DaimlerChrysler acknowledged for the first time on Wednesday it is talking with prospective buyers of its loss-making Chrysler unit, but it did not commit itself to a sale of the US business.

"I can confirm that we are talking with some of the potential partners who have shown a clear interest," Chief Executive Dieter Zetsche told the annual meeting of the world's fifth-biggest carmaker.

"But it is also true that we need to keep all options open, and that I cannot disclose any details, because we need to have the maximum scope for manoeuvre," he said.

"So far I am satisfied with the process. Everything is going according to plan." But critical shareholders wanted action.

"If Chrysler is finally led before the divorce court judge, we would be very grateful. But what happens if you don't find a new bridegroom or if he demands an inappropriately high dowry," asked Henning Gebhardt, head of German equities for Deutsche Bank fund managment arm DWS.

Deutsche Bank has a voting stake of around 4.4 percent in DaimlerChrysler.

Hans-Richard Schmitz, representing shareholder activist group DSW, told Zetsche a Chrysler sale was pressing to ensure DaimlerChrysler did not itself become a takeover target.

"You can do the job yourself or a financial investor will come along and do the job for you," he said.

DaimlerChrysler stock eased 0.3 percent to 61.84 euros while the DJ Stoxx European car sector index was up 0.3 percent.

Prospects of a deal that would reduce the group's exposure to Chrysler's volatile earnings have helped the stock outperform the index by 10 percent so far this year.

Selling Chrysler would unwind the spectacular 1998 merger of Daimler-Benz and Chrysler that never lived up to its billing by former Chief Executive Juergen Schrempp as a marriage made in car heaven.

Despite the recent surge, the stock trades around 14 percent below the level where it made its market debut in November 1998.

The company did not reveal who had expressed interest in Chrysler since DaimlerChrysler first said in mid-February it was examining all options for the US business.

Waiting in the wings: Sources close to the situation have told Reuters that private equity groups Cerberus Capital Management and The Blackstone Group plus Canadian car parts group Magna International Inc are front runners to buy Chrysler.

The Detroit News paper said Cerberus, Blackstone and Magna had submitted formal offers and that DaimlerChrysler was expected to choose one bidder for exclusive negotiations by the end of April, hoping to get around $8 billion for Chrysler.

DaimlerChrysler reiterated its forecast for a significant increase in group profitability through 2009.

Chrysler will absorb restructuring charges of up to 1 billion euros ($1.33 billion) in 2007, but its loss from operating activities is expected to be less than in 2006, when it lost 1.12 billion euros, the company has said in the past.

Its restructuring plan will cut 13,000 jobs and close a plant as it tries to return to profit by 2008.

Consumers' shift to fuel-thrifty cars amid high pump prices hit Chrysler, the most reliant of the Detroit carmakers on light trucks and sport utility vehicles for profits.

Its US sales fell 8 percent in March when adjusted for selling days, and first-quarter sales were off 6.9 percent.

South Korea's benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose by 19.66 points to a record high of 1,483.41 on Wednesday.

The volume of the KOSPI was moderate at 347.3 million shares worth 4.49 trillion won (4.79 billion U.S. dollars).

The rises are mainly driven by foreign investors' buying of tech and financial shares on overnight rallies in U.S. markets, analysts said.

On Wednesday, tech shares led the market's advance. Industry leader Samsung Electronics increased by 3.66 percent to 595,000 won on reports that its business will likely improve thanks to a rebound in computer memory chips. The Hynix Semiconductor also rose 2.11 percent to 33,800 won.

The local currency closed at 936.3 won to one U.S. dollar, up 0.4 won from Tuesday's close.

Croatia's direct economic benefit, depending on the pipeline's capacity, is expected to range between 1.3 and 2.2 billion U.S. dollars, and Croatia's investments in the project would range from550 to 980 million U.S. dollars, Sanader said.

The project would also significantly reduce oil tanker transport in the Adriatic, the prime minister added.

The PEOP, estimated to be some 1,856 kilometers long, will connect the Romanian port of Constanta and Trieste in Italy, running through Romania, Serbia, Croatia and Slovenia to the Trans-Alpine Line oil pipeline near Trieste.

The pipeline is expected to be put into operation between 2011 and 2013. It would effectively cut down on the number of oil tankers in the Turkish straits and Northern Adriatic.

The total cost of the PEOP project is estimated at 2.62 billion U.S. dollars if the pipeline's annual capacity is 60 million tons, or 3.96 billion U.S. dollars if its annual capacity is 90 million tons.

The declaration was signed at a forum on energy security, held in Zagreb as part of Croatia's presidency of the Southeast European Cooperation Process, a regional and non-institutionalized process coordinated by the presiding country.

European Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs, who also signed the declaration, said that global oil demand was expected to increase by 41 percent in the next 25 years, which underlined the importance of building necessary infrastructure linking markets with oil-rich regions.

The signing of the declaration was also welcomed by officials from other signatory countries, who cited the stability of oil supply from the Caspian region and possibilities of regional development as the main advantages of the project.

Slovenian Economy Minister Andrej Vizjak said the declaration should not be binding, but convey good political will.

"If the project is approved by experts, Slovenia will support it in view of the common energy policy," said Vizjak.

Several Chinese consumers have decided to file a collective lawsuit against HP China because of the frequent failures of the company's LaserJet 3330 printer.

According to chinese media, beginning in 2004, more and more consumers have reported about the quality problems and design defects of HP's LaserJet 3330 printer, but HP has never given a definite answer on how it plans to solve the problems. As most of the users of this type of printer are companies, they don't worry much about the failure, but some individual consumers can't stand the frequent issues any more and they have decided to sue HP China. Local media have neither reported in which court the plaintiffs plan to file their case nor the exact amount of damages they are seeking.

A representative from HP China says that HP China has asked consumers to dial their free telephone hotline to report and solve the problem, but they don't say if there is any design problem with the printer. HP China also also has no plans now to recall the product.

This particular printer was made in 2003 and its production was stopped in 2004. In response to reports of the printer's scanning problem at that time, HP prolonged the maintenance period for one more year and in 2005 it offered a special exchange policy for this product.

Apple could face significant fines if found in violation of EU antitrust laws. The company has two months to respond to a letter from the European Commission containing questions about its iTunes sales practice in Europe. Last year, France passed legislation allowing French regulators to force Apple to make its iPod player compatible with songs downloaded from other Internet music stores, and downloads from its iTunes service compatible with other players. Similar legislation has been proposed in Britain, Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Poland.

TGV builder Alstom Transports and the state-run rail company SNCF said the 30 million euro project was aimed at boosting customer interest in France's high-speed technology.

"It is important for us to show that the TGV technology, developed by SNCF 30 years ago, is a technology of the future," CEO Guillaume Pepy said.

Germany's ICE trains and Japan's Shinkansen - the TGV's main competitors - develop a maximum speed of 267 miles per hour and 249 miles per hour, respectively.

Japan's non-conventional magnetically levitated Maglev train can accelerate to 361 miles per hour.

UK financial regulators on Wednesday gave the first official recognition of intensifying City concern about the impact some overseas listings are having on the standards and reputation of London.

The Financial Services Authority said it will canvass opinions in the City about how to clarify the regulations to make clear whether companies have chosen light-touch listing methods, which can offer investors less protection. It said it was calling for formal debate about the balance between attracting new flotations and maintaining quality.

The decision comes a day after John Thain, chief executive head of the newly merged NYSE Euronext exchange group, took a thinly veiled swipe at the London Stock Exchange, criticising corporate governance and inadequate protection for minority investors offered by some Russian companies. There has been a steady flow of Russian and Kazakh companies seeking to raise capital in London.