Pearman had a shock when they opened the pages of their Royal Gazette on October 7 and discovered they had both applied to incorporate a company with the same name.

There, lying side-by-side on the same page of the legal notices section, were separate advertisements -- virtually identical in content -- announcing an application to form an exempted holding company called China Brewery Holdings Ltd.

"I was extremely surprised, to say the least, to see the other advert,'' said a lawyer for AS&K.

"I'm not completely sure what happened but I believe it was just a remarkable coincidence. The same name was approved by different clients of each firm.'' She said that AS&K's application for China Brewery Holdings had apparently been submitted first and said the company had officially been incorporated by the Government's Registrar of Companies.

This would mean that CD&P would have had to change the name of their proposed firm in order to get it incorporated.

However, Business Diary could not confirm this relatively straightforward piece of information with CD&P.

The lawyer handling the incorporation for CD&P, seemingly taking her vows of client confidentiality to the extreme, would not comment on the matter, refusing even to acknowledge the very existence of the coincidence.

* * * FLY BRITISH Airways announced on Friday that it was introducing a trial ban on smoking on some of the world's longest flights -- up to 24 hours from Britain to Australia and New Zealand.

The trial, which begins on January 1, 1994, reflected falling demand for smoking seats, said a BA spokesman.

"It's an obvious trend. We're not trying to lead it, we're trying to reflect it,'' he said. "We will see what the passengers say about it.'' Smokers will have to last up to 111 hours until reaching Bangkok before they can light up, and another nine hours before they reach Sydney, where even the airports are non-smoking.

The non-smoking trial will apply on all BA flights from Britain to Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth and Auckland via both Singapore and Bangkok. It will become permanent if passenger response warrants it.

BA has already introduced smoking bans on European flights shorter than 90 minutes and has banned smoking on flights to California at certain times.

* * * FLY A NO-FRILLS airline plans to offer round-trip fares as low as $78 between Atlanta and cities in four southern states, prompted Delta Air Lines on Friday to lower some fares at its hub airport in Atlanta.

ValuJet Airlines, to be based in Atlanta, plans to offer two daily flights from Hartsfield Atlanta International Airport to Tampa, Florida. and one each to Orlando and Jacksonville starting on October 26.

The airline plans to add Louisville, Kentucky, and Fort Lauderdale in November and New Orleans and Memphis in December.

Aimed at travellers unwilling to pay higher fares, ValuJet is employing a strategy similar to other new airlines that keep overheads low to allow them to offer cheap fares.

Tickets will be on offer from $78 to $178, depending how far in advance they are purchased.

The carrier will offer minimal amenities. Seating will be first-come, first-served, only snacks and sodas will be served and employee dress will be casual.

Delta will charge $78 for a round-trip between Atlanta and Fort Lauderdale, Jacksonville, Orlando and Tampa between October 30 and November 21, 1993, for 14-day advance purchases. The advance-purchase fare goes up to $138 round trip between November 22 and December 15, 1993. For a $178 round-trip until Decmber 15, the airline does not require advance purchase.