French company AIR LIQUIDE and British group BOC have decided to merge the activities of their Japanese subsidiaries within a new group called JAPAN AIR GASES. Following this merger, AIR LIQUIDE JAPON and OSK - OSAKA SANSO KOGYO, the subsidiary of BOC, will control 55% and 45% respectively of the new company with an annual turnover to the tune of YEN 138 bn and will become the number two or three in Japan's natural gas sector.