US urges Apec to secure transport networks
Transportation networks remain key targets of terrorists and countries must work hard to protect them, US Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta warned on Tuesday (27 July). Mineta was speaking at the start of a three-day meeting of transport ministers from Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation countries. Talks are expected to focus on bolstering maritime and aviation security as well as boosting multilateral investment. Indonesian President Megawati Soekarnoputri said that while heightened security was important, considerations should also be made to limit their impact on economies. Tourism in Indonesia was devastated following the 12 October, 2002, Bali bombings, which killed 202 people. Business and government leaders complained that travel warnings issued by Western governments, and to a lesser degree heightened security, scared off visitors. Meanwhile, Malaysia and Singapore vowed on Tuesday not to let up on efforts to thwart the threat of piracy and terrorism in the Malacca Straits, following their recent launch of coordinated patrols along with Indonesia. The vital shipping lane between peninsula Malaysia and Indonesia's Sumatra island is plagued by pirate attacks. Officials also fear terrorists could seize any of the 50 000 vessels that enter the straits every year and use it as a floating bomb to attack a port.
Jakarta Post, Indonesia (online edition)
Channel News Asia, Singapore (online edition)
WTO General Council starts 3-day meet
The World Trade Organisation (WTO) began a three-day meeting of its General Council in Geneva on Tuesday (27 July) in a bid to reach a framework accord on global trade liberalisation by Friday's deadline. On the eve of the meeting, Japanese Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Minister Yoshiyuki Kamei and Economy, Trade and Trade Minister Shoichi Nakagawa pledged to strive for such an accord. The farm minister also indicated that Japan will keep in close contact with other members of the Group of 10 major net food importers to seek consideration for the country over sensitive agricultural products such as rice. The other G-10 economies are Bulgaria, Iceland, Israel, Liechtenstein, Mauritius, Norway, South Korea, Switzerland and Taiwan. The global trade liberalisation talks under the current Doha Round have been stalled since the collapse of the last ministerial conference in September in Cancun, Mexico, due mainly to sharp differences over farm trade issues, particularly between developed and developing countries.The WTO has since been forced to consider postponing the initially set goal of concluding the round by 1 January, 2005.
Nihon Keizai Shimbun, Japan (online edition)
Consumer confidence slipping in AP region
Consumer confidence in only five Asia-Pacific countries is climbing back while sentiment in the rest of the region is slipping, a MasterIndex survey showed on Tuesday (27 July). Vietnam, which made its debut in the survey in Q1 of 2003, was the most optimistic nation with a consumer confidence score of 91.6 for Q2 of 2004. It was 91.0 in Q4 of last year. Otherwise, the region's MasterIndex of consumer confidence was 63.7, a drop from 66.5 six months ago. Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines and Japan were the only other countries where confidence improved from the last survey. Conducted by MasterCard International, the survey was based on responses from 5000 people across 13 markets in the Asia-Pacific region. Those polled gave their expectations on employment, economy, regular income, stock markets and quality of life. Yuwa Hedrick-Wong, MasterCard's Asia-Pacific economic adviser, said the drop was largely due to the outlook on stock markets, shaken by the interest rate hike by the US Federal Reserve in June.
Jakarta Post, Indonesia (online edition)
Japan defence panel to review arms export ban
Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's defence advisory panel agreed on Tuesday (27 July) to review a decades-old arms export ban, participants said. Panel members also saw the need for Japan to enhance its intelligence capabilities, its role in international security and responsiveness to threats, including weapons of mass destruction and terrorism, while maintaining its alliance with the US, they said. Based on the discussions, the 10-member panel of business, academic and former government leaders aims to submit a report by end September. Panelists called for the review of the 1976 complete ban on arms exports to enable Japan to jointly develop weapons and military technologies with other countries, particularly the US. Japan decided in 1967 not to export arms to communist nations, countries the United Nations prohibits arms exports to, and to countries involved in international conflicts. It made the ban complete in 1976.
Nihon Keizai Shimbun, Japan (online edition)
China eyes foreign investment in west
China set the stage for more foreign investors to enter western and central China on Tuesday (27 July). Mineral resources exploration, agricultural development and the service industry are the investment priorities listed by the government. Foreign investors are encouraged to pour their money into expanded sectors, some of which used to be off-limits. For example, they can invest in tourism agencies and building the tourism infrastructure in the region. The measures are included in an updated investment directory for foreign investors to enter western and central China published by National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Commerce. Investors will soon be able to access the directory, which includes 267 investment items encouraged by the government, at the commission's official website, www.NDRC.gov.cn. Foreign investors who engage in energy, transportation and city infrastructure construction such as coal, oil, natural gas, electricity, railway, highway, port, airport, city road, the disposal of waste water and the disposal of waste which requires large input and long return periods may be allowed to expand their business scopes.
China Daily, China (online edition)
North Korean defectors arrive in Seoul
Some 200 North Korean defectors have landed at a military airport south of Seoul on a chartered flight under a veil of secrecy and amid stringent security. Government officials said the biggest one-day influx of defectors from the Stalinist state was "sensitive" and refused to discuss details, disclosing only that the Asiana Airlines flight airlifted the North Koreans from a Southeast Asian nation. Another batch of some 200 refugees from the same country, bringing the total to around 450, is expected to arrive on Wednesday. The North Koreans landed at Seongnam military airport south of Seoul around 9:00 am (0000 GMT). Journalists were excluded from the airport and dozens of riot police manned the main entrance. Six tour buses with windows curtained carried the defectors out of a rear gate and headed south. Media reports said the defectors were expected to be debriefed by representatives from government agencies, including the National Intelligence Service, before being moved to resettlement centre. South Korea agreed this week to purchase 100 000 tonnes of rice from Vietnam for shipment to North Korea as part of its programme of food aid for the impoverished regime.
Channel News Asia, Singapore (online edition)
Korea Herald, South Korea (online edition)
Bomb hoax forces plane to return to Sydney
A bomb hoax on a United Airlines plane carrying 264 people forced an emergency return to Sydney on Tuesday (27 July), sparking a full alert in airspace along Australia's eastern seaboard. A government spokesman said the pilot decided to turn back 90 minutes into the journey after he was told of a note scrawled on a sickbag found in the toilets. Transport Minister John Anderson said the note, found by a passenger, implied there was a bomb onboard. The plane dumped excess fuel on the trip back to Sydney, landing safely at Australia's largest airport at 5.50 pm (0750 GMT). Anderson said the security scare resulted in a level three alert, the highest emergency rating in international aviation. Police said screening of passengers and crew upon arrival and a thorough search of the plane failed to find evidence to substantiate the threat. The security scare came just days after a militant group claiming links to Al-Qaeda threatened to launch a wave of attacks against Australia unless it withdrew troops from Iraq and authorities are not taking any chances.
Channel News Asia, Singapore (online edition)
Work starts on $500m port in Jakarta Work has started on a new $500m (Euro415m) port covering an area of 245 hectares (605 acres) in the Indonesian capital. The project will be built in five stages and is expected to be completed in 2010, newspapers reported. The port will support the operation of overcrowded Tanjung Priok harbour as it can shorten the docking time of incoming vessels and provide low-cost loading and unloading services, said city governor Sutiyoso at Monday's (26 July) ground-breaking. The
Jakarta Post said the port would share its 15 berths with the Indonesian Navy's Western Fleet, which currently operates 30 patrol vessels. The report said the port is part of a huge waterfront reclamation project including housing, hotels, a marina, an industrial zone, offices and shopping malls and covering about 2700 hectares. Environmentalists have raised fears the project will adversely affect the ecosystem and increase the likelihood of flooding.
Channel News Asia, Singapore (online edition)
Jakarta Post, Indonesia (online edition)
Goh to take over as No. 2 in S'pore govt
Singapore's Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew said Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong will take over from him as number two in the new Government after he steps down from the post on 12 August. Lee revealed that in an interview in which he referred to himself as "Number Two" in the outgoing cabinet. In Singapore's context, the post of Senior Minister comes second in protocol after the Prime Minister. Lee said he will stay in Cabinet as "a consultant, a counsellor, an adviser". His exact title will be decided by the new Prime Minister when he names his new cabinet a day or two before the handover. The Senior Minister was also asked if Lee Hsien Loong would relinquish either his post as finance minister or as chairman of the central bank when he becomes prime minister. But Lee Kuan Yew said that's something for the younger Lee to announce.
Channel News Asia, Singapore (online edition)
Thailand OKs new vehicle tax structure
The Cabinet on Tuesday (27 July) endorsed a proposed new vehicle tax structure as part of measures to promote energy-efficient compact cars and the development of alternative energy source in the country. When the new tax structure is passed, the government stands to lose combined revenue of Baht2bn ($40m/Euro33m) based on the projection that overall car sales in the country this year would equal that of last year's 533 000 cars sold in the local market, a finance official said. The new tax structure does not take immediate effect for the imported off-road purpose vehicle (OPV) class as well as for tinted-modified vans until 60 days after the publication of the new decree in the Royal Gazette. But the decree would be imposed against locally-produced OPVs and modified vans from 1 January, 2005 onwards, the official said.
Business Day, Thailand (online edition)
Environment & Health
More Japanese selling products by weight
More retailers in Japan are opting to sell small quantities of their products to customers instead of making them buy the whole item. It is also helping the recycling cause as customers can bring their own containers to the shops. In a liquor shop in Kunitachi, you do not have to buy the whole bottle of wine or whisky. The minimum purchase is 100 millilitres. That allows customers to buy a sample size and come back to buy more. Another shop selling cooking oil has the same concept. Customers can bring their own containers, check out the flavours and aromas and buy just the right amount for the dish they are cooking that day. In another shop in Tokyo, you can buy refillable ink for printer cartridges. Customers place their orders via the internet one day in advance. The minimum purchase for any colour is 1 millilitre. Over at Osaka, a department store sells 18 types of shampoo and hair treatments, also by weight. With business doing well at those shops, especially from environmentally conscious and thrifty customers, more such shops are set to open in Japan.
Channel News Asia, Singapore (online edition)
Oil & Gas
China, Syria opens joint oil company
China and Syria opened on Monday (26 July) their first 50:50 joint oil venture, Sino-Syrian Kawkab Oil Company (SSKOC), to develop an old oil field in northeast Syria, nearly 600 kilometres (375 miles) away from Damascus. China National Oil and Gas Exploration and Development Corporation (CNODC) won the rebuilding project of the Gbeibe oil field in 2001. At the opening ceremony, Syrian Minister of Oil and Mineral Resources Ibrahim Haddad said Syria has a relatively abundant oil reserve and its oil production reaches 500 000 barrels/day. Two-fifth of the production goes to local market while the rest serves international demand. Zhou Jiping, Vice President of the Chinese National Petroleum Corp (CNPC), the parent company of the CNODC, said that although the Gbeibe project is not large in scale, it would deepen and broaden the cooperation between China and Syria. He added that advanced technologies and successful experiences of the CNODC would ensure a large improvement in the output of local oil fields.
China Daily, China (online edition)
Pharmaceuticals
Wockhardt sets aside $100m for EU buys
Wockhardt, the Mumbai-based pharmaceuticals major, is on the prowl for another European acquisition. The board of directors of the company has given an in-principle approval to acquire pharmaceutical companies and businesses in Europe to the tune of $100m (Euro83m). The European Union has emerged as Wockhardt's largest market, accounting for over 40% of the company's revenues. In Q2 of 2004, the company recorded sales of $25m in the European market, registering an increase of 249%. The company has already acquired three businesses in Europe. Earlier this year, Wockhardt acquired the German company Esparma for $11m. Its previous European acquisitions are Wallis Laboratories in 1998 and CP Pharmaceuticals in 2003, both UK-based companies.
Another significant resolution approved at the board meeting was the approval of a proposal to seek a listing of its securities in the US, chairman Habil Khorakiwala said.
Times of India, India (online edition)
Company News
Plant orders from Taiwan, Mid East growing
Japanese industrial plant builders, including Toyo Engineering, are receiving more orders to construct large factories in such places as Taiwan and the Middle East. Toyo Engineering has received an order to design and procure materials for an
ethylene facility in Taiwan that can produce 1.2m tonnes a year, making it one of the largest in the world. The Formosa Plastics order is the biggest for a factory that uses
naphtha. JGC has received an order from Qatar Petrochemical to expand an ethylene facility in that nation. The deal covers design, material procurement and construction and is worth Yen20bn ($180m/Euro149m). JGC has also received an order for one of the world's largest
styrene monomer plants in Saudi Arabia. Plant designer Chiyoda is a leading candidate to win a bid for an Exxon Mobil liquefied natural gas production facility in Qatar. Contracts for the Yen200bn project are expected to be awarded this year. The factory is set to have an industry-leading annual output capacity of 7.8m tonnes.
Nihon Keizai Shimbun, Japan (online edition)
Toyoda Boshoku to boost output for Toyota
Toyoda Boshoku plans to raise annual production of oil filters for automobiles by 25% on the year to 50m units in the current fiscal year, and aims to produce 100m units a year by 2010, to meet growing demand from Toyota Motor. The global market for automobile-use oil filters is estimated at 1bn units. The Toyota group company intends to increase output in Thailand and launch oil filter operations in China and Poland. Using its expertise in textile production, Toyoda Boshoku manufactures oil and air filters for auto engines and air conditioning systems. Sales from the filter business rose 8% on the year to Yen37.7bn ($339.6m/Euro281.9m) in the fiscal year ended 31 March, accounting for 36% of the company's consolidated revenue.
Nihon Keizai Shimbun, Japan (online edition)
Shanghai Auto signs pact to buy Ssangyong
Shanghai Automotive Industry (SAIC) on Tuesday (27 July) signed a pact to buy South Korea's Ssangyong Motor and said it aimed to help the sports utility vehicle manufacturer expand in the fast-growing Chinese market. Creditors of Ssangyong, which also makes luxury sedan models, signed a binding memorandum of understanding with the Chinese automobile producer in a deal reported to worth about $500m (Euro415m), a 40% premium over the current stock price. Hu Maoyuan, chief executive of SAIC, said the company would invest to improve Ssangyong's existing facilities and retain the current management team and employees following the acquisition. The two sides are expected to sign a definitive agreement by September, 2004.
Business Day, Thailand (online edition)
Channel News Asia, Singapore (online edition)
Keppel unit to build $126m rig for Norwegian firm
Singapore's Keppel said on Tuesday (27 July) it will build a $126m (Euro104m) rig for Norwegian firm Sinvest ASA for its deep-sea gas drilling activities. The Super B class rig, to be built by Keppel unit Keppel FELS, is expected to be completed in 26 months. It will be Keppel FELS' fifth class B rig, reflecting a growing demand for deep-sea drilling machines amid declining productivity from natural gas fields located in shallow waters, Keppel said in a statement. Four other deep-water rigs built by Keppel FELS, the world's leading oil and gas rig maker, are deployed around the world. The Super B class rig will have the capability to operate in depths of up to 350 feet (106.06 metres) of water and can drill down to 35 000 feet.
Channel News Asia, Singapore (online edition)
(Some stories may not appear in all editions of the cited news media.)
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