.celltick.com

Celltick Technologies Ltd., the pioneer of Active Mobile Marketing, has introduced a new medium into the mobile space. Its flagship product, LiveScreen(TM) Media, allows content providers and advertisers to broadcast targeted content and marketing messages to millions of mobile idle screens, turning them into a network of interactive billboards, creating a strong revenue stream for operators.

Celltick cooperates with mobile operators to turn the mobile screen into a powerful revenue driver. The company has close relations with all network infrastructure companies, major SIM vendors, leading handset manufacturers and industry standard organisations, as well as global content providers and media agents.

Founded in 2000 and privately owned, Celltick is headquartered in the UK with offices in Russia, Singapore, India, Thailand and Brazil.

Celltick Press Contact: Dom Whitehurst and Eleanor Orebi Gann, Hotwire, +44(0)20-7608-2500

SOURCE: Celltick

Technology: Korea`s Leading Investment is 1st to offer algorithmic trading

Singapore, (ANTARA News/Xinhua-PRNewswire-AsiaNet) - Progress Software Corporation (Nasdaq: PRGS), a provider of application infrastructure software to develop, deploy, integrate and manage business applications, today announced that Korea's Leading Investment & Securities (Leading) has become the country's first Korean-based securities firm to provide algorithmic trading capability to its international clients through its adoption of Progress(R) Apama(R).

Progress(R) Apama(R), the leading platform for algorithmic trading and other event-driven applications in capital markets, puts control in the hands of traders who can create, deploy, and monitor differentiated trading strategies that offer real advantage in today's financial markets.

"We are delighted that Leading has selected Apama as a platform to offer algorithmic trading to its international clients. This demonstrates that sell-side securities firms are serious about meeting their customers' complicated and diverse needs in a rapidly changing financial market," said Eric Lim, managing director, Asia, of Progress Software.

Leading's sell-side brokers will now leverage Apama's flexibility to empower proprietary desks to deploy new trading scenarios, ensure that its algorithms offer competitive advantage over others in the market, and meet the fluctuating needs of it's clients.

"In line with the evolution of trading execution globally, the responsibility of manual trade execution previously performed by our traders will wane and be replaced by continuous monitoring of our clients' orders, maintenance and updating of the algorithmic trading platform to meet their demands," said Daniel D Kim, head of foreign institutional sales at Leading.

"We always strive to provide the best execution solutions for our clients by looking at things from their perspectives and anticipating their needs. With the rapid growth of algorithmic trading, we simply wouldn't be able to best serve our clients without keeping abreast of IT developments and ensuring buy-side needs," added Kim. "We feel that best price execution with minimal market impact, anonymity, low latency, low maintenance, and low commission are in line with our clients' priorities and our investment in Progress Apama will help ensure we meet those expectations," continued Kim.

Leading purchased the Apama Algorithmic Trading Platform with Reuters and QFIX Adapters through Koscom, a professional financial IT solutions firm, which since its establishment in 1977, has led the development of the Korea securities and futures market through providing IT infrastructure.

With Koscom providing all the necessary connectivity for the Korean market, and Progress Apama providing the technology platform, Leading will now develop proprietary algorithmic trading and offer it to its institutional clients to trade in the Korean market.

"We compared eight different platforms over a three month period but finally selected Progress Apama because it surpassed all the others in many aspects," said Kim. "For example, it offers the ability to customize basic algorithms like VWAP, TWAP, and Iceberg. Also, our clients have the flexibility to write their proprietary algorithms in either GUI or standard code-both these factors were crucial to our decision," explained Kim.

Another advantage, according to Kim, is that the other platforms considered are "black box" solutions, whereas Apama is a "white box" solution, allowing the client almost full control of his strategy from creation, testing, to implementation.

"We are also able to provide complete anonymity of algorithm strategy and segregation between clients. This is a must, considering ever increasing market efficiency is compelling clients to demand greater secrecy to maintain their competitive edge," concluded Kim.

Established by the Ministry of Finance and the Korea Stock Exchange in 1977 to computerize the securities markets and related industries systems, Koscom has led the development of the Korea securities and futures market through providing IT infrastructure. Its selection of the Progress(R) Apama(R) Algorithmic Trading Platform has enabled algorithmic trading on the Korea Exchange (KRX). In addition, Progress and Koscom have entered into a strategic partnership where Koscom will develop a localized version of the Apama platform for distribution in Asia. This partnership makes the Apama platform the first commercial algorithmic trading system available in Korea.

About Progress Software

Progress Software Corporation (Nasdaq: PRGS) provides application infrastructure software for the development, deployment, integration and management of business applications. Our goal is to maximize the benefits of information technology while minimizing its complexity and total cost of ownership. More than 1,000 customers and partners in Asia depend on Progress Software for their technology and the provision of top-quality business solutions.

Progress can be reached at http://www.progress.com/asia .

About Leading Investment & Securities

Leading Investment & Securities (Leading) is a pioneer in Korean Securities. Leading, a sell-side brokerage firm, was established in March 2000 to meet the evolution of capital market globalization. Since May 2002, Leading has been providing brokerage services for equities of the China, HK, US, Japan, Indonesia, Vietnam and London markets in Korea, and is continuously expanding to other markets.

Leading focuses on online solutions in place of high cost branch offices to deliver exceptional value to its customers. Through Leading's Global Trading System, Home Trading System and Online Fund Mall, customers will find overseas equities, Korean equities and derivatives very accessible anytime, anywhere.

For more information, please visit: http:/ www.leading.co.kr .

Progress and Apama are trademarks or registered trademarks of Progress Software Corporation or one of its affiliates or subsidiaries in the U.S. and other countries. Any other trademarks or service marks contained herein are the property of their respective owners.

CONTACT:
Jezmynn Koh
Progress Software
Tel: +65-6303-5013
Email: jkoh@progress.com
SOURCE Progress Software Corporation

Business: UBS develops structure to offer to rebuy stock from UBS clients

New York (BUSINESS WIRE) - UBS (NYSE: UBS) today announced it is actively developing a structure that would offer to purchase any and all auction preferred stock issued by registered closed-end tax-exempt funds and held by eligible UBS advisory and brokerage clients in their UBS accounts. If this structure is implemented and the offer is consummated, UBS clients who accept the offer will receive cash in an amount equal to the liquidation preference of their auction preferred stock plus any accrued and unpaid dividends (which is the amount they would receive if auctions for these securities were clearing). Implementation will be subject to a number of transactional structuring factors, including compliance with all applicable legal requirements. In order to be eligible for this offer, the auction preferred stock must have been held in the client's UBS account on July 15, 2008.

These offers, if consummated, are intended to be financed by the net proceeds of remarketed preferred securities to be issued in one or more private placements by a newly-created Trust. This Trust will be controlled by UBS and will be consolidated in UBS's consolidated financial statements. The Trust Preferred will pay a dividend rate that will reset based on weekly remarketings performed by a designated remarketing agent. The Trust Preferred will be supported by a Liquidity Put or similar demand feature provided by UBS or another highly rated bank. It is anticipated that the Trust Preferred and the accompanying Liquidity Puts will be eligible for investment by money market funds.

Auction preferred stock is a preferred equity security that pays dividends that are reset by an auction typically held every seven or 28 days. These auctions have consistently been failing since February 2008.

Consequently, many holders desiring to sell these securities, including UBS clients, have been unable to do so, although dividends continue to be paid at pre-determined maximum rates. On July 15, 2008, UBS clients held an aggregate of approximately $3.5 billion of auction preferred stock issued by registered closed-end tax-exempt funds in their UBS accounts (valued at liquidation preference).

The proposed structure, and the proposed offer to UBS's clients, are intended to be fully supportive of ongoing industry efforts to resolve liquidity issues regarding auction preferred stock.

UBS clients who elect not to sell their auction preferred stock in the proposed offer would retain their ability to sell in connection with implementation of any prospective industry proposals referred to above, as part of any redemptions by the issuing funds or in secondary market transactions. However, there can be no assurance when, or if, any of these alternatives will be available to holders of auction preferred stock.

UBS has been working on developing the proposed structure for several months. Implementation is subject to a number of factors, including compliance with all applicable legal requirements. UBS has sought and obtained guidance from the Department of the Treasury as to certain tax considerations. In addition, UBS is engaged in substantive on-going discussions
with the staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission regarding certain aspects of the proposed structure, and has recently met with the staff to discuss its request for regulatory guidance. UBS expects that offers to purchase the auction preferred stock from its clients will commence within approximately 30 days of resolving these regulatory issues.
However, there can be no assurance that these regulatory issues will be resolved.

This announcement is not an offer to purchase auction preferred stock from any holder thereof. Any such offer will be made only to UBS clients and only by a delivery of a document to the UBS clients containing detailed descriptions of the terms and conditions of the offer. If made, acceptance of that offer will be subject to compliance with the terms and conditions set forth in the offer documentation.

The Trust Preferred Securities and related Liquidity Puts will not be registered under the Securities Act of 1933 or any state securities laws, and will not be able to be offered or sold in the United States absent such registration or the perfection of an exemption therefrom.

This announcement is neither an offer to sell nor a solicitation of an offer to buy any of these securities.

Forward-Looking Statements This announcement may contain statements that constitute "forward-looking statements," including but not limited to statements relating to UBS's intention to implement the proposed structure described herein.
While these forward-looking statements represent UBS's judgments, current intentions and future expectations, a number of risks, uncertainties and other important factors could cause actual developments to differ materially from UBS's expectations. These factors include, but are not limited to: (1) the need to obtain any necessary regulatory approvals for the implementation of the proposed structure; (2) legislative, governmental and regulatory developments; (3) factors affecting UBS's estimate of the timing necessary to implement the proposed structure; and (4) market and macro-economic developments. UBS is not under any obligation to (and expressly disclaims any such obligation to) update or alter its forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.

UBS is one of the world's leading financial firms, serving a discerning international client base. Its business, global in scale, is focused on growth. As an integrated firm, UBS creates added value for clients by drawing on the combined resources and expertise of all its businesses.

UBS is the leading global wealth manager, a leading global investment banking and securities firm, and one of the largest global asset managers. In Switzerland, UBS is the market leader in retail and commercial banking.

UBS is present in all major financial centers worldwide. It has offices in 50 countries, with about 38% of its employees working in the Americas, 33% in Switzerland, 16% in the rest of Europe and 13% in Asia Pacific. UBS employs more than 80,000 people around the world. Its shares are listed on the Swiss Stock Exchange (SWX), the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE).

UBS AGKarina Byrne, 212-882-5692 Karina.byrne@ubs.com or
Kris Kagel, 212-882-5691 Kris.kagel@ubs.com or www.ubs.com

Business: Economic Zones World (EZW) completes acquisition of Gazeley

Regulatory approval confirms integration of leading logistics infrastructure businesses

Dubai, United Arab Emirates (BUSINESS WIRE) - The acquisition of Gazeley Limited by Economic Zones World (EZW), a Dubai World company, has received European regulatory approval completing the integration of these two fast-growing logistics infrastructure businesses, as announced on 10 June 2008.

EZW has acquired Gazeley Limited, the Wal-Mart-owned global provider of sustainable logistics space, as part of its strategy to expand into global markets and deliver a robust global platform to support the dynamic and complex supply chains of its customers.

The acquisition was driven by EZW's customer-centric strategy for global growth and the company's desire to strengthen its penetration of global markets through Gazeley's complementary fit.

Salma Hareb, Chief Executive Officer of Jafza and Economic Zones World, said: "We are delighted to have received formal regulatory approval and we are getting on with the business of bringing our two organisations together and unlocking the value which the combined strength of our operations will provide. We are looking forward to building on the excellent work, capability and experience of the combined EZW/Gazeley team and to offering our customers an even broader and higher quality of service."

EZW and Gazeley senior management teams are currently working on an integration strategy to determine the best approach for combining the two businesses and maximising commercial and customer benefits.

Source: ME-NewsWire on behalf of Economic Zones World.
Economic Zones World
UK media:Ben Copithorne bcopithorne@camarguepr.com
Paul Browne, Camarguepbrowne@camarguepr.com+44 (0) 20 7636 7366
or UAE and other International media:EZW Susan Diaz,
+971-4-801-0552 Susan.diaz@ezw.ae

High-Tech: EDS Asia Pacific standardises on BMC Software Atrium CMDB

Massive gains seen in EDS client support and satisfaction

Sydney, Australia (BUSINESS WIRE) - BMC Software and EDS today announced that EDS Asia Pacific has standardised on the BMC Atrium Configuration Management Database (CMDB) to improve service management delivery to its clients. EDS Asia Pacific's service management clients include many of the region's leading financial services, telecommunications, consumer goods, healthcare and energy companies.

A key part of BMC's Business Service Management solutions, the BMC Atrium CMDB provides EDS with a central, integrated repository to monitor and manage the people, processes, and technologies that make up a client's IT infrastructure. By leveraging this ?single source of truth,' EDS can identify incidents before they impact the client.

The BMC Atrium CMDB is a central piece of EDS' IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL?)-aligned delivery platform, and one of the initiatives EDS used to reduce IT incidents in their client environments by 72 percent in 2007. A further 50 percent reduction in incidents expected in 2008.

EDS' first client implementation of the BMC Atrium CMDB was for one of Australia's largest commercial institutions. In less than twelve months, EDS fed more than 225,000 configuration items (CIs) from the organisation's IT infrastructure into the BMC Atrium CMDB. That process produced an accurate central view of the organisation's IT environment, enabling EDS to meet and exceed the terms of the service level agreements with its client.

Dr. Tony Parsons, executive director of EDS Asia Pacific's service management capability program, said: "Our clients expect EDS to know service management and deliver consistent, high quality solutions and services. A standard approach to service management is critical to continually improving service levels and exceeding our customers' growing expectations. To achieve these goals, we have made the BMC Atrium CMDB the cornerstone of our service management delivery. As a result, we can detect problems faster, understand the cause and effect, validate the impact and then fix and restore service with minimal impact to the business."

The standardisation is a key part of EDS' push to improve its global delivery capability by centralising functions across six Centres of Excellence worldwide. Leveraging EDS' standardised approach to service management delivery across the globe, the EDS Centre of Excellence for Asia Pacific -- located in Burwood, Australia ? has fully adopted and implemented the BMC Atrium CMDB for client implementations. EDS Asia Pacific plans to roll out the BMC Atrium CMDB across its client portfolio.

"BMC and EDS enjoy a very strong partnership in Asia Pacific and our mutual customers are no longer looking for organisations to manage a patchwork IT infrastructure. They need a central view of the overall IT environment that maps directly to the business services they support. Without a CMDB, this isn't possible," said Mike Davies, BMC's managing director for Australia and New Zealand. "BMC and EDS are leading the way in delivering the technology and services for this crucial alignment enabling the management of client infrastructures faster, proactively, and more effectively."About BMC Software BMC Software (NYSE:BMC) is a leading global provider of enterprise management solutions that empower companies to automate their IT and prove its business value. Delivering Business Service Management and Service Automation, BMC solutions span enterprise systems, applications, databases and service management. For the four fiscal quarters ended March 31, 2008, BMC revenue was approximately $1.73 billion. To learn more, visit www.bmc.com.

About EDS

EDS is a leading global technology services company delivering business solutions to its clients. EDS founded the information technology outsourcing industry 46 years ago.
Today, EDS delivers a broad portfolio of information technology and business process outsourcing services to clients in the manufacturing, financial services, healthcare, communications, energy, transportation, and consumer and retail industries and to governments around the world. Learn more at eds.com.

BMC Software
Jessica Walker, +61 2 8899 2986 jessica_walker@bmc.com
Mark Stouse, +1 832 715 0234 mark_stouse@bmc.com
or Howorth Communications
Graham White, +61 2 8281 3808 graham@howorth.com.au
or EDS
Tamara Plakalo, +61 2 8965 0550 tamara.plakalo@eds.com

High-Tech: Toshiba launches 400GB 2.5-inch HDD and new line-up of drives

Toshiba launches 400GB 2.5-inch HDD introduces new line-up Of 7,200rpm drives 400GB drive cuts acoustic noise during data seek by 2dB*1 for near silent operation?

MULTIMEDIA AVAILABLE: http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin mmg.cgi?eid=5732487

Tokyo (BUSINESS WIRE) - Toshiba Corporation (TOKYO:6502) today announced a new line-up of high performance 2.5-inch HDDs, including a low-noise flagship model that boosts areal density to 477Mbit/mm2 (308Gbpsi) to achieve a capacity of 400GB on just two platters, plus five drives that bring new levels of performance and 7,200rpm rotational speeds to the company's full range of storage capacities.

Mass production of the 400GB MK4058 GSX will start from September, targeting notebook PC and consumer electronic applications. Mass production of the 7,200rpm drives will start in August. The line-up includes the 320GB MK3254 GSY and models with 80, 120, 160 and 250GB capacities.

Toshiba will feature the new drives at DISKCON JAPAN 2008, organized by The International Disk Drive Equipment and Materials Association (IDEMA), which will be held in Tokyo, Japan, from July 22 to 23, and at IFA 2008, one of the world's largest consumer electronics trade fairs, which will be held in Berlin, Germany, from August 29 to September 3.

The MK4058 GSX uses an improved read-write head and enhanced magnetic layer to boost areal density to 477Mbit/mm2 and achieve a capacity of 400GB on only two platters, the highest data density of any of Toshiba's 2.5-inch HDD. A further plus is that acoustic noise during data seek has been reduced by 2 decibels (dB), compared to the company's current top-of-the-line 320GB MK3252 GSX, making operation almost inaudible. As a result, the new 400GB drive is ideally suited for noise-free playback of movies and music on notebook PCs and digital products. These advances are complemented by an improved energy consumption efficiency*2 that makes the MK4058 GSX approximately 20% more efficient than Toshiba's current top-of-the-line MK3252 GSX.

The five other drives that Toshiba has added to its line-up take full advantage of a 7,200rpm rotation speed to boost performance. Compared to the current 200GB model (MK2049 GSY), the 320GB MK3254 GSY improves maximum internal data transfers rate by approximately 14% to support high-speed processing of high volume data, meeting demand for notebook and desktop PCs offering faster performance. The 320GB drives is also 37% more efficient than the MK2049 GSY in terms of energy consumption efficiency*2. All of the drives, available in a line-up of 80, 120, 160, 250 and 320GB capacities, support an optional Free Fall Sensor function, that detects a falling HDD and parks the head before impact.

All the new drives comply with the European Union's RoHS directive*3 for eliminating use of six hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment, and the MK4058 GSX is Toshiba's first halogen-free*4 2.5-inch HDD.

Toshiba Group, a Corporate Citizen of the Planet Earth, is committed to realizing a better environment. Guided by "Toshiba Group Environmental Vision 2050" the Group is implementing measures to boost environmental efficiency by 10 times in FY2050, against the benchmark of FY2000. The core target is to reduce projected CO2 emissions by a total equivalent to 117.7 million tons a year by FY2025, through the development and sales of highly efficient power supply equipment and systems, and the manufacture of environmentally conscious home appliances and office equipment. By working to mitigate global warming, make efficient use of resources and control management of chemicals, Toshiba Group creates value for people and promotes lifestyles in harmony with the Earth.

Background 2.5-inch hard disk drives are now found in many and diverse applications, from desktop and mobile PCs to other digital consumer products. The market has a voracious appetite for larger data capacities, as more powerful networks and applications bring audio-visual capabilities to more products.
Toshiba will sustain the industry's ability to meet customer needs by providing cutting-edge technologies that add to areal density, operating speed and overall drive performance.

Key Features of New ProductsMK4058 GSX

1. Achieving areal density of 477Mbit/mm2 (308Gbspi).
MK4058 GSX achieves an areal density of 477Mbit/mm2, by the result of improving the read-write head and of an enhanced magnetic layer. With the same two platter design as Toshiba's current 320GB design, the new model offers a 400GB capacity, the largest yet achieved, while retaining the 9.5mm thickness of its predecessor.

2. 2dB acoustic noise reduction in data seek.
Toshiba has directed its latest advances in HDD technology to reduce noise by 2dB, suppressing it to a level where users can playback movies and music without any noise distraction during data seek.

3. Improved energy consumption efficiency.
Compared to the 320GB MK3252 GSX, the new MK4058 GSX improves energy consumption efficiency, as defined under the Japanese legal standard, to 0.0015 W/GB, a 20% improvement.

4. Environmentally conscious products(1) Halogen Free Product The MK4058 GSX is Toshiba's first 2.5-inch HDD that achieve chlorine and bromine concentrations below the standard required for recognition as a Toshiba environmentally conscious products, an ECP (below 900ppm for each, and an overall total below 1,500ppm).
(2) Lower CO2 emissions during the product lifecycle During their lifecycle, the new drives will lower CO2 emissions by approximately 95g a year*5.
(3) RoHScompatible The new drive complies with the European Union's RoHS directive for eliminating use of six hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment.
(4) MK4058 GSX meets standards for certification as a standout Toshiba ECP Toshiba is promoting an "Excellent ECP" program to stimulate creation of high value products offering exceptional environmental friendliness.

For more information, visit http://www.toshiba.co.jp/env/en/productsindex.htmMK3254 GSY and other 7,200rpm drives

1.Expanding the 7,200rpm line-up to a storage capacity of 320GB.
An improved read-write head and enhanced magnetic layer combine with a rotation speed of 7,200rpm to realize a maximum storage capacity of 320GB. Toshiba's 7,200rpm HDD offer a wide line-up of capacities: 80, 120, 160, 250 and 320GB.

2. Improved energy consumption efficiency Compared to the 200GB MK2049 GSY, the new MK3254 GSY improves energy consumption efficiency, as defined under the Japanese legal standard, to 0.0028 W/GB, a 37% improvement.

3. Free Fall Sensor function integrated (option).
The new 7,200rpm drive support an optional Free Fall Sensor function, which detects a falling HDD and parks the head before it crashes.

4. Environmentally conscious products (1) RoHScompatible The new drives comply with the European Union's RoHS directive for eliminating use of six hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment.
(2) The new 7,200rpm drives meet standards for certification as a standout Toshiba ECPs Toshiba is promoting an "Excellent ECP" program to stimulate creation of high value products offering exceptional environmental friendliness.

For more information, visit http://www.toshiba.co.jp/env/en/productsindex.htm *1 Comparison based on Toshiba's current 2.5-inch HDD (MK3252 GSX).
*2 Energy consumption efficiency is calculated based power consumption divided by formatted capacity, as defined by Japanese law.
*3 The RoHS Directive, which came into effect in July 2006, is a European Union directive that eliminates the use of six hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment.
*4 Chlorine and bromine reductions are targeted, and concentrations are controlled to a level below the standard required for recognition as a Toshiba environmentally conscious products, an ECP (below 900ppm for each, with an overall total below 1,500ppm).
*5 Comparison based on MK6015 MAP (Year 2000 model). Based on Toshiba's evaluation method of LCA (Life Cycle Assesment).

Main Specifications MK4058 GSX Formatted capacity 400GB Number of platters 2 Number of heads 4 Average seek time 12msec Interface Serial ATA 2.6/ATA8 Interface speed 3.0Gbit/s Rotational speed 5,400rpm Buffer memory 8MB Dimensions (W x D x Hmm) (W x D x H, mm)69.85 100.0 9.5 mm Weight 102g (max.) Energy consumption efficiency 0.0015 W/GB Acoustic noise Idle 25dB Seek 25dB Vibration resistance Operating 9.8m/s2, 1G (5-500Hz)Non-operating49m/s2, 5G (150-500Hz) Shock resistance Operating 3,920m/s2(400G, 2m/sec.)

Non-operating 8,820m/s2 (900G, 1m/sec) MK3254 GSY MK2554 GSY MK1654 GSY MK1254 GSY MK8054 GSY Formatted capacity 320GB 250GB 160GB 120GB 80GB Number of platters 2 1 1 Number of heads 4 2 1 Average seek time 12msec Interface Serial ATA 2.6/ATA8 Interface speedc 3.0Gbit/s Rotational speed 7,200rpm Internal data transfer speed 1,020Mbit/s (max.) 840Mbit/s (max.) 1,020Mbit/s (max.)840Mbit/s (max.) 1,020Mbit/s (max.)

Buffer memory MB Dimensions WxDxHmm 69.85mm 100.0mm 9.5mm Weight 115g (max.) 111g (max.) Energy consumption efficiency 0.0028 W/GB 0.0036 W/GB 0.0056 W/GB 0.0075 W/GB ? 0.0113 W/GB Vibration resistance Operating 9.8m/s2, 1G (5-500Hz) Non-operating 49m/s2, 5G (15-500Hz) Shock resistance Operating 2,940m/s2(300G, 2msec) Non-operating 8,820m/s2 (900G, 1msec) Note: Hard disk capacity is calculated on the basis of 1MB = 1-million bytes, and 1GB = 1-billion bytes.

Toshiba Corporation Yuko Sugahara, +81-3-3457-2105
Corporate Communications Officehttp://www.toshiba.co.jp/contact
media.htm

Technology: Completely automatic means truly smooth sailing

Mumbai, India (BUSINESS WIRE) - There has certainly been an evolution in every field which has become automated. Take ships, for example. Originally getting a vessel from here to there required the complex operation of sails, a very clever navigator, and considerable ability and experience on the part of the crew to deal with unexpected foul weather.
Steam power replaced sails making movement more automatic and radar could detect the ever-unpredictable storms. Today, a ship can practically be taken across an entire ocean, guided and steered by sophisticated electronics, completely avoiding storms the whole way. Now that is automatic! In the field of computers, there have been similar evolutions. From giant machines the size of buildings, filled with vacuum tubes and only able to be operated by geniuses, we now have evolved to something that can be held in the palm of your hand, operated by a child and with more computing power than those behemoths of old.

There has been a comparable path with computer tasks such as defragmentation. Originally a disk could only be defragmented by backing up the entire contents of the drive, wiping the drive clean, and then restoring the data from backup; the restored data would be defragmented and performance would be greatly improved. Then a defragmentation utility was invented to replace the backup-and-restore method -- although like its predecessor the utility needed manual operation and run when users were not on the system. Another breakthrough occurred when scheduled defragmentation was developed; defragmentation could then be scheduled to run unattended by a human, and everyone could finally go home.

But scheduling has kept defragmentation in the steamship era while computing has moved forward into total automation. The World Wide Web has connected the entire planet; many servers must now operate 24X7 and there is little to no time to schedule defragmentation. Due to a shortage of skilled personnel, IT time now comes at a premium and many hours must be eaten up scheduling defragmentation. Because of the incredible growth in size of disks and files, fragmentation continues to build -- and greatly drains performance -- in between scheduled runs.

Today's computing environment requires a completely automatic defragmentation solution, one that requires no scheduling and which will defragment whenever otherwise-idle resources are available. Performance is invisibly maintained at maximum at all times.

A ship can sail automatically across the sea, and finally a computer can have its performance automatically maintained.

Bruce Boyers Marketing Services 818-637-2625
info@boyersmarketing.com

Business: Shanghai Century Acquisition Corporation announcement

It will not be filing form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2007

New York (BUSINESS WIRE) - Shanghai Century Acquisition Corporation (AMEX: SHA) At the Company's July 8, 2008 General Extraordinary Meeting of the Shareholders, Cosimo Borrelli and Jacqueline Walsh, both of Borrelli Walsh Limited, were appointed to serve as liquidators of the Company. The liquidators' responsibilities include the settling any outstanding creditor claims and making a pro rata distribution to the holders of securities issued in the Company's April 28, 2006 initial public offering (the "IPO"), from the trust account (the "Trust Account") into which the net proceeds of the IPO were deposited (plus (i) one-half of the interest earned on the Trust Account and (ii) any remaining net assets) The per share distribution amount will not be determined until after the liquidators have evaluated and paid the creditors' claims and may be less than the IPO price of US$8.00 per unit. As of May 31, 2008, approximately US$114,500,000 was held in the Trust Account and invested in money market funds.

The Company's annual report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2007 was initially due on June 30, 2008. The filing of Form 20-F is a requirement for the Company's continued listing on the American Stock Exchange ("AMEX"). The Company has today received a notice from AMEX regarding this delinquent filing and that it is not in compliance with sections 134 and 1101 of the AMEX Company Guide. The liquidators have determined that a Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2007 will not be filed for the following reasons: the Company is in the process of liquidation and additional expenses should be minimized to allow for a larger distribution to shareholders and the Company's major asset as of December 31, 2007 was the Trust Account and information with respect thereto has been given to shareholders.

Shanghai Century Acquisition Corporation was formed for the purpose of acquiring an operating business. In April 2006 the Company raised US$115 million in its IPO of which approximately $110 million was deposited into the Trust Account. Since the Company's proposed acquisition was not approved by its shareholders, the Company is required to liquidate and dissolve in accordance with its charter and applicable law.

Borrelli Walsh LimitedCosimo Borrelli, +852 3761 3888
Managing Director

Mining/Minerals: Petronas: Financial Overview 2008

Kuala Lumpur - / BERNAMA-AsiaNet/ - The financial year ended 31 March 2008 was yet another highly challenging year for the PETRONAS Group as it continues to strive to generate value amidst an increasingly volatile and uncertain global oil and gas industry environment beleaguered with escalating cost and an acute shortage of experienced personnel as well as equipment.

The year saw sustained growth in demand for oil on the back of strong global economic expansion particularly in China and India. Global demand, which grew at an average of 86.1 million barrels per day, outstripped supply during the period. The higher demand over supply, coupled with recurring supply disruptions in some producing countries and continuing geopolitical uncertainties particularly in the Middle East, escalated concerns over security of supply.

All these developments, compounded by speculative activities, drove crude oil prices to historic highs during the year with the average price of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) and Brent crude oils increasing by 26.7% and 26.5% to USD82.24 per barrel and USD82.31 per barrel respectively. The weighted average price of Malaysian Crude Oil (MCO) also rose in tandem to USD86.81 per barrel, an increase of 26.7%. Strong demand from the transportation sector drove prices of gasoline up by 37.7% to an average of USD102.50 per barrel and diesel by 22.6% to an average of USD94.97 per barrel.

The sustained high oil price environment and strong demand growth over the last few years have resulted in intensification of industry activities. This has driven up costs, in most cases, higher than the increase of crude prices. For example, over the past five years, WTI crude prices recorded a cumulative increase of 182%. In comparison, the daily charter rates for drilling rigs (a significant component of upstream costs) increased by almost 300% and the average price of steel (a significant component of both upstream and downstream costs) increased by 225%. In general, the increase in cost has resulted in oil and gas companies incurring higher capital expenditures to sustain operations.

The cost escalation was compounded by the scarcity of and harder-to-find new hydrocarbon reserves located mainly in deeper waters, harsher climatic conditions and environmentally sensitive regions, making access to the reserves more difficult, riskier and technologically more challenging.
Worsened by the lack of engineering and construction capacity as well as the acute shortage of experienced personnel, the cost escalation had also led to many projects being delayed and deferred during the year.

In short, the year saw oil and gas companies globally continuing to operate in a highly challenging environment where escalating costs have eclipsed gains from high prices. More significantly, the combined effects of high prices and high costs have had a more negative than positive impact on the industry and the global economy, particularly for developing economies.

Against this scenario, the PETRONAS Group recorded a revenue of RM223.1 billion, an increase of 21.2%, primarily due to higher prices and higher sales volume. The Group successfully contained the impact of high costs and posted a 25.2% increase in profit before tax from RM76.3 billion to RM95.5 billion. Profit after tax and minority interests increased by 31.5% from RM46.4 billion to RM61.0 billion. Apart from the Group's ability to contain costs, this achievement was also largely due to the improved operational efficiency and higher plant reliability achieved across the Group's businesses.

The higher profit has enabled PETRONAS to provide higher payment to governments. For the year, PETRONAS Group paid out RM67.6 billion to governments, bringing the Group's total payments to governments to RM403.3 billion since its incorporation in 1974.

Of the RM67.6 billion payment for the year, RM62.8 billion was paid to the Federal Government comprising RM30 billion dividend which includes a RM6 billon special dividend, RM20.6 billion in the form of petroleum income tax, RM5.4 billion in corporate income tax, RM2.1 billion in export duties and RM4.7 billion of royalty payment. A total of RM4.8 billion was paid as royalty payments to the state governments of Terengganu, Sarawak and Sabah.

PETRONAS Group's payment to the Federal Government for the year represents 44% of the Federal Government's revenue.

The RM67.6 billion total payment to governments for the year represents 63.1% of the PETRONAS Group profits for the same period. PETRONAS Group retained only 29.2% of its profits during the year for reinvestments and the balance 7.7% was used to pay foreign taxes and minority interests. The reinvestment is necessary to ensure the Group's sustainable operations and growth in order to be able to continue to generate value for its stakeholders.

Higher prices during the year also resulted in PETRONAS incurring a higher subsidy to the nation's gas sector. PETRONAS' subsidy to the gas sector rose to RM19.7 billion, up by 26.2% from RM15.6 billion previously. This brought the cumulative gas subsidy to RM77.9 billion since 1997.

Gas subsidy to the power sector grew to RM13.8 billion, an increase of 17.9%, of which RM8.1 billion or 58.7% went to the Independent Power Producers. The higher prices have also driven the non-power sector to switch more of their fuel source to subsidised gas, resulting in a 51.3% increase in subsidy to the non-power sector to RM5.9 billion.

The year saw the Group's capital expenditure increase by 33.3% to RM37.6 billion, largely as a result of the escalation in cost. Of this, RM20 billion was spent in Malaysia, an increase of 36% compared to RM14.7 billion the year before.
About 55% of the Group's total capital expenditure was spent in the Exploration and Production (E&P) sector.

The Group's balance sheet continued to strengthen with total assets rising by 15.2% to RM339.3 billion while shareholder's funds grew to RM201 billion, an increase of 17.6%.

Return on Total Assets (Pre-tax Profit over Total Assets) rose to 28.1% compared to 25.9% in the previous year, while Return on Average Capital Employed (ROACE) remained strong at 45.5%.

The Group's performance despite the challenges is a reflection of its resilience and ability to efficiently generate returns and profits that compare favourably with the more established major players in the industry. It was also a testimony to the success of the Group's overall strategy of integration, value adding and globalisation. Had PETRONAS not embarked on this strategy and remained as a manager and regulator of Malaysia's hydrocarbon resources, it would have only been able to generate cumulative profits of RM175 billion, less than half the cumulative amount of RM403 billion paid to governments.

The Group's continuous emphasis on operational efficiency and reliability, as well as the integrated nature of its operations has successfully cushioned the impact of cost escalation and enabled the Group to optimise the benefits of higher prices. Indeed, higher prices would not yield much benefit to the Group if was not able to operate efficiently and reliably.

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