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To: DiViT who wrote (29532)	2/16/1998 5:11:00 PM
From: John Rieman	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 50808

Pace seems to have their BSkyB boxes back on track:-)................. pace.co.uk 03 February 1998 Pace to lead with summer shipments for BSkyB Pace Micro Technology plc, Europe's leading manufacturer of digital set-top boxes, has announced that it has received a substantial order for digital set-top boxes from BSkyB. Pace believes it will be the first company to deliver to BSkyB, starting with initial shipments from June to meet BSkyB's service launch. "We are on track and the set-top box required to support BSkyB's service is technically ambitious. Pace's ability to get to market first, with a set-top box that fully meets BSkyB's requirements, comes from its unparalleled experience in the development and manufacture of digital set-top boxes," said Malcolm Miller, Pace's Chief Executive. Pace has already manufactured 1,250,000 digital set-top boxes, delivered to broadcasters world-wide. Pace has previously integrated the conditional access technology used in the BSkyB set-top box for receivers for a number of pay TV companies, including broadcasters in Brazil, Mexico and Indonesia. It has also integrated the OpenTV Applications Programme Interface which will also be used in the BSkyB set-top box into a digital set-top box for South Africa. Malcolm Miller added "Pace will have large volumes of set-top boxes in the channel for the main selling season and we will work closely with Sky to ensure that they have the necessary stocks to meet subscriber demand." Pace Background Pace Micro Technology plc is one of Europe's leading manufacturers of satellite television receivers, and was the first manufacturer to start volume shipments of digital decoders working to the MPEG-2 (Moving Picture Experts Group) standard. Pace has already manufactured more than 1,250,000 digital set-top boxes. The company operates in over 80 countries world-wide, through a combination of Pace subsidiaries, distributors and joint ventures. Pace's head office is in Shipley, West Yorkshire. The company's shares are traded on the London Stock Exchange. - Ends - Contact:Gregory ThorpeTel:+44 (0) 1274 537 082e-mail:gregory.thorpe@pace.co.uk Amanda DavidTel:+44 (0) 1274 532 000 ext 7425e-mail:amanda.david@pace.co.uk Janet Awe/Tel:+44 (0) 171 592 3100Oliver Steelee-mail:jawe@kinross-and-render.co.uk

To: DiViT who wrote (29532)	2/16/1998 9:05:00 PM
From: John Rieman	Respond to of 50808

China slows, as expected................................................ insidechina.com Chinese Exports Slow as Asia Crisis Hits SHANGHAI -- The Asian financial crisis started to take its toll on China's foreign trade as exports slowed in January, economists said on Sunday. But they said the latest figures were unlikely to change Beijing's determination to avoid a currency devaluation to make exports more competitive. "There has been a slowing of exports," said Yang Shijun, a researcher in economics at Fudan University. "But it has not been worse than expected." China's exports in January reached $12.68 billion, up 8.8 percent from a year ago, but growth was well below the 20.9 percent rise for all of 1997. Beijing has repeatedly pledged not to devalue its currency, the yuan, to speed exports, though analysts concede there has already been pressure from foreign trade companies for help in boosting competitiveness. Chinese officials are concerned that a devaluation of the yuan would overload fragile Asian currencies, and perhaps trigger a new round of currency weakness across the region. Beijing also fears a devaluation would jar the Hong Kong dollar's peg to the U.S. dollar, a move that could prove politically embarrassing. The former British colony returned to Chinese rule on July 1 last year. Late on Friday, China's official media announced that exports to Asia were down 1.4 percent in January. "There isn't much point to a devaluation," said Sheng Hong, an economist at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing. He said a devaluation would likely be insufficient to offset the greatly reduced purchasing power of importers in Asian countries where currencies have tumbled. At the same time, it would be unnecessary for most other markets where China's exports remained on a healthy track. Exports to North America in January were up 14.3 percent, while those to Europe rose 33.7 percent, Africa 42.9 percent and Latin America 43.6 percent. "This is actually a little better than expected," he said. Economists said that it was still too early to make broad judgments on the trade front for the year. But they noted January's export growth topped December's pace and left China with a solid surplus of $3.99 billion for the first month of the year after a $40 billion surplus for all of 1997. The January surplus, however, reflected a 12.9 percent slide in imports during the month to $8.69 billion, and that pointed to other concerns. "The fall in imports is a problem," said Sheng. "We should be seeing growth in both imports and exports." The import slump is yet another sign of the domestic economy's lack of vigor. Last week, China's state media announced a 1.5 percent decline in the retail price index for January, the fourth consecutive month of negative inflation. (US$1 = 8.3 yuan) (Reuters)