AsiaPulse News articles from July 2005

AsiaPulse News archives from July 2005

FOREX - AUSTRALIAN DOLLAR BEGINS SOFTER - JULY 1, 2005.
July 1, 2005... SYDNEY, July 1 Asia Pulse - The Australian dollar opened weaker today, being little affected by a widely expected US interest rate rise and indications that the US Federal Reserve would keep hiking. At 0700 AEST the currency was trading at...

AUSTRALIAN NEWSPAPER HIGHLIGHTS - JULY 1, 2005.
July 1, 2005... SYDNEY, July 1 Asia Pulse - The main stories in today's newspapers: THE AUSTRALIAN: - Departing Telstra chief executive Ziggy Switowski says the telecommunications giant is facing tough times. The heavens are emptying like the spleen...

NEW SUPERANNUATION RULES PLACE ONUS ON AUSTRALIAN WORKERS.
July 1, 2005... CANBERRA, July 1 Asia Pulse - From today, employees are responsible for checking that their employer makes the correct superannuation payments, the Superannuation Trust of Australia (STA) says. It is important that employees check what is...

NSW, W. AUSTRALIA TO BE FORCED TO DELIVER GST-LINKED TAX CUTS.
July 1, 2005... CANBERRA, July 1 Asia Pulse - The federal government will announce measures to force two states to honour their agreement to cut taxes which were supposed to be replaced by the GST, Treasurer Peter Costello says. The treasurer has been...

S. KOREAN CONSUMER PRICES UNEXPECTEDLY SLIP IN JUNE.
July 1, 2005... SEOUL, July 1 Asia Pulse - South Korean consumer prices rose in June, led by a fall in prices of agricultural goods, and a decline in housing rents, a government report showed Friday. The consumer price index (CPI) fell to 117.3 last month...

FOREX - DOLLAR SHARPLY LOWER AGAINST RUPEE- JUNE 30, 2005.
July 1, 2005... MUMBAI, June 30 Asia Pulse - The US Dollar ended sharply cheaper against the Rupee at Rs 43.52 per dollar and the Pound Sterling tumbled to Rs 78.02 per pound at the close of the Interbank Foreign Exchange (FOREX) market here today. Euro...

STOCKS - BSE CLOSES HIGHER - JUNE 30, 2005.
July 1, 2005... MUMBAI, June 30 Asia Pulse - Shrugging off the slowdown in GDP growth, the Sensex today surged further by a whopping 73.97 points to climb at a new closing high of 7193.85 on the Bombay Stock Exchange driven up by sustained heavy buying by FIIs...

NORTH KOREA ACCUSES U.S. OF 170 SPY FLIGHTS IN JUNE.
July 1, 2005... SEOUL, July 1 Asia Pulse - North Korea said Thursday that the United States continued to conduct spy flights over the country this past month, upping its criticism of the U.S. for doing so while the two Koreas were making reconciliatory moves....

NORTH KOREA'S TRADE WITH JAPAN CONTINUES TO RECEDE: REPORT.
July 1, 2005... SEOUL, July 1 Asia Pulse - North Korea's trade with Japan further dropped off in 2005 after years of waning due to heightened political conflict, a trade agency in Seoul said, quoting a report from Tokyo. According to the state-run Japan...

S. KOREAN TEAM DEVELOPS 'MAGIC' TECHNOLOGY FOR NEW MEDICINES.
July 1, 2005... DAEJEON, July 1 Asia Pulse - A South Korean research team said Friday it has succeeded in jointly developing a new fundamental technology used for producing medications to fight diseases like cancer. The research team and the startup firm...

SOUTH KOREAN NEWSPAPER HIGHLIGHTS - JULY 1, 2005.
July 1, 2005... SEOUL, July 1 Asia Pulse - The following are the top headlines in major Korean newspapers on July 1. VERNACULAR DAILIES - Controversy brews over rejection of bill on nationality of Koreans born abroad (Kyunghyang Shinmun) -...

DUAL-CORE AMD OPTERON PROCESSOR POWERS ACER ALTOS SERVER.
July 1, 2005... (Full text of a statement. Contact details below) MILANO, Italy--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 30, 2005--AMD (NYSE:AMD) today announced the introduction of the Acer Altos G5350, the first Dual-Core AMD Opteron(TM) processor-based pedestal server...

BANK OF AMERICA TO ACQUIRE MBNA.
July 1, 2005... (Full text of a statement. Contact details below) NEW YORK, June 30 /PRNewswire-AsiaNet/ - Bank of America Corporation today announced a definitive agreement to acquire MBNA Corporation. The acquisition combines the country's largest...

HOTELS SILKEN PRESENTS HOTEL PUERTA AMRICA.
July 1, 2005... (Full text of a statement. Contact details below) MADRID, June 30 /PRNewsFoto-AsiaNet/ - CAPTION: PRNewswire Photos, London, June 30. MADRID, Spain - Hoteles Silken presents its dream come true: The Hotel Puerta America in Madrid opens to...

INDONESIA'S DHARMALA INTILAND AIMS TO RESTRUCTURE DEBT THIS YR.
July 1, 2005... JAKARTA, July 1 Asia Pulse - Property company PT Dharmala Intiland (JSE:DILD) said it hopes to finish restructuring its entire debt of Rp1.49 trillion (US$156.8 million) before the end of this year. Company President Hendro S Gondokusumo...

INDONESIA'S ADIRA ALLOCATES US$1 BLN FOR CONSUMER FINANCE OPS.
July 1, 2005... JAKARTA, July 1 Asia Pulse - PT Adira Dinamika Multi Finance aims to spend Rp10 trillion (US$1.05 billion) on its consumer finance business this year, up from Rp6.6 trillion last year. Adira President Stanley Setia Atmadja said the entire...

GLOBAL MOBILE PHONE SHIPMENTS RISE 7.1 PCT IN Q2: US REPORT.
July 1, 2005... SEOUL, July 1 Asia Pulse - Worldwide shipments of mobile phones rose 7.1 per cent from a year ago in the second quarter after suffering a typical seasonal slowdown in the first quarter, a U.S.-based research firm said Friday. ...

PLN ASKS PERTAMINA FOR GUARANTEED OIL FUEL SUPPLY.
July 1, 2005... JAKARTA, July 1 Asia Pulse - State-owned electricity company PLN has asked state-owned oil company Pertamina to guarantee the supply of oil fuels to forestall a possible power crisis in the next three months. A number of hydropower plants...

INDONESIAN INDUSTRY MINISTER WANTS RATTAN EXPORT BAN TO STAY.
July 1, 2005... JAKARTA, July 1 Asia Pulse - Industry Minister Andung Nitimihardja said he has asked Trade Minister Mari Elka Pangestu to maintain a ban on exports of raw and semi-finished rattan. Andung said the supply of raw rattan is still not enough to...

JAPAN SHAREHOLDERS VOCAL ABOUT TAKEOVER DEFENSES, EXEC PAY.
July 1, 2005... TOKYO, July 1 Asia Pulse - This year's general shareholders meetings have proven to be a challenge for Japanese companies as many met dissenting votes by shareholders over such issues as anti-takeover measures, executive compensation and...

INDIA'S CANARA BANK EYES OPS IN N. AMERICA, MID-EAST, S AFRICA.
July 1, 2005... BANGALORE, July 1 Asia Pulse - Canara Bank (BSE:532483), celebrating centenary year, is eyeing operations in South Africa, North America and the Middle-East as part of its overseas expansion plans, its chairman and managing director M B N Rao...

TAIWAN'S FINANCIAL SUPERVISORY COMM TO SET UP OFFICE IN NEW YORK.
July 1, 2005... TAIPEI, July 1 Asia Pulse - The Executive Yuan has approved the establishment of a representative office of the Cabinet-level Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) in New York, FSC officials said Thursday. FSC representative Weng Wen-chi...

TAIWAN SIGNS ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING PACT WITH PARAGUAY.
July 1, 2005... TAIPEI, July 1 Asia Pulse - Officials of Taiwan and Paraguay signed an agreement Thursday to jointly combat money laundering and information-exchange by terrorists, at an annual plenary meeting of the Egmont Group held in Washington, according...

ASIA IS ON AN ACCELERATED PATH TO 3G: CDMA DEVELOPMENT GROUP.
July 1, 2005... (Full text of a statement. Contact details below.) BEIJING, June 29, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- At a press briefing in Beijing yesterday, the CDMA Development Group (CDG) (www.cdg.org) reported that the success of CDMA2000(r) operators in Asia is...

TAIWAN-RUSSIA TIES CAN BE IMPROVED: ASSOC HEAD.
July 1, 2005... TAIPEI, July 1 Asia Pulse - There is room for improvement in Taiwan-Russia relations, although bilateral trade between the two countries has been rapidly increasing in recent years, the Taiwan-Russia Association president said Thursday. ...

TAIWAN'S DPP CHAIRMAN TO DEPART FOR 9-DAY U.S. VISIT.
July 1, 2005... TAIPEI, July 1 Asia Pulse - Ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairman Su Tseng-chang will depart Taipei Friday for a nine-day visit to the United States aimed at promoting bilateral exchanges, DPP sources said Thursday. Su's first...

PHILIPS TO INTEGRATE ITS LARGEST CHIP IN BANGALORE.
July 1, 2005... BANGALORE, July 1 Asia Pulse - The Bangalore design centre of the Euro 30.3 billion (US$36.7 billion) Royal Philips Electronics would work on the next generation consumer platform chip design and integrate the whole chip -- the biggest ever...

ECONOMIC TALKS CAN BRIDGE CROSS-STRAIT GULF: TAIWAN PRESIDENT.
July 1, 2005... TAIPEI, July 1 Asia Pulse - President Chen Shui-bian said Thursday that governments on both sides of the Taiwan Strait could consult more with each other over economic matters, a move that would increase mutual trust and create conditions for...

WIPRO'S HIGH-PROFILE TOP EXECUTIVE VIVEK PAUL QUITS.
July 1, 2005... BANGALORE, July 1 Asia Pulse - Vivek Paul, widely acknowledged to be a leading force in building Wipro Technologies from a USD 150 million software business to a US$1.4 billion entity as CEO, has quit and joined Texas Pacific Group as a partner...

TAIWAN PRESIDENT URGES PEOPLE TO CONSERVE ELECTRICITY.
July 1, 2005... TAIPEI, July 1 Asia Pulse - President Chen Shui-bian Thursday called on the people to "switch off and save," saying that if each citizen saves one unit of electricity a day, Taiwan could save NT$21 billion (US$670 million) in electricity...

EXPERT INVITED TO ENDORSE SAFETY OF U.S. BEEF IN TAIWAN.
July 1, 2005... TAIPEI, July 1 Asia Pulse - The U.S. Meat Export Federation invited an expert to endorse the safety of U.S. beef in the wake of local misgivings about its consumption after a recent confirmation of a second case of bovine spongiform...

INDIA'S ECONOMIC GROWTH IS AT 6.9 PCT FOR 2004-05.
July 1, 2005... NEW DELHi, July 1 Asia Pulse - Powered by a 9.2 per cent growth in the manufacturing sector, India's economic growth stood at 6.9 per cent for 2004-05 fiscal compared to 8.5 per cent during the previous financial year. According to...

CHINA UNLIKELY TO INVADE TAIWAN IN NEAR TERM: CHINA EXPERT.
July 1, 2005... WASHINGTON, July 1 Asia Pulse - Former U.S. Ambassador to China James Lilley expressed his disapproval Wednesday of a Washington Times report that Beijing might take military action against Taiwan in two years. Lilley, who is now director...

TAIPEI CLOSELY WATCHING GUATEMALA-CHINA EXCHANGES.
July 1, 2005... TAIPEI, July 1 Asia Pulse - Taipei will closely watch trade exchanges between Guatemala and China, although Guatemala's president and foreign minister promised that Taiwan-Guatemala diplomatic ties will remain unchanged, Ministry of Foreign...

INDIA'S TATA CONSULTANCY TO FLOAT JV WITH MICROSOFT IN CHINA.
July 1, 2005... NEW DELHI, July 1 Asia Pulse - Tata Consultancy Services (NSI:TCS) will float a second IT services and solutions company in China, this time in a joint venture with Microsoft and three Chinese entities. The joint venture company will serve...

STOCKS - KOSDAQ BEGINS WEAKER - JULY 1, 2005.
July 1, 2005... SEOUL, July 1 Asia Pulse - The KOSDAQ opened at 502.83, down O.38 points. (Yonhap) 01-07 1032

FOREX - US DOLLAR BEGINS STRONGER VS WON - JULY 1, 2005.
July 1, 2005... SEOUL, July 1 Asia Pulse - The US dollar opened at 1033.00 won, up from 1025.40 won.

STOCKS - AUSTRALIAN SHARES START SOFTER - JULY 1, 2005.
July 1, 2005... SYDNEY, July 1 Asia Pulse - The Australian sharemarket opened weaker on the first day of the financial year as a drop in commodities prices drove down mining stocks. At 1015 AEST the benchmark S&P/ASX200 was 23.5 points lower at 4254 while...

INDIA'S EICHER EYES US$100 MLN FROM ENGINEERING OUTSOURCING.
July 1, 2005... NEW DELHI, July 1 Asia Pulse - Eicher Motors Ltd (BSE:505200) has forayed into engineering services outsourcing with the acquisition of US-based company Design Intent Engineering (DIE) and said it expected the new business to contribute US$100...

STOCKS - JAPANESE SHARES START LOWER - JULY 1, 2005.
July 1, 2005... TOKYO, July 1 Asia Pulse - Japanese share prices began the month weaker, with the Nikkei-225 index easing 34.48 points to 11,549.53. ASIA PULSE 01-07 1040

PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK OPENS REPRESENTATIVE OFFICE IN DUBAI.
July 1, 2005... NEW DELHI, July 1 Asia Pulse - Punjab National Bank (NSI:PNB), which is aiming to become a global player, has opened a representative office in Dubai to facilitate trade finance and remittance business between India and the United Arab...

AUSTRALIA'S WEBJET POSTS RECORD MONTHLY TRANSACTIONS IN JUNE.
July 1, 2005... SYDNEY, July 1 Asia Pulse - Online travel agent Webjet(ASX:WEB) has reached a monthly record with its transaction values for June. Webjet today announced gross transaction values for June of .3 million ($US7.09 million), a 400 per cent...

S. KOREA TO UNVEIL 2ND-HALF ECONOMIC PLAN NEXT WEEK.
July 1, 2005... SEOUL, July 1 Asia Pulse - The South Korean government plans to announce a blueprint next week that will outline its handling of the faltering economy during the second half, officials said Friday. The envisioned economic management plan...

INDIA ALLOWS FDI, REVENUE SHARE FOR PVT FM RADIO; NO TO NEWS.
July 1, 2005... NEW DELHI, July 1 Asia Pulse - Launching a major expansion programme for private FM radio services, the government Thursday allowed 20 per cent Foreign Direct Investment in the sector and decided on a revenue share regime against the existing...

DABUR INDIA TO SELL STAKE IN FRENCH CHEESE JV.
July 1, 2005... NEW DELHI, July 1 Asia Pulse - In a strategic decision, Dabur India Ltd (BSE:600096) has decided to sell its entire stake in its French cheese-making joint venture, Dabon International Pvt. and transfer 79.96 per cent stake Dabur Nepal Pvt Ltd...

AMD JAPAN FILES CLAIM FOR DAMAGES AGAINST INTEL K.K. IN TOKYO.
July 1, 2005... (Full text of a statement. Contact details below.) TOKYO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 30, 2005-- AMD Japan Seeks to Restore Fair and Open Competition for the Japan PC and Server Marketplace AMD Japan (Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, David M....

INTTRA RELEASES INTTRA DESKTOP VERSION 1.4.
July 1, 2005... (Full text of a statement. Contact details below.) PARSIPPANY, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 30, 2005--Today, INTTRA releases INTTRA Desktop version 1.4 the user-friendly, intuitive, offline solution for the creation and submission of...

LG ELECTRONICS SELECTS RED BEND FOTA SOLUTION.
July 1, 2005... (Full text of a statement. Contact details below.) FRAMINGHAM, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 29, 2005-- Red Bend's vCurrent(R) Mobile to be embedded on LG's most advanced mobile devices to deliver firmware updates, ensure customer...

LNG FROM QATAR AUSTRALIA TO RESTART INDIA'S DABHOL PROJECT.
July 1, 2005... NEW DELHI, July 1 Asia Pulse - Qatar and Australia are likely to supply fuel for restarting the US$2.946 billion Dabhol Power Project in Maharasthra from fourth quarter of 2006. State-owned gas utility GAIL (India) Ltd is negotiating...

STOCKS - SEOUL SHARES OPEN WEAKER - JULY 1, 2005.
July 1, 2005... SEOUL, July 1 Asia Pulse - South Korean stocks opened weaker Friday as investor sentiment was dented by an overnight fall in the U.S. stock market. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) was down 4.16 points, or 0.41 per...

S&P GIVES THE CITY OF MELBOURNE ITS HIGHEST RATING.
July 1, 2005... SYDNEY, July 1 Asia Pulse - Standard & Poor's Ratings Services has affirmed its AAA/A1-plus ratings on the City of Melbourne, the highest ratings assigned by the agency. S&P said the outlook is stable. "Melbourne's rating is...

OIL PRICES TIPPED TO EASE BY YEAR-END.
July 1, 2005... SYDNEY, July 1 Asia Pulse - Motorists despairing at rising petrol prices can take heart in forecasters tipping a pull back in the oil price by the end of the year. But don't put the bicycle away just yet. The cost of oil is set to get...

3 SINGAPORE BANKS TO BE PERMITTED 26% STAKE IN INDIAN INSURANCE.
July 1, 2005... NEW DELHI, July 1 Asia Pulse - Three Singaporean banks, which will set up wholly-owned subsidiaries in India, will be allowed 26 per cent stake in life and non-life insurance sector under the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement signed...

MINING EXPORT BOOM BOOSTING AUSTRALIAN ECONOMY: TREASURER.
July 1, 2005... SYDNEY, July 1 Asia Pulse - The Chinese-driven boom in Australian mining exports has, to quote from federal treasurer Peter Costello, helped the economy thrash the pants off other western nations. Surging prices for iron ore and coking coal...

AUSTRALIA'S MANUFACTURING INDUSTRY IMPROVES IN JUNE.
July 1, 2005... SYDNEY, July 1 Asia Pulse - The performance of Australia's manufacturing industry improved in June but there was continued weakness in the sector. The Australian Industry Group-PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC) Australian Performance of...

S. KOREA'S TRADE SURPLUS REACHES US$2.7 BLN IN JUNE.
July 1, 2005... SEOUL, July 1 Asia Pulse - South Korea's trade surplus rose to a preliminary US$2.7 billion in June, up from $2 billion in the previous month, the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy said Friday. Customs-cleared exports grew 10.4 per...

S. KOREA'S POSCO TO SET UP ANOTHER SERVICE CENTER IN JAPAN.
July 1, 2005... SEOUL, July 1 Asia Pulse - POSCO (KSE:005490), South Korea's largest steelmaker, said Friday it will set up a new service center in Japan for automotive steel and stainless steel sheets. The center, named "POS-NPC," will be constructed in...

SK CORP FINDS OIL RESERVE OF 50 MLN BARRELS OFF BRAZIL.
July 1, 2005... SEOUL, July 1 Asia Pulse - SK Corp., South Korea's largest refiner, said Friday it has found a reserve of oil amounting to more than 50 million barrels at an oil field off Brazil. The company found the oil reserve in the oil field, which is...

HUGE INVESTMENT CAPITAL AWAITING AUSTRALIAN IPOS.
July 1, 2005... SYDNEY, July 1 Asia Pulse - The initial public offer (IPO) market can take heart from the huge pool of investment capital waiting to be tapped in 2005/06. Superannuation funds now receive around A$15 billion (US$11.4 billion) every...

UAE'S ETISALAT PAYS FIRST INSTALMENT FOR PAKISTAN TELECOM.
July 1, 2005... ISLAMABAD, July 1 Asia Pulse - Etisalat, a United Arab Emirates-based company, which placed the highest bid of US$2.598 billion for a 26 per cent share of Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) on June 18, has deposited with the...

CHINESE ASSET MANAGEMENT COS DISPOSE OF NON-PERFORMING ASSETS.
July 1, 2005... BEIJING, July 1 Asia Pulse - China's four financial asset management companies have disposed an accumulated 700.8 billion yuan (US$84.6 billion) worth of non-performing assets (excluding policy-type debt-to-share) by the end of May 2005,...

AFGHANISTAN'S RECONSTRUCTION GOING FULL STEAM AHEAD.
July 1, 2005... KABUL, July 1 Asia Pulse - The Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development (MRRD) will complete thousands of small reconstruction projects across the country under the National Solidarity Programme. Minister for Rural Rehabilitation...

PAKISTANI MINISTER DUE IN KABUL SUNDAY TO DISCUSS REFUGEE ISSUE.
July 1, 2005... KABUL, July 1 Asia Pulse - Pakistan Minister for State and Frontier Regions Sardar Yar Mohammad Rind will arrive in Kabul Sunday for talks with Afghan authorities on refugees' issues. Addressing a press conference here Thursday, spokesman...

EARNINGS OF LIFE INSURERS IN S. KOREA SURGE IN 2004.
July 1, 2005... SEOUL, July 1 Asia Pulse - Life insurance companies in South Korea saw their earnings soar nearly 33 per cent in fiscal 2004 on the back of strong investment profits, the nation's financial regulator said Friday. According to the Financial...

INDIA-SINGAPORE AGREEMENT WON'T LEAD TO SWITCH TRADE: NATH.
July 1, 2005... NEW DELHI, July 1 Asia Pulse - Terming the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) with Singapore as a "win-win" pact, Commerce Minister Kamal Nath Thursday allayed the Indian industry's fears that the country would be hit by switch...

AUSTRALIA'S NEWCREST MINING SEES GOLD RESERVES JUMP 20 PCT.
July 1, 2005... MELBOURNE, June 30 Asia Pulse - The gold reserves of Newcrest Mining Ltd (ASX:NCM) have been boosted by 20 per cent after a study estimated there was a six million ounce gold reserve at its Cadia East deposit in NSW. The miner had already...

JAPANESE NEWSPAPER HIGHLIGHTS - JULY 1, 2005.
July 1, 2005... TOKYO, July 1 Asia Pulse - Highlights of today's newspapers: NIKKEI NET: - Japanese corporate sentiment rebounded broadly and briskly over the last three months, the Bank of Japan's June tankan survey showed Friday. - Japan's...

BUSINESS WIRE DAILY BRIEFING - JUNE 30, 2005.
July 1, 2005... A summary of news releases for June 30, 2005, 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: Finance ...

RAD APPOINTS NEW SALES MANAGER FOR JAPAN.
July 1, 2005... (Full text of a statement. Contact details below.) TOKYO, June 30 /PRNewswire-AsiaNet/ - Izi Amado has been appointed Sales Manager for Japan at RAD Data Communications. The announcement was made by Dario Zipris, RAD's Vice President of...

SEOUL LAUNCHES INDEPENDENT AGENCY TO MANAGE FOREIGN RESERVES.
July 1, 2005... SEOUL, July 1 Asia Pulse - South Korea launched an independent agency Friday to manage part of the world's fourth-largest foreign reserves, seeking to boost investment returns. The Korea Investment Corp. (KIC), modeled after Singapore's...

TASMANIA APPROVES CONSTRUCTION OF MINE.
July 1, 2005... (Full text of a statement. Contact details below.) SYDNEY, June 30 /MediaNet International-AsiaNet/ -- Allegiance Mining NL ( ASX Code AGM ) is pleased to announce that at a special meeting held on 28th June 2005 the West Coast Council...

FUJITSU SIEMENS CONSIDERS UZBEKISTAN AS BRIDGEHEAD IN THE REGION.
July 1, 2005... TASHKENT, July 1 Asia Pulse - Uzbekistan is a bridgehead for Fujitsu Siemens Computers the expansion of its presence in Central Asia and Caucasus, a top manager of Fujitsu Siemens Computers said at a press conference dedicated to the end of the...

INDONESIAN NEWSPAPER HIGHLIGHTS - JULY 1, 2005.
July 1, 2005... JAKARTA, July 1 Asia Pulse - Highlights from today's newspapers: KOMPAS: - A number of 13 senior high schools in the province of Yogyakarta ended the academic year of 2004/2005 without a student passing the national examination. ...

PHILIPPINE NEWSPAPER HIGHLIGHTS - JULY 1, 2005.
July 1, 2005... MANILA, July 1 Asia Pulse - Highlights of today's newspapers: MANILA TIMES: - In an implied show of support for President Arroyo, former President Corazon Aquino on Thursday called on the people to stay within the confines of the...

FOREX - AUSTRALIAN DOLLAR WEAKER AT NOON - JULY 1, 2005.
July 1, 2005... SYDNEY, July 1 Asia Pulse - The Australian dollar drifted lower this morning to be weaker at noon, the currency unable to maintain a bounce on stronger than expected retail sales figures. At 1200 AEST the local unit was trading at...

STOCKS - AUSTRALIAN SHARES SOFTER AT NOON - JULY 1, 2005.
July 1, 2005... SYDNEY, July 1 Asia Pulse - The Australian sharemarket had a weak start to the financial year following a negative lead from Wall Street overnight. At 1206 AEST the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was down 18.2 points at 4259.3, while the All...

THAI NEWSPAPER HIGHLIGHTS - JULY 1, 2005.
July 1, 2005... BANGKOK, July 1 Asia Pulse - Highlights of today's newspapers: BANGKOK POST: - Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said yesterday that he wants to promote the development of information and communications technology (ICT) in Thailand, as...

JAPAN'S SHINKO, OTHER MIDSIZE BROKERS TO FORM INVESTMENT UNITS.
July 1, 2005... TOKYO, July 1 Asia Pulse - Shinko Securities Co. (TSE:8606) and Aizawa Securities Co. are poised to establish investment subsidiaries this week, while Kyokuto Securities Co. (TSE:8706) plans to follow suit this summer. These midsize...

INSTITUTIONAL INVESTORS EAGER TO BUY IBIDEN, JT; SELL SANYO.
July 1, 2005... TOKYO, July 1 Asia Pulse - Institutional investors are inclined to buy such stocks as Ibiden Co. (TSE:4062) and Japan Tobacco Inc. (TSE:2914) while unloading Sanyo Electric Co. (TSE:6764), according to a Nihon Keizai Shimbun survey. A...

STOCKS - MALAYSIAN STOCKS UP IN EARLY TRADE - JULY 1, 2005.
July 1, 2005... KUALA LUMPUR, July 1 Asia Pulse - The Malaysian sharemarket was up 0.37 per cent in early trade, with the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange Composite Index rising 3.3 points to 891.62 at 10:22 a.m. ASIA PULSE 01-07 1241

BOOKBUILDING PERIOD FOR ESMERTEC IPO EXTENDED TO JULY 1.
July 1, 2005... (Full text of a statement. Contact details below) DUEBENDORF-ZURICH, Switzerland--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 30, 2005--Esmertec(TM), a leading global, independent developer of software solutions for mobile handsets and embedded devices,...

STOCKS - SINGAPORE STOCKS UP IN EARLY TRADE - JULY 1, 2005.
July 1, 2005... SINGAPORE, July 1 Asia Pulse - Singapore shares were higher in early trade, with the Straits Times Index up 0.93 points at 2,213.59 at 10:39 a.m. ASIA PULSE 01-07 1244

CORRECTION MALAYSIA'S AHMAD ZAKI WINS SAUDI PROJECT.
July 1, 2005... (Repeating to correct typo in first paragraph) KUALA LUMPUR, June 30 Asia Pulse - Ahmad Zaki Resources Berhad (AZRB) (KLSE:7078) said it has signed an agreement with Saudi Arabia's Alfaisal University to develop a campus project in Riyadh....

SINGAPORE NEWSPAPER HIGHLIGHTS - JULY 1, 2005.
July 1, 2005... SINGAPORE, July 1 Asia Pulse - Highlights of today's newspapers: THE STRAITS TIMES - TEHERAN (Iran) - Iran's new president was a member of the hard-line Islamic student group that seized the US Embassy in Teheran in 1979, but he...