AsiaPulse News articles from March 2000

AsiaPulse News archives from March 2000

MALAYSIA'S ANCOM BUYS SOFTWARE CO MALAY SINO TECHNOLOGIES.
March 1, 2000... KUALA LUMPUR, March 1 Asia Pulse - Ancom Bhd is to buy 50.1 percent stake for close to RM10 million ($US 2.63 milion) in Malay Sino Technologies Sdn Bhd, a information technology solutions provider which will spearhead the KLSE Main Board...

MAJOR CHINESE PHOSPHATE FERTILIZER COS GET POLICY SUPPORT.
March 1, 2000... BEIJING, Mar 1 Asia Pulse - China's central government will take the following measures to support the development of major phosphate fertilizer manufacturers: 1. To allow deeply indebted enterprises to swap their debt for equity; 2....

MALAYSIA'S BOND MARKET TO LAUNCH REVISED CODE OF CONDUCT.
March 1, 2000... KUALA LUMPUR, Mar 1 Asia Pulse - A revised code of conduct and market practices for the bond market would be launched in the near furture to promote best and standard trading practices, Bank Negara Malaysia governor Ali Abul Hassan Sulaiman,...

GENERAL MOTORS OPERATING WELL IN SHANGHAI.
March 1, 2000... SHANGHAI, Mar 1 Asia Pulse - The Shanghai General Motors Co., Ltd., the biggest Sino-US joint venture in China, realized 600 million yuan (US$72.55 million) in profits for 1999, the first year of its operations. The achievement is...

HIGHLIGHTS OF INDIAN FEDERAL BUDGET 2000/2001.
March 1, 2000... NEW DELHI, March 1 Asia Pulse - Highlights of Part-A of the Budget 2000-01: * Central Sector Plan Outlay increased from Rs 1035.21 billion to Rs 1173.34 billion * Gross Budget support for plan increased from Rs 770 billion to Rs 881...

STOCKS - DSE OPENS WEAKER - MARCH 1, 2000.
March 1, 2000... NEW DELHI, March 1 Asia Pulse - While index-related economy- linked stocks suffered another setback, Information Technology (IT) sector stocks bounced back at a rapid pace to open higher on the stock market today on revival of buying by Foreign...

VIETNAM MOTORBIKE INDUSTRY URGED TO REDUCE PRICES.
March 1, 2000... HANOI, Mar 1 Asia Pulse - Industry analysts are calling for a shake-up in the Vietnam motorbike industry to protect the buyer from what they say is increasingly becoming a monopoly. They say the State should monitor domestic assembling...

STOCKS - BSE OPENS HIGHER - MARCH 1, 2000.
March 1, 2000... MUMBAI, March 1 Asia Pulse - Bank and software shares were in the limelight and select pharma and FMCG counters showed a weak trend in a see-saw trading at the opening session on the stock market here today on alternate bouts of buying and...

STATISTICS - OUTPUT OF CHINA PETROLEUM OILFIELDS FOR JAN 2000.
March 1, 2000... BEIJING, Mar 1 Asia Pulse - The oil output of major oilfields under the China Petroleum Group in January 2000. --------------------------------------------------------------- Oilfields Output in Jan (ton) Change over...

INDIAN BUDGET PROJECTS 7-8 PCT GDP GROWTH.
March 1, 2000... NEW DELHI, March 1 Asia Pulse - The Indian Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha on Tuesday said the federal Budget for 2000-01 would put India on a "sustained, equitable and job creating" annual growth of seven to eight per cent to eradicate...

STATISTICS - CHINA'S MAJOR COS NITRIC ACID OUTPUT FOR 1999.
March 1, 2000... BEIJING, Mar 1 Asia Pulse - The output of concentrated nitric acid of China's major enterprises in 1999 and their percentage changes over 1998. (Unit: ton) -------------------------------------------------------- Name ...

INDIAN GOVT INCREASES BUDGETARY SUPPORT FOR PLAN.
March 1, 2000... NEW DELHI, March 1 Asia Pulse - The Indian Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha on Tuesday announced an increase of Rs 110 billion budgetary support to the Plan, raising it to Rs 881 billion in 2000-2001 compared to Rs 770 billion last year. ...

INDIAN GOVT TO REDUCE ITS EQUITY IN STATE-OWNED BANKS.
March 1, 2000... NEW DELHI, March 1 Asia Pulse - THe Indian Government on Tuesday proposed reducing its equity in the state-owned banks to 33 per cent by issuing shares to the general public. Presenting the federal budget for 2000-2001, Finance Minister...

HP COMPLETES BILLING SYSTEM FOR TELEKOM MALAYSIA.
March 1, 2000... KUALA LUMPUR, March 1 Asia Pulse - Hewlett-Packard (HP) Sales (M) Sdn Bhd today announced the completion of a RM23.4 million ($US6.15 million) cost-based inter-carrier billing system for Telekom Malaysia Bhd and its mobile subsidiaries, TMTouch...

INDIAN AGRI DEVELOPMENT SCHEMES TO BE INTEGRATED.
March 1, 2000... NEW DELHI, March 1 Asia Pulse - India's Planning Commission and Agriculture Ministry have worked out modalities to integrate 28 ongoing separate centrally-sponsored schemes of agricultural development into one comprehensive programme, Finance...

INDIA LAUNCHES NEW GROUP INSURANCE SCHEME.
March 1, 2000... NEW DELHI, March 1 Asia Pulse - A new scheme of group insurance - 'Janashree Bima Yojana' - is being introduced to extend social security cover to poorer sections of society. Presenting the federal budget for 2000-2001 in the Lower House of...

INDONESIA TO RAISE CIGARETTE PRICES BY 30%-40% SOON.
March 1, 2000... JAKARTA, March 1 Asia Pulse - Cigarette prices at the retail level in Indonesia are expected to go up by between 30 per cent and 40 per cent from the current prices, following the government's plan to raise excise tax revenues, according to a...

NEW RS 50 BLN SCHEME TO FULFIL BASIC RURAL NEEDS IN INDIA.
March 1, 2000... NEW DELHI, March 1 Asia Pulse - A new Rs 50 billion scheme -- Pradhan Mantri Gramodaya Yojana -- is being launched to undertake time-bound programmes to fulfil basic rural needs of primary education, health care, drinking water, housing and...

INDIAN GOVT TO LIMIT FOREIGN STAKE IN LOCAL COs TO 40 PCT.
March 1, 2000... NEW DELHI, March 1 Asia Pulse - The Federal Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha on Tuesday proposed to increase the ceiling of Foreign Institutional Investment (FII) in Indian companies from current 30 per cent to 40 per cent. Presenting the...

IMF WANTS INDONESIA TO KEEP ECONIOMIC RECOVERY IN SIGHT.
March 1, 2000... JAKARTA, March 1 Asia Pulse - The International Monetary Fund says it is not against a plan by the government to raise salaries of civil servants, but hopes the process of economic recovery will be taken into account in its implementation. ...

INDIAN GOVT PROPOSES TAX LIBERALISATION FOR VENTURE FUNDS.
March 1, 2000... NEW DELHI, March 1 Asia Pulse - The federal Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha on Tuesday proposed a major tax liberalisation for venture capital funds to encourage knowledge-based industries and increased the ceiling under the automatic route for...

MALAYSIAN OIL TOWN PREPARES FOR ECONOMIC BOOM.
March 1, 2000... KUCHING, Malaysia March 1 Asia Pulse - The Bintulu Development Authority (BDA) will spend some RM100 million ($US 26.3 million) to implement various projects in its preparation for the second economic boom, expected to occur between now and...

BRIEFING - ASIA AUTOMOTIVE - MARCH 1, 2000.
March 1, 2000... An executive briefing on the automotive industry for March 1, 2000, prepared by Asia Pulse (http://www.asiapulse.com), the real-time, Asia-based wire with exclusive news, commercial intelligence and business opportunities. GENERAL MOTORS...

BRIEFING - ASIA ENERGY - MARCH 1, 2000.
March 1, 2000... An executive briefing on energy for March 1, 2000, prepared by Asia Pulse (http://www.asiapulse.com), the real-time, Asia-based wire with exclusive news, commercial intelligence and business opportunities. MALAYSIAN OIL TOWN PREPARES FOR...

BRIEFING - ASIA INSURANCE - MARCH 1, 2000.
March 1, 2000... An executive briefing on insurance for March 1, 2000, prepared by Asia Pulse (http://www.asiapulse.com), the real-time, Asia-based wire with exclusive news, commercial intelligence and business opportunities. INDIA LAUNCHES NEW GROUP...

FOREX - DOLLAR CLOSES LOWER VS YEN - MARCH 1, 2000.
March 1, 2000... TOKYO, Mar 1 Asia Pulse - The U.S. dollar traded at 109.11-109.13 yen as of 5pm on Wednesday, down 1.14. Nikkei

PHILIPPINES' PLDT 1999 NET INCOME $68.54 MLN, UP 151% VS 1998.
March 1, 2000... MANILA, March 1 Asia Pulse - Telecommunications giant Philippines Long Distance Telephone Co says its last year's consolidated net income totalled 2.8 billion pesos (US$68.54 million), or an increase of 151 percent, thus outpacing its 1998...

TELXON TO LAUNCH NEW PRODUCTS AT SCAN-TECH ASIA 2000.
March 1, 2000... (Full text of statement. Contact details below.) CINCINNATI, Feb 29 PRNewswire-AsiaNet - Telxon Corporation (Nasdaq: TLXN), a world leader in delivering quality, innovative solutions for mobile information and wireless communications...

PHILIPPINE NEWSPAPER HIGHLIGHTS - MARCH 1, 2000.
March 1, 2000... MANILA, March 1 Asia Pulse - Highlights of today's newspapers: INQUIRER - Yasay confirms meeting with Tan PR. Amid criticism on his lack of propriety Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Perfecto Yasay yesterday admitted to the...

USAID ALLOTS US$12 MLN FOR BOT PROJECTS IN PHILIPPINES.
March 1, 2000... TARLAC CITY, March 1 Asia Pulse - Some $12 million has been allotted by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to the Projects Development Fund (PDF) for build-operate-transfer (BOT) scheme projects of local government...

PHILIPPINES' AYALA CORP TO PAY 20 PCT DIVIDEND.
March 1, 2000... MANILA, March 1 Asia Pulse - The board of directors of the Ayala Corporation (AC) today approved the declaration of a 20 percent stock dividend, although the amount is yet to be fixed by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in...

CANADA INITIATES STRATEGY TO HELP PHILIPPINES ENTREPRENEURS.
March 1, 2000... MANILA, Mar 1 Asia Pulse - The Canadian International Development Agency's (CIDA) Private Enterprise Accelerated Resources Linkages (PEARL) today signed with the Philippine Small and Medium Business Development Foundation (PHILSMED) a...

STOCKS - JAKARTA SHARES END PTS 11.064 DOWN - MARCH 1, 2000.
March 1, 2000... JAKARTA, March 1 Asia Pulse - Share prices closed 1.92 percent lower today in the absence of fresh buying incentives, dealers said. Jakarta stock exchange composite index was down 11.069 points (-1.92%) to close at 565.478, while LQ45 index...

CORRECTION STOCKS - JAKARTA SHARES END DOWN - MARCH 1, 2000.
March 1, 2000... (Repeating to correct figure in second para) JAKARTA, March 1 Asia Pulse - Share prices closed 1.92 percent lower today in the absence of fresh buying incentives, dealers said. Jakarta stock exchange composite index was down 11.064...

INDONESIA'S ROBUSTA COFFEE PRICES DROP 37% ON THE WORLD MARKET.
March 1, 2000... MEDAN, Mar 1 Asia Pulse - The price of Indonesia's robusta coffee dropped 37% to $US730/ton followed weak demand as a result of large supply from Vietnam. Suryo Pranoto, the president of PT Sarimakmur Tunggal Mandiri said yesterday that in...

KFC MALAYSIA APPOINTS TWO KEY ADVISORS.
March 1, 2000... KUALA LUMPUR, Mar 1 Asia Pulse - KFC Holdings (Malaysia) Bhd today announced that former Attorney-General Abu Talib Othman and former chief minister of north-western Kedah state, Osman Aroff, have been appointed business and corporate advisors...

INDONESIA ALCOHOL MAKERS FACE DIFFICULTY MEETING DEMAND.
March 1, 2000... BATAM, Indonesia March 1 Asia Pulse - Indonesian alcohol producers are facing difficulties in meeting rising global demand, which grows by up to five per cent a year, according to a company executive. Demand for alcohol this year was...

VIETNAM'S MEKONG DELTA AIMS TO EARN US$600M FROM SEAFOOD.
March 1, 2000... HANOI, Mar 1 Asia Pulse - The Mekong River Delta's fishery sector aims to export one million tonnes of seafood worth US$600 million this year. The delta is one of the country's most important fishing areas and during the last few years...

INDONESIA'S SHOE MAKER PLANS RIGHTS ISSUE.
March 1, 2000... JAKARTA, March 1 Asia Pulse - Publicly listed shoes and sandal producer PT Kasogi International (JSX:GDWU) plans its second rights issue as part of its restructuring programme through a debt to equity swap. Earlier, Kasogi changed its...

SECURE INDONESIA TO LAUNCH E-COMMERCE PAYMENT SYSTEM.
March 1, 2000... JAKARTA, March 1 Asia Pulse - PT Secure Indonesia is set to launch in April a payment system to support e-commerce transactions in Indonesia, according to the company. It said in a statement that its system, known as esecure, would use...

ABN AMRO MALAYSIA PRE TAX PROFIT RISES 67% TO US$8.8MLN.
March 1, 2000... KUALA LUMPUR, March 1 Asia Pulse - ABN AMRO Bank Bhd's pre-tax profit for the year ended December 31, 1999, increased by 67 percent to RM33.4 million ($US8.78 million) from RM20 million in the previous year. The higher profit was attributed...

FORMER MALAYSIA AIRLINES CHIEF TO BUY 35% IN TELECOMS FIRM.
March 1, 2000... KUALA LUMPUR, March 1 Asia Pulse - Former managing director of Malaysia Airlines, Wan Malek, is to buy a 35 percent stake in Perwimas Telecommunications and has been appointed its executive chairman. Perwimas, which is the only company...

CHINA FIXES FIRST 16 BASES FOR PROGRAM 863.
March 1, 2000... BEIJING, Mar 1 Asia Pulse - China's Ministry of Science and Technology has approved the first group of 16 bases for the application of the country's "Program 863" achievements. The bases are selected from among high-tech industry...

MALAYSIA'S MULTI PURPOSE BANK UNIT TO LAUNCH UNIT FUND.
March 1, 2000... KUALA LUMPUR, March 1 Asia Pulse - Multi-Purpose Unit Trust Management Bhd (MPUT), a subsidiary of Multi-Purpose Bank, hopes to sell the entire 200 million units of its newly launched Vision Fund this year. Its chief executive officer...

STOCKS - KL SHARES CLOSE LOWER - MARCH 1, 2000.
March 1, 2000... KUALA LUMPUR, March 1 Asia Pulse - Share prices closed lower today on heavy selling pressure on blue chip issues, in particular Telekom shares. A dealer said though there was retail buying in select conglomerate stocks with good corporate...

FOREX - CURRENCIES CLOSE LOWER VS RINGGIT - MARCH 1, 2000.
March 1, 2000... KUALA LUMPUR, March 1 Asia Pulse - Most major currencies closed lower against the ringgit today as the US dollar strengthened against European currencies, a dealer said. The ringgit stays pegged at RM3.80 to a dollar. The Euro remained...

MALAYSIA'S MULTI PURPOSE TO SIGN DEALS WITH PARTNERS.
March 1, 2000... KUALA LUMPUR, March 1 Asia Pulse - Multi-Purpose Bank, one of the 10 anchor banks, is expected to sign sales and purchase agreements with its merger partners by end of April. Chairman of Multi-Purpose Holdings Bhd Abu Talib Othman said the...

VIETNAM FARMERS NEED 50 NEW RESERVOIRS, DAMS TO FIGHT FLOOD.
March 1, 2000... HANOI, Mar 1 Asia Pulse - Irrigation planning experts are proposing 50 new reservoir and dam projects to prevent a repeat of the devastating floods which hit the central provinces last year, the Thoi Bao Kinh Te Viet Nam (Vietnam Economic...

SINGAPORE TO BRIDGE DIGITAL DIVIDE.
March 1, 2000... SINGAPORE, March 1 Asia Pulse - Singapore will spent $SG25 million (US$14.43 million) over the next three years to extend the dot.com revolution to the wider community. "We want all Singaporeans to reap the full benefits of infocomm in...

STATISTICS - AUSTRALIAN MEAT/LIVESTOCK JAN 2000.
March 1, 2000... CANBERRA, March 1 Asia Pulse - Livestock and meat in Australia for January 2000, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics: ------------------------------------------------------------ LIVESTOCK AND MEAT, AUSTRALIA, JANUARY...

PHILIPPINES SUBIC BAY PORT DEVELOPMENT PROJECT APPROVED.
March 1, 2000... TARLAC CITY, Mar 1 Asia Pulse - The approval of the $215-million Subic Bay Port Development Project by the Philippines C-level Investment Coordinating Council (ICC) and the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) would provide a synergy...

PNB MALAYSIA SET TO FACE LIBERALISATION OF UNIT TRUST SECTOR.
March 1, 2000... KUALA LUMPUR, March 1 Asia Pulse - Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB), the largest investment body in Malaysia, is confident that it can compete with other unit trust institutions following steps to liberalise the local unit trust industry. Its...

MALAYSIAN FIRM GETS $179 MLN ISLAMIC FINANCE FOR WATER PROJECT.
March 1, 2000... KUALA LUMPUR, March 1 Asia Pulse - SAJ Holdings Sdn Bhd, which has been granted exclusive rights to supply water to consumers in Johor for 30 years, has signed an agreement for a RM680 million ($US179 million) Al-Bai' Bithaman Ajil Islamic Debt...

DCPC ISSUES 2.5 MLN COMMON STOCK FOR US$9.1 MLN.
March 1, 2000... (Full text of a statement. Contact details below.) HONG KONG, Mar 1 PRNI HK-AsiaNet - Hong Kong-based Dransfield China Paper Corporation ("DCPC") (NASDAQ: DCPCF) announced that it has issued approximately a total of 2.5 million common...

HEWITT EYES MALAYSIAN ANCHOR BANKS AS MAJOR CLIENTS.
March 1, 2000... KUALA LUMPUR, Mar 1 Asia Pulse - International management consultant firm, Hewitt Associates, is eyeing local banks involved in the current merger exercise as its major prospective clients in Malaysia. Country manager and director for...

ASIA MARKETS - SHARES CLOSE BROADLY LOWER - MARCH 1, 2000.
March 1, 2000... A round-up of Asian stock markets for March 1, 2000, prepared by Asia Pulse (http://www.asiapulse.com), the real-time, Asia-based wire with exclusive news, commercial intelligence and business opportunities. SYDNEY, March 1 Asia Pulse -...

MALAYSIAN FARM FIRM SHARES OVERSUBSCRIBED.
March 1, 2000... KUALA LUMPUR, March 1 Asia Pulse - Agriculture-based QL Resources Bhd, to be listed on the second board of the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange (KLSE) at the end of this month, got off to a good start during its balloting of shares here today, held...

PHILIPPINES REP OROLA TO HOST ASEAN FORUM.
March 1, 2000... BACOLOD CITY, Mar 1 Asia Pulse - In a bid to link the Philippines Bacolod City with neighboring countries and eventually with the rest of the world, Rep Juan N. Orola, of Bacolod City will host the ASEAN Forum on March 3 at the Group K Resort...

INDONESIA'S SINAR MAS TO OPEN OIL PALM PLANTATIONS.
March 1, 2000... JAKARTA, March 1 Asia Pulse - The Sinar Mas Group, a widely diversified conglomerate plans to open four units of oil palm plantations, totalling 12,000 hectares in Sangatta, East Kalimantan, a district official says. Sangatta Regent Awang...

INDONESIAN RICE INDUSTRY CANNOT SURVIVE IMPORTS:HKTI.
March 1, 2000... JAKARTA, March 1 Asia Pulse - Chairman of the Indonesian Farmers Association (HKTI) Siswono Yudohusodo alleged Tuesday that there was a foreign political conspiracy to destroy Indonesia's rice production capability. "Indonesia is one of...

INDONESIAN NEWSPAPER HIGHLIGHTS - MARCH 1, 2000.
March 1, 2000... JAKARTA, March 1 Asia Pulse - Highlights of today's newspapers : THE JAKARTA POST - The government will increase the income tax brackets for individual taxpayers from three to four but will retain a three-bracket tax structure for...

JAPAN'S MITSUBISHI HEAVY SEES $123.42 MLN LOSS.
March 1, 2000... TOKYO, March 1 Asia Pulse - Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd (TSE:7011) says it expects a net loss of 136 billion yen (US$123.42 million) in the year to March 31. The company cited sluggish sales at its main operations and growing losses on...

AUSTRALIA'S ANSETT TO OFFER DIRECT BALI - BROOM FLIGHT.
March 1, 2000... DENPASAR, Bali, March 1 Asia Pulse - Australia's Ansett Airlines will open a direct flight between Denpasar (Bali) and Broom (Australia) in a bid to increase flight frequency between Indonesia and its neighboring country. "The new direct...

SINGAPORE'S EXHIBITION INDUSTRY COULD GROW 10% IN 2000.
March 1, 2000... SINGAPORE, March 1 Asia Pulse - Singapore's exhibition industry will grow by up to 10 per cent in 2000, Communications and Information Technology Minister John Chen said today. "Despite the economic crisis, the exhibition industry as a...

SINGAPORE NEEDS CREATIVE KNOWLEDGE WORKERS: DPM.
March 1, 2000... SINGAPORE, March 1 Asia Pulse - Singapore needs creative knowledge workers to compete in today's global marketplace, deputy prime minister Dr Tony Tan Keng Yam said today. "There is greater urgency to view knowledge as a competitive factor...

OMAN TO INVEST $46.8 MLN ON WATER PROJECTS.
March 1, 2000... AL AMIRAT, Oman March 1 Asia Pulse - Water related projects worth over RO18 million (US$46.8 million) will be implemented in the Sultanate this year, according to Said bin Mohammed al Nabhani, Director-General of Water at the Ministry of...

DISKCON ASIA-PACIFIC TO TAKE PLACE IN SINGAPORE MAR 8-9.
March 1, 2000... (Full text of a statement. Contact details below.) SINGAPORE, Mar 1 PRNewswire-AsiaNet - DISKCON Asia-Pacific, the region's largest technical conference and trade show devoted to the data storage industry, returns to the Westin Stamford,...

AUSTRALIA'S ESMERALDA TO RAISE $1.23 MLN FO EXPLORATION.
March 1, 2000... PERTH, March 1 Asia Pulse - Shareholders in Australian gold miner Esmeralda Exploration, being blamed for a cyanide spill that has polluted European rivers, have voted to raise $A2 million ($US1.23 million) for exploration at tenements at Baia...

INDONESIA'S PERTAMINA PLANS TO RAISE OIL OUTPUT TO 100,000 BPD.
March 1, 2000... JAKARTA, March 1 Asia Pulse - State oil and gas firm Pertamina is planning to raise its oil production from 70,000 to 100,000 barrels per day (bpd) in the next two to three years by maximizing the capacity of its old wells. Technically,...

STATISTICS - AUSTRALIAN INTERNET DEMOGRAPHICS 1999.
March 1, 2000... CANBERRA, March 1 Asia Pulse - Internet usage by households in Australia for November 1999, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics: In the 12 months to November 1999, work and home were the sites of Internet access most likely to...

MALAYSIAN CO WINS SOUTH AFRICAN AIRPORT CONCESSION.
March 1, 2000... PIETERSBURG, Mar 1 Asia Pulse - Malaysia's Penambang Group has been awarded a 50-year concession to manage the Pietersburg Gateway International Airport under South Africa's first airport privatisation project. Outbidding 14 other...

PHILIPPINES EARMARKS US$1.1 MLN TO BUILD PORT IN NEGROS ORIENTAL.
March 1, 2000... DUMAGUETE CITY, March 1 Asia Pulse -The national government has earmarked P45 million (US$1.1 million) for the construction of Port Bolado in Guihulngan, Negros Oriental, according to Rep. Jacinto Paras (1st district, Negros Oriental). ...

COTTON & WOOL PRICES TO RECOVER OVER NEXT 5 YEARS.
March 1, 2000... CANBERRA, March 1 Asia Pulse - Cotton and wool prices are expected to rise over the next five years, an industry analyst said today. However, competition from synthetic fibres will remain strong and this will limit the extent of...

INDOTRADEZONE.COM FACILITATES INDONESIAN BUSINESS NETWORKING.
March 1, 2000... JAKARTA, March 1 Asia Pulse - Indonesia's PT Insan Dharma Abadi said it has opened IndoTradeZone.com through which Indonesian producers and exporters could advertise their commodities and business networks with links to prospective business...

STATISTICS - AUSTRALIAN RETAIL TRADE JAN 2000.
March 1, 2000... CANBERRA, Mar 1 Asia Pulse - Australian retail trade for January 2000, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics: -------------------------------------------------------------- RETAIL TRADE, AUSTRALIA, JANUARY 2000...

HONG KONG REPORTS HK$21 MLN 10-MONTH DEFICIT.
March 1, 2000... HONG KONG, March 1 Asia Pulse - The Hong Kong Government announced Tuesday a deficit for the ten months ended January 31, 2000. Expenditure for the period April 1999 to January 2000 amounted to HK$183,272.4 million and revenue to...

EDGE, WAPHEAD! TO PROVIDE ONE-STOP SHOPPING TO MOBILE OPERATORS.
March 1, 2000... (Full text of a statement. Contact details below.) HONG KONG, Mar 1 PRNI HK-Asianet - Leading WAP technology enabler - WAPHead! collaborates with Edge, a leading wireless and Internet professional services company in Singapore, to provide...

INDONESIA'S ITOC TO SET UP TOURISM CONSORTIUM FOR CHINA MARKET.
March 1, 2000... JAKARTA, March 1 Asia Pulse - Inbound Tours Operators Club (ITOC) said that it has set up a special consortium to exploit the outbound tourism market in China. J Handoyo, the vice chairman of ITOC, said at least 10 travel operators have...

MALAYSIAN NEWSPAPER HIGHLIGHTS - MARCH 1, 2000.
March 1, 2000... KUALA LUMPUR, March 1 Asia Pulse - Highlights of today's newspapers: BERITA HARIAN: - Former Johor Tenggara Development Authority general manager Mahfar Sairan was yesterday sentenced to six months' imprisonment after he was found...

INDONESIA'S ZENECA TO EXPORT PESTICIDE TO CHINA, PAKISTAN.
March 1, 2000... BANDUNG, Indonesia March 1 Asia Pulse - PT Zeneca Agri Products Indonesia (ZAPI) plans to export at least 3,300 tons of insecticide and pesticide to Asean countries, China and Pakistan this year. Company vice president Etty Indrawati L...

INDONESIAN GOVT SAYS BAN ON LUXURY CAR IMPORTS ONLY TEMPORARY.
March 1, 2000... JAKARTA, March 1 Asia Pulse - The government's ban on the import of Completely-Built-Up (CBU) luxury cars above 4,000 cc or a free-on-board (FOB) price of more than US$40,000 will reportedly only be temporary, pending recovery from the...

AUSTRALIA COMMISSIONS NEW AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL SYSTEM.
March 1, 2000... MELBOURNE, March 1 Asia Pulse - Deputy Prime Minister John Anderson has commissioned Australia's new air traffic control system, saying it was the world's safest and most efficient. "We now have the most modern, technologically...

MALAYSIA'S EON 1999 PRETAX GAINS $163.3 MLN.
March 1, 2000... KUALA LUMPUR, March 1 Asia Pulse - Edaran Otomobil Nasional Bhd (EON) chalked up a group pretax profit of RM620.5 million ($US163.3 million) for 1999 against RM101.6 million ($US26.7 million) in 1998. Group turnover rose to RM5,432.8...

BRIEFING - ASIA BANKING - MARCH 1, 2000.
March 1, 2000... An executive briefing on banking for March 1, 2000, prepared by Asia Pulse (http://www.asiapulse.com), the real-time, Asia-based wire with exclusive news, commercial intelligence and business opportunities. SEIYU TO PLUNGE INTO RED FOR FY99...