31.   The mere fact that a company has aggressively secured significant IP in anew technology is sufficient to discourage a potential competitor fromentering the market.

32.   Western diplomats and businessmen say French, Chinese, Russian, Italian, Australian and Turkish companies have secured the lion share of contracts with Iraqi firms.

33.   French companies secured nearly a billion dollars in new deals with China after Industry and Foreign Trade Minister Gerard Longuet travelled to Bejing last July.

34.   The production-sharing legislation is vital for western oil companies to secure firm guarantees that contracts will not be changed, the analyst said.

35.   It has been cautious about production of microchips in China but lower labour costs there were imperative for the company to secure profits, the report said.

36.   Last year, the record companies secured a court order taking Napster offline.

37.   The company will also secure an agreement from the union before making any redundancies.