ANA’s buying binge

TOKYO: Japan’s All Nippon Airways has placed an order for 10 Boeing airplanes worth a total of about $2 billion, in a boost to the troubled US aviation giant. ANA said it would buy five Boeing 777-200ER aircraft and five Boeing 767-300ER planes, for a total of Rs 1.95 billion excluding any discounts the Japanese carrier may have negotiated. Japanese airlines’ fleets are dominated by US-made aircraft, to the frustration of European rival Airbus.

Swiss takeover

GENEVA: Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis on Wednesday said it would buy US biopharma firm Corthera to secure a potential new heart drug, in a deal that could be worth up to $620 million. “Novartis will acquire all of the outstanding shares of Corthera’s stock for $120 million,” the Swiss group said in a statement. Corthera’s current shareholders would also eligible for additional payments of up to $500 million contingent upon “successful development” of the new drug, its regulatory approval and “commercialization milestones,” it added.

Ex-banker jailed

HONG KONG: A former senior executive in HSBC’s commercial banking department was jailed for 20 months in Hong Kong on Wednesday for taking a $60,000 bribe from a client. The city’s District Court sentenced Chen Ching-hsiao, 47, after he pleaded guilty this month to accepting a bribe, a judiciary spokeswoman said. As part of his sentencing, Chen was ordered to pay the bank $60,000, the amount that he accepted to approve a $10 million loan for a Taiwanese client two years ago, she added. Chen was the bank’s senior vice-president of commercial banking in Hong Kong. An internal investigation uncovered his illegal activities.