A former publisher and tourism promoter is confident his bid to take on Australia's airline duopoly - Qantas Ltd and Ansett Ltd will be a case of third time lucky. There have been two previous attempts this decade to break into the domestic market. Both, by airlines known as Compass, failed spectacularly amid bloody price wars with the majors. However Paul Orpwood, Chief executive and major shareholder of Australian Airline Holdings Ltd (AAH) said this time around things will be different. Unlike Compass, Orpwood said he had substantial financial backing - from a United States pension fund - and would not seek to battle it out on discount prices.

AGL wins A$5.7m cogeneration contract: Australian Gas Light Co said on Thursday it had won a A$5.7 million contract to design, build and maintain a three megawatt methane-fuelled cogeneration plant at Sydney Water's Malabar sewage treatment plant. The cogeneration units, which would be able to meet the sewageplant's main power needs, would run on methane gas from the sewage treatment process, cutting energy costs for the site, and reducing emissions and gas flaring at the site. AGL expects the cogeneration facility to be built by the end of February 1999.

Deutsche Telekom says M&As growing: Dutsche Telekom AG's Japanese unit said on Thursday that deregulation in Japan and the country's economic woes have boosted chances for foreign telecom carriers to move into the market through mergers and acquisitions (M&As). ``Chances for M&As are increasing remarkably,'' Deutsche Telekom KK president Eugen M Angster told a news conference. However, Angster added that it was still too early to comment on his company's specific partnership and M&A strategy in Japan.

Tag Heuer sees Asia woes hitting sales: Swiss watchmaker TAG Heuer International SA said Asia's economic troubles would push first-half sales down by five to 10 per cent and forecast full-year 1998 sales would also slip. It said in a statement itwas tightly monitoring costs ``to limit the negative impact of lower sales on net profit,'' but it gave no profit forecast. ``Following a satisfactory first-quarter sales performance and despite sustained growth in Europe and the Americas, trading in the second quarter has deteriorated due to the depressed economic situation in Asia.

Hartstone sells Spanish interest: British leather goods and accessories company Hartstone Group Plc announced that it was selling its hosiery interests in Spain to New Hosiery Holdings S.A. for around 25.2 million pounds. Hartstone said in a statement that New Hosiery could also buy its Dutch business Ipko-Amcor at net asset value. The sale will strengthen Hartstone's overall financial position and will enable the directors to concentrate on Hartstone's leather goods business, Etienne Aigner in the U.S.," the company said.