Toshiba president Taizo Nishimura told a news conference that Toshiba had agreed to form the joint venture because it was a hardware maker, but that the software business was inevitable in its future. "The joint venture is one step towards making Toshiba strong in software," Nishimura said. Toshiba will provide Towani with the advanced digital knowhow necessary to refine its role and extend its capabilities, he said. Richard Fox, Warner Brothers executive vice president, said.

M'Shita trims output at some plants: Matsushita Electric Industrial Co Ltd said on Tuesday it had halted production of audiovisual equipment at some plants in Central and South America. Matsushita has stopped making television sets and audio equipment at its plants in Costa Rica, Guatemala and El Salvador, a company spokesman said. It halted production of television sets in Peru and Venezuela in mid-1997, he said. Instead it has increased production in facilities in othercountries such as Mexico, he said.

Mazda recalls 8,460 cars over engine fire problem: Mazda Motor Corp said on Tuesday it would recall 8,460 remodelled Familia cars sold in Japan in order to repair defects that could cause their engines to burst into flames. Mazda, which is 33.4 per cent owned by Ford Motor Co said it had informed the Transport Ministry of the recall and that it would repair the defects free of charge. Mazda started selling completely remodelled Familia sedans and wagons, core models for the company, on June 8.

Yunsa to meet 98 sales target: Turkey's leading wool yarn producer Yunsa expects to achieve its 1998 turnover target of 24 trillion lira ($88.88 million) despite increasing competition from Asian producers, a senior official said. "We will meet our 24 trillion lira turnover, $45 million exports and seven million metres output targets this year," Yakup Gungor, general manager of the company, said. Gungor complained about illegal inflow of "sub-standard"yarns to Turkeyfrom Asian countries via the Iraqi border.

Gallaher Group plans 500m mark bond: Britain's largest cigarette maker Gallaher Group Plc is planning to launch a 500 million mark bond this week, joint lead managers HSBC Trinkaus and Goldman Sachs said on Monday. The issue will be guaranteed by Gallaher Ltd, rated BAA2 by Moody's Investor Services and BBB+ by Standard and Poor's, the report said. Volkswagen aims to sell 16,000 Golfs by end-98: Volkswagen Group Japan KK, the Japanese import-distribution unit of Volkswagen AG said on Monday it was aiming to sell 16,000 newly redesigned Volkswagen Golfs by the end of December. The models go on sale on August 24 in Japan and will have dual airbags and side airbags as standard equipment, it said. Anti-lock brakes are also standard. Prices will start at 2.5 million yen, it said.

Pechiney, Century quit CVG Venezuela consortium: One of the consortia preparing to bid for Venezuela's state-owned CVG Aluminium has lost two members, a statement from theconsortium leader, UK based Billiton Plc said on Monday. Billiton said France's Aluminium Pechiney and Century Aluminum have pulled out of the grouping but stressed that it and its local partner Sural are proceeding with their preparations. The other consortium in the race is led by international financier George Soros and includes Kaiser Aluminium Corp, and Korea's Daewoo.

HAL sells Van der Moolen shares: Merchant banks ABN AMRO Rothschild and Goldman Sachs said on Monday they had been appointed joint global coordinator and bookrunner in the sale of 2.5 million shares in securities brokerage Van der Moolen Holding NV now held by HAL Investments BV. The secondary offering will open today and is expected to close on July 15, 1430 GMT, but subscriptions may be closed earlier.

NTT unit applies for US-Japan telecoms license: Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp (NTT) said on Tuesday that the US unit ntta.com inc had applied for a license to provide facilities-based telecommunications servicesbetween the United States and Japan. The wholly owned subsidiary of NTT America Inc had applied to the Federal Communications Commission for approval to launch the services, which would allow NTT America to offer high quality and affordable cross-Pacific services, NTT said.

Sirrom Capital issued by shareholders: A lawsuit filed Monday against Sirrom Capital Corp. alleges certain officers and directors of the company issued materially false and misleading statements about its business, operations and credit-quality trends, lawyers for the plaintiffs said. The suit, seeking class-action status, was filed in the US district curt for the Middle District of Tennessee on behalf of individuals who bought Sirrom shares between March 5 and July 9, the lawyers said, according to the report.