Xinhua News Agency back issues from Tuesday, March 3:
11 Banks to Fund Trade Financing in Thailand
Mar 03, 1998 ... The Asia Development Bank (ADB) and 10 international banks haveagreed to lend Thailand 1 billion US dollars to fund trade financingfor local importers, a source at the Bank of Thailand said Tuesday. The Thai Finance Ministry and the banks were expected to sign anagreement to this ...
At Least 20 Killed in Traffic Accident in Vietnam
Mar 03, 1998 ... At least 20 passengers were killed and 20 others injured onSundaywhen a bus plunged into the deep water of a lake in Vietnam'scentralcoast province of Binh Dinh, said reports reaching here Tuesday. The accident was described by the reports as one of Vietnam'sworst traffic ...
Backgrounder:
Mar 03, 1998 ... The multi-party cooperation and political consultation systemunder the leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC) is one ofChina's basic political systems. China is a multi-party country. Except the CPC, China's rulingparty, the country has eight non-Communist parties. They ...
Bangladesh's Opposition to Return to Parliament
Mar 03, 1998 ... The six-month long boycott of Parliament by the main opposition,the Bangladesh National Party (BNP), will end by March 8, followingan agreement signed between the ruling Awami (people's) League andthe BNP late Monday night. The BNP lawmakers had continued to abstain from ...
Bank to Bolster China's Aerospace Industry
Mar 03, 1998 ... The Export and Import Bank of China (Eximbank) has signed apackage of agreements to provide up to four billion yuan in exportseller's credits within three years to the China Great Wall IndustryCorp (CGWIC), according to today's China Daily. The CGWIC can use the funds to engage in ...
China Coming In First In Economic Growth
Mar 03, 1998 ... China scored average annual economic growth of 11 percent from1993 to 1997, or 7.3 percentage points above the world's annualaverage for the same period, according to today's "People's Daily". The paper reported on China's social and economic achievement forthe past year and said ...
China's Automotive Production Rises
Mar 03, 1998 ... The latest statistics from State Statistical Bureau show thatChina built 1.5 million motor vehicles during the January-Novemberperiod in 1997, up 6.8 ...
China's consumer Prices Rise Slightly
Mar 03, 1998 ... China's consumer price index stood at 99.3 last November, takingthe price index for the same period in 1996 as 100, according to thelatest statistics ...
China's Household Machines Production Increases
Mar 03, 1998 ... The latest statistics from the State Statistics Bureau show thatChina's household electric appliance production increased in thefirst eleven months in 1997. Production of color television sets hit ...
China's Investment In Raw Material Industry Decreases
Mar 03, 1998 ... China's investment in raw material industry stood at 86.6 billionyuan during the first eleven months in 1997, down 18.7 percent fromthe same period in 1996, according to the lastest statistics fromtheState Statistics Bureau. The ...
China's Investment in Service Sector UP
Mar 03, 1998 ... China invested a total of 677.6 billion yuan in the servicesectorin the first eleven months in 1997, up 13 percent on an annualbasis,according to the State Statistical Bureau. The investment in transportation, postal and telecommunicationsservices ...
China's Metal Output Up
Mar 03, 1998 ... China turned out 105.6 million tons of pig iron in the firsteleven months in 1997, up 1.3 percent over the same period of 1996,according to the lastest statistics ...
China's NPC Active in Diplomatic Exchanges
Mar 03, 1998 ... The Eighth National People's Congress (NPC) has actively expandedfriendly exchanges with foreign parliaments since its establishmentfive years ago. According to Cheng Xiangqing, director of research in the GeneralOffice under the NPC Standing Committee, the NPC ...
China's Passenger Traffic Volume Up
Mar 03, 1998 ... China's passenger traffic volume increased to 4.5 billion personsduring the first eleven months in 1997, up two percent on an annualbasis, according to the latest statistics from the State StatisticsBureau. The ...
China's Poorest Region to Shake Off Poverty Soon
Mar 03, 1998 ... Xihaigu, one of China's poorest regions in the northwesternNingxia Hui Autonomous Region, is expected to shake off povertybefore the end of this century, a local official said here today. Home to a large number of Chinese Moslems, Ningxia is one of themost underdeveloped regions in ...
China's Rural Purchasing Power to Expand Faster This Year
Mar 03, 1998 ... China's vast rural market is likely to grow faster than the urbanmarket this year, the results of a nationwide survey among farmersindicated. The rural markets will further reveal their vitality andpotentialthis year by growing about 10 percent over last year's 1.04 ...
China's Transport Business Volume Up
Mar 03, 1998 ... The latest statistics from the State Statistics Bureau show thatthe cargo handled at principal seaports reached 786 million tons inthe first eleven ...
Counting of Votes Continues in India
Mar 03, 1998 ... Counting of ballot papers, which started Monday in 535constituencies, continues in India Tuesday. According to Election Commission sources, 224 out of 535 seatswere declared at 7:00 a.m. (local time) Tuesday. The Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the two ...
East China Province Encouraging Technology Trade
Mar 03, 1998 ... China's Shandong Province plans to increase technology trade withforeign countries in the coming years, according to local officials. Currently, Shandong's foreign trade is worth 20 billion USdollarsannually, but technology exports account for only one percent ofthat. Under ...
East China Province Wants Bigger Share of World Market
Mar 03, 1998 ... Shandong Province in east China has worked out a detailed programto gain a bigger share of the world market, according to aprovincialgovernment official in charge of foreign trade and economy. The program is also aimed to keep the effects of the Asianfinancial crisis in the local ...
Factory Owners Given Deadline to Sack Illegal Workers
Mar 03, 1998 ... Factory owners of nine sectors are given 45 days from March 15 tolay off illegal foreign workers as part of the country's efforts tosolve the soaring unemployment problem, the English Bangkok Postnewspaper said Tuesday. The newspaper quoted Labor Minister Trairong Suwannakhiri ...
Gansu Province to Launch 1998 Trade Fair
Mar 03, 1998 ... Northwest China's Gansu Province will host the 1998 Gansu-Lanzhoutrade fair Aug. 26-30 this year. The trade fair will emphasize introducing foreign investment,seeking cooperative opportunities in various fields and presenting aseries of quality local products and tourism ...
Guangdong Rectifies Fraudulent Foreign Exchange Settlements
Mar 03, 1998 ... Guangdong province has improved its foreign exchange operationsbystrengthening the battle against malpractices related to foreignexchange settlement. Guangdong banks recorded a favorable foreign exchange sales andpurchases balance of 217 million US dollars in 1997, ...
Highlights of Major Beijing-based Newspapers
Mar 03, 1998 ... Highlights of today's major Beijing-based Newspapers: "People's Daily" The presidium of the First Session of the Ninth NationalCommitteeof the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC)held its first meeting in Beijing yesterday.The meeting examined and ...
Hong Kong Stocks Lower at Midday
Mar 03, 1998 ... Hong Kong stocks fell 44.69 points, or 0.39 percent, to end at11,274.15 at midday on ...
Hong Kong Shares Open Higher
Mar 03, 1998 ... Hong Kong stocks rose 24.31 points, or 0.21 percent, to open at11,343.15 on ...
Increasing Gold Reserves In Northwestern China
Mar 03, 1998 ... Recent gold discoveries in northwest China's Qinghai Provincemeanthat it is expected to be a major gold production base in future,with reserves estimated at 300 to 350 tons. The province produced 3,828 kg of gold last year, up 282 percentfrom 1996. Qinghai plans to spend ...
Indonesia's Monthly Inflation Hits 12.76 Percent
Mar 03, 1998 ... Rising commodity prices pushed Indonesia's monthly inflation rateto 12.76 percent in February, the highest in the 30 years ofPresident Soeharto's government, the Central Bureau of Statistics(BPS) said. The February inflation rate doubled the January level of 6.88percent, and ...
Investment in Fixed Assets Increases
Mar 03, 1998 ... China invested 1.22 trillion yuan in fixed assets during thefirsteleven months in 1997, up 12.3 percent over the same period in 1996,according to the latest statistics from the State Statistics Bureau. The country spent ...
Investment in Energy Industry Increases
Mar 03, 1998 ... China invested 261.4 billion yuan in the energy industry duringthe first eleven months in 1997, up 23.8 percent over the sameperiodin 1996, according to the latest statistics from the StateStatisticsBureau. The ...
Island Province Improves Economic Competitiveness
Mar 03, 1998 ... China's largest island province of Hainan has edged into thecountry's top 10 economic competitors, a senior provincialgovernmentofficial had disclosed recently. The province which is also the country's largest Special EconomicZone had a gross domestic product (GDP) of 41.8 ...
Major News Items in Leading Kenyan Newspapers
Mar 03, 1998 ... The following are major news items in leading Kenyan newspapersWednesday. Kenya Times Briton Richard Burns Monday maintained his overnight lead for hisfirst Safari Rally win, which earned Mitsubishi Ralliart team a onepoint lead in the manufactures title chase in the World ...
Major News Items in Leading Pakistan Newspapers
Mar 03, 1998 ... The following are major news items in leading Pakistan newspapersTuesday. The News: Bolstered by early gains in the vote count, India's main Hindunationalist party announced it would soon begin talks with alliesabout the shape of the next government.The Nation:The ...
Major News Items in Leading Indian Newspapers
Mar 03, 1998 ... The following are major news items in leading Indian newspapersTuesday. The Times of India: Bharatiya Janata Party and its allies surged ahead Monday ininitial vote counting but may fell short of ...
Major News Items in Leading Japanese Newspapers
Mar 03, 1998 ... The following are major news items in leading Japanese newspaperstoday. Asahi: All Nippon Airways (ANA) has reached an agreement with UnitedAirlines and Lufthansa German Airlines on joint operations forpassenger flights between Japan, Germany and the United ...
Major News Items in Leading Australian Newspapers
Mar 03, 1998 ... The following are major news items in leading Australiannewspapers Tuesday. The Australian: Melbourne casino operator Crown Monday dramatically raised thestakes in its battle with the nation's corporate regulators,launching a blizzard of litigation against the Australian ...
Market Exchange Rates
Mar 03, 1998 ... The People's Bank of China today issued the market exchange ratesin RMB yuan against three major currencies. The middle price of RMBagainst convertible currencies is mainly based on the closing priceof the preceding interbank trading. The designated foreign exchange trading banks ...
Mini Automobiles Gain in Popularity in China
Mar 03, 1998 ... Chinese-built mini automobiles (with engines smaller than 1.0liter) are expected to perform well in 1998 in the domestic marketafter seven years of fast growth in production and sales. The demand for such vehicles this year is estimated at 520,000 to550,000, according to the ...
More Sugar Mills Being Built in Myanmar
Mar 03, 1998 ... Ten more sugar mills are being built in the eastern and westernparts of Myanmar's Bago mountain range where there are enoughsugarcane resources, The New Light of Myanmar newspaper reportedTuesday. The sugar mills under construction by the Myanmar SugarcaneEnterprise (MSE) of the ...
New Aviation Venture Set up
Mar 03, 1998 ... A new joint venture was set up Monday by China National SouthAero-Engine Company (SAEC) and Pratt & Whitney Canada, according totoday's China Daily. The Southern Pratt & Whitney Aero-Engine Company Ltd, involving atotal investment of over 27 million US dollars, will manufacture ...
New Zealand Stocks Finish Higher
Mar 03, 1998 ... The New Zealand sharemarket moved higher in afternoon trading ingood volume on Tuesday after a quiet, tentative start. The NZSE40 Index ended 11 points higher at 2299 with a turnoverof60 million NZ dollars (35 million US dollars). Among the main leaders, Air New Zealand, ...
Output of Building Materials Up
Mar 03, 1998 ... The latest statistics from the Statistics Bureau show that Chinaproduced 445.8 million tons of cement in the first eleven months in1997, ...
Output of Building Materials Up
Mar 03, 1998 ... The latest statistics from the Statistics Bureau show that Chinaproduced 445.8 million tons of cement in the first eleven months ...
Output of Chemical Products Up
Mar 03, 1998 ... China's production of chemical fertilizers reached 26.26 milliontons during the first eleven months in 1997, up 0.9 percent on anannual ...
Philippines Considers Regulating Banks' Interest Rates
Mar 03, 1998 ... The Central Bank of the Philippines is seriously consideringcapping commercial bank's interest rates to only five percent abovethe 90-day treasury bill rate, the Philippine Star reported onTuesday. The report quoted central bank governor Gabriel Singson as sayingthat he is ...
Production of Railway Vehicles Down
Mar 03, 1998 ... Production of railway vehicles went down in the first elevenmonths in 1997, according to the latest statistics from the StateStatistical Bureau. During that period, China manufactured locomotives with a totalcapacity of 2.7 million KW, down ...
Shandong Striving to Attract Overseas Investment
Mar 03, 1998 ... East China's Shandong Province has published a wide range ofpreferential policies to encourage overseas investors in specificfields. According to local officials, overseas investors will be giventaxbreaks and price cuts for the acquisition of land-use rights if theyinvest in ...
Southwest China Province Developing Tourism Facilities
Mar 03, 1998 ... About 420 million yuan will be invested in developing tourismfacilities this year in Xishuangbanna, a scenic spot in southwestChina's Yunnan Province. Situated in the southernmost part of Yunnan, Xishuangbanna is theonly oasis in the Tropic of Cancer boasting such a wide variety ...
Thai Commercial Banks Encouraged to Aid Exporters
Mar 03, 1998 ... Thai commercial banks were encouraged to extend more loans tolocal exporters as the central bank approved the change in capitaladequacy requirement, the Bangkok Post reported Tuesday. The Bank of Thailand agreed Monday to reduce the risk weightingofpre-shipment credits from 100 ...
Thai Consumer Price Index Up 8.7 Percent
Mar 03, 1998 ... The consumer price index (CPI) soared 8.7 percent in the lasttwelve months while the monthly index jumped 0.7 percent inFebruary,Tuesday's Bangkok Post reported. Vithun Tulyanond, deputy director of the Business EconomicsDepartment, attributed the jump to the price hikes in food ...
US Pledges Aid to Help Manila Confront Financial Woes
Mar 03, 1998 ... President Fidel Ramos has been assured that the U.S. governmentwould provide a 21-million-dollar facility to help the Philippinesimplement identified measures to confront the Asian financialturmoil. Local newspaper Manila Bulletin reported on Tuesday thatWashington made the ...
US Urges Indonesia to Fully Implement Reform Program
Mar 03, 1998 ... Visiting US special envoy Walter Mondale said here Tuesday thatthe best way to restore public confidence in the Indonesia economyisfully implementing the IMF (International Monetary Fund) reformprogram. Talking to newsmen after a 90-minute meeting with IndonesianPresident ...
World Bank Appraises Financial Aid Program
Mar 03, 1998 ... A World Bank delegation recently appraised the relief aid programto areas in Zhangjiakou Prefecture, north China's Hebei Province,which were devastated by a massive earthquake January 10. the delegation visited the quake-stricken area not long after thequake which measured 6.2 on ...
Xinhua World News Summary at 0100 GMT
Mar 03, 1998 ... Russian Deputy Foreign Minister G. B. Karasin arrived here Mondayon a two-day visit to Pakistan for talks with Pakistani officials ona host of issues including afghanistan. Karasin's visit coincides with the visit of a Russianparliamentary delegation, which also arrived here Monday ...
23 Filipinos Downed by Food Poisoning
Mar 03, 1998 ... Some 23 tribesmen in Cotabato province, southern Philippines,suffered food poisoning after they ate a wild crop due to foodscarcity caused by the El Nino phenomenon. The Philippine News Agency reported on Tuesday that the tribesmenhave resorted to eating wild yam since February 12 ...
All Ethnic Minorities Have Representatives in NPC (1)
Mar 03, 1998 ... "I was cooking when the head of my village came to tell me that Ihad been elected to the National People's Congress. I felt verynervous then," recalled Ma Xiangmei, a 23-year-old female farmerfromnorthwest China's Gansu Province. One of the youngest members of China's new top ...
Aziz: Iraq Will Implement Agreement on Arms
Mar 03, 1998 ... Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz said Tuesday that Iraqwillimplement the agreement with U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan onpeacefully ending the crisis over weapons inspection, Iraqi NewsAgency (INA) reported. Aziz said in a statement to the INA that Iraq has put ...
Backgrounder:
Mar 03, 1998 ... The First Session of the Chinese People's Political ConsultativeConference (CPPCC) was held in Beijing between September 21 and 30,1949, exercising the functions of China's highest organ of statepower. It was attended by 662 representatives from all walks oflife. The first CPPCC ...
Beijing Increasing Cultural Exchange Overseas
Mar 03, 1998 ... China's capital increased cultural contacts with cities overseasin the past year, with the Municipal Culture Department sending 104troupes, with more than 1,000 artists, to perform in 39 countriesandregions. Thirty-six troupes, with 1,200 performers, including Russianballet ...
Beijing Limits Jobs for Outside Workers
Mar 03, 1998 ... The Beijing Municipal Government plans to restrict outsidelaborers seeking jobs in the Chinese capital, city officials saidrecently. The Labor Bureau will limit outside people to employment in suchposts as finance, insurance, secretarial, accounting and management. But they ...
Cambodian CPP Central Committee Opens Plenum
Mar 03, 1998 ... The Central Committee of the Cambodian People's Party (CPP)Tuesday opened its 24th plenum, making preparation for the party toparticipate in the upcoming parliamentary elections scheduled forJuly 26 and to ensure its win. In his opening address, Chea Sim, CPP President, said that ...
China Announces List of Hazardous Wastes
Mar 03, 1998 ... China has announced a list of hazardous wastes, which is thefirstof its kind in the country. The list jointly prepared by the National EnvironmentalProtection Agency (NEPA), the State Economic and Trade Commission,the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation and ...
China Eastern Air Group Receives Delivery of A320 Jetliner
Mar 03, 1998 ... China Eastern Air Group recently took delivery of its firstsingle-aisle Airbus A320 jetliner at Lukou Airport in Nanjing, thecapital of east China's Jiangsu Province. The A320 is the first of 10 being leased from General ElectricCapital Aviation Services of the United States. The ...
China Making Progress in Publicizing ISO9000
Mar 03, 1998 ... China has improved its quality control of export-orientedenterprises and foreign trade by adopting the internationallyaccepted ISO9000 standard series. By the end of 1997, 1,001 export-oriented enterprises have beengranted certificates for having met ISO9000 quality ...
China's Health Ministry Uses New Symbol
Mar 03, 1998 ... A circular pattern composed of a Hermes' snake stick, olivebranches, a picture of the Great Wall and a map of the People'sRepublic of China will be used as the emblem of the Chinese Ministryof Health. The circular logo will be used in publications, printed matter,conferences and ...