Jarvis has said it will honour all existing contracts.Jarvis has a major disposal programme under way. It is thought the figure is in the low single-digit millions.Michael Morris, an analyst at Arbuthnot Securities, said: "By and large, UPP is new build. The problems have come in the refurbishment contracts."Accommodation services lies at the heart of the financial crisis at Jarvis.However, most of the problems have been caused by the schools part of the accommodation business, which is refurbishment work.The Jarvis schools contracts have been hit by poor bidding, over-runs and unexpected snags, such as discovering asbestos during the course of projects. That uncertainty has curbed France Telecom's recent share price performance..

Jarvis, the troubled construction and engineering group, has sold off its bidding team for building and maintaining university accomodation. France is selling up to 12.1 per cent of France Telecom in Europe's largest share placement in four years, bringing as much as €5.75bn (£3.9bn) into state coffers as it strives to cut national debt. "We want to expand, and if they wish to sell, we'd think about doing it that way," a spokeswoman for B&Q said.. In June, the world's biggest DIY retailer, Home Depot, revealed it was planning an aggressive push into China.PriceSmart, run by a Chinese licensee, has struggled operationally and may look to sell its stores, it emerged yesterday.

The government's abandonment of Communist housing principles and the embracing of private ownership has sparked a boom in the country's nascent home improvement market, helping B&Q's Chinese arm to report its first profit earlier this year.Although PriceSmart operates hypermarkets rather than DIY stores, buying its sites could catapult B&Q to an unassailable position just as foreign interest in China is growing. The Americans have a large number of military personnel in neighbouring Chad.. Kingfisher is considering almost doubling the size of its DIY chain in China with the acquisition of a rival US retailer. It's more of a political will issue."General Wald, who is part of the Pentagon's strategic training staff, added that US European Command has provided an adviser to the AU monitors, and may provide further assistance. The AU force, which could be boosted from 300 to 3,000 troops is technically for monitoring a ceasefire between the rebels and the Arab militias known as the Janjaweed But it is not a peacekeeping force. One hundred thousand people have fled across the border into Chad.Britain has declined to send troops to Sudan - which would not be welcome in any case, according to Khartoum - and is letting the African Union (AU) take the lead in putting together a force that would serve as a deterrent against further atrocities.Mr Annan stressed that the Sudanese government was responsible for maintaining security in Darfur. "Most of the targeted violence resulted from a scorched-earth policy which was adopted by armed militias," Mr Annan said.