COMPANY NEWS IN BRIEF

Airbus sells six unwanted jets

Airbus has found buyers for six aircraft from the A320neo family rejected by one of its main customers, Malaysia's AirAsia, as it works off a surplus left by the coronavirus crisis, industry sources said.

Unwanted jets have become an emblem of pandemic-induced problems in the aerospace industry that have come on top of a chill in ties between two of its major players.

Tensions became unusually public when Airbus in April invited tenders for six jets that AirAsia had failed to take delivery of.

It has now found homes for all six, the last of which is being delivered this month, a European industry source told Reuters. Airbus provided no comment.

It said last month it had reduced an overhang that it had been unable to deliver during the crisis by 10 units to 135 jets. The redeployment of AirAsia orders is expected to trim the surplus further as deliveries top output in November. - Nampa/Reuters

Hyundai, Kia agree to US$210 mln penalty

Hyundai Motor Co and Kia Motors' US units agreed to a record US$210 million civil penalty after US auto safety regulators said they failed to recall 1.6 million vehicles for engine issues in a timely fashion.

The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said the two affiliated Korean automakers agreed to consent orders after it said they had inaccurately reported some information to the agency regarding the recalls.

Hyundai agreed to a total civil penalty of US$140 million, including an upfront payment of US$54 million, an obligation to spend US$40 million on safety performance measures, and an additional US$46 million deferred penalty if it does not meet requirements.

Kia's civil penalty totals US$70 million, including an upfront payment of US$27 million, requirements to spend US$16 million on specified safety measures and a potential US$27 million deferred penalty.

As part of the settlement, Hyundai is investing US$40 million to build a safety field test and inspection laboratory in the United States and implementing new IT systems to better analyse safety data. - Nampa/Reuters

Mozambique unaware of Exxon, Total talks

Mozambique's National Petroleum Institute said it had not yet been notified of any intention by ExxonMobil and Total to renegotiate a resource-sharing agreement for their massive LNG projects in the country.

Reuters reported that the two oil majors were in talks with one another to increase the amount of gas they can extract from a shared field that straddles their two-blockbuster liquefied natural gas (LNG) developments, worth a combined US$50 billion, in a bid to cut costs.

Any change to the resource-sharing agreement governing the amount of gas each can extract has to be approved by the Mozambican authorities.

In a response to emailed questions on the matter, Carlos Zacarias, chairman of the INP, the body that governs Mozambique's energy development, said it had "not yet been notified" of the oil firms' talks on the agreement, and it was not currently party to any discussions.

Reuters also reported that Exxon was now not expected to take a final investment decision for its project until early 2022. This had been due this year but was delayed in April, and the Mozambique government has said it anticipated it next year. - Nampa/Reuters

Biogen, Sage Therapeutics in US$1.5 bln deal

Biogen Inc will take a US$650 million stake in Sage Therapeutics and pay US$875 million in upfront payment as they jointly develop and sell treatments for depression and other neurological disorders, the two companies said.

Under the terms of agreement, Biogen will purchase about 6.2 million newly issued shares of Sage for US$104.14 apiece, a 26% premium to Sage's closing price. Apart from the US$1.525 billion in cash, Sage will also be eligible to get up to US$1.6 billion in potential milestone payments.

The companies will develop and sell zuranolone, an oral therapy being developed as a treatment for major depressive disorder (MDD) and postpartum depression. They will also develop SAGE-324 for essential tremor and other neurological disorders.

An estimated 16 million Americans experience symptoms of MDD each year, according to the US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention.

Biogen will get the exclusive rights to sell the drugs outside of the United States, excluding rights to Zuranolone in Japan, Taiwan and South Korea. - Nampa/Reuters

Volkswagen plans small electric car

Volkswagen is bringing forward the development of a small electric car for the mass market in anticipation of tougher climate regulations, according to plans seen by Reuters, as it seeks to boost sales in a new green era.

Under the project dubbed "Small BEV (Battery Electric Vehicle)", engineers are racing to develop a purely-battery powered car around the size of a Polo which will be available for between 20 000 and 25 000 euros (US$24 000-US$30 000).

This would make it cheaper than Volkswagen's ID.3 electric car, which went on sale in September. Volkswagen did not provide details on what the vehicle might look like, when it might be launched or where it might be built.

The carmaker has said the European Union's more stringent emissions targets will force it to boost the proportion of hybrid and electric vehicles in its European car sales to 60% by 2030, up from a previous target of 40%.

Earlier this month, it raised its planned investment on digital and electric vehicle technologies to 73 billion euros (US$86 billion) over the next five years, of which around 35 billion will be invested in e-mobility. - Nampa/Reuters