Beijing - Electronics company Siemens said Thursday its sales and new orders in China grew by 19 per cent each - twice the growth rate of the country's economy.

Richard Hausmann, head of the Germany-based conglomerate's China subsidiary, told journalists in Beijing that sales surged to 57 billion yuan (8.3 billion dollars) and new orders to 65.5 billion yuan in the business year through September 2008.

"In face of a global economic downturn I am glad that the results of our China operations again contribute significantly to our global performance," he said.

"Such figures are even more remarkable given the fact that in 2008 Siemens underwent one of the largest reorganizations in the history of the company."

Tokyo - Nippon Oil Corp, Japan's largest refine

New Delhi, Dec. 3 : The global economic meltdown has started to influence the expansion plans of the world''s biggest steel producer, ArcelorMittal in India.

According to Vijay Kumar Bhatnagar, the Chief Executive Officer-India of ArcelorMittal, the company has opted to adapt a cautious approach, keeping in view the new dynamics of the present economic situation being faced around the world.

"The kind of macro-economic environment which has come suddenly, now…is allowing us to pause and be cautious."

TOKYO, Nov. 28 - Finnish phone maker Nokia, facing a tough market in Japan, will pull out of that country except to market its high-end Vertu, Forbes reported Thursday.

Nokia's Vertu phones, which cost up to $10,000, are handcrafted and feature precious metals, the financial magazine reported.

"There is definitely a market in Japan for Vertu," analyst Carolina Milanesi at Gartner Research was quoted as saying. She also approved of Nokia's decision, given the weak market share for its other phones.

Madrid - A planned deal for the Russian oil giant Lukoil to become the biggest shareholder of Spain's top oil company Repsol YPF could collapse over lack of financing and Spanish political opposition, media reported Tuesday.

Lukoil is interested in buying nearly 30 per cent of Repsol in a deal estimated at up to 9.8 billion euros (12.5 billion dollars).

The purchase would include a 20-per-cent stake now held by the debt-ridden construction company Sacyr Vallehermoso and part of a

Beijing - Chinese authorities have detained a consumer electronics' tycoon reputed to be the country's wealthiest person over alleged share price manipulation, state media said Monday.

Stock market investigators detained Huang Guangyu, the head of Gome Electrical Appliances, for questioning last week, Caijing magazine and other media reported.

The investigations relate to manipulation of share prices last year for a company run by Huang's elder brother, Huang Junqin, the magazine quoted unidentified sources as saying.