Merge-Santo: New Threat to Food Sovereignty

http://www.etcgroup.org/content/merge-santo-new-threat-food-sovereignty

A briefing by the ETC Group

As ETC first warned in May[i] last year and again in February[ii] this year, the pressure of two mergers among the Big Six Gene Giants would make a third merger inevitable. In the last few days the business media have reported that Monsanto is in separate talks with Bayer and BASF – the two German giants among agricultural input companies. While anti-competition regulators are fussing about the hook up of DuPont with Dow and of Syngenta with Chem China, Monsanto urgently needs to make a match. They hope that if regulators let the other two deals go through, they won’t be able to deny Monsanto a chance to even the score.

If the companies get their way, the first links in the industrial food chain (seeds, pesticides) will be in the hands of just three companies. If the marriages of DuPont-Dow and Syngenta–Chem China go through and Monsanto merges with Bayer’s Agricultural division, the three will control more than 65% of global pesticide sales and almost 61% of commercial seed sales. If Monsanto and BASF strike a deal instead, the Titanic Three will still have almost 61% of pesticides and more than 57% of seeds (see chart below).

Either way, a fourth move will be inevitable. Whichever company is left at the altar (Bayer or BASF) will have to buy or sell since it won’t have the clout to take on the Three. Either could prove irresistible for Deere & Co. or one of the other huge farm machinery companies that are in the best position to ultimately dominate all on-farm related agricultural inputs from seeds and pesticides to fertilizers, machinery, data and insurance.

La venta de Syngenta: Los chinos ganan, Monsanto pierde

http://www.agenciaecologista.info/editoriales/1001-la-venta-
de-syngenta-los-chinos-ganan-monsanto-pierde

Por Carmelo Ruiz Marrero

El pasado jueves 4 de febrero la corporación de biotecnología y agronegocios europea Syngenta aceptó una oferta de compra de la empresa estatal china ChemChina. Con esta transacción los chinos se han apropiado de 20% del mercado mundial de agroquímicos. Esta venta es mala noticia para la compañía norteamericana Monsanto, la cual tenía cifradas sus esperanzas en comprar a Syngenta.

Pero la contienda entre Monsanto y los chinos no ha terminado. Todavía el matrimonio entre Syngenta y ChemChina necesita de la bendición del gobierno de Estados Unidos. Pero, ¿Acaso eso no sería una intromisión extraterritorial de Washington en un asunto que concierne estrictamente a Europa y China? Es que para poder hacer negocios en EEUU, esta nueva combinación corporativa necesita la aprobación de la división antimonopolista del Departamento de Justicia. Si ésta determina que constituye un monopolio por representar demasiada concentración de mercado, entonces la unión de ambas corporaciones tendrá que ser anulada, porque Estados Unidos es el mercado número uno de pesticidas en el mundo y sin ese mercado una compañía transnacional de pesticidas no tiene razón de ser.

Monsanto sufre revés empresarial, comentario por Carmelo Ruiz Marrero

El pasado jueves 4 de febrero la corporación de biotecnología y agronegocios europea Syngenta aceptó una oferta de compra de la empresa estatal china ChemChina. Con esta transacción los chinos se han apropiado de 20% del mercado mundial de agrotóxicos.

Carta abierta al pueblo de China y al presidente Xi Jin-ping sobre la compra de Syngenta

http://www.biodiversidadla.org/Principal/Secciones/Campanas_y_Acciones/Carta_
abierta_al_pueblo_de_China_y_al_presidente_Xi_Jin-ping_sobre_la_compra_de_Syngenta

"Estamos preocupados por esta adquisición ya que Syngenta Corporation es la mayor fabricante de productos agroquímicosaltamente peligrosos del mundo, incluyendo los agrotoxicos atrazina y paraquat. Muchos científicos, incluyendo un número de investigadores chinos, están cada vez más preocupados por el herbicida atrazina (conocido como "Xiu qu jin" en China), debido a su impacto en la salud humana y los ecosistemas."

Quienes quieran adherirse a la misma, pueden enviar un mensaje a Grupo de soberanía alimentaria Com-sobalimentaria@rio20.net

"Los abajo firmantes, representantes de organizaciones de la sociedad civil transmitimos nuestras preocupaciones y expresamos nuestra oposición a lo que sería la mayor adquisición por parte de una empresa china hasta la fecha. Nos referimos a la adquisición de ChemChina a la empresa suiza Syngenta por 43 mil millones de dólares (RMB 300 mil millones) en febrero de 2016. Estamos preocupados por esta adquisición ya que Syngenta Corporation es la mayor fabricante de productos agroquímicosaltamente peligrosos del mundo, incluyendo los agrotoxicos atrazina y paraquat.

Muchos científicos, incluyendo un número de investigadores chinos, están cada vez más preocupados por el herbicida atrazina (conocido como "Xiu qu jin" en China), debido a su impacto en la salud humana y los ecosistemas. Se trata de un conocido "disruptor endocrino" que puede dañar los sistemas reproductivos y aumentar el riesgo de los ciertos cánceres. En 2005 se prohibió la atrazina en la Unión Europea. Al momento hay más de 600 productos herbicidas que contienen atrazina registrados en la China."

Para acceder a la carta abierta (PDF) haga clic en el enlace a continuación y descargue el archivo:

Carta abierta al pueblo de China y al presidente Xi Jin-ping sobre la compra de Syngenta

The spurning of Monsanto, tip of the iceberg?

http://foodfirst.org/the-spurning-of-monsanto-tip-of-the-iceberg/

By Carmelo Ruiz

The US-based agrochemical corporation, a world leader in the plant biotechnology and seed sectors, had pinned its hopes on buying Syngenta and was not counting on the Chinese government stepping in with a higher bid. It is no secret that Monsanto is having a hard time. At the end of 2015 it fired 2,600 employees and announced 1,000 more layoffs this year—16% of the company’s workforce. (2)

Since 2000, Monsanto has based its business model on an extremely simple product line, selling genetically modified (GM) seeds (mostly corn and soy) that have been engineered to tolerate their trademark Roundup herbicide. These seeds, known as Roundup Ready, sold along with the herbicide, became one of the biggest agribusiness success stories of all time. But this business model is fast becoming more of a liability than an asset. Quite predictably, weeds are developing resistance (3), and evidence of Roundup’s toxicity is becoming ever harder to discredit and deny.(4) Monsanto is trying to extricate itself from the Roundup Ready wreckage.

Syngenta Megamerger Must Be Blocked, by Wenonah Hauter

TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE:
http://ecowatch.com/2016/02/03/syngenta-merger/

The proposed takeover of Swiss agrochemical company Syngenta by China National Chemical Corporation would accelerate the hyper-consolidation in the global seed and agrochemical market.

The move by the state-owned ChemChina comes on the heels of last year’s announced megamerger between DuPont and Dow Chemical—a deal that would leave only three firms controlling more than three-quarters of the corn and 80 percent of the soybean seeds in America. Today’s deal dwarfs the takeover of formerly U.S.-owned Smithfield by WH Group in 2013. The Department of Justice and antitrust authorities of governments across the world must act to block these seed megamergers.

Sino-Genta?

http://etcgroup.org/content/sino-genta

For more background, see ETC Group’s recent report: Breaking Bad: Big Ag Mega-Mergers in Play [1]

For a decade, six multinationals have controlled 75% of the world’s high-tech seeds and pesticides businesses. Late last year, Dow and DuPontagreed to merge and now state-owned ChemChina is buyingSyngenta for $43 billion. This means that Monsanto needs a merger to stay in the game. Or, is the game about to be called?

If regulators allow these two mergers to go through – and that’s by no means certain – then the Big Six will become a Fat Five: Dow-DuPont’s agribusiness spinoff (“Deep Doodoo”?) will lead the pack, followed by ChemChina – already #7 in global pesticides – and Syngenta, which is #1 in pesticides and # 3 in seeds (“Sino-genta”?). That leaves Monsanto in third position trailed by Bayer and BASF.  Monsanto was repeatedly rebuffed by Syngenta, but it desperately needs to step up its pesticides game. Either one or both of Bayer and BASF could spin off their agricultural interests to Monsanto or one of the German Giants might put Monsanto out of its misery with a takeover. Another possibility is that one of the three huge farm machinery companies – most likely Deere & Company – rolls in and digs Monsanto out of its hole (“Demonsanto”?) because of synergies in their Big Data agricultural technologies. Business as usual is not an option.

La desesperación de Monsanto

http://www.culturacomun.com/2016/02/por-carmelo-ruiz-marrero-la-corporacion.html

Por Carmelo Ruiz Marrero

La corporación estadounidense Monsanto, mayor semillera y compañía de biotecnología agrícola del mundo, está en una situación desesperante. Terminó el 2015 botando a la calle a unos 2,600 empleados, y en enero de 2016 anunció que botaría a mil más. Esto equivale a 16% de su fuerza laboral. Según el International Business Times, esta drástica reducción de personal obedece a una reestructuración que aspira a ahorrarle a la compañía $500 millones para el fin del año fiscal 2018.

Fundada en 1901 originalmente como una compañía dedicada a la química, Monsanto comenzó a apostarle en grande a la biotecnología transgénica y al negocio de las semillas a fines del siglo XX. En los años 80 y 90 devoró numerosas compañías agrícolas y de genética como Asgrow, Calgene, Dekalb y Holden, y en 2000 se reorganizó, redefiniéndose como una empresa de “ciencias de la vida”. En 2005 se convirtió en la semillera número uno del mundo al comprar el conglomerado mexicano Seminis.

La mayor parte de sus semillas transgénicas son genéticamente modificadas para tolerar su propio herbicida basado en glifosato, el Roundup, haciendo posible así vender la semilla y el agroquímico como un paquete tecnológico integrado. Estos cultivos transgénicos de Monsanto se conocen como Roundup Ready. La combinación de semillas transgénicas y herbicida ha resultado ser una de las historias de éxito empresarial más impresionantes de la historia reciente de la agricultura, pero ésta va en vertiginosa zozobra, poniendo en jaque el futuro de la compañía.

ChinaChem to takeover Syngenta - Greenpeace statement

http://www.greenpeace.org/eastasia/press/releases/food-agriculture/
2016/ChinaChem-to-takeover-Syngenta---Greenpeace-statement/

“The proposed takeover of Syngenta by ChemChina – a state owned Fortune 500 company – is another indication that Big Agribusiness is in turmoil. The continuing concentration of corporate power in the agricultural sector will lead to increased dependencies of farmers on just a handful of global players. The current system of industrial agriculture, promoted by big corporations puts profit over people and undermines the farmers’ freedom to choose what they grow and how.”

Zhang Jing, Food and Agriculture Campaigner at Greenpeace East Asia Beijing Office, said: “The industrial agricultural system is based on large-scale monocultures, GE-crops and giant inputs of fertilisers and pesticides. It leads to severe environmental damage and degradation all over the world, putting our food diversity and food security at risk.”

Carmelo Ruiz: Syngenta and the Chinese factor

http://www.counterpunch.org/2016/01/28/syngenta-and-the-chinese-factor/

The much-talked about Monsanto-Syngenta merger is likely but not inevitable. Monsanto began 2016 with its third buyout offer to the European corporation in less than a year. Syngenta’s management announced it will not decide on Monsanto’s latest bid right away because it is considering other offers. In a conference in Switzerland in mid-January, company chairman Michael Demare said it is evaluating proposals from German companies BASF and Bayer, which are also world leaders in the agricultural biotech and pesticide sectors, and from ChemChina.

Although not very well known in North America and Europe, the Chinese state-owned ChemChina is one mammoth of a corporation. With $45.6 billion in annual revenues and some 140,000 employees, it ranks 265th in the Fortune 500 index.

Syngenta accepts ChemChina bid, bad news for Monsanto

http://usa.chinadaily.com.cn/business/2016-02/03/content_23377697.htm

China National Chemical Corp acquires Syngenta AG

State-owned China National Chemical Corp offered Swiss agrochemical and seed producer Syngenta AG more than $43 billion to acquire its entire stake, making it the biggest acquisition deal by a Chinese company.

Monsanto is dead, long live Monsanto

By Carmelo Ruiz

The much-detested Monsanto biotechnology corporation will likely change its name this year following its imminent merger with its European counterpart Syngenta. Such a merger would beget an unprecedented behemoth that would control 45% of the world commercial seed market and 30% of the global agrochemical sector.(1)

The US-based Monsanto, which began in 1901 as a chemical company, is currently the world’s largest seed company, with some 26% of the world market. In the 1970s Monsanto invented the systemic herbicide glyphosate. Sold by the company under the brand name Roundup, it is the most lucrative agricultural poison in history. This company dominates the world market for genetically modified (GM) seed, trouncing its competitors by a broad margin. The majority of its GM seeds have been modified to tolerate being sprayed with glyphosate, and are thus called Roundup Ready seeds. This particular use of GM technology allows Monsanto to sell the seed and the herbicide as one integrated package. 

TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE:

http://www.gmwatch.org/2016-articles/16654-monsanto-is-dead-long-live-monsanto

Syngenta In Play: Who Will Win the Prize?

Last year, Syngenta’s then management board rejected a $47 billion takeover attempt by Monsanto. And while the St. Louis, MO-based manufacturer of Roundup is still attempting to engage Syngenta, various reports indicate that the Swiss company is inching closer to a deal with China National Chemical Corp. (ChemChina). According to one business report, a formal agreement between these two companies could be in place within the next few weeks. However, other reports say that one group of Syngenta shareholders remains opposed to any deal with ChemChina.

Source:
http://www.croplife.com/editorial/syngenta-in-play-who-will-win-the-prize/

Canibalismo corporativo: lo que sigue

http://www.jornada.unam.mx/2015/12/26/opinion/021a1eco

Por Silvia Ribeiro

La fusión entre Monsanto y Syngenta, dos de las más grandes y combatidas empresas de semillas transgénicas y agrotóxicos a escala mundial, parecía una mala fantasía. Hoy es probable y sólo una de las fusiones espectaculares que están ocurriendo. Aunque Syngenta rechazó por segunda vez a Monsanto –quiere más dinero–, otras dos gigantes, DuPont (dueña de Pioneer) y Dow Chemicals, acordaron apenas hace unos días fusionarse. Monsanto sigue intentando con Syngenta. Es apenas un rincón del escenario: los planes de las corporaciones van más allá, en pos de controlar sectores claves y cada vez más grandes de la producción agroalimentaria.

En 1981, el Grupo ETC (entonces llamado RAFI) denunció que las empresas de agroquímicos estaban comprando las semilleras y que su objetivo era desarrollar cultivos que toleraran los tóxicos de las propias empresas, para crear dependencia de los agricultores y vender más veneno, su negocio más lucrativo. Nos llamaron alarmistas, dijeron que tal tecnología nunca iba a existir; hasta que en 1995 la industria comenzó a plantar transgénicos: exactamente ese tipo de semilla.

En ese entonces había en el mundo más de 7 mil empresas que producían semillas comerciales, la mayoría familiares, y ninguna controlaba más de uno por ciento del mercado; 34 años después, seis trasnacionales controlan 63 por ciento del mercado global de semillas y 75 por ciento del mercado global de agrotóxicos. Monsanto, Syngenta, DuPont, Dow, Bayer y Basf, todas originalmente fabricantes de veneno, son las seis gigantes que controlan agrotóxicos, semillas y 100 por ciento de los transgénicos agrícolas, expresión de la fusión de ambos negocios. Como casi no quedan empresas, se dedican ahora al canibalismo. Syngenta es la más grande productora de agrotóxicos a escala global, por lo que hasta la empresa china de agrotóxicos, ChemChina, ofertó por ella, pero no le llegó al precio.

Reuters: Syngenta Weighing Options With ChemChina, Monsanto, Other Corps

http://www.ibtimes.com/syngenta-weighing-options-chemchina-
monsanto-other-agrichemicals-groups-chairman-says-2264489

EXCERPT:

Syngenta is in talks about a possible merger and is weighing a number of options, the Swiss agrichemicals group's chairman said on Wednesday.

Michel Demare said last month that the crop chemicals and seeds company was in talks with China's state-owned ChemChina, U.S. seeds giant Monsanto and others.

When asked about the prospect of Syngenta possibly becoming a Chinese company, Demare said: "We are at a stage where we are looking at different combinations. I'm just saying it's one of them. Everybody has spoken to each other."

ChemChina, which is being advised by HSBC, is seeking a loan package by several large Western banks to fund a possible Syngenta takeover deal, which later may be refinanced by Chinese banks, several sources familiar with the matter said.

A takeover of Syngenta by ChemChina would underpin an effort by the Chinese government to boost farming productivity, as it seeks to cut reliance on food imports amid limited farm land, a growing population and higher meat consumption.

ChemChina has a 5 percent share of the global crop chemicals market through its ownership of Israeli generic pesticides maker Adama.

Breaking Bad: Big Ag Mega-Mergers in Play

http://www.etcgroup.org/content/breaking-bad-big-ag-mega-mergers-play

A report by the ETC Group

December 2015. In this new report, ETC Group examines corporate consolidation in four agricultural input sectors: seeds, pesticides, chemical fertilizers and farm equipment. With combined annual revenue of $385 billion, these companies call the shots. Who will dominate the industrial food chain? And what does it mean for farmers, food sovereignty and climate justice?

Issue

The Big Six agrochemical corporations (BASF, Bayer, Dow, DuPont, Monsanto, Syngenta) that dominate commercial seed and pesticide markets worldwide now insist they must get bigger, faster if the world wants food security in the midst of climate chaos. According to agribusiness, the extreme pressures of population, demand for meat, and climate crisis require Big Science and Big Money – and that means extreme Mergers all along the industrial food chain.

At Stake

The fate of the six dominant pesticide and seed companies (and their $93 billion market) is in play. For all the talk of “Climate-Smart Agriculture,” their R&D strategies are collapsing and, among them, there are more sellers than buyers. Simultaneously, the much bigger ($175 billion market) greenhouse gas-intensive fertilizer industry is caught in the headlights of climate change negotiators and is wrapping itself in the mantle of Climate-Smart Agriculture to protect its assets. The four companies that control 56% of the $116 billion farm machinery industry already have the robotics hardware; are acquiring the software (Big Data, satellite surveillance) technologies; and are thinking about adding the bio-based software (seeds and pesticides) to their shopping cart. It’s too soon to tell which companies or sector will become the one-stop shop for farm inputs – but farm machinery, seeds, fertilizers and chemicals are now linked like never before. Monsanto collaborates with the world’s three biggest farm equipment companies (Deere & Co, CNH Industrial, AGCO). Deere has strategic alliances with five of the Big Six companies. Ultimately, the company that controls the data on soil, historical weather and crop yield, as well as the Big Box robot that deposits the seeds, pesticides and fertilizers will be the company that can gain most from crop insurance contracts that increasingly dictate inputs to the farmer. In the short term, the big shifts will likely be among the existing seed and pesticide enterprises, but even in the mid-term, watch out for the muck and machinery majors to rule the roost.

Monsanto/Syngenta: From Gene Giants to Agribehemoths

http://www.etcgroup.org/content/monsantosyngenta-gene-giants-agribehemoths

A proposed merger of seed and pesticide conglomerates portends a new level of monopoly over the first link in the global food chain

Maíz GM de Syngenta rechazado en México. Boletín N° 590 de la RALLT

http://www.biodiversidadla.org/Principal/Otros_Recursos/Boletin_de_la_Red_por_una_America_Latina_Libre_de_Transgenicos/Maiz_GM_de_Syngenta_rechazado_en_Mexico._Boletin_N_590_de_la_RALLT



RED POR UNA AMÉRICA LATINA LIBRE DE TRANSGÉNICOS

BOLETÍN 590

La causa para erradicar la siembra de maíz transgénico en México tuvo una victoria significativa, luego que los magistrados del Décimo Tribunal Colegiado en Materia Civil negaron de forma unánime el amparo promovido por la transnacional de origen suizo, Syngenta, que buscaba terminar con la prohibición judicial al cultivo del grano genéticamente modificado.

Contenido

PROHÍBEN A EMPRESA TRANSNACIONAL CULTIVAR MAÍZ TRANSGÉNICO EN MÉXICO

VICTORIA PARA LA SALUD MUNDIAL: MÉXICO PROHÍBE LA SIEMBRA DE MAÍZ TRANSGÉNICO

Multimedia:

VÍDEO: MANEJO DE MAÍCES NATIVOS DE GUATEMALA, RESISTENTES A LA CANÍCULA.

Syngenta facing dozens of lawsuits over GMO seed

http://www.thonline.com/news/iowa-illinois-wisconsin/article_
fcfbdd88-9297-5b5e-891d-40facd993b9f.html

Tuesday, November 18, 2014
Associated Press |

DES MOINES -- Agrochemicals giant Syngenta is facing a growing number of lawsuits challenging its release of a genetically modified corn seed that China had not approved for import, with losses to farmers estimated to be at least $1 billion.

More than 50 lawsuits have been filed in 11 major corn-growing states, including Illinois, Iowa, Missouri and Nebraska with hundreds more being prepared. Some suits are from farmers represented by individual attorneys, others are class-action lawsuits representing hundreds more.

Syngenta sued for $1 billion over China's rejection of GM corn

On Wednesday, October 15, 2014 5:24 PM, TWN Biosafety Info wrote:

Title : Syngenta Sued for $1 Billion Over China's Rejection of GM Corn
Date : 15 October 2014
 

London, 13 Oct (Mae-Wan Ho*) -- US corn prices plummeted as China rejected all shipments containing traces of Syngenta's MIR162. Farmers from 5 major corn growing states have filed 3 class action lawsuits against Syngenta, claiming damages of more than $1 billion**. 

[** See "Billion-dollar lawsuits claim GMO corn ‘destroyed' US export to China", RT Question More, 6 October 2014,http://rt.com/usa/193612-china-lawsuits-gmo-corn/ . See also ‘Farmers Sue Syngenta'. Chemical & Engineering News, 13 October 2014,http://cen.acs.org/articles/92/i41/Farmers-Sue-Syngenta.html] 

Syngenta released MIR162, trade name Agrisure Vipera, in 2009. It is engineered to make a Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) protein vip3Aa20 toxic to lepidopteran insect pests (butterflies and moths) [Event Name: MIR162, International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-Biotech Applications, accessed 13 October 2014, http://www.isaaa.org/gmapprovaldatabase/event/default.asp? EventID=130], and also has a gene pmi (phosphomannose isomerase) from E. coli to allow positive selection for the transgene. 

It was created with Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated plant transformation, a particularly hazardous vector system that risks further horizontal gene transfer (see ‘Ban GMOs Now', ISIS Special Report available at http://www.i-sis.org.uk/Ban_GMOs_Now.php). 

While MIR162 is approved for use in the US, China has not allowed its import into the country. 

Syngenta is blamed for destroying the export of US corn to China, which led to depressed prices for domestic corn, according to Volnek Farms, the lead plaintiff in the lawsuit filed in Omaha, Nebraska federal court. The two other suits were filed in Iowa and Illinois federal courts. 

None of the farmers involved in the lawsuits planted MIR162 seed in their fields in Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska. But their harvested crop was contaminated with traces of the transgenic trait, and hence unsalable to the Chinese market. 

Although Viptera has been planted on only about 3% of US farm acreage, it is difficult to say for sure "that any shipments of US corn will not be contaminated with trace amounts of MIR162", the Nebraska plaintiff stated. 

The National Grain and Feed Association (NGFA) had encouraged Syngenta to stop selling Viptera, according to the Iowa claim. The NGFA estimated that actions taken in China against US corn have caused prices to drop by 11 cents per bushel. 

The Iowa suit also claims that the release of Syngenta's Viptera caused the US-to-China export market to drop by 85%. Nebraska plaintiffs, too, accuse Syngenta of having crippled the 2013-14 corn export market to China. 

The NGFA reported in April 2014 that China had barred nearly 1.45 million tons of corn shipments since 2013. 

In 2011, Syngenta requested in federal court that a grain elevator firm, Bunge North America, to remove its signs that said it would not accept Vipera corn. The request was denied. 

Concern over the safety of GM food may have played a role in a recent decision by China's officials to move away from GM production. 

In August, China's Ministry of Agriculture announced it would not continue with GM rice and corn ["End of the line: GMO production in China halted", RT Question More, 21 August, 2014, http://rt.com/news/181860-gm-china-rice-stopped/]. 

[* Dr Mae-Wan Ho is the co-founder and director of the Institute of Science in Society (ISIS), an independent, not-for-profit organisation founded in 1999 and dedicated to providing critical public information on cutting-edge science, and to promoting social accountability and ecological sustainability in science. Since 1994, she has been scientific advisor to the Third World Network. This article was first published on the ISIS website and can be found at: http://www.i-sis.org.uk/Syngenta_Sued_for_$1_billion.php] +