BUSINESS IN ASIA TODAY - JAN 1, 2002.

Business in Asia on Jan 1, 2002. A summary prepared by Asia Pulse (http://www.asiapulse.com), the real-time, Asia-based wire with exclusive news, market intelligence and business opportunities:

TAIWAN ELECTRONICS FIRM EXPANDS PHILIPPINE OPERATIONS

SUBIC BAY FREEPORT - Taiwanese electronics manufacturer Yi Phone Company has finalized the expansion of its operations in the Philippines. Yi Phone is involved in the production of key parts of compact disc players and television monitors for leading brands like Sony, Matsushita, and Samsung and its expansion will result in the creation of 1,000 local jobs. Yi Phone sold and exported some P200 million (US$3.87 million) worth of products in 2001 to Japan, Korea and Hong Kong, and exports are expected to reach P400 million this year.

TAIWAN TO FURTHER OPEN MARKET TO CHINESE GOODS, CAPITAL: MAC

TAIPEI - The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said Monday that it will allow the domestic market to be further opened to mainland Chinese products and capital upon its WTO entry. With Taiwan becoming the WTO's 144th member state today, the MAC, Taiwan's top mainland policy-making government agency, said it will further adjust the current policy to take into account the new situation between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait, an MAC spokesman said. The spokesman said that the MAC will first allow in larger amounts of capital to the domestic service sector and more products from the mainland and added that restrictions on cross-strait remittances, postal links and mainland-bound investment will also be relaxed.

INDIAN RAILWAYS POSTS 7.6 PCT INCREASE IN FREIGHT IN H1

NEW DELHI - Indian Railways saw a 7.6 per cent increase in freight to 39.05 million tonnes (MT) in the first half of 2001-02, after seeing a rise over four per cent in goods traffic in August and September. Total revenue-earning goods traffic stood at 39.05 MT in September, 2001 as compared to 37.47 MT in July same year - an increase of 4.22 per cent - despite a marginal fall in Petroleum, Oil and Lubricants movement in August and September, the latest official figures released by the Federal Ministry of Finance said. The rise in the freight movement in August and September had been mainly due to increased movement of iron ore for exports, cement, foodgrains and raw materials for steel plants, the ministry said.