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Gold/Mining/Energy : Unitec Int. Controls Inc. -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Bobby Yellin who wrote (389)	5/20/1998 1:34:00 PM
From: John B. Smyth	Respond to of 856

Good morning to you too, Bobby. We should not lose sight of the fact that Indonesia is the fifth most populous country with tremendous natural resources. One shouldn't be so short sighted as to miss the "big picture". I certainly can attest to some very honourable people in Indonesia. Most of the people we deal with are representative of the new generation of executives interested in "building their country". I recall inquiring about the status of a competitor's bid with a large customer. Several of the engineers avoided direct answers and said I should ask their manager about it. I asked him and he was a little hesitant at first, but then said: They insulted me, insulted my Company and insulted my Country". Apparently, they offered him a bribe to accept their bid! This is indicative of the ethics of most people in management of the companies and government agencies that we deal with. My hopes are for the people of Indonesia during this time, and I'm sure the country will come out of it a stronger and gentler (to paraphrase your previous President) nation. Regards, John

To: Bobby Yellin who wrote (389)	6/11/1998 11:13:00 AM
From: John B. Smyth	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 856

This article is courtesy of Stitch on the Asian Forum. Thought you might be interested in it, Bobby. Forbes has the following article on Unocal's continued investments in Indonesia and Thailand. Through thick and thin By Christopher Palmeri LAST MONTH, as the media focused on the bloody clashes and looting that triggered Indonesian President Suharto's resignation, Unocal Corp., the big ($6 billion sales) Los Angeles-based oil outfit, was evacuating its 44 expatriate employees and their families from Jakarta. But not its money or its equipment. Even before Unocal's jets had left the ground, Chairman Roger Beach had made a countermove. He was adding another $100,000-per-day oil rig to Indonesia-bringing his total there to five. Beach is in deep in Indonesia and is not regretting it. No matter who rules in Jakarta, the nation badly needs foreign exchange, and oil is one of the best ways to get it. Indonesian oil thus has played a major role in Unocal's revitalization. For years the company's shares had been among the worst-performing of the big oils. Burdened with $5 billion in debt incurred in warding off a hostile takeover bid, Unocal was in a financial straitjacket. Its oil and gas reserves dwindled. In May of 1994 Unocal's board promoted Beach, the company's former head of refining and gas station operations, to chief executive of the whole company. Beach did what few people with his r‚sum‚ would have done; he took a hard look at Unocal's perennial fourth-place position in California's gasoline market. Without a trace of sentiment, he sold the company's refining and retailing assets to Stamford, Conn.-based Tosco Corp. for $1.8 billion. Beach turned around and spent that money on debt reduction, share buybacks and on developing new reserves. Eager for oil revenues, the Suharto government allowed Unocal access to attractive new areas. Several of these prospects in the waters off of Kalimantan have the potential to double Unocal's Indonesian reserves over the next four years, to 700 million barrels. The recent unrest in Indonesia has done nothing to disrupt production. In Thailand, where Unocal produces natural gas for the domestic market, production continues to thrive despite that country's financial crisis. Thai power stations are switching from costly imported oil to cheaper, domestically produced gas. Unocal has prepaid $48 million in taxes this year as a show of support to the cash-strapped Thai government. Overall, Unocal's international exploration budget should increase 30% this year, to $236 million, with the bulk of that going to Asia. Royal Dutch/Shell, Norway's Statoil, Triton Energy and Rutherford-Moran have put their Thai properties on the block recently. Triton says the company's higher financing costs will limit the profit potential in Thailand. But Unocal's Beach sees the recent crisis as an opportunity to increase Unocal's clout there. Unocal has taken a lot of heat outside of Wall Street for its Asian investments. Much of the furor centers on its Yadana pipeline, which is to bring natural gas from Myanmar (formerly known as Burma) to Thailand. Activists accuse Myanmar's military junta of forcibly relocating villages along the pipeline route and of using the locals as slave laborers. The U.S. government banned all new investment in the troubled country last year. Seeking a U.S. target, leftists have sued Unocal and Beach in civil court in Los Angeles for alleged human rights violations. "We are providing low-cost power," Beach responds to such charges. Explaining why he takes a long-term view toward Asia despite the current turmoil there, he adds: "We are building a middle class. The culture of Asia is long-term relationships. You have to be there through thick and thin."