AsiaPulse News articles from January 2005

AsiaPulse News archives from January 2005

FOREX - US DOLLAR ENDS LOWER VS RUPEE - DEC 31, 2004.
January 3, 2005... MUMBAI, Dec 31 Asia Pulse - The U.S. dollar ended sharply cheaper against the rupee at Rs.43.47 per dollar and the pound sterling was Rs 83.89 per pound at the close of the Interbank Foreign Exchange (FOREX) market Friday. The euro closed...

STOCKS - BOMBAY STOCKS CLOSE UP - DEC 31, 2004.
January 3, 2005... MUMBAI, Dec 31 Asia Pulse - An unprecedented last day surge in FII inflows sent the benchmark spiralling to a new high of 6602.69 on the stock exchange Friday, a massive single session rise of 80.15 points with sentiment upbeat for a smart...

AUSTRALIAN NEWSPAPER HIGHLIGHTS - JAN 3, 2005.
January 3, 2005... SYDNEY, Jan 3 Asia Pulse - Highlights of today's newspapers: THE AUSTRALIAN: - UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan will urge international donors to keep giving, with up to 5 million people left without food, clean water and adequate...

S. KOREAN NEWSPAPER HIGHLIGHTS - JAN 3, 2005.
January 3, 2005... SEOUL, Jan 3 Asia Pulse - Highlights of today's newspapers: KYUNGHYANG SHINMUN: - Uri Party Leadership in Crisis KUKMIN DAILY: - S. Korean Aid Effort Gains Momentum in Tsunami-Hit Areas DONG-A ILBO: - Ruling,...

LG GROUP LIKELY TO BE LG CARD'S NO. 3 SHAREHOLDER: SOURCES.
January 3, 2005... SEOUL, Jan 3 Asia Pulse - LG Group, a leading South Korean conglomerate, could emerge as the third-largest shareholder of troubled LG Card Co. (KSE:032710) after it agreed to join in an additional bailout of the nation's No. 2 credit card...

S. KOREA'S NUMBER OF INCOME TAX PAYERS TO FALLS IN 2003.
January 3, 2005... SEOUL, Jan 3 Asia Pulse - The general slowdown in the South Korean economy caused the number of people who paid income taxes to fall in 2003 compared to the previous year, the National Tax Service (NTS) said Sunday. In its annual tax...

UPDATE: AUSTRALIAN VICTIMS OF TSUNAMI - JAN 3, 2005.
January 3, 2005... SYDNEY, Jan 3 Asia Pulse - Australian victims of the Indian Ocean tsunami - latest Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) figures: * Twelve Australians - including three permanent residents - dead in the wake of the Indian Ocean...

SK TELECOM ATTRACTS MAJORITY IN MOBILE SERVICE PROVIDER SWITCH.
January 3, 2005... SEOUL, Jan 3 Asia Pulse - SK Telecom Co. (KSE:017670) attracted 60 per cent of South Koreans who wanted to switch mobile service providers in the first two days of 2005, industry sources said Sunday. In the final phase since restrictions...

INT'L OIL PRICES FORECAST TO STAY AROUND US$35 PER BARREL.
January 3, 2005... SEOUL, Jan 3 Asia Pulse - International oil prices will likely hover between US$33 and $35 per barrel this year, a local industry group said Sunday. In its report, however, the Korea Petroleum Association said the prices will likely soar...

S. KOREAN PATIENTS ALLOWED TO USE FOREIGN HOSPITALS IN FEZS.
January 3, 2005... SEOUL, Jan 3 Asia Pulse - South Koreans will be allowed to use foreign hospitals in three planned free economic zones (FEZs) from 2008 when they are supposed to start operations, as the National Assembly passed a related government bill without...

S. KOREA TO FLOAT US$7.9 BLN IN STATE BONDS IN JAN.
January 3, 2005... SEOUL, Jan 3 Asia Pulse - The South Korean government will issue 8.27 trillion won (US$7.98 billion) worth of state bonds in January, nearly double the amount of bonds floated in December, the Ministry of Finance and Economy said Sunday. A...

S. KOREAN INVESTMENT IN OVERSEAS SECURITIES DOUBLES IN 2004.
January 3, 2005... SEOUL, Jan 3 Asia Pulse - South Korean investment in overseas stocks and bonds more than doubled in 2004 from a year ago as domestic interest rates remained low, a report showed Sunday. Outstanding investments by South Korean individuals...

KOREA DEVELOPMENT BANK EMERGES AS NO. 1 SHAREHOLDER OF KEPCO.
January 3, 2005... SEOUL, Jan 3 Asia Pulse - The state-run Korea Development Bank (KDB) has become the largest shareholder of Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO) by purchasing a 3.06 per cent stake from the government, officials said Sunday. The Ministry of...

S. KOREA'S TOTAL APARTMENT MARKET VALUE RISES 8 PCT LAST YEAR.
January 3, 2005... SEOUL, Jan 3 Asia Pulse - The total market value of apartments in South Korea increased 8 per cent year-on-year to 946.81 trillion won (US$913 billion) last year, sharply down from a 23.1 per cent rise in 2003, an online real estate information...

S. KOREAN WON FORECAST TO RISE 11 PCT VS U.S. DOLLAR IN 2005.
January 3, 2005... SEOUL, Jan 3 Asia Pulse - The South Korean won is likely to appreciate nearly 11 per cent against the U.S. dollar this year from a year ago due mainly to America's weak dollar policy, a policy bank said Sunday. The local currency is...

WORLD'S LEADERS SEND NEW YEAR MESSAGES TO N. KOREAN LEADER.
January 3, 2005... SEOUL, Jan 3 Asia Pulse - Chinese President Hu Jintao, Russian President Vladimir Putin and other state leaders sent a New Year's messages to North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, a North Korean news outlet said Saturday. The others included...

SHIPMENTS TO US, EUROPE, BRICS HELP S KOREA REACH EXPORT RECORD.
January 3, 2005... SEOUL, Jan 3 Asia Pulse - South Korea's exports to the United States, the European Union and the so-called BRICs - Brazil, Russia, India, and China - increased sharply last year, the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) said Sunday....

HYUNDAI MOTOR AIMS TO INCREASE OVERSEAS OUTPUT 55.7 PCT.
January 3, 2005... SEOUL, Jan 3 Asia Pulse - Hyundai Motor Co. (KSE:005380), South Korea's largest automaker, is targeting a 55.7 per cent increase in output at its overseas plants in an attempt to circumvent the won's strength against the dollar, a severe drop...

S. KOREAN SMALL FIRMS PESSIMISTIC ABOUT Q1 BUSINESS CONDITIONS.
January 3, 2005... SEOUL, Jan 3 Asia Pulse - The majority of small and midsize manufacturers in South Korea expect their business conditions to worsen in the first quarter from three months earlier, a survey said Sunday. The business survey index, which...

S. KOREAN BANKS' FOREIGN BORROWING PLUNGES IN 2004.
January 3, 2005... SEOUL, Jan 3 Asia Pulse - South Korean banks' borrowing from foreign lenders dipped in 2004 from a year ago due to a rise in foreign-currency deposits and weak demand for loans, the country's financial watchdog said Sunday. Domestic banks...

THAI NEWSPAPER HIGHLIGHTS - JAN 3, 2005.
January 3, 2005... BANGKOK, Jan 3 Asia Pulse - Highlights of today's newspapers: BANGKOK POST: - Tourist destinations in other regions are doing brisk business, picking up tourists shying away from tsunami-devastated Andaman coastal towns. - The...

INDIA'S NEW PRODUCT PATENT REGIME COMES IN FORCE.
January 3, 2005... NEW DELHI, Jan 3 Asia Pulse - In line with its WTO obligations, India adopted Saturday the product patent regime for food, drugs and chemicals and embedded software with adequate safeguards to protect the interests of the common man. The...

RUSSIA'S TIES WITH INDIA, CHINA TO GROW IN 05: RUSSIAN OFFICIAL.
January 3, 2005... MOSCOW, Jan 3 Asia Pulse - Moscow's ties with India and China will 'develop upwards' in the New Year, a senior Russian official said Saturday. "The outcome of Russia's dialogue with India and China in the last year can be characterised as...

INDIA'S FOREIGN CURRENCY RESERVES UP BY US$394 MLN IN DEC.
January 3, 2005... MUMBAI, Jan 3 Asia Pulse - India's foreign exchange reserves rose by US$394 million during the week ending December 24, taking the total reserves past US$131 billion. Revaluation of the US dollar led to a drop in the reserves, which stood...

AUSTRALIAN DOCTORS WARN OF COMMON PAINKILLER LINKED TO SEIZURES.
January 3, 2005... CANBERRA, Jan 3 Asia Pulse - The commonly-prescribed painkiller tramadol was linked to a growing number of epilepsy-like seizures, doctors warned today. United States studies have previously declared the painkiller, also sold as Tramal, to...

BRITAIN WELCOMES S KOREA'S EXTENSION OF TROOP DEPLOYMENT TO IRAQ.
January 3, 2005... SEOUL, Jan 3 Asia Pulse - The British government welcomed the South Korean National Assembly's passage of a bill that extends its troop deployment in Iraq by another year, the country's foreign secretary said Saturday. Britain's Foreign...

FOREX - U.S. DOLLAR OPENS LOWER AGAINST WON - JAN 3, 2005.
January 3, 2005... SEOUL, Jan 3 Asia Pulse - The U.S. dollar opened at 1,035.00 won Monday, down 0.1 from 1,035.10 won. (Yonhap) 03-01 1115

FOREIGN INVESTORS IN S KOREA RECEIVE RECORD HIGH DIVIDENDS IN 04.
January 3, 2005... SEOUL, Jan 3 Asia Pulse - South Korea's companies issued record dividend payments to foreign investors in the first 11 months of last year, the central bank said Monday. The total overseas dividend payments came to US$4.74 billion in...

JAPAN'S CROWN PRINCE, PRINCESS MAY VISIT SOUTH KOREA: REPORT.
January 3, 2005... TOKYO, Jan 3 Asia Pulse - The Japanese government is considering a plan to send Crown Prince Naruhito and Princess Masako to South Korea after this year's fall, a news report said Saturday. The plan is aimed at improving ties between the...

N KOREA URGES U.S. TO CHANGE ITS "HOSTILE" POLICY.
January 3, 2005... SEOUL, Jan 3 Asia Pulse - North Korea called on the United States Saturday to change its "hostile" policy toward the communist country, declaring that it is fully prepared for war or dialogue. Outlining its policy for the new year, North...

S. KOREAN SHIPBUILDERS LOWER ORDERS TARGETS.
January 3, 2005... SEOUL, Jan 3 Asia Pulse - Rising steel prices and the strengthening of the local currency against the U.S. dollar are prompting South Korean shipbuilders to reduce their orders targets for this year, industry sources said Monday. "It looks...

HYUNDAI MOTOR AIMS AT US$81 BLN IN SALES IN 2005.
January 3, 2005... SEOUL, Jan 3 Asia Pulse - Hyundai Motor Group, South Korea's largest automaking group, said Monday it targets 85 trillion won (US$81 billion) in sales this year. The group, whose flagship automakers are Hyundai Motor Co. (KSE:005380) and...

PHILIPPINE AMBASSADOR FLIES TO PHUKET AFTER TSUNAMI.
January 3, 2005... MANILA, Jan 3 Asia Pulse - Upon instruction of Department of Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto G. Romulo, Philippine Ambassador to Bangkok Antonio V. Rodriquez flew to Phuket Saturday to reassure Filipino victims of the tsunami that hit the...

S. KOREA'S EXPORTS REACH RECORD HIGH IN 2004.
January 3, 2005... SEOUL, Jan 3 Asia Pulse - South Korea exported a record US$254.22 billion worth of goods and services last year, up 31.2 per cent on an annual basis, the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy said Saturday. The provisional tally also...

KOREAN SHARES EXPECTED TO REMAIN STRONG THIS WEEK.
January 3, 2005... SEOUL, Jan 3 Asia Pulse - The South Korean stock market is likely to remain strong in the first week of New Year amid hopes of a continuation of last week's rally, with the market expected to test the 900-point level, analysts said. "With...

S. KOREAN GOVT, PUBLIC COMPANIES TO INCREASE SCIENCE-TECH JOBS.
January 3, 2005... SEOUL, Jan 3 Asia Pulse - South Korea's government-invested and public companies will have to increase employment for science and technology majors by about 10 percentage points starting from the second quarter, the Ministry of Finance and...

KOREAN PARTIES AGREE TO VOTE ON BILLS ON BUDGET, TROOPS IN IRAQ.
January 3, 2005... SEOUL, Jan 3 Asia Pulse - Rival parties on Friday made a last-minute agreement to vote on 19 long-delayed bills, including those on the 2005 government budget and extension of South Korea's troop deployment in Iraq by another year, at the...

S. KOREA'S SEMICONDUCTOR INDUSTRY TRADE TURNS TO SURPLUS.
January 3, 2005... SEOUL, Jan 3 Asia Pulse - South Korea's trade in the chipmaking industry turned to a surplus for the first time in four years in 2004, officials said Monday. According to the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy, the semiconductor...

JAPAN'S KOIZUMI SAYS HE WON'T VISIT WAR SHRINE INJA: REPORT.
January 3, 2005... TOKYO, Jan 3 Asia Pulse - Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said Saturday he will not pay a visit this month to a controversial shrine devoted to Japan's war dead, Kyodo News Agency reported. Asked whether he will refrain from...

KOREA'S TONGYANG FIRE & MARINE SEE OP PROFIT DOUBLE IN NOV.
January 3, 2005... SEOUL, Jan 3 Asia Pulse - Nonlife insurer Tongyang Fire & Marine Insurance Co. said its operating profit nearly doubled in November from the previous month on strong investment earnings. Operating profit came to 10.5 billion won (US$10.1...

WOORI GROUP, HANA BANK, FOREIGN PLAYERS SEEN AS EYEING LG CARD.
January 3, 2005... SEOUL, Jan 3 Asia Pulse - As LG Card Co. (KSE:32710) was finally rescued by another bailout, attention was focusing Friday on whether the country's No. 2 card issuer will be taken over in the near future. Following a surprise announcement...

HONG KONG NEWSPAPER HIGHLIGHTS - JAN 3, 2005.
January 3, 2005... HONG KONG, Jan 3 Asia Pulse - Highlights of today's newspapers: THE STANDARD: - China's tax revenue rose by 25.7 per cent year-on-year to a record 2.57 trillion yuan (HK$2.4 trillion) last year, boosted by strong economic growth, high...

S. KOREAN INTERNET AUCTION PICKS PARK JOO-MAN AS CEO.
January 3, 2005... SEOUL, Jan 3 Asia Pulse - South Korea's biggest online auctioneer Internet Auction Co., a unit of U.S. online retailer eBay Inc., promoted vice president Park Joo-man to president and appointed him chief executive officer as part of a...

KOREAN NATIONAL RAILROAD BECOMES STATE CORPORATION.
January 3, 2005... SEOUL, Jan 3 Asia Pulse - Korean National Railroad (KNR), a state-run rail service monopoly, has transformed itself into a public corporation, promising to provide higher quality railway services, company officials said. "With the...

STOCKS - KOSDAQ OPENS STRONGER - JAN 3, 2005.
January 3, 2005... SEOUL, Jan 3 Asia Pulse - The KOSDAQ opened at 383.81, up 3.48 points. (Yonhap) , 03-01 1217

INDONESIAN NEWSPAPER HIGHLIGHTS - JAN 3, 2005.
January 3, 2005... JAKARTA, Jan 3 Asia Pulse - Highlights for today's major newspaper: KOMPAS - A week after the earthquake triggered tsunami struck, the condition in Banda Aceh is still far from normal with office works almost paralysed. - Police...

S. KOREA TO EXPAND IT COOPERATION WITH N. KOREA, MINISTER SAYS.
January 3, 2005... SEOUL, Jan 3 Asia Pulse - South Korea's telecommunications ministry plans to increase exchanges between the two Koreas in the information and communications technology sector, Chin Dae-je, minister of information and communication, said Monday....

S. KOREA'S IMPORTS OF STEAMED RICE UP 30.5% LAST YEAR.
January 3, 2005... SEOUL, Jan 3 Asia Pulse - South Korea's imports of steamed rice increased 30.5 per cent from a year earlier to 8,659 metric tons in the January-October period last year, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry said Monday. Unlike uncooked...

KOREAN CREDIT CARD FIRMS LIKELY TO SWING BACK TO BLACK IN 2005.
January 3, 2005... SEOUL, Jan 3 Asia Pulse - South Korean credit card companies are expected to return to profit this year since their asset quality improved a lot following massive write-offs of bad loans and strengthened regulations, industry sources said...

ANALYSIS - INDIA'S STEEL INDUSTRY IN 2004.
January 3, 2005... NEW DELHI, Jan 3 Asia Pulse - Soaring prices, super normal profits for producers and the government haunted by the fear of inflation marked the year 2004 for the steel industry, which was shown the stick of a "regulator' to rein it in. The...

INDIAN GOVT LOOKS TO BOOST TEXTILE EXPORTS.
January 3, 2005... NEW DELHI, Jan 3 Asia Pulse - In a new year gift to the textile industry, the government has enhanced Duty Entitlement Passbook rates. DEPB prices have been revised for 83 product lines, including cotton blouses, children's sweatshirt,...

INDIA'S BAFFIN ENGINEERING BUYS 91% STAKE IN UNIWORLD TELECOM.
January 3, 2005... NEW DELHI, Jan 3 Asia Pulse - Baffin Engineering Projects Ltd has acquired 91.4 per cent stake in telecom equipment manufacturing and contract manufacturing services company, Uniword Telecom Ltd, for an undisclosed amount. Baffin...

INDIA'S PHARMA INDUSTRY PREPARES TO ENTER PRODUCT PATENT ERA.
January 3, 2005... NEW DELHI, Jan 3 Asia Pulse - As India prepared to enter the product patent regime on Saturday, the country's pharmaceutical industry is brimming with confidence and is all set to meet new challenges while allaying fears about rise in drug...

INDIA'S GECIS COMPLETES STAKE SALE TANSACTION WITH GAP, OAK HILL.
January 3, 2005... NEW DELHI, Jan 3 Asia Pulse - Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) company Gecis announced that the agreement among its key shareholders General Electric, General Atlantic Partners and Oak Hill Capital Partners has been completed, with GAP and...

INDIAN AIRLINES LINKS GUWAHATI WITH BANGKOK.
January 3, 2005... NEW DELHI, Jan 3 Asia Pulse - Indian Airlines has commenced a direct flight between Guwahati and Bangkok, making the north-eastern city the eighth Indian destination to be connected with the Thai capital. The new IA service is using an...

INDIA'S H1 BOP DEFICIT US$3.2 BLN, TRADE DEFICIT US$17.4 BLN.
January 3, 2005... MUMBAI, Jan 3 Asia Pulse - Driven by a surge in import payments for crude oil, petroleum products and merchandise, India's Balance of Payments (BoP) saw a deficit of US$3.25 billion on current account for the first half ending September, 2004,...

FDI INFLOWS INTO INDIA SURGE 54% , JAN-SEPT.
January 3, 2005... NEW DELHI, Jan 3 Asia Pulse - Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) increased by over 54 per cent year-on-year in January-September, 2004, to touch US$3 billion. As per the revised definition of FDI, which includes reinvested earnings, FDI...

STOCKS - KOREAN SHARES BEGIN SOFTER - JAN 3, 2005.
January 3, 2005... SEOUL, Jan 3 Asia Pulse - South Korean stocks started lower Monday on slumping technology shares. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) edged down 1.55 points, or 0.17 per cent, to 894.37 as of 10:15 a.m. The tech-filled...

LG FILES ANOTHER PATENT SUIT AGAINST MATSUSHITA IN S. KOREA.
January 3, 2005... SEOUL, Jan 3 Asia Pulse - LG Electronics Inc. (KSE:66570), South Korea's second-largest consumer electronics manufacturer, on Monday filed another patent infringement suit against the South Korea unit of Japan's Matsushita Electric Industrial...

US PROMISES INDONESIA US$15 MLN FOR TSUNAMI, QUAKE VICTIMS.
January 3, 2005... JAKARTA, Jan 3 Asia Pulse - The US government pledged nearly US$15 million in humanitarian assistance to Indonesia for the earthquake-triggered tsunamis victims in Aceh and North Sumatera, a US Embassy press release said. To date, the US...

INDONESIA'S SUMMARECON AGUNG EXPECTS STRONG 2005.
January 3, 2005... JAKARTA, Jan 3 Asia Pulse - PT Summarecon Agung Tbk (JSE:SMRA) sets its growth target for 2005 at 25 per cent, higher than last year's 10 per cent, as the country's property sector begins to show signs of recovery, the company's director said....

SINGAPORE NEWSPAPER HIGHLIGHTS - JAN 3, 2005.
January 3, 2005... SINGAPORE, Jan 3 Asia Pulse - Highlights of today's newspapers: THE STRAITS TIMES - BANDA ACEH (Indonesia) - An Indonesian fisherman trapped under his boat in Asia's tsunami disaster was found alive but severely dehydrated on Sunday,...

STOCKS - SINGAPORE STOCKS UP IN EARLY TRADE - JAN 3, 2005.
January 3, 2005... SINGAPORE, Jan 3 Asia Pulse - Singapore shares were higher in early trade, with the Straits Times Index up 2.1 points at 2,068.2 at 10.10 a.m. ASIA PULSE 03-01 1315

MALAYSIAN NEWSPAPER HIGHLIGHTS - JAN 3, 2005.
January 3, 2005... KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 3 Asia Pulse - Highlights of today's newspapers: THE STAR - Malaysia has allowed its air space and two airports to be used for tsunami relief operations in Indonesia's Banda Aceh. Wisma Putra said in a statement that...

STOCKS - MALAYSIAN STOCKS DOWN IN EARLY TRADE - JAN 3, 2005.
January 3, 2005... KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 3 Asia Pulse - The Malaysian sharemarket was down 0.86 per cent in early trade, with the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange Composite Index falling 7.79 points at 899.64 at 10.09 a.m. ASIA PULSE 03-01 1318

BUSINESS WIRE DAILY BRIEFING - DEC 31, 2004.
January 3, 2005... A summary of news releases for Dec. 31, 2004, compiled by Business Wire, the global leader in news distribution. To view any of these news release on Business Wire's website, please go to www.businesswire.com. 1) Category Code: Software...

ADVISORY - XINHUA CLOSED - JAN 3, 2005.
January 3, 2005... BEIJING, Jan 3 Asia Pulse - Xinhua will suspend transmission today due to the New Year holiday. ASIA PULSE 03-01 1323

JAPANESE NEWSPAPER HIGHLIGHTS - JAN 3, 2005.
January 3, 2005... TOKYO, Jan 3 Asia Pulse - Highlights of today's newspapers: NIKKEI NET: - The Hitachi Ltd. (TSE:6501) group plans to gradually phase out its roughly 300,000 personal computers for the workplace and replace them with special network...

CHINA'S QINGHAI AIMS TO RAISE CRUDE OIL, GAS OUTPUT THIS YEAR.
January 3, 2005... NANNING, Dec 31 Asia Pulse - Northwest China's less-developed Qinghai Province plans to bring its crude oil output to 2.5 million tons and natural gas, to 2 billion cubic meters in 2005. Vice-Governor Su Sen told a Western China Forum that...

HUTCHISON WHAMPOA PLANS TO LIST IN MILAN.
January 3, 2005... BEIJING, Jan 3 Asia Pulse - The Hong Kong-based Hutchison Whampoa (HKSE:0013) plans to seeking a listing in Milan, Italy, for its Italian subsidiary, possibly towards the end of 2005, according to General Manager Huo Jianning. The...

NORTH KOREAN MINERAL WATER TO BE SOLD IN SOUTH KOREA.
January 3, 2005... SEOUL, Jan 3 Asia Pulse - North Korea's top-quality mineral water, reportedly most favored by its leader Kim Jong-il and foreign diplomats in the North, will be sold to South Korean consumers starting in the middle of this month, its importer...

PROFITS OF KEY STATE-OWNED TEXTILE ENTERPRISES IN CHINA INCH UP.
January 3, 2005... BEIJING, Jan 3 Asia Pulse - The profits of China's 38 key state-owned textile enterprises inched up 0.8 per cent year on year to hit 1.58 billion yuan (US$193 million) in the first 11 months of 2004, according to the State-owned Assets...

CHINA TO FORMULATE TYRE INDUSTRY POLICY.
January 3, 2005... BEIJING, Jan 3 Asia Pulse - An official from China State Development and Reform Commission recently said that the commission is soliciting suggestions and opinions on the draft policy related to tyre industry from relevant departments and tyre...

CHINA'S KUNSHAN CLAIMS LARGE SHARE OF WORLD'S NOTEBOOK OUTPUT.
January 3, 2005... NANJING, Jan 3 Asia Pulse - At present, one-fourth of the world's notebook computers are produced in Kunshan City, located in east China's Jiangsu Province. With the development in the past 20 years, Kunshan Economic and Technological...

S. KOREA EYES DEVELOPING NORTH KOREAN PORT.
January 3, 2005... BUSAN, Jan 3 Asia Pulse - The state-run Korea Container Terminal Authority said Monday it plans to make inroads into the development of Nampo port in North Korea. "We concluded a memorandum of understanding to make a joint venture for such...

SEOUL RESIDENTS PAY HIGHER TAXES IN S.KOREA: SURVEY.
January 3, 2005... SEOUL, Jan 3 Asia Pulse - Seoul residents paid an average 993,000 won in regional taxes in 2002, much higher than elsewhere in the country largely because of differences in the volume and value of real estate transactions, a think tank said...

KOREA'S HANKOOK TIRE BREAKS 500-MILLION-UNIT MARK.
January 3, 2005... SEOUL, Jan 3 Asia Pulse - Hankook Tire Co. (KSE:00240), South Korea's largest tire manufacturer, said Monday it has produced over 500 million tires since it began production 63 years ago. "Hankook Tire can produce 1.68 tires in one second,...

PHILIPPINE NEWSPAPER HIGHLIGHTS - JAN 3, 2005.
January 3, 2005... MANILA, Jan 3 Asia Pulse - Highlights of today's newspapers: MANILA TIMES: - Three private firms, one of which is headed by a former government official, have expressed interest in taking over the Maynilad Water Services Inc. as soon...

CHINA'S EXPORT OF AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS GROWS STEADILY IN 2004.
January 3, 2005... BEIJING, Jan 3 Asia Pulse - China's export of agricultural products has increased steadily in 2004, according to the monitoring by the Ministry of Commerce. Statistics show that export of advantaged farm products increased rapidly. These...

S.KOREA'S LG CHEM LAUNCHES HOLDING FIRM IN CHINA.
January 3, 2005... SEOUL, Jan 3 Asia Pulse - LG Chem Ltd. (KSE:051910), South Korea's largest chemical company, launched a holding company in China Monday with the aim of becoming one of the top five chemical manufacturers on the mainland by 2008, the Seoul-based...

ANALYSIS - S.KOREAN BANKS TO FACE INCREASED COMPETITION IN '05.
January 3, 2005... SEOUL, Jan 3 Asia Pulse - Heads of South Korean lenders on Monday reiterated earlier remarks that banks need to cut bad loans to compete against foreign rivals. Kookmin Bank (KSE:060000) Chief Executive Kang Chung-won said in a New Year's...

LG HOME SHOPPING TO CHANGE NAME TO 'GS HOME SHOPPING'.
January 3, 2005... SEOUL, Jan 3 Asia Pulse - LG Home Shopping (KOSDAQ:28150), the nation's largest home shopping channel, said Monday it will change its name to GS Home Shopping from April. "It is in accordance with our new status below GS Holdings Group...

MINDANAO AIRPORTS HANDLE MORE PASSENGERS IN 2004: ATO.
January 3, 2005... DAVAO CITY, Jan 3 Asia Pulse - Airports in Mindanao served a total of 622,256 passengers as of the third quarter of 2004, booking a growth rate of 9.21 per cent. The Air Transportation Office (ATO) reported that there were more outgoing...

PHILIPPINES POSTS 24.3% JUMP IN 2004 TOURIST ARRIVALS.
January 3, 2005... MANILA, Jan 3 Asia Pulse - The Philippines Department of Tourism (DOT) has reported that it had a 24.3 per cent surge in visitor arrivals from January 1 to October 31, 2004. In its Annual Accomplishment Report submitted to Philippine...