A unit of National Australia Bank Ltd. said Thursday it could face a tax bill of up to NZ$654 million plus possible penalties after the nation's High Court ruled against it in relation to a long-running tax dispute. Bank of New Zealand said it is likely to appeal the decision, which relates to amended tax assessments for six structured finance transactions with offshore parties between 1998 and 2005. The amount of tax in dispute totaled NZ$416 million. The bank could also be liable for interest of NZ$238 million as of June 30.

After quitting his job as a senior engineer at Chrysler to join China's fledgling domestic auto industry, Frank Zhao had a stark premonition. “I saw the end of Detroit," says 45-year-old Mr. Zhao, who now supervises 1,200 engineers building a new generation of vehicles for Geely Holding Group Co., one of China's top-selling brands. Geely, with a group of financial backers, is now considered a front-runner in the bidding for Ford Motor Co.'s Volvo unit, The Wall Street Journal reported. A decision could come in the next several weeks, according to people familiar with the situation.

A summit of the Non-Aligned Movement opened at Egyptian Red Sea resort town Sharm El-Sheik Wednesday with a call from Cuban President Raul Castro for a new international financial system to shield developing nations from the global recession, The Associated Press reported. The new system, he said, must give developing countries "preferential treatment." He did not elaborate. U.N.

The holding company of Northland avocado oil producer Olivado is in receivership after failing to secure new funding arrangements following a management bust up. Auckland firm PKF Corporate Recovery & Insolvency has been appointed as receiver for Olivado Holdings Ltd, which operates Olivado New Zealand Ltd, Olivado Kenya (EPZ) Ltd and Olivado USA Inc. Those firms will continue trading and are not in receivership, a spokeswoman for Olivado said.

General Motors’ plan to sell its European operations to a Canadian auto parts maker and a Russian bank appeared Monday to be in trouble, when another bidder said it was nearing a deal for the unit, The New York Times reported. R.H.J. International, a Brussels-listed industrial holding company, said in a statement that it was in talks with G.M. for the acquisition of a majority stake in the European subsidiary, Adam Opel, which includes the operations of Vauxhall in Britain.

Beijing Automotive Industry Holding Co. outlined its main reason for wanting General Motors Corp.'s European unit Adam Opel GmbH: It wants to get its hands on the U.S. auto maker's engine technologies, The Wall Street Journal reported. Beijing Auto said in a document outlining a takeover offer that access to GM's advanced technology was the "key driver" for its bid, which is aimed at outpacing Canadian auto supplier Magna International Inc. in the race for Opel. According to the document, GM would have to "license all alternative propulsion technologies (i.e.

The detention by authorities in China of four Rio Tinto PLC employees this week, at a time when the mining company is engaged in major business deals in the country, offers a reminder of how the country's murky legal system can be entwined with its commercial interests, The Wall Street Journal reported. The Australian government said Wednesday that one of the Rio Tinto employees, a general manager involved in iron-ore sales, is accused of stealing Chinese state secrets, apparently in the course of his employment.

The head of General Motors Corp.'s German unit Adam Opel GmbH said the interest of several potential investors is generally positive as it strengthens the auto maker's negotiating position, but it must not delay the sales process. "We need a deal fast," Hans Demant said in an internal letter to staff seen by Dow Jones Newswires Wednesday. Mr. Demant said that takeover talks are being held with Magna International Inc., Ripplewood Holdings, Beijing Automotive Industry Holding Co. Ltd. and Fiat SpA. Each investor has its own strategic approach, Mr. Demant said.

Japanese corporate bankruptcies rose 7.4 percent in June from a year earlier as businesses struggled to get access to credit and the global recession crippled sales, Bloomberg reported. A total of 1,422 companies went out of business in the month, Tokyo Shoko Research Ltd. said in Tokyo today. Bankruptcies climbed 8.3 percent in the first half of 2009 to 8,169 cases, the report showed. Bank of Japan Governor Masaaki Shirakawa said this week that funding remains tight even though some companies are finding it easier to issue debt.

Rio Tinto Group iron ore executive Stern Hu was detained in China on suspicion of espionage and stealing state secrets, Australian Foreign Affairs Minister Stephen Smith said. Hu, an Australian and head of London-based Rio’s iron ore operations in China, was detained on July 5, Smith said in Perth today. The executive hasn’t been charged and there wasn’t any indication allegations were business-related, he said, declining to comment on how relations with China would be affected. Three other Rio workers, all Chinese nationals, are also being held.