Asia Africa Intelligence Wire articles from June 2002, page 3

Asia Africa Intelligence Wire archives from June 2002

Malaysia: New deputy governor for Bank Negara.
June 30, 2002... Malaysia's Finance Ministry has appointed Ooi Sang Kuang as Deputy Governor of central Bank Negara effective June 16. Ooi replaces Huang Sin Cheng, whose term ends on Saturday. Ooi was formerly managing director of RHB Research Institute,...

SWIFT pilots FIX messaging service with 15 firms.
June 30, 2002... SWIFT announced that it is piloting its FIX messaging service with 15 firms connected to SWIFTNet, SWIFT's IP-based messaging platform. The FIX Pilot Programme includes representation from major buy side, sell side and exchange communities,...

ING sells life insurance business in the Philippines.
June 30, 2002... ING today announced it has reached an agreement with Pru Life UK to sell ING Life Insurance Co. (Phils.), its life insurance business in the Philippines, to Pru Life UK. Throughout Asia ING's insurance operations are focussed on retail...

Norwich Union selects SmartStream.
June 30, 2002... SmartStream Technologies, the leading transaction management STP solutions provider, is pleased to announce that Norwich Union, has selected SmartStream for inter-system reconciliation and exception management. Norwich Union was looking...

Lehman Brothers reports 2Q earnings of $296 million.
June 30, 2002... Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. (ticker symbol: LEH) today reported net income of $296 million, or $1.08 per common share (diluted), for the second quarter ended May 31, 2002, compared with $430 million, or $1.38 per common share (diluted)...

Moody's: First-time ratings assigned to Banco Fibra S.A.
June 30, 2002... Moody's Investors Service assigned a Baa2.br Brazilian National Scale Rating to Banco Fibra S.A. (Fibra). Moody's also assigned a Global Local Currency long-term deposit rating of B1 and a short-term deposit rating of NP to Fibra. ...

US: Peoples Bancorp completes acquisition of five Guersney Bank offices.
June 30, 2002... Peoples Bancorp Inc. announced today that one of it subsidiaries, Peoples Bank, has completed its acquisition of five full-service financial services offices. The banking centers are located in the Ohio communities of Cambridge (2 offices),...

S&P: Ratings and outlooks on six Thai banks affirmed.
June 30, 2002... Standard & Poor's said today that it had affirmed the counterparty credit ratings and outlooks on six Thai banks (see list below). Despite preliminary signs of stabilization in the country's banking system following a fall of about 20%...

China: Visa launches new international travel card.
June 30, 2002... Visa is introducing the first prepaid International Travel Card in China. It will be launched this month by Visa's member banks in major cities including Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, spearheaded by China Construction Bank in...

Survey: 80 Percent of 10 Million Chinese Outbound Travelers Show Interest in Visa International Travel Card.
June 30, 2002... In China, the new prepaid Visa International Travel Card is designed to be used overseas and specially caters to the needs of outbound Chinese travelers who are growing rapidly in numbers. In support of the launch of the International...

E*TRADE Financial closes acquisition of Tradescape.
June 30, 2002... E*TRADE Group, Inc. (NYSE: ET) today announced it has completed the acquisition of Tradescape(1), a leading onsite professional trading platform. The acquisition is a strong leadership move for E*TRADE Financial, as the Company continues...

SunGard FIX Engine V4.5 debuts.
June 30, 2002... SunGard Business Integration, an operating unit of SunGard (NYSE:SDS), announced today the launch of the SunGard FIX Engine v.4.5 designed to enhance business efficiency for broker/dealers and investment managers by transparently connecting...

Moody's: Insurance financial strenght of Penn Mutual Life Insurance Co and subsidiary raised to A1.
June 30, 2002... Moody's Investors Service has raised the insurance financial strength ratings of The Penn Mutual Life Insurance Company, and its wholly owned subsidiary, The Penn Insurance and Annuity Company, to A1 from A2. The ratings outlook for the...

Experian and TSYS partners to provide advanced customer management solutions to banks.
June 30, 2002... Experian, the leading global information solutions provider, and TSYS, a global leader in payments processing, have announced a strategic partnership to incorporate Experian's industry leading Strategy Management solution into TSYS systems....

Moody's: Bank operational risk management should be more than an exercise in capital allocation and loss data gathering.
June 30, 2002... In a recently published Special Comment, Moody's Investors Service says that effective and comprehensive operational risk measurement and management should amount to much more than a regulatory capital allocation exercise. Capital is only an...

SunGard launches Decalog V5.0.
June 30, 2002... SunGard (NYSE: SDS) today announced the launch of Decalog v5.0 in Asia Pacific. SunGard is a leading provider of in-house and ASP solutions to the buy-side investment management market for trading, portfolio management, compliance, investment...

US: Bank of North Carolina completes acquisition of Independence Bank.
June 30, 2002... Bank of North Carolina announced today that it has completed its previously announced acquisition of Independence Bank. Bank of North Carolina acquired all outstanding shares of Independence Bank in a cash and a stock transaction....

US: American Express resumes share repurchase program.
June 30, 2002... American Express Company said that it has resumed its share repurchase program. Earlier this year, American Express indicated its intent to resume the program at the end of the second quarter. The program had been suspended at the end of the...

Moody's: Raises ratings of seven Korean banks.
June 30, 2002... Moody's Investors Service raised the debt and deposit ratings for seven Korean banks: Shinhan Bank, Hana Bank, KorAm Bank, Korea First Bank, SeoulBank, Daegu Bank and Pusan Bank. At the same time, the bank financial strength ratings for...

Singapore: ABN AMRO appointed new head of FX/FX Options Sales.
June 30, 2002... ABN AMRO announced the appointment of Ms Tan Huilin as Head of FX/FX Options Sales, ABN AMRO, Singapore, with effect from 17 June 2002. She will be responsible for all FX/FXO and related sales to the Singapore and regional SE Asian FIPS...

Australia: Macquarie secures first ever product ruling for instalments.
June 30, 2002... Macquarie received a Product Ruling (PR2002/90) from the Australian Tax Office (ATO) in relation to its "IMC" series of Macquarie Instalments, confirming deductibility of interest for individuals and self managed superannuation funds. ...

Mellon Global Investments goes live with HelioGraph Straight Through Processing solution.
June 30, 2002... Byline: choosing to employ a single, integrated STP architecture, MGI is HelioGraph, the Straight Through Processing (STP) and Financial Messaging specialist, today announced from SIA 2002 in New York, that Mellon Global Investments...

SmartStream Technologies once again receives SWIFTReady Gold accreditation for its entire reconciliations product range.
June 30, 2002... SmartStream Technologies, the leading transaction management STP solutions provider, is delighted to announce that it has once again received SWIFTReady Gold accreditation for Corona, the most widely used solution for cash and securities...

Brocade and KOSCOM to advance disaster recovery and information securities for Korean Securities Industry.
June 30, 2002... Brocade Communications Systems, Inc. (Brocade(R)) (NASDAQ: BRCD) , the world's leading provider of infrastructure solutions for Storage Area Networks (SANs), announced that it has entered into a strategic relationship with KOSCOM, the...

Zurich Insurance Taiwan selects CA Solutions to build enterprise-strength knowledge management system.
June 30, 2002... Computer Associates International, Inc. (CA) announced that Zurich Insurance Taiwan, one of Taiwan's largest insurance providers, has selected CA's AllFusion, Advantage, and CleverPath solutions to transform its business decision-making...

State Bank of India reported 51.57 percent annual growth in net profit.
June 30, 2002... The Operating Profit of the Bank for 2001-02 stood at Rs.6044.83 cr. as compared to Rs.3966.78 cr. in 2000-01, recording a growth of 52.39%. The Bank has posted a Net Profit of Rs.2431.62 cr. for 2001-02 as compared to Rs.1604.25 cr in...

Asian Banker Interactive - Vendor News.
June 30, 2002... Commercial/Investment Banking The Banking Business Unit of India's Infosys Technologies said it has acquired US-based IQ Financial Systems' Trade IQ product division. The acquisition brings to Infosys Banking Group existing Trade IQ...

Account update: Global/Regional.
June 30, 2002... - India's HDFC BANK opened its first overseas representative office in Dubai. - ING Group has completed the sale of its remaining holding of ordinary shares in Fortis, generating gross proceeds of about 808 million euros ($757 million)....

Account update: Australia.
June 30, 2002... - ANZ BANK and WESTPAC BANK have altered fee structures for credit card cash advances. Starting this month, customers will be charged A$2.50 minimum or a 1.5 percent fee for credit card cash advances. - HSBC BANK Australia said it will...

Account update: China.
June 30, 2002... - The PEOPLE'S BANK OF CHINA has banned mainland banks from charging penalty fees on small depositors. The rule does not affect foreign banks' ability to charge service fees as they operate under regulations separate from local banks. -...

Account update: Hong Kong.
June 30, 2002... - ING Life Insurance has tied up with BANK OF COMMUNICATIONS to sell policies through the bank's 41 branches. About 200 licensed bank staff will sell policies in the branches. - Singapore's UNITED OVERSEAS BANK said it has issued around...

Account update: India.
June 30, 2002... - ABN AMRO will launch private banking services in June for customers with about $153,113. The bank hopes to build a customer base of 500 to 600 during the next four to five years. - AMERICAN EXPRESS TRS launched Money + Personal...

Account update: Indonesia.
June 30, 2002... - Hong Kong's BANK OF EAST ASIA (BEA) plans to increase its stake in BANK DAIWA PERDANIA from 24.5 percent to 30 percent as part of BEA's expansion plans. - The Jakarta Stock Exchange will delist BANK DANPAC's shares from the bourse...

Account update: Japan.
June 30, 2002... - Internet bank EBANK will reportedly launch e-mail remittance services in July. eBank said it plans to eventually turn the service into a core business. - OJI SHINKIN BANK, TAIYO SHINKIN BANK, ARASHIN SHINKIN BANK and NIKKO SHINKIN BANK...

Account update: South Korea.
June 30, 2002... - Local banks plan to make ATMs available free of charge on Saturdays. The daily limit for Saturday cash withdrawals will be cut below seven million won ($5,718), which is the limit for cash withdrawals on weekdays. - GOLDMAN SACHS...

Account update: Malaysia.
June 30, 2002... - CITIBANK has launched the Citibank clear card in Malaysia. It is targeting about 120,000 new customers in the next 12 months. - SOUTHERN BANK is acquiring an additional 9.9-percent stake in SOUTHERN INVESTMENT BANK for 20.69 million...

Account update: Philippines.
June 30, 2002... - The BANGKO SENTRAL NG PILIPINAS has issued a circular directing banks and other financial institutions to follow a prescribed format in reporting suspicious transactions to the Anti-Money Laundering Council. - CHINATRUST COMMERCIAL...

Account update: Singapore.
June 30, 2002... - The MONETARY AUTHORITY OF SINGAPORE has instructed banks and credit card issuers to stop offering the use of credit cards for property downpayment. - GE Capital has acquired automobile finance company SDL Leasing Singapore from UBS...

Account update: Taiwan.
June 30, 2002... - Reports say CHINA DEVELOPMENT FINANCIAL HOLDING is expected to take up the management of International Investment Trust by acquiring a 52-percent stake in the company from its three major shareholders. - CTB FINANCIAL HOLDING is...

Account update: Thailand.
June 30, 2002... - BANK OF THAILAND has allowed local and foreign commercial banks to include sales of real estate assets transferred from January 1, 1997 until the end of the year in their annual minimum sales requirement. The relaxation aims to encourage...

Account update: Vietnam.
June 30, 2002... - ASIA COMMERCIAL BANK will reportedly issue e-cards in June for purchasing goods and services or withdrawing cash. The card can also be used to pay Internet bills. - KRUNG THAI BANK plans to shut down its representative office on July...

NCP may oppose FDI in print media.
June 30, 2002... : The Nationalist Congress Party will join other opposition parties to oppose in Parliament the government's decision to "bypass" the 1955 Cabinet resolution and allow 26 per cent foreign direct investment (FDI) in print media. After an...

Cong condemns media witchhunt.
June 30, 2002... : Finding a common thread in the CBI raids against Tehelka, summoning of Time magazine reporter Alex Perry and the earlier harassment of Outlook promoters, the Congress on Friday announced that the party would take up these issues in the...

EC amends rules for poll candidates.
June 30, 2002... : With the Union government declining to proceed in the matter for the time being, the Election Commission of India went ahead on Friday and enforced the May 2 order of the Supreme Court on compelling poll candidates to disclose various...

Black money going into non-existent firms: CBI.
June 30, 2002... Byline: Pratyush Kanth : The recent countrywide anti-corruption drive conducted by the CBI against 32 officials at 88 places has revealed assets and cash worth around Rs 15 crore. But more importantly, the agency has found that the...

Hurriyat opposes Central rule in J&K.
June 30, 2002... SRINAGAR: The All-Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC) on Friday said that the imposition of the President's rule in Jammu and Kashmir during the Assembly elections would not serve any purpose. Speaking to Times News Network, Abdul Gani Bhat,...

Petro prices may be scaled down next month.
June 30, 2002... AGRA: Retail prices of petroleum products may be scaled down next month, hinted Union State Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Santosh Gangwar, during his visit to Agra on Thursday. He told newsmen that consumers should get attuned to...

India, Iran focus on security.
June 30, 2002... : India and Iran have agreed to cooperate on a wide range of issues relating to strategic stability between the security councils of both sides. A joint statement issued on Friday - after the conclusion of four-day visit of Hasan...

Pvt sector defies harassment norms.
June 30, 2002... Byline: Anita Katyal : When 25-year-old Ritu Singh, working with a Delhi-based IT firm, complained of being sexually harassed by her boss, her desk was removed and she was asked to put in her papers. Ritu refused and instead...

Our editing was honest: Tarun Tejpal.
June 30, 2002... : Continuing with his deposition on Friday, Tehelka editor-in-chief Tarun Tejpal maintained that the portal had no intention to indulge in dishonest editing. "If Tehelka had a dishonest motive, it would not have handed over the entire...

Be punctual, Naidu tells touring MLAs.
June 30, 2002... HYDERABAD: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu had some precious time-management lessons to offer to the second batch of 61 MLAs who, on Thursday, left for a 16-day tour to China, Malaysia, Singapore, Hongkong and Thailand. ...

Bodhgaya makes it to Heritage list.
June 30, 2002... : The Mahabodhi temple complex at Bodhgaya has become the 23rd Indian site to make it to UNESCO's list of World Heritage sites. This decision, taken in Budapest by the World Heritage Committee, was made public on Thursday. India Tourism...

Panel for welfare of STs.
June 30, 2002... : After over four decades, the government on Thursday announced setting up of the Second National Commission for the administration of scheduled areas and for welfare of the Scheduled Tribes. The commission has been set up under Article...

Advani as deputy Prime Minister?
June 30, 2002... : The country may have in Lal Krishna Advani its sixth deputy prime minister (DPM), a post that finds no mention in the Constitution but has invariably had far-reaching political implications. Prime Minister Vajpayee himself hinted at the...

PM's gift to Lucknow.
June 30, 2002... LUCKNOW: The much-hyped Circular Rail and the Jan Shatabdi Express was flagged-off by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee here on Thursday. Lauding the efforts of the Indian Railways, the Prime Minister thanked Union railways minister...

Dhirubhai: The Chorwad benefactor.
June 30, 2002... Byline: Sudhir Vyas CHORWAD, Junagadh: Dhirubhai's office at Maker Chamber IV in Mumbai is always open for anyone from Chorwad. The visitor has only to write that he is from Chorwad and is allowed entry into the office of the corporate...

Will join Cabinet if PM invites me, says Jana.
June 30, 2002... : Shedding his earlier reluctance, BJP President Jana Krishnamurthy said on Saturday he was willing to join the Cabinet if he was invited by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee to do so. Denying earlier reports that he has resigned as...

Advani appointed deputy prime minister.
June 30, 2002... ANITA KATYAL AND MOHUA CHATTERJEE : Though the final picture will become apparent only after the event takes place on Monday evening, the contours of Prime Minister Vajpayee's major mid-term reshuffle are becoming clearer. As a first...

Rain toll 80, state aid pours in.
June 30, 2002... : As the toll in Wednesday's rains rose to 80, the state government on Friday declared an ex-gratia payment of Rs 50,000 for the victims' families. The heavy downpour in Marathwada, North Maharashtra and Konkan region since Tuesday also...

No takers for Hubli police chief post.
June 30, 2002... HUBLI: Nobody wants to be the Hubli-Dharwad Police Commissioner. At least that is the situation emerging following the reluctance of IPS officers to come to Hubli - one of the most communally sensitive areas in the state. The state...

Departure timings changed for Mysore trains.
June 30, 2002... MYSORE: The Southern Railway, Mysore division, has brought out certain changes in the departure timings of some trains leaving Mysore. The changes will come into effect from July 1. According to a press release from the division,...

Focus on Mysore Lamp workers' plight.
June 30, 2002... : BJP city legislators and senior leaders will demonstrate in front of Chief Minister S.M. Krishna's residence on July 2 (Tuesday) to draw his attention to the problems faced by Mysore Lamp Works (MLW) employees. Speaking to reporters on...

Kempaiah is IGP, N-E range.
June 30, 2002... : The state government on Saturday posted former STF chief Kempaiah as the Inspector General of Police (IGP), North-Eastern range, Gulbarga. In a newly created post, Lalrokhuma Pachau (IPS) has been made IGP and executive director,...

CM brushes aside rumblings within.
June 30, 2002... MYSORE/ : Chief Minister S.M. Krishna on Saturday brushed aside resentment being expressed by some of the dropped ministers, saying``statements of these leaders do not warrant any reaction from me.'' Speaking to reporters here, Krishna...

Let the team now put its shoulder to the wheel.
June 30, 2002... Byline: H S BALRAM : S.M. Krishna must be thanking his stars that he didn't suffer acute stress levels, what with the pulls and pressures he was subjected to from his colleagues and the bosses in Delhi before his new ministry took shape....

Hotels get ready for soccer climax.
June 30, 2002... : Students of Bethany High School in Koramangala will be attending school this Sunday. And none of them are complaining. Because their school has organised live telecast of World Cup final on a 61-inch television set. In association with...

Bangalore bookies pin hopes on Kahn.
June 30, 2002... : Each time the German skipper Oliver Kahn makes a save in the final against Brazil at Yokohama, Japan on Sunday, he will be doing a big favour to the Indian bookies while denying the many Indian bettors big money. "He is not only...

A religion called soccer.
June 30, 2002... MINU AGARWAL : This indeed is a wall of fame. The legendary Pele, mercurial Maradona, irresistible Platini and Zico have given way to the raw strength and skill of Ronaldo, Beckham, Zidane, Owen, Ortega. Welcome to Balaram Bose Ghat Road....

Nepal Queen goes on a shopping spree.
June 30, 2002... Byline: Jhimli Mukherjee Pandey : A surprise awaited the staff of Pantaloons and Westside stores on 22, Camac Street as they reached for work at 8:30 am on Friday. Dozens of Kolkata police vans were lined up and police officers waited...

Maoists offer stable Indo-Nepal ties.
June 30, 2002... : On the occasion of the Nepal king's visit, the Maoists in Nepal have claimed that they, rather than the monarchy, would be more supportive to a stable India-Nepal relationship. The international department of the central committee of...

Colleges to offer career-based courses.
June 30, 2002... Byline: Dhiman Chattopadhyay : Bachelor degrees in micro-biology, industrial fisheries, molecular biology, industrial law, psychology, computer sciences, journalism and communicative English. West Bengal's college students now have...

City bus commuters question hike in fare.
June 30, 2002... Byline: Saikat Ray : While the stage is set for an increase in bus fare in West Bengal, consumer organisations are livid. Although even the Supreme Court has held that farefixation is a job better left to experts, says the secretary of...

Jan Shatabdi to have railway marts.
June 30, 2002... Byline: Jayanta Gupta MALDA: Railway minister Nitish Kumar on Friday announced that Jan Shatabdi Expresses would have 'railway marts', where passengers could purchase items of their choice. However he sounded far from convincing when...

Biscuit winners turned back from Korea.
June 30, 2002... : A biscuit company has lodged a complaint with the South Korean embassy in New Delhi for being denied entry to Seoul and 'ill-treatment' meted out to members of a team sent by the company to watch a World Cup soccer match. The winners...

Land minister admits flaw in reforms.
June 30, 2002... : Almost 13 per cent of the land distributed under the land reforms programme in West Bengal have been illegally transferred to the big landowners. State minister of land and land reforms Abdur Rezzak Mollah admitted this in the Assembly...

HC stays order for winding up MAMC.
June 30, 2002... : The Calcutta High Court on Friday stayed an earlier order of the court to wind up and appoint a liquidator in the Mining and Allied Machinery Corporation, Durgapur, one of the six public-sector companies the central government has decided...

Hospital charged with baby swapping.
June 30, 2002... BONGAON (North 24-Parganas): Allegations of baby swapping rocked the Bongaon Sub-divisional Hospital on Friday. Champa Mondol, 27, and her husband Basudev alleged in the morning that their baby boy had been taken away by the hospital staff...

Car pools for students under probe.
June 30, 2002... : It is the responsibility of parents to ensure that 'pool cars' carrying their wards to school are registered as commercial vehicles, said DC (traffic) MK Singh on Friday. It is an offence for private cars to carry passengers on payment...

No funds to bail out HPL, says govt.
June 30, 2002... : The West Bengal government may find it difficult to bail out its dream project, the Haldia Petrochemicals, because of its own financial constraints, a senior state government official indicated in Kolkata on Friday. Chief minister...

Sayom needs a sponsor.
June 30, 2002... Byline: Chitra Siddhartha : Slowly, the letters form words on the laptop screen. "I want to help the non-speaking physically disabled of India. I want to start a centre by 2006." It took 22-year-old Sayom Deb Mukherjee 15 minutes to...

Alert staff averts security breach at city airport.
June 30, 2002... ABHAY VAIDYA & MAKARAND GADGIL Pune: A major security breach occurred at the Pune domestic airport at Lohegaon on Friday afternoon when a Yerwada jail constable in plain clothes walked onto the tarmac along with two accomplices about half an...

No shortage of stamp papers: Mhaske.
June 30, 2002... PUNE: Deputy inspector-general of registrations and stamp duties Vasant Mhaske on Friday said, "Only sale of stamp papers through vendors had been stopped, citizens can purchase stamp papers from the treasury or can avail of the franking...

Rains spell havoc for city roads.
June 30, 2002... PUNE: Heavy rainfall of the past two days has made the condition of city roads from bad to worse. Cracks in most of the roads have become wider and potholes deeper. The roads more damaged include Satara road, where an entire patch near...

3 more held in fake stamp paper racket.
June 30, 2002... PUNE: In major breakthrough, three members of the fake stamp paper gang, including its "chief operation officer" Uday Sawant and "production manager" Dashrath Sawant, were arrested by the police in Mumbai in the early hours of Friday. ...