Repost: Business In Asia Today
BT and all, there is one passage about Quantas scaling back due to lack of passengers...
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PR Newswire - January 15, 1998 06:37
Sydney, Jan. 15 /PRNewsire/ -- The following summary
of business in Asia was prepared by Asia Pulse,the
real-time, Asia-based wire with exclusive news, market
intelligence and business opportunities:
EXXON SET TO BUILD AROMATICS PLANT IN THAILAND
BANGKOK - The Exxon Corporation has announced that its
affiliate, the Esso (Thailand) Public Company Limited (ETL),
has finalised plans to invest some $US400 million in a major
aromatics plant at its Sriracha refinery on the east coast of
Thailand. The plant will be fully integrated with the refinery
and will produce 770 million pounds (350,000 tonnes) per year
of paraxylene, a petrochemical used to make Purified
Terephthalic Acid (PTA), a raw material for producing
polyester film, packaging resin and fabrics.
PHILIPPINE SINTER CORP SIGNS POWER SUPPLY DEAL WITH NPC
MANILA - Philippine Sinter Corporation (PSC), which owns
and operates the biggest sinter plant in Southeast Asia, today
signed a 10-year bulk power supply contract with the National
Power Corporation (NPC), in what is seen as an indication of
the industrial sector's confidence in the state-owned power
firm's ability to supply electricity. Under the contract, NPC
will provide PSC with a contract energy of 59,366
megawatt-hours per year during the 10 years that the agreement
is in place.
GARUDA INDONESIA RENEGOTIATES 6 AIRBUS CONTRACTS
JAKARTA - PT Garuda Indonesia is renegotiating the terms of
its lease operating contract for six Airbus 330-300 with the
three institutions which financed the deal, following the fall
in its income due to last year's smoke haze and the current
financial crisis, a spokesman said. The airline's spokesman
Arif Hartanto said the renegotiation had to be conducted
because Garuda's financial performance had not sufficiently
supported the Airbus operation, particularly after the rupiah depreciation.
QANTAS TO CUT FLIGHTS FROM AUSTRALIA TO ASIA
SYDNEY - Qantas will cut flights from Australia to Asia in
coming weeks because of plummeting passenger numbers in the
wake of the Asian economic and currency crisis, it was
reported today. The Australian quoted Qantas chief executive
James Strong as saying services to Indonesia from centres
outside Sydney - including Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth -
would be the first routes affected. Flights to other Asian
centres affected by the currency crisis, including Thailand
and Malaysia, were also likely to be suspended or rerouted
through Sydney within weeks.
MALAYSIA'S PERODUA LAUNCHES CAR IN SINGAPORE
SINGAPORE - Malaysia's Perusahaan Otomobil Kedua Sdn Bhd
(Perodua) today officially launched the country's second
national car, the Perodua Kancil, in Singapore, where it
expects to export 300-350 units in its first year on the
market. Singapore is the ninth export market destination for
Perodua after Brunei, Cyprus, Mauritius, Fiji, Sri Lanka, the
United Kingdom and Comoros Islands, the company said in a
statement. Perodua sold 58,254 Kancils last year, an increase
of 24.1 percent from 1996, managing director Abdul Rahman Omar
said.
S&P DOWNGRADES INDONESIAN BANK RATINGS
JAKARTA - International rating agency Standard & Poors (S&P)
today downgraded its ratings on 15 Indonesian banks in
response to the deterioration of the Indonesian economy caused
by the massive depreciation of the rupiah. Tight monetary
liquidity and high interest rates in Indonesia have impacted
on borrowers' ability to service debt, S&P said. Amongst the
downgraded banks were Bank Negara Indonesia, Bank
Internasional Indonesia, Bank Danamon, Bank Niaga, and Bank
Umum Nasional.
SEOUL, KOREA FIRST BANKS ORDERED TO REDUCE SHARE EQUITY
SEOUL - The Monetary Board on Thursday ordered the Korea
First Bank and the Seoul Bank to reduce their shareholder
equity (paid-in capital) from 820 billion won ($US455 million)
to 100 billion won each, naming them bad financial
institutions. This will make one new share equivalent to 8.2
old shares in these banks. The two banks will resolve on the
capital reduction, as ordered by the Monetary Board, in a
board of directors meeting Friday and then announce the
capital reduction procedure.
FORD STOPS PRODUCTION OF PETROL POWERED ESCORT IN INDIA
NEW DELHI - Mahindra Ford India Ltd (MFIL), a joint venture
between global auto major Ford and India's Mahindra group, has
stopped production of the 1.3 litre petrol version of the Ford
Esc ort and will launch a 1.6 litre version in March, according
to a senior company official. MFIL is developing a small car
specifically designed for the Indian market on the Fiesta
platform and work on the project is continuing both in India
and in the UK, MFIL vice-president Jim Johnston said. He said
the 1.6 litre car would be brought out in March and hoped it
would counter talk that the 1.3 litre car was under-powered.
FEDEX TO PROVIDE AIR FREIGHT SERVICE FROM U.S. TO S. CHINA
SHENZHEN - The U.S.-based Federal Express (FedEx) air
freight company has agreed to provide a direct service to
south China from the United States. FedEx has signed a
cooperation agreement with the Shenzhen Airport Group for
service to Huangtian Airport. The airport was completed six
and half years ago and is located in China's leading economic
special zone in Guangdong Province.
GOVT TO SELL DLR-BONDS DIRECTLY TO O/S KOREAN BANKS
SEOUL - The government plans to commission the sales of
dollar-denominated bonds to overseas branches of Korean banks
and foreign brokerage firms, the Ministry of Finance and
Economy said Thursday. Sales of the US$1-billion bonds, issued
to help stabilise the local currency market and offered to
domestic and overseas Koreans, reached $10 million in one week
after the goverment initiated the bond sales on December 31.
The government's bid to sell the bonds in foreign markets
stems from the fact that overseas Koreans interested in
purchasing the bonds must have their relatives buy them or
take the trouble to come to the country to purchase the bonds
in person.
SOURCE: Asia Pulse Pte Ltd.
/CONTACT: Asia Pulse Production Centre, in Sydney Australia,
612-9322-8634 or email, www.apulse.com/ |
