Siemens seeks Saudi Arabia business
Siemens, the German engineering conglomerate, is seeking more business in Saudi Arabia after winning a $2.14 billion (£1.2 billion) desalination and power plant contract in December, Heinrich Von Pierer, the chairman of the firm’s supervisory board, said. Siemens is also upgrading the signalling of Saudi Arabia’s sole rail link between Riyadh, the capital, and Dammam.
Foreigners go for cheap Israeli shares
Foreign investors pumped $683 million (£391.5 million) in direct investment into Israel’s foreign currency market last month, with total foreign investment more than $8 billion, twice that of all of 2005, the Bank of Israel said. The central bank said that foreigners had taken advantage of a reduction in Tel Aviv-listed share prices to heavily increase their holdings.
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Bayer shows interest in Pfizer unit
Bayer would consider bidding for the consumer health products unit of Pfizer, the American drug company, if the latter were put up for sale, Werner Wenning, chief executive of the drugs business, told German newspapers. Pfizer said last week that it was exploring alternatives for its consumer business, including a spin-off or sale for more than $10 billion (£5.7 billion).
Unicredito ‘decided against’ BNL bid
BNP Paribas’s €9 billion (£6.1 billion) bid for Banca Nazionale del Lavoro (BNL) came after another Italian bank, Unicredito Italiano SpA, had decided against offering €7.2 billion for BNL, Le Journal du Dimanche reported. Unicredito decided that its own planned offer price was too high in light of BNL having only a 5 per cent market share in Italian retail banking, the newspaper said.