Asia Africa Intelligence Wire articles from December 2001

Asia Africa Intelligence Wire archives from December 2001

Economy may have bottomed out.
December 31, 2001... The Korean economy may have bottomed out during the third quarter of this year according to recent industrial indices. The National Statistical Office reported on December 28 that industrial output for November rose 4.9% year on year,...

Kumho Industrial acquires construction unit...
December 31, 2001... = Kumho Industrial acquires construction unit from sister company = In return for taking over the construction unit from Kumho Construction & Engineering for 110 billion won, Kumho Industrial Co. handed over its car rental business to...

Hynix to withdraw from DRAM biz.
December 31, 2001... Hynix Semiconductor Inc., the world's third-largest memory chip manufacturer, is set to withdraw from the DRAM (dynamic random access memory) business. Hynix Corporate Restructuring Committee reported this decision to Park Chong-sup,...

LG-EDS renamed as LG CNS.
December 31, 2001... LG-EDS, a 50-50 joint company between LG Group and U.S.-based EDS Group, has been renamed as LG CNS after the U.S. firm fully withdrew from its partnership with the Korean company. EDS sold off its 50% share to the LG Group recently. ...

47 FAMILY MEMBERS KILLED IN MPUMA ROAD ACCIDENT.
December 31, 2001... Forty-seven members of the Cheko family were killed and several others seriously injured when a truck they were travelling in overturned in Roossenekal, Mpumalanga, on Sunday night, police reported on Monday. Captain Malculm Mokomene said the...

HOSPITAL TO PROBE MAN'S DEATH AFTER WAIT AT CASUALTY UNIT.
December 31, 2001... (SUBS: PLEASE NOTE ATTRIBUTION AND CREDIT ACCORDINGLY) Cape Town's Groote Schuur Hospital has launched an inquest after a man awaited treatment in the casualty ward for two hours before suffering a heart attack over the weekend, the Cape...

TWO POLICEMEN SHOT DEAD IN KHAYELITSHA.
December 31, 2001... Two policemen from Khayelitsha were shot dead when they responded to a report of domestic violence in the township on Sunday. The two policemen were identified as Inspector Nkosiphendule Marwebu, 37, and Sergeant Mcindisi Mathawe, 35. Police...

HERE IS THE RAINFALL REPORT FOR THE 24 HOURS ENDING AT 08:00 ON.
December 31, 2001... 2001/12/31 (PRELIMINARY DATA) THE FOLLOWING PLACES REPORTED 1 MM AND MORE: GAUTENG IRENE WK 2 MPUMALANGA BETHAL 6 NORTHERN PROVINCE / NOORDELIKE PROV. LOUIS TRICHARDT 1 SOEKMEKAAR 2 NORTH-WEST / NOORDWES BLOEMHOF e 11 LICHTENBURG e 4...

POLICEMAN SHOT DEAD IN FISH HOEK.
December 31, 2001... (SUBS: INCORPORATES COPKILL-KHAYELITSHA) A police inspector was shot dead while investigating an armed robbery at a shopping centre in Fish Hoek, Cape Town on Monday. The inspector was the third policeman killed in the line of duty on the...

DOZENS ARRESTED IN MPUMA CRIME PREVENTION DRIVE.
December 31, 2001... Police in Vosman, Middelburg arrested 93 people for various offences in a crime prevention operation involving over 300 police officials over the past week. Police spokesman Captain Wilson Mahlangu said on Monday 48 of the arrests were for...

MAN STABBED TO DEATH IN PORT ELIZABETH ON MONDAY.
December 31, 2001... A 24-year-old Port Elizabeth man was stabbed to death by an unidentified assailant in the Eastern Cape city on Monday, police reported. Sergeant Thembi Gwe said Vusikhaya Godwana died at the scene of the 2am attack in KwaZakele. He was...

ARMED ROBBERS ESCAPE WITH R250000 IN DURBAN.
December 31, 2001... Four armed robbers escaped with over R250000 after holding up a shopkeeper at gunpoint in Umbilo, Durban on Sunday night. Police spokesman Captain Len John said on Monday the men entered the premises wielding AK47 assault rifles and...

POLICE OUT IN FULL FORCE TO GUARD NEW YEAR CELEBRATIONS.
December 31, 2001... Police would be out in full force on New Year's Eve to guard revellers in different parts of the country. In Johannesburg police increased patrols in the Hillbrow area from 9am on Monday morning, Superintendent Chris Wilken said. He said the...

TELKOM TO PROVISIONALLY ADJUST ITS PRICES.
December 31, 2001... Landline operator Telkom is to go ahead with its planned tariff adjustments from Tuesday, pending a final high court judgment on the validity of the price changes. The adjustments would range from lower prices for certain services to a 23,9...

ANOTHER PERSON DIES FOLLOWING TRUCK CRASH.
December 31, 2001... The death toll following Sunday night's crash near Roossenekal outside Middelburg has risen to 48, Mpumalanga police reported on Monday. Captain Malculm Mokomene was not able to say at which hospital the person died. The truck was...

PRISONER STABBED TO DEATH BY FELLOW INMATE.
December 31, 2001... A 25-year-old prisoner was stabbed to death on Sunday afternoon at the Rooigrond Prison near Mafikeng, North West police said. Inspector Lesego Metsi said in a statement on Monday that Lebogang Ramosothu, who was serving a life term for...

THREE TEENS RAPED OVER WEEKEND.
December 31, 2001... Three girls aged between 15 and 19 were raped in the North West province over the weekend and one suspected rapist was arrested, police said on Monday. Spokesman Inspector Lesego Metsi said a shopkeeper was arrested in Tswenyane near Mafikeng...

12 STOLEN CARS RECOVERED IN SOWETO RAID.
December 31, 2001... Soweto police arrested people and recovered stolen cars and unlicensed guns in an Operation Crackdwon exercise that began on Friday and ended on Monday. Twelve stolen cars were recovered and 21 people arrested for crimes raging from murder to...

17 ARRESTED IN POLICE SWOOP.
December 31, 2001... Seventeen people were arrested in and around Umtata over the weekend for crimes ranging from attempted murder to drug dealing, police reported. Inspector Nondumiso Jafta said five guns were recovered, as well as 40 stolen sheep. Sapa 12/31/01...

THREE SECURITY GUARDS HELD FOR AIRPORT HEIST, SET FREE.
December 31, 2001... The case against three Johannesburg International Airport security guards, arrested in connection with a multi-million dollar heist at the airport about ten days ago, was on Monday provisionally withdrawn. Gauteng police spokeswoman...

COUNTRY'S PROBLEMS NEED COURAGEOUS SOLUTIONS.
December 31, 2001... South Africa faced many problems not of its own making, but its leaders had a duty to come up with courageous solutions, Inkatha Freedom Party leader Mangosuthu Buthelezi said. In a New Year's message released to the press on Monday, he said...

SA GOVT DENIES REPORTS OF MWANAWASA'S ILLNESS.
December 31, 2001... The South African government said it knew nothing about a report that Zambian ruling party candidate Levy Mwanawasa had been flown to South Africa on Sunday for a medical check up because of his high blood pressure. "We heard these rumours,...

MAN REAPPEARS AFTER DAUGHTER RAPED, MURDERED.
December 31, 2001... The case against a 42-year-old man charged with raping and murdering his 12-year-old daughter and a domestic worker last month, was postponed in the Bloemfontein Regional Court on Monday. A psychiatric report of Theodorus Johannes Daniel...

MOZAMBICAN ARRESTED, STOLEN GOODS RECOVERED IN VAAL AREA.
December 31, 2001... A Mozambican citizen was arrested in Ennerdale near Vereeniging on Sunday morning and stolen goods worth at least R500000 recovered, police said. Police spokeswoman Melanie Britz said in a statement released on Monday that the police raided...

FOUR ESCAPE FROM IDUTYWA HOLDING CELLS.
December 31, 2001... Eastern Cape police have warned the public not to try to apprehend four awaiting-trial prisoners who escaped from the Idutywa police holding cells on Sunday. Police spokesman Sergeant Namhla Mdleleni said on Monday the men were considered...

STRIKE OF PORT ELIZABETH TRAFFIC OFFICERS CANCELLED.
December 31, 2001... The traffic officers' strike that threatened to wreak havoc in the Port Elizabeth on New Year's Day has been called off, the SA Municipal Workers' Union (Samwu) announced on Monday. Samwu representative Owen Camagu said the decision had been...

H.H. Sheikh Zayed Calls for Collectively Facing Serious Challenges.
December 31, 2001... Speaking in Oman on the start of the 22nd Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) summit, His Highness Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan al Nahyan, President of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), called for a comprehensive review of the Arab position and an...

UAE marks another step forward with introduction of universal e-stamp.
December 31, 2001... Starting on January 1, 2002, all UAE ministries will only accept transactions that carry the new e-stamp. This marks another major step towards the Emirates' goal of an advanced e-governance system. The new system will allow the government...

New Round of Dubai Holy Quran Competition Announced.
December 31, 2001... Dr Aref Al Sheikh, head of the local competition committee of the Dubai International Holy Quran Award has announced that a new round of competition will take place from March 17 to 20, 2002. Following the successful conclusion of the...

Saudi, Egyptian Intelligence Officers Questioning Arab al-Qaeda Captives in Pakistan.
December 31, 2001... A group of 139 Arab al-Qaeda prisoners are being interrogated by Saudi Arabian and Egyptian intelligence officers in a prison in the Pakistani city of Kohat, according to reports in the American and Pakistani press. Over the past week, the...

Renewal of Israel-Syria Peace Talks?
December 31, 2001... Reports in recent days indicate that an intense effort is being made to renew the Israel-Syria peace process. The efforts nearly lead to a meeting between Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres and Syrian Minister of Defense Mustafa Talas in...

Israeli President may Address Palestine Legislative Council.
December 31, 2001... Israeli President Moshe Katzav may address a session of the Palestinian Legislative Council in Ramallah soon. Palestinian leader Arafat has approved the invitation, and the Israeli President is now waiting for a green light from Israeli Prime...

Iraqi Defector Speaks Out.
December 31, 2001... An Iraqi defector, Adnan Ihsan Saeed Al-Haideri has claimed that he had worked on renovations and repairs of various biological, chemical and nuclear weapon facilities throughout Iraq. The Times of India reports that Al-Heideri said that...

Muscat summit to enhance Arab Nation Unity.
December 31, 2001... The entire world is focused these days on the ongoing 22nd Summit of the Gulf Cooperation Council, which opened in Muscat on Sunday. The Summit has drawed extensive regional and international media attention to the region. The Abu-Dhabi...

UAE Leaders Send New Year Greetings to World Leaders.
December 31, 2001... UAE President Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan has sent cables of congratulations to world leaders for the upcoming New Year. In these warm greetings, Sheikh Zayed wished the leaders and the people of their countries good health, progress...

Afghan Minister's Statement Intensifies Search for Bin Laden on Pakistan.
December 31, 2001... Afghan Minister's Statement Intensifies Search for Bin Laden on Pakistan Statements from members of the Afghan government, indicating that Osama bin Laden is in Pakistan, possibly even in Peshawar, have led to an increased focus on the...

Palestinian Authority Arrests Three Islamic Jihad Militants.
December 31, 2001... Palestinian security sources reported that Palestinian Authority police have arrested three suspected Islamic Jihad militants in Gaza on Saturday. This move came after a radical group member was killed Friday in an attack against Israeli...

Britain - RUSI Looking for Middle East Head.
December 31, 2001... The United Kingdom's Royal United Services Institute for Defence Studies (RUSI) is searching for a new Head of the Middle East & North Africa Program, who will lead and co-ordinate its various activities. These range from conferences, closed...

No Changes for GCC Joint Defense Force at Summit.
December 31, 2001... No changes were signaled for the GCC's Joint Defense Force at the 22nd Gulf Cooperation Council Summit, which closed today in Oman. The Joint Defense Force, which was set up in 1986, originally fielded 5,000 troops. At last year's GCC summit...

GCC To Set Up Supreme Defense Council.
December 31, 2001... At the 22nd summit meeting of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) agreement was reached to set up a Supreme Defense Council for the six member countries. The role of the new council will be to oversee the implementation of the GCC's joint...

Dubai Shopping Festival TV campaign targets European market.
December 31, 2001... Dubai Shopping Festival (DSF) planners recently launched a marketing campaign to attract as many tourists as possible to the upcoming 2002 event. The campaign got off the ground with a new TV commercial that was released on Dubai TV during...

Hong Kong's Rowa TV product line launched in Middle East.
December 31, 2001... The Great Wall Cybertech company, dealing with the manufacturing and sale of consumer electronic products, recently introduced its new Rowa flagship brand to the Middle East through the region's newly appointed exclusive distributor, Major...

Metito provides Abu Dhabi with $6.5 million sewage treatment facilities.
December 31, 2001... Metito Overseas Limited has completed work on a $24 million Emirati dirham ($6.5 million) contract to supply water and sewage treatment facilities, as part of an infrastructure contract package to serve over 1,300 homes in the Ruwais Housing...

Eid Al-Feter is rush hour on King Fahd Causeway.
December 31, 2001... More than 408,000 Saudis used the King Fahd Causeway linking the Kingdom with Bahrain during the 12-day Eid Al-Feter holiday, beginning on December 12. This constitutes a 113 percent rise compared to the 191,000 drivers passing through last...

Samir marketing firm to open in Morocco.
December 31, 2001... The Moroccan branch of the Saudi Coral Oil Group, the Samir Company, announced that it has established a holding company in Morocco for the marketing of oil products, reported Al-Hayat. The new Somirgy Company will market oil derivative...

2.2 percent growth projected for ESCWA in 2001.
December 31, 2001... The Secretary General of the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA), Mervat Tillawi stated that ESCWA member countries are expected to record a decelerated growth rate of 2.2 percent by the end of 2001 compared with 3.4...

Saudi Arabia contracts 500 Egyptian busses for pilgrimage season.
December 31, 2001... The Saudi Auto Association recently signed a 15 million Saudi Riyal (four million dollar) contract with a private tourist transportation company in Egypt to operate 500 Egyptian tour busses in Saudi Arabia during the upcoming pilgrimage...

Bahraini-Syrian trade reached $13 million in 2000.
December 31, 2001... The Bahraini Ambassador to Syria, Waheed Mubarak, stated that the value of exchanges between Syria and Bahrain grew from 4.8 million Bahraini Dinars ($12.7 million) in 1999 to five million Bahraini Dinars ($13 million) in 2000, reported...

Jordan launches $30 million professional training program.
December 31, 2001... In an attempt to fight poverty and unemployment, the Jordanian government will launch a $21 million Jordanian Dinar ($30 million) professional training program in 2002, reported Al-Ittihad. The program will train individuals and provide up to...

Egypt to invest $109 million into social programs.
December 31, 2001... The Egyptian Minister of Insurance and Social Security, Amina Al-Gondi, stated that the ministry's next five-year development plan will launch a number of new ventures to be funded by 497 million Egyptian Pounds ($109 million) beginning in...

Delta's northern shore to be converted into urban area.
December 31, 2001... The Egyptian Minister of Housing and Urban Communities, Mohammed Ibrahim Solaiman, recently stated that a comprehensive development plan has been completed for the conversion of the northern coast of the Delta into an urban community,...

Yemen privatizes 61 state enterprises.
December 31, 2001... The Yemeni government will attempt to accelerate its second five-year privatization scheme for economic and social development, reported Al-Sharq Al-Awsat. The program was interrupted due to a delay in the passing of a privatization law. 61...

Industrial Bank of Kuwait granted $1.5 billion loans between 1974-2000.
December 31, 2001... The Industrial Bank of Kuwait provided 469 million Kuwaiti Dinars ($1.5 billion) worth of loans to the industrial sector between 1974-2000, reported Al-Bayan. Nearly 22 percent of the funds were granted to the raw materials sector, 17 percent...

Kuwait's industrial sector recorded $20 billion revenues in 2001.
December 31, 2001... A recently published economic report reveals that the Kuwaiti industrial sector reached a net income of six billion Kuwaiti Dinars ($20 billion) in 2001, 58 percent of the country's total product value, reported Al-Bayan. The contribution of...

Foreign investors rethink investing in the Middle East.
December 31, 2001... A recently published report by the Saudi British bank titled Aspects of the Saudi Economy for 2002, asserts that future implications of the September 11 attacks on the United States are difficult to determine, reported Al-Hayat. According to...

Bahraini Monetary Authority approves $25 million securities package.
December 31, 2001... The Bahraini Monetary Authority recently issued a three-month Islamic governmental securities package valued $25 million, reported KSA Today. The package is designed to fulfill the liquidity requirements of the Islamic banks and financial...

Tunisia's olive oil output drops 60 percent in 2001.
December 31, 2001... The Tunisian Ministry of Agriculture reported that the country's olive oil output dropped to 60,000 tons in 2001, a third of Tunisia's olive oil output of 180,000 tons in 2000, reported KSA Today. Tunisian markets now face a shortage of...

Intel and IHP consider setting a computer chip factory in Dubai.
December 31, 2001... The American-based Intel Company and the German IHP Company are evaluating the establishment of an electronic chip factory in the Emirate of Dubai, reported KSA Today. The President of the Dubai Civil Aviation Authority, Sheikh Ahmed Bin Said...

Egyptian Pound devalued for the second time since August 2001.
December 31, 2001... The Egyptian Pound will undergo a devaluation of 8.4 percent, announced a senior Central Bank official, with 4.5 Egyptian Pounds equaling one US dollar, reported KSA Today. The Pound's second devaluation since August 2001 is expected to...

Bahrain's import tax lowered to five percent.
December 31, 2001... The State of Bahrain recently announced that it will decrease its import tax on all merchandise from 7.5 percent to five percent and its import tax on cars from 15 percent to five percent to be effective as of January 2002, reported KSA Today...

Turkey expects $16 billion in aid.
December 31, 2001... Turkey is expecting to receive $16 billion in grants from financial institutions in an attempt to boost its suffering economy. Under the framework of the recently undertaken three-year economic reform program, funding from the International...

Iran, Armenia give go ahead to gas pipeline project.
December 31, 2001... The governments of Iran and Armenia have agreed in principle on the long-delayed construction of a 140-kilometer gas pipeline that will transit Iranian gas to Armenia. The $120-$150 million pipeline, delivering 1.5 million cubic meters of...

Sudan, Ethiopia sign accord on free flow of trade and travel.
December 31, 2001... The governments of Sudan and Ethiopia recently signed an accord facilitating the flow of goods and passengers through their borders, AFP reported. A joint Ethio-Sudan Border Committee will prepare future plans for further trade and travel...

Royal Jordanian lays-off 15 percent of workforce.
December 31, 2001... Royal Jordanian Airlines (RJ) is preparing to lay-off approximately 15 percent of its employees, reported Al-Rai. As part of the carrier's privatization plan, non-essential workers will be dismissed during the first two months of 2002,...

Yemen's first export-oriented refinery gets go ahead.
December 31, 2001... Yemen's General Investment Authority recently signed a contract with the United Company for Petroleum Investment (UCPI) for the construction and operation of an $895 million oil refinery in Mukalla, in the southeastern province of Hadramaut,...

Yemen, Ethiopia to cooperate in mine development.
December 31, 2001... A senior Yemeni delegation, led by deputy minister of oil and mineral resources Abdulmalik Mohamed Alama, met this week with Ethiopian officials in Addis Ababa for discussions on bilateral cooperation in the mining sector, the Ethiopian news...

Batelco to decrease fees by 16 percent.
December 30, 2001... The Bahraini Telecommunication Company (Batelco) announced that it will drop its fees by 16 percent at the beginning of January 2002. The Bahraini government owns 39 percent Batelco's stakes, the British Cables & Wireless Company holds...

Omani gas shipped to Spain.
December 30, 2001... The Royal Dutch Shell Group will purchase 700,000 tons of liquefied natural gas per annum from the Omani Liquefied Natural Gas Company as of January 2002 over a five-year period, reported KSA Today . The Shell Group will ship the liquefied...

New oil discovery in Libya.
December 30, 2001... The Austrian OMV Oil Company announced that it had uncovered oil in cooperation with its Libyan partners. Initial predictions released by the company estimate its reserves at 250 million barrels, reported KSA Today. This new oil site is...

Lebanon's Treasury spends $5.3 billion in 2001.
December 30, 2001... The Lebanese Treasury Ministry reported that its total spending decreased to eight billion Lebanese Pounds ($5.3 billion) in the first 11 months of 2001, down from nine billion Lebanese Pounds in the corresponding period of the previous year,...

Tunisia's tourism revenues hit $1.5 billion in 2001.
December 30, 2001... Tunisian officials estimate foreign currency revenues brought in by tourism during the year 2001, at 2.2 billion Tunisian Dinars (1.5 billion), reported Al-Bayan . This figure translates into a 7.1 percent rise compared with tourism revenues...

Tunisia lowers its tourism forecast for 2001.
December 30, 2001... Tunisian tourism experts have recently announced that their tourism growth forecast for the year 2001 has been lowered by 50 percent. Following the September 11 attacks on the United States and the American campaign against Afghanistan,...

Qatar to bring foreign investments back home.
December 30, 2001... The Qatari government seeks ways to repatriate funds currently invested abroad back to the Gulf country. Qatari funds invested abroad are estimated at $15 billion, reported Al-Bayan. Returning investments to Qatar will enable the national...

Shuwayhat Energy Company to open in the UAE.
December 30, 2001... The Emirates Minister of Economy and Commerce Sheikh Fahem Bin Sultan Al-Qasemi recently announced the establishment of the Shuwayhat Energy Company, a joint stock public enterprise, reported Al-Bayan. The new company's capital stands at...

Al-Aqsa exhibition in Sharjah in January 2002.
December 30, 2001... The Palestinian Ministry of Industry is organizing a Palestinian trade exhibition in the Emirate of Sharjah from January 9 -14. More than 50 Palestinian manufacturing companies will appear in the Al-Aqsa Intifada exhibition, which will be...

Egyptian Investors Association request a price cut in electricity.
December 30, 2001... The Investors Association in Al-Abour is urging the Egyptian minister of electricity Hassan Younes to lower the cost of electricity consumption in the country, reported Al-Gomhuria . Head of the Association, Mustapha Sallab, added that the...

Egypt's Holding Company for Engineering Industries reduces production costs.
December 30, 2001... The chief executive of Egypt's state-owned holding company for engineering industries (HCEI), Ibrahim Subaay, recently stated that the company managed to minimize its production costs, reducing expenses by 40 million Egyptian Pounds (eight...

Egypt's Holding Company for Engineering Industries reports profits.
December 30, 2001... The chief executive of Egypt's state-owned holding company for engineering industries (HCEI), Ibrahim Subaay, recently stated that only four out of the company's 17 subsidiaries reported profits during the year 2001, while the rest...

Egypt's Holding Company for Engineering Industries sees decrease in losses.
December 30, 2001... Egypt's state-owned holding company for engineering industries (HCEI) recently announced that its 12 subsidiaries had experienced losses totaling 218 million Egyptian pounds ($48 million) during the year 2001, down 28 percent from the EP305...

Egypt undertakes ambitious land reclamation scheme.
December 30, 2001... The Egyptian ministry of water resources and irrigation is following an ambitious scheme to expand the country's arable lands from the current eight million feddans to 11.4 million feddans (14,280 square kilometers) by the year 2017, Minister...

Mideast signage industry set for 20 percent annual growth.
December 30, 2001... The Middle East's signage and graphics industry is set for a period of sustained expansion, predicted to record 20 percent annual growth over the next five years as the region's countries diversify economies and become less dependent on oil...

Taj Group plans regional base in Dubai.
December 30, 2001... The Taj Group of Hotels has unveiled a new Middle East expansion strategy, which includes the setting up of a regional office in Dubai. The group, which currently operates properties in Dubai, Yemen and Oman, says it is looking to position...

New roller coaster simulator takes off at UAE's Foton Worlds.
December 30, 2001... MaxFlight VR 2002, the roller coaster simulator has arrived from the United States at Foton Worlds in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Foton Edutainment, a Middle East entertainment and edutainment company, has installed the simulators at...

GITEX Hyderabad 2002 opens January 7.
December 30, 2001... GITEX Hyderabad 2002, a joint initiative of the Dubai World Trade Center (DWTC) and the Government of Andhra Pradesh, will be inaugurated in Hyderabad on January 7, 2002. Several leading national and international organizations have confirmed...