Kyodo news summary -8-

(Japan Economic Newswire Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) TOKYO, March 4 -- (Kyodo) _ ---------- Dollar falls to lower 93 yen level as gains locked in TOKYO - The U.S. dollar fell to the lower 93 yen range in Tokyo on Monday as market players locked in recent gains, while a sharp fall in Chinese equities boosted demand for the yen as a safe-haven currency.

At 5 p.m., the dollar fetched 93.43-44 yen compared with 93.55-65 yen in New York and 92.58-59 yen in Tokyo at 5 p.m. Friday. It moved between 93.28 yen and 93.73 yen during the day, changing hands most frequently at 93.60 yen.

---------- Hitachi gets order for 2 short-circuit generators TOKYO - Hitachi Ltd. said Monday it has landed an order from the Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute of South Korea for two 2,000 megavolt-ampere short-circuit generators.

They will be used for short-circuit testing at the high-power testing facility of KERI, a compliance testing and certification agency in the international heavy electrical equipment sector, in Changwon in South Gyeongsang Province, Hitachi said.

---------- IAEA board discusses chief Amano's re-election for 2nd term VIENNA - The International Atomic Energy Agency began its regular board meeting in Vienna on Monday, with the re-election of Director General Yukiya Amano and how to respond to North Korea's third nuclear test last month high on the agenda.

No country on the 35-member Board of Governors has so far opposed the reappointment of Amano, 65, as head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog. He is the sole candidate in the election for the top post.

---------- Japan's key bond yield slides on BOJ chief nominee's remark TOKYO - The yield on the benchmark 10-year Japanese government bond slid Monday to its lowest closing level since June 2003 on buying spurred after the government nominee for the new Bank of Japan chief expressed willingness to expand the asset purchase program.

The yield on the No. 327, 0.8 percent issue, the main yardstick of long-term interest rates, ended interdealer trading at 0.605 percent, down 0.050 percentage point from Friday's close. It briefly fell to 0.600 percent, also the lowest intraday level in nine years and eight months.

---------- Sony aims to return to black in mobile business in FY 2013 TOKYO - A senior executive of Sony Corp. said Monday the company aims to return to the black in its mobile phone business in the next fiscal year starting in April by introducing more new products, mainly smartphones and tablet computers.

Corporate Executive Officer Kunimasa Suzuki said in an interview with media organizations including Kyodo News that Sony's global smartphone sales in fiscal 2012 ending in March are expected to increase by around 51 percent from the previous year to 34 million units, and are expected to further grow in fiscal 2013.

---------- Mitsubishi, 3 others get Canada gov't approval to export shale gas TOKYO - Japanese trading house Mitsubishi Corp. and three other companies jointly obtained approval from the Canadian government last month to export shale gas from western Canada to destinations such as Japan and other Asian countries, sources close to the matter said Monday.

The approval to export shale gas in the form of liquefied natural gas for an annual total of 24 million tons over 25 years has been given to Mitsubishi, Anglo-Dutch oil giant Royal Dutch Shell plc, Korea Gas Corp. and China National Petroleum Corp., the sources said.

---------- Bodies of 4 Japanese killed in Egypt balloon crash return home CHIBA, Japan - The bodies of four Japanese tourists killed in a recent hot air balloon crash in Egypt arrived at a Japanese airport on Monday evening, accompanied by nine relatives.

The four victims -- Kazuo Tsuge, 66, chairman of a racehorse transport company, and his wife Harumi, 63, as well as Yasuhide Terada, 63, and his 63-year-old wife Asako -- were all residents of Tokyo.

---------- JAPEX to join shale gas development project in Canada TOKYO - Japan Petroleum Exploration Co., known as JAPEX, said Monday it will participate in a shale gas development and production project undertaken by Malaysian national oil company Petroliam Nasional Berhad, or Petronas, in western Canada.

By acquiring a 10 percent stake in the project to produce 12 million tons of liquefied natural gas annually from late 2018, JAPEX will export 1.2 million tons of LNG to Japan. The value of the deal was not disclosed.

---------- Toyota to unveil 2-seat electric prototype car in Geneva NAGOYA - Toyota Motor Corp. said Monday it will show off a small prototype electric car with two tandem seats at the Geneva International Motor Show to be held in Geneva from Tuesday to March 17.

The 2.35-meter-long, 0.85-meter-wide Toyota i-Road runs on three wheels -- two front tires and one rear wheel -- and is half the size of Toyota's Prius hybrid vehicle so it could contribute to addressing traffic-related problems in urban areas, such as lack of parking lots and gridlock.

(c) 2013 Kyodo News International, Inc.

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