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Daily Mail, London, business briefs column
(Daily Mail (London) (KRT) Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) Dec. 23--QINETIQ SHARES TAKE A HIT OVER DEAL FEARS: Shares in defence firm Qinetiq were shot down 4 1/2p to 187p, as fears mounted that it may be excluded from a 10bn contract for non-military army training from the Ministry of Defence.
Officials at the National Audit Office and the Treasury are believed to have asked the MoD to review the deal because of concerns that Qinetiq, the favourite bidder, might have a potential conflict of interest because it is 20pc-owned by the government.
The government's stake in Qinetiq is a major concern for some Whitehall insiders and rival defence companies.
The MoD last week delayed announcing the winner of the contract until January.
An MoD spokesman said the government's stake was not a problem, adding: "Our officials have been working closely with the Treasury all the way through."
CASPIAN CONCERNS FOR BP AS THE YEAR ENDS: No let up for BP as the year nears its end. Its problems have spread to the Caspian, where it halted output temporarily at the huge Shah Deniz gas field less than a week after it began operating.
There is already an argument over who gets the gas. It can be piped to Turkey but Georgia and Azerbaijan want extra supplies.
Russian state giant Gazprom signed a deal to supply gas to Georgia, but at double the old price. BP (up 4 1/2p to 571 1/2p) also faces a growing clamour to sell Gazprom a stake in the Kovykta field in eastern Siberia owned by its TNK-BP joint venture.
LAND SECS PURCHASE: Property giant Land Securities (up 11p to 2240p) has splashed out 527m on a firm that manages schools and hospitals, attracted by its steady income stream.
Boss Francis Salway sees building management "as an area with immense growth potential." The acquired business, called Secondary Market Infrastructure Fund (SMIF), specialises in buying the contracts to manage government buildings in the health and education sectors.
It is being sold by STAR Capital Partners, HBoS and AMP Capital Investors and is expected to boost Land Sec's bottom line by 40m in five years time.
BAE'S TORNADO TRIUMPH: British defence giant BAE Systems has secured a 947m contract from the Ministry of Defence to provide guaranteed availability of Tornado combat jets for the RAF.
The deal will save the MoD 510m. Shares in BAE eased 4p at 419p. Also, jet engine maker Rolls-Royce is eyeing plans for a major expansion in the US.
The group is looking to build a new plant in one of eight US states to cope with global demand. Rolls shares eased 3/4p at 445 1/4p.
To see more of the Daily Mail and the Financial Mail on Sunday, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.thisismoney.com.
Copyright (c) 2006, Daily Mail, London
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News.
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