Axa to buy BNP Paribas' Internet unit

Paris >> Axa SA, Europe's No. 2 insurer, said it agreed to buy Banque Directe, the Internet banking unit of BNP Paribas SA, for about 60 million euros ($56.1 million).

The purchase, if regulators approve it, will help Axa widen its offer to clients and help it to attract savings, Axa spokesman Christophe Dufraux said.

"BNP is not selling at a high price," said Nathalie Tarnaud, an analyst with French brokerage Aurel-Leven SA who rates BNP stock 'buy.'

BNP Paribas owns First Hawaiian Bank parent BancWest Corp.

Taiwan May exports seen rising 9.6 percent

Taipei >> Taiwan's exports probably rose in May at the fastest pace in 15 months as U.S. demand for computer chips and mobile phones rebounded and manufacturers shipped more parts to China for assembly.

Exports probably climbed 9.6 percent from a year earlier, according to the median forecast of eight economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. That would follow April's 0.3 percent increase, the first after a 13-month slide. Imports probably rose 6.4 percent, according to the survey.

Taiwan expects an export rebound to speed the pace of its recovery from its worst recession on record last year.

Nissan wants China to show 10 % of growth

Beijing >> Nissan Motor Co. expects sales from China to contribute as much as 10 percent of its annual growth target of 1 million units within three years, as Japan's No. 3 automaker expands local production, Chief Executive Officer Carlos Ghosn said.

Nissan expects annual sales in China to rise by between 60,000 and 100,000 units by March 2005, Ghosn said in an interview with Bloomberg News on the sidelines of the Beijing auto show. The growth spurt will help the automaker catch up with rivals, he said.

Miss Japan in campaign to sell Japanese bonds

TOKYO >> Can the charms of Miss Japan make investors forget a humiliating credit rating downgrade?

The Japanese government hopes so.

The Finance Ministry said it chose wildly popular Miss Japan 1992, 30-year-old actress Norika Fujiwara, as the star for a new &YEN350 million ($2.8 million) one-month advertising campaign to get "mom and pop" investors to park their savings in bonds.

The ministry said it was spending half of its annual bond promotion budget for the advertisements, which are scheduled to run one month from June 21.

Virgin Blue and United sign code-share deal

CANBERRA, Australia >> Australian budget airline Virgin Blue and U.S. carrier United Airlines have agreed to a code sharing deal.

The agreement allows passengers more seamless travel by using one code for their international and domestic flights with both airlines in each country, according to a Bloomberg News report.

After the collapse this year of the nation's second largest carrier, Ansett Airlines, Australia's flag carrier Qantas has gained a commanding position in the domestic market. A subsidiary of British tycoon Richard Branson's Virgin Group, Virgin Blue only flies along major routes within Australia but has plans to begin flying between Australia and its Asian neighbors.

In other news ...

Singapore >> Hotel Properties Ltd., which owns the Hard Rock hotel franchise in Asia, said it's buying the Fitzpatrick hotel in midtown Manhattan for $31 million from British Airways Plc. Singapore-based Hotel Properties will continue to lease the 124-room hotel rooms to the flight staff of British Airways under a 10-year agreement, according to a Bloomberg News report.

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[ Taking Notice ]

NEW JOBS

>> Castle & Cooke Resorts has named Gerrit Cormany president. He previously worked as an executive vice president and general manager for the development and operations of Las Campanas, a vacation community in Sante Fe, New Mexico.

>> Dr. Steven M. Moser has been appointed chief medical officer at Maui Memorial Medical Center. A board certified internist and nephrologist in private practice on Maui, he was most recently medical director for the St. Francis Medical Center Maui Dialysis Satellite Unit.

>> Kai Pelayo has returned to the Westin Maui as director of food and beverage. He served as the hotel's director of conference services and catering from 1996 to 2000 and has 25 years of hospitality and resort management experience. Pelayo left for a job as director of resort operations for The Resort Semiahmoo in Blaine, Washington.

>> Phillip J. Keipper has been named co-managing director of Avalon Development and Consulting. Keipper is responsible for asset management and acquisition activity. He was most recently the general manager of Waipahu Town Center and Kaneohe Bay Shopping Center.

>> Chris Agarhas been hired to teach the operating systems support class at Heald College. Casey Delaney joins the Heald faculty to teach solid state systems in the evening program. Darnell Griffin will teach networking in the electronics program. Norma Kop will teach integrated learning, psychology and business career communications. She is also coordinating the internship program. Raymond Tremblay is returning to the evening program to teach the medical billing and coding class. Kathleen Lopez joined the support staff in the academic affairs office as a full-time clerical assistant. Rosennette Makua is the new admissions advisor for the admissions team.

>> Island Insurance Cos. has announced the appointment of Donald H. Amano as assistant vice president of claims/legal counsel. He will be responsible for developing, implementing and monitoring the processes and procedures of claims handling for Island Insurance, its affiliates and subsidiaries.

>> Tracy N. Adams has joined Servco Insurance Services as an account executive. She is responsible for commercial property and casualty insurance. Adams previously worked with Atlas Insurance Agency and has extensive experience in customer service, sales, marketing and training in the insurance field.

>> Hoku Scientific has hired Junfeng Zhou as a research scientist to its team. The hydrogen fuel cell development company has a staff of eight with Zhou, who has broad expertise in fuel cell and battery research and development.

>> Lucille Chang has been hired as a loan officer at Castle & Cooke Mortgage. She has 20 years of experience in the lending field.

PROMOTIONS

>> PBR Hawaii has promoted Grant T. Murakami to senior associate and planner; and Tom Schnell to associate and planner. Murakami joined the planning and landscape architecture firm in 1994 and has more than 11 years of experience in land use planning and urban design. Schnell has been with PBR Hawaii since 1999.

>> Aston Hotels & Resorts Hawaii has promoted chief financial officer Ron Warren and Gary Ettinger to executive vice president. For the last eight years, Warren served as Aston's senior vice president and chief financial officer. Ettinger recently served three years as senior vice president of operations for Aston.

>> Rider Hunt Levett and Bailey has promoted Paul N. Brussow to associate principle. Brussow responsibilities include supervising the technical staff and marketing the company's services. Prior to joining the Hawaii office in 1997, Brussow was part of the Rider Hunt Levett and Bailey's Sydney, Australia, office where he provided all aspects of quantity surveying services from project inception to completion.

>> Theresa Ann Worden McIntyre was promoted to catering sales assistant at Koolau Catering Partners. She will also act as office manager. Ronald Godoy was appointed sous chef. He has more than 20 years of culinary experience. And Sean "Keoni" Craig is banquet manager. He has more than 14 years of experience in the hospitality industry.

ON THE BOARD

>> The state Senate has confirmed Mona Abadir, Manu Boyd, George Ellis, Charles Freedman, Millicent Kim and Mary Philpotts as commissioners for the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts. Abadir is one of the three founders/principles of Honu Group Inc., a development and management company based in Honolulu. Boyd is editor of Ka Wai Ola o OHA, the monthly newspaper of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. Ellis is a student of art, an educator, and director of the Honolulu Academy of Arts. Freedman is the vice president of corporate relations for Hawaiian Electric Co. Kim is a resident of the Big Island and has worked as a research consultant on many community projects relating to rural economic development on the island of Hawaii. Philpotts is the principal of Philpotts & Associates Inc., an interior design firm.

RECOGNITION

>> Jeff Jervik, president of P.J. Hawaii, has has accepted the international franchise of the year award from Papa John's International at the organization's annual operators conference in Louisville, K.Y. The company operates 14 Papa John's Pizza restaurants on Oahu.

>> Roland Halpern was presented the Tom Shields Award for community service by the First Unitarian Church of Honolulu. Halpern is the executive director for Compassion In Dying of Hawaii, an organization dedicated to improving end-of-life options for the terminally ill.

>> Robert Richards Midkiff, chairman of the board of Hawaii Theatre Center, has been awarded an honorary doctorate of humane letters degree from the University of Hawaii, which recognized his outstanding contributions to the community.