Roche Holding AG said it signed a joint venture with Wuxi Zhongya Chemical Co Ltd of China to produce citric acid and citrates. Roche said the new joint venture company, Roche Zhongya(Wuxi) Citric Acid Ltd, will initially produce 20,000 tonnes of citric acid and citrates per year. Plans call for production capacity to be increased to 40,000 tons per year. It said 80 per cent of the production will be exported to destinations in Asia. The total investment in the new company amounts to $25million, Roche also said. It said the signing marks its sixth joint venture agreement in China.

Turkish Hyundai considers output rise: South Korean car maker Hyundai's Turkish plant is considering full capacity production in the second half of 1998, earlier than the year 2000 as previously planned, after a sharp rise in sales in November, the company said in a statement. Hyundai, which inaugurated its Turkish plant on September 20, said it sold a record 5,101 units in November compared to monthly sales CS First Boston close to purchasing BZW Asia: Credit Suise First Boston, the investment banking arm of Swiss commercial bank Credit Suisse group, is close to finalising the purchase of BZW Ais Ltd, the Asian investment banking arm of the UK's Barclays' Plc, sources close to the talks said on Tuesday. A spokeswoman for CS First Boston in Hong Kong confirmed negotiations for ``selective parts'' of BZW's Asian operations are ongoing. She declined to provide further details.

DirecTV Japan boosts capital to 31.87 bn yen: Satellite broadcaster DirecTV Japan Management Inc said on Tuesday that it has boosted its capital to 31.87 billion yen from 20.80 billion yen. DirecTV also announced that IBM Japan Ltd, a unit of International Business Machines Corp, has become a new partner-investor in the company with a 0.22-per cent stake. DirecTV launched its service in Japan on December 1 with 63 channels. DirecTV, a partnership between Hughes Electronics Corp, Matsushita Electric Industrial Co Ltd and other Japanese firms, will offer motion pictures from Hollywood and Tokuma Shoten. A Japanese animation powerhouse that has also taken a 10-per cent stake .

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