HAWAII

Tommy Bahama signs onto Big Isle project

Upscale retailer Tommy Bahama has signed a lease for a new store at the Big Island's Mauna Lani Resort.

Tommy Bahama's Tropical Cafe & Emporium will be at the Shops at Mauna Lani, a 6-1/2 acre commercial development being built by The Maryl Group. The development is expected to be completed at the end of 2003.

Mark Richards, president of Maryl Development, said more than 50 percent of tenants for the complex have already signed leases. The balance will be finalized over the next 90 days, he said. When completed, the center will contain 40 shops and restaurants.

Chinese restaurant to open in Lahaina Mall

King's Chinese Seafood Restaurant has moved into Lahaina Cannery Mall on Front Street and is scheduled to open in December.

Renovations have begun at the 8,000-square-foot space formerly occupied by Mango Cafe.

King's will offer Cantonese and continental Chinese cuisine with an emphasis on fresh seafood and local ingredients.

MAINLAND

Wal-Mart may be barred bank buy

SACRAMENTO >> A bill that would bar retail giant Wal-Mart from buying a small Southern California bank was sent to the California governor yesterday.

Bill supporters said Wal-Mart's purchase of the Franklin Industrial Bank in Orange could trigger a rush by other retailers to buy banks, a step that would result in too much concentration of financial power.

"This is not about Wal-Mart," said Assemblywoman Barbara Matthews, D-Tracy. "They just happen to be the first one to exploit a loophole in federal law. Once that happens other retailers will be forced to purchase banks in order to compete."

The bill would bar nonfinancial companies from purchasing state-chartered banks. The Assembly approved Senate amendments to the bill yesterday, 41-16, sending it to Gov. Gray Davis.

Wal-Mart wants to buy the bank because it will save money by processing 35 million debit card transactions through its own bank, said Assembly Minority Leader Dave Cox, R-Fair Oaks.

Microsoft to release XP service pack Sept. 9

REDMOND, Wash. >> Software giant Microsoft Corp. Friday said it will release the first service pack for its Windows XP operating system on Sept. 9, adding new security measures and features to comply with proposed federal orders making it possible to remove certain programs.

Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft said Windows XP Service Pack 1, which adds features and patches problems with the software, would be available either through download from the company's Web site or via a CD.

The company said the pack contains all the security updates it developed as part of the "Trustworthy Computing" initiative it launched earlier this year, which Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates said has cost $100 million thus far.

The company has issued at least 30 security bulletins for its software since the launch of that program.

ASIA

Singapore names Green adviser on U.S.

Singapore >> Singapore's government has appointed former U.S. ambassador to Singapore Steven Green as its first special adviser on relations with the U.S., the Business Times reported, citing the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Green hopes to encourage more Singaporean businesses to invest in the U.S., the paper quoted him as saying. Local companies are hesitant because they see the U.S. as complicated and too competitive, Green said.