AsiaPulse News articles from December 2001

AsiaPulse News archives from December 2001

IRANIAN NEWSPAPER HIGHLIGHTS - DEC 1, 2001.
December 1, 2001... TEHRAN, Dec 1 Asia Pulse - Highlights of today's newspapers: IRAN DAILY - Iran and Pakistan said Friday the fall of Taliban in Afghanistan cleared the way for them to end their differences over Kabul and enter a new era of relations,...

AFGHANISTAN SEEKS INDIAN BUSINESSES AID IN REBUILDING ECONOMY.
December 1, 2001... NEW DELHI, Jan 12 Asia Pulse - Afghanistan has sought the technical skills of Indian entrepreneurs to assist in rebuilding the economy of the war-ravaged country. "I invite Indian businessmen to Afghanistan. I assure all laws and rules in...

QUALCOMM TAKES 4% STAKE IN INDIA'S RELIANCE COMMUNICATIONS.
December 1, 2001... NEW DELHI, Jan 12 Asia Pulse - A day after announcing an investment of US$200 million in Reliance Communications Ltd (RCL), Qualcomm Inc said on Friday it has picked up about 4 per cent equity in the company and added there were no immediate...

IRAN NEWSPAPER HIGHLIGHTS - DEC 2, 2001.
December 2, 2001... TEHRAN, Dec 2 Asia Pulse - Highlights of today's newspapers: IRAN DAILY - Iran strongly criticized Saturday a resolution passed by a UN human rights committee that condemned alleged human rights violations in the Islamic Republic. ...

AUSTRALIAN TOURISM MARKET PROPPED UP BY BACKPACKERS.
December 2, 2001... SYDNEY, Dec 2 Asia Pulse - Young backpackers from Europe are providing an invaluable asset to the Australian tourism industry as a resilient travel market, according to the Australian Tourist Commission. The industry body said recent...

OPEN - ASIA PULSE INTERNATIONAL - DEC 3, 2001.
December 3, 2001... 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...

AUSTRALIAN NEWSPAPER HIGHLIGHTS - DEC 3, 2001.
December 3, 2001... SYDNEY, Dec 3 Asia Pulse - Highlights of today's newspapers: THE AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW - Harts Australasia in liquidation as Steve Hart faces 11 unrelated fraud charges. Business seeks biggest overhaul of competition laws in a...

FOREX - AUSTRALIAN DOLLAR OPENS FIRMER - DEC 3, 2001.
December 3, 2001... SYDNEY, Dec 3 Asia Pulse - The Australian dollar has opened firmer on the back of a weak US dollar but still remains range bound in early trade, dealers said. At 0700 AEDT the Australian dollar was trading at $US0.5214/19 from 0.5195/00 at...

HUANENG POWER TO LIST SHARES ON SHANGHAI BOURSE.
December 3, 2001... (Full text of a statement. Contact details below.) BEIJING, Nov. 30 PRNewswire Asia-AsiaNet - Huaneng Power International, Inc. (NYSE: HNP) (HKEx: 902) (the "Company") today announced that Shanghai Stock Exchange has granted approval to its...

VISA TO INVEST $U25 MLN IN ASIA-PACIFIC ON SMART CARD CONVERSION.
December 3, 2001... NEW DELHI, Dec 3 Asia Pulse - Visa International Asia Pacific has announced a $US25 million investment programme to accelerate migration to EMV standard smart cards. The programme, spread over a seven year period begining 2002 will support...

INDIA'S TATA TEA SEEKS EXEMPTION OF EXCISE DUTY ON TEA.
December 3, 2001... BANGALORE, Dec 3 Asia Pulse - Indian tea giant, Tata Tea(ABSE:TTTE), has sought total exemption of excise duty on tea, considering the scenario in which the tea industry finds itself today. "If at all, government should encourage the tea...

THOMAS BATA EXAMINIING FRESH INVESTMENT PROSPECTS IN INDIA.
December 3, 2001... KOLKATA, Dec 3 Asia Pulse - Bata Shoe Organisation (BSO), the Toronto-based parent company of Bata India Limited, on Friday said the company might go in for fresh round of investment in West Bengal. BSO chairman Thomas Bata, however, denied...

INDIA'S APOLLO HOSPITALS SET TO UPGRADE FACILITIES.
December 3, 2001... CHENNAI, India, Dec 3 Asia Pulse - The Apollo hospitals group will invest around Rs 250 million ($US5.2 million) to upragade facilities in the hospitals it owns. It will focus on the latest equipment such as multi-slice CT-scanners and...

NATCOM BUSINESS FORUM IN INDIA CALLS FOR NEW STRATEGIES.
December 3, 2001... CHENNAI, Dec 3 Asia Pulse - NATCOM 2001, the national convention of Indian Institute of Materials Management, which began here on Friday, has sought new strategies to surge ahead in the emerging competitive business era. Inaugurating the...

BHARAT HOTELS TO OPERATE ITDC'S ASHOK HOTEL IN BANGALORE.
December 3, 2001... NEW DELHI, Dec 3 Asia Pulse - Lalit Suri-promoted Bharat Hotels (BSE:BHTL) said on Friday it has signed a management contract with India Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC) to operate and manage Ashok Hotel in Bangalore following approval by...

IRAN, PAKISTAN TO LAUNCH STUDY ON GAS PROJECT.
December 3, 2001... ISLAMABAD, Dec 3 Asia Pulse - In a significant step forward on the Indo-Iran gas pipeline project, Tehran and Islamabad have agreed to set up a joint technical committee to conduct a feasibility study on the proposal. The tri-nation...

FUJITSU JAPAN SET TO RAISE STAKE IN INDIAN TELCO UNIT TO 59PCT.
December 3, 2001... NEW DELHI, Dec 3 Asia Pulse - The Indian Government has approved Fujitsu Japan's proposal to raise its stake in Fujitsu Telecom India (FITEL) to 59.83 per cent, from the current 51 per cent. In its application to the Foreign Investment...

INDIAN GOVT SEEKING ADVISORS FOR STATE TRADE CORP SELL-OFF.
December 3, 2001... NEW DELHI, Dec 3 Asia Pulse - The Indian government has invited applications for appointment of global advisor for offloading its majority stake in international trading agency, State Trading Corporation (STC). "We have initiated the...

CALL FOR SMES TO BOOST INDIA-KENYA TRADE.
December 3, 2001... NEW DELHI, Dec 3 Asia Pulse - Small-scale industries could prove to be a growth engine to improve trade between India and Kenya, according to the junior minister for Commerce and Industry, Rajiv Pratap Rudy. Inaugrating the fourth...

INDIAN TOBACCO STOCKS MOUNT TO 30 MLN KG.
December 3, 2001... NEW DELHI, Dec 3 Asia Pulse - Apart from tea, coffee and rubber it is also the tobacco growers which have plunged into a crisis as there is hardly any domestic demand, exports have been hit and stocks are accumulating resulting in prices going...

STOCKS - AUSTRALIAN INDEX OPENS SOFTER - DEC 3, 2001.
December 3, 2001... SYDNEY, Dec 3 Asia Pulse - Australian stocks are slightly softer this morning as a directionless market awaits more news on the economic state of affairs both here and in the United States. US stocks provided little inspiration on Friday...

ELI LILLY TO SCRAP JAPAN JV WITH CHUGAI PHARMACEUTICAL.
December 3, 2001... OSAKA, Dec 3 Asia Pulse - U.S. pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly and Co. announced Friday that it will cut its ties with Chugai Pharmaceutical Co. (TSE: 4519) and dissolve their 50-50 Japanese joint venture by the end of next year. Lilly...

JAPAN JOB DATA SHOWS WORSENING ECONOMY HITS BREADWINNERS MOST.
December 3, 2001... TOKYO, Dec 3 Asia Pulse - The latest employment statistics released by the Public Management Ministry Friday morning indicate that the current economic slump is hitting the main household income earners especially hard, particularly middle-aged...

JAPAN REAL GDP GREW 1.7% IN FY2000.
December 3, 2001... TOKYO, Dec 3 Asia Pulse - Real gross domestic product grew by 1.7 per cent in fiscal 2000, the Cabinet Office announced Friday. The result, which is the final figure, is an upward revision from the 1 per cent gain announced in an August...

JAPAN CROWN PRINCE, PRINCESS START NEW LIFE WITH FIRST BABY.
December 3, 2001... TOKYO, Dec 3 Asia Pulse - Much-anticipated news came from the greenery-filled Imperial Palace Saturday, when it was announced that Crown Prince Naruhito and Crown Princess Masako had given birth to a daughter eight and a half years after their...

JAPAN ROYAL BIRTH FUELS HOPES FOR HIGHER CONSUMER SPENDING.
December 3, 2001... TOKYO, Dec 3 Asia Pulse - The birth of a baby girl to the crown prince and princess Saturday could stimulate consumer spending, economy watchers say. One private research agency estimates that the arrival of the royal baby will increase...

INDIAN WINS TOP POSITION IN ASIA PACIFIC TELECOMMUNITY.
December 3, 2001... NEW DELHI, Dec 3 Asia Pulse - Asia Pacific Telecommunity (APT), a nodal inter-governmental organisation for telecom and IT in Asia Pacific region, has elected Amrendra Narayan, as its new executive director. Narayan, became the first Indian...

JAPAN'S MAJOR CONTRACTORS SEE DROP IN FY01 GROUP OP PROFITS.
December 3, 2001... TOKYO, Dec 3 Asia Pulse - Fourteen of the 17 major general contractors are forecasting a drop in their group operating profits in fiscal 2001. Thirteen firms foresee a decline in consolidated sales since both the public and private sectors...

COMBINED STEEL BUSINESSES SOLD IN AUSTRALIA FOR $US34MLN.
December 3, 2001... SYDNEY, Dec 3 Asia Pulse - The combined $A67 million ($US34.55 million) sale of the Atlas Steels and Bisalloy Steels businesses, formerly owned by Email Ltd, has been announced by the Smorgon Steel Group Ltd (ASX:SSX) and OneSteel Ltd...

PAKISTAN'S FOREX RESERVES RISE TO $4.319 BLN.
December 3, 2001... KARACHI, Dec 3 Asia Pulse - Pakistan's liquid foreign exchange reserves stood at US$4.319 billion on November 24, up from $3.621 billion a week earlier. The latest State Bank figures released here on Thursday, shows that the total $4.319...

AUSTRALIAN MAGNESIUM CORP PREPARES TO BUILD NEW PLANT.
December 3, 2001... BRISBANE, Dec 3 Asia Pulse - Australian Magnesium Corp Ltd (AMC), a light metals group, has appointed six new directors as it gears up for the construction phase of the $A1.4 billion ($US721.98 million) Stanwell magnesium plant. As...

MACQUARIE BANK, KOREA'S IMM ACHIEVE US$517 MLN IN MANAGED FUNDS.
December 3, 2001... MELBOURNE, Dec 3 Asia Pulse - Joint venture partners Macquarie Bank Ltd (ASX:MBL) of Australia and Korea's IMM & Co have topped $A1 billion ($US515.7 million) in funds under management a year into their partnership. "We have targeted two...

ADVERTISED INTERNET JOBS FALL 14PCT IN AUSTRALIA IN NOV.
December 3, 2001... MELBOURNE, Dec 3 Asia Pulse - According to a new jobs index survey, jobs advertised on the Internet have fallen by 14 per cent in November as a result of the economic slowdown. The Olivier Internet Job Index found there were 9,500 fewer...

JAPAN'S MITSUI CONSTRUCTION POSTS US$21.87 MLN GROUP NET LOSS.
December 3, 2001... TOKYO, Dec 3 Asia Pulse - Mitsui Construction Co. (TSE:1821) said Friday it posted a consolidated net loss of 2.7 billion yen (US$21.87 million) in the fiscal first half ended Sept. 30, an improvement from a 90.1 billion yen loss the previous...

JAPAN RETAILERS PLAN SPECIAL PRODUCTS TO CELEBRATE ROYAL BIRTH.
December 3, 2001... TOKYO, Dec 3 Asia Pulse - Baby goods marketers are due to offer special products and services to celebrate Saturday's birth of a baby girl to the crown prince and princess, industry observers say. Pigeon Corp. (TSE:7956) said the same day it...

OMANI COMMERCE MINISTER VISITS TEHRAN FOR BILATERAL FORUM.
December 3, 2001... DUBAI, Dec 3 Asia Pulse - Oman's Minister of Commerce, Industries and Mines, Maqbul-ibn-Ali Sultan, heading a delegation, has left Muscat for Tehran on a three-day official visit to attend the eighth meeting of the Iran-Oman Joint Cooperation...

TEA CULTIVATION PICKS UP IN NORTH WEST FRONTIER PAKISTAN.
December 3, 2001... KARACHI, Dec 3 Asia Pulse - Commercial production of tea will start from 2004 as tea cultivation in the North West Frontier Pakistan (NWFP) picks up, following initial success of trial production undertaken by a multinational company. A...

AUSTRALIAN ECONOMY SET FOR BOOM/BUST CYCLE IN NEXT DECADE.
December 3, 2001... SYDNEY, Dec 3 Asia Pulse - The Australian economy is forecast in a new report to experience an investment-led boom-bust cycle over the next decade. GDP growth is expected to peak in 2004/05 before a downturn in 2007/08. The BIS Shrapnel...

HYNIX SEMICONDUCTOR OPENS TALKS WITH MICRON ON NEW ALLIANCE.
December 3, 2001... SEOUL, Dec 3 Asia Pulse - Hynix Semiconductor Inc. said Monday that it was in talks with Micron Technology, Inc. about a possible strategic alliance and other transactions. Hynix President Park Chong-sup and Steve Appleton, chairman and...

INDIAN GOVT SAYS NEEDS BODY TO JUDGE REGULATOR PERFORMANCE.
December 3, 2001... NEW DELHI, Dec 3 Asia Pulse - Indian Government has said there is a need to evolve a body to judge the performance of regulators to make them accountable. "There is a need to have a body (which could be within the system) to judge the...

NIKKEI COMMODITY INDEX HITS RECORD LOW.
December 3, 2001... TOKYO, Dec 3 Asia Pulse - The Nikkei Commodity Price Index for 42 basic materials fell to 99.203 (1970_100) on Friday, its lowest level since monitoring began in 1973. The plunge reflects falling prices of petroleum products, steel...

GLOBAL MARKETS SHOWING SIGNS OF RECOVERY: AUSTRADE.
December 3, 2001... BRISBANE, Dec 3 Asia Pulse - A top Australian trade adviser said today that global markets were showing signs of recovery, three months after the September 11 terrorist attacks. Australian Trade Commission (Austrade) executive general...

KOREAN GOV'T NOT TO OFFER ADDITIONAL PUBLIC FUNDS: JIN NYUM.
December 3, 2001... SEOUL, Dec 3 Asia Pulse - Deputy Prime Minister Jin Nyum said Monday the government will not offer additional public funds to ailing financial institutions. "We have no plan to form additional public funds," Jin said in an interview with...

INDIAN CHAMBER DEMANDS TAX HOLIDAY FOR AUTO LPG KITS.
December 3, 2001... NEW DELHI, Dec 3 Asia Pulse - Industry association Associated Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ASSOCHAM) has demanded tax holiday for auto LPG kits and dispensing equipment and interest-free credit with long spreads to popularise the use of...

SPEEDCAST ANNOUNCES PARTNERSHIP WITH RADIO FREE VIRGIN.
December 3, 2001... (Full text of a statement. Contact details below.) HONG KONG, Nov. 30 PRNewswire Asia-AsiaNet - SpeedCast Ltd., a leading broadband enabler of satellite based services, today announced a partnership with Radio Free Virgin, a leading digital...

AUSTRALIAN MARKETS BRACE FOR FALLOUT FROM ENRON SHOCK.
December 3, 2001... MELBOURNE, Dec 3 Asia Pulse - Australian markets are bracing for fallout this week from the Enron Corp debacle. Australia's big four banks have already admitted they face a $A675 million ($US348.1 million) blowout in bad debts if the US...

BHP BILLITON SET TO BUILD NEW COAL MINE FOR $US216MLN.
December 3, 2001... SYDNEY, Dec 3 Asia Pulse - BHP Billiton (ASX:BHP) has approved the construction of a new Australian coal mine, with a capital expenditure outlay estimated at $US126 million. The Dendrobium metalurgical coal mine in the Illawarra region of...

CHINA TO SET UP "SILK PARK" IN PAKISTAN.
December 3, 2001... LAHORE, Dec 3 Asia Pulse - China is planning to set up a 'silk park' in Pakistan for the printing of plain silk cloth and its conversion into garments. "The Chinese who will export the plain silk cloth as raw material to the industrial...

MANUFACTURERS FACE BETTER OUTLOOK IN AUSTRALIAN STATE: SURVEY.
December 3, 2001... SYDNEY, Dec 3 Asia Pulse - A new survey has shown that business conditions improved for the third consecutive quarter in the New South Wales manufacturing sector. The sector is flagging its best conditions in seven years over the first...

IMF, WORLD BANK BACK PAKISTAN'S REFORMS OF REVENUE BOARD.
December 3, 2001... ISLAMABAD, Dec 3 Asia Pulse - The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank (WB) have supported the government's approved strategy to bring sweeping reforms in the Central Board of Revenue (CBR), sources said. The two agencies...

AGILENT TECHNOLOGIES SELECTS VSOURCE FOR PAYROLL SOLUTION.
December 3, 2001... (Full text of a statement. Contact details below.) VENTURA, Calif., Nov. 29 PRNewswire - AsiaNet - Vsource, Inc. (Nasdaq: VSRC), a market leader in providing customized Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) and Distribution Services into and...

KMT SUFFERS GREAT SETBACK IN TAIWAN LEGISLATIVE ELECTION.
December 3, 2001... TAIPEI, Dec 3 Asia Pulse - The opposition Kuomintang (KMT) lost its position as the largest party in the Legislative Yuan Saturday, winning only 68 seats as compared with the 87 seats won by the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). ...

PAKISTAN, IRAN AGREE TO LAY GAS PIPELINE.
December 3, 2001... ISLAMABAD, Dec 3 Asia Pulse - Pakistan and Iran have to build a multi-million dollar gas pipeline between the two countries which would ultimately supply gas to India. The visiting foreign minister of Iran Dr Kamal Kharrazi told a news...

TAIWAN TOURISM INDUSTRY DIVIDED OVER PROSPECTS AFTER ELECTIONS.
December 3, 2001... TAIPEI, Dec 3 Asia Pulse - Taiwan's travel service agencies, which have been battered by the global economic downturn over the past year, have mixed opinions about business prospects after Saturday's legislative and local government chief...

PAKISTAN, CHINA SIGN CONTRACT TO DEVELOP SAINDAK PROJECT.
December 3, 2001... ISLAMABAD, Dec 3 Asia Pulse - Pakistan and China on Friday signed a formal contract valued at US$350 million for the development of Saindak Copper-Gold project in Baluchistan. The contract has been awarded on lease basis to the China...

TAIWAN LIFTS RESTRICTIONS ON 122 ITEMS FOR MAINLAND INVESTMENT.
December 3, 2001... TAIPEI, Dec 3 Asia Pulse - The Ministry of Economic Affairs has lifted restrictions on 122 electronic items which are now open to investment across the Taiwan Strait, a ministry official said Friday. The official said that 122 electronic...

PAKISTAN GOVT URGED TO SUBSIDISE EXPORT OF 200,000 TONS OF SUGAR.
December 3, 2001... KARACHI, Dec 3 Asia Pulse - The Pakistan Sugar Mills Association (PSMA) has urged the government to subsidise the export of 200,000 tons of white sugar to ease the stocks of the commodity available with the sugar mills so that the...

TRADING CORP OF PAKISTAN ACCEPTS BID FOR 5,000 COTTON BALES.
December 3, 2001... KARACHI, Dec 3 Asia Pulse - Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP) has accepted the highest bid of an Italian firm Indutech S.P.A. Milano for the export of 5,000 cotton bales against the offer price of 30.06 cents. According to TCP here...

BEIJING OBSERVERS SURPRISED BY TAIWAN'S ELECTION RESULTS.
December 3, 2001... BEIJING, Dec 3 Asia Pulse - Political observers in Beijing said Saturday that they were surprised by the election results in Taiwan whereby the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) replaced the opposition Kuomintang (KMT) as the largest...

PAKISTAN STATE OIL, SHELL REDUCE FURNACE OIL PRICE.
December 3, 2001... KARACHI, Dec 3 Asia Pulse - Pakistan State Oil (PSO) and Shell Pakistan Ltd. have drastically reduced the prices of furnace oil by Rs712 (US$11.71) and Rs707.25 per tonne respectively effective from December 1. The country's largest oil...

NIKKEI WEEKLY HIGHLIGHTS - DEC 3, 2001.
December 3, 2001... TOKYO, Dec 3 Asia Pulse - Major headlines from the Dec 3 issue of the Nikkei Weekly: FRONT - Koizumi wades into bad-debt swamp - Megabanks attempt cleanup to redress balance sheets - Enron collapse sends shock through Japan...

OMAN COMMERCE MINISTER ATTENDS OMAN/IRAN MEETING.
December 3, 2001... MUSCAT, Dec 3 Asia Pulse - Maqbool bin Ali bin Sultan, Commerce and Industry Minister, left here Saturday for the Islamic Republic of Iran to head the Sultanate's delegation at the third session of the Omani- Iranian joint committee due to be...

OPTION TRADING SURGES IN SEOUL.
December 3, 2001... SEOUL, Dec 3 Asia Pulse - Stock index options trading has surged 400 per cent so far this year as traders continue to use it as a means to speculate rather than to hedge, according to the Korea Stock Exchange Monday. Daily average trading...

OMAN CENTRAL BANK ALLOCATES TREASURY BILLS WORTH US$20.8 MLN.
December 3, 2001... MUSCAT, Dec 3 Asia Pulse - A bidding session for Omani Treasury bills issue No.72 was held at the Central Bank of Oman (CBO) last week. The total value of allocated bills was RO.8 million (US$20.78 million), with revenue of 2.33 per cent...

PENTAGON CONFIDENT OF HELPING TAIWAN ACQUIRE SUBMARINES: OFFICIAL.
December 3, 2001... WASHINGTON, Dec 3 Asia Pulse - A Pentagon official said Thursday that the U.S. Department of Defense is confident of its ability to help Taiwan acquire eight diesel-electric submarines, contrary to a report Wednesday that claimed it might be...

STOCKS - AUSTRALIAN STOCKS LOWER AT NOON - DEC 3, 2001.
December 3, 2001... SYDNEY, Dec 3 Asia Pulse - The Australian stock market was weaker at noon, with little direction provided from overseas markets. By 1210 AEDT, the benchmark ASX/S&P 200 index was 5.2 points lower at 3332.2 and the all ordinaries index had...

INDIAN LABOUR LAWS PROTECT ONLY 8% OF WORKFORCE: REPORT.
December 3, 2001... NEW DELHI, Dec 3 Asia Pulse - Setting up of a statutory board for workers in the unorganised sector, provision of multi-purpose identity cards and payment of minimum wages equivalent to initial salary drawn by a Class-IV Central Government...

FOREX - AUSTRALIAN DOLLAR UP AT NOON - DEC 3, 2001.
December 3, 2001... SYDNEY, Dec 3 Asia Pulse - The Australian dollar is firmer from Friday but has experienced little price action over the early part of the day and dealers expect the unit to remain range bound over the course of the session. At 1200 AEDT,...

AUSTRALIAN RETAIL TRADE UP 1.3 PCT IN COT: ABS.
December 3, 2001... SYDNEY, Dec 3 Asia Pulse - Australian retail trade rose 1.3 per cent in October to a seasonally adjusted, $A13.806 billion ($US7.12 billion) from a downwardly revised $A13.625 billion ($US7.03 billion) in September, the Australian Bureau of...

TAIWAN'S CETRA TO FORM MIDEAST, EUROPE, CIS ECONOMIC ASSOCIATION.
December 3, 2001... TAIPEI, Dec 3 Asia Pulse - The China External Trade Development Council (CETRA) will help form a trade promotion association to improve Taiwan's trade with the Middle East, Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), a CETRA...

OMAN TO BUILD HOTEL IN KHASAB.
December 3, 2001... MUSCAT, Dec 3 Asia Pulse - The Commerce and Industry Ministry has recently opened envelopes of the Khasab Hotel construction tender which will be implemented by the Ministry at Dhahr Qinah, in the wilayat of Khasab, Musandam Governorate. ...

KOREAN NEWSPAPER HIGHLIGHTS - DEC. 3, 2001.
December 3, 2001... SEOUL, Dec 3 Asia Pulse - Highlights of today's newspapers: DONG-A ILBO - Former ranking official of National Intelligence Service (NIS) discovered to have ordered subordinate to keep tabs on prosecutor's investigation of Jin...

OMAN'S OIL REVENUE UP IN 1ST SIX MONTHS.
December 3, 2001... MUSCAT, Dec 3 Asia Pulse - The gross domestic product (GDP) of the oil and non-oil sectors in the Sultanate at current prices rose to RO. 3837 million (US$9,971.23 million) during the first six months this year compared to RO. 3619.2 million...

STOCKS - KOREAN STOCKS OPEN LOWER - DEC 3, 2001.
December 3, 2001... SEOUL, Dec 3 Asia Pulse - Korean shares were off to a weak start early Monday as investors started to make adjustments to last weeks volatile market. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), stood at 637.32, as of 10:02 a.m., down...

INDONESIAN EXPORTS DOWN 6.48 PCT IN FIRST 10 MONTHS.
December 3, 2001... JAKARTA, Dec 3 Asia Pulse - Indonesia's exports fell by 6.48 per cent in the ten months of 2001 year-on-year to reach US$48.12 billion, which reached $51.66 billion, the Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS) reported at the weekend. However,...

FOREX - U.S. DOLLAR REMAINS UNCHANGED VS WON - DEC 3, 2001.
December 3, 2001... SEOUL, Dec 3 Asia Pulse - The U.S. dollar stayed flat against the won early Monday. After beginning the day higher at 1,273.80 won, the U.S. unit changed hands at 1,272.60 won as of 10:10 a.m., down slightly from Friday's close of 1,273...

INDONESIAN NEWSPAPER HIGHLIGHTS - DEC 3, 2001.
December 3, 2001... JAKARTA, Dec 3 Asia Pulse - Highlights of today's newspapers : THE JAKARTA POST - State-owned oil and gas company Pertamina said it would lower fuel prices for industry in December by an average of 7.8 per cent, the company said in a...

PAKISTAN'S MULTAN DRYPORT HANDLES MORE EXPORTS.
December 3, 2001... MULTAN, Dec 3 Asia Pulse - Deputy Collector Customs, Sales Tax and Excise, Headquarters, Abdullah Maalik, said that exports from Multan Dryport has risen to Rs3 billion (US$49.34 million) during the current fiscal year. He said imports...

INDIAN GOVT APPROVES CLOSURE OF DAM DIVERSION TUNNELS.
December 3, 2001... DEHRADUN, Dec 3 Asia Pulse - Despite strong opposition by environmentalists and community groups, the Indian government has approved the closure of two diversion tunnels from the controversial 2400 mw Tehri Hydel dam project. The Tehri...

REDBOOK DEVELOPS NEW ZEALAND MOTORCYCLE REGISTRY.
December 3, 2001... (Full text of a statement. Contact details below.) AUCKLAND, Dec 3 Medianet International-AsiaNet - For the first time ever, a comprehensive database of motorcycles in New Zealand - both new and used (including imports) - has been developed...

HEAD OF INDIA'S RELIANCE CALLS FOR STRENGTH AFTER ENRON COLLAPSE.
December 3, 2001... MUMBAI, Dec 3 Asia Pulse - The downfall of Enron Corporation of United States is a reminder of turbulent times ahead and top performance was the key to meet global competition, Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) managing director, Anil Ambani said...

FOREIGN INVESTORS STILL HAVE CONFIDENCE IN PHILIPPINES.
December 3, 2001... MANILA, Dec 3 Asia Pulse - Foreign investors continue to have confidence in the Philippines despite the global economic uncertainties brought about by the September 11 terrorist attacks in the United States. In her radio and TV program...

KOREA REPORTS SHARP FALL IN BANKS' NONPERFORMING LOANS.
December 3, 2001... SEOUL, Dec 3 Asia Pulse - South Korea's 11 commercial banks saw a sharp decrease in their ratio of non-performing loans to an average 5.1 per cent at the end of September from 8.8 per cent at the end of last year and 13.9 per cent at the end of...

OMANI TELECOMS SIGNS GSM ROAMING SERVICE WITH YEMEN CO.
December 3, 2001... MUSCAT, Dec 3 Asia Pulse - The Omani Telecommunications Company (OTC) is continuing its efforts linking the Sultanate with the rest of the world via GSM network Roaming Service. OTC signed recently GSM Roaming Service with Space Tel Company...