Chinese software giants ally with Microsoft: Six of China's software giants will form service alliances with Microsoft Corp to take advantage of the leading software technology, the Xinhua news agency said on Tuesday. The Chinese companies -- including China National Computer Software, Technology Service, NEU-Alpine, and Founder Group -- will be authorised to provide business software applications based on Microsoft Windows NT and other software, the agency said. Microsoft joined forces with China computer giant Legend Holdings Ltd. in September to take a first stab at selling a palm-sized PC device in China.

SonyPictures' movie making unit in Asia: Continuing its worldwide expansion efforts, Sony Pictures Entertainment on Monday unveiled plans for a new division to make movies exclusively for Asian audiences. The new production company, called Columbia Pictures Film Production Asia, will be based in Hong Kong. Plans for the Asian division follow similar groups set up by Sony Pictures, a unit of electronics giant Sony Corp, in recent years in the United Kingdom, Germany and Brazil. The new division will be headed by Barbara Robinson, a veteran of over seven years in the Asian film business.

China passenger car sales up 10.1%: Passenger car sales in China rose 10.1 per cent year-on-year to 2,50,000 vehicles in the first-half of this year as price cuts amid intense competition lured buyers, the China Securities newspaper said. Sales for all of 1998 were expected to hit 575,000 cars against 4,80,000 last year, the official newspaper said. "In early 1998, prices of various passenger cars were reducedby more than 11 per cent on average," it said. "In the short-term, fierce competition in the car market is inevitable." But the newspaper was optimistic about the medium-term prospects for car makers. Private car ownership was expected to rise though low incomes would hamper growth in the number of individual owners, it said.

CWC set to launch TV services: UK's largest cable company, Cable & Wireless Communications, is set to announce a low cost television and telephony offering, the Financial Times said. From next week, CWC was expected to provide 10 channels, including free and pay-television, a telephone line, and access to pay-per-view movies and Sports for 9.99 pounds ($17.02) a month. And for no extra charge, from next year, customers would receive the same channels in digital format. The announcement would come ahead of satellite broadcaster BSkyB's Thursday unveiling of its digital television service.

Cooper Industries drops bid for TLG: Cooper Industries Inc, the USmanufacturer of electrical products, tools and hardware, said on Monday it had let its agreed 321 million pound ($546.9 million) offer for UK electrical lighting group TLG Plc lapse. Cooper's 160 pence per share offer earlier this month had been trumped a few days later by British industrial conglomerate Wassall Plc's bid at 175 pence a share which valued TLG -- the former Thorn Lighting Group -- at 351 million pounds.

Korea corp restructuring by December: South Korean President Kim Dae-jung told the nation that restructuring of the nation's top five business conglomerates, or chaebol, would be completed by December at the latest. He also said the country's current account was expected to turn to a surplus of $37 billion this year from an $8.2 billion deficit last year, when the country plunged into a financial crisis that has triggered a severe recession.