Birou Notarial9

SOFIA | Wed May 25, 2011 2:29am EDT

SOFIA May 25 (Reuters) - These are some of the main stories in Bulgarian newspapers on Wednesday. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

GENERAL AND POLITICS

SEGA - About 47,000 Bulgarians have left the country in the past two years, searching better work conditions and and higher life standard, data from the statistics office showed.

ECONOMY

PARI - U.S. Chevron (CVX.N) and Canadian BNK Petroleum (BKX.TO) have filed offers to carry out shale gas exploration in northern Bulgaria, Economy and Energy Minister Traicho Traikov said.

(Sofia newsroom, Tel: +359-2-939-9730))

SOFIA | Wed May 25, 2011 2:29am EDT

SOFIA May 25 (Reuters) - These are some of the main stories in Bulgarian newspapers on Wednesday. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

GENERAL AND POLITICS

SEGA - About 47,000 Bulgarians have left the country in the past two years, searching better work conditions and and higher life standard, data from the statistics office showed.

ECONOMY

PARI - U.S. Chevron (CVX.N) and Canadian BNK Petroleum (BKX.TO) have filed offers to carry out shale gas exploration in northern Bulgaria, Economy and Energy Minister Traicho Traikov said.

(Sofia newsroom, Tel: +359-2-939-9730))

China interested in building nuclear plant in E.Africa, IBI Corp says

BEIJING | Wed May 25, 2011 2:09am EDT

BEIJING May 25 (Reuters) - China wants to help build nuclear power generation in East Africa, uranium mining and investment company IBI Corp said in a statement after meeting Chinese officials in Beijing, revealing China's undimmed appetite for overseas nuclear expansion despite the Japanese nuclear crisis this year.

IBI, which has uranium-prospective land in Uganda, said its director, A.J. Coffman, held an "encouraging meeting... with the relatively new umbrella organization overseeing China's research and development of Generation 3 and Generation 4 nuclear power plant designs."

"At the meeting, this entity expressed an interest in pursuing nuclear power plant construction in East Africa."

China is in the early stages of a massive nuclear power expansion to help meet the demands of its power-guzzling economy and to weaken the grip of coal as the dominant source of fuel.

Japan's earthquake and tsunami on March 11 and the ensuing nuclear crisis have threatened to put cracks in China's own plans, with the government ordering a halt to further nuclear approvals until it had inspected the existing reactors and construction sites.

China's ambitious domestic nuclear expansion is widely expected to march ahead, although talk of the sector growing to 80-90 gigawatts by 2020 may give way to a target of 70-75 GW. Still, that is a giant leap from China's existing nuclear capacity, which amounted to 10.8 GW, at the end of 2010.

Some of China's new plants will use "third generation" reactors, using technology from France's Areva (CEPFi.PA) and U.S.-based Westinghouse, part of Toshiba Corp . But later their technology will be transferred to China, enabling it to build third generation plants in its own right.

Currently there are no nuclear plants in East Africa, and only one country on the continent, South Africa, has nuclear power.

China already has some early-stage interests in uranium in Africa. The overseas arm of China National Nuclear Corp has a 37.2 percent stake in a uranium mine in Niger that began producing on Dec. 30, 2010, as well as exploration projects in Namibia and Zimbabwe.

Another state-owned company, China Guangdong Nuclear Power Corp , earlier this month withdrew a bid for UK-listed Kalahari Minerals , which holds 43 percent of Extract Resources , owner of Namibia's Husab project, potentially the world's second-biggest uranium mine.

The Chinese firm, which withdrew its $1.2 billion bid after regulators refused to let it cut its offer in the aftermath of the Japanese nuclear disaster, is considering whether to come back with a fresh offer. [ID:nSGE74A012]

For a graphic of uranium production by country, please click on r.reuters.com/xun48r (Reporting by Tom Miles; Editing by Ken Wills)

BEIJING | Wed May 25, 2011 2:09am EDT

"At the meeting, this entity expressed an interest in pursuing nuclear power plant construction in East Africa."

China is in the early stages of a massive nuclear power expansion to help meet the demands of its power-guzzling economy and to weaken the grip of coal as the dominant source of fuel.

Currently there are no nuclear plants in East Africa, and only one country on the continent, South Africa, has nuclear power.

For a graphic of uranium production by country, please click on r.reuters.com/xun48r (Reporting by Tom Miles; Editing by Ken Wills)

BEIJING | Wed May 25, 2011 2:09am EDT

"At the meeting, this entity expressed an interest in pursuing nuclear power plant construction in East Africa."

China is in the early stages of a massive nuclear power expansion to help meet the demands of its power-guzzling economy and to weaken the grip of coal as the dominant source of fuel.

Currently there are no nuclear plants in East Africa, and only one country on the continent, South Africa, has nuclear power.

For a graphic of uranium production by country, please click on r.reuters.com/xun48r (Reporting by Tom Miles; Editing by Ken Wills)

UPDATE 3-GE Capital sells $5 bln Australia mortgage book

* Marks exit from Australian mortgages

* To focus on consumer and corporate finance

* Equity value of deal seen at around $100 mln-analysts

* Pepper Homeloans funded by consortium of banks (Recasts with GE confirmation of sale)

By Narayanan Somasundaram

SYDNEY, May 25 (Reuters) - GE Capital is selling its A$5 billion ($5.3 billion) Australia and New Zealand mortgages books to Pepper Homeloans as concerns rise over a softening of the Australian housing market and rising cost of funds.

GE Capital, which shed part of its Australian home loans portfolio in 2008 when global conglomerates were restructuring their lending arms, said on Wednesday it will sell the rest of the portfolio for a small discount to non-bank Australian lender Pepper Homeloans.

GE Capital Australia's Chief Executive Skander Malcolm declined to specify the discount but said GE Capital would now focus on its other eight lines of business that span consumer and corporate finance.

"We can now focus on those businesses where we believe we have sustainable competitive advantage," he told reporters in a conference call.

GE is streamlining its GE Capital finance unit to focus on funding purchases of heavy equipment, lend money to mid-sized companies and to invest in commercial real estate.

"It looks like it is just time for GE to pass it on. Part of the global strategy to exit some areas," Simon Burge, Chief Investment Officer at ATI Funds Management, said, ahead of the confirmation of the sale. ATI owns shares in Australian lenders.

EQUITY VALUE SEEN AT AROUND $100 MILLION

Analysts said the equity value of the deal could be around $100 million assuming the risk weighted assets were 25 percent of the portfolio and the equity on them was about a tenth of that.

Pepper, which was formerly part of Oakwood Global Finance that counts Merrill Lynch as its key shareholder, will fund the deal via a consortium of banks and mezzanine debt.

It said it would also look at raising funds by securitising the mortgages in the "not too distant future."

The deal adds some bulk to non-bank lenders in a market dominated by the big four Australian banks -- National Australia Bank , Commonwealth Bank of Australia , Westpac and Australia and New Zealand Banking Group .

The banks have a big branch network and access to cheaper funding. GE Capital had previously said it was paying 50-70 basis points above the big-four banks for wholesale funding.

Global volatility exacerbated by Europe debt woes and an uncertain U.S recovery are also pushing up wholesale debt funding costs. Offshore wholesale funding costs are 10 times costlier than before the crisis for Australian lenders.

GE Capital's move comes amid some concerns over the Australian housing market, which has seen a strong run up in prices, but has recently seen some softening after hikes in interest rates.

Australian house prices have risen by an average of 7.8 percent annually over the past 10 years, according to research firm RP Data.

($1 = 0.947 Australian Dollars) (Additional reporting by Amy Pyett; Editing by Ed Davies and Anshuman Daga)

* Marks exit from Australian mortgages

* To focus on consumer and corporate finance

* Equity value of deal seen at around $100 mln-analysts

* Pepper Homeloans funded by consortium of banks (Recasts with GE confirmation of sale)

By Narayanan Somasundaram

"We can now focus on those businesses where we believe we have sustainable competitive advantage," he told reporters in a conference call.

GE is streamlining its GE Capital finance unit to focus on funding purchases of heavy equipment, lend money to mid-sized companies and to invest in commercial real estate.

EQUITY VALUE SEEN AT AROUND $100 MILLION

Analysts said the equity value of the deal could be around $100 million assuming the risk weighted assets were 25 percent of the portfolio and the equity on them was about a tenth of that.

Pepper, which was formerly part of Oakwood Global Finance that counts Merrill Lynch as its key shareholder, will fund the deal via a consortium of banks and mezzanine debt.

It said it would also look at raising funds by securitising the mortgages in the "not too distant future."

The banks have a big branch network and access to cheaper funding. GE Capital had previously said it was paying 50-70 basis points above the big-four banks for wholesale funding.

GE Capital's move comes amid some concerns over the Australian housing market, which has seen a strong run up in prices, but has recently seen some softening after hikes in interest rates.

Australian house prices have risen by an average of 7.8 percent annually over the past 10 years, according to research firm RP Data.

($1 = 0.947 Australian Dollars) (Additional reporting by Amy Pyett; Editing by Ed Davies and Anshuman Daga)

* Marks exit from Australian mortgages

* To focus on consumer and corporate finance

* Equity value of deal seen at around $100 mln-analysts

* Pepper Homeloans funded by consortium of banks (Recasts with GE confirmation of sale)

By Narayanan Somasundaram

"We can now focus on those businesses where we believe we have sustainable competitive advantage," he told reporters in a conference call.

GE is streamlining its GE Capital finance unit to focus on funding purchases of heavy equipment, lend money to mid-sized companies and to invest in commercial real estate.

EQUITY VALUE SEEN AT AROUND $100 MILLION

Analysts said the equity value of the deal could be around $100 million assuming the risk weighted assets were 25 percent of the portfolio and the equity on them was about a tenth of that.

Pepper, which was formerly part of Oakwood Global Finance that counts Merrill Lynch as its key shareholder, will fund the deal via a consortium of banks and mezzanine debt.

It said it would also look at raising funds by securitising the mortgages in the "not too distant future."

The banks have a big branch network and access to cheaper funding. GE Capital had previously said it was paying 50-70 basis points above the big-four banks for wholesale funding.

GE Capital's move comes amid some concerns over the Australian housing market, which has seen a strong run up in prices, but has recently seen some softening after hikes in interest rates.

Australian house prices have risen by an average of 7.8 percent annually over the past 10 years, according to research firm RP Data.

($1 = 0.947 Australian Dollars) (Additional reporting by Amy Pyett; Editing by Ed Davies and Anshuman Daga)

Q+A-What's going on at Japan's damaged nuclear power plant?

TOKYO | Wed May 25, 2011 2:22am EDT

TOKYO May 25 (Reuters) - Japanese engineers are trying to gain control of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, 240 km (150 miles) north of Tokyo, which was crippled by the huge March 11 earthquake and tsunami.

Radiation continues to seep into the sea and the air, although at far lower levels than at the peak of the crisis in mid-March.

Four of the six reactors at the plant, operated by Tokyo Electric Power Co (Tepco), are considered volatile.

Following are some questions and answers about efforts to end the world's worst nuclear crisis since Chernobyl:

WHAT IS HAPPENING?

Cooling systems were knocked out in the immediate aftermath of the disaster and Tepco officially acknowledged this week that nuclear fuel rods at the plant's No. 1, No. 2 and No.3 reactors melted.

Tepco is trying to bring the reactors to a cold shutdown, where the water cooling them is below 100 degrees Celsius.

Efforts to cool the reactors by pouring water into them have brought down temperatures and the rods are no longer melting but the No. 1 reactor continues to leak radiated water and the No.2 and No.3 reactors are also believed to be leaking.

To achieve a cold shutdown, Tepco initially planned to use "water entombment", in which the containment vessels -- an outer shell of steel and concrete that houses the reactor vessel -- would be filled with water.

But this option is likely to be ruled out for the No. 1 reactor and possibly for the other two, after new data and inspections showed that the No. 1 reactor vessel had been punctured when the rods melted, allowing water being pumped as a coolant to pool in the basement of the reactor.

Tepco is readying a fallback plan that will involve decontaminating the water already accumulated and then pumping it back to cool the reactors.

Officials are also concerned about the slow pace of cooling at the No. 3 reactor, and the No. 4 reactor was so badly damaged by a hydrogen explosion that workers will have to try to shore it up with steel beams and concrete to prevent a collapse.

In an effort to limit the spread of radioactive dust, the No. 1, No. 3 and No. 4 reactors will be covered with giant tent-like polyester covers supported by steel beams.

WHAT IS HAMPERING TEPCO?

Water is a huge headache for the operator. It has pumped in tens of thousands of tonnes of it to cool the reactors and much of it has ended up as contaminated runoff, accumulating as huge pools at the reactor buildings.

Preventing the massive pools of runoff from seeping out into the environment remains a challenge and Tepco is running out of space to store the radioactive water.

It is building tanks and towing in a massive barge to secure extra storage and is looking to build plants to treat some of the water. The operator caused an international outcry in April when it was forced to dump thousands of tonnes of contaminated water into the Pacific.

Weather conditions, such as the approaching rainy season and typhoons and lightning during the summer, could also pose problems.

HOW LONG WILL THE CRISIS LAST?

In April, Tepco announced a timetable for its operations. Within the first three months it plans to cool the reactors and the spent fuel stored in some of them to a stable level and reduce the leakage of radiation.

The company then hopes to bring the reactors to a cold shutdown in another three to six months. That would take the initial phase of work to stabilise the plant to January.

But with the extent of the damage to the reactors gradually being revealed, with some of it worse than thought, some experts said the process could take longer.

According to a report released by Tepco on Tuesday, the utility suspects damage to the container vessels encasing the pressure vessels. Tepco also reckons that the quake could have damaged an emergency cooling system at the No. 3 reactor.

Even after the plant is under control, recovery work at the site is expected to continue for years.

For reference, officials have cited the work to clean up Three Mile Island after that U.S. reactor suffered a partial meltdown in 1979.

The Three Mile Island cleanup involved over 1,000 workers and took 13 years. It took nearly six years before the fuel from the reactor could be safely removed. (Reporting by Shinichi Saoshiro, Yoko Nishikawa and Mayumi Negishi)

TOKYO | Wed May 25, 2011 2:22am EDT

Radiation continues to seep into the sea and the air, although at far lower levels than at the peak of the crisis in mid-March.

Four of the six reactors at the plant, operated by Tokyo Electric Power Co (Tepco), are considered volatile.

Following are some questions and answers about efforts to end the world's worst nuclear crisis since Chernobyl:

WHAT IS HAPPENING?

Cooling systems were knocked out in the immediate aftermath of the disaster and Tepco officially acknowledged this week that nuclear fuel rods at the plant's No. 1, No. 2 and No.3 reactors melted.

Tepco is trying to bring the reactors to a cold shutdown, where the water cooling them is below 100 degrees Celsius.

Tepco is readying a fallback plan that will involve decontaminating the water already accumulated and then pumping it back to cool the reactors.

In an effort to limit the spread of radioactive dust, the No. 1, No. 3 and No. 4 reactors will be covered with giant tent-like polyester covers supported by steel beams.

WHAT IS HAMPERING TEPCO?

Preventing the massive pools of runoff from seeping out into the environment remains a challenge and Tepco is running out of space to store the radioactive water.

Weather conditions, such as the approaching rainy season and typhoons and lightning during the summer, could also pose problems.

HOW LONG WILL THE CRISIS LAST?

The company then hopes to bring the reactors to a cold shutdown in another three to six months. That would take the initial phase of work to stabilise the plant to January.

But with the extent of the damage to the reactors gradually being revealed, with some of it worse than thought, some experts said the process could take longer.

Even after the plant is under control, recovery work at the site is expected to continue for years.

For reference, officials have cited the work to clean up Three Mile Island after that U.S. reactor suffered a partial meltdown in 1979.

TOKYO | Wed May 25, 2011 2:22am EDT

Radiation continues to seep into the sea and the air, although at far lower levels than at the peak of the crisis in mid-March.

Four of the six reactors at the plant, operated by Tokyo Electric Power Co (Tepco), are considered volatile.

Following are some questions and answers about efforts to end the world's worst nuclear crisis since Chernobyl:

WHAT IS HAPPENING?

Cooling systems were knocked out in the immediate aftermath of the disaster and Tepco officially acknowledged this week that nuclear fuel rods at the plant's No. 1, No. 2 and No.3 reactors melted.

Tepco is trying to bring the reactors to a cold shutdown, where the water cooling them is below 100 degrees Celsius.

Tepco is readying a fallback plan that will involve decontaminating the water already accumulated and then pumping it back to cool the reactors.

In an effort to limit the spread of radioactive dust, the No. 1, No. 3 and No. 4 reactors will be covered with giant tent-like polyester covers supported by steel beams.

WHAT IS HAMPERING TEPCO?

Preventing the massive pools of runoff from seeping out into the environment remains a challenge and Tepco is running out of space to store the radioactive water.

Weather conditions, such as the approaching rainy season and typhoons and lightning during the summer, could also pose problems.

HOW LONG WILL THE CRISIS LAST?

The company then hopes to bring the reactors to a cold shutdown in another three to six months. That would take the initial phase of work to stabilise the plant to January.

But with the extent of the damage to the reactors gradually being revealed, with some of it worse than thought, some experts said the process could take longer.

Even after the plant is under control, recovery work at the site is expected to continue for years.

For reference, officials have cited the work to clean up Three Mile Island after that U.S. reactor suffered a partial meltdown in 1979.

TEXT-&P: Hyundai Capital Snr Unscrd Bnds Rated 'BBB+' And 'axA+'

The bonds are drawn down from a MYR2 billion medium-term note program. The debt instruments will constitute direct, unconditional, unsecured, and unsubordinated obligations of HCS. They will also rank pari passu with all other unsecured obligations. HCS will use the proceeds from the bonds for its general operations.

PRESS DIGEST - New York Times business news - May 25

n">May 25(Reuters) - The following were the top stories on The New York Times business pages on Wednesday. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

* After oil prices surged past $100 a barrel in 2008, suspicions that traders had manipulated the market led to Congressional hearings and regulatory investigations. On Tuesday, federal commodities regulators filed a civil lawsuit against two obscure traders in Australia and California and three American and international firms.

* Shares of Yandex NV , a Russian search engine barely known in the United States, surged by more than 55 percent on Tuesday, signifying the latest multibillion-dollar technology offering and stoking the debate about whether this market has the makings of a bubble.

* Chrysler paid back on Tuesday $7.6 billion in loans from the American and Canadian governments, paving the way for its Italian partner, Fiat SpA , to increase its control over the Detroit carmaker.

* The American International Group raised at least $8.7 billion from its stock offering, which priced the shares at $29 apiece.

* A dispute spurred by rising coal prices indicates that China's unique marriage of market competition and government oversight may be starting to fray.

* Google Inc is expected to introduce on Thursday a mobile payment system that will let shoppers wave their phones to pay instead of pulling out a credit card, according to people briefed on the announcement.

* Volkswagen AG (VOWG_p.DE) hopes that more seat padding and larger cup holders will help it to become competitive in the United States again and to achieve a lofty goal of becoming the world's largest carmaker this decade. (Compiled by Isheeta Sanghi; Bangalore Equities Newsdesk +91 80 4135 5800; within U.S. +1 646 223 8780)

n">May 25(Reuters) - The following were the top stories on The New York Times business pages on Wednesday. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

* Chrysler paid back on Tuesday $7.6 billion in loans from the American and Canadian governments, paving the way for its Italian partner, Fiat SpA , to increase its control over the Detroit carmaker.

* The American International Group raised at least $8.7 billion from its stock offering, which priced the shares at $29 apiece.

* A dispute spurred by rising coal prices indicates that China's unique marriage of market competition and government oversight may be starting to fray.

n">May 25(Reuters) - The following were the top stories on The New York Times business pages on Wednesday. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

* Chrysler paid back on Tuesday $7.6 billion in loans from the American and Canadian governments, paving the way for its Italian partner, Fiat SpA , to increase its control over the Detroit carmaker.

* The American International Group raised at least $8.7 billion from its stock offering, which priced the shares at $29 apiece.

* A dispute spurred by rising coal prices indicates that China's unique marriage of market competition and government oversight may be starting to fray.