ABB sets reserves for acquired liabilities

Swiss-Swedish engineering group ABB has set aside a US$430mn reserve to cover mounting asbestos claims, inherited with acquisition of Combustion Engineering in 1990. Although Combustion was sold on to Alstom in 1999, ABB retained the asbestos liabilities, which date back to the 1960s and 1970s when asbestos was used in the construction of power stations.