Asia Africa Intelligence Wire articles from August 2002

Asia Africa Intelligence Wire archives from August 2002

Jawo's son, two others charged.
August 31, 2002... (From Manila Standard) The youngest son of Senator Robert Jaworski and two of his friends were charged with illegal possession of firearms before the Pasig Regional Trial Court yesterday. Ryan Jaworski, 27, was charged with two...

Ingrates! Malaysia says of protestors.
August 31, 2002... (From Manila Standard) KUALA LUMPUR -- Malaysia's foreign minister yesterday called Filipino protesters who burned portraits of Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad "insolent" and ungrateful that his country had allowed migrant workers into...

FVR not so keen on meeting Mahathir.
August 31, 2002... (From Manila Standard) Former President Fidel Ramos is not eager to see his old friend, Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad. Ramos has been requested by President Arroyo to fly to Kuala Lumpur and confer with Mahathir on the...

Dichaves' assets also on freeze.
August 31, 2002... (From Manila Standard) Sandiganbayan ordered yesterday a freeze on all the properties of the six co-defendants in the plunder trial of former President Joseph Estrada. This includes the properties of businessman Jaime Dichaves,...

After nurses, mentors try luck abroad.
August 31, 2002... (From Manila Standard) After the exodus of nurses, the Philippines might have to deal with a dearth of educators if the lure of Philippine international schools becomes too strong A Department of Education official yesterday said...

Graftbuster chides GOCC heads.
August 31, 2002... (From Manila Standard) What is legal is not necessarily moral. Presidential Anti-Graft Commission Chairman Dario Rama yesterday lashed back at executives of government-owned and -controlled corporations (GOCCs) for defying President...

Seoul deports 14 Pinays.
August 31, 2002... (From Manila Standard) A South Korean national is on the blacklist of immigration officials for trafficking of Filipino women and engaging in white slavery. Kim Hong could be the recruiter of 14 Filipino women who were deported from...

Anti-crime drive nets 13.
August 31, 2002... (From Manila Standard) The National Capital Regional Police Office has netted 13 suspected felons involved in various offenses, following the activation of a community-based anti-crime campaign in the metropolis. NCRPO Chief Deputy...

Naia 3 can't open in November.
August 31, 2002... (From Manila Standard) The Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 will not be ready for operation until the first quarter of 2003, a Palace official overseeing the $657 million project said yesterday. Presidential adviser on...

JdV stops Sabah claim rhetorics.
August 31, 2002... (From Manila Standard) Loose lips sink ships. This, in a way, is what Speaker Jose de Venecia told members of the House of Representatives because their angry words for the revival of the Sabah claim may only jeopardize the country's...

Casecnan contract clean -- operator.
August 31, 2002... (From Manila Standard) A retired American general denied yesterday allegation of irregularity in the multibillion-peso Casecnan multi-purpose project, saying the CE Casecnan Water and Energy Co. Inc. did not receive any special favor...

Jinggoy to Makati Med.
August 31, 2002... (From Manila Standard) The Sandiganbayan allowed yesterday former San Juan mayor Jinggoy Estrada to undergo treatment for rectal bleeding, or hemorrhoids, at Makati Medical Center (MMC) for five days. This is the sixth time Jinggoy...

`Go easy on Open Skies'.
August 31, 2002... (From Manila Standard) An economic expert has cautioned the Philippines against entering into an unlimited open skies arrangement with the United States or any other country because of its dire ecnomic consequences. In a forum...

Marohombsar linked to destabilization plot.
August 31, 2002... (From Manila Standard) Was slain Pentagon kidnap-for-ransom gang leader Faisal Marohombsar part of a plot to destabilize the government? The possibility was raised after investigators established that prior to his death, Marohombsar...

Is Lacson hiding wealth in Australia? NBI checking.
August 31, 2002... (From Manila Standard) A government delegation led by National Bureau of Investigation Director Reynaldo Wycoco left for Australia last night to investigate reports of Senator Panfilo Lacson's ill-gotten wealth there. The team, in...

Companies no longer trust external auditors.
August 31, 2002... (From Manila Standard) A recent survey by accounting firm SyCip, Gorres, Velayo & Co. showed that majority of corporations have lost faith in the "integrity and reliability" of financial and operational information provided by external...

Bourse clears WG&A of insider trading.
August 31, 2002... (From Manila Standard) The Philippine Stock Exchange has cleared shipping giant WG&A on allegations of insider trading related to the buyout of Cebu-based Aboitiz Equity Ventures (AEV) of the company for P3.65 billion last Aug. 1. ...

Cellphone operators take battle to radio frequencies.
August 31, 2002... (From Manila Standard) The rapid growth in the number of cellular phone subscribers--now at 12 million and counting--is putting tremendous pressure on the radio spectrum, an increasingly scarce resource. Regulators agree this is where...

Steel smelters to lose out if scrap metal exports are banned.
August 31, 2002... (From Manila Standard) The Federation of Philippine Industries Inc. (FPII) and the Tin Can Manufacturers Association of the Philippines Inc. (TCMAPI) are opposing government plans to ban the export of scrap metals saying this will make...

Each Pinoy now owes P33,125.
August 31, 2002... (From Manila Standard) Government's outstanding debt grew by 17.3 percent in June to P2.65 trillion from the P2.26 trillion reported a year ago. This figure is projected to grow bigger because government will need to borrow more money...

Double standard.
August 31, 2002... (From Manila Standard) WHY are crime suspects among the rich, the famous and the powerful getting preferential treatment from the police? Why are their counterparts among the poor, the obscure and the weak getting the worst end of the...

Reclaim Sabah?
August 31, 2002... (From Manila Standard) MOSES had an easier time fleeing Egypt, although he had to wander around the desert for an incredibly long forty years. Under threat of caning and heavy fines, tens of thousands of Filipinos are forced out of...

A rebuff from JBC.
August 31, 2002... (From Manila Standard) JUSTICE Secretary Hernando Perez did a gallant act when he came to the defense of President Arroyo in the face of allegations that she had meddled in the internal affairs of the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC), an...

Chemicals Purchase (India): Armour Polymer: leading manufacturer of pyridines, picolines and cyanopyridines.
August 31, 2002... (From Chemical Business NewsBase: Chemicals Purchase (India)) Armour Polymer, which is a leading manufacturer of pyridines, picolines and cyanopyridines in India, is expanding its cyanopyridines capacity to 1500 tonnes/y. The Belgian firm...

Chemicals Purchase (India): Enzal Chemicals: largest producers of piperazine.
August 31, 2002... (From Chemical Business NewsBase: Chemicals Purchase (India)) Enzal Chemicals, which manufactures speciality drug intermediates and bulk actives for the pharma industry, is the largest manufacturers of piperazine based speciality...

Chemicals Purchase (India): Basic chemicals: creating knowledge equity.
August 31, 2002... (From Chemical Business NewsBase: Chemicals Purchase (India)) The $28 bn Indian chemical industry that constitutes major segment for the Indian economy and accounts for 12.5% of the total industrial production and 16.2% of the total...

Chemicals Purchase (India): Basic chemicals: creating knowledge equity - Organic chemicals.
August 31, 2002... (From Chemical Business NewsBase: Chemicals Purchase (India)) The Indian organic chemical industry with a market size of Rup 150 bn is growing at a rate of 10% on an average, and this trend is likely to continue. The organic chemicals...

Chemicals Purchase (India): Lincoln Pharma introduces anti-inflammatory drug.
August 31, 2002... (From Chemical Business NewsBase: Chemicals Purchase (India)) The Rup 500 M Lincoln Pharmaceuticals of Ahmedabad has launched an anti-inflammatory drug Mobyle in India. This selective cox-2 inhibitor non-steroidal drug contains rofecoxib...

Chemicals Purchase (India): Chlor-alkali industry: shifting perspectives.
August 31, 2002... (From Chemical Business NewsBase: Chemicals Purchase (India)) The chlor-alkali sector in India produces three chemicals: caustic soda, soda ash, and chlorine. These chemicals are used in the textiles, aluminium, soaps and detergents, PVC...

Cathay targets three cities for mainland services.
August 31, 2002... (From The Standard) Byline: Keith Wallis Cathay Pacific Airways could be flying to three mainland cities early next year after Hong Kong's de facto flag carrier yesterday confirmed that it had applied for rights to fly to Beijing,...

Trade spurt sees GDP rise 0.5pc.
August 31, 2002... (From The Standard) Byline: JonathanTam Hong Kong's economy rebounded from three quarters of decline to grow 0.5 per cent in the second quarter, after a revival in external trade more than offset a slump in consumer spending and...

Sub-sea gas pipeline given go-ahead.
August 31, 2002... (From The Standard) Byline: Foster Wong Hongkong Electric Holdings, the sole electric power supplier on Hong Kong Island, yesterday received the go-ahead from the government to build a submarine pipeline transfering natural gas from...

TVB slashes Galaxy value by 60pc to attract buyers.
August 31, 2002... (From The Standard) Byline: Staff reporter Television Broadcasts (TVB), Hong Kong's dominant free-to-air broadcaster, has cut the value of its pay television unit Galaxy Satellite Broadcasting by about 60 per cent to attract...

Boto shares leap after special dividend vote.
August 31, 2002... (From The Standard) Byline: Staff reporter Shares of Boto International Holdings jumped more than 50 per cent shortly after its shareholders approved a special dividend relating to its proposal to dispose of core businesses. ...

Investment policies in demand.
August 31, 2002... (From The Standard) Byline: Paris Lord Gross and net premiums of general insurance business grew 21.9 per cent and 19 per cent respectively for the first half of the year, compared with the same time last year, Hong Kong's insurance...

SME schemes get early review.
August 31, 2002... (From The Standard) Byline: Staff reporter The Small and Medium Enterprises Committee and the Trade and Industry Department are studying ways to relax requirements for the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) loan schemes after only...

Retail and catering misery likely to continue.
August 31, 2002... (From The Standard) Byline: Joyce Li Receipts from the retail and catering sectors are expected to continue to spiral downwards in the second half of the year and a recovery would not arrive until the end of next year, industry...

Chinachem reaps $1b from sales.
August 31, 2002... (From The Standard) Byline: Eli Lau Chinachem Group reaped HK$1 billion from its solo-investment residential property sales in the first half of the year, sales manager Ng Sung-mo said. That was equivalent to 60 per cent of...

29.7pc drop in Shanghai Industrial gains.
August 31, 2002... (From The Standard) Byline: Elaine Chan Shanghai Industrial Holdings, the investment arm of China's biggest commercial city, yesterday posted a 29.7 per cent slump in first-half profit due to a plunge in its automotive parts earnings...

U-Right sews up technology edge with new factory.
August 31, 2002... (From The Standard) Byline: Joyce Li Casualwear manufacturer U-Right International Holdings is to open a new factory within three months, boosting production capacity for its newly developed nano-technology products tenfold. ...

Pacific Century Insurance dividend nears.
August 31, 2002... (From The Standard) Byline: Matthew Lee Pacific Century Insurance had cleared all its accumulated losses and if business remained at present levels, shareholders could expect a final dividend at year's end, the company said...

Convicted Lim vows to clear name.
August 31, 2002... (From The Standard) Byline: Matthew Lee Lai Sun Development honorary chairman Lim Por-yen has vowed to appeal against his bribery conviction in Taiwan ``to the very end''. The 87-year-old Lim said yesterday the court in Taiwan...

SAR to press for faster business visa processing.
August 31, 2002... (From The Standard) Byline: Staff reporters The government is to suggest to the mainland authorities that the processing time for business visas be speeded up to 24 hours. It is also considering raising the proposed border tax...

Democrats to have NPC poll say.
August 31, 2002... (From The Standard) Byline: Staff reporter Democrats including Martin Lee, Margaret Ng and Lau Chin-shek have been appointed to the 955-member Election Committee that is responsible for selecting local deputies to the National...

Pacific Challenge delays planning to fight litigant.
August 31, 2002... (From The Standard) Byline: Foster Wong Financial services firm Pacific Challenge Holdings said yesterday it would focus on defending litigation brought against it by a Norwegian shareholder before mapping out its new direction. ...

Tien warns of `socialistic' threat.
August 31, 2002... (From The Standard) Byline: Paris Lord The government's increasing interference in the economy is not working and means Hong Kong is in danger of becoming ``socialistic'', prominent businessman Michael Tien has warned. Speaking...

Nuclear power chief in cheaper fuel claim.
August 31, 2002... (From The Standard) Byline: Olivia Chung in Shenzhen Electricity generated by mainland nuclear power plants is cheaper than power generated by coal-fired plants in Hong Kong, according to Lin Guiqin, general manager of Guangdong...

SAR and Shanghai `two pillars of economy'.
August 31, 2002... (From The Standard) Byline: Pamela Pun in Shanghai Shanghai mayor Chen Liangyu yesterday likened Hong Kong and Shanghai to two outstanding members of China's national orchestra, who together perform a composition of the Chinese...

Sky's the limit.
August 31, 2002... (From The Standard) Cathay Pacific's return to the mainland after an absence of more than 12 years will more than sound the death knell for the government's one route-one airline policy. It also shows that the gloves are off when it...

The Advertiser: They must play at MCG, rules Fels.
August 31, 2002... (From ABIX - Australasian Business Intelligence: The Advertiser) Byline: Michelangelo Rucci The Australian Competition & Competition Commission (ACCC) has ruled on a contractual dispute concerning football finals. Australian Football...

The Advertiser: Not can even the drought break bush spirit.
August 31, 2002... (From ABIX - Australasian Business Intelligence: The Advertiser) Byline: Nigel Austin Drought conditions could cost the Mallee area in South Australia $A100 million in lost livestock and crops. Normally, this financial hardship...

The Advertiser: Laying down their options.
August 31, 2002... (From ABIX - Australasian Business Intelligence: The Advertiser) Australian companies are suspending or abandoning their executive stock options schemes, amid public pressure. Some, such as the Commonwealth Bank and Telstra, have opted...

The Advertiser: Home sellers in line for GST refund.
August 31, 2002... (From ABIX - Australasian Business Intelligence: The Advertiser) Byline: Samantha Maiden Some small businesses may have to refund the goods and services tax (GST) component of their services. Real estate agents and builders who did...

The Advertiser: Taxing everyone's time.
August 31, 2002... (From ABIX - Australasian Business Intelligence: The Advertiser) Byline: Tony Simmons The new Australian taxation system is over-complicated, inefficient and poorly administrated. The Institute of Chartered Accountants (ICA) has...

The Advertiser: Good sports on the web.
August 31, 2002... (From ABIX - Australasian Business Intelligence: The Advertiser) Byline: John Harris Web commerce is helping Australia's professional football clubs to make a little money on the side. The Australian Football League's web site, for...

The Australian Financial Review: Writedown, weak prices wreak havoc on Western Metals result.
August 31, 2002... (From ABIX - Australasian Business Intelligence: The Australian Financial Review) Byline: Peter Klinger Western Metals operating profit has been hit hard by the slump in world metal prices. A report on the Perth miner by Ernst &...

The Australian Financial Review: Pasminco cleans up $2.4bn debt.
August 31, 2002... (From ABIX - Australasian Business Intelligence: The Australian Financial Review) Byline: Ian Howarth Failed Australian lead and zinc producer, Pasminco, has moved a step closer to a stockmarket relisting. On 30 August 2002,...

The Australian Financial Review: Tollway giant shaves risks while negotiating curve.
August 31, 2002... (From ABIX - Australasian Business Intelligence: The Australian Financial Review) Byline: Trevor Sykes Profits reported by Australian toll road investor, Macquarie Infrastructure Group (MIG), should be treated cautiously. While MIG...

The Australian Financial Review: Price-fixing challenge from Caltex.
August 31, 2002... (From ABIX - Australasian Business Intelligence: The Australian Financial Review) Byline: Bruce Hextall Australian petrol refiner, Caltex, wants a quick decision from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC). On 30...

The Australian Financial Review: Rules of the game.
August 31, 2002... (From ABIX - Australasian Business Intelligence: The Australian Financial Review) Byline: John Wasiliev There are a number of rules Australians should remember to stay in control as a margin investor. A prudent overall strategy is to...

The Australian Financial Review: Retiring types may live to regret it.
August 31, 2002... (From ABIX - Australasian Business Intelligence: The Australian Financial Review) Byline: John Wasiliev Switching from growth investing to a conservative stance can cut Australians' retirement income. Complying pensions have a...

The Australian Financial Review: A new deal for banks, not consumers.
August 31, 2002... (From ABIX - Australasian Business Intelligence: The Australian Financial Review) Byline: Andrew Cornell Despite credit card reforms, the rules for Australian credit card users remain essentially unchanged. The first question for the...

The Australian Financial Review: Fine lines in rebalancing act.
August 31, 2002... (From ABIX - Australasian Business Intelligence: The Australian Financial Review) Byline: Barrie Dunstan Rebalancing an investment portfolio can add value, but the gains may be minimal. MLC's Chris Condon says the real value of...

The Australian Financial Review: Wait for dust to settle on Westpac purchases.
August 31, 2002... (From ABIX - Australasian Business Intelligence: The Australian Financial Review) Byline: Alison Kahler Analysts are taking a wait-and-see approach to Westpac's acquisition of BT Funds Management. The question arises whether the...

Rabri govt 'crime\\': Congress plays the willing accomplice.
August 31, 2002... (From Indian Express) Putting any pressure on ally Laloo Yadav and the Rabri Devi government in Bihar will mean strengthening the BJP and this can't be allowed to happen. This is what the Congress says when asked what it's doing to put...

Naroda: Govt\\'s slip adds 29 more to toll, it is now 112.
August 31, 2002... (From Indian Express) Just how many people were killed at Naroda-Patiya on February 28? Official figures say 83. So does the chargesheet filed in court on June 4 but documents attached with it suggest the figure is 112. According to the...

UTI payoff: Govt may pass on the Rs 19,000-crore bill to taxpayers.
August 31, 2002... (From Indian Express) The government is to decide tomorrow whether or not to impose a burden of more than Rs 19,000 crore on taxpayers over the next four years to appease the unitholders of Unit Trust of India (UTI). According to the...

Vasundhara set to take road to Rajasthan unit.
August 31, 2002... (From Indian Express) Union Minister of State for Small Industries Vasundhara Raje is soon to be named as Rajasthan BJP president. An announcement is expected after the return of party president M Venkaiah Naidu to the Capital from...

Manisha loses case, her double says look what I\\'ve lost.
August 31, 2002... (From Indian Express) The court case over the contentious use of a body double in four ''vulgar'' scenes in the film Ek Chhoti Si Love Story ended badly for lead actress Manisha Koirala today, with the Bombay High Court ruling that the...

Ranvir Sena country angry as King is in jail.
August 31, 2002... (From Indian Express) Some voices from Khopira village in Bhojpur district, where Ranvir Sena chief Brahmeshwar Singh has 100 bighas of land and a fanatical following: ''He is a very respected man. He is like our king.''''He has made so...

Poll fever gives Hurriyat a cold.
August 31, 2002... (From Indian Express) Rattled that its key constituent, the People's Conference, is taking part in elections through ''proxy'' candidates and eliciting formidable public support for ''azadi'' and polls, the Hurriyat Conference scrambled...

Salary buried in a tactor graveyard.
August 31, 2002... (From Indian Express) BIHAR'S BLOODLESS M U R D E R Meet Surendra Prasad, honorary custodian of scrap and sundry bedraggled souls. On paper Prasad is a mechanical draughtsman at the Tractor Project factory of Bihar Agro Industries...

My Top Ten list for Rio+10.
August 31, 2002... (From Indian Express) The international conferences held at Stockholm and Rio de Janerio have attracted the world's attention to the issues of fast degrading forests, wildlife, nature, life supporting systems and ever increasing...

Laying It On Thick.
August 31, 2002... (From Indian Express) Some people are having fun at the summit. A bullshit award for sustaining poverty was constituted and guess who was the first recipient? Vandana Shiva. ''In a closely run race, the winner was chosen for her...

Freedom\\'s capital.
August 31, 2002... (From Indian Express) Recently, as we anticipated the arrival of a German visitor, I began to brace myself on requisite heritage information by delving into voluminous guides. So there was I planning a schedule for the perspective...

'The Delhi, Mumbai airports will be world class, best in S. Asia. That\\'s my promise\\'.
August 31, 2002... (From Indian Express) On September 1, Syed Shahnawaz Hussain completes one turbulent year as Minister of Civil Aviation. The 33-year-old has weathered many a storm over the last 12 months: the domestic aviation industry may not have been...

A breeze in the Valley.
August 31, 2002... (From Indian Express) Violence has not gone away, but the situation in J&K has started to accelerate toward a new opportunity. It should be clear to everybody that Pakistan's strategy has started to become counterproductive some time...

Naik\\'s Raksha Mantri.
August 31, 2002... (From Indian Express) What are the defence minister's preoccupations these days with the army on full alert at the border? The defence of the country, one would think. But no, Union Minister of Defence George Fernandes is busy defending...

Don\\'t take Stiglitz to heart.
August 31, 2002... (From Indian Express) One of the most widely discussed books these days, in both extreme left and right circles, is that of the World Bank's ex-chief economist Joseph Stiglitz (Globalization and its Discontents). Stiglitz is being...

Ravi Kant Veerappan.
August 31, 2002... (From Indian Express) Imagine, for a moment, that R.K. Sharma, wanted for the murder of Shivani, was not an inspector-general of police in Haryana, but an ordinary person from the same state. What would the fate of his family have been...

Winter Olympian still out in the cold.
August 31, 2002... (From Indian Express) It was nothing but a mere coincidence. The day India's lone Winter Olympian Shiva Keshavan landed in the capital from Italy on Thursday, the country was honouring sportspersons at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. But for the...

Last over in Dubai today, bowling from the ICC end.
August 31, 2002... (From Indian Express) The endgame in this lengthy war of attrition takes place tomorrow, where cricket's bosses meet in Dubai to decide finally on whether India will send an A-team to the ICC Trophy. The larger issue they will be...

Govt gives a raw deal to the weak, lashes out Sonia.
August 31, 2002... (From Indian Express) Lashing out at the NDA Government for its anti-Dalit and anti-SC/ST people policies, the Congress president Sonia Gandhi today held ''all the non-Congress governments'' at the Centre responsible for giving a raw...

Cong hits back, throws letter on Jaya\\'s face.
August 31, 2002... (From Indian Express) The Congress today bared its fangs, called Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa an Alice in the wonderland of New Delhi and fished out a letter of 1999 in which she had pledged support to the party led by Sonia...