Japan Tobacco Surges on News It Will Genetically Engineer Rice
[unlike the British, Japan thinks developing ge crops is good news]
Bloomberg News
March 17, 1999, 8:31 p.m. ET
Japan Tobacco Surges on News It Will Genetically Engineer Rice
Tokyo, March 18 (Bloomberg) -- Japan Tobacco Inc. shares
rose as much as 16.3 percent on a report the nation's only
tobacco company will seek to develop a genetically engineered
high-yield rice crop, analysts said.
The maker of Mild Seven and Peace cigarettes rose as much as
180,000 yen to 1.29 million ($10,792), where it recently traded.
A total of 5,429 shares changed hands, about four times the full-
day average of 1,380 over the past three months.
Japan Tobacco will form a joint venture with Zeneca Group
Plc of the U.K. to develop genetically engineered agricultural
products, the Nihon Keizai newspaper said, without citing
sources.
The joint venture, capitalized at about 10 billion yen
($84.75 million), will develop a high-yield rice crop and other
farm products, the report said. JT and Zeneca are seeking to
compete with Monsanto Co. in the marketing of agricultural
products in Asia, Nikkei said.
Genetic engineering of rice has a promising future, said
Tsutomu Matsuno, an analyst at Daiwa Institute of Research. He
said, however, that it takes years of research before it can
actually contribute to a company's earnings.
Japan Tobacco spokesman Tomoaki Akatsuka refused to comment
on the report.
--Tak Kumakura in the Tokyo newsroom (813) 3201-8963/ with |
