Chinese plane maker Xi'an Aircraft Industry Company (XAC) has purchased a majority stake in Austrian aircraft parts maker Future Advanced Composite Components (FACC).

American Airlines, other members of the Oneworld alliance and private equity house TPG have offered to invest as much as $1.1 billion in struggling carrier Japan Airlines (JAL)ÔÇönearly double the value of the package offered by Delta Air Lines.  American Airlines said the deal would also generate additional benefits worth $700 million to JAL over a period of 10 years.  The offer surpasses the $500 million of equity that Delta and SkyTeam alliance carriers have offered to buy as part of a $1 billion package that includes loans and sales guarantees.

JapanÔÇÖs Mitsubishi Motors is in talks with Peugeot Citro├½n over a capital tie-up that could see the French automaker take a significant stake in the Japanese company.

Northrop Grumman has threatened to withdraw from the competition for a $35 billion contract to build new US military tanker aircraft.  Northrop had teamed with European Airbus parent EADS to bid against Chicago-based Boeing. If Northrop drops out, Boeing would become the sole bidder for the job.  The contract is to supply 179 converted civilian jetliners to become tanker aircraft for aerial refueling, to replace the Air ForceÔÇÖs current ageing fleet of KC-135 tankers.

French electrical equipment maker Schneider Electric SA and the power and transport engineering company Alstom SA, also of France, have acquired the power distribution activities of Paris-based nuclear group Areva SA.

Everything is large in scale at Newmont Mining Corporation’s Boddington mine in Australia, including ethical responsibility. Tim Netscher, senior vice president of Asia Pacific operations, tells Gary Toushek about it.

Brisbane tuff is only one hurdle in the construction of Australia’s largest-ever road project, but the Airport Link will eliminate the congestion that frustrates the citizens of Queensland’s capital, and they won’t be disrupted because most of it is underground, as John O’Hanlon learns from project director Gordon Ralph.

With droughts being the norm in Australia, safeguarding water supplies is a priority for Gold Coast Water.

The Maldives is a coral archipelago located in the Indian Ocean, some 480 kilometres southwest of India and 720 kilometres west of Sri Lanka. Twenty-six natural atolls and 1,190 islands—only 200 of which are inhabited—make up the region, home to a total of 87 resorts that are all keen to capitalise on the country’s tropical climate and exquisite beaches. Ninety-nine per cent of the Maldives is in fact water, which explains the hordes of tourists who visit the area each year in search of world-class diving and watersports facilities.

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