UPDATE 1-Japan's defence industry hit by its first cyber attack

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* Mitsubishi Heavy says was target of cyber attack

* Some 80 computers infected, data stolen - Yomiuri

* Company is Japan's biggest defence contractor (Updates throughout, adds analyst comments)

TOKYO, Sept 19 (Reuters) - Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd said on Monday its computers had been hacked into, with one newspaper saying the target was Japan's biggest defence contractor's factories for submarines, missiles and nuclear power plant components.

A Mitsubishi Heavy spokesman said information could have been stolen in what was the first known cyber attack on Japan's defence industry. He gave no other details, saying the company would issue a statement later in the day once its investigation had been completed.

A Japanese defence white paper released last month urged vigilance against cyber attacks after a spate of high-profile online assaults this year that included Lockheed Martin and other U.S. defence contractors.

There were suggestions at the time that those attacks had originated in China.

The Yomiuri newspaper said about 80 virus-infected computers were found at the company's Tokyo headquarters as well as manufacturing and research and development sites including Kobe Shipyard & Machinery Works, Nagasaki Shipyard & Machinery Works and Nagoya Guidance & Propulsion System Works.

Kobe Shipyard currently builds submarines and makes components to build nuclear power stations, while the Nagasaki Shipyard makes escort ships. The Nagoya plant makes guided missiles and rocket engines, the paper said citing unnamed sources.

At least eight different kids of computer virus including Trojan horse, which steals key information from infected computer hardware, were found at Mitsubishi Heavy's main office or production sites, the Yomiuri said.

It is the country's biggest defense contractor, winning 215 deals worth 260 billion yen ($3.4 billion) from Japan's Ministry of Defense in the year to last March, or nearly a quarter of the ministry's spending that year.

Weapons included surface-to-air Patriot missiles and AIM-7 Sparrow air-to-air missiles.

Mitsubishi Heavy has also been working closely with Boeing , making wings for its 787 Dreamliner jets.

"It's probably just the first that hacking attacks in Japan have been detected. It's consistent with what we've seen already with big American defence companies," Andrew Davies, a cyber-warfare analyst with the government backed defence think-tank, the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, told Reuters.

"The Japanese make large conventional submarines that are among the world's most sophisticated ... (they) have very nicely integrated solutions with their own mechanical, electronic and control systems, so it a pretty attractive hacking proposition, to get the design of a Japanese submarine," he added. ($1 = 76.875 Japanese Yen) (Additional by Rob Taylor in Canbberra, Editing by Jonathan Thatcher)

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CORRECTED-UPDATE 1-Citi Asia prime arm on hiring spree as hedge fund industry booms

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(Corrects company name to Citigroup from Citibank throughout the story)

* To raise headcount by a fifth to 80 in 2011

* Additions to cap intro, OTC, client service teams

* Unit oversees $6.69 bln from 90 clients-AsiaHedge

HONG KONG, Aug 11 (Reuters) - Citigroup Inc will raise headcount at its Asian prime finance unit by 20 percent to 80 this year as it looks to fight for more hedge fund clients in an industry dominated by the likes of Goldman Sachs Group Inc and Morgan Stanley .

The firm was boosting its capital introduction, OTC, client service and futures teams, Hannah Goodwin, head of prime finance in Asia-Pacific for Citigroup, told Reuters, as it prepares to gain from growth in interest and the number of hedge funds setting up in the region.

"We have been getting a number of new sole mandates and we are seeing second and third mandates coming in from existing Asia managers as well," Goodwin said.

"That has been a growth story for us and I think that's going to continue," said Goodwin, who joined Citigroup about six years ago from Deutsche Bank AG (DBKGn.DE).

Prime brokers provide services such as clearing trades and lending money to hedge funds.

The firm hired Martin Visairas as its regional head of sales and capital intro from financial conglomerate Old Mutual late last year. Rob Baigrie from HDH Capital and Carol Teng from Nomos Capital Partners have also joined the team.

Other hires include former JPMorgan executives Ian Nissen as head of futures and prime finance sales, Australia, and Chris Day into the exchange traded derivatives team.

The hiring comes as Citigroup and other relatively smaller players such as Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Barclays Plc try to exploit a window of opportunity opened by panic over counterparty risk during the financial crisis that forced hedge funds to look for multiple prime brokers.

Before the 2008 crisis, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley had a combined market share of about 60 percent, according to a survey by industry tracker AsiaHedge.

Their share has since halved, with Credit Suisse Group AG , Deutsche Bank and UBS AG gaining market share, making the fiercely competitive Asian prime broking industry more evenly matched than ever, the survey showed.

Goodwin, into her 17th year in the prime broking industry in Asia's hedge fund capital Hong Kong, said the region was contributing significantly to the firm's revenue and prime finance was also a focus area.

She said Citigroup's ability to provide services across custody and fund administration to trading execution and financing and potentially even distribution was a strength.

"Citi has pretty much everything and it's a matter of working out what works best for the client," said Goodwin, who earlier also worked at Morgan Stanley.

Citigroup's prime finance unit oversees $6.69 billion from 90 hedge fund clients, including 51 sole mandates, according to data from AsiaHedge. (Reporting by Nishant Kumar; Editing by Chris Lewis)

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UPDATE 1-Dutch chemical sector Q1 sales up, industry optimistic

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* Dutch chemical sector sales rise 22 pct year-on-year

* Companies confident risks are manageable -group

(Adds details)

AMSTERDAM, May 23 (Reuters) - Dutch chemical sector sales grew 22 percent in the first quarter and companies are looking to increase investments in 2011 on the assumption that market uncertainties will be manageable, an industry body said.

The Dutch Chemical Industry Association (VNCI) said on Monday the sector was continuing its recovery, with quarterly sales growth coming from increased production and higher selling prices as companies passed on rising costs to customers.

Output rose by almost 3 percent in the first quarter, VNCI said, pointing to Statistics Netherlands figures.

"Chemical companies are generally optimistic and see both opportunities and causes for concern for the remainder of the year," VNCI said in a statement.

VNCI, whose members include Dutch paints group AkzoNobel (AKZO.AS) and vitamins maker DSM (DSMN.AS), pointed to Statistics Netherlands figures indicating businesses in the industry plan to increase investment by 73 percent in 2011.

This compares with a 36 percent drop in investments in 2010 to 0.9 billion euros from 1.4 billion in 2009.

The planned investments show a mixed picture, however, as companies are keen to spend on R&D and efficiency improvements but also deferred expansion investments.

VNCI Chairman Werner Fuhrmann said it was uncertain whether 2011 would be a better year for the sector than 2010 as this was dependent on the euro crisis, the after-effects of the Japanese earthquake, inflation in China and turmoil in the Middle East.

The chemical industry is primarily oriented at exports, which makes it very sensitive to such developments, currency rate movements and fluctuating oil and raw-material prices.

Global chemicals companies have been battling rising raw materials costs. AkzoNobel and DSM reported strong quarterly results on improved demand and price hikes as they also guided for improved results in 2011. [ID:nLDE63L2KS] [ID:nLDE71L06B]

In 2010, chemical industry production rose by more than 7 percent in 2010, while sales rose by 25 percent to 47 billion euro ($66.1 billion), while selling prices rose by 20 percent. (Reporting by Aaron Gray-Block; Editing by Hans Peters) ($1=.7109 Euro)

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* Dutch chemical sector sales rise 22 pct year-on-year

* Companies confident risks are manageable -group

(Adds details)

AMSTERDAM, May 23 (Reuters) - Dutch chemical sector sales grew 22 percent in the first quarter and companies are looking to increase investments in 2011 on the assumption that market uncertainties will be manageable, an industry body said.

The Dutch Chemical Industry Association (VNCI) said on Monday the sector was continuing its recovery, with quarterly sales growth coming from increased production and higher selling prices as companies passed on rising costs to customers.

Output rose by almost 3 percent in the first quarter, VNCI said, pointing to Statistics Netherlands figures.

"Chemical companies are generally optimistic and see both opportunities and causes for concern for the remainder of the year," VNCI said in a statement.

VNCI, whose members include Dutch paints group AkzoNobel (AKZO.AS) and vitamins maker DSM (DSMN.AS), pointed to Statistics Netherlands figures indicating businesses in the industry plan to increase investment by 73 percent in 2011.

This compares with a 36 percent drop in investments in 2010 to 0.9 billion euros from 1.4 billion in 2009.

The planned investments show a mixed picture, however, as companies are keen to spend on R&D and efficiency improvements but also deferred expansion investments.

VNCI Chairman Werner Fuhrmann said it was uncertain whether 2011 would be a better year for the sector than 2010 as this was dependent on the euro crisis, the after-effects of the Japanese earthquake, inflation in China and turmoil in the Middle East.

The chemical industry is primarily oriented at exports, which makes it very sensitive to such developments, currency rate movements and fluctuating oil and raw-material prices.

Global chemicals companies have been battling rising raw materials costs. AkzoNobel and DSM reported strong quarterly results on improved demand and price hikes as they also guided for improved results in 2011. [ID:nLDE63L2KS] [ID:nLDE71L06B]

In 2010, chemical industry production rose by more than 7 percent in 2010, while sales rose by 25 percent to 47 billion euro ($66.1 billion), while selling prices rose by 20 percent. (Reporting by Aaron Gray-Block; Editing by Hans Peters) ($1=.7109 Euro)

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* Dutch chemical sector sales rise 22 pct year-on-year

* Companies confident risks are manageable -group

(Adds details)

AMSTERDAM, May 23 (Reuters) - Dutch chemical sector sales grew 22 percent in the first quarter and companies are looking to increase investments in 2011 on the assumption that market uncertainties will be manageable, an industry body said.

The Dutch Chemical Industry Association (VNCI) said on Monday the sector was continuing its recovery, with quarterly sales growth coming from increased production and higher selling prices as companies passed on rising costs to customers.

Output rose by almost 3 percent in the first quarter, VNCI said, pointing to Statistics Netherlands figures.

"Chemical companies are generally optimistic and see both opportunities and causes for concern for the remainder of the year," VNCI said in a statement.

VNCI, whose members include Dutch paints group AkzoNobel (AKZO.AS) and vitamins maker DSM (DSMN.AS), pointed to Statistics Netherlands figures indicating businesses in the industry plan to increase investment by 73 percent in 2011.

This compares with a 36 percent drop in investments in 2010 to 0.9 billion euros from 1.4 billion in 2009.

The planned investments show a mixed picture, however, as companies are keen to spend on R&D and efficiency improvements but also deferred expansion investments.

VNCI Chairman Werner Fuhrmann said it was uncertain whether 2011 would be a better year for the sector than 2010 as this was dependent on the euro crisis, the after-effects of the Japanese earthquake, inflation in China and turmoil in the Middle East.

The chemical industry is primarily oriented at exports, which makes it very sensitive to such developments, currency rate movements and fluctuating oil and raw-material prices.

Global chemicals companies have been battling rising raw materials costs. AkzoNobel and DSM reported strong quarterly results on improved demand and price hikes as they also guided for improved results in 2011. [ID:nLDE63L2KS] [ID:nLDE71L06B]

In 2010, chemical industry production rose by more than 7 percent in 2010, while sales rose by 25 percent to 47 billion euro ($66.1 billion), while selling prices rose by 20 percent. (Reporting by Aaron Gray-Block; Editing by Hans Peters) ($1=.7109 Euro)

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