31.   Under the proposal, they will be allowed from next year to sell stakes in other companies tax-free if the proceeds are reinvested within two years.

32.   Germany is meanwhile rejecting out of hand suggestions that the IMF should sell off a small portion of its gold reserves and reinvest the proceeds.

33.   Schering chief financial officer Klaus Pohle said the transaction offers his company an opportunity to reinvest proceeds from the sale of its stake in Aventis CropScience to Bayer.