Australian Airline Signs Multi-Billion Dollar Contract With

Broadcast: Jan 20 2003

 

Australia's budget airline Virgin¹ Blue has placed orders for up to 50 Boeing 737 jets - in a deal worth about $3 billion.

Australia's second largest air carrier says it plans to expand its services to destinations in the Pacific and eventually to Asian cities such as Hong Kong, Shanghai, Tokyo, Bali and New Zealand. The expansion will put Virgin Blue into greater competition with Australia's main carrier, Qantas.

Philip Wickham is an aviation analyst² with ING investment bank in Asia. He says Qantas has held an overwhelming 80 to 85 percent of the market share since domestic rival, Ansett, folded last year. "In my view what's going on is, Virgin Blue is quickly trying to move into this space that used to be occupied by Ansett. And if they don't quickly occupy it, there is always a chance of a third airline emerging in Australia. There's always talk of Singapore Airlines potentially funding a new airline."

Other analysts³ say, however, that Virgin Blue's expansion may be expensive and risky⁴. Qantas is already ¹⁾embarking on aggressive costs cutting measures.

Also in Australia, the government is blaming the continued rise in unemployment on the country's worst drought in a century. The Bureau of Statistics says the jobless rate increased from 6.1 percent in November to 6.2 percent in December, its fourth ²⁾consecutive⁶ rise in as many months.

Government officials say the drought is directly responsible for the loss of about 70,000 jobs, or they predict unemployment would have dropped slightly.

In China, the government announced new rules requiring Chinese companies and local governments to seek state approval before borrowing from foreign lenders. The rules, which appeared in state-run financial newspapers, are to take effect on March first. The announcement comes four years after the country's largest ever-corporate failure. In 1998, state-owned Guangdong International Trust and Investment ³⁾defaulted on more than $4.7 billion of foreign debt after the central government refused to bail⁷ the company out.

The new rules clarify the central government's policy that it will not be responsible for firms and government-owned companies failing to repay foreign loans.

Katherine Maria VOA news, Hong Kong.

 

1)    embark⁵ on着手，从事

2)    consecutive [kEn5sekjutiv]adj. 连续的, 联贯的

3)    default on 拖欠，违约

1 virgin   

n.处女，未婚女子；adj.未经使用的；未经开发的

参考例句：

• Have you ever been to a virgin forest?你去过原始森林吗？
• There are vast expanses of virgin land in the remote regions.在边远地区有大片大片未开垦的土地。

2 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

3 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

4 risky   

adj.有风险的，冒险的

参考例句：

• It may be risky but we will chance it anyhow.这可能有危险，但我们无论如何要冒一冒险。
• He is well aware how risky this investment is.他心里对这项投资的风险十分清楚。

5 embark   

vi.乘船，着手，从事，上飞机

参考例句：

• He is about to embark on a new business venture.他就要开始新的商业冒险活动。
• Many people embark for Europe at New York harbor.许多人在纽约港乘船去欧洲。

6 consecutive   

adj.连续的，联贯的，始终一贯的

参考例句：

• It has rained for four consecutive days.已连续下了四天雨。
• The policy of our Party is consecutive.我党的政策始终如一。

7 bail   

v.舀（水），保释；n.保证金，保释，保释人

参考例句：

• One of the prisoner's friends offered to bail him out.犯人的一个朋友答应保释他出来。
• She has been granted conditional bail.她被准予有条件保释。