AsiaPulse News back issues from July 2003:
FOREX - US DOLLAR CHEAPER AGAINST RUPEE - JULY 1, 2003.
Jul 01, 2003 ... MUMBAI, Jul 01 Asia Pulse - The U.S. Dollar ended slightly cheaper against the Rupee at Rs 46.4550 per dollar but the Pound Sterling turned sharply dearer at Rs 77.07 per ...
STOCKS - DSE TRADELESS - JULY 1, 2003.
Jul 01, 2003 ... NEW DELHI, Jul 1 Asia Pulse - The Delhi Stock Exchange remained tradeless today as most of the market players executed transactions on other bourses for their better market ...
STOCKS - BSE CLOSES LOW - JULY 1, 2003.
Jul 01, 2003 ... MUMBAI, Jul 1 Asia Pulse - The market snapped 4-session winning streak and ended in the negative territory as equities met with strong resistance with many of them giving up part of their overnight gains in irregular movements on Bombay Stock Exchange today on profit booking by local ...
AUSTRALIAN NEWSPAPER HIGHLIGHTS - JULY 1, 2003.
Jul 01, 2003 ... SYDNEY, July 1 Asia Pulse - Highlights of today's newspapers: THE AUSTRALIAN - Prosecutors push for death penalty for alleged Bali bomber. Businessman John Elliott banned by court from holding company directorships for four years. Katharine Hepburn dead at 96 ....
INDIAN, ITALIAN INVESTORS TO SIGN MOUS.
Jul 01, 2003 ... KOLKATA, July 1 Asia Pulse - As a follow up to West Bengal chief minister Buddhadev Bhattacharjee's recent visit to Italy to woo investors, four MoUs will be signed between Indian and Italian corporates here next month. The MoUs will be signed for investment in four sectors, ...
BANGLADESH READY TO DISCUSS FREE TRADE WITH INDIA.
Jul 01, 2003 ... DHAKA, July 1 Asia Pulse - Encouraged by the positive outcome of free trade between India and Sri Lanka, Bangladesh is considering entering into a similar trade agreement with the Indian Government. Dhaka has informed New Delhi that it was ready to hold formal discussion leading ...
SAP INDIA TO DOUBLE WORKFORCE TO 2,000 IN 3 YEARS.
Jul 01, 2003 ... BANGALORE, July 1 Asia Pulse - German-based IT product major SAP said it planned to double its workforce in India to 2,000 in the next 3 years and move a part of its BPO operations to the country. "As part of our strategy, we are aiming to double the force in India," SAP ...
INDIAN COURT ALLOWS TELECAST OF TV SERIAL AFTER JULY 7.
Jul 01, 2003 ... KOLKATA, July 1 Asia Pulse - Sahara Entertainment's controversial mega-serial 'Karishma - A miracle of destiny' was today given the go ahead for telecast after July 7 by the Calcutta High Court, vacating its earlier stay order granted on the plea of copyright infringement by an American ...
INDIA'S STEEL PRODUCTION UP 8.25% IN APRIL-MAY 2003.
Jul 01, 2003 ... NEW DELHI, July 1 Asia Pulse - Steel production in India rose by 8.25 per cent to 5,525,000 tonnes during April-May 2003 as against 5,104,000 tonees during the corresponding period last year. Production of pig iron registered a rise of 25.37 per cent at 924,000 tonnes as ...
INDIA'S ECONOMIC GROWTH SLIPS TO 4.3% IN 2002-03.
Jul 01, 2003 ... NEW DELHI, July 1 Asia Pulse - Hit hard by dismal show in the farm sector, India's economic growth slowed down to 4.3 per cent during 2002-03 as against 5.6 per cent in the previous fiscal year. The decline was mainly because of poor performance in agriculture where growth was a ...
INDIA'S SUBEX BAGS SOFTWARE ORDER FROM ROMANIAN GSM OPERATOR.
Jul 01, 2003 ... BANGALORE, July 1 Asia Pulse - Subex Systems (BSE:SUBX), the Bangalore-based telecom software products company, said today it has won a major order from Connex, the leading GSM operator in Romania, to deploy its revenue assurance solution, INcharge. A company statement said ...
NUMBER OF PASSENGERS AT TAIPEI'S CKS AIRPORT BREAKS 30,000-MARK.
Jul 01, 2003 ... TAIPEI, July 1 Asia Pulse - The number of inbound and outbound passengers at Chiang Kai-shek (CKS) International Airport broke the 30,000-mark Sunday for the first time since late March when severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) became prevalent in Taiwan. According to ...
CROSS-STRAIT TRADE CONTINUES TO INCREASE IN 1ST FOUR MONTHS.
Jul 01, 2003 ... TAIPEI, July 1 Asia Pulse - The two-way trade between Taiwan and mainland China amounted to US$13.74 billion in the first four months of this year, an increase of 29.5 per cent over the same period of 2002, according to statistics compiled by the Board of Foreign Trade. Taiwan ...
FOREX - AUSTRALIAN DOLLAR SOARS OVERNIGHT - JULY 1, 2003.
Jul 01, 2003 ... SYDNEY, July 1 Asia Pulse - The Australian dollar soared nearly three-quarters of a US cent overnight to touch fresh four-year highs. Investors hungry for higher yields were spurred on by the growing expectation that domestic interest rates would not be cut following today's ...
INDIA'S RANBAXY GETS USFDA APPROVAL FOR GANCICLOVAR DRUG.
Jul 01, 2003 ... NEW DELHI, July 1 Asia Pulse - Ranbaxy Laboratories (BSE:RANB) said Monday it has received US Food and Drug Administration approval to manufacture and market Ganciclovir capsules in 250 mg and 500mg strength, generic version of Roche's Cytovene. Ganciclovir capsules are ...
CISCO APPOINTS NEW MARKETING VICE PRESIDENT FOR INDIA, SAARC.
Jul 01, 2003 ... NEW DELHI, July 1 Asia Pulse - Networking company Cisco Systems has appointed Ranajoy Punja as the vice-president for marketing operations in India and the rest of the SAARC region. Punja has been responsible for ...
STILL HOPE FOR 3% ECONOMIC GROWTH: TAIWAN VICE PREMIER.
Jul 01, 2003 ... TAIPEI, July 1 Asia Pulse - Vice Premier Lin Hsin-i said Monday that if economic growth in the third and fourth quarters can be maintained at more than 4 per cent, then there is still hope for 3 per cent economic growth for the whole of this year. Lin, who concurrently serves as ...
TAIWAN SEEKS LANDING VISA PRIVILEGES FROM INDONESIA.
Jul 01, 2003 ... TAIPEI, July 1 Asia Pulse - Taiwan is negotiating with Indonesia in the hope that the Southeast Asian country will resume issuing landing visas to visitors from Taiwan, a Foreign Ministry official said Monday. The anonymous official denied local news reports that Jakarta ...
WHO PROMISES TO POST HEALTH EXPERTS IN TAIWAN: CDC CHIEF.
Jul 01, 2003 ... TAIPEI, July 1 Asia Pulse - The World Health Organization (WHO) has promised to post permanent staff members in Taiwan to help with epidemic control and public health promotion, a senior official said Monday. Su Ih-jen, director of the Center for Disease Control (CDC) under the ...
IFC SANCTIONS $17.5 MLN FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE TO INDIA'S ALOK.
Jul 01, 2003 ... MUMBAI, July 1 Asia Pulse - International Finance Corporation (IFC), Washington, has sanctioned financial assistance aggregating $17.5 million to textile maker Alok Industries Ltd ...
IRAN, BRITAIN TO EXPAND ECONOMIC COOPERATION.
Jul 01, 2003 ... TEHRAN, July 1 Asia Pulse - Minister of Economic Affairs and Finance Tahmasb Mazaheri is scheduled to discuss expansion of Tehran-London economic and trade cooperation with the British Trade and Industry Secretary Patricia Hewitt and Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown during his ...
IRAN'S POPULATION TOPS 66 MLN, GDP, TRADE SURPLUS UP LAST YEAR.
Jul 01, 2003 ... TEHRAN, July 1 Asia Pulse - The Central Bank of Iran (CBI) in a report released here Sunday said the country's population reached 66 million in the last Iranian year (ended March 20). It put the population growth rate at 1.7 per cent, adding that some 42.9 million live in the ...
IRAN-AZERBAIJAN TRADE PUT AT US$300 MILLION.
Jul 01, 2003 ... SEMNAN, July 1 Asia Pulse - Azerbaijan Ambassador to than Abbasali Karam Oglu Hassanov said here Sunday that the Tehran-Baku trade has topped US$300 million. Speaking at a meeting with Semnan Governor General Mohammad Ali Panjeh-Folladgaran, he added that the two nations have ...
TAIWAN'S MAC URGES LOCALS TO AVOID IMMEDIATE TRAVEL TO MAINLAND.
Jul 01, 2003 ... TAIPEI, July 1 Asia Pulse - The nation's top mainland China policy planner urged local people Monday to avoid immediate travel to the mainland upon the July 4 lifting of a 10-day severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) home quarantine requirement for arrivals from the mainland. ...
MALAYSIA AND IRAN DISCUSS THE USE OF GOLD DINAR.
Jul 01, 2003 ... KUALA LUMPUR, July 1 Asia Pulse - The Malaysian government is discussing with Iran the possibility of having "bilateral payment arrangements" to enable Malaysia to use the dinar to settle payments. Deputy Finance Minister Dr Shafie Mohd Salleh said that it was still in the ...
TAIWAN PREMIER EXPECTS ETF TO ADD VITALITY TO BOURSE.
Jul 01, 2003 ... TAIPEI, July 1 - Premier Yu Shyi-kun said Monday that he expects that the issuance of the Taiwan 50 ETF (exchange traded fund) and index futures will add vitality to Taiwan's monetary market and boost Taiwan's visibility in the international financial market. Speaking at a ...
MASHHAD EARNS RLS 22.4 BLN FROM PETROCHEMICAL EXPORTS.
Jul 01, 2003 ... MASHHAD, Khorasan Prov, July 1 Asia Pulse - Some 26,772 tons of petrochemical products worth 22.4 billion rials were exported through Mashhad customs in the past three months, Mashhad Customs Office Superintendent Naser Kavianinia said Monday. The official said that the bulk of ...
PROGAS PAKISTAN SIGNS US$38 MLN CONTRACT FOR LPG PROJECT.
Jul 01, 2003 ... KARACHI, July 1 Asia Pulse - Progas Pakistan has awarded a US$38 million Engineering Procurement Construction Contract (EPCC) for its Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) project at Port Qasim to a Canadian and a Chinese firm for the second phase of the project. At a signing ceremony ...
PAKISTAN GRANTS EXPLORATION LICENCES TO PAKISTAN OILFIELDS LTD.
Jul 01, 2003 ... ISLAMABAD, July 1 Asia Pulse - The federal government on Saturday granted two licences to Pakistan Oilfields Limited (POL) to explore petroleum resources in Block No. 3272-11 (Chakwal) in Zone-I in Chakwal district of Punjab and Block No. 2567-3 (Hyderabad) in Zone-III in Hyderabad and ...
PAKISTAN TELECOM TO HIRE FOREIGN FIRM TO FILTER NET CONTENT.
Jul 01, 2003 ... KARACHI, July 1 Asia Pulse - Pakistan Telecommunication (PTCL) has decided to hire a foreign firm for content filtering to materialise its plan of blocking pornography and indecent material available on the Internet. Several firms have so far given presentations to the PTCL and ...
NIGERIA CAN BE BRIDGE BETWEEN PAKISTANI EXPORTERS, AFRICA: ENVOY.
Jul 01, 2003 ... ISLAMABAD, July 1 Asia Pulse - Ambassador A D Idris Waziri has said Nigeria can play role of a bridge between Pakistan exporters and African continent to serve the cause of the two sides. He said his vision was to introduce small and medium as well as hi-tech industries of ...
KOREA'S SARS-RAVAGED TRAVEL AGENCIES COMING BACK TO LIFE.
Jul 01, 2003 ... SEOUL, July 1 Asia Pulse - South Korea's tourism industry is expanding rapidly after a months-long knockout caused by the deadly severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). In recent months, some travel agencies had to tide themselves over the crisis with dirt-cheap tour packages ...
STOCKS - SEOUL SHARES BEGIN MIXED - JULY 1, 2003.
Jul 01, 2003 ... SEOUL, July 1 Asia Pulse - South Korea's main bourse started weaker Tuesday on program selling, while the over-the-counter KOSDAQ opened stronger. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index, the ...
KAOHSIUNG MAYOR LEAVES FOR NEW YORK, BALTIMORE.
Jul 01, 2003 ... KAOHSIUNG, July 1 Asia Pulse - Kaohsiung Mayor Frank Hsieh was scheduled to leave for New York and Baltimore Monday afternoon for a brief visit. An official of his city government said Hsieh would study the city development projects of the two American harbor cities during the ...
ING BARINGS DROPS PLAN FOR MORE INVESTMENT IN KOOKMIN BANK.
Jul 01, 2003 ... SEOUL, July 1 Asia Pulse - Dutch financial group ING Barings has reportedly shelved its plan to make an additional capital investment in Kookmin Bank (KSE:23130), South Korea's largest commercial bank. Banking sources said Tuesday ING Barings' move is due to a recent government ...
STOCKS - AUSTRALIAN MARKET OPENS LOWER - JULY 1, 2003.
Jul 01, 2003 ... SYDNEY, July 1 Asia Pulse - The Australian stock market began the new financial year on a negative note today, with falls among the major banks and News Corp. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index was two points lower at 3024.9 by 1015 AEDT while the all ordinaries index dropped 2.4 ...
LAHORE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE SIGNS MOU WITH CHINESE FIRM.
Jul 01, 2003 ... LAHORE, July 1 Asia Pulse - The Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), with a Chinese company, Uromqi Foreign Economic and Trade Fair Xinkyong on Saturday. The MoU was signed by President LCCI Yawar Irfan Khan and head of the ...
KOREAN RAILWAY UNION LIKELY TO END STRIKE.
Jul 01, 2003 ... SEOUL, July 1 Asia Pulse - Railway workers will likely end a four-day strike Tuesday as union leaders are leaning toward seeking dialogue with the government rather than continuing the walkout. The Korean National Railroad union will vote at 10 a.m. on whether to continue the ...
CEO OF AUSTRALIAN AIRLINE REGIONAL EXPRESS STANDS DOWN.
Jul 01, 2003 ... SYDNEY, July 1 Asia Pulse - Australian airline Regional Express (Rex) said its inaugural chief executive Michael Jones had stood down from the position. Rex spokesman Peter Leate said Monday evening executive general manager network strategy Guy Farrow would act as chief ...
AUSTRALIA'S NEW COMPETITION WATCHDOG CHIEF STARTS TODAY.
Jul 01, 2003 ... SYDNEY, July 1 Asia Pulse - The new head of Australia's competition watchdog Graeme Samuel today said he would not be a soft-touch when it came to dealing with businesses in his new role as chairman of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC). "I am not sure ...
STATE BANK OF PAKISTAN RESTORES TRADE WITH SERBIA.
Jul 01, 2003 ... KARACHI, July 1 Asia Pulse - The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has restored export and import business with Serbia and Montenegro with immediate effect. The SBP had imposed an embargo on trade with Serbia and Montenegro on June 25, 1992 following a resolution passed by the United ...
AUSTRALIAN MANUFACTURING FIGURE ADDS SUPPORT FOR RATE CUT.
Jul 01, 2003 ... SYDNEY, July 1 Asia Pulse - Australian manufacturing activity inched up in June, adding support to the case for a rate cut, a report showed. The Australian Industry Group/PricewaterhouseCoopers Performance of Manufacturing Index (PMI) for June highlighted continued weakness in ...
FOREX - WON OPENS HIGHER AGAINST DOLLAR -JULY 1, 2003.
Jul 01, 2003 ... SEOUL, July 1 Asia Pulse - The South Korean won started higher against the dollar Tuesday on the yen's strength against the greenback. The local ...
PAKISTAN'S GAS OUTPUT RISES TO 2,648 MMCFD IN 1ST 9 MONTHS.
Jul 01, 2003 ... KARACHI, July 1 Asia Pulse - The average gas production in the country during first nine months of the current fiscal year has increased by five per cent to 2,648 mmcfd from 2,526 mmcfd where power sector is the largest consumer of natural gas with 39 per cent share during the period, ...
FORD AUSTRALIA POSTS US$13.8 MLN PROFIT AFTER 2 YEARS IN THE RED.
Jul 01, 2003 ... ADELAIDE, July 1 Asia Pulse - Ford Australia has posted a .6 million ($US13.84 million) after-tax profit for the 2002 calendar year, ending two years in the red. The result compared to a A$16.1 million loss in 2000 and a A$5.5 million loss in 2001. The last time Ford ...
PACIFIC ISLAND NATIONS APPROVE ARMED INTERVENTION IN SOLOMONS.
Jul 01, 2003 ... CANBERRA, July 1 Asia Pulse - Australia is set to lead the biggest armed expedition in the South Pacific since World War II after the island nations of the region yesterday approved the historic intervention in the lawless and bankrupt country. About 2,000 mainly Australian ...
AUSTRALIAN HOTELS TROUNCE LONDON ON AFFORDABILITY: SURVEY.
Jul 01, 2003 ... SYDNEY, July 1 Asia Pulse - Hotel accommodation in London costs 100 times the price of a Big Mac, but it only costs 45 times a local burger to stay in a Sydney hotel, a survey has found. Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels' inaugural Hotel Affordability Index compares the average daily ...
EXXONMOBIL TO SELL STAKES IN 2 WEST AUSTRALIAN OILFIELDS.
Jul 01, 2003 ... SYDNEY, July 1 Asia Pulse - Oil giant ExxonMobil has put its stakes in two West Australian oilfields on the market, saying they no longer fitted as part of its portfolio of Australian holdings. ExxonMobil announced today it would sell its shares of the Wandoo and Woollybutt ...
DEVOLUTION MAY TAKE 15 YEARS TO REPLACE PAKISTAN SYSTEM: WB.
Jul 01, 2003 ... ISLAMABAD, July 1 Asia Pulse - Recruitment, supervision, transfers and discipline of civil servants would become eventually a local government matter and the new model of devolved authority would take 15 years to replace the 150-year-old colonial-style government rather than the (immature) ...
CHINESE FIRM SET TO OPEN QADIRPUR RIG IN PAKISTAN TODAY.
Jul 01, 2003 ... ISLAMABAD, July 1 Asia Pulse - Chinese company Sichuan Petroleum is likely to inaugurate its rig at Qadirpur gas field in Sukkur today. A high-powered delegation of Sichuan Petroleum, a subsidiary of China National Petroleum Corporation, headed by Li Aimin, were scheduled to ...
PROFILE - JAPAN'S RETAIL INDUSTRY (JULY 2003).
Jul 01, 2003 ... ************************************************** A PROFILE OF JAPAN'S RETAIL INDUSTRY PREPARED BY ASIA PULSE ANALYSTS (UPDATED JULY 2003) ************************************************** OVERVIEW: Japanese consumers have further ...
ANZ BANK ON TRACK FOR HIGHER EARNINGS: CEO.
Jul 01, 2003 ... SYDNEY, July 1 Asia Pulse - ANZ Banking Group Ltd (ASX:ANZ) chief executive John McFarlane today said the bank was on track to lift its earnings in 2003 and 2004 as well as its dividend payouts. In a letter to shareholders, Mr McFarlane said given the bank's strong capital ...
PAKISTAN INVESTMENT BOARD ORGANISING INVESTMENT MOOT IN FRANCE.
Jul 01, 2003 ... ISLAMABAD, July 1 Asia Pulse - On the eve of President Musharraf's visit, the Board of Investment is organising an investment conference in France from July 1 to 4. The sole objective of organising the conference is to apprise French investors about liberal investment policy of government ...
NEW CEO OF AUSTRALIA'S CLOUGH NEEDS TIME TO TURN COMPANY AROUND.
Jul 01, 2003 ... PERTH, July 1 Asia Pulse - Clough Ltd's (ASX:CLO) new boss David Singleton said he would need time to turn around the poorly performing engineering and construction company. The 43-year-old former head of strategy and mergers and acquisitions at London-based BAE Systems has 20 ...
KOREA EXPORTED 4,018 DIFFERENT ITEMS IN 2001: KITA.
Jul 01, 2003 ... SEOUL, July 1 Asia Pulse - South Korea exported 4,018 different items which were each worth more than US$50,000 in 2001, with a presence in 80.9 per cent of the world's markets, the Korea International Trade Association (KITA) said Tuesday. According to the PC-TAS international ...
AUSTRALIA'S WIZARD EYES EQUITY FINANCING FOR HOME LOANS.
Jul 01, 2003 ... SYDNEY, July 1 Asia Pulse - The cost of buying a home could be slashed by a third as financial institutions push ahead with plans to offer equity financing, The Sydney Morning Herald reported today. An equity financing loan plan is being developed by Wizard Home Loans and could ...
JAPAN'S VENTURE LINK LIKELY FACING US$4.17 MLN LOSS FOR FY02.
Jul 01, 2003 ... TOKYO, July 1 Asia Pulse - Venture Link Co. (TSE:9609) is expected to report a group pretax loss of around 500 million yen (US$4.17 milllion) for the fiscal year ended May 31, down from the prior year's profit of 10 billion yen. In January, the company had predicted a profit of ...
JAPAN CONSUMER ELECTRONICS SALES DIP IN MAY.
Jul 01, 2003 ... TOKYO, July 1 Asia Pulse - May shipments of consumer electronics equipment fell 5.2 per cent from the same month a year earlier to 147.3 billion yen, according to figures released Monday by the Japan Electronics and Information Technology Industries Association (JEITA). The ...
SINGAPORE NEWSPAPER HIGHLIGHTS - JULY 1, 2003.
Jul 01, 2003 ... SINGAPORE, July 1 Asia Pulse - Highlights of today's newspapers: THE STRAITS TIMES - Listed companies with March as their financial year-end made less money than they did a year ago. - Econ International, which recently won the backing of most of its ...
JAPANESE AUTOPARTS MAKERS BOOST PRODUCTION IN U.S.
Jul 01, 2003 ... TOKYO, July 1 Asia Pulse - Some Japanese autoparts manufacturers are expanding production in the U.S. following the May start-up of Nissan Motor Co.'s (TSE:7201) new minivan plant in Canton, Ohio. Calsonic Kansei Corp. (7248) is increasing the supply of front-end parts modules ...
JAPANESE MORNING NEWSPAPER HIGHLIGHTS - JULY 1, 2003.
Jul 01, 2003 ... TOKYO, July 1 Asia Pulse - Highlights of the morning edition of the Nihon Keizai Shimbun (Nikkei) today: - Tokyo Gas, Shell To Cooperate In Power Generation - BOT-M'Bishi To Buy Accounts Receivable From Smaller Firms - 72 Universities Apply To Set Up Law ...
JAPAN RECYCLING FIRM TO BUY USED COMPUTERS FROM INDIVIDUALS.
Jul 01, 2003 ... TOKYO, July 1 Asia Pulse - Digital Reuse Inc., a recycler of personal computers that is affiliated with Mitsubishi Corp. (TSE:8058), will team up with Yamato Transport Co. (TSE:9064) to begin buying used PCs from individuals. The companies expect demand for such services to grow ...
TOSHIBA BOOSTS SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE ACTIVITIES.
Jul 01, 2003 ... TOKYO, July 1 Asia Pulse - Toshiba Corp. (TSE:6502) is bolstering its socially responsible operations, given that such activities are part of investment criteria in the U.S. and Europe. As of July 1, a corporate social responsibility (CSR) office with a direct line to the ...
JAPAN'S SAGAWA ANNOUNCES EARNINGS RESULTS FOR FIRST TIME.
Jul 01, 2003 ... TOKYO, July 1 Asia Pulse - Sagawa Express Co., an unlisted company that boasts the second-largest market share in parcel delivery, announced its earnings results for the first time ever Monday. By showing that the company has wiped out the bad debt associated with an early ...
NEC, OTHERS GAINING GROUND IN LEADING COMPUTER TECHNOLOGIES.
Jul 01, 2003 ... TOKYO, July 1 Asia Pulse - Major Japanese personal computer manufacturers are starting to retake ground in the area of nanotechnology and mechatronics technology. NEC Corp. (TSE:6701) said Monday that it will begin marketing in 2005 notebook computers installed with fuel cells ...