BRIEFING - ASIA ECONOMIC NEWS - JAN 5, 2004.

(From Asia Pulse)

An executive briefing on the economies of Asia for Jan 5, 2004, prepared by Asia Pulse (http://www.asiapulse.com), the real-time, Asia based wire with exclusive news, commercial intelligence and business opportunities.

PROJECTS TO CREATE MORE JOBS IN PHILIPPINES' ZAMBOANGA

ZAMBOANGA CITY - The government allocated a budget of over P1 billion (US$18.1 million) for infrastructure projects in the city projected to generate employment for local residents here.

"We expect that when these projects are implemented, many people will be hired as construction workers," said Asbi Edding, a councilor of the city.

U.S. PUNITIVE TRADE MEASURES AGAINST S. KOREA UNEQUAL: REPORT

SEOUL - South Korea suffered more punitive trade measures from the United States than it deserved in the two decades since 1980 as the United States strove to pry open the Korean market, a senior trade official said Monday.

In his analysis of 1,278 anti-dumping and countervailing measures taken by the United States from 1980 to 1999, Oh Young-ho, chief of the industrial technology policy bureau at the commerce ministry, said that South Korea was the target of 81 cases compared with 78 for Italy, 71 for Germany and 67 for Canada.

KOREAN AGENCY TO PROVIDE MORE EXPORT OPPORTUNITIES TO SMES

SEOUL - South …