In 1981, when Jack Welch became the chairman and CEO, the company was worth $12 billion. Since then, it has increased in value some 25 times. Put another way: $10,000 invested in GE 17 years ago would be worth about $400,000 now, taking into account four 2-for-1 stock splits as well as dividends. GE's key businesses include appliances, aircraft engine and NBC television network.

Hitachi to launch digital satellite TV: Hitachi Ltd said on Thursday it would begin selling television sets capable of viewing digital satellite broadcasts on September 1. Hitachi will introduce six models between September and December and plans to produce 25,000 units per month, it saidin a statement. The televisions will be priced between 210,000 yen and 550,000 yen, it said. The new TVs offers high picture quality for viewing digital broadcasts, which will require the use of an adapter, the statement said.

Hite signs pact with US firm for funds:

South Korea's Hite Brewery said on Thursday it had signed a contract with US-based Capital Group International Inc for the US firm to purchase $30 million worth of convertible bonds to be issued by Hite. The bonds would carry no interest charge but would be converted to preferred shares at the earliest possible date, a Hite statement said.

Abacus in Shanghai Port lighting pact:

Shanghai Abacus Lighting Ltd said on Thursday it had signed a contract to supply the Shanghai Port Authority with lighting equipment valued at 6.0 million yuan ($723,000). The equipment will include high masts, used to mount floodlights for 24-hour a day operation of the Waigaoqio container Port scheduled for completion in October 1999, the companysaid. The Port will handle 600,000 containers a year when it is in operation.

Babcock set to acquire Holzmann unit:

German engineering group Deutsche Babcock AG wants to acquire Philipp Holzmann AG's Steinmueller power-plant construction subsidiary. An agreement is expected to be reached on a deal in coming weeks, the Stuttgarter Zeitung reported on Thursday, citing sources familiar with developments. The acquisition would lead to the creation of a new group called Deutsche Babcock Kraftwerkstechnik with annual sales of around three billion marks and 5,000 employees, the paper said. Deutsche Babcock said in May that it was in talks with Philipp Holzmann about buying the construction group's Steinmueller unit.

Shell, Mobil in merger talks:

Oil giants Shell and Mobil were in the final stages of discussion towards merging their Australian refining operations, a newspaper report said on Thursday. The Melbourne Age newspaper said reports of the merger talks surfaced in the oil industrynewsletter, The Strategist Oil Report, in Singapore and were confirmed by sources close to the deal.

Pirelli has A$200-A$300mn Telstra contract:

Pirelli Cables Australia Ltd said on Thursday that it has been awarded a contract to supply Telstra Corp Ltd's cable requirements until June 30, 2001. "The value of the contract is in the range of A$200 to A$300 million," Pirelli said. Pirelli said the deal would provide significant cost reductions to Telstra including reduced inventory levels, lower logistics costs, much shorter lead Times and lower cable costs.

Cordiant buying US business-to-business firm:

UK advertising group Cordiant Communications Plc said on Thursday its main operating business Bates Worldwide has agreed to buy Churchill Group Inc, a Houston based business-to-business public relations advertising and research firm.