AsiaPulse News back issues from July 2006:
STOCKS - MALAYSIAN STOCKS HIGHER IN EARLY TRADE - JULY 3, 2006.
Jul 03, 2006 ... KUALA LUMPUR, July 3 Asia Pulse - The Malaysian sharemarket was up 0.32 per cent in early trade, with the Kuala Lumpur ...
ARCHER CAPITAL BUYS AUSTRALIA'S 2ND LARGEST BISCUIT MAKER.
Jul 03, 2006 ... SYDNEY, July 3 Asia Pulse - Australia's second largest biscuit producer, Paradise Food Industries, has been acquired by Sydney-based private equity investment firm Archer Capital for an undisclosed sum. The Brisbane-based biscuit supplier said the acquisition, finalised on June ...
STOCKS - SINGAPORE STOCKS UP IN EARLY TRADE - JULY 3, 2006.
Jul 03, 2006 ... SINGAPORE, July 3 Asia Pulse - Singapore shares were higher in early trade, with the Straits ...
AMCOR TO BUY K LASER CHINA FOR ABOUT US$10 MLN.
Jul 03, 2006 ... MELBOURNE, July 3 Asia Pulse - Global packaging maker Amcor Ltd (ASX:AMC) has agreed to acquire a 16.67 per cent cornerstone stake in K Laser China for about $US10 million ($A13.49 million). Amcor has options to lift its shareholding in K Laser China to 50.1 per cent in two ...
AFGHANISTAN'S FOREIGN MINISTER TO LEAVE FOR U.S.
Jul 03, 2006 ... KABUL, July 3 Asia Pulse - Afghanistan's Foreign Minister Dr Rangin Dadfar Spanta will leave for an official visit to the United States on Monday. Spokesman for the Foreign Ministry Sultan Ahmad Bahin said the minister would meet Vice President Dick Cheney and Secretary of State ...
MALAYSIAN NEWSPAPER HIGHLIGHTS - JULY 3, 2006.
Jul 03, 2006 ... KUALA LUMPUR, July 3 Asia Pulse - Highlights of today's newspapers: BUSINESS TIMES: - The Securities Commission (SC) may penalise Affin Merchant Bank Bhd for arranging a deal that had false information, sources familiar with the situation said. - LCL Corp ...
JAPANESE NEWSPAPER HIGHLIGHTS - JULY 3, 2006.
Jul 03, 2006 ... TOKYO, July 3 Asia Pulse - Highlights of today's newspapers: NIKKEI NET: - Business confidence among large Japanese manufacturers marginally improved in the three months through June, reflecting a steady recovery in the domestic economy, the Bank of Japan said in its ...
FOREX - RINGGIT OPENS STRONGER AGAINST US DOLLAR - JULY 3, 2006.
Jul 03, 2006 ... KUALA LUMPUR, July 3 Asia Pulse - The ringgit opened at 3.6620/6670 against the US dollar on ...
THAI FINANCE MINISTRY EXPECTS GOVT REVENUE TO HIT FY2006 TARGET.
Jul 03, 2006 ... BANGKOK, July 3 Asia Pulse - Thailand's Ministry of Finance's Fiscal Policy Office (FPO) projects that the government's total revenue for the 2006 fiscal year will reach 1.36 trillion baht as targeted, while total spending is 1.26 billion baht (US$35.7 billion) or 93 per cent of the ...
INDONESIAN NEWSPAPER HIGHLIGHTS - JULY 3, 2006.
Jul 03, 2006 ... JAKARTA, July 3 Asia Pulse - Highlights from today's newspapers: BISNIS INDONESIA - Dubai Ports World of the United Arab Emirates and the International Container Terminal Services Inc (ICTI) of the Philippines are reportedly competing to win an Indonesia's seaport ...
PHILIPPINE NEWSPAPER HIGHLIGHTS - JULY 3, 2006.
Jul 03, 2006 ... MANILA, July 3 Asia Pulse - Highlights of today's newspapers: MANILA TIMES: - The Philippines, through state-run Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (Psalm) is set to draw on the performance bond posted by YNN Pacific Consortium Inc. after the winning ...
STOCKS - SEOUL SHARES SLIP IN MORNING TRADE - JULY 3, 2006.
Jul 03, 2006 ... SEOUL, July 3 Asia Pulse - South Korean stocks traded lower Monday morning as investor sentiment shrank on overnight losses in U.S. stocks after last week's surges. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 3.34 points, or 0.26 per cent, to 1,291.81 as of ...
VIETNAMESE NEWSPAPER HIGHLIGHTS - JULY 3, 2006.
Jul 03, 2006 ... HANOI, July 3 Asia Pulse - Following are highlights of Vietnam's major newspapers today: NHAN DAN: - Vietnam's Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung recently approved funding of US$625,000 for a project to build houses for poor Khmer ethnic minority groups in the southern ...
VIETNAM'S INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION RISES 16% IN FIRST HALF.
Jul 03, 2006 ... HANOI, July 3 Asia Pulse - Vietnam's industrial production value reached US$15.6 billion in the first half of this year, up by 16.1 per cent over the corresponding period last year, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO). The foreign-direct investment (FDI) sector ...
HONG KONG NEWSPAPER HIGHLIGHTS - JULY 3, 2006.
Jul 03, 2006 ... HONG KONG, July 3 Asia Pulse - Highlights of today's newspapers: SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST: - Hong Kong's opinion leaders and decision-makers want the proposed covert surveillance law to provide more protection against snoopers, an SCMP/TNS poll has found. ...
VIETNAM DEVELOPS STRATEGY TO DRAW MORE FDI.
Jul 03, 2006 ... HANOI, July 3 Asia Pulse - Vietnamese authorities have collected opinions for a government decision to be issued in early July on measures to attract new sources of foreign direct investment (FDI). These measures target foreign investors, especially multinational companies from ...
VIETNAM'S INDUSTRY STRIVING TO BOOST EXPORTS.
Jul 03, 2006 ... HANOI, July 3 Asia Pulse - Vietnam's industry sector is striving to boost annual export turnover to US$50 billion by 2010, representing up to 80 per cent of the country's total projected export earnings, said Le Van Duoc, director of the Ministry of Industry's Planning Department. ...
S. KOREA SUBJECTS 1,133 FIRMS TO EQUITY INVESTMENT LIMITS.
Jul 03, 2006 ... SEOUL, July 3 Asia Pulse - South Korea's antitrust watchdog said Monday it has added five affiliates of the nation's 59 largest conglomerates to a list of companies subject to limits on mutual investment and loan guarantees. As of the end of June, 1,133 subsidiaries of the ...
JAPAN'S KDDI, VIETNAM FIRM TIE UP FOR INTERNET TELEPHONY SERVICE.
Jul 03, 2006 ... HANOI, July 3 Asia Pulse - The Vietnam Data Communications Company (VDC) and Japan's KDDI Corporation announced they would join hands to establish an Internet Telephony Virtual Private Network service beginning in August. Under the contract signed in Hanoi on June 28, VDC and ...
SOUTH KOREA'S STX GROUP PLANS LARGE SHIPYARD IN VIETNAM.
Jul 03, 2006 ... HANOI, July 3 Asia Pulse - South Korea's STX Group (KSE:011810) has confirmed that it is in negotiations with the Vietnamese Government to build a large-scale shipyard. According to the shipping industry magazine Trade Winds, STX Group is in talks with officials of the local ...
JAPAN'S YAMAZAKI BAKING TO BUY STAKE IN TOHATO FROM UNISON, MARUBENI.
Jul 03, 2006 ... TOKYO, July 3 Asia Pulse - Yamazaki Baking Co. (TSE:2212) plans to buy a 53.1 per cent stake in confectionary maker Tohato Inc. from investment fund Unison Capital Inc. and an additional 9.2 per cent from Marubeni Corp. (TSE:8002), it has been learned. With demand in the ...
MOST JAPAN FIRMS TO REHIRE RETIRING WORKERS TO OBEY NEW LAW: SURVEY.
Jul 03, 2006 ... TOKYO, July 3 Asia Pulse - Some 93.6 per cent of firms are opting to rehire older employee s after they retire at an average 50 per cent of their previous pay in response to a law that came into force in April that requires companies to offer employment opportunities to their workers until ...
BOJ MONEY MARKET SURVEY SEEN AS PREP FOR ENDING ZERO RATE POLICY.
Jul 03, 2006 ... TOKYO, Juny 3 Asia Pulse - The Bank of Japan (BOJ) has surveyed more than 140 companies, including banks and securities firms, to determine the extent to which the function of the short-term money market has been restored since the central bank ended its quantitative easy monetary policy ...
JAPAN POST TO OFFER NET, PHONE TRADING OF INVESTMENT TRUSTS.
Jul 03, 2006 ... TOKYO, July 3 Asia Pulse - Japan Post has decided to begin offering trading of investment trusts over the telephone in January, 2007, and Internet trading in May of that year, The Nihon Keizai Shimbun learned Sunday. To trade investment trusts over the Net or phone, customers ...
SOUTH KOREAN ONLINE GAME PROVIDERS SEEK VIETNAMESE PARTNERS.
Jul 03, 2006 ... HANOI, July 3 Asia Pulse - Ten South Korean online game providers on June 29 met with leaders from 16 Vietnamese software companies to explore new business opportunities in Vietnam. The Korean representatives met with their Vietnamese counterparts in Hanoi, and pitched a variety ...
TOYOTA TO SET UP THAI UNIT TO SUPERVISE ASIAN PRODUCTION.
Jul 03, 2006 ... NAGOYA, July 3 Asia Pulse - Toyota Motor Corp. (TSE:7203) plans to set up a company in Thailand this month to supervise production in Asia outside Japan and handle such matters as parts procurement and the introduction of new production technologies, The Nihon Keizai Shimbun learned ...
GORDON BROTHERS TO HELP JAPAN FIRMS GET INVENTORY-BACKED LOANS.
Jul 03, 2006 ... TOKYO, July 3 Asia Pulse - Gordon Brothers Group LLC, the world's largest appraiser and broker of corporate assets like inventory and machinery, will soon start operations in Japan through a Tokyo-based subsidiary to be established jointly with an investment fund affiliated with the ...
YOSHINOYA TO EXPAND SALES OF GRILLED-EEL BOWLS.
Jul 03, 2006 ... TOKYO, July 3 Asia Pulse - Japan's Yoshinoya D&C Co. (TSE:9861), which has been serving grilled-eel bowls known as unagi-don on a trial basis at some stores, will expand the offering to all 1,000 or so stores as early as next year because of an expected shortage in U.S. beef after it is ...
UNDP HAILS VIETNAM'S TRADE, HUMAN DEVELOPMENT.
Jul 03, 2006 ... HANOI, July 3 Asia Pulse - The United Nations released the 2006 Asia-Pacific Human Development report praising Vietnam's efforts in linking economic growth with human development. The report, entitled 'Trade on Human Terms - Transforming Trade for Human Development in Asia and ...
IBM JAPAN TO CUT COSTS BY MOVING SOME OUTSOURCING OPS TO CHINA.
Jul 03, 2006 ... TOKYO, July 3 Asia Pulse - IBM Japan Ltd. will move 30 per cent of domestic outsourcing operations to China over the next two years, a step designed to reduce the cost of providing this service by 20 per cent. It will locally hire about 100 system administrators who can speak ...
STOCKS - HONG KONG SHARES OPEN HIGHER - JULY 3, 2006.
Jul 03, 2006 ... HONG KONG, July 3 Asia Pulse - Hong Kong shares began 0.13 per cent higher Monday, with the ...
JAPAN TO BUILD E-MEDICAL SYSTEM FOR INFO SHARING BY HOSPITALS.
Jul 03, 2006 ... TOKYO, July 3 Asia Pulse - The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry plans to build a computer system that will enable hospitals nationwide to share patient information, it was learned Saturday. The ministry will collect data on the "electronic medical chart" system through ...
JAPAN STORE PRICES OF FLAT-PANEL TVS CONTINUE TO DIP.
Jul 03, 2006 ... TOKYO, July 3 Asia Pulse - Prices of flat-panel television sets continue to plummet, falling below 5,000 yen (US$43.60) per screen inch as of this week, with volume discounters selling major brands' 32-inch LCD TVs for around 150,000 yen. At the large Tokyo outlets of Yamada ...
BOJ'S FUKUI HOLDS US$120,000 IN FOREIGN-CURRENCY TIME DEPOSITS.
Jul 03, 2006 ... TOKYO, July 3 Asia Pulse - Bank of Japan Governor Toshihiko Fukui holds US$120,000 in foreign-currency time deposits, according to a disclosure made Thursday. The central bank on Tuesday released information on the governor's financial assets, but had not itemized deposit and ...
INSURANCE AUSTRALIA GROUP CHINA BID PROCEEDS TO NEXT STAGE.
Jul 03, 2006 ... SYDNEY, July 3 Asia Pulse - Insurance Australia Group Ltd (IAG) says its bid to buy a 24.9 per cent stake in China's second largest insurer has progressed to the regulatory review stage. Under a memorandum of understanding signed with China Pacific Property Insurance (CPPI) in ...
PHOTON IMEGA TO ACQUIRE ONLINE MARKETING GROUP.
Jul 03, 2006 ... SYDNEY, July 3 Asia Pulse - Marketing services company Photon Group Ltd (ASX:PGA) will acquire online performance-based marketing group iMega for a total consideration $A8 million ($US5.93 million). The acquisition of iMega is expected to be boost Photon's earnings per share, ...
M&AS BY JAPAN FIRMS HIT RECORD HIGHS IN NUMBER, VALUE IN JAN-JUNE.
Jul 03, 2006 ... TOKYO, July 3 Asia Pulse - Mergers and acquisitions by Japanese companies are growing, reaching all-time highs both in number and value in the January-June period, according to M&A broker Recof Corp. The number of deals jumped 10 per cent on the year to 1,409, while their total ...
RENAULT-NISSAN ALLIANCE, GM MAY HOLD CAPITAL TIE-UP TALKS.
Jul 03, 2006 ... TOKYO, July 3 Asia Pulse - The alliance of Nissan Motor Co. (TSE:7201) and Renault SA is likely to enter capital tie-up negotiations with General Motors Corp. after a major shareholder in the U.S. carmaker urged the firm to accept investment from the Franco-Japanese auto group. ...
PNG LANDOWNERS THREATEN TO SHUT DOWN ENERGY PROJECTS.
Jul 03, 2006 ... PORT MORESBY, July 3 Asia Pulse - Landowners in a PNG province set to supply gas to Australia are threatening to shut down energy projects unless the national ombudsman drops allegations that their governor stole public money. Southern Highlands landowners warned they would ...
VIETNAM DEVELOPS NEW FOREIGN DEBT STRATEGY.
Jul 03, 2006 ... HANOI, July 3 Asia Pulse - Vietnam's former Prime Minister Phan Van Khai, along with relevant ministries and the central bank, have developed a comprehensive five-year national foreign debt strategy. Under the plan, which was announced last week, the Ministry of Finance - in ...
JAL TO TEAM WITH JTB IN TRAVEL OPS TO WIN BACK PASSENGERS.
Jul 03, 2006 ... TOKYO, July 3 Asia Pulse - Japan Airlines Corp. (TSE:9205) plans to partner with major travel agency JTB Corp. in an effort to win back passengers, The Nihon Keizai Shimbun learned Friday. The companies will jointly develop vacation packages that make use of the airline's ...
PERTAMINA READY TO DEVELOP BIOFUEL ENERGY: MINISTER.
Jul 03, 2006 ... Magelang, C Java, July 3 Asia Pulse - Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro said state-owned oil company Pertamina is ready to develop biofuel energy from downstream to the marketing level. "Pertamina is prepared to develop bio-energy from downstream to ...
JAPANESE TAX REVENUE HIGHER IN FISCAL 2005.
Jul 03, 2006 ... TOKYO, July 3 Asia Pulse - With robust corporate earnings helping to bolster household budgets and personal spending, the government's overall tax revenue reached 49.06 trillion yen ($US428.1 billion) in fiscal 2005, up 3.5 trillion yen from fiscal 2004 and about 5 trillion yen more than ...
SINGAPORE OPENS CONSULATE-GENERAL IN CHINA'S GUANGZHOU.
Jul 03, 2006 ... GUANGZHOU, July 3 Asia Pulse - Singapore will today begin providing consular services at its new Consulate-General in Guangzhou, the capital city of China's Guangdong Province. The Consulate-General, located in the CITIC Plaza Office Tower in Tianhe District, will provide ...
TOSHIBA GROUP AIMS TO EXPAND BUSINESS IN CHINA.
Jul 03, 2006 ... GUANGZHOU, July 3 Asia Pulse - Japanese electric appliance giant Toshiba Group has projected to expand the scale of its business in China to some 68 billion yuan this year. A senior official of Toshiba said that of the overseas markets of Toshiba, China is now the second largest ...
CALL FOR BIO-ENERGY TO ACTIVATE ECONOMY IN INDONESIA.
Jul 03, 2006 ... MAGELANG, Central Java, July 3 Asia Pulse - President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said the development of bio-energy or bio-diesel as an alternative to fossil fuel could activate the local economy and boost the development of small and medium businesses, as well as cooperatives. ...
CNOOC EYES 156% RISE IN OIL/GAS SUPPLY BY 2010.
Jul 03, 2006 ... QINGDAO, July 3 Asia Pulse - CNOOC Ltd. (SEHK:0883), China's third largest oil company, plans to form annual oil and gas supply capacity of 100 million tons of oil equivalent by 2010. The goal marks a 156 per cent rise over the company's current production of 39 million tons of ...
INDONESIA PLANS TO IMPLEMENT BIO-ENERGY PROGRAM IN 2007.
Jul 03, 2006 ... MAGELANG, C Java, July 3 Asia Pulse - President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has said that the bio-energy program in Indonesia will be implemented starting in 2007. "We will continue with the preparations and planning in 2006, and implement (the program) in 2007," the President said ...
HUTCHISON BUYS 5.1% STAKE IN INDIAN CELLULAR JV.
Jul 03, 2006 ... NEW DELHI, July 3 Asia Pulse - Hutchison Telecommunication (India) has acquired the entire 5.11 per cent stake held by Hinduja TMT in the unlisted Indian cellular joint venture with the Essar group for an all-cash deal of US$450 million (Rs 20250 million). Hutchison ...
CHINA ADOPTS DIFFERENTIAL PRICING ON HIGH ENERGY INDUSTRIES.
Jul 03, 2006 ... BEIJING, July 3 Asia Pulse - China will continue to adopt the differential pricing policy on high energy consumption industries in order to check their blind expansion and promote structural adjustment and industrial upgrading. According to an official with the National ...
CHINA TO ELIMINATE 100 MLN TON OUTDATED IRON SMELTING CAPACITY.
Jul 03, 2006 ... BEIJING, July 3 Asia Pulse - China will eliminate about 100 million tons of outdated iron smelting capacity in its 11th Five-Year Program period (2006-2010), and about 55 million tons of outdate steel smelting capacity before 2007, according to the National Development and Reform ...
THAI SMES TO BE GIVEN COMPETITIVENESS BOOST.
Jul 03, 2006 ... BANGKOK, July 3 Asia Pulse - Thai Deputy Prime Minister and Commerce Minister Somkid Jatusripitak on Sunday revealed that the Joint Public-Private Consultative Committee would attempt to give small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) support in preparation for stiff competition on the ...
IRAN, THAILAND TO SIGN AGREEMENT ON LNG EXPORTS.
Jul 03, 2006 ... TEHRAN, July 3 Asia Pulse - Iran and Thailand are to sign a deal here on Saturday, based on which Tehran will provide Bangkok with LNG, said an Oil Ministry official here on Saturday. The Deputy Oil Minister for International and Caspian Sea Affairs Mohammad-Hadi ...
SHANGHAI-LISTED COMPANIES TO SOON RELEASE HALF-YEAR REPORTS.
Jul 03, 2006 ... SHANGHAI, July 3 Asia Pulse - The first batch of performance reports for the first half of 2006 for companies listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE) are expected to be released on July 12. Companies expected to release reports in the first batch include G Wuhan Humanwell ...
IRAN, AFHGANISTAN TO SIGN MOU ON TELECOMS.
Jul 03, 2006 ... TEHRAN, July 3 Asia Pulse - Afghan Deputy Minister of Communications Beryani Hessam and managing director of Afghan Telecom will visit Tehran in the near future to sign a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in the telecommunications sector. An official from Iran's ...
SAMSUNG LAUNCHES SERIES OF PRINTERS, LCD DISPLAYS IN VIETNAM.
Jul 03, 2006 ... HANOI, July 3 Asia Pulse - South Korea-based electronics giant Samsung said it had launched a series of its latest printers and LCD displays in Vietnam to target the country's booming business sector. Samsung Vietnam general director Sang Youl Eom said that rising consumer ...
PT KIRIN MIWON FOOD TO BUILD SEASONING FACTORY IN LAMPUNG.
Jul 03, 2006 ... BANDAR LAMPUNG, July 3 Asia Pulse - PT Kirin Miwon Food (KMF) will build a US$80 million factory to produce nucleutide seasoning in East Lampung for which a ground-breaking ceremony will take place on July 5, a local official said. Sutarja, spokesman for the Lampung provincial ...
BANK OF BEIJING'S CAPITAL ADEQUACY RATE REACHES 10.83 PCT.
Jul 03, 2006 ... BEIJING, July 3 Asia Pulse - Bank of Beijing, a city commercial bank in the Chinese capital, reported better performance last year, according to the 2005 annual report issued by the bank recently. According to the report, by the end of 2005, the bank's non-performing loans stood ...
WENZHOU CITY COMMERCIAL BANK APPLIES FOR TRANS-REGIONAL OPS.
Jul 03, 2006 ... HANGZHOU, July 3 Asia Pulse - Wenzhou City Commercial Bank, which has just completed its second round of capital expansion, has recently filed an application for trans-regional operations to the Zhejiang provincial banking industry watchdog, disclosed an official in charge of the bank. ...
INDONESIA'S INDAH KIAT, TJIWI KIMIA SPEND US$324 MLN ON DEBT.
Jul 03, 2006 ... JAKARTA, July 3 Asia Pulse - PT Indah Kiat Pulp & Paper Tbk and PT Tjiwi Kimia Tbk have spent US$324 million on debt servicing, Indah Kiat Director Yan Partawidjaja disclosed over the weekend. The debt payments covered the period from April 28, 2005 to April 28, 2006, under the ...
CHINESE NEWSPAPER HIGHLIGHTS - JULY 3, 2006.
Jul 03, 2006 ... BEIJING, July 3 Asia Pulse - Highlights of today's newspapers: PEOPLE'S DAILY: - Chinese President Hu Jintao has urged local officials to get hold of the opportunities brought by the Qinghai-Tibet Railway to bolster the prosperity and ethnic unity in the country's ...
CALL FOR EUROPE TO COMPROMISE ON FARM POLICY.
Jul 03, 2006 ... CANBERRA, July 3 Asia Pulse - Europe's failure to compromise on protectionist farm policy is the biggest threat to faltering world trade talks, Prime Minister John Howard says. World Trade Organisation (WTO) talks are on the brink of collapse, with ministers including ...
MULTIPLEX ANNOUNCES FURTHER POSSIBLE DELAYS TO WEMBLEY PROJECT.
Jul 03, 2006 ... SYDNEY, July 3 Asia Pulse - Australian construction group Multiplex Ltd (ASX:MXG) today announced further possible delays to the expected completion date of the already behind schedule Wembley Stadium project in London. Multiplex said while substantial completion of the site was ...
CHINESE GOV'T TO SUPPORT DIMETHYL ETHER SUBSTITUTING GASOLINE.
Jul 03, 2006 ... SHANGHAI, July 3 Asia Pulse - China's National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) is making measures to support the utilization of dimethyl ether as vehicle fuel to ease tight supply of gasoline and diesel. NDRC recently held a meeting and discussed the development of ...
KADIN URGES MORE ATTENTION FOR INVESTORS OPERATING IN INDONESIA.
Jul 03, 2006 ... JAKARTA, July 3 Asia Pulse - The Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) called on the government here on Sunday to give more attention to local and foreign investors who are already doing business in Indonesia. "Amidst its efforts to attract new investors, the ...