EVA Air, America West start code-sharing: Taiwan's eva Airways said it will start a code-share agreement with America West Airlines on November 30. EVA Air, a unit of shipping giant Evergreen Marine, said in a statement the agreement will give the carrier direct access to Las Vegas and Phoenix. The code-share agreement allows EVA Air to extend its code on four America West routes, including LosAngeles to Las Vegas, Los Angeles to Phoenix, San Francisco to Las Vegas and San Francisco to Phoenix.

Daewoo wins $180m US building order: Daewoo, a construction and foreign trading arm of the Daewoo Group, said in a statement it would build a 72-storey condominium, which, when finished, would be the tallest residential building in the world. Building would start early next year and end May 2001. The company said the condominium would have 376 suites as well as health clubs and restaurants.

Yoshitomi aims for Y300 bn group sales: Yoshitomi Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd said on Monday it would aim for group-based sales of 300 billion yen and a current profit of 40 billion yen in the year starting April 2003. In a five-year business plan, the pharmaceutical maker will also try to raise half of its group-based profits from overseas operations by 2003/04, the company said in a statement. The company will aim for a group-based, return-on-equity ratio of 10 per cent in 2003-04, it said. In April,Yoshitomi Pharmaceutical merged with Green CrossCorp, which was at the centre of a scandal surrounding blood products tainted with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.

QPL's UK unit in cashflow difficulties: QPL International Holdings Ltd said on Monday its British-based wholly-owned Newport Wafer-Fab Ltd was experiencing severe cashflow difficulties. QPL said it had completed a review of its financing arrangements and had presented the review, which concluded Newport was in cashflow difficulties, to the company's lenders. "The company has guaranteed the liabilities of NewportWafer-Fab Ltd to the extent of approximately HK$1.2 billion," QPL said in a statement.

S&P says Australia on right track: International ratings agency Standard & Poor's said on Monday that Australia remained on track to maintain its budget surpluses and cut debt, which could eventually lead the agency to upgrade its Australian rating. "While there is some weakening of that fiscal surplus -- and we expect some slippagebecause of the Asian crisis -- the government is still very firmly committed to running fiscal surpluses at the federal level and reducing its debt," said S&P Australia managing director Graeme Lee. S&P's long-term foreign currency rating for Australia stands at AA with a positive outlook, where it has been since the government of prime minister John Howard first took office in 1996.

Sulzer Medica Q3 net up 4.3 per cent: Swiss orthopaedics and medical technology maker Sulzer Medica AG said third-quarter net profit was 33 million Swiss francs, up five per cent from a year earlier, for a nine-month rise of 4.3 per cent to 99 million francs. Sales increased 15 per cent in the third quarter to 375 million Swiss francs for a nine-month total of 1,183 million francs, also 15 per cent higher than a year earlier, or four per cent when adjusted for acquisitions.