31.   The move is effectively the merger of the two companies with only the sales divisions left separate, the major economic daily said.

32.   The major economic daily said the planned listing was aimed at strengthening its capital base and expanding its business profile.

33.   The Mastercard and Visa systems have been used by major banks in the United States and Europe for a similar service, the economic daily Nihon Keizai said.

34.   The move is in response to a US proposal to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development for a multilateral bribery prevention treaty, the leading economic daily said.

35.   The move would represent an effective merger of the two companies with only the sales divisions left separate, the major economic daily said.

36.   The Nihon Keizai economic daily said that Tokyo would not risk scaling down its official loans, given the damage such a move would inflict on ties with Beijing.

37.   The Nihon Keizai Shimbun, a major economic daily, said such bid rigging appeared to have been a common practice over the past six years.