Repost article Business Asia Today 12/19/97
-------Start-------------
Business In Asia Today
PR Newswire - December 19, 1997 06:09
%FIN V%PRN P%PRN
Sydney, Dec. 19 /PRNewsire/ -- The following summary
of business in Asia was prepared by Asia Pulse
(http://www.asiapulse.com), the real-time, Asia-based
wire with exclusive news, market intelligence and
business opportunities:
S. KOREAN PESIDENT-ELECT KIM VOWS TO FULFILL IMF ACCORD
SEOUL - South Korean President-elect Kim Dae-jung on Friday
pledged "thorough" implementation of the agreement between the
Korean government and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Giving his first formal press conference as a president-elect,
Kim promised the complete implementation of a market economy,
a bold opening of the market, an active appeal for foreign
investment, and a guarantee of equal treatment to foreign
investors. "The most important thing is to recover and
strengthen international trust and the new government will
shorten the days needed to see rosy prospects again, when we
will no longer need the IMF's bailout funds," he said.
LARGE OILFIELD FOUND IN NORTHWEST CHINA
URUMQI, China - A large oilfield, with oil reserves
estimated at 100 million tons, has been found on the northern
bank of Aydingkol Lake in the Turpan Basin, in northwest
Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. Announcing the discovery,
Xinjiang Turpan-Hami Basins Oil Prospecting and Exploration
Headquarters said that once developed, the new oilfield would
increase Turpan's annual oil production capacity by one
million tons. The basin is expected to pump three million tons
of oil this year.
NIKKEI AVERAGE PLUNGES MORE THAN 900 POINTS IN MORNING
TOKYO - The Nikkei Stock Average tumbled 923.58 points to
15,238.06 at the Friday morning close. The failure of
foodstuff company Toshoku Ltd. announced on Thursday promoted
selling of shares of the company's suppliers along with
financial institutions. In addition to Toshoku's announcement,
a sharp drop on the New York Stock market overnight triggered
selling of shares mainly of contractors and financial
institutions by brokerage firms.
ERICSSON INDONESIA POSTPONES $60 MLN TELECOM PLANT
JAKARTA - PT Ericsson Indonesia has announced it is
delaying the construction of a US$60 million telecommunication
plant in Indonesia, following the currency crisis. PT Ericsson
Indonesia general manager Franky Prionggo said due to the
fluctuating monetary situation, particularly the exchange rate
of the rupiah against the US dollar, "We cannot work out a
clear business plan for next year." As a result, the company
was postponing previously worked-out plans, including the new
project. The plant, to produce software and hardware to access
network and multimedia products, was to be built in the third
quarter of next year.
AUSTRALIAN CO WINS LICENCE TO SEARCH FOR GOLD UNDERWATER
CANBERRA - An Australian company could be the world's first
to strike it rich underwater after securing what are
considered the world's first licences to explore a gold-rich
and newly recognised type of seafloor deposit. Papua New
Guinea's granting of two exploration licences covering more
than 5,000 square kilometres of its territorial waters to the
Nautilus Minerals Corporation Ltd follows a series of
discoveries in the Bismarck Sea, east of PNG, by an
Australian-led team.
S&P DOWNGRADES RATINGS OF FOUR INDONESIAN COMPANIES
JAKARTA - Rating agency Standard & Poor's today lowered the
credit ratings of four Indonesian companies due to problems
caused by depreciation of the rupiah against the US dollar. It
said the credit quality of several rated Indonesian
corporates, particularly their ability to meet short-term debt
obligations, had been weakened by the fall of the rupiah,
coupled with higher interest rates, tight liquidity, and
slackening demand. The four companies are property developer
PT Mulialand, petrochemical companies PT Polytama Propindo and
PT Tri Polyta Indonesia Tbk (TPI), and telecommunications
company PT Datakom Asia.
BANK OF KOREA SECURES $1.3 BLN BRIDGING LOAN FROM JAPAN
SEOUL - The Bank of Korea (BOK) has secured from Japan a
bridging loan amounting to US$1.3 billion. The bridging loan
would tide it over until the $1.3 billion of the International
Monetary Fund (IMF)'s second tranche remittance of $3.5
billion, due to arrive Dec. 19 but postponed until Dec. 22 and
23, reaches Seoul's coffers. The central bank said Friday that
it had signed a currency swap agreement with the Bank of Japan
allowing the funds to be remitted to Seoul on the same day.
PAKISTAN TO LEVY 3PCT GENERAL SALES TAX ON RETAILERS
ISLAMABAD - Pakistani Finance Minister Sartaj Aziz
announced a General Sales Tax of three per cent would be
levied on retailers from February 1, 1998. He said the tax
would be imposed on six items: electronic goods, electric
appliances, auto parts, tyres, sanitary ware and
watches/clocks. The finance minister said he had reached an
agreement in this connection with leaders of the All Pakistan
Traders Union.
AUSTRALIA'S ELTIN LTD SECURES US$98.7 MLN MINING CONTRACT
PERTH - Western Australian mining contractor Eltin Ltd has
secured a $A150 million ($US98.70 million)-plus mining
contract for BHP Iron Ore's orebody 25 project near Newman.
Eltin said today that the four-year contract would commence in
February and involve the mining, processing and train loading
of about seven million tonnes of iron ore annually.
EU LIFTS BAN ON INDIAN SEAFOOD PRODUCTS
NEW DELHI - The European Union has lifted a ban on the
import of Indian seafood products, Indian Commerce Minister Dr
B B Ramaiah said here. A formal notification by the European
Community would be issued shortly, Dr Ramaiah told reporters
here on Thursday. The European Commission banned the import of
Indian marine products in August this year on the grounds of
certain deficiencies in hygiene in some of the fishery units,
which was notified by a team of EU experts who visited India
in June 1997. India exported US$1 billion worth of seafood in
1996/97 (April-March), of which 20 percent went to the EU.
Each day Asia Pulse creates up to 250 items of news,
business opportunities, expert commentary and industry
profiles. Asia Pulse is a unique joint venture involving
the resources of Asia's major news and information groups:
(AAP) - AAP Information Services Pty Ltd (Australia)
(ANTARA) - LKBN ANTARA (Indonesia)
(Bernama) - Bernama (Malaysia)
(Nikkei) - Nihon Keizai Shimbun Inc (Japan)
(ONA) - Oman News Agency (Oman)
(PNA) - Philippines News Agency (Philippines)
(PTI) - The Press Trust of India Ltd (India)
(Yonhap) - Yonhap News Agency (Korea)
(VNA) - Vietnam News Agency (Vietnam)
(XIC) - Xinhua Information Centre (China)
SOURCE: Asia Pulse Pte Ltd.
/CONTACT: Asia Pulse Production Centre, in Sydney Australia,
612-9322-8634 or email, www.apulse.com/
--------End------------ |
