BRIEFING - ASIA ECONOMIC NEWS - NOV 24, 2004.

(From Asia Pulse)

An executive briefing on the economies of Asia for Nov 24, 2004, prepared by Asia Pulse (http://www.asiapulse.com), the real-time, Asia based wire with exclusive news, commercial intelligence and business opportunities.

CHINA'S HEAVY INDUSTRIAL GROWTH FALLS IN JAN-OCT, 2004

BEIJING - Data analysis by the State Development and Reform Commission shows that growth of light industrial production in China remained stable while that of heavy industrial production kept slipping in the first 10 months of this year.

China's industrial growth was 16.9 per cent in the first 10 months, 0.1 percentage points lower than in the first three quarters.

VIETNAM SERVICE INDUSTRY TARGETS ANNUAL GROWTH OF 8% BY 2010

HANOI - Vietnam's service industry plans to register an average annual growth rate of between 7-8 per cent and make up 42-43 per cent of the national GDP and 25-27 per cent of the total work force by 2010.

In 2003, services accounted for 39 per cent of the national GDP and created one-fourth of total jobs in the country. Leading the service industry is the post and telecommunication sector, with the number of telephone subscribers increasing from 3.2 million in 2000 to 7.3 million in 2003.

GERMANY WILLING TO HELP VIETNAM'S INDUSTRIALISATION

HANOI - Germany is ready to support and help Vietnam become an industrialised nation in the region by 2020, said German Ambassador to Vietnam Ludwig …