AsiaPulse News back issues from May 2004:
FOREX - AUSTRALIAN DOLLAR OPENS STRONGER - MAY 3, 2004.
May 03, 2004 ... SYDNEY, May 3 Asia Pulse - The Australian dollar opened stronger today, recovering from last week's lows, after the United States dollar fell slightly against the euro on Friday night. At 0700 AEST the local currency was trading at .7215/22, compared with 0.7208/13 at Friday's ...
AUSTRALIAN NEWSPAPER HIGHLIGHTS - MAY 3, 2004.
May 03, 2004 ... SYDNEY, May 3 Asia Pulse - Highlights of today's newspapers: THE DAILY TELEGRAPH - The Australian engineer killed in Saudi Arabia was shot dead by Islamic terrorists who worked undercover with him; Brad Fittler to quit rugby league. - A 94-year-old ...
ORICA POSTS HIGHER 1H NET PROFIT OF $US87MLN.
May 03, 2004 ... SYDNEY, May 3 Asia Pulse - Orica, an Australian chemical and fertilizer company, has announced a first half net profit of $A122.2 million ($US87.97 million). The firm today said it expected earnings momentum to continue into the second half. "We expect the earnings ...
AUSTRALIAN MANUFACTURING ACTIVITY HOLDS STEADY.
May 03, 2004 ... SYDNEY, May 3 Asia Pulse - Australian manufacturing activity for April has remained steady, due to improvements in food and beverages and continuing strong demand for commodities, an economic index showed. The Australian Industry (AI) Group - PricewaterhouseCoopers Australian ...
WEAKER DEMAND CAUSES SLOWDOWN IN AUSTRALIAN 1Q GROWTH.
May 03, 2004 ... SYDNEY, May 3 Asia Pulse - A mild slowdown occurred in Australia's economic growth during the March quarter, according to new economic data. Weaker domestic demand offset by a further improvement in net exports were mainf actors. The AAP economic indicator for May ...
NUMBER OF AUSTRALIAN BUILDING JOB VACANCIES FALLS.
May 03, 2004 ... MELBOURNE, May 2 Asia Pulse - The number of jobs advertised for the building and construction industry fell by more than 11 per cent in April. Fears of rising interest rates took their toll, the Olivier Recruitment Group said today. The Olivier Internet Job Index ...
AUSTRALIAN BOURSE FUTURE LINKED TO ASIA: CHAIRMAN.
May 03, 2004 ... MELBOURNE, May 3 Asia Pulse - The future of the Australian Stock Exchange Ltd (ASX:ASX) is linked more closely to Asia than the United States, and will remain vulnerable to direction in China, ASX chairman Maurice Newman has said. "For us to go to the United States ... we are ...
AUSTRALIA TO EXPORT SEAFOOD TO DUBAI.
May 03, 2004 ... CANBERRA, May 3 Asia Pulse - Under a new project to boost Australian exports to Asia, Australian seafood will be gracing the plates of diners in Dubai's five-star hotels and restaurants. Agriculture Minister Warren Truss was in Dubai to launch the seafood component of a $A1 ...
AUSTRALIAN DRUG FIRM MAYNE ACQUIRES GERMAN FIRM.
May 03, 2004 ... SYDNEY, May 3 Asia Pulse - Mayne Group Ltd (ASX:MAY), an Australian pharmaceutical operation, has acquired for 25 million euro ($US29.95 million) German pharmaceutical manufacturing business Wasserburger Arzneimittelwerk Dr Madaus GmbH. Mayne Group said today it had completed ...
KOREAN AUTO FIRMS CUT DOMESTIC SALES TARGETS.
May 03, 2004 ... SEOUL, May 3 Asia Pulse - South Korean carmakers are revising down their domestic sales targets for 2004 due to slumping consumption, industry sources said Sunday. At the start of the year, No. 1 Hyundai Motor and four other companies set a goal of selling 1.55 million units in ...
KOREA'S TRADE WITH CHILE JUMPS AFTER FREE TRADE PACT.
May 03, 2004 ... SEOUL, May 3 Asia Pulse - South Korea's trade with Chile has been rising fast since the implementation of a bilateral free trade agreement in April, officials said Sunday. South Korea's exports to Chile jumped 55.6 per cent on-year to US$26 million between April 1 and April 20, ...
S. KOREA'S APRIL EXPORTS HIT RECORD HIGH.
May 03, 2004 ... SEOUL, May 3 Asia Pulse - South Korea's exports in April jumped 38 per cent year-on-year to a record US$21.7 billion, extending the country's trade surplus for the 13th month in a row, new government figures show. The record exports generated a $2.9-billion trade surplus, the ...
TAIWAN SEMICONDUCTOR REPORTS 17PCT RISE IN NET INCOME.
May 03, 2004 ... (The full text of this statement can be found at www.asianetnews.net.) HSIN-CHU, April 30 Xinhua-PRNewswire-AsiaNet - The Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd. said today that it expects 2004 will set new records for revenue and net income. Revenues from ...
HUTCHISON WHAMPOA SET TO ORDER CELL PHONES FROM LG.
May 03, 2004 ... SEOUL, May 3 Asia Pulse - Hutchison Whampoa (HKSE:2528), Hong Kong's largest business group, is expected to buy about US$1 billion worth of mobile phones from LG Electronics Co. (KSE:066570), a senior government official said Sunday. Hutchison Whampoa chairman Li Ka-shing ...
STOCKS - AUSTRALIAN INDEX SLIPS AT OPEN - MAY 3, 2004.
May 03, 2004 ... MELBOURNE, May 3 Asia Pulse - The Australian sharemarket slipped into negative territory, reflecting the weaker performance on Wall Street last Friday. By 1015 AEST the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index was down by 18.4 points to 3382.4 and the all ordinaries index was 16.9 points to ...
CHUNGHWA TELECOM TAIWAN'S TOP PROFIT EARNER.
May 03, 2004 ... TAIPEI, May 3 Asia Pulse - The state-owned Chunghwa Telecom Co. was Taiwan's most lucrative company last year, earning NT$48.49 billion ($US1.45 billion) in net profits after tax, according to the results of a survey conducted by CommonWealth monthly magazine. The survey also ...
LONG-TERM OUTLOOK FOR TAIWAN BOURSE POSITIVE.
May 03, 2004 ... TAIPEI, May 3 Asia Pulse - The mid- and long-term outlook for Taiwan's stock market remains positive, despite the plunge in recent days which has sparked concerns among local investors, according to executives at foreign investment institutions. They forecast that the domestic ...
TAIWAN, JAPAN SIGN PACT TO INCREASE AIR TIES.
May 03, 2004 ... TAIPEI, May 3 Asia Pulse - Diplomatic authorities from Taiwan and Japan signed a pact Friday to increase the number of Japanese cities included in Taiwan-Japan bilateral weekly flight services, according to a report by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA). Under the new ...
STOCKS - KOREAN SHARES OPEN FIRMER - MAY 3, 2004.
May 03, 2004 ... SEOUL, May 3 Asia Pulse - The KOSPI opened at ...
STOCKS - KOREA'S KOSDAQ OPENS WEAKER - MAY 3, 2004.
May 03, 2004 ... SEOUL, May 3 Asia Pulse - The KOSDAQ opened at ...
KOREA MAKES LARGEST INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY PAYMENT.
May 03, 2004 ... SEOUL, May 3 Asia Pulse - South Korea paid over US$1 billion for the rights to use overseas intellectual properties in the first quarter this year, the highest figure ever on a quarterly basis, the Bank of Korea (BOK) said Monday. The total cost that South Korea incurred in the ...
FOREX - US DOLLAR BEGINS STRONGER VS KOREAN WON - MAY 3, 2004.
May 03, 2004 ... SEOUL, May 3 Asia Pulse - The US dollar opened at 1,175.00 ...
MONTHLY RISE IN S. KOREA'S CONSUMER PRICES HALTS IN APRIL.
May 03, 2004 ... SEOUL, May 3 Asia Pulse - Recent gains made in South Korea's consumer prices were halted at zero per cent in April compared to the month before as agricultural and public service charges declined, a government report said Monday. The National Statistical Office said that a drop ...
PYONGYANG UNLIKELY TO BE ADMITTED TO ADB SOON: BANK PRESIDENT.
May 03, 2004 ... MANILA, May 3 Asia Pulse - North Korea is unlikely to join the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for the time being due to opposition from the United States and Japan, the bank's top official said Sunday. "North Korea wants to join the ADB, but there is no consensus among member ...
OVERLAND TRANSPORT OF AID TO N. KOREA LIKELY THIS WEEK.
May 03, 2004 ... SEOUL, May 3 Asia Pulse - Construction equipment and building materials from South Korea for recuperation of the area affected by last week's train explosion in North Korea are likely to be sent by land this week, government officials said Sunday. The shipment will constitute ...
ADVISORY - PUBLIC HOLIDAYS IN JAPAN - MAY 3-5, 2004.
May 03, 2004 ... TOKYO, May 3 Asia Pulse - This is to advise subscribers that Japan's financial markets ...
KOREA'S DLP TO REQUEST HALT TO SALE OF DAEWOO HEAVY INDUSTRIES.
May 03, 2004 ... SEOUL, May 3 Asia Pulse - South Korea's progressive Democratic Labor Party (DLP) plans to request the government Monday to suspend the sale of Daewoo Heavy Industries & Machinery Co. (KSE:42670), sources said Sunday. The Korea Asset Management Corp. (KAMCO) is pushing to sell ...
MEXICO LUKEWARM ON POSSIBLE FTA WITH S. KOREA: MINISTER.
May 03, 2004 ... MEXICO CITY, May 3 Asia Pulse - A free trade agreement (FTA) between South Korea and Mexico is likely to be further delayed as the North American country has a lukewarm attitude toward Seoul's proposal on the bilateral pact, a visiting South Korean minister said. Trade Minister ...
KOREAN CARD FIRMS' DELINQUENCY RATE FALLS IN MARCH.
May 03, 2004 ... SEOUL, May 3 Asia Pulse - The delinquency rate at South Korea's seven credit card companies dropped nearly 3 per cent in March from the previous month thanks to their massive disposal of bad debts. The Financial Supervisory Service said Sunday that the rate of credit card bills ...
DIVIDEND PAYMENTS ON DRS BY KOREAN FIRMS JUMP 25% IN 2003.
May 03, 2004 ... SEOUL, May 3 Asia Pulse - South Korean companies' payments of dividends on their overseas depositary receipts (DRs) surged 25 per cent in 2003 compared to the previous year, a securities custodian said. Twenty-three domestic companies paid 590.6 billion won (US$511 million) in ...
N. KOREA, JAPAN MAY MEET BEFORE WORKING GROUP TALKS: REPORT.
May 03, 2004 ... TOKYO, May 3 Asia Pulse - The Japanese government plans to send a delegation to China soon for talks with North Korean officials over the communist state's abduction of Japanese citizens during the past few decades, a Japanese newspaper reported on Sunday. The delegation will be ...
'CHINA SHOCK' SENDS TOP 10 GROUPS' MARKET VALUE TUMBLING ON KSE.
May 03, 2004 ... SEOUL, May 3 Asia Pulse - Stock prices of South Korea's top 10 groups took a beating last week from worries over a rate hike in China. The Korea Stock Exchange (KSE) said the total stock market capitalization of Samsung Group and nine other large conglomerates came to 199.3 ...
ONLY 3 OUT OF 10 KOREAN FIRMS AIM TO HIRE IN MAY, JUNE: SURVEY.
May 03, 2004 ... SEOUL, May 3 Asia Pulse - Only three out of every 10 South Korean firms plan to increase their workforces in May and June, a survey showed Sunday. The results indicate that the country's job market remains mired in a slump due to the delayed recovery of the economy. ...
S. KOREA'S WAGE LEVEL HIGHER THAN RIVALS IN 2003.
May 03, 2004 ... SEOUL, May 3 Asia Pulse - South Korea's wage level was much higher than those of Hong Kong and Taiwan in 2003, but it lagged far behind advanced countries' pay levels, the Bank of Korea said Sunday. Citing data by the International Labor Organization, the central bank said the ...
KOREA'S SK CORP TO HOLD 1ST OVERSEAS IR SESSION OF THIS YR IN US.
May 03, 2004 ... SEOUL, May 3 Asia Pulse - SK Corp., South Korea's top refiner, said Sunday it will hold this year's first overseas investor relations session in the United States late this month. The road show will be held in New York and four other U.S. cities between May 24-29, said the ...
MAJOR KOREAN NONLIFE INSURERS SET TO UP CAR INSURANCE PREMIUMS.
May 03, 2004 ... SEOUL, May 3 Asia Pulse - South Korea's major nonlife insurers plan to raise auto insurance premiums next month in desperate efforts to boost profits, industry sources said Sunday. The expected rate hike will come six months after the property and casualty life industry made the ...
KOREAN NON-LIFE INSURERS PROFITS DROP 28% LAST YEAR.
May 03, 2004 ... SEOUL, May 3 Asia Pulse - Domestic non-life insurers saw their profits go down by an average of 28.2 per cent in fiscal 2003 ending in March this year, industry sources said Monday. South Korea's 11 property and casualty insurance firms reported net profits amounting to 305 ...
S. KOREAN SHIPBUILDERS INVEST HEAVILY IN NEW-CONCEPT VESSELS.
May 03, 2004 ... SEOUL, May 3 Asia Pulse - Shipbuilders in South Korea are investing aggressively in the development of high-value-added niche models as a means to cope with an increasingly crowded market for conventional ships, industry analysts said today. Buoyed by a record volume of orders ...
LG TELECOM LEADS GROWTH IN KOREA'S CELL-PHONE MARKET IN APRIL.
May 03, 2004 ... SEOUL, May 3 Asia Pulse - LG Telecom Ltd. (KOSDAQ:32640), South Korea's smallest mobile phone operator, gained market share from its biggest rival SK Telecom Co. (KSE:17670) in April as the number of mobile phone switchers increased, according to the companies Monday. Last ...
SAMSUNG EXPANDS CELL-PHONE PARTS SHIPMENTS TO NOKIA, MOTOROLA.
May 03, 2004 ... SEOUL, May 3 Asia Pulse - South Korea's technology giants Samsung Electronics (KSE:05930) and Samsung SDI (KSE:06400) are expanding their shipments of cell-phone components to Nokia and Motorola, the world's No. 1 and No. 2 handset makers, industry sources said today. Samsung ...
MALAYSIAN NEWSPAPER HIGHLIGHTS - MAY 3, 2004.
May 03, 2004 ... KUALA LUMPUR, May 3 Asia Pulse - Highlights of today's newspapers: THE STAR: - IOI Properties Bhd sees its long-term exposure in the robust Puchong property market to be a strong growth factor for the group in the next eight years, executive director Datuk Lee Yeow ...
BUSINESS WIRE ASIAN BRIEFING - APRIL 30, 2004.
May 03, 2004 ... A summary of Asian news releases for April 30, 2004, compiled by AsiaWire (http://www.asiawire.info), Asia Pacific Regional Reciprocal Office of Business Wire (http://www.businesswire.com), the global leader in news distribution. For full details of any release, please follow the links. ...
RESERVE BANK OF INDIA ISSUES GUIDELINES ON ACCOUNTING STANDARDS.
May 03, 2004 ... MUMBAI, May 3 Asia Pulse - The Reserve Bank of India has issued guidelines on accounting standards to be followed by banks for discontinuing operations and impaired assets. Merger or closure of branches of banks by transferring assets or liabilities to other branches of the same ...
AEROFLOT SELECTS SABRESONIC AS NEW GENERATION RESERVATION SOLUTION.
May 03, 2004 ... (Full text of statement. Contact details below.) SYDNEY, May 3 /MediaNet International-AsiaNet/ -- New advanced technology suite to propel state of travel in Russia Aeroflot Russian Airlines announced that it has signed a contract with Sabre Airline ...
INDIA'S MMTC BOOKS RECORD TURNOVER.
May 03, 2004 ... NEW DELHI, May 3 Asia Pulse - State-owned Minerals and Metals Trading Corporation (MMTC) has exceeded Rs 100 billion (US$2.2 billion) in fiscal-year turnover for the first time since its inception, booking an on-year growth rate of 47 per cent. The turnover, which includes the ...
CRANBERRIES SINGER WINS COURT CASE.
May 03, 2004 ... (Full text of statement. Contact details below.) DUBLIN, April 30 /PRNewswire-AsiaNet/ -- The Irish High Court awarded costs to the rock singer Dolores O'Riordan and husband Don Burton, in the failed lawsuit brought against the couple by former childminder Joy Fahy. ...
PEPSI-COLA AND FRITO-LAY RECEIVE SEC NOTIFICATION.
May 03, 2004 ... (Full text of statement. Contact details below.) PURCHASE, N.Y., April 30 /PRNewswire-AsiaNet/ -- PepsiCo announced today that its Pepsi-Cola and Frito-Lay divisions received notification from the staff of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that it is ...
NASDAQ COMMEMORATES CHINA'S INTERNATIONAL LABOR DAY.
May 03, 2004 ... (Full text of statement. Contact details below.) NEW YORK, April 30 /PRNewswire-AsiaNet/ -- What: NASDAQ will feature its Chinese listed companies on the MarketSite Tower in Times Square throughout Saturday, May 1, 2004 to commemorate International Labor Day. This ...
NASDAQ COMMEMORATES JAPAN'S CONSTITUTION MEMORIAL DAY.
May 03, 2004 ... (Full text of statement. Contact details below.) NEW YORK, April 30 /PR Newswire-AsiaNet/ -- What: NASDAQ will feature most of its Japanese listed companies on the MarketSite Tower in Times Square throughout Monday, May 3, 2004 to commemorate Constitution Memorial ...
DAEWOO CONSTRUCTION'S FIRST-QUARTER SALES TOP US$900 MLN.
May 03, 2004 ... SEOUL, May 3 Asia Pulse - Daewoo Engineering & Construction Co. (KSE:47040), South Korea's second-largest builder by capacity, said Monday it had 1.03 trillion won (US$900 million) in first-quarter sales because of highly profitable orders it secured. The figure is up 16.3 per ...
THAI NEWSPAPER HIGHLIGHTS - MAY 3, 2004.
May 03, 2004 ... BANGKOK, May 3 Asia Pulse - Highlights of today's newspapers: THE BANGKOK POST: - Lying to get a job is more common than most people think. A recent survey by Reader's Digest of Asians' honesty showed that more than 40 per cent of Thais in the sample admitted they ...
STOCKS - SINGAPORE SHARES DOWN IN EARLY TRADE - MAY 3, 2004.
May 03, 2004 ... SINGAPORE, May 3 Asia Pulse - Singapore shares were lower in early trade, with the ...
US SEEKS TO DOWNPLAY OUTSOURCING.
May 03, 2004 ... NEW DELHI, May 3 Asia Pulse - The US on Friday sought to downplay the controversy regarding outsourcing and, with the US Presidential election results are unlikely to stop the flow of jobs to India and other developing countries where labour was cheaper. "Ourtsourcing is the ...
DAIMLERCHRYSLER PUTS OFF DECISION ON BREAKUP WITH HYUNDAI.
May 03, 2004 ... SEOUL, May 3 Asia Pulse - DaimlerChrysler's announcement of its breakup with Hyundai Motor Co. (KSE:05380), slated for Monday, has been postponed to next week, Hyundai officials said Monday. "DaimlerChrysler has delivered its decision to put off its board meeting, citing ...
FANNIE MAE REDEMPTION.
May 03, 2004 ... (Full text of statement. Contact details below.) WASHINGTON, D.C., April 30 /PRNewswire-AsiaNet/ -- Fannie Mae (NYSE: FNM) will redeem the principal amount indicated of the following securities issues on the redemption date indicated below at a redemption price equal ...
STOCKS - MALAYSIAN SHARES DOWN IN EARLY TRADE - MAY 3, 2004.
May 03, 2004 ... KUALA LUMPUR, May 3 Asia Pulse - The Malaysian sharemarket was down 1.35 per cent in early trade due to profit taking. At 10:30 a.m., the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange Composite Index fell 11.51 points at 838.21. The broader Emas Index ...
WB UN PROCUREMENT - INDIA, WATER SECTOR.
May 03, 2004 ... *** Asia Pulse Tender *** WORLD BANK UNITED NATIONS DEVELOPMENT BUSINESS SERVICE PROCUREMENTS - APRIL 2004 Country: India Project: MADHYA PRADESH WATER SECTOR RESTRUCTURING PROJECT Financing: World Bank Abstract: ...
INTERNATIONAL BROADBAND INTERNET CONFERENCE OPENS IN SEOUL.
May 03, 2004 ... SEOUL, May 3 Asia Pulse - More than 1,200 industry representatives and technology experts from 65 countries gathered in the South Korean capital to share their views on the technical development of broadband Internet, the event's official sponsor, KT Corp., said on Monday. ...
PHILIPPINE NEWSPAPER HIGHLIGHTS - MAY 3, 2004.
May 03, 2004 ... MANILA, May 3 Asia Pulse - Highlights of today's newspapers: MANILA TIMES: - After offering banks the carrot, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas is mulling the use of a soft stick to compel lenders to bring down the level of their non-performing loans. Monetary ...
ECONOMIC POLICY WON'T CHANGE VIS-A-VIS CHINA: KOREAN MINISTER.
May 03, 2004 ... SEOUL, May 3 Asia Pulse - The Chinese economy is expected to grow by 8 per cent, with domestic demand likely to remain robust, Finance and Economy Minister Lee Hun-jai said today. Speaking to reporters at the Gwacheon Government Complex, Lee said measures by China to cool down ...
ADVISORY - PLSE IGNORE MALAYSIAN STOCK REPORT - KLSE CLOSED MAY 3, MAY 4 2004.
May 03, 2004 ... (May 3, 2004). It was transmitted in error. The Malaysian sharemarket is closed today (May 3, 2004) and tomorrow ...
TAIWANESE ECONOMIC PLANNER WANTS NEW FREE TRADE ZONE RULES.
May 03, 2004 ... TAIPEI, May 3 Asia Pulse - A top economic planner on Thursday urged the speedy revision of the regulations governing the management of the planned free trade harbor zone, saying that it will help upgrade its competitive edge. Ho Mei-yueh, vice chairman of the Council for ...
S KOREAN GOVT TO OFFER TAX BREAKS TO FIRMS RETAINING WORKERS.
May 03, 2004 ... SEOUL, May 3 Asia Pulse - The government will offer tax breaks in the form of deductions for companies that opt for job sharing instead of laying off excess workers, the Ministry of Finance and Economy said Monday. The ministry's Tax and Customs Office said it will forward a ...
S. KOREAN ASSET TRUST MANAGEMENT TO INCLUDE PATENTS, COPYRIGHTS.
May 03, 2004 ... SEOUL, May 3 Asia Pulse - The government will expand the scope of the current asset trust management system to include patents and copyrights, the Ministry of Finance and Economy said today. The measures, to be included in a pre-announcement of legislation on Tuesday, allow ...
CITIGROUP ACQUIRES KORAM BANK.
May 03, 2004 ... SEOUL, May 3 Asia Pulse - Citigroup, the world's biggest financial service company, said Friday it has succeeded in its bid to take over KorAm Bank (KSE:016830), South Korea's seventh-largest lender. The U.S. financial giant secured 97.5 per cent of the Korean bank, including a ...