Reported by Star-Bulletin staff & wire
Wednesday, July 1, 1998
Bankoh invests $1 mil in Immigrant Center
The Immigrant Center in Kalihi has received a $1 million investment from Bank of Hawaii that will enable it to expand its "micro-business" loans to neighbor island entrepreneurs.A $40,000 grant from Central Pacific Bank is also helping, center officials said.
The nonprofit center was opened in 1973 to help the wave of immigrants, particularly from Asia, to develop their business ideas. American Savings Bank, Central Pacific Bank, Realty Finance Inc. and Hawaii's ethnic chambers of commerce are referring those with business ideas to the center and providing meeting space. Bank of Hawaii officials said the center is able to make short-term loans of up to $25,000 at 10 percent interest to small enterprises that have good business ideas but can't qualify for conventional financing. More information is available from the Immigrant Center at 845-3918.
Canadian firm buys airline catering biz
WASHINGTON -- Onex Corp.'s SC International Services Inc. completed its acquisition of Ogden Corp.'s airline-catering business after it won Federal Trade Commission approval by agreeing not to buy the Las Vegas part of the Ogden unit.The FTC charged the acquisition, originally valued at $84.8 million, would have made SC International's Sky Chefs Inc. the only provider of in-flight meals at McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas, Bloomberg News reported.
Dobbs International Services, a subsidiary of Viad Corp., is purchasing the Las Vegas business.
Sky Chefs, based in Arlington, Texas, is one of the world's largest providers of in-flight meals, with 139 flight kitchens in 28 countries. Onex is a Toronto-based merchant bank.
New York-based Ogden's catering business has 1,800 employees at 11 kitchens in cities including New York, Los Angeles, Honolulu, Washington, San Francisco, and Newark, N.J.
Volkswagen makes overture to Volvo
GOTHENBURG, Sweden -- Volkswagen AG, Europe's largest carmaker, has approached Volvo AB to discuss how they might cooperate, Volvo said, but the Swedish firm wouldn't confirm a report the talks might lead to a merger.Both companies declined to characterize Friday's talks between VW Chief Executive Ferdinand Piech and Volvo Chief Executive Leif Johansson at the Swedish company's headquarters. Analysts said the meeting, initiated by Piech, may have been VW's overture to buy Volvo's profitable heavy truck business, third-largest in the world, and perhaps its passenger car unit.
With Volvo, Volkswagen would leapfrog Toyota Motor Corp. to become the world's third-largest automaker, giving it more clout to wring lower prices from suppliers and a bigger range of brands including VW, Audi AG, Rolls-Royce, Lamborghini, Skoda and Seat, to lure sales from variety-minded clients.
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