AsiaPulse News articles from April 2002

AsiaPulse News archives from April 2002

FOREX-NOTE.
April 1, 2002... FOREX-NOTE $all $in $stx pticloser MUMBAI, APR 1 Asia Pulse - Interbank Foreign Exchange (FOREX) and Overnight Call Money Market was closed today owing to annual closure of account.

STOCKS - DSE CLOSES UP - APR 1, 2002.
April 1, 2002... STOCKS - DSE CLOSES UP - APR 1, 2002 $all $in $stx pticloser NEW DELHI, Apr 1 Asia Pulse - In an otherwise negligible trading, pharmaceutical giant Ranbaxy Laboratories rallied on the stock market today following fresh purchases by...

STOCKS- BSE CLOSES UP - APR 1, 2002.
April 1, 2002... STOCKS- BSE CLOSES UP - APR 1, 2002 $all $in $stx pticloser MUMBAI, Apr 1 Asia Pulse - A sharp rally in shares of Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) aided the depressed sensex to score impressive gains at close in an otherwise lacklustre...

OPEN - ASIA PULSE INTERNATIONAL - APRIL 1, 2002.
April 1, 2002... Good Morning. This is the Asia Pulse International service of business intelligence, news, tenders and expert commentary on the economies of Asia provided by Asia Pulse Pte Ltd (Asia Pulse). Asia Pulse reserves all rights including...

INDONESIAN LEADER VISITS SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS FACTORY.
April 1, 2002... SEOUL, April 1 Asia Pulse - Visiting Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri on Sunday visited the Samsung Electronics Co.'s factory in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province. She also visited the truce village of Panmunjeom, near the demilitarized...

S KOREAN ENVIRONMENT MINISTRY TO LAUNCH AIR POLLUTION AGENCY.
April 1, 2002... SEOUL, April 1 Asia Pulse - The Environment Ministry will launch today (Monday) an agency to improve the air quality in Seoul and its surrounding areas, according to officials. "The corps (agency) will operate a committee to fine-tune...

KOREAN CO TO SUPPLY WEB CONFERENCING TO UTAH UNI.
April 1, 2002... SEOUL, April 1 Asia Pulse - An Internet multimedia solution developer, the 4NB Co. (www.4nb.co.kr) has signed a contract to supply its web-conferencing system, MeetingTown-Business, to Utah State University, according to the company. ...

BEST WESTERN KOREAN UNIT LAUNCHES CHINA HOTEL CONSULTING.
April 1, 2002... SEOUL, April 1 Asia Pulse - The Business Group for Hospitality (BgH) Inc., the Korean unit of the world's largest hotel chain, Best Western International, has launched a hotel consulting business in China. BgH, which arranged the grand...

KOREAN AIR TO EXPAND WEEKLY SEOUL-HANOI FLIGHTS.
April 1, 2002... SEOUL, April 1 Asia Pulse - Korean Air will double its weekly flights to Hanoi, Vietnam, from two to four from today (Monday) in an effort to accommodate increases in the numbers of passengers. Passenger numbers have risen due to a recent...

US INSURANCE SERVICES CO CRAWFORDS OPENS OFFICE IN NZ.
April 1, 2002... (Full text of a statement. Contact details below.) ATLANTA, Ga., March 31 PRNewswire-FirstCall-AsiaNet - Crawford & Company International Inc. (NYSE: CRDA CRDB) has announced the opening of a new office in Auckland, New Zealand. ...

ARAB OIL CO TO INVEST $US900MLN IN HYUNDAI OIL REFINERY CO.
April 1, 2002... SEOUL, April 1 Asia Pulse - The United Arab Emirates (UAE) oil investment company IPIC is to invest US$900 million in the financially-pressed Hyundai Oil Refinery Co., according to Hyundai. The UAE government's wholly invested IPIC has...

MEGAWATI CALLS FOR MORE KOREAN INVESTMENT IN INDONESIA.
April 1, 2002... SEOUL, April 1 Asia Pulse - Visiting Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri has called for Korean economic circles to more invest in her country. At a luncheon meeting hosted by the four major economic groups, including the Federation...

CADPO SOFTWARE CONSULTING CO EXPANDS INTO ASIA PACIFIC.
April 1, 2002... (Full text of a statement. Contact details below.) WESTMINSTER, Colo., April 31 PRNewswire-Asianet - Cadpo (CAD Potential Inc.) has announced its expansion into the Asia Pacific region through a new company, Cadpo Asia Pte. Ltd. Cadpo...

S KOREAN GOVT TO BOLSTER BOND MARKET.
April 1, 2002... SEOUL, April 1 Asia Pulse - The government has decided to improve transparency in the bond market before the end of June by introducing an electronic bond transaction system, strengthening the coordination of over-the-counter bond transactions...

S KOREAN IT TRADE GENERATES $1 BLN SURPLUS IN FEB.
April 1, 2002... SEOUL, April 1 Asia Pulse - South Korea's information technology (IT) industry reaped a $US1.07 billion trade surplus in February, according to data from the Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC). The MIC report showed $3.06...

MEXICANA AIRLINES EXPANDS ROUTE NETWORK FROM TOKYO.
April 1, 2002... (The full text of this statement can be found at www.asianet.com.au. Contact details below.) MEXICO CITY, March 31 PRNewswire- AsiaNet - Mexicana announced that as of today it has begun a code-share network with Star Alliance partner,...

HYUNDAI, KIA MOTORS TO OPEN ASSEMBLY PLANTS IN CHINA.
April 1, 2002... NANJING, China, April 1 Asia Pulse - Hyundai Motor Corp., along with its sister company Kia Motors, is to produce small and mid-sized automobiles in China from October, under a strategic relationship with their Chinese counterparts, according...

NEW SEA ROUTE TO FURTHER LINK SOUTH KOREAN, RUSSIAN PORTS.
April 1, 2002... SEOUL, April 1 Asia Pulse - South Korean and Russian officials had agreed to consider promoting trade by linking the ports of Donghae, South Korea, and Nakhodka, Russia, at the first Korea-Far Eastern Siberia Subcommittee held March 27-29 in...

S KOREAN GOVT TO CONDUCT SURVEY ON PRIVACY OF INFORMATION.
April 1, 2002... SEOUL, April 1 Asia Pulse - The Ministry of Information and Communication has said it will begin a survey today (Monday) of Internet shopping malls and other sites on adult content, education, finance and ticket sales to find out whether they...

S KOREAN GOVT TO SELL STAKE IN CHEJU BANK.
April 1, 2002... SEOUL, April 1 Asia Pulse - The South Korean government has decided to sell 51 percent of Cheju Bank shares held by the state-run Korea Deposit Insurance Corp. (KDIC) to the Shinhan Financial Holding Co. Government officials and scholars at...

KOREAN GOV'T CALLS FOR EU TO HOLD BILATERAL TALKS ON WTO.
April 1, 2002... SEOUL, April 1 Asia Pulse - The South Korean government has requested that the European Union hold bilateral consultations, pursuant to the WTO's safeguard rule, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said Friday. The talks are expected...

KYONGNAM, KWANGJU BANKS SET TO MERGE WITH HANVIT.
April 1, 2002... SEOUL, April 1 Asia Pulse - Woori Finance Holding said Friday that Kyongnam Bank and Kwangju Bank, both recipients of a public bailout, are to merge with the Hanvit Bank. A Woori source said a study on banking sector reorganization showed...

HSBC TO OFFER FOREX SERVICES TO CHINESE BANK.
April 1, 2002... SHANGHAI, April 1 Asia Pulse - The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) had become the first overseas bank to offer foreign currency services to Chinese citizens and companies in Beijing, the bank said in a statement. It had...

SINO-CANADIAN BIOSCIENCE CENTER ESTABLISHED IN XINJIANG.
April 1, 2002... URUMQI, April 1 Asia Pulse - A new lab studying the genetic modification of cattle was established on March 28 in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. The Golden Cattle Bio-Technology Research Center is initiated by the...

KOREAN CONSUMER PRICES RISE 2.3 PCT DUE TO RISING TUITION FEES.
April 1, 2002... SEOUL, April 1 Asia Pulse - Consumer prices rose 2.3 per cent in March compared with a year earlier, stabilizing at the two-percent level for three months in a row, the National Statistical Office (NSO) said Friday. The year-on-year...

SINO-BRITISH ETHYLENE PLANT SET UP IN CHINA.
April 1, 2002... SHANGHAI, April 1 Asia Pulse - Construction of a Sino-British ethylene production plant with an annual output capacity of 900,000 tons and a total investment of US$2.75 billion began in the Shanghai Chemical Industrial Zone on March 28. ...

CHINA ALLOCATES US$1.1 BLN FOR TECHNICAL SUPPORT PROJECTS.
April 1, 2002... CHENGDU, April 1 Asia Pulse - China will set aside nine billion yuan (US$1.08 billion) for industrial and technical support projects this year, Xie Xuren, vice-minister of the State Economic and Trade Commission, said on March 28. The...

CHINESE PREMIER CALLS FOR MORE KOREAN INVESTMENT.
April 1, 2002... BEIJING, April 1 Asia Pulse - Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji has said that China is encouraging entrepreneurs from the Republic of Korea (ROK) to invest more in China. At a meeting with South Korean participants in a Sino-ROK economic...

CHINA, ASEAN TO HOLD MEETING ON FREE TRADE ZONE.
April 1, 2002... BEIJING, April 1 Asia Pulse - China and the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) will hold a senior officials' meeting in May this year to scrutinize preparations being made for talks on establishing a free trade zone, a senior...

KOREAN NEWSPAPER HIGHLIGHTS - APRIL 1, 2002.
April 1, 2002... SEOUL, April 1 Asia Pulse - Highlights of today's newspapers: DONG-A ILBO - Roh Moo-hyun leads MDP's South Gyeongsang, North Jeolla primaries - Israel-Palestine tension at worst point ever HANKYOREH SHINMUN - Presidential...

CHAINCAST NETWORKS SECURES $US4MLN FINANCING.
April 1, 2002... (Full text of a statement. Contact details below.) SAN JOSE, Calif., April 1 PRNewswire-FirstCall-AsiaNet - ChainCast Networks, a pioneer of cost-effective streaming solutions for media groups, audio & video webcasters, Internet...

KOREA'S FTC TO MONITOR MERGERS OF FOREIGN FIRMS.
April 1, 2002... SEOUL, April 1 Asia Pulse - The Fair Trade Commission said Monday that it will introduce regulations by year's end that will allow it to track mergers between foreign firms which could seriously impair relevant domestic industries. In a...

CHINA TO INVESTIGATE DUMPING OF POLYVINYL CHLORIDE IMPORTS.
April 1, 2002... BEIJING, April 1 Asia Pulse - The Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation (MOFTEC) has launched an anti-dumping investigation into polyvinyl chloride imports from the United States, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Russia and Taiwan...

N KOREA EXPRESSES INTENT TO MAINTAIN TALKS WITH SOUTH KOREAN PM.
April 1, 2002... SEOUL, April 1 Asia Pulse - North Korean leader Kim Jong-il is known to have told Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri during their talks that he has an intent to meet President Kim Dae-jung continuously, a government official said...

CHINA'S XI'AN SEES INCREASE IN MULTINATIONAL INVESTMENT.
April 1, 2002... BEIJING, April 1 Asia Pulse - An increasing number of the world's top 500 enterprises have established facilities in the Xi'an Economic and Technological Development Zone (XETDZ) in northwest China's Shaanxi Province. The multinationals...

STOCKS - KOREAN SHARES OPEN LOWER - APRIL 1, 2002.
April 1, 2002... SEOUL, April 1 Asia Pulse - Korean stocks got off to a sluggish start with most investors waiting to see if the market will regain the 900-point level it broke last Wednesday for the first time in two years or enter a protracted correction. ...

CHINA'S ICBC TO SET UP FOREIGN EXCHANGE BUSINESS FOR INDIVIDUALS.
April 1, 2002... BEIJING, April 1 Asia Pulse - The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) announced on March 28 that, ratified by the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, the bank will begin selling foreign exchange to individuals from April 1. ...

NIPPON LIGHT METAL TO SPIN OFF TOYO ALUMINUM OPERATIONS.
April 1, 2002... TOKYO, April 1 Asia Pulse - Nippon Light Metal Co. (TSE:5701) said Friday that it will spin off its Toyo aluminum operating division, which produces aluminum foil and other products, and merge it with its aluminum sales subsidiary, Toyo...

KOREA'S POSCO TO INCREASE PRICES OF FOUR STEEL PRODUCTS.
April 1, 2002... SEOUL, April 1 Asia Pulse - POSCO said Friday it will increase prices on some of its steel products by 20,000 won (US$15) per ton from May, creating concern over the move's effect on the prices of related products. From May 1, POSCO said...

KOREAN PARTIES OK ROLLOVER BILL TO HELP STABILIZE FINANCIAL MKT.
April 1, 2002... SEOUL, April 1 Asia Pulse - The ruling and opposition parties have agreed to pass a bill in early April to allow the rollover of 4.5 trillion won (US$3.4 billion) of Korea Deposit Insurance Corp. (KDIC) bonds maturing by the end of the year, a...

ASIAN AIRLINES GET 35% OF NEW LANDING SLOTS AT TOKYO AIRPORT.
April 1, 2002... TOKYO, April 1 Asia Pulse - Thirty-five per cent of new landing slots at the New Tokyo International Airport in Narita have been awarded to airlines from Asian countries, 36 per cent to domestic airlines, 21 per cent to U.S. carriers and 4 per...

TOYOBO, FUJITSU TO LAUNCH JOINT GENE-ANALYSIS BUSINESS.
April 1, 2002... TOKYO, April 1 Asia Pulse - Toyobo Co. (TSE:3101), its subsidiary Toyobo Gene Analysis Co. and Fujitsu Ltd. (TSE:6702) in April will jointly launch a gene-analysis and research-support business aimed at developing pharmaceuticals, the companies...

JAPAN WORKER PAY RISES 1.2% IN 2001: LABOR MINISTRY.
April 1, 2002... TOKYO, Apr 1 Asia Pulse - Average monthly pay for rank-and-file workers, including salaried workers, grew 1.2 per cent on the year in 2001 to 305,800 yen (US$2,303.70), as shown by preliminary figures released by the Ministry of Health, Labor...

JAPAN'S AIN PHARMACIEZ TO MERGE WITH DRUG STORE CHAIN.
April 1, 2002... TOKYO, April 1 Asia Pulse - Ain Pharmaciez Inc. (TSE:9627) said Friday that it will merge with Imagawa Yakuhin, a drugstore chain based in Ibaraki Prefecture, effective Nov. 1. The move is expected to result in a company that will have...

KOREAN FIRM JOINS MALAYSIA'S SATELLITE DEVELOPMENT PROJECT.
April 1, 2002... SEOUL, April 1 Asia Pulse - A local satellite firm said Friday that it has joined a satellite development project pushed for by Malaysia. SaTReCi Co. said that it is involved in a joint project to develop an Earth observation satellite with...

VIETNAM'S COFFEE OUTPUT DECREASES IN 2001-2002 CROP.
April 1, 2002... HANOI, April 1 Asia Pulse - Vietnam's coffee output in the 2001-2002 crop will decrease by 600,000 tonnes, the Vietnam Coffee and Cacao Association forecast. The steady decline in coffee prices over the past two years has caused many...

S KOREA'S CHIP-MAKING EQUIPMENT MAKERS SPEED UP CHINA ENTRY.
April 1, 2002... SEOUL, April 1 Asia Pulse - South Korea's chip-making equipment makers are stepping up their advance into the Chinese market, taking advantage of a steep rise in demand for semiconductors in China and its low production costs, industry sources...

KOREA'S INTERNATIONAL FLIGHTS TO SURGE AHEAD OF WORLD CUP.
April 1, 2002... SEOUL, April 1 Asia Pulse - The number of international flights is expected to jump ahead of the opening of the 2002 FIFA World Cup finals, the Ministry of Construction and Transportation said Friday. Korean Air, Asiana Airlines and 45...

VIETNAM LICENSES 101 FOREIGN-INVESTED PROJECTS IN Q1.
April 1, 2002... HANOI, April 1 Asia Pulse - Vietnam licensed an 101 foreign-invested projects with a combined registered capital of US$215 million in the first quarter of this year. Southern provinces remained attractive places for foreign investors. Ho...

FOREX - KOREAN WON OPENS HIGHER - APRIL 1, 2002.
April 1, 2002... SEOUL, April 1 Asia Pulse - The Korean won was higher against the U.S. dollar early Monday. The greenback opened higher at 1,326 won but continued to fall to 1,324.70 won as of 10:27 a.m., down 1.20 won from Friday's close of 1,325.90 won....

PFIZER WINS TRADEMARK INFRINGEMENT SUIT AGAINST JAPAN'S YASUIDO.
April 1, 2002... TOKYO, April 1 Asia Pulse - The Tokyo District Court on Tuesday ruled in favor of Pfizer Pharmaceuticals Inc. in a trademark violation lawsuit filed by the Japanese subsidiary of Pfizer Inc. of the U.S. against Yasuido International, Pfizer...

JAPAN'S CONSTRUCTION MACHINERY SHIPMENTS FALL 17.7% IN FEBRUARY.
April 1, 2002... TOKYO, April 1 Asia Pulse - Construction machinery shipments fell 17.7 per cent year-on-year in February to 89.2 billion yen (US$672 billion), the 17th straight month of decline, according to figures released by the Japan Construction Equipment...

PAKISTAN SEAFOOD EXPORTS SLIDE 12 PCT.
April 1, 2002... KARACHI, April 1 Asia Pulse - Pakistan's seafood exports has declined 12 per cent in the first eight months of current fiscal year as a result of September 11, exporters say. Official figures put the July-February 2002 seafood export at...

JAPAN'S USHIO DEVELOPS COMPACT UV IRRADIATION GEAR FOR CHINA.
April 1, 2002... TOKYO, April 1 Asia Pulse - Ushio Inc. (TSE:6925) has developed ultraviolet irradiation equipment that is about 30 per cent smaller than products available to date and offers low power consumption. It plans to market the SP-7 in China,...

PAKISTAN, UK DISCUSS STRENGTHENING OF TRADE TIES.
April 1, 2002... ISLAMABAD, April 1 Asia Pulse - Pakistan's chairman of the Board of Investment, Waseem Haqie, held a meeting with the Chief Executive of the UK Trade Department, Sir David Wright, to discuss further strengthening of trade relations between the...

INDONESIAN NEWSPAPER HIGHLIGHTS - APRIL 1, 2002.
April 1, 2002... JAKARTA, April 1 Asia Pulse - Highlights from today's newspapers: THE JAKARTA POST - The government is set to issue a new ministerial decree this week that bans existing Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) operators from continuing...

VIETNAMESE NEWSPAPER HIGHLIGHTS - APRIL 1, 2002.
April 1, 2002... HANOI, April 1 Asia Pulse - Highlights of today's newspapers: NHAN DAN: - During a meeting held here yesterday with 327 young entrepreneurs representing thousands of young business people across the country, Prime Minister Phan Van...

KOREA'S HANARO CALLS OFF MERGER TALKS WITH THRUNET.
April 1, 2002... SEOUL, April 1 Asia Pulse - Hanaro Telecom in a Monday disclosure said that it has suspended merger talks with Thrunet, citing the sale of Thrunet's exclusive circuit business to SK Telecom. Hanaro said that Thrunet offered to sell other...

CHINESE NEWSPAPER HIGHLIGHTS - APRIL 1, 2002.
April 1, 2002... BEIJING, April 1 Asia Pulse - Highlights of today's newspapers: PEOPLE'S DAILY - Collection of designs for two large sports facilities for the 2008 Olympic Games, to be hosted by the Chinese capital, will start April 2, according to a...

APARTMENT PRICES IN SEOUL POST STEEP RISE.
April 1, 2002... SEOUL, April 1 Asia Pulse - The total sum of apartment prices in Seoul increased close to 50 trillion won (US$37.75 billion) for a year, a real estate research company said Monday. The results came from a survey conducted by NeoNet Inc. on...

KOREA'S TRIGEM SEES RISE IN Q1 SALES UP 14.5 PCT.
April 1, 2002... SEOUL, April 1 Asia Pulse - Trigem Computer said Monday that its first quarter PC sales reached 869,500 units, up 14.5 per cent year-on-year. Domestic sales totaled 190,000 units, down some 3,000 from the comparable figure last year, but...

KOREAN GOVT EYES SELLING OFF KT STOCKS IN FOUR DIFFERENT WAYS.
April 1, 2002... SEOUL, April 1 Asia Pulse - The government plans to sell off its 28.37 per cent stake or 88.57 million shares, in KT Corp. by adopting four different methods, with the telecom carrier's planned privatization just three months away, government...

S KOREAN PRESIDENT VIEWS MEGAWATI'S MISSION AS SUCCESSFUL.
April 1, 2002... SEOUL, April 1 Asia Pulse - Indonesian president Megawati Sukarnoputri visit to North and South Korea was successful, said South Korean President Kim Dae Jung, and may help resume the two countries' stalled dialogue on peace. Kim Dae Yung...

VIETNAM CASHEW INDUSTRY TO BOOST EXPORTS.
April 1, 2002... HANOI, April 1 Asia Pulse - The Vietnam Cashew Association (VNCA) reports the sector has targeted an export mark of 40,000 tonnes this year, a 2000 tonne increase over last year. The majority of the increase is expected to come from...

ELECTRONIC RESEARCH CENTER SET UP IN SHANGHAI.
April 1, 2002... SHANGHAI, April 1 Asia Pulse - An electronic research institute affiliated to the Shanghai General Electronics Group (SGEG) was established on March 29. The institute is expected to become one rivaling the research organs of global giants...

PROFILE - JAPAN'S TELECOMMUNICATIONS INDUSTRY (MARCH 2002).
April 1, 2002... ************************************************ A PROFILE OF JAPAN'S TELECOMMUNICATIONS INDUSTRY PREPARED BY ASIA PULSE ANALYSTS (MARCH 2002) ************************************************ OVERVIEW: Major Japanese...

NISSAN'S LUXURY CARS TO FEATURE WIRELESS INFO SERVICES.
April 1, 2002... TOKYO, Apr 1 Asia Pulse - Nissan Motor Co. (TSE:7201) will equip its higher-end models to be released in the U.S. this fall with a terminal enabling mobile wireless information services. The services based on the technology of Wingcast LLC,...

VIETNAM GOVT STEPS UP MODERNISATION OF SMEs.
April 1, 2002... HANOI, April 1 Asia Pulse - The Vietnamese government has pledged to expedite the modernisation of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) as part of efforts to expand State economic management activities. In an announcement, state officials...

JAPAN'S YKK TO MAKE YKK ARCHITECTURAL A FULL SUBSIDIARY.
April 1, 2002... TOKYO, April 1 Asia Pulse - YKK Corp. said Thursday it will make a full subsidiary of group company YKK Architectural Products Inc., effective Oct. 1. The move, which should help to enlarge the contribution that the building materials...

NIKKEI WEEKLY HIGHLIGHTS - APRIL 1, 2002.
April 1, 2002... TOKYO, April 1 Asia Pulse - Major headlines from the April 1 issue of the Nikkei Weekly: FRONT - Koizumi targets sweeping tax reform - Video-game makers eye online tournaments - Automakers top U.S. rivals in profit race -...

CHINA CUTS RESOURCES TAX.
April 1, 2002... BEIJING, April 1 Asia Pulse - The Ministry of Finance and the State Taxation Administration recently announced to cut resource tax on integrated steelworks' iron mines from 15 yuan/ton to six yuan/ton. The tax-cut will take effect on April...

KOREAN MINISTRY TO LAUNCH FISHERIES STUDY IN INDIAN OCEAN.
April 1, 2002... SEOUL, April 1 Asia Pulse - The Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (MOMAF) is poised to launch a fisheries studies in the Indian Ocean at the end of this month, the ministry said Monday. Under the plan the ministry will dispatch a...

BANK OF CHINA GRANTS MORE CREDIT SUPPORT FOR CHINA EASTERN AIRLINES.
April 1, 2002... SHANGHAI, April 1 Asia Pulse - The Bank of China signed a cooperation contract of 12 billion yuan (about US$1.45 billion) with the China Eastern Airlines (CEA) on March 29 and promised to grant a separate loan of US$200 million. It is the...

CHINA'S SHANGHAI INTL TO TEAM UP WITH JAPAN'S DAIWA SECURITIES.
April 1, 2002... SHANGHAI, April 1 Asia Pulse - Shanghai International Group Corporation and Daiwa Securities Group Inc of Japan have signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in finance, investment and other business fields. Zhou Youdao,...

CHINA'S ALUMINIUM INDUSTRY EXPANDS.
April 1, 2002... BEIJING, April 1 Asia Pulse - China has 119 aluminium smelters at present, compared with 53 in 1995. They produced 3.38 million tons of aluminium in 2001, compared with 1.68 million tons in 1995. Among the smelters, eight produced over...

JAPAN GRANTS CHINA US$1.22 BLN IN LOANS FOR 2002.
April 1, 2002... BEIJING, April 1 Asia Pulse - The Chinese and Japanese governments have signed a document for the exchange of letters on the provision of 161.366 billion yen ($US1.22 billion) in loans to China for 2002, according to China's Ministry of...

CHINA, CANADA TO COOPERATE IN COALBED METHANE PROJECT.
April 1, 2002... BEIJING, April 1 Asia Pulse - China and Canada will cooperate in exploiting the energy potential of methane from China's coalbeds. The Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation has signed a memorandum of understanding on China's...

KOREA'S FSS RAISES FINE ON BROKERAGE HOUSES INVOLVED IN UNFAIR TRADING.
April 1, 2002... SEOUL, April 1 Asia Pulse - The Financial Supervisory Commission approved the revision bill Friday on Korea Stock Exchange and Korea Securities Dealers Association regulations, raising the maximum fine to 1 billion won (US$754,000) from 10...

EU TO TAKE MOST CHINESE STEEL PRODUCTS OFF SAFEGUARD LIST.
April 1, 2002... BEIJING, April 1 Asia Pulse - The European Union has agreed to take most Chinese steel products off the list of items subject to its temporary safeguard measures, a senior official from the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation...

S KOREAN BANKS CUT RATES ON HOUSEHOLD LOANS TO 6 PCT.
April 1, 2002... SEOUL, April 1 Asia Pulse - Bank interest rates on household loans have dropped to the 6 per cent level per annum level lately due to stiff competition, the Bank of Korea said Friday. The central bank said interest rates on retail loans...

KOREAN GOVT MAY BE UNABLE TO RECOLLECT US$31.6 BLN WORTH OF PUBLIC FUNDS.
April 1, 2002... SEOUL, April 1 Asia Pulse - Deputy Prime Minister Jin Nyum said Friday that the government may not be able to retrieve 42 trillion won (US$31.6 billion) worth of public funds poured into ailing financial institutions in the form of government...

KOREA'S INCHEON AIRPORT COST COMPETITIVE: BRITISH STUDY.
April 1, 2002... SEOUL, April 1 Asia Pulse - Incheon International Airport (IIA) has been found highly cost-competitive among the world's major international airports, the Korea Transport Institute said Friday, citing a report by Cranfield University in...

RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA TO DECIDE ON INTEREST RATES THIS WEEK.
April 1, 2002... BRISBANE, April 1 Asia Pulse - The Reserve Bank of Australia's (RBA) decision on whether or not to raise interest rates is the prime subject of concern in financial circles this week as it may also decide the direction of the sharemarket in the...

CHINA'S SHOUGANG GROUP POSTS HIGHER PROFIT IN 2001.
April 1, 2002... BEIJING, April 1 Asia Pulse - Shougang Group raked in a profit of 450 million yuan (US$54.36 million) in 2001, up 13.92 per cent year-on-year. The gross sales revenue in the year was 36.4 billion yuan, up 2.56 per cent. Of the gross...