TCCCI president and managing director Alberto Arcilla said the firm’s optimism in the industry stemmed from its positives sales performance last year.

Arcilla said car sales in 2011 grew 36.4 percent with 2,763 car units sold from January to December.

Arcilla credited the performance to the market’s increased interest in Chevy passenger cars like the Chevrolet Spark and the Chevrolet Cruze.

Arcilla said they also had a strong sales performance in 2010, when car sales posted a growth of 64 percent.

Arcilla said Cebu accounted for six percent of sales of Chevrolet Philippines.

He said they hoped to strengthen their market presence by introducing new car models that fit the Cebuano market.

A minimum of three new Chevrolet car models would be launched in the Philippine market this year, he said.

He said that of the 5,000 sales target nationwide, they were hoping the Cebu outlet could sell 30 to 40 units this year and even double that with the introduction of new models.

Arcilla and Martin Apfel, president of General Motors South East Asia Operations, GM Thailand and Chevrolet Sales (Thailand), were in Cebu Wednesday to attend the opening of the 4,040-square meter Chevrolet Cebu showroom on M. C. Briones St. in Mandaue City.

The showroom is under the management of its new Cebu dealer partner Genesis Motors Corp., which has plans to go into developing markets like Bohol, southern Cebu and Siquijor. (PNA) RMA/EB/bh

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Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima said several pre-need firms have folded-up because of ill-structured products and bad decisions on where to invest their funds.

“We need to work with the industry to have better governance so that they can become a really strong component of our capital market – in our savings mobilization, in our infrastructure,” he told reporters at the sidelines of the 11th Pre-need Consciousness Week awarding and turnover ceremonies in Makati City.

The Finance chief said that good governance should not be looked into by the public sector alone but the private sector as well because “they must also have the interest of the customers at heart.”

He said IC needs to work with the industry to put up a strengthened program on capitalization since “there’s no replacement for a well-capitalized market.”

He said that if a pre-need firm had a substantial capital, the company would be able to absorb ill-designed plans as well as volatilities in the market.

“I believe the insurance industry, the pre-need industry that is well-capitalized, well-regulated and well-governed has a very important role in mobilizing saving (and) in helping our people deal with their financial needs,” he said.

Purisima also cited the need to increase the number of IC’s deputy commissioner to improve the agency’s capacity to handle the various segments of the pre-need and insurance industries.

In his speech during the event, the Finance chief told members of the pre-need industry that the Department of Finance (DOF) had asked the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) to create additional deputy commissioner positions for IC.

Insurance Deputy Commissioner Vida Chiong, in a separate interview said the commission has placed Prudentialife Plans, Inc. under conservatorship to preserve its assets and be able to pay its plan holders.

She said IC would also conduct a consultation with Prudentialife planholders on March 2 and 13 at the IC office in Manila, the first time the Commission will do this in its history.

She said that they were still determining the reason for Prudentialife’s financial woes but considers assumption of high yields on their investment that was not realized as the primary reason the company’s closure.

She said the IC was now considering plans to strengthen the industry through among others stronger capitalization and compliance to where the companies can only invest their funds.

“It should not be placed in speculative instruments,” she said adding that they have made a draft proposal on additional instruments where pre-need firms can invest in and these include mutual fund and real estate investment fund. (PNA) RMA/JS/utb

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Broader all shares also jumped 11.36 points or 0.35 percent to close at 3,242.00.

Mining and Oil, Property and Financials buoyed the rally, advancing by 688.80 or 2,80 percent, 29.36 or 1.70 percent and 18.27 or 1.64 percent, respectively.

Industrial and Holding Firms ended in the red, losing 55.39 or 0.75 and 22.47 or 0.58 percent, apiece.

Volume traded reached 6.22 billion shares, valued at P8.08 billion.

Advancers beat out decliners, 96 to 72 while 36 stocks were unchanged.

Analysts said investors were still wary after Eurozone finance ministers imposed further conditions before approving a rescue package for Greece.

The index closed lower on Thursday by 36.18 points or 0.75 percent at 4769.62 while broader all shares also dipped, finishing 24.42 points or 0.75 points at 3,230.64. (PNA) RMA/MPC/utb

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The peso shed P0.3 after closing at P42.48 against a dollar after several days of continued appreciation. It closed P42.08 Thursday.

It started the day stronger from the past days at P42.22, better than day-ago’s P42.33.

Highest level for the day reached P42.16 but it weakened to P42.51 resulting to an average of P42.34.

Volume of trade also went down to US$ 1.34 billion from the previous day’s US$ 1.52 billion.

The local unit retreated against the dollar after Greek leaders agreed unpopular measures to reach a deal that would enable the economy to get another bail-out program.

These measures are the cut in minimum wage, shortened terms of collective bargaining agreements, froze in private sector salary increases until the current 19 percent unemployment rate goes down to 10 percent, loose job protections in the public sector and cut in the current 800,000 public servants by 150,000 by the end of 2015.

The Greek government needs to agree with investors and fund sources about a bail-out program to get fresh funding to avert defaulting on its debt by next month.

The Greek government has 14.5 billion euro worth of bonds maturing in the coming months, thus, it has been in negotiations with fund sources to secure a 130 billion euro (US$ 170 billion) bail-out fund. (PNA)

lgi/JS/utb

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PNOC EC’s board of directors approved on Friday the proposal of PNOC EC Chairman and chief executive Gemiliano Lopez to create three separate and independent committees to ensure transparency, competitiveness, honesty and integrity in the company’s procurement process in accordance with the Rules and Regulations of RA 9184, otherwise known as the Government Procurement Reform Act.

Essentially the company will henceforth conduct bidding through three BACs, through drawing of lots, akin to the system in use by courts of law when raffling cases. With more than one BAC, the volume of work will be more evenly spread. More importantly, this random drawing of lots should ensure a more competitive and transparent process that will allow the PNOC EC to get the best price for the best quality available for procured equipment and supplies.

Lopez said that the creation of the three independent committees "would ensure faster and more efficient processing of the Company’s growing number of procurement requirements."

"Our initiative here may also become an example that other GOCCs, government institutions and local government units might wish to follow," Lopez said.

In making the proposal, Lopez cited the implementing rules of RA 9184, providing that the head of the procurement entity "may create separate BACs where the number and complexity of the items to be procured shall so warrant…. Similar committees for decentralized and lower level offices may also be formed when deemed necessary by the Head of the Procuring Entity."

PNOC EC is the upstream oil, gas and coal subsidiary of the state-owned Philippine National Oil Company. Publicly listed in the stock exchange of the Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission, PNOC EC shares of stock are 99.78 percent owned by the government and 0.22 percent owned by private stockholders.

Lopez said that aside from pursuing planned and ongoing projects this year, the company would embark in additional and more extensive oil, gas and coal exploration and development activities throughout the country in order to bolster the country’s energy supplies from indigenous resources.

"We will pursue more vigorously our mandate in order to fully support President Aquino’s economic development programs to accelerate national and regional economic growth, promote more employment opportunities and improve the living standards of our people," Lopez declared.

Last year, PNOC EC declared a cash dividend of more than P5 billion to the national government from out of its revenues from the production, development and exploration of indigenous oil, gas and coal resources largely for domestic use. (PNA) RMA/ASF/utb

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The Ayala-led telco's core net income, which excludes foreign exchange, mark-to-market gains and losses as well as non-recurring items, went up by 11 percent to P10 billion from P9.1 billion in 2010.

The company's service revenues amounted to P67.8 billion, 9 percent higher than the P62 billion in 2010.

"The mobile business delivered strong results across all postpaid and prepaid brands, while the broadband business continued to register double-digit revenue growth, riding on the strength of the Tattoo brand and the rising demand for fast and reliable internet connectivity," Globe said.

Globe's mobile revenues amounted to P54 billion, up 8 percent year-on-year, while broadband revenues went up by 30 percent to P7.5 billion.

In the fourth quarter, Globe posted a net income of P1.84 billion, down 26 percent compared to the P2.5 billion in the third quarter last year.

"We are pleased with the over-all gains we have achieved in 2011, and the momentum that it provides us going into 2012. The investments we have made in acquiring quality subscribers, revitalizing our brands, and enhancing customer service, put us in a good position to sustain the growth of our businesses in the coming year," Ernest Cu, Globe president and chief executive said.

"The next two years will be a critical period for Globe as we execute on our network modernization programs, and as we improve our business support systems and processes, all towards our goal of making customer experience a key differentiator. Our network and IT transformation program is an ambitious and yet necessary undertaking which will provide the platform that will make us even more competitive in this fast-moving market," Cu said.

Globe had 30.04 million subscribers last year, up 3 percent compared to 2010. Of the total, Globe's prepaid subscribers stood at 28.58 million and 1.45 million postpaid subscribers.

Last year, Globe's capital expenditures amounted to P17.4 billion or about US$ 397 million, 11 percent lower than previous year's spending of P19.5 billion.

For 2012, the company has earmarked about US$ 750 million to US$ 800 million in capital expenditures. This includes US$ 530 million for the transformation initiatives and about US$ 220 million to US$ 270 million in business as usual investments. (PNA) RMA/DGA/utb

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HONG KONG, Feb. 10 — The Chinese yuan surged to a new high against the U.S. dollar on Friday, a development seen as amicable to the U.S., which has been demanding the appreciation of the Chinese currency.

According to the central People's Bank of China, the yuan's central parity rate was set at 6.2937 against the greenback, the highest since July 21, 2005, when China abandoned a decade-old peg against the greenback and shifted to a managed floating exchange rate.

The rate renewed its record high of 6.3001 on Jan. 4.

The appreciation occurred ahead of Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping's scheduled to visit to the U.S. next week.

Xi will meet U.S. President Obama at the White House on Tuesday.

Meetings with Vice President Joseph Biden, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and leaders of both houses of Congress are also scheduled.

The U.S. has said that China has been artificially lowering the value of the yuan, giving its exporters an unfair advantage in overseas markets. China has continuously resisted such arguments.

Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Cui Tiankai said Thursday Xi's visit to the U.S. will not change China's currency policy.

"If we do something on the exchange rate simply for one high-level visit, it will just result in a manipulation of the exchange rate," Cui said.

"We have been consistently reforming the yuan exchange rate regime and will stay committed to further advancing with the reform." (PNA/Yonhap) scs/hbc/jsd

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Britain's Department of Energy and Climate Change said in a statement that Edward Davey, the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, opened the offshore windfarm near Walney in Cumbria Thursday.

With 102 turbines and a total capacity of 367.2 MW, the windfarm could provide enough power for 320,000 households.

Davey said: "Britain has a lot to be proud of in our growing offshore wind sector. Our island's tremendous natural resource, our research base and a proud history of engineering make this the number one destination for investment in offshore wind."

"And Walney is the newest, biggest and fastest-built jewel in that crown, providing clean power for hundreds of thousands of households," he said.

Statistics show that Britain has more than 1.5 gigawatts (GW) of installed offshore wind power, and is planning to raise its capacity to 18 GW by 2020.

As many as 70,000 people could be employed in the British offshore wind industry by the start of the next decade. (PNA/Xinhua) scs/hbc/ebp

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In a statement, the NEDA said that inflation for 2012 was likely to settle within the Philippine Development Plan 2011 to 2016 target of 3 percent to 5 percent.

“Even with this benign inflation outlook, the government should remain vigilant to abrupt shocks caused by weather-related disturbances as well as wage and oil price increases,” Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Cayetano Paderanga, Jr. said.

NEDA noted the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration’s (PAGASA) report that the country currently experiences weak to moderate La Niña, which will only dissipate between March and May of 2012.

Heavy rains caused by La Niña destroy major agricultural areas and infrastructures that subsequently lead to increasing food prices.

NEDA also reported that adjustments in the international price of oil affect domestic prices when producers and distributors of goods and services use it as a primary input.

“While a weak external demand is being anticipated in 2012, oil prices are still expected to be higher than in 2011. This is due to geopolitical uncertainties in the Middle East, particularly caused by Iran’s threat to close the Strait of Hormuz in response to a possible European Union oil embargo,” Paderanga said.

Moreover, Paderanga said that inflationary pressures from wage hike should also be expected as most wage orders were implemented in 2011 under the Labor Code of the Philippines.

In January, inflation rate slowed down to 3.9 percent from 4.2 percent in December 2011. (PNA) RMA/DGA/utb

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In a statement, Cebu Pacific said it posted 48 percent domestic market share in Cebu, where it operates the most extensive network with more than 500 weekly flights between Cebu and 19 domestic destinations.

These routes allow passengers to take direct flights from Cebu to the Bicol Region, Northern Mindanao, Palawan and North Luzon, among others.

The airline also posted 47 percent market share in Davao, where it flies more than 200 weekly flights between Davao and five domestic destinations: Manila, Cebu, Cagayan de Oro, Zamboanga and Iloilo.

Meanwhile, the airline posted 50 percent market share in Iloilo, where it flies more than 150 weekly flights between Iloilo and 4 domestic destinations: Manila, Cebu, Cagayan de Oro and Davao.

"Cebu Pacific will continue to bring foreign and local tourists and business travelers to these key cities on its trademark lowest fares. With our seat sales and multiple flight options, we are happy to play a key role in the tourism and economic development of the whole of the Philippines," Candice Iyog, Cebu Pacific's vice president for Marketing and Distribution said.

CEB captured 46 percent domestic market share last year, based on 2011 figures from the Civil Aeronautics Board. The airline flies to 33 domestic destinations from four hubs in Manila, Cebu, Clark and Davao.

The airline is also the largest domestic cargo carrier, with close to 89.5 million kilos in 2011 and 49 percent market share. This tops the combined domestic cargo market shares of both Philippine Airlines and Airphil Express.

"We look forward to serving more passengers and cargo forwarders this year, as we strengthen our network in the Philippines with more flights and routes, and brand-new Airbus aircraft deliveries," Iyog said.

The airline currently operates 10 Airbus A319, 20 Airbus A320 and 8 ATR-72 500 aircraft. Its fleet of 38 aircraft – with an average age of 3.6 years – is one of the most modern aircraft fleets in the world.

Between 2012 and 2021, Cebu Pacific will take delivery of 22 more Airbus A320 and 30 Airbus A321neo aircraft orders, and 2 Airbus A320 aircraft on operating lease agreements. (PNA) RMA/DGA/utb

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The formal opening of SM City Olongapo was attended by City Mayor James Gordon Jr., SBMA Board of Director Anne Gordon, Zambales First District Rep. Mitos Maysaysay and former SBMA Director and son Jobo Magsaysay, Vice Governor Ramon Lacbain, representing Zambales Governor Hermogenes Ebdane Jr., Subic Bay Chamber of Commerce president Danny Piano and SM top honcho Henry Sy Sr.

Monsignor Crisostomo Cacho and parish priests from the different parishes in Olongapo and Zambales led the mass celebration and the blessing ceremony of the shopping center.

The seven-storey mall from supermarket, department store, appliances center, local and international food chains, three state-of-the art digital cinemas and the three-level parking lot will serve customers in Zambales, Bataan, and the more than 100,000 workforce of the Subic Bay Freeport.

The opening of SM City Olongapo will be a catalyst for employment and business opportunities, as well as lifestyle trends for residents of this bustling city, and Zambales province.

The influx of new businesses in Olongapo and the awards earned by the city in 2011 affirmed its competitiveness and the city government’s effective business promotion and development strategy.

Mayor Gordon said the entry of the SM Group is bringing in more businesses into the city. (PNA)

LAP/FFC/zst/MD/ps

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The likelihood of the two countries plunging into sovereign default became almost the same after Japan logged its first trade deficit in 31 years and may be subject to a downgrade in its credit rating.

According to a report released by the Korea Center for International Finance, Japan's credit default swap (CDS) premium stood at 138 basis points as of January's end. Korea's CDS spread reached 150 basis points. One basis point is equivalent to 0.01 percentage point.

The lower the CDS premium, the less likely a country is to go belly-up.

The gap between the CDS spreads of two countries stood at a mere 12 basis points as of last month. The difference between the CDS spreads of Japan and South Korea has been trending downward since last fall.

It hit 73 basis points as of last September, 35 basis points in the following month and 23 basis points as of November, before dipping further to 18 basis points in the last month of 2011.

Japan's credit default risk soared to the level of South Korea in March 2011, when a massive earthquake and subsequent tsunami disrupted the country's economy.

The latest rise in Japan's credit default risk comes from its weakening economy, the report said.

Global credit rating agencies, meanwhile, may take steps to downgrade Japan's credit rating as the country struggles with difficult times at home and abroad. Japan's trade balance is expected to stay in the red in the coming months as its currency continues to strengthen against the greenback and global demand weakens. (PNA/Yonhap)

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Kia Motor was awarded the inaugural 2012 Total Cost of Ownership Awards, which is given to brands and vehicles with the lowest projected ownership expenses by Kelly Blue Book (www.kbb.com).

South Korea's second-largest carmaker received the highest points after calculating depreciation, fuel costs, fees associated with financing and insurance, and maintenance costs to be made over a five-year period, said the company.

"Such stylish and fun-to-drive Kia offerings as the Optima, Sorento and Soul specialize in delivering the practical blessings of excellent fuel economy and inspired resale value," said the Kelly Blue Book on its Web site.

It said Kia Motors' Soul topped the list of the compact car segment for the lowest average total ownership costs of US$ 31,417. Kia Motors sold 102,267 units of the Soul in the U.S. market last year.

The Sonata sedan of Kia's bigger affiliate Hyundai Motor Co. won the mid-size car segment with a five-year ownership cost of US$ 38,476, beating Toyota's Camry. Its SUV Santa Fe has a five-year ownership cost expected to total US$ 42,628 to claim the top honor in the crossover class.

The German Audi AG was the top luxury brand for low average total ownership costs on the strength of its A5 and Q7 models. (PNA/Yonhap) DCT/ebp

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It strengthened by 72 basis points to stand at 6.2937 against the U.S. dollar on Friday, according to the China Foreign Exchange Trading System.

In China's foreign exchange spot market, the yuan is allowed to rise or fall by 0.5 percent from the central parity rate each trading day.

The central parity rate of the yuan against the U.S. dollar is based on a weighted average of prices before the opening of the market each business day. (PNA/Xinhua)

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Greek political leaders on Thursday reached a deal over austerity measures in order to prevent debt default. Finance ministers from the euro zone countries will meet later Thursday to discuss the plan and decide whether to release the bailout funds.

The news helped to improve investors' sentiments and eased concerns about the Greek debt problems.

Meanwhile, the European Central Bank decided to keep its key interest rate unchanged at 1 percent on Thursday, erasing uncertainties about the monetary policy.

Also easing euro zone concerns, the Bank of England on Thursday said the central bank would buy an additional 50 billion pounds of assets, mostly British government bonds, in an effort to ease credit and boost the economy.

On economic front, the U.S. Labor Department said initial jobless claims dropped 15,000 to 358,000 last week, suggesting the job markets continued to recover.

As for shares, beverage maker PepsiCo Inc. said that it forecast a lower-than-expected 2012 earnings and would cut thousands of jobs.

Meanwhile, Apple's stock rose 3.46 percent to 493.17 dollars per share, as investors bet a very strong iPhone 4S sales.

The Dow Jones industrial average edged up 6.51 points, or 0.05 percent, at 12,890.46. The Standard & Poor's 500 edged up 1.99 points, or 0.15 percent, to 1,351.95. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 11.37 points, or 0.39 percent, to 2,927.23.

As for dollar, the U.S. dollar fell against most major currencies in late New York trading on Thursday as Greek leaders agreed on a austerity plan which may prevent the country from defaulting.

The dollar index dropped 0.07 percent to 78.58 on Thursday.

As for oil, crude prices rose on Thursday as Greece reached the austerity deal for receiving international rescue fund and U.S. job data beat estimates.

Light, sweet crude for March delivery gained 1.13 dollars, or 1. 15 percent to settle at 99.84 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

In London, Brent crude also rose 1.39 dollars, or 1.19 percent to 118.59 dollars a barrel, the highest level since August. (PNA/Xinhua) scs/ebp

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The most active gold contract for April delivery added 9.9 dollars, or 0.6 percent, to 1,741.2 dollars per ounce.

Greek coalition party leaders concluded a deal on austerity measures to secure a new bailout package by European Union (EU) and International Monetary Fund (IMF) creditors on time to stave off a Greek financial meltdown next month, an official statement said on Thursday afternoon.

Gold future jumped on the news, as fears of an emerging credit crunch in the Eurozone has eased.

Meanwhile, the dollar moved lower for a third straight session against the euro, hitting its lowest in more than two months as Greece finally reached a deal on austerity measures.

The precious metal usually benefits from a weaker dollar, which makes the dollar-denominated gold less expensive for holders of other currencies.

Silver for March delivery rallied 21.3 cents, or 0.6 percent, to 33.917 dollars per ounce. (PNA/Xinhua)

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Greek political leaders on Thursday reached a deal over austerity measures in order to prevent debt default. Finance minister from the euro zone countries will meet later Thursday to discuss the plan and decide whether to release the bailout funds.

The news helped ease investors' concerns about the Greek debt problems and lifted the euro. The shared currency gained 0.2 percent against the dollar.

Meanwhile, the European Central Bank decided to keep its key interest rate unchanged at one percent on Thursday, erasing uncertainties about the monetary policy.

The Bank of England on Thursday said that the central bank would buy an additional 50 billion pounds of assets, mostly British government bonds, in an effort to ease credit and boost the economy. The British pound rose on Thursday following the announcement.

The U.S. Labor Department said that initial jobless claims dropped 15,000 to 358,000 last week, suggesting the job markets continued to recover. The dollar index edged down 0.07 percent to 78.58 on Thursday.

In late Thursday trading, the dollar bought 77.66 Japanese yen, comparing with 77.01 from late Wednesday. The euro rose to 1.3290 dollars from 1.3254.

The British pound rose to 1.5824 dollars from 1.5814. The dollar fell from 0.9121 Swiss francs to 0.9120, and also fell to 0. 9950 Canadian dollars from 0.9960. (PNA/Xinhua) FFC/ebp

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The IMF forecast real GDP growth of 0.3 percent for Hungary in 2012 in its latest country report published on Jan. 25. "We're revising these numbers probably as I speak," Iryna Ivaschenko told a group of foreign investors in Budapest on Thursday, explaining that the January estimate was based on a "slightly better eurozone outlook."

The possible trimming of the 2012 forecast comes as Hungary attempts to secure a potential credit line from the IMF.

Talks between the sides stalled in December when the Fund deemed unacceptable government steps to restrict the independence of the national bank.

"We are talking all the time (with Hungary). We have been very public on issues like the independence of the Central Bank. Now a lot depends on the government," she added. "We first need to see tangible steps that the government is ready to engage on all macro policy issues."

After the economy contracted by almost 7 percent in 2009, Hungary has attempted to relaunch its economy with export-led growth and debt reduction policies.

Its growth prospects, however, have slowed in tandem with weak growth in Germany, its main export market. In addition, Hungary's public indebtedness, Ivaschenko said, is one of the highest in the "entire emerging markets universe".

"Nobody is against growth and employment, and the high level of debt is there, the numbers speak for themselves," Ivaschenko said.

"The really difficult task is how you get there, the budget mix, tax mix, and expenditure mix you choose to bring the high debt and deficit levels down. It boils down to the implementation," she added. (PNA/Xinhua)

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In the second half of 2011, economic growth worldwide was curbed by the unfavorable developments in the euro area, the institute said in a monthly report.

The Austrian economy is likely to stagnate in the first quarter of 2012 even though signs of economic stabilization are seen, the WIFO said.

The strengthening of austerity measures in almost all eurozone countries has weakened the demand.

But private consumption and investment in machinery and equipment are likely to see largely stable development, the WIFO said. (PNA/Xinhua) DCT/mmg

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The acquisition is Oracle's latest move to boost its offerings of cloud computing, or the delivery of software and other services over the Internet.

Oracle said that it has agreed to pay 46 dollars per share, representing an 18-percent premium over Taleo's closing share price on Wednesday.

Headquartered in Dublin in the U.S. state of California, Taleo provides cloud-based solutions that help organizations attract, develop, motivate and retain human capital.

According to introduction posted on Taleo's website, it now has over 5,000 customers, including almost half of the Fortune 100 companies, with nearly half of the top 30 career sites in the world being powered by its solutions.

"Human capital management has become a strategic initiative for organizations," Thomas Kurian, an executive vice president at Oracle, said in a statement on the purchase of Taleo.

Kurian noted that Taleo's cloud-based human resources management solutions will be an "important addition" to the Oracle Public Cloud, a broad set of subscription-based services offered by the company.

The transaction has been unanimously approved by Taleo's board of directors and is expected to close mid-2012, Oracle said. (PNA/Xinhua)

DCT/ebp

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