A roundup of today's other stories in brief.

Fyffes makes board changes after demerger

Fyffes, the fruit importer and distributor, has made a number of board changes. The move relates to the demerger of its general produce and distribution business.

Chairman Carl McCann, Rory Byrne, managing director of the general produce and distribution division, and Frank Gernon, finance director, will resign from the board of Fyffes with effect from today.

Instead Mr McCann, Mr Byrne and Mr Gernon have been appointed to the board of Total Produce plc as chairman, chief executive and finance director respectively.

Following the resignations, David McCann will become chairman of Fyffes, Jimmy Tolan will become chief executive and Coen Bos will become chief operating officer.

Bidding process opens for Alitalia

Italy opened the bidding process for state-controlled Alitalia yesterday, hoping that private investors will succeed in reviving the unprofitable carrier after repeated injections of state aid failed.

Italy has invited offers of interest for at least 30.1 per cent of Alitalia's shares, and as much as the entire Treasury stake of 49.9 per cent, until January 29th, the Treasury said in a statement posted on its website.

In setting the terms of the bidding process, the Treasury said the buyers must keep a stake of at least 30.1 per cent in Alitalia until they met the targets of an industrial plan, as well as maintain the carrier's "national identity".

Under Italian law, a buyer of more than 30 per cent of a company must make a public offer for the rest of the outstanding shares. - (Reuters)

Isme urges action on public sector

Isme, the lobby group for small business, has called on the Government to address public sector pay in 2007.

Isme chief executive Mark Fielding insisted that public sector pay be brought under control as a 47 per cent gap has been allowed to develop between the private and public sector in the last number of years.

It said this was due in the main to the benchmarking process.

"Public sector pay resembles a runaway train, stoked by the unions, with nobody capable of putting on the brakes," Mr Fielding said. "The massive increases awarded have led to an unfair two-tier parallel wage negotiation system which favours the public sector and encourages an inflationary psychology.

"This raises serious issues with regard to the benchmarking process, which will soon deliver its second agreement. The original workings and findings were shrouded in secrecy," he added.

ICBC second biggest bank

Industrial and Commercial Bank of China overtook Bank of America yesterday to become the second biggest bank in the world by market value after a dramatic 31 per cent jump in its share price on the mainland during the last week.

A surge in interest in ICBC and other financial stocks, especially among Chinese retail investors, helped push the Shanghai Composite index to a new record.

The rapid rise in the bank's market value underlines an extraordinary turnaround in perceptions of its financial health. Only a few years ago, more than 20 per cent of its loans were non-performing.

Shanghai-traded shares of ICBC, which listed in October in the world's biggest initial public offering, rose 6 per cent yesterday to 6.20 renmimbi, having been Rmb4.74 at the close of trading last Friday. - (Financial Times service)