SYDNEY--12 Jan--AsiaNet/InfoQuestROYAL REQUEST... NEW YORK: The Natural Sapphire Company was contacted on January 9th by agentleman from the United Kingdom who was inquiring about an extremely fineblue sapphire. The unidentified caller specifically questioned if the sapphirewould be fit for 'a royal engagement.' http://www.TheNaturalSapphireCompany.com INVESTMENT PROMOTION... BERLIN: The federal government Friday announced the merger of the twoagencies "IIC - The New German Laender Industrial Investment Council GmbH" and"Invest in Germany GmbH." The new organization's name is "Invest in Germany"whose mission is to promote Germany as location for business, investment, andtechnology and to actively identify business opportunities for internationalinvestors. http://www.invest-in-germany.com http://www.iic.de NEW BUSINESS... IRVINE, Calif.: VXI Technology (VTI) Thursday announced the formation of anew business unit focusing on the design and fabrication of custom RF/Microwaveassemblies. http://www.VTIMicrowave.com ACTIVE RFID... MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.: Savi Technology, a provider of active Radio FrequencyIdentification (RFID)-based supply chain solutions, Friday announced the firstseven companies that have licensed its active RFID technology, signaling amaturing market for the RFID industry. http://www.savi.com TOP HONORS... NEW YORK: Omnicom Group agencies TBWA and Goodby, Silverstein & Partnerstook Global Agency of the Year and U.S. Agency of the Year honors respectivelyin Adweek's annual Agency of the Year ranking. http://www.omnicomgroup.com FANNIE MAE... WASHINGTON, D.C.: Fannie Mae will redeem the principal amount of threesecurities issues amounting to a total of US$80 million on Jan 21, 2007 at aredemption price equal to 100 percent of the principal amount redeemed plusaccrued interest. http://www.fanniemae.com NIGERIA LICENSES... ABUJA: In a bilateral agreement, as part of a broader development ofeconomic relations between Nigeria and the United Arab Emirates, the NigerianGovernment has agreed to licence spectrum in the 1800MHz and 900MHz bands tothe Mubadala Development Company of the United Arab Emirates. http://www.ncc.gov.ng http://www.paconsulting.com COMPTEL PICKED... HELSINKI: Comptel Corporation, the leading Operational Support System (OSS)software vendor for convergent mediation, charging, provisioning and networkinventory, Thursday announced that Macau's CTM, a joint venture of Cable&Wireless, Portugal Telecom and CITIC Pacific, has chosen Comptel'sProvisioning Solution to support its 3G service. http://www.comptel.com http://www.ctm.net JAPAN PRIZE... TOKYO: The Science and Technology Foundation of Japan Thursday announced thenames of three laureates for the 2007 (23rd) Japan Prize. http://www.japanprize.jp/English.htm (AsiaNet is a consortium of leading news agencies distributing unedited,translated news releases for worldwide clients. Visit www.asianetnews.net forfull-text versions.)