Asia Africa Intelligence Wire articles from July 2004

Asia Africa Intelligence Wire archives from July 2004

Road shows.
July 1, 2004... (From Arabies Trends) Tell me about France Telecom's plans for the Middle East? For us, Jordan is a key point. I come to Jordan quite often. We have a big operation here together with Jordan Telecom. We are also present in Egypt and in...

The road ahead.
July 1, 2004... (From Arabies Trends) Byline: Christian Malar US soldiers are still being targeted in Iraq; the situation is still chaotic in spite of the shaping up of a new interim government, which will have to be accepted by 20 million Iraqis. Do...

FINANCE.
July 1, 2004... (From Arabies Trends) AVIATION Gulf Air takes off Gulf Air has posted its best results in four years - recording losses of just $52.8 million against the 2002 figure of $108 million. Revenues also showed robust growth to just over...

the US food giant, for $30 million.
July 1, 2004... (From Arabies Trends) The story dates back to the 1950s, when the young Mustapha Gaouar, the Algerian heir to a coffee dynasty created in 1860, decided to move to Morocco. In less than a decade, Casablanca, the country's commercial...

going up in smoke.
July 1, 2004... (From Arabies Trends) Byline: Ingrid Wassman. In a tiny coffee shop off Cairo's crowded Tahrer Square, customers sip their morning tea. A middle-aged man in a wrinkled galabia inhales deeply on his shisha. The water gurgles inside the...

Greece - summer of high alert.
July 1, 2004... (From Arabies Trends) Byline: IASON ATHANASIADIS ATHENS In central Athens, there is another demonstration assembling outside the concrete monolith of the US embassy. Banners urging an end to the occupation in Iraq ripple in the breeze...

In the arena.
July 1, 2004... (From Arabies Trends) On a strategic level, what motivated MTC's decision to adopt an aggressive, cross-border expansion strategy? MTC found itself piling up massive financial resources with a very long industry experience (around 20...

Marketing the mideast.
July 1, 2004... (From Arabies Trends) Byline: Guy Brown It was a very good year for Nike, the Oregon-based athletic footwear and apparel maker that reported revenues of $10.7 billion in 2003. Germany's Adidas-Salomon, too, had a strong 12 months,...

Doha and the Gulf.
July 1, 2004... (From Arabies Trends) Why did Qatar choose to host the recent conference on democracy and free trade? Here at the Qatari embassy in Paris, we are in charge of several international conferences that are held in Doha. Our first...

Thinking big.
July 1, 2004... (From Arabies Trends) Where is Orascom headed? In the Middle East, the last available licenses are in Saudi Arabia and Oman. Oman doesn't fall into our strategy because it's a small market; we're now concentrating on markets with big...

Speed traps.
July 1, 2004... (From Arabies Trends) Why did you feel the need to implement the reform process you call 'Qturn'? Qtel won't face domestic competition until 2013. Qtel always aspires to deliver the best to both customers and shareholders. In the...

the challenge of globalization.
July 1, 2004... (From Arabies Trends) Byline: John Siciliano Washington For nearly a year, Saudi Arabia's accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) has been a hot issue not only for the Saudis, but also for the Bush administration, which sees a...

boeing is back.
July 1, 2004... (From Arabies Trends) Byline: ED BLANCHE BEIRUT The Boeing Company, one of the titans of the aerospace industry, has had to handle a lot of turbulence over the last couple of years. Ethics scandals and poor performance on big-ticket...

Investing in growth.
July 1, 2004... (From Arabies Trends) Byline: John Siciliano Washington What is the government's plan of action to develop the UAE economy in 2004? As you know, our economy grew last year, and this year as well, by 6.1 percent. I think this will...

The future of Mideast telecoms.
July 1, 2004... (From Arabies Trends) Byline: RICHARD DEAN DUBAI For years, the UAE steadfastly defended Etisalat, the country's monopoly telecom provider. The 60 percent state-owned company generated windfall revenues for the government - revenues...

Tunisia - A place in the sun.
July 1, 2004... (From Arabies Trends) Byline: Julien Hawary Western governments are keenly following the current opening up of Tunisia. While tentative and limited in scope, the changes taking place in the North African state are being watched very...

Following the money.
July 1, 2004... (From Arabies Trends) How has the Middle East telecom market grown over the last couple of years? And what's your forecast for the next couple of years? The most impressive thing I saw in the Middle East is the growth of mobile...

postcards from the edge.
July 1, 2004... (From Arabies Trends) Byline: Gareth smyth baghdad When Iraqis talk about "security" they are less likely to mention the explosions in Baghdad that make headlines in the international media than the lawlessness that has been endemic...

Empowerment of Shop Operators and the Japanese Economy.
July 1, 2004... (From Journal of Japanese Trade & Industry (JJTI)) Byline: Interviewer: Hirose Keiichi Corporate Profile of Rakuten, Inc. A native of Kobe, Rakuten President Mikitani Hiroshi was born on March 11, 1965. After graduating from...

Pursuing Simplicity is the Key for Game Software Development.
July 1, 2004... (From Journal of Japanese Trade & Industry (JJTI)) Byline: Interviewer: Otsuka Keiichiro Iwata Satoru, president of major Japanese video game maker Nintendo Co., said in a recent interview that his company would soon release new...

White Paper on International Trade 2004 (Part 1).
July 1, 2004... (From Journal of Japanese Trade & Industry (JJTI)) Byline: Nishiyama Keita Introduction The White Paper on International Trade 2004 focuses on the theme of transition to a "new value creation economy." Unlike the conventional economy,...

White Paper on International Trade 2004 (Part 2).
July 1, 2004... (From Journal of Japanese Trade & Industry (JJTI)) Byline: Nishiyama Keita Chapter 2: The "New Value Creation Economy" and Evolution toward a New Mode of Competition In Chapter 1, we discussed how changing macroeconomic trends have...

White Paper on International Trade 2004 (Part 3).
July 1, 2004... (From Journal of Japanese Trade & Industry (JJTI)) Byline: Nishiyama Keita Chapter 3 Transition to a "New Value Creation Economy," and East Asian Economic Integration This chapter presents a concrete analysis of intra-regional trade...

Compact Site Design, Like a Tiered Osechi Serving Box.
July 1, 2004... (From Journal of Japanese Trade & Industry (JJTI)) Byline: Harada Shizuo This is probably the easiest way to describe the characteristics of the site design for the 2005 World Exposition, being held in the Nagoya Eastern Hills district...

Rethinking the International Order in East Asia: Neither War Nor Peace.
July 1, 2004... (From Journal of Japanese Trade & Industry (JJTI)) Byline: Inoguchi Takashi Abstract It has never been easy to conceptualize the East Asian international order, now or in the past. It is a complex order. It is also a historically rich...

Steep Road Ahead for Postal Privatization.
July 1, 2004... (From Journal of Japanese Trade & Industry (JJTI)) Byline: Tani Sadafumi In late-April, the government's Council on Economic and Fiscal Policy (CEFP) compiled an interim report on the privatization of Japan's postal system. In addition...

The Prospects for Traditional Japanese Crafts.
July 1, 2004... (From Journal of Japanese Trade & Industry (JJTI)) Byline: Urushihara Takuya Traditional crafts are shaped by the history and climate of each locality. They passed down from generation to generation through the handicraft techniques of...

The Ore-Ore ("It's Me") Fraud.
July 1, 2004... (From Journal of Japanese Trade & Industry (JJTI)) Byline: Matsunaga Tsutomu Ore-ore frauds are causing considerable consternation throughout Japan. "Ore" is one of the first-person pronouns in Japanese. It is not as formal as...

Ancient Nara.
July 1, 2004... (From Journal of Japanese Trade & Industry (JJTI)) Byline: Article by Elizabeth Kiritani and illustrations by Kiritani Itsuo The old town of Nara is often overlooked by tourists in their rush to Todaiji temple to see the world's...

Flexibility and Change.
July 1, 2004... (From Journal of Japanese Trade & Industry (JJTI)) Byline: Lars Vargo Learning has always been one of the main characteristics of society in Japan. Knowledge about the legal and administrative systems of China's Tang dynasty came to...

The Japanese and Music.
July 1, 2004... (From Journal of Japanese Trade & Industry (JJTI)) Byline: David Capel When it comes to music and Japan, people tend to think of the hardware nation. The world's biggest musical-instrument manufacturer is Hamamatsu (Shizuoka...

Japanese Civilization (Part 15).
July 1, 2004... (From Journal of Japanese Trade & Industry (JJTI)) Byline: Kawakatsu Heita In the previous article, I mentioned how hegemony had shifted from one Western Power to another - from Spain in the 16th century to the Netherlands in the 17th,...

The Prospects for Japan's Trade Structure.
July 1, 2004... (From Journal of Japanese Trade & Industry (JJTI)) Byline: Hatakeyama Noboru The first White Paper on International Trade was published 55 years ago. In 1949, Japan's exports amounted to around $500 million, almost one-thousandth of...

Toyota Becomes First Japanese Company to Report Net Profit of More Than \1 Trillion.
July 1, 2004... (From Journal of Japanese Trade & Industry (JJTI)) Toyota Motor Corp. marked a record-high \1.162 trillion in consolidated net profit in the fiscal year to March, an increase of 54.8% from the year before, making it the first Japanese...

Koizumi, Kim Hold Second Summit Talks.
July 1, 2004... (From Journal of Japanese Trade & Industry (JJTI)) Japanese Prime Minister Koizumi Junichiro and North Korean leader Kim Jong Il held summit talks for about an hour and a half at a North Korean state guesthouse in the suburbs of Pyongyang...

Election Year in East Asia.
July 1, 2004... (From Journal of Japanese Trade & Industry (JJTI)) Byline: Shiraishi Takashi This year is election year in East Asia. This March presidential elections were held in Taiwan and parliamentary elections took place in Malaysia. In April,...

Changes in the Japanese Press and Freedom of Speech.
July 1, 2004... (From Journal of Japanese Trade & Industry (JJTI)) Byline: Inoki Takenori Enhancement and Spread of Knowledge The Japanese press has undergone drastic changes over the past 20 to 30 years. Up until the 1970s, critical magazines of...

Bush and Koizumi.
July 1, 2004... (From Journal of Japanese Trade & Industry (JJTI)) Byline: Sasaki Takeshi That five Japanese citizens* were taken hostage by armed militants in Iraq and the withdrawal of Japan's Self-Defense Forces (SDF) was brought forth as a...

Mitsubishi Motors Gripped by Crisis.
July 1, 2004... (From Journal of Japanese Trade & Industry (JJTI)) The prestigious brand name of Mitsubishi (three diamonds) is now in crisis. In the 1970s, Mitsubishi Motors Corp. won respect for its high technology, churning out popular vehicles equipped...

RP warned of sovereign ratings downgrade.
July 1, 2004... (From Philippine Daily Inquirer) Byline: Doris C. Dumlao FITCH Ratings yesterday said the Philippines might face a sovereign ratings downgrade unless fiscal reforms were put in place and a lasting solution to National Power Corp.'s...

Culture and Tourism Minister Chung Dong-chea.
July 1, 2004... (From The Korea Herald) After passing dozens of bills to promote tourism and recreational sports in Korea, Rep. Chung Dong-chea has been selected as culture and tourism minister. Chung, 54, was a member of the National Assembly's Culture...

Profiles of new ministers.
July 1, 2004... (From The Korea Herald) Unification Minister Chung Dong-young Nine years after he gave up a career as a celebrated TV reporter to enter politics, former Uri Party Chairman Chung Dong-young has grabbed the prized post of Unification...

Health and Welfare Minister Kim Geun-tae.
July 1, 2004... (From The Korea Herald) Though he made clear earlier he really wanted the job of unification minister, former Uri Party floor leader and respected activist Kim Geun-tae accepted President Rho Moo-hyun's offer to run the welfare ministry...

Thousands give Kim emotional farewell.
July 1, 2004... (From The Korea Herald) By Kim So-young BUSAN - Love and forgiveness overwhelmed hate and rage yesterday when the bereaved family and thousands of people bid their last farewells to beheaded Korean hostage Kim Sun-il in his hometown. ...

5-day workweek begins amid labor worries.
July 1, 2004... (From The Korea Herald) By Kim Sung-mi, Yoo Soh-jung and Kim Min-hee The nation's shift to a five-day workweek begins today but most of the 1.8 million workers that it initially affects still are waiting for details. Only 51.5 percent...

Koizumi wants N. Korea ties in 2 years.
July 1, 2004... (From The Korea Herald) Yomiuri Shimbun Asia News Network Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said Tuesday he wanted diplomatic relations with North Korea to be normalized within about two years, before his term in office ends in September...

More PC rooms in barracks.
July 1, 2004... (From The Korea Herald) By Joo Sang-min By 2006, all the nation's soldiers will be able to communicate with their parents and friends via e-mail from Internet PC rooms set up at all 7,000 company-level military units, the Defense Ministry...

Integrity of university professors.
July 1, 2004... (From The Korea Herald) By Chung Yeon-ho British university professors are often praised for their professionalism and dedication. Whenever they deal with university academic processes, they never attempt to undermine their scholastic...

Young professionals discuss development.
July 1, 2004... (From The Korea Herald) By Lee Joo-hee Korea Herald correspondent HANOI - With the importance of sustainable development growing stronger each day, young professionals of Europe and Asia gathered in Hanoi this week to confer on different...

Roh replaces three ministers.
July 1, 2004... (From The Korea Herald) By Seo Hyun-jin Former Uri Party Chairman Chung Dong-young was appointed unification minister and former floor leader Kim Geun-tae was made health and welfare minister in a minor reshuffle of the Cabinet yesterday,...

End of euphoria in Manila.
July 1, 2004... (From The Korea Herald) By Amando Doronila The Philippine Daily Inquirer Asia News Network The inauguration of a new government this week marks the beginning of bad news and puts an abrupt end to euphoria. President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo...

Navy signal fails between Koreas.
July 1, 2004... (From The Korea Herald) By Joo Sang-min One of the measures agreed by the Koreas to avoid accidental naval clashes along the disputed western sea border failed to work yesterday as South Korean naval vessels sent radio signals to a stray...

Lawmaker immunity.
July 1, 2004... (From The Korea Herald) The new 17th National Assembly made a fatal mistake when it voted on Tuesday against an administration-submitted motion to arrest a lawmaker charged with a crime. Political parties and their lawmakers reneged on...

Musical 'Cabaret' depicts gloomy Berlin in the '30s.
July 1, 2004... (From The Korea Herald) By Yang Sung-jin The musical "Cabaret" differs from mainstream Broadway shows. The atmosphere is dark and gloomy, while a climate of total sexual permissiveness is the background for a serious sociopolitical...

Depoliticize labor issues.
July 1, 2004... (From The Korea Herald) The number of construction contracts awarded is plummeting, dampening the hope that domestic demand will rebound soon. A decline in wholesale and retail sales is yet another sign that domestic demand will not...

Impact of another Asian superpower.
July 1, 2004... (From The Korea Herald) By Pana Janviroj The Nation (Thailand) / Asia News Network From this side of the Indian Ocean, Thailand is closely watching the emergence of India as another Asian economic superpower. But it is not just economic...

The evolution of Goguryeo tumulus culture.
July 1, 2004... (From The Korea Herald) The following is the 23rd in a series of contributions by history scholars on the Goguryeo Kingdom. - Ed. By Kang Hyun-sook The ancient Korean kingdom of Goguryeo was a powerful country that commanded a vast...

Experts urge Korea to enhance safety policies; Forum discusses ways.
July 1, 2004... (From The Korea Herald) Specialists from Korea and the European Union called for enhanced safety measures in Korea during a forum yesterday in time for the government-designated Industrial Safety Week. The Ministry of Labor-affiliated...

Giant return for Blazer Ha.
July 1, 2004... (From The Korea Herald) By Kim Kyung-ho Ha Seung-jin, the first South Korean player to be drafted into the NBA, came home yesterday for a 10-day visit before returning to the United States. The 19-year-old Ha, who went to Los Angeles...

KFB mulls share sales in Seoul, N.Y.
July 1, 2004... (From The Korea Herald) Korea First Bank will push for public share sales next year in Seoul and New York, the bank's chief executive said yesterday. Shares in Korea's smallest nationwide bank were suspended from trading in 1999 before...

6 holding firms founded over past year.
July 1, 2004... (From The Korea Herald) Despite the government's efforts to encourage the establishment of holding companies, only six companies transformed into such entities over the past year, according to data from the Fair Trade Commission yesterday....

POSCO rewarded for arts patronage.
July 1, 2004... (From The Korea Herald) POSCO, Korea's largest steelmaker, was yesterday rewarded as the most artistic firm of the month by the Korean Business Council for the Arts. The council said it recognized the steel giant for its contribution...

Overseas education spending tops W1 tril.
July 1, 2004... (From The Korea Herald) Korea's overseas spending on education topped 1 trillion won in the first five months of 2004, a sharp increase of 32.9 percent from the corresponding period of last year, Korea's central bank said yesterday. The...

Shin Kyong-lim, poet of the peasants.
July 1, 2004... (From The Korea Herald) By Shin Hae-in His poems suggest sorrow but his smiling face suggests naivety. The contradiction naturally evokes curiosity. Poet Shin Kyong-lim has schoolboyish features with a glint of mischief in his eyes. One is...

Number portability applies to KTF today.
July 1, 2004... (From The Korea Herald) By Kim Tong-hyung Top mobile-phone operator, SK Telecom Co., will be given a chance to win back subscribers as number portability is applied to No. 2 carrier KT Freetel Co. starting today. Number portability,...

AIG Insurance names Munsterman head.
July 1, 2004... (From The Korea Herald) AIG General Insurance, a unit of American International Group, said yesterday that it has appointed Gary Munsterman, former CEO of American Home Assurance Malaysia, as head of its Korean operation. A graduate...

'Korea must open market to lure investment'.
July 1, 2004... (From The Korea Herald) By Yoo Soh-jung Korea's market needs to open if it wants to attract more foreign investment, says the economic chief of the German city of Hamburg. "In open markets, investments will always follow the demand,...

Logging caused North Cotabato, Maguindanao floods, says gov.
July 1, 2004... (From Philippine Daily Inquirer) ALAMADA, North Cotabato-Logging was the immediate suspect in the flooding in this town and Libungan on Monday and the province's governor said he would form an investigating team to find out who should be...

Airport terminal fee hike eyed.
July 1, 2004... (From Philippine Daily Inquirer) Byline: Clarissa S. Batino THE NINOY Aquino International Airport is planning to collect an additional $5 per passenger traveling overseas to pay for the increased cost of security. Manila...

Asian Grand Prix under way.
July 1, 2004... (From Philippine Daily Inquirer) Byline: Marc Anthony Reyes RAIN or shine, the third and final leg of the prestigious Asian Athletics Grand Prix fires off today featuring the continent's best-including the country's finest-in 15 choice...

Decapitated bodies of students found in 2 areas.
July 1, 2004... (From Philippine Daily Inquirer) BAGUIO CITY-Police found two headless bodies, believed to belong to two students reported missing since June 15, in separate areas in Tuba, Benguet, and Rosario, La Union. The body found at Barangay...

7 anti-GMA protesters hurt in clash with Cebu police.
July 1, 2004... (From Philippine Daily Inquirer) Byline: Jhunnex Napallacan PDI Visayas Bureau and Tarra V. Quismundo in Manila CEBU CITY-Seven demonstrators were slightly injured yesterday when protesters battled police with stones and plastic...

Camarines Sur gov't passed on from dad to son.
July 1, 2004... (From Philippine Daily Inquirer) PILI, Camarines Sur-As the nation observed yesterday the handover of governance to newly elected officials, Camarines Sur marked the changing of the guard from father to son. Gov. and now Rep. Luis R....

'Tren'.
July 1, 2004... (From Philippine Daily Inquirer) Byline: Ma. Ceres P. Doyo LAST week, amidst the post-election noise and proclamation ado, my two-part special feature on death along the riles came out on the front page. I thought the warning train...

Cebu thrilled.
July 1, 2004... (From Philippine Daily Inquirer) Byline: Belinda Olivares-Cunanan CEBU CITY-All roads led to the Queen City of the South as it became the site of the first-ever oath-taking by a Philippine President in the Visayas. We have had three...

'Da King' brooding in Greenhills home.
July 1, 2004... (From Philippine Daily Inquirer) Byline: Carlito Pablo and Christine O. Avenda[currency]o WHILE President Macapagal-Arroyo basked in the glory of her poll victory, her defeated challenger Fernando Poe Jr. shunned the public eye...

No sacred cows, vows graft buster.
July 1, 2004... (From Philippine Daily Inquirer) Byline: Armand N. Nocum NO SACRED cows. Ranking officials of the Department of Public Works and Highways are being investigated for graft, said the office of the Ombudsman yesterday, and no...

Albert bent on making FAP Awards show a first.
July 1, 2004... (From Philippine Daily Inquirer) Byline: Dolly Ann Carvajal ALBERT Martinez's acceptance speech after he won the best supporting actor award at the Manila Film Festival was quite a blooper but he's got enough charm to be able to get...

Dy leaves 'innovations' in running Isabela gov't.
July 1, 2004... (From Philippine Daily Inquirer) Byline: Villamor Visaya Jr., PDI Northern Luzon Bureau ILAGAN, Isabela-As Gov. Faustino Dy Jr. leaves the provincial capitol, officials and Isabelinos here will remember the innovations he instituted...

DENR says mine firms to retain land rights.
July 1, 2004... (From Philippine Daily Inquirer) BAGUIO CITY-The Department of Environment and Natural Resources said mining firms, which are ending their operations, still have proprietary rights over the lands that they mined and may use these in new...

Film fest showing below expectations-Direk Joel.
July 1, 2004... (From Philippine Daily Inquirer) Byline: Peachy Vibal - Guioguio, Contributor THE MANILA Film Festival has not attracted as many moviegoers as it should, according to filmmaker Joel Lamangan. His movie, "Sabel" from Regal Films, is...

Free Internet redefines student life.
July 1, 2004... (From Philippine Daily Inquirer) Byline: Emir Emano Gamis, Irosin, Sorsogon IT GIVES us a shot at a different world, breaks the barriers, helps a lot in updating us, (and) makes many things possible." This is how 15-year-old...

Gray beginnings.
July 1, 2004... (From Philippine Daily Inquirer) THE PRESIDENT of all the islands delivered her inaugural speech in less than ideal conditions. A storm was battering the northernmost part of her domain; elsewhere, a high wind was blowing. It was, in...

JDV says he has 180 solons in speakership race.
July 1, 2004... (From Philippine Daily Inquirer) Byline: Juliet Labog-Javellana MACTAN, Cebu-Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr. yesterday said he already has 180 congressmen supporting his continued stay as head of the House of Representatives. "Well...