News in brief

BP sells Texas City refinery

NEW YORK: BP has finally found a buyer for its Texas City refinery, one of the largest and most complex in the US. The total value of the deal could reach $2.5 billion. The refinery was the scene in 2005 of a fatal fire and explosion. Marathon Petroleum Corp. will pay only $598 million for the refinery itself and other nearby pipelines and fuel terminals. It will pay $1.2 billion for the plant's inventory of oil and petroleum products. Marathon may have to pay another $700 million over 6 years if certain unspecified conditions are met, the company said yesterday.

GM auto sales hit record in China

SHANGHAI: General Motors' China sales hit a record in September, the US auto giant said yesterday, amid a territorial row between Beijing and Tokyo that has reportedly hit the business of Japanese competitors. GM's sales in the world's biggest car market reached 244,266 vehicles in September, rising 1.7 percent from the same month last year and jumping 10.5 percent from August, it said in a statement. For the first nine months of the year, the company and its ventures sold nearly 2.1 million vehicles in China, up 10 percent from a year earlier. Sales of Toyota cars in China plunged by 50 percent in September from August amid the anti-Japan backlash over disputed islands, Japan's Yomiuri newspaper said last week.

AirAsia X to suspend Iran service

KUALA LUMPUR: The long-haul arm of budget carrier AirAsia said yesterday it would suspend operations to Iran, citing currency "volatility" as the carrier mounts new profitable destinations across the Asia-Pacific. Malaysia-based AirAsia X said the current four times weekly flights between Kuala Lumpur and Tehran will be suspended with the last flight on Oct. 14. AirAsia X said "the suspension of its services to Tehran Imam Khomeini Airport" was due to challenging economic and business conditions including the "volatility of the Iranian currency". The statement did not say when services would be resumed.

Qtel boosts stake in Kuwaiti firm

DUBAI: Qatar Telecom says it is paying $1.8 billion to substantially boost its stake in Kuwaiti telecommunications operator Wataniya. The Qatari firm said Sunday it will own 92.1 percent of Wataniya, which is known officially as the National Mobile Telecommunications Company. It already holds a 52.5 percent stake. Qatar Telecom, or Qtel, didn't say who sold the shares. Wataniya's ownership is split between individual shareholders and the government's Kuwait Investment Authority sovereign wealth fund. Qtel is majority-owned by the Qatari government. It has more than 83 million customers in the Middle East, North Africa and Asia.

IKEA moves closer to India entry

NEW DELHI: Swedish furniture and home furnishings giant IKEA moved a step closer to setting up stores in India, saying on Monday it had filed the final paperwork with the Indian government for its entry. IKEA in June asked India for permission to launch retail operations in the South Asian nation, promising to invest $1.9 billion over the coming years — part of a broader push into emerging markets including China and Russia. ment.

South African Airways' CEO resigns

JOHANNESBURG: The chief executive of South Africa's embattled national airline and two senior managers yesterday quit the their jobs, a week after the chairwoman and seven board members walked out, the company said. South African Airways (SAA) would not divulge the reason for CEO Siza Mzimela's resignation. "The airline views these resignations as a turbulence of a temporary nature which must not be allowed to affect its ability to discharge its core function in a responsible and prudent manner," said a statement. Mzimela joined the company in 2010, after the removal of former chief Khaya Ngqula, who was investigated for financial mismanagement.