A round-up of today's other business news in brief ...

Second-hand car imports soar

A record number of second-hand cars were imported into the State and licensed in April as car-buyers continued to look to the North and Britain.

According to data from the Central Statistics Office, 6,032 second-hand private cars were licensed that month, the highest monthly total since records began in 1973.

Telco collaboration on infrastructure urged

Investment in next-generation telecoms networks is unlikely to happen if telecoms companies continue to follow their existing business models, according to Gerry Fahy, Vodafone’s director of strategy and chairman of the Telecommunications and Internet Federation (Tif).

Speaking at the Tif annual charity ball, Mr Fahy said: “A process of co-operation may be more feasible, where the backbone infrastructure is provided in a collaborative fashion at a wholesale level while competition proceeds at the retail level.”

Emirates’ net profit down 72% in year

Dubai’s Emirates airline, the largest Arab carrier, has posted a 72 per cent year-on-year fall in net profit, hit by a slump in demand during the global downturn, which it said has yet to improve.

However, Emirates said it would continue with a planned expansion of its fleet, having secured funding commitments for more than half the aircraft due to be delivered in 2009.

Net profit in the 2008/09 financial year declined to 1.49 billion dirhams ($405.8 million) from 5.3 billion dirhams in the previous year. – (Reuters)

HSBC may rethink US credit card business

HSBC, Europe’s biggest bank, said the company may “rethink” its US credit card business if financial and regulatory pressures increase.

“If these become too strong, and we are not able to leverage this business more fully on a group basis, we may have to rethink it,” chief executive Michael Geoghegan said today at HSBC’s annual shareholders meeting in London.

The credit card unit is the last active part of HSBC’s US operation. – (Bloomberg)

AIG chief executive Liddy to step down

American International Group (AIG) said last night that chief executive Edward Liddy plans to step down, signalling the end to a short and tumultuous tenure running the government-rescued insurer.

Mr Liddy (63), named chief executive of AIG within hours of the government bailout last September, had always planned for his stay at the company to be temporary. – (Reuters)