Staff/Wire reports

Cincinnati's Convergys Corp. has completed its first product implementation in China. The billing and customer-care provider has integrated its Infinys activation management software with China Unicom Guangdong's billing software to support new customer-service offerings across 17 different network elements in a number of cities in the Chinese province.

Convergys announced the deal in July. China Unicom Guangdong, China's second-largest wireless provider, is a provincial operator for China Unicom, which has 79.6 million cellular subscribers, 13 million paging customers and 7.6 million Internet subscribers. Convergys opened an office in Beijing in September 2002 and is working with various software billing integrators in China.

Contech acquires Maine company

Middletown's Contech Construction Products Inc. has acquired Vortechnics Inc., a Maine-based supplier of storm-water treatment filters. The purchase price wasn't disclosed. Patrick Harlow, Contech president, said Vortechnics, which employs about 50, has sales of about $16.5 million. Contech, a leading supplier of bridge and highway construction conduit, has been marketing Vortechnics systems since 2002.

2 to be honored with UC awards

Tony Shipley, former president of Entek IRD International Corp., will be honored with the Carl H. Lindner Award for Outstanding Business Achievement at the University of Cincinnati's annual business achievement awards tonight. Shipley is chairman of Queen City Angels, a group of private investors in high-tech companies. Also being honored is Sandy Heimann, vice president at American Financial Corp. and a member of UC's Board of Trustees. She will receive the school's Distinguished Service Award.

Group tries to block Provident purchase

A consumer and civil rights group is trying to block the Federal Reserve Board's approval of National City Corp.'s $2.1 billion purchase of Provident Financial Group Inc., claiming National City is involved in unfair lending practices.

The South Bronx, N.Y.-based Inner City Press - Community on the Move wants the Federal Reserve to review National City's lending patterns before approving the merger, which could come by May or June.

The group has filed an eight-page challenge with the Fed to block National City's application to buy the Cincinnati-based parent of Provident, arguing that, among other things, some of National City's units engage in predatory lending practices against African-American and Latinos seeking mortgages.

Predatory lending can include offering borrowers loans that carry higher interest rates and more fees than traditional home loans.

National City executives said Inner City Press filed a similar complaint against its plans to buy St. Louis-based Allegiant Bancorp, but the Federal Reserve Board approved that deal. National City said Monday that it does not expect Inner City's filing to interrupt the merger process with Provident.

Lindner to be honored for buying Israel bonds

Reds owner Carl Lindner Jr. will be honored by State of Israel Bonds on May 16 at the Hyatt Regency Cincinnati downtown.

Lindner, chairman and chief executive officer of American Financial Group Inc., is the largest non-Jewish purchaser in the United States of bonds issued by Israel, the group said.

For information, call 793-4440.

Lunchtime seminar to address mental illness

The Kentucky Business Leadership Network is hosting a seminar/brown bag luncheon, "Accommodating an Often Hidden Disability: Mental Illness in the Workplace," 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursday at The Gardens of Park Hills, 1622 Dixie Highway, Park Hills.

Box lunches are available for $5.

Registration: Kim Kremer at (859) 371-4410 or www.kybln.org/chapters/nky/forum-reg.htm.