AsiaPulse News articles from January 2003

AsiaPulse News archives from January 2003

BUSINESS WIRE ASIAN BRIEFING - JAN 1, 2003.
January 1, 2003... A summary of Asian news releases for January 1, 2003, compiled by AsiaWire (http://www.asiawire.info), Asia Pacific Regional Reciprocal Office of Business Wire (http://www.businesswire.com), the global leader in news distribution. For full...

PAKISTAN NEWSPAPER HIGHLIGHTS - JAN 1, 2003.
January 1, 2003... ISLAMABAD, Jan 2 Asia Pulse - Highlights of yesterday's newspapers: DAWN: - Senate polls to be held on February 4 - Army can face any threat: Musharraf - US-Pakistan security symposium on January 10 - Drought claims 24...

STOCKS - YEAR 2002 CLOSES ON A CAUTIOUSLY OPTIMISTIC NOTE - DE.
January 1, 2003... STOCKS - YEAR 2002 CLOSES ON A CAUTIOUSLY OPTIMISTIC NOTE - DEC 31, 2002 $all $in $stx pticloser MUMBAI, Dec 31 Asia Pulse - Year 2002 closed on a cautiously optimistic note with select shares registering modest gains in lacklustre trading...

STOCKS - DSE REMAINS TRADELESS - JAN 2, 2003.
January 2, 2003... NEW DELHI, Jan 2 Asia Pulse - The Delhi Stock Exchange (DSE) remained tradeless today as most of the market participants were seen doing business on the other leading bourses. With no trading activity on the bourse, the DSE index was...

FOREX - US AOLLAR SLIGHTLY DEARER AGAINST RUPEE - JAN 2, 2003.
January 2, 2003... MUMBAI, Jan 2 Asia Pulse - The U.S. Dollar ended slightly dearer against the rupee at Rs 48.02/03 per dollar but the Pound Sterling turned cheaper at Rs 77.19/21 per Pound at the close of the Interbank Foreign Exchange (FOREX) Market here...

FOREX - AUSTRALIAN DOLLAR OPENS WEAKER - JAN 2, 2003.
January 2, 2003... SYDNEY, Jan 2 Asia Pulse - The Australian dollar has opened lower to begin 2003, although little action is expected as most countries continue to enjoy celebrations for the new year. At 0700 AEDT, the Australian dollar was at US$0.5613/18,...

AUSTRALIAN NEWSPAPER HIGHLIGHTS - JAN 2, 2003.
January 2, 2003... SYDNEY, Jan 2 Asia Pulse - Highlights of today's newspapers: THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: - Ringleaders of attempted breakout from Villawood Detention Centre moved to maximum security wing of Silverwater Jail. - New Zealand's Foreign...

YESASIA.COM & COSMOS BOOKS JOIN FORCES.
January 2, 2003... (Full text of a statement. Contact details below.) SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 31 /XFNHK-AsiaNet/ -- YesAsia.com, the leading Asian on-line entertainment store, today announced its partnership with Cosmos Books Limited, one of the largest book...

AUSTRALIA'S AMP RELEASES DETAILS OF US$24.71 MLN SHARE BUYBACK.
January 2, 2003... SYDNEY, Jan 2 Asia Pulse - AMP Ltd (ASX:AMP) has bought back A$44.067 million (US$24.71 million) of its own shares, the financial services company said today. The company said it bought back 2.67 million shares on the market, for between...

BHP BILLITON WELL POSITIONED TO WEATHER DOWNTURN, ANALYSTS SAY.
January 2, 2003... MELBOURNE, Jan 2 Asia Pulse - Over-supply and Middle East tensions have left commodity prices not far above record lows going into 2003, but resource giant BHP Billiton (ASX:BHP), with its diverse portfolio, is well positioned to weather the...

AUSTRALIA'S CHIEF EMPLOYER BODY UNVEILS ANNUAL ECONOMIC WISHLIST.
January 2, 2003... CANBERRA, Jan 2 Asia Pulse - A Budget surplus, more jobs, personal tax reform and a national industrial relations system should top the government's New Year's resolutions list, Australia's chief employer body said today. In its annual...

AUSTRALIAN SHARES LIKELY TO START YEAR ON SLUGGISH NOTE.
January 2, 2003... SYDNEY, Jan 2 Asia Pulse - Australian shares are likely to kick off 2003 in much the same the way as they ended 2002 - with sluggish, uninspired trade amid dull global sentiment. After a holiday across the world's markets today, the...

AUSTRALIA'S CARTER HOLT HARVEY SELLS CHILEAN FIRM FOR US$11 MLN.
January 2, 2003... SYDNEY, Jan 2 Asia Pulse - Forestry and wood business Carter Holt Harvey Ltd (ASX:CHY) has sold its Chilean packaging firm for US$11 million (A$19.52 million), the company said today. The business is being acquired by a consortium...

AUSTRALIA'S DECEMBER PMI HOLDS POSITIVE OUTLOOK FOR 2003.
January 2, 2003... SYDNEY, Jan 2 Asia Pulse - The Performance of Manufacturing Index for December has slipped from its November levels but still holds a positive outlook for 2003. The Australian Industry Group PMI came in at 56.7 points to end 2002, a fall...

AUSTRALIA NOT IMMUNE FROM SMALLPOX THREAT, US EXPERTS SAY.
January 2, 2003... SYDNEY, Jan 2 Asia Pulse - A terrorist on a suicide mission could just as likely be armed with smallpox as a bomb and the impact on Australia from such an attack might only be as far away as an overseas tour group, US experts say. Director...

SOUTH KOREAN AUTOMOBILES TOP LIST OF ITEMS EXPORTED TO US.
January 2, 2003... SEOUL, Jan 2 Asia Pulse - Automobiles took the first spot among the nation's export items in the U.S. market for the second straight year last year in terms of export amounts, further widening gaps against wireless communications equipment and...

HYUNDAI AVANTE XD BECOMES KOREA'S OVERSEAS BESTSELLER IN 2002.
January 2, 2003... SEOUL, Jan 2 Asia Pulse - Hyundai Motor's (KSE:05380) passenger car Avante XD was the bestseller abroad last year among Korean-made vehicles, industry sources said. During the first 11 month last year, the sedan sold the most at 162,095...

SOUTH KOREA ENJOYS US$10.8 BLN OF TRADE SURPLUS IN 2002.
January 2, 2003... SEOUL, Jan 2 Asia Pulse - Korea posted a trade surplus of US$10.8 billion in 2002 by exporting US$162.82 billion worth of goods, up 8.2 per cent from a year ago, and importing US$152.02 billion worth, up 7.7 per cent, the Ministry of Commerce,...

INDIA'S PETROLEUM SECTOR PLAGUED BY CONTROVERSY IN 2002.
January 2, 2003... NEW DELHI, Jan 2 Asia Pulse - India's petroleum sector provided fuel for political controversies such as the divestment of oil companies and the petrol pump allotment scam during 2002, as deregulation and major gas finds were relegated to the...

INDIAN POLITICS UPSTAGES ECONOMICS IN 2002.
January 2, 2003... NEW DELHI, Jan 2 Asia Pulse - Politics had the better of economics during 2002, which saw a setback to reforms particularly with disinvestment and Foreign Direct Investment growth already hit by severe drought in fourteen states. But there...

STOCKS - AUSTRALIAN SHARES OPEN WEAKER - JAN 2, 2003.
January 2, 2003... SYDNEY, Jan 2 Asia Pulse - Australian stocks kicked off the new year with little activity this morning, sliding slightly in early trade. "It's a little bit softer, it opened down about three points for the all ords," Macquarie Equities...

WORLD CUP FEVER, LOWER PRICES BOOST INDIAN TV SALES IN 2002.
January 2, 2003... NEW DELHI, Jan 2 Asia Pulse - On the back of World Cup football fever, colour TVs led a strong rally in the consumer electronics industry during 2002, with foreign brands such as LG and Samsung overtaking domestic giants BPL and Videocon so...

INDIAN GOVT FACES STIFF RESISTANCE IN ATTEMPTS TO ATTRACT FDI.
January 2, 2003... NEW DELHI, Jan 2 Asia Pulse - Amid the debate over whether India can replicate China in attracting Foreign Direct Investment during 2002, the government took some bold steps, including liberalising areas like print media and defence, but not...

INDIA'S RELIANCE STRIKES GAS IN 6TH WELL IN KG DEEPWATER BLOCK.
January 2, 2003... NEW DELHI, Jan 2 Asia Pulse - Reliance Industries (ASX:RELI) has stumbled upon significant gas reserves in the sixth well it has drilled in the Krishna Godavari Basin block, where it had earlier this year discovered 7 trillion cubic feet of gas...

BHARTI'S NET DEBT FIGURE LIKELY TO REACH US$677.2 MLN IN MARCH.
January 2, 2003... NEW DELHI, Jan 2 Asia Pulse - Indian telecom major Bharti Televentures' (BSE:BRTI) net debt figure is likely to be about Rs 32.5 billion (US$677.2 million) on March 31, 2003 compared to about Rs 27 billion at present. "We expect the net...

INDIA'S TISCO, DR REDDY'S & IBP RECEIVE CORPORATE GOVERNANCE AWARD.
January 2, 2003... NEW DELHI, Jan 2 Asia Pulse - Tisco, Dr Reddy's Laboratories (BSE:REDY) and IBP Ltd today received the national award for excellence in corporate governance instituted by the Institute of Company Secretaries of India. Vice President of...

INDIAN OIL MARKETING FIRMS MAY BLEND ETHANOL WITH PREMIUM FUELS.
January 2, 2003... MUMBAI, Jan 2 Asia Pulse - Oil marketing companies IOC, BPCL and HPCL may extend the "gasohol" experiment to their newly introduced high-end premium fuels, by mixing five per cent ethanol in their branded petrol category. "We will first...

SAUDI AIRLINES TO BEGIN FLIGHTS TO INDIAN CITY OF KOCHI.
January 2, 2003... DUBAI, Jan 2 Asia Pulse - Saudi Arabian Airlines will fly to Kochi as its fourth Indian destination and Air India will raise the number of flights to the kingdom from six to nine under a new agreement. The agreement was reached in Jeddah...

INDIA REGISTERS 5.8% GDP GROWTH IN Q2.
January 2, 2003... NEW DELHI, Jan 2 Asia Pulse - Belying expectations of a lower growth, India's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the second quarter of this fiscal year grew at an impressive 5.8 per cent despite a dismal performance by the agriculture sector which...

INDIA'S EXPORT GROWTH HAS LONG WAY TO GO, COMMERCE MINISTER SAYS.
January 2, 2003... NEW DELHI, Jan 2 Asia Pulse - A 29 per cent growth in imports during November last year took the sheen off a sustained recovery in exports, which booked an impressive increase of 16 per cent to US$4.13 billion. Commerce and Industry...

INDIAN CELLULAR OPERATORS MAY ANNOUNCE TARIFF INCENTIVES TODAY.
January 2, 2003... NEW DELHI, Jan 2 Asia Pulse - Joining hands to counter limited mobility services, cellular operators will announce a major initiative which may include special tariffs incentives and value additions for cellular customers to prevent them from...

INDIAN GOVT LAUNCHES DIPLOMATIC EFFORTS TO SECURE SUDAN OIL FIELD.
January 2, 2003... NEW DELHI, Jan 2 Asia Pulse - The Indian government has launched a top level diplomatic initiative to secure a Sudanese oil field, where ONGC Videsh Ltd's (OVL) proposal to buy Canadian Talisman Energy's 25 per cent stake for US$720 million is...

SINGAPORE NEWSPAPER HIGHLIGHTS - JAN 2, 2003.
January 2, 2003... SINGAPORE, Jan 2 Asia Pulse - Highlights of today's newspapers: THE STRAITS TIMES: - Despite glimmers of hope that the region will see a US-led economic recovery this year, many companies are still intent on cutting costs by lowering...

O'SEAS PROJECTS CLINCHED BY KOREAN FIRMS REACHED US$6 BLN IN 2002.
January 2, 2003... SEOUL, Jan 2 Asia Pulse - Overseas projects clinched by domestic construction firms last year exceeded US$6 billion and are projected to reach US$7 billion this year, the Ministry of Construction and Transportation said today. The ministry...

AUSTRALIA'S MIG TO IMPLEMENT HIGHER CHARGES ON CANADIAN MOTORWAY.
January 2, 2003... SYDNEY, Jan 2 Asia Pulse - Macquarie Infrastructure Group (MIG) (ASX:MIG) today said higher toll charges will be implemented for its part-owned motorway in Toronto, Canada, from next month. Coming into effect on February 1, MIG said tolls...

DISPUTE MAY DISRUPT INTN'L POKER TOURNAMENT AT AUSTRALIAN CASINO.
January 2, 2003... MELBOURNE, Jan 2 Asia Pulse - An international poker tournament could be interrupted if talks between Melbourne's Crown Casino management and a union over pay and working conditions fail this morning. If the 11am (AEDT) meeting breaks...

AUSTRALIAN DOLLAR TO MARK 20TH ANNIVERSARY OF "FLOAT" IN 2003.
January 2, 2003... SYDNEY, Jan 2 Asia Pulse - It's been an exciting ride for Australia's dollar since it was "floated" 20 years ago. The local dollar will mark the 20 year anniversary of that float in 2003 as a more narrowly traded currency but one that is...

AUSTRALIAN CONSUMERS MISLEAD ON NEW CREDIT CARD REFORMS: VISA.
January 2, 2003... SYDNEY, Jan 2 Asia Pulse - Reports that petrol company Caltex (ASX:CTX) would charge customers for credit card transactions but not lower petrol prices was the first indication of how consumers had been mislead about new credit card reforms,...

AGREEMENT WITH HUAIAN INVESTMENT CO ON TRANSFERRING INTEREST.
January 2, 2003... (Full text of a statement. Contact details below.) BEIJING, Jan. 2 /XFNHK-AsiaNet/ -- Huaneng Power International, Inc. (the Company) (NYSE: HNP; HKEx: 902; SSE: 600011) today announced that it has signed an equity transfer agreement with...

RESOLUTION PASSED AT HUANENG EXTRAORDINARY GENERAL MEETING.
January 2, 2003... (Full text of a statement. Contact details below.) BEIJING, Jan. 2 /XFNHK-AsiaNet/ -- Huaneng Power International, Inc. (the Company) (NYSE: HNP; HKEx: 902; SSE: 600011) held an extraordinary general meeting in Beijing on December 31, 2002...

KOREA'S KDIC TO STRENGTHEN RISK MONITORING OF FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS.
January 2, 2003... SEOUL, Jan 2 Asia Pulse - The Korea Deposit Insurance Corp. (KDIC) today said it will focus its attention on risk monitoring of financial institutions to prevent them from running into trouble in the new year. The state-run corporation said...

OVERDUE LOANS ON CREDIT CARDS EXCEEDS US$7.62 BLN IN NOV, 2002.
January 2, 2003... SEOUL, Jan 2 Asia Pulse - Overdue credit card loans totaled 9.06 trillion won (US$7.62 billion) as of the end of November, up 8 per cent from October, the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) said yesterday. The figure stood at 6.24 trillion...

STOCKS - AUSTRALIAN SHARES HIGHER AT NOON - JAN 2, 2003.
January 2, 2003... MELBOURNE, Jan 2 Asia Pulse - The Australian share market was slightly higher at noon, recovering from a softer open. Trade remained thin and is not expected to pick up until next week. By 1202 AEDT, the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index was...

FOREX - AUSTRALIAN DOLLAR WEAKER AT NOON - JAN 2, 2003.
January 2, 2003... SYDNEY, Jan 2 Asia Pulse - The Australian dollar has given up almost half a US cent since markets closed on December 31 as dealers see it taking a back seat early in the new year. Australia's bond market has attracted a slight bid tone as...

PT TELKOM TIES UP WITH SAMSUNG, ERICSSON IN FIXED-WIRELESS PROJECT.
January 2, 2003... BANDUNG, W Java, Jan 2 Asia Pulse - State telecom company PT Telkom (JSX:TLKM) and the consortium of Samsung Electronics and Ericsson have signed a Master of Procurement Partnership Agreement (MPPA). The business agreement would include the...

PRIVATIZATION OF INDONESIA'S STATE FIRMS TO CONTINUE: MINISTER.
January 2, 2003... JAKARTA, Jan 2 Asia Pulse - State Minister for State Enterprises Laksamana Sukardi has said the government will stick to its plan for the privatization of some state enterprises in a bid to improve the country's fiscal condition. "Despite...

KOREAN GOVT REQUESTS DELAY IN U.S. PROBE INTO D-RAM SUBSIDIES.
January 2, 2003... SEOUL, Jan 2 Asia Pulse - South Korea has requested a delay in its answer to the questionnaire by the United States on alleged state subsidies to Korean chip makers, according to the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy. "The...

INDONESIA'S BATAM LICENCES 80 FOREIGN INVESTMENT PROJECTS IN 2002.
January 2, 2003... BATAM, Jan 2 Asia Pulse - Indonesia's Batam Authority licenced 80 foreign investment projects worth US$225.77 million in the January-November period of 2002, up 38 per cent from the same period in the prior year. The authority said that...

INDONESIA TO REMAINS IMF MEMBER AFTER 2003: ECONOMICS MINISTER.
January 2, 2003... JAKARTA, Jan 2 Asia Pulse - Chief Economic Minister Dorodjatun Kuntjoro-Jakti said Indonesia will remain a member of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) despite a decision on the expiry of a contract with the Fund. "Don't misconstrue the...

INDONESIA'S TIN BUSINESS TO IMPROVE IN 2003: PT TIMAH DIRECTOR.
January 2, 2003... PANGKALPINANG, S Sumatra, Jan 2 Asia Pulse - State-owned tin company PT Timah Tbk (JSX:TINS) is optimistic that the country's tin trade in fiscal 2003 would be improved because international market demands for the commodity would increase. ...

INDONESIAN GOVT ANNOUNCES NEW FUEL OIL PRICES.
January 2, 2003... JAKARTA, Jan 2 Asia Pulse - The Indonesian government yesterday announced new prices of fuel oils which will take effect from today. "In 2003, the prices of fuel oils will be increased to 100 per cent of market prices. The new prices for...

INDONESIA SHOULD IDEALLY STOP WORKING WITH IMF: MPR CHAIRMAN.
January 2, 2003... JAKARTA, Jan 2 Asia Pulse - Chairman of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) Amien Rais said Indonesia should ideally stop working with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in 2003. "The 'dream team' cabinet firstly hailed (by various...

INDONESIAN GOVT TO SELL 16.78 PCT STAKE IN CEMENT MAKER.
January 2, 2003... JAKARTA, Jan 2 Asia Pulse - The Indonesian government plans to sell its 16.78 per cent stake in publicly listed cement maker PT Indocement Tunggal Prakarsa (JSX:INTP) under its privatization program this year. The country's second largest...

STOCKS - KOREAN STOCKS OPEN STRONGER - JAN 2, 2003.
January 2, 2003... SEOUL, Jan 2 Asia Pulse - After five days of drops, Korean stocks rallied above the 630-point mark on individuals' net buying on the first trading day of this year. Starting 5.48 points higher at 633.03 Thursday, the Korea Composite Stock...

SECURITIES ANALYSTS PREDICT SLOW RECOVERY FOR TAIEX IN 2003.
January 2, 2003... TAIPEI, Jan 2 Asia Pulse - Predicting that the Asian region in general may attain only moderate economic growth in the coming year, securities investment analysts of Morgan Stanley, Allianz Dresdner and Merrill Lynch have forecast that Taiwan's...

MANY CHINESE PRODUCTS SELLING AS LOCAL BRANDS IN KOREAN MARKET.
January 2, 2003... SEOUL, Jan 2 Asia Pulse - Domestic consumers are required to be cautious in purchasing home appliances and garments, as more than a few Chinese-made products are disguised as locally-made ones. Traditional markets such as Namdaemun and...

INDONESIAN NEWSPAPER HIGHLIGHTS - JAN 2, 2003.
January 2, 2003... JAKARTA, Jan 2 Asia Pulse - Highlights of today's newspapers: THE JAKARTA POST: - Indonesians enjoyed New Year festivities peacefully amid tight security by police and military personnel with no violence and bombings reported during...

TAIWAN PRESIDENT KEEN TO BEGIN DIRECT TRANSPORT LINKS WITH CHINA.
January 2, 2003... TAIPEI, Jan 2 Asia Pulse - Industrial leaders on Wednesday were positive about President Chen Shui-bian's promotion of direct transportation links with mainland China in his new year's speech and expressed the hope that the links would be a...

BRISKER TRADING FORECAST FOR FIRST JSX TRADING SESSION OF 2003.
January 2, 2003... JAKARTA, Jan 2 Asia Pulse - A jump to the level of 450 in the composite index is predicted to mark the first trading session on the Jakarta Stock Exchange (JSX) in 2003. The Bisnis Indonesia daily quoted analyst Ferry Latuhihin from PT...

TAIWAN URGED TO FOCUS ON R&D, INNOVATION.
January 2, 2003... TAIPEI, Jan 2 Asia Pulse - Amid optimistic forecasts by major research institutes for an improved economic situation at home and abroad in 2003, experts and government officials urged Taiwan companies to focus on R&D and innovation to expand...

POLICE UNIT FORMED IN TAIWAN TO BOOST ANTI-PIRACY EFFORTS.
January 2, 2003... Taipei, Jan 2 Asia Pulse - A police unit under the National Police Administration formally started operations Wednesday to crack down on commercial piracy across the country. Minister of Economic Affairs Lin Yi-fu and Minister of the...

TAIWAN INVESTORS' PURCHASES OF FOREIGN SECURITIES UP SHARPLY.
January 2, 2003... TAIPEI, Jan 2 Asia Pulse - Purchases of foreign securities and bonds by Taiwan investors in the first three quarters of 2002 totaled US$11.76 billion, up 50.6 per cent over the same period of 2001, according to statistics released by the...

TAIWAN'S TAIPOWER LOOKING FOR NEW SITE TO STORE NUCLEAR WASTE.
January 2, 2003... TAIPEI, Jan 2 Asia Pulse - Taiwan Power Company (Taipower) Chairman Lin Neng-pai said that the state-run firm will continue to look for a new site to store its nuclear waste since it has all but given up putting it on the outlying island of...

TAIWAN'S DIRECTORATE GENERAL OF POST TRANSFORMED INTO A CORP.
January 2, 2003... TAIPEI, Jan 2 Asia Pulse - The Directorate General of Post under the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC) was transformed into a state-owned firm as part of the government's efforts to privatize public enterprises to upgrade...

IT TRAINING MOU SIGNED BETWEEN PAKISTAN, SAUDI ARABIA.
January 2, 2003... KARACHI, Jan 2 Asia Pulse - A Memorandum of Understanding was signed for IT training between Pakistani and Saudi Arabian software firms, a press release from the Pakistan Software Export Board (PSEB) said. This MoU was signed between...

INCREASE IN PRICE OF PAKISTAN'S PETROLEUM PRODUCTS.
January 2, 2003... KARACHI, Jan 2 Asia Pulse - The Oil Companies Advisory Committee (OCAC) has increased the prices of petroleum products by Rs 1.36 (US$0.02) to Rs 1.48 per litre. The two leading companies - Pakistan State Oil (PSO) and Shell Pakistan...

US$1.4 BLN INVESTED IN PAKISTAN'S TEXTILE INDUSTRY.
January 2, 2003... KARACHI, Jan 2 Asia Pulse - Despite a lack of finances from the banking sector, over the past three years textile industry entrepreneurs have invested around US$1.4 billion in the upgrading and expansion of their production lines to face the...

BULLISH TREND CONTINUES ON PAKISTAN'S COTTON MARKET.
January 2, 2003... KARACHI, Jan 2 Asia Pulse - The cotton market has maintained a bullish outlook as ginners held on to their stocks apparently in a bid to raise prices further higher. Ready offtake, therefore, fell to a modest proportions as spinners were...

STOCKS - MALAYSIAN STOCKS DOWN IN EARLY TRADE - JAN 2, 2003.
January 2, 2003... KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 2 Asia Pulse - The Malaysian sharemarket was down in early trade on investor fears motivated by the increasing build up of US troops in the Middle East, dealers said. At 11.05 am, the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange Composite...

FOREX - US$ OPENS HIGHER AGAINST KOREAN WON - JAN 2, 2003.
January 2, 2003... SEOUL, Jan 2 Asia Pulse - The U.S. dollar edged up against the Korean won early Thursday on so-called "New Year effects." Opening higher at 1,188 won, a 1.80 won rise from Tuesday's close, the U.S. currency stood at 1,188.10 won as of 9:44...

KOREAN MINISTERS TO DISCUSS CONSUMER PRICE CONTROLS.
January 2, 2003... SEOUL, Jan 2 Asia Pulse - Economic ministers will hold a conference around the middle of the month to discuss measures to deal with possible hikes in consumer prices, the Ministry of Finance and Economy (MOFE) said today. The ministry...

PUBLIC BIDDING INVITED FOR MAJOR RESEARCH PROJECTS IN GUANGDONG.
January 2, 2003... GUANGZHOU, Jan 2 Asia Pulse - Public bidding is invited for research projects to aid government decision-making in south China's Guangdong Province, according to sources with the provincial government. A total of 11 projects are open to...

NEW INSURANCE RULES IMPLEMENTED IN CHINA.
January 2, 2003... BEIJING, Jan 2 Asia Pulse - A new law on insurance and new rules on vehicle insurance took effect the first day of 2003. With the new law, which will benefit insurance companies, enhance regulation of insurance agencies and increase the...

CHINA SETS AGRICULTURAL IMPORT QUOTAS FOR CHINESE COMPANIES.
January 2, 2003... BEIJING, Jan 2 Asia Pulse - China has set import quotas for agricultural products for local enterprises to take effect in 2003, the State Development Planning (SDPC) announced on January 1. According to the SDPC, the import quota includes...

CHINA'S DAQING OILFIELD REPORTS HIGH OUTPUT FOR 27TH YEAR.
January 2, 2003... HARBIN, Jan 2 Asia Pulse - Daqing, China's largest oilfield located in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, has posted a crude oil output of 50.13 million tons for the year of 2002. This was the 27th consecutive year that Daqing's...

CHINESE NEWSPAPER HIGHLIGHTS - JAN 2, 2003.
January 2, 2003... BEIJING, Jan 2 Asia Pulse - Highlights of today's newspapers: PEOPLE'S DAILY - Chinese Communist Party and government leaders celebrated the New Year of 2003 with a party organized by the National Committee of the Chinese People's...

VIETNAM NEWSPAPER HIGHLIGHTS - JAN 2, 2003.
January 2, 2003... HANOI, Jan 2 Asia Pulse - Highlights of today's newspapers: QUAN DOI NHAN DAN - Vietnam's tourist sector last year received 2.6 million foreign tourists and about 13 million domestic tourists, an increase of 11.5 per cent and 11.6 per...

EU DRIVES RISE IN VIETNAM'S FOOTWEAR EXPORTS.
January 2, 2003... HANOI, Jan 2 Asia Pulse - Exports of footwear in 2002 fetched up to US$1.83 billion, registering a 17.2 per cent year-on-year increase, according to the General Statistics Office. With the rise, footwear continued to be one of the country's...

CHINESE-FUNDED CHIPBOARD MILL OPENS IN VIETNAM.
January 2, 2003... HANOI, Jan 2 Asia Pulse - A chipboard mill capable of producing 16,500 cu.m each year has begun operations in the northern mountainous province of Thai Nguyen. The mill and associated plantations were established at a cost of US$9.8...

HONG KONG NEWSPAPER HIGHLIGHTS - JAN 2, 2003.
January 2, 2003... HONG KONG, Jan 2 Asia Pulse - Highlights of today's newspapers: SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST - North Korea vowed yesterday to intensify its military strength in the coming year - bolstering its rhetoric as US President George W. Bush...

MALAYSIAN NEWSPAPER HIGHLIGHTS - JAN 2, 2003.
January 2, 2003... KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 2 Asia Pulse - Highlights of today's newspapers: THE STAR: - Rating Agency Malaysia Bhd (RAM) has reaffirmed a positive outlook on the local banking sector in view of the continued improvement in asset quality owing...

THAI NEWSPAPER HIGHLIGHTS - JAN 2, 2003.
January 2, 2003... BANGKOK, Jan 2 Asia Pulse - Highlights of today's newspapers: BANGKOK POST - The State Railway of Thailand expects to post an operating profit of about eight million baht this fiscal year, if depreciation and debt repayments are...

CHINA'S BIG FIRMS FAVORED BY INT'L INSURANCE GIANTS.
January 2, 2003... BEIJING, Jan 2 Asia Pulse - Big Chinese enterprises have been taken as favorable partners by transnational insurance giants in 2002. Such big Chinese companies include Haier Corporation, Beijing Capital Group and China National Cereals,...

PAKISTAN'S NATIONAL LOGISTIC CELL TO HANDLE NON AFGHAN IMPORTS.
January 2, 2003... KARACHI, Jan 2 Asia Pulse - The Economic Co-ordination Committee (ECC) of the Federal Cabinet has authorised the National Logistic Cell (NLC) to transport and handle all goods other than those imported under Afghan Transit Trade Service (ATTS)....