Asian Activities Report for December 16, 2011: Asahi Glass Co., Ltd. (TYO:5201) to Establish a New Cathode Materials Production and Sales Site in China

Sydney, Dec 16, 2011 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Asahi Glass Co., Ltd. (TYO:5201) will establish a new cathode materials production and sales site in China for lithium-ion batteries used in mobile devices and electronic vehicles. Asahi Glass will acquire a 51% interest in a Chinese cathode materials manufacturer, with production scheduled to start around April 2012. This will approximately double the current production capacity of Asahi Glass for cathode materials.

FUJIFILM Holdings Corporation (TYO:4901) has signed a definitive agreement to acquire all outstanding shares of SonoSite, Inc. (NASDAQ:SONO) for approximately US$995 million. This transaction will bring together the complementary strengths of Fujifilm's high-quality imaging technologies and SonoSite's pioneering point-of-care expertise and miniaturization capabilities, to drive the development of next generation medical imaging solutions.

Kobe Steel, Ltd. (TYO:5406) plans to increase the production capacity of its Chinese subsidiary which makes aluminum forgings for automotive suspensions. Kobe Steel will install an additional forging press and melting and casting equipment at its Chinese subsidiary. Total investment is anticipated to reach 4.5 billion yen and operations are expected to begin in March 2013.

Eisai Co., Ltd. (TYO:4523) has received approval from Health Canada for Halaven(TM), a novel anticancer agent for metastatic breast cancer patients who have previously received at least two chemotherapeutic regimens. Eisai will now begin preparations for the launch of Halaven(TM) with a view to commencing sales of the product in Canada during the fiscal year ending March 31, 2012.

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