AsiaPulse News articles from July 2004

AsiaPulse News archives from July 2004

FOREX - AUSTRALIAN DOLLAR OPENS HIGHER - JULY 1, 2004.
July 1, 2004... SYDNEY, July 1 Asia Pulse - The Australian dollar rose against a broadly weaker United States dollar overnight following the first US interest rate rise in four years. At 0845 AEST the local currency was trading at 69.75 US cents compared...

AUSTRALIAN NEWSPAPER HIGHLIGHTS - JULY 1, 2004.
July 1, 2004... SYDNEY, July 1 Asia Pulse - Highlights of today's newspapers: THE DAILY TELEGRAPH - A new mother will lose out on a baby bonus of $6,000 after her twins were delivered two days early. Bob Collins is the subject of a secret police...

COVERALL CLEANING CONCEPTS LAUNCHES NEW KOREAN CENTRE.
July 1, 2004... (Full text of a statement. Contact details below.) FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., July 1 PRNewswire-AsiaNet - Coverall Cleaning Concepts, a leader in the commercial cleaning industry, announced today the opening of a new master regional support...

KOREAN NEWSPAPER HIGHLIGHTS - JULY 1, 2004.
July 1, 2004... SEOUL, July 1 Asia Pulse - Highlights of today's newspapers: KYUNGHYANG SHINMUN: - Public Corporations to Abolish Restriction of Age and School Career in Employment KUKMIN DAILY: - Kim Sun-il's Funeral Leaves Forgiveness to...

JAPAN'S ALOKA SIGNS DISTRIBUTION AGREEMENT WITH SONOSITE.
July 1, 2004... (Full text of a statement. Contact details below.) TOKYO, June 30 Kyodo JBN-AsiaNet - Aloka Co., Ltd., a leading Japanese manufacturer and distributor of ultrasound systems announced today that it has signed a distribution agreement for...

STOCKS - BSE CLOSES DOWN - JUNE 30, 2004.
July 1, 2004... MUMBAI, July 1 Asia Pulse - After a strong start, the market ran out of steam and select heavyweights dropped sharply, pushing the sensex down by 46 points at close on Bombay Stock Exchange yesterday, on selling pressure by operators, as well...

FOREX - US DOLLAR CHEAPER AGAINST RUPEE - JUNE 30, 2004.
July 1, 2004... MUMBAI, July 1 Asia Pulse - The US Dollar turned cheaper against the Rupee at Rs 46.06 per dollar and the Pound Sterling ended lower at Rs 83.28 per pound at the close of the Interbank Foreign Exchange (FOREX) market here yesterday. The...

HANJIN GROUP NET PROFIT FALLS 38PCT IN FISCAL 2003.
July 1, 2004... SEOUL, July 1 Asia Pulse - The combined net profit of the Hanjin Group, South Korea's sixth largest conglomerate, decreased 38.16 per cent from the previous year to 266.4 billion won (US$230.45 million) in fiscal 2003. Hanjin, which closes...

AUSTRALIAN MANUFACTURING SECTOR SLOWS IN JUNE.
July 1, 2004... SYDNEY, July 1 Asia Pulse - According to new results from a new business index, manufacturing activity in Australia eased in June as a result of slowing demand and rising costs. The latest Australian Industry Group-PricewaterhouseCoopers...

AUSTRALIAN PM INVITED TO MEETING OF SE ASIAN LEADERS IN LAOS.
July 1, 2004... JAKARTA, July 1 Asia Pulse - Australia has been invited to attend a summit of South-East Asian leaders in Laos later this year to discuss a possible free trade pact. Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said tonight that the...

SUN MICROSYSTEMS INDIA TO SET UP BIOSCIENCES CENTRE.
July 1, 2004... KOLKATA, July 1 Asia Pulse - Sun Microsystems India Private Ltd (SMIPL), the wholly-owned subsidiary of US$11 billion Sun Microsystems Inc, US, has announced it is planning to focus on bioinformatics sector in India and to set up a competency...

INDIAN CITY TO HOST INDO-UK ECO-TOURISM FORUM.
July 1, 2004... KOCHI, July 1 Asia Pulse - The South Indian port city of Kochi will host a three-day Indo-UK Conservation and Cultural Tourism colloquium from Thursday, July 1. Organised by the British Council and Department of Culture, Media and Sport,...

LG ELECTRONICS TO START SELLING DIGITAL CAMERAS IN 3RD QUARTER.
July 1, 2004... SEOUL, July 1 Asia Pulse - LG Electronics Inc., (KSE:066570), South Korea's second-largest electronics maker, said Thursday it has decided to sell digital cameras in the third quarter of this year, hoping to increase its consumer business. ...

INDIA'S ROYAL ENFIELD LAUNCHES BULLET SIXTY-5 BIKE IN US MARKET.
July 1, 2004... NEW DELHI, July 1 Asia Pulse - Royal Enfield has launched its international model 'Bullet Sixty-5' in the United States, its second-biggest export market. The latest offering, sporting a retro classic styling, carries a 500cc, 4-stroke...

INDIA'S CBT DEFERS DECISION ON EMPLOYEE PROVIDENT FUND RATES.
July 1, 2004... NEW DELHI, July 1 Asia Pulse - The Central Boad of Trustees (CBT) of Employees Provident Fund (EPF), the largest social security system for employees in the country, today deferred to July 13 a decision on interest to be paid for its 30 million...

INDIA'S TATA GROUP TO OPEN TAJ RESORT IN MAURITIUS.
July 1, 2004... NEW DELHI, July 1 Asia Pulse - Armed with a Rs 6.5 billion fund ($US141.3 million) for acquisitions, the Tata group's Indian Hotels Company said today it would open a Taj exotica resort in Mauritius. It would also open a luxury serviced...

OVERSEAS EQUITY IN INDIA'S ING VYSYA LIFE BREACHES 26% LIMIT.
July 1, 2004... CHENNAI, July 1 Asia Pulse - Though foreign equity in private insurance company ING Vysya Life had breached the permitted 26 per cent limit, its CEO and managing director Frank Koster Wednesday maintained that the company was strictly adhering...

STOCKS - AUSTRALIAN INDEX OPENS FLAT - JULY 1, 2004.
July 1, 2004... SYDNEY, July 1 Asia Pulse - The Australian sharemarket opened virtually flat this morning, with only gains or losses in the major stocks such as resources, banks and News Corp. United States markets shifted higher overnight after US...

CHENNAI FIRM LAUNCHES 'ARCHIMEDES' SOFTWARE.
July 1, 2004... CHENNAI, July 1 Asia Pulse - Archimedes Tech Law Pvt Ltd, a Chennai-based company, has launched 'Archimedes', a software package aimed at chartered accountants, company secretaries and lawyers. "Those grappling with the voluminous Companies...

TAIWAN OUTPUT OF DIGITAL CAMERAS GROWS AMID FALLING PROFIT.
July 1, 2004... TAIPEI, July 1 Asia Pulse - Taiwan's production of digital cameras will rise to 20.5 million for 2004, an increase of about 20 percent over the 2003 level of 17.2 million, according to estimates released Wednesday by the Topology Research...

STOCKS - TOKYO SHARES OPENS HIGHER - JULY 1, 2004.
July 1, 2004... TOKYO, July 1 Asia Pulse - Share prices in Tokyo opened 0.67 per cent higher Thursday, with the benchmark Nikkei-225 index rising 79.59 points to 11,938.46 in early trade. ASIA PULSE 01-07 1030

PRESIDENT PAINTS ROSY PICTURE OF TAIWAN'S ECONOMY.
July 1, 2004... TAOYUAN, northern Taiwan, July 1 Asia Pulse - President Chen Shui-bian painted a rosy picture of Taiwan's economy Wednesday, saying that it has been dynamically expanding, with the annual growth expected to top 5.4 percent for 2004. ...

S. KOREAN MANUFACTURERS' CONFIDENCE FALLS FOR 2 MONTHS IN ROW.
July 1, 2004... SEOUL, July 1 Asia Pulse - South Korean manufacturing companies' business sentiment in June fell two months in a row due to a slump in domestic demand, the country's central bank said Thursday. During the reported month, the business...

NEW NANOTECHNOLOGY RESEARCH FACILITY OPENS IN TAIWAN.
July 1, 2004... TAIPEI, July 1 Asia Pulse - A nanotechnology research facility at National Nano Device Laboratories in Hsinchu City was inaugurated Wednesday. The facility is located in the Hsinchu Science-based Industrial Park. Chou Ching-yang,...

S. KOREA'S CONSUMER PRICES UNCHANGED FROM MAY IN JUNE.
July 1, 2004... SEOUL, July 1 Asia Pulse - South Korea's consumer prices remained unchanged from May in June as the drop in agricultural prices offset gains made in industrial goods and service charges, a government report said Thursday. The National...

STOCKS - KOSDAQ BEGINS FIRMER - JULY 1, 2004.
July 1, 2004... SEOUL, July 1 Asia Pulse - The KOSDAQ opened at 387.45, up 2.27 points. (Yonhap) 01-07 1041

INDIA'S AUTOMATED WORKFLOW LAUNCHES BPO SOFTWARE.
July 1, 2004... BANGALORE, July 1 Asia Pulse - Industry-specific business process management (BPM) solutions provider Automated Workflow Private Ltd (AWPL) Wednesday announced the launch of BPO.Sphere, a "complete" BPM solution designed to meet the process...

FOREX - US DOLLAR BEGINS WEAKER VS WON - JULY 1, 2004.
July 1, 2004... SEOUL, July 1 Asia Pulse - The US dollar opened at 1152.00 won, down from 1155.50 won. (Yonhap) 01-07 1044

INDIAN PORTS, SHIPS COMPLY WITH ISPS CODE.
July 1, 2004... MUMBAI, July 1 Asia Pulse - India's 12 major ports and 33 minor ports have complied with all guidelines laid down by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) for implementation of International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS) code,...

INDIA'S HAL BAGS GOLD SHIELD, CERTIFICATE FOR EXCELLENCE.
July 1, 2004... BANGALORE, July 1 Asia Pulse - State-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) has received the Indian Institution of Industrial Engineering's "Enterprise Excellence Award" and Gold Shield in the Manufacturing Group (Engineering) for financial and...

INDIAN TRADE DIRECTORATE NOTIFIES NORMS FOR 59 EXPORT ITEMS.
July 1, 2004... NEW DELHI, July 1 Asia Pulse - The Directorate General of Foreign Trade of the federal government has notified additional input-output norms for 59 new export items. The DGFT also notified corrections and deletions in the Standard...

CYBERNET APPRISED AT SEI-CMMI LEVEL FOR CHENNAI DEV'T CENTRE.
July 1, 2004... CHENNAI, July 1 Asia Pulse - Cybernet Software Systems (CSS) Inc., a US-based software services provider, today said it has been assessed at Level 4 of the Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI) for software engineering for its offshore...

NEW INDIAN COMPANIES ACT WILL ENSURE SMOOTH MONITORING: MINISTER.
July 1, 2004... NEW DELHI, July 1 Asia Pulse - The federal government said it has decided to fix the time frame of six months for finalising the liquidation process of the defunct companies and also bring down the number of Clauses to 300 from the current 796...

INDIAN ELECTRONICS, COMPUTER EXPORT BODY WANTS GOVT HELP TO STAY.
July 1, 2004... NEW DELHI, July 1 Asia Pulse - The Electronics and Computer Export Promotion Council has asked the government to continue the Duty Entitlement Passbook Scheme (DEPB) licence and fiscal incentives, as they existed in 2000, to sustain the growing...

INDIA'S INDAL TO BOOST CAPACITIES OF SMELTER, ALUMINA REFINERY.
July 1, 2004... KOLKATA, July 1 Asia Pulse - Buoyed by positive industry outlook, aluminium maker Indian Aluminium Company Ltd (Indal) (BSE:IALM), a subsidiary of A V Birla group flagship company Hindalco, will raise capacities at Hirakud smelter and alumina...

STOCKS - KOREAN SHARES UP AFTER U.S. RATE RISE - JULY 1, 2004.
July 1, 2004... SEOUL, July 1 Asia Pulse - South Korean stocks rose slightly Thursday morning after the U.S. Federal Reserve implemented its first interest rate hike in four years on Wednesday. In the first 15 minutes of trading, the Korea Composite Stock...

INDIA'S PARKSON GROUP JOINS RUSSIAN FIRM FOR HYDEL PROJECTS.
July 1, 2004... KOCHI, July 1 Asia Pulse - The Kerala government has given approval for starting eight hydro-electric projects, of which four have been allotted to a consortium of companies comprising Parkson Group of Kochi, Gidroenergoprom and Interural of...

INDIA'S ECONOMIC GROWTH AT 8.2% IN 2003-04.
July 1, 2004... NEW DELHI, July 1 Asia Pulse - Driven by 7.3 per cent growth in the manufacturing sector and over 9 per cent in agriculture, economic growth more than doubled at 8.2 per cent in 2003-04 compared to 4 per cent in the previous year. Barring...

S. KOREA'S RICE SELF-SUFFICIENCY TO HIT 8-YEAR LOW THIS YEAR.
July 1, 2004... SEOUL, July 1 Asia Pulse - South Korea's self-sufficiency in rice is forecast to fall to 93.1 per cent this year, the lowest in eight years, reflecting last year's bad crop and South Koreans' shift in diet, according to a government report...

INDIA FOR PROBE AGAINST NARROW FABRIC IMPORTS FROM CHINA, TAIWAN.
July 1, 2004... NEW DELHI, July 1 Asia Pulse - India has initiated anti-dumping investigations against imports of narrow woven fabrics from China and Taiwan. The period of investigation for the inquiry would be January 1, 2003 to December 31, 2003. ...

PRASAR BHARTI STRIKES DEAL WITH ESPN-STAR SPORTS FOR ASIA CUP.
July 1, 2004... NEW DELHI, July 1 Asia Pulse - State-owned broadcaster Prasar Bharti has struck a deal with ESPN-Star Sports for sharing the terrestrial rights for the forthcoming Asia Cup cricket tournament, featuring India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka among...

MANY MID-SUMMER INT'L FLIGHTS OF S. KOREA'S AIRLINES ALREADY FULL.
July 1, 2004... SEOUL, July 1 Asia Pulse - Most mid-summer international flights of South Korea's airlines are already fully booked as people prepare for overseas vacations, industry sources said Thursday. "As many people try to go abroad for vacation,...

S. KOREA TO SLAP ANTI-DUMPING TARIFFS ON BATTERIES, STEEL BARS.
July 1, 2004... SEOUL, July 1 Asia Pulse - South Korea decided Thursday to impose anti-dumping tariffs on imports of primary lithium batteries from the United States and Japan as well as those of stainless steel bars from Japan and two other countries. ...

HONG KONG NEWSPAPER HIGHLIGHTS - JULY 1, 2004.
July 1, 2004... HONG KONG, July 1 Asia Pulse - Highlights of today's newspapers: SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST: - The government has pledged to pay more attention to views from the middle class, the chief secretary said yesterday. - Four men painted...

HOLOGRAMS, SEALS TO PREVENT SELLING OF FAKE LIQUOR IN KOREA: NTS.
July 1, 2004... SEOUL, July 1 Asia Pulse - South Korea's whiskey breweries are introducing holograms and tin seals to prevent the selling of fake products on the market, the government said Thursday. The National Tax Service (NTS) said the measures are...

INDIAN MINISTER TO LEAD DELEGATION TO APT MEET ON BROADBAND, ICT.
July 1, 2004... NEW DELHI, July 1 Asia Pulse - Federal IT and Communications Minister Dayanidhi Maran will lead a delegation to the Asia Pacific Telecommunity conference in Bangkok which is scheduled to discuss broadband and ICT development in member...

INDIA IMPORTS 50,000 TONNES OF BRAZILIAN RAW SUGAR.
July 1, 2004... NEW DELHI, July 1 Asia Pulse - Raw sugar imports are not restricted to mills in south India or coastal areas alone, with one factory in Uttar Pradesh importing 50,000 tonnes from Brazil. The imported raw sugar can be downloaded in the...

INDIA'S NTPC HOPES TO RAISE UP TO US$434 MLN FROM AUGUST IPO.
July 1, 2004... NEW DELHI, July 1 Asia Pulse - State-owned thermal power generator National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) is likely to hit the market with a maiden public offer for shares in the first week of August, targeting to raise up to Rs 20 billion...

INDIA'S ASHOK LEYLAND TO SET UP BUS & TRUCK PLANT IN IRAN.
July 1, 2004... NEW DELHI, July 1 Asia Pulse - The Hinduja Group flagship firm Ashok Leyland (BSE:ASOK) is planning to set up a multi-million dollar plant in Iran for assembling compressed natural gas (CNG) trucks and buses. The company is talking to...

S. KOREA ADOPTS 24-HR CONSUMER PROTECTION MONITORING SYSTEM.
July 1, 2004... SEOUL, July 1 Asia Pulse - South Korea has adopted a 24-hour consumer monitoring system to enhance safety checks and reduce the time for responding to harmful products or bad services, government officials said Thursday. The measures,...

METALINK STRENGTHENS OPERATIONS IN JAPAN.
July 1, 2004... (Full text of a statement. Contact details below) TOKYO and YAKUM, Israel, July 1 /PRNewswire-AsiaNet/ - Metalink Ltd. (Nasdaq: MTLK), a global provider and developer of high performance wireline and wireless broadband communication silicon...

METALINK START SHIPMENT OF 100 MBPS VDSLPLUS TECH TO JAPAN.
July 1, 2004... (Full text of a statement. Contact details below) YAKUM, Israel, July 1 /PRNewswire-AsiaNet/ -- Metalink Ltd. (Nasdaq: MTLK), a global provider and developer of high performance wireline and wireless broadband communication silicon...

SANDOZ TO STRENGTHEN DANISH MARKET POSITION AND NORDIC OPS.
July 1, 2004... (Full text of a statement. Contact details below) VIENNA, Austria, June 30/PR Newswire-AsiaNet/ - Sandoz today announced the acquisition of Durascan, the generic subsidiary of Astra Zeneca in Denmark, in a transaction aimed at claiming the...

INDIA'S CBT DEFERS DECISION ON EPF RATE.
July 1, 2004... NEW DELHI, July 1 Asia Pulse - The Central Board of Trustees deferred the decision on the interest rate for 30 million subscribers of employees provident fund (EPF). The next meeting of CBT, chaired by federal Labour Minister Sis Ram Ola,...

PAKISTAN NEWSPAPER HIGHLIGHTS - JUNE 30, 2004.
July 1, 2004... KARACHI, June 30 Asia Pulse - Highlights of today's newspapers: DAWN - Saddam to be handed over to Iraq Government today - Musharraf briefed on Dehli talks - US soldier executed in Baghdad - Rockets fired in Israeli town...

PAKISTAN'S GDP MAY GROW BY 6.6 PER CENT IN 2004/05: SBP.
July 1, 2004... KARACHI, July 1 Asia Pulse - State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) said Pakistan could achieve 6.6 per cent economic growth for the fiscal 2004/05 (July-June) against 6.4 per cent in 2003/04. The economy was originally targeted to grow by 5.3 per...

MALAYSIAN NEWSPAPER HIGHLIGHTS - JULY 1, 2004.
July 1, 2004... KUALA LUMPUR, July 1 Asia Pulse - Highlights of today's newspapers: THE STAR: - Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) has strengthened its position as Asia's largest oil and gas firm as well as the biggest and most profitable Malaysian...

SINGAPORE NEWSPAPER HIGHLIGHTS - JULY 1, 2004.
July 1, 2004... SINGAPORE, July 1 Asia Pulse - Highlights of today's newspapers: THE STRAITS TIMES - WHEN 300,000 homes plunged into darkness on Tuesday night, it was the fifth time that the same thing had gone wrong with the gas supply from...

JAPANESE NEWSPAPER HIGHLIGHTS - JULY 1, 2004.
July 1, 2004... TOKYO, July 1 Asia Pulse - Highlights of today's newspapers: NIKKEI NET - Japanese companies are the most upbeat about business conditions since the country's land-and-stock-price bubble burst more than a dozen years ago, according to...

AUSTRALIAN FOREIGN AFFAIRS MINISTER TO ATTEND ASEAN MEET.
July 1, 2004... JAKARTA, July 1 Asia Pulse - Australian Foreign Affairs Minister Alexander Downer is scheduled to visit Jakarta from June 30 to July 2 to attend the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) and the ASEAN Post-Ministerial Conference (PMC), a press statement...

DIALOG DESIGNATES INFORMATION PROFESSIONALS FROM AUSTRALIA, SINGAPORE AS INFOSTARS.
July 1, 2004... (Full text of statement. Contact details below.) SYDNEY, June 30 /newsaktuell-AsiaNet/ -- SYDNEY - Dialog, a Thomson (NYSE: TOC; TSX: TOC) business and a leading worldwide provider of online-based information services and integrated...

INDONESIAN PRESIDENT WANTS CLOSER LINKS WITHIN ASEAN.
July 1, 2004... JAKARTA, July 1 Asia Pulse - President Megawati Soekarnoputri called on ASEAN member countries to cultivate a "we feeling" among themselves, so that they could become a peaceful, stable and prosperous community that was also capable of helping...

US RATE HIKE TO BOOST S KOREA'S EXPORTS, BUT HAS LONG-TERM RISKS.
July 1, 2004... SEOUL, July 1 Asia Pulse - The increase in the U.S. interest rate, which signals a recovery in the world's largest economy, is good news for South Korea, where growth is largely led by exports, local analysts said Thursday. However, the...

INDONESIA'S PT INDOSAT SETS AMBITIOUS SUBSCRIBER TARGET.
July 1, 2004... JAKARTA, July 1 Asia Pulse - PT Indosat has set a target of at least nine million cellular phone subscribers by the end of this year, following its success to secure three million subscribers in Jabotabek (Jakarta-Bogor-Tangerang-Bekasi) area...

EUROPEAN ELECTORAL MONITORING TEAM VISITS INDONESIA.
July 1, 2004... JAKARTA, July 1 Asia Pulse - A team from the European Union General Election Monitoring Mission (EUEOM) met with Indonesian Constitutional Court Chairman Prof Dr Jimly Asshiddique to observe the activities of the court. The team includes...

MARKET INTELLIGENCE AVAILABLE FOR CHINA'S AUTO, FINANCE AND INSURANCE SECTORS.
July 1, 2004... (Full text of statement. Contact details below.) SYDNEY, July 1 /MediaNet International-AsiaNet/ -- With the growth of the Chinese automotive market and the associated growth in finance and insurance together with the increasing...

STOCKS - MALAYSIAN SHARES UP IN EARLY TRADE - JULY 1, 2004.
July 1, 2004... KUALA LUMPUR, July 1 Asia Pulse - The Malaysian sharemarket was up 0.33 per cent in early trade due to bargain hunting. At 10:43 a.m., the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange Composite Index rose 2.71 points at 822.57. The broader Emas Index...

CORRUPTION STILL PREVALENT IN INDONESIA: LAN CHIEF.
July 1, 2004... JAKARTA, July 1 Asia Pulse - Corruption in Indonesia has become worse, and civil servants and bureaucrats would need a strong will to create clean governance, chief of the State Administrative Institute (LAN), Anwar Suprijadi, said. ...

STOCKS - SINGAPORE SHARES UP IN EARLY TRADE - JULY 1, 2004.
July 1, 2004... SINGAPORE, July 1 Asia Pulse - Singapore shares were higher in early trade, with the Straits Times Index up 10.19 points at 1848.19 at 10:30 a.m. ASIA PULSE 01-07 1248

STOCKS - AUSTRALIAN INDEX LOWER TO NOON - JULY 1, 2004.
July 1, 2004... SYDNEY, July 1 Asia Pulse - The Australian sharemarket took a small step back at noon as local investors farewelled a bumper financial year and greeted the new one with caution. ABN Amro private client adviser Kylie Harding said there was...

MALAYSIA'S INT'L RESERVES REACH US$53.9 BLN AT END OF MAY.
July 1, 2004... KUALA LUMPUR, July 1 Asia Pulse - Malaysia's total international reserves as at the end of May 2004 amounted to US$53,924.2 million, comprising official reserve assets of US$53,298 million and other foreign currency assets of US$626.2 million,...

TEAM LEAVES FOR MOSCOW TO DISCUSS PAKISTAN STEEL EXPANSION.
July 1, 2004... KARACHI, July 1 Asia Pulse - A seven-member delegation of Pakistan Steel (PS) led by its Chairman Lt Gen Abdul Qayyum has left for Moscow to discuss the expansion plan of the PS with Russian experts Longepromez, the PS said here. The PS...

CANADIAN GOV'T REMOVES INDONESIAN TRAVEL WARNING.
July 1, 2004... JAKARTA, July 1 Asia Pulse - Canadian Foreign Minister Bill Graham has said that the security situation in Indonesia is improving and there are no reasons for Canada to keep its travel advisory. "The issuance of the travel advisory depends...

THAI NEWSPAPER HIGHLIGHTS - JULY 1, 2004.
July 1, 2004... BANGKOK, July 1 Asia Pulse - Highlights of today's newspapers: THE BANGKOK POST: - Thailand's monetary policy will be aimed at keeping a lid on inflation to maintain the country's attractiveness for foreign investment in order to...

INDONESIA PREFERS COORDINATED PATROLS IN MALACCA STRAITS: MINISTER.
July 1, 2004... JAKARTA, July 1 Asia Pulse - Indonesia prefers to conduct coordinated rather than joint patrols with Malaysia and Singapore in ensuring security in the Malacca Straits, Foreign Affairs Minister Hassan Wirajuda said. "We (the three...

DAEWOO CONSTRUCTION PAYS OFF PART OF DEBTS EARLY.
July 1, 2004... SEOUL, July 1 Asia Pulse - Daewoo Engineering & Construction Co. (KSE:047040), South Korea's second-largest builder by capacity, said Thursday it has paid off part of its debts earlier than scheduled, helped by robust sales in recent quarters....

S KOREA'S TRADE SURPLUS SETS NEW RECORD IN JUNE.
July 1, 2004... SEOUL, July 1 Asia Pulse - South Korea's trade surplus rose to US$3.24 billion in June, the largest monthly amount in more than five years, thanks to robust exports to China and the European Union, the commerce ministry said Thursday. The...

JAPAN'S ASAHI MEDICAL, NISSHIN KYORIN PHARMA FORM SALES PARTNERSHIP.
July 1, 2004... TOKYO, July 1 Asia Pulse - Asahi Medical Co. and Nisshin Kyorin Pharmaceutical Co. have formed a marketing partnership that promises to leverage their respective strengths for greater sales for both. Asahi Medical is a subsidiary of Asahi...

VIETNAMESE NEWSPAPER HIGHLIGHTS - JULY 1, 2004.
July 1, 2004... HANOI, July 1 Asia Pulse - Following are highlights of Vietnam's major newspapers today: NHAN DAN (The People) - Vietnam and China exchanged presidential ratification in Hanoi yesterday of an agreement on territorial water...

JAPAN'S TDK SHEET MAKES CELL PHONE ANTENNAS MORE SENSITIVE.
July 1, 2004... TOKYO, July 1 Asia Pulse - TDK Corp. (TSE:6762) has developed and begun mass production of a magnetic shield sheet that can improve the sensitivity of cellular phone antennas. The company has been mass-producing magnetic shield sheets for...

VIETNAM FINANCE MINISTRY PROPOSES MEASURES TO STABILISE PRICES.
July 1, 2004... HANOI, July 1 Asia Pulse - The Finance Minister has submitted to the government major measures aimed at stabilising market prices in the second half of this year. Deputy Finance Minister Nguyen Ngoc Tuan said at a meeting in Hanoi on...

PHILIPPINE NEWSPAPER HIGHLIGHTS - JULY 1, 2004.
July 1, 2004... MANILA, July 1 Asia Pulse - Highlights of today's newspapers: MANILA TIMES: - Paris-based Financial Action Task Force, which is the worlds dirty-money watchdog, wants the Philippine government again to amend the countrys antimoney...

NEW PORT BEING BUILT IN NORTH VIETNAM.
July 1, 2004... HANOI, July 1 Asia Pulse - Construction of a new port began at the Mong Cai Township of the northeastern coast province of Quang Ninh on Sunday. The VND110 billion (US$7 million) Dan Tien Port is a joint venture of the Duyen Hai Company of...

IHI-VOITH VENTURE CULTIVATING THAI, INDONESIAN SALES.
July 1, 2004... TOKYO, July 1 Asia Pulse - Voith IHI Paper Technology Co., a joint venture of Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries Co. (TSE:7013) and German papermaking equipment firm Voith AG, is promoting papermaking equipment sales in Thailand and...