Asia Times Online is a quality Internet-only publication that reports and examines geopolitical, political, economic and business issues. Car Rentals



	February 23, 2000	atimes.com

Front

Business in Asia Today

Sumitomo group to use satellite for e-commerce
TOKYO - Japan's Sumitomo Corp, in cooperation with a broadcasting firm and a home appliance maker, will launch e-commerce operations using images transmitted by digital satellite signals. The firms will set up a consortium for this purpose in autumn, with an eye to a possible launch of the venture in spring 2001. The images transmitted via satellite will be picked up on receivers in the homes of subscribers, who can order the goods displayed on screen directly over the Internet. BMG Funhouse Inc and Warner Music Japan Inc will supply the consortium with music software and Eddie Bauer Japan Inc and Obunsha Publishing Co will provide content.

Chubu Electric's nuclear project rejected
TSU, Japan - Governor Masayasu Kitagawa of Mie Prefecture said Tuesday that Chubu Electric Power Co (TSE: 9502) "should go back to the drawing board" with its plan to build an Ashihama nuclear power plant on land bordering the towns of Kisei and Nanto. The governor made the decision after almost 37 years of fierce wrangling over the issue among local residents. The plan calls for Chubu Electric to build two 1.35 million kilowatt nuclear reactors on a 3,500 sq km patch of land in southern Mie Prefecture.

Hyundai offers package deal for Daewoo firms
SEOUL - Hyundai Motor will declare its bid to take over Daewoo Group's car-related units to buy Daewoo Motor, sources say. Hyundai handed in a letter on Tuesday offering to take over Daewoo Motor, Ssangyong Motor, Daewoo Motor Sales, Daewoo Capital and Daewoo Telecom's transmission unit. It also offered to acquire Daewoo's commercial vehicle unit, which is not even for sale, according to the sources.

Renault wants Samsung to recall former workers
SEOUL - Renault is demanding an increase in the number of employees at Samsung Motors before taking it over. Samsung said Tuesday that visiting Renault officials inspecting the Korean auto maker's facilities said operations will be difficult unless more workers are hired, asking for ways to have managers and workers who left the company return.

13 Korean firms in global chemical hub site
SEOUL - Thirteen domestic companies have joined 17 firms from Japan, China, Taiwan, India and Thailand to launch a hub site (www.ChemCross.com) with paid-in capital of $7 million. Samsung Corp, Hanwha, Kumho Chemical, Dongbu, LG and Kohap are among the 13 Korean partners. Six from Japan include Maruzen, Mitsubishi and Shin-Etzu, three are from Taiwan, three from China, four from India and one from Thailand. More than 500 companies are likely to join the site this year and it will seek listing on the US Nasdaq next year, a Samsung spokesman said.

Intelligence satellite pictures to be sold in Korea
SEOUL - Korea's Hyundai Space and Aircraft (HYSA) will offer the country's first commercial high-resolution intelligence satellite pictures taken by the Ikonos satellite. Ikonos was manufactured by Space Imaging, a consortium of HYSA, Lockheed Martin, Ratheon and Mitsubishi. Its "Caterra" lens system can recognize anything with a size of at least one meter. "Caterra is . . . used for facility management, establishment of base stations, measurement, production of maps, crop examination and transportation information," HYSA said. The government and information and telecommunication companies will be its main customers.

Korean investment trusts rake in over $920m net profits
SEOUL - South Korea's 23 investment trusts and investment management companies reaped net profits of 1.04 trillion won ($920 million) for the first three quarters of fiscal year 1999, up 593.3 percent from the same period a year earlier. Daehan, Korea and Tongyang Orion investment trusts posted net profits of 829.9 billion won, up from 40.7 billion won from the same period of 1998, according to the Financial Supervisory Service. Other investment management companies earned 284.1 billion won, up from 143.4 billion won in 1998

Ssangyong Motor creditors convert debt to equity
SEOUL - The 22 creditor banks of Ssangyong Motor (KSE: 03620) will convert 130 billion won ($115 million) worth of debt to equity. Ssangyong notified the Korea Stock Exchange that creditors decided to convert debt into equity investment through rights offerings. The conversion will take place on March 6 and rights offering will be distributed on March 17.

Samsung clinches Singapore waste water tunnel deal
SEOUL - Korea's Samsung Corp (KSE: 00830) said Tuesday that its construction division clinched a waste water tunnel project in Singapore worth $44 million. The project, ordered by the Singaporean government, involves the construction of a 7.3-kilometer section of a 48-kilometer waste water tunnel, stretching from the southeastern district of Changi to Kranji district in northeast Singapore.

Bombardier signs 3rd new airline customer in China
TORONTO - Bombardier Aerospace has announced the sale of three CRJ200* Series regional jet aircraft to Shanghai Airlines. The sale, valued at approximately $68 million, constitutes the third new airline customer in China in less than a year. "We look forward to the addition of Bombardier's CRJ200 Series to our fleet," said Shanghai Airlines president Zhou Chi. "Our intention is to develop and build new markets with the CRJ that, at the present time, would not be viable with our larger jet equipment," he said.

China's Jincheng launches 2nd S American JV
BEIJING - China's Jincheng Group has opened its second joint venture company in South America - Jincheng-Argentina. The company is jointly founded by the Daltac Company of Argentina. Jincheng will provide technology, equipment and motorcycle CKD kits, while the Argentine side contributes marketing means, sales networks and some cash for the new joint venture. The venture is designed to have an annual capacity to assemble 30,000 motorcycles. Jincheng claims to have a 10 percent market share in South America and says its brand has become the most popular in the region.

Malaysia's Grand United Holdings seeks technology listing
PULAU PINANG - Grand United Holdings Berhad, principally involved in the manufacturing and distribution of printed circuit board for the technology-support industries, is seeking a listing on the country's recently launched technology indices. Group managing director Chung Chin Fu said that as a hardware producer or component manufacturer for the information technology industry, the company should be able to meet the criteria for listing on the indices.

Ericsson to invest $26.3m to expand Malaysian plant
KUALA LUMPUR - Ericsson, a Swedish telecommunications company, plans to invest an additional RM100 million ($26.31 million) this year to expand its plant located in Shah Alam near here, according to Kurt Hellstrom, president of Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson Monday. The mobile phone production plant, the first in Southeast Asia and first for Malaysia has produced over 4 million units of phones since it began operations in 1997.

MARC assigns 'A' rating to IJM Corp's RM150m bonds
KUALA LUMPUR - Independent rating agency, Malaysian Rating Corporation Bhd (MARC) has assigned an 'A' rating to IJM Corporation Bhd's (IJM) RM150 million ($40 million) nominal value of five percent redeemable unsecured bonds 2000/2005 with up to 83.045 million detachable warrants. In a statement Monday, MARC said the rating reflected the group's strong operating characteristics and favorable competitive position in its traditional construction business.

Indonesia's Bank Mandiri launches credit card with GE
JAKARTA - Indonesia's Bank Mandiri has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with GE Capital cooperation for the launch of a Bank Mandiri credit card. Mandiri President Robby Djohan said that the new card was part of its retail banking program, which is expected to start operation this year.

Indonesia's PT United Tractor seeks debt restructuring
JAKARTA - Indonesian heavy equipment assembling company PT United Tractor (JSX: UNTR) said it hopes to reach an agreement with its creditors next month to restructure $278 million worth of debt. Management said the company planned corporate actions including stock splits, but that at present it wanted to address its debt restructuring plan.

Japan's Yasuda Trust and Banking to quit Australia
SYDNEY - Yasuda Trust and Banking Co will make a quiet exit from Australia in a bid to survive sweeping industry reorganization in Japan. Last week, it began liquidation procedures for its wholly-owned subsidiary, Yasuda Trust Australia Ltd. The liquidation will end Yasuda Trust Australia's 15-year history as a merchant bank and complete parent Yasuda Trust's full withdrawal from overseas banking operations.

Australian newspaper groups set up AAP NewsCentre
SYDNEY - Three major Australian newspaper groups have teamed up with Australian Associated Press to establish a comprehensive Australian online news, information and research service called AAP NewsCentre. The service will carry news from News Ltd, John Fairfax & Sons and West Australian Newspapers and AAP to create an Australian niche in the globalized world of Internet information currently dominated by United States and European providers. The AAP NewsCentre offers separate subscription-based services, daily updates, and a traditional press clipping service.

National Australia Bank may spin off e-commerce interests
MELBOURNE - The National Australia Bank confirmed Monday it was considering spinning off its e-commerce interests into a separate subsidiary and flagged the possibility of a separate float. NAB managing director and chief executive Frank Cicutto said the bank was considering the restructure to "foster the development of new economy capabilities".

Australian software Kidz.net signs supply deal with IBM
PERTH - In a major coup for Australian children's web company Kidz.net Ltd, IT giant IBM will supply the local firm's software and service with its Aptiva range of computers now being sold in Australia. Based on IBM's 13 percent market share of consumer desktop sales for Aptiva, the agreement will provide Kidz.net with a potential user base in excess of 70,000 subscribers this calender year.

Australia's Online Trading Systems in JV with HK firm
MELBOURNE - Online Trading Systems Ltd (OTS) has kicked off the first stage of its global expansion strategy, securing a joint venture with Hong Kong's Kingsway Online Ltd. OTS expects the joint venture to generate turnover of between A$10 million (US$6.24 million) and A$12 million (US$7.49 million) in Hong Kong alone.

Spicers Paper to acquire Commonwealth Paper Co
MELBOURNE - Australian paper and stationery company Spicers Paper Ltd has agreed to acquire the wholesale stationery and paper distribution business Commonwealth Paper Company for between A$10 million (US$6.24 million) and A$12 million from Blue Star Group. Spicers said the acquisition would add about A$70 million (US$43.7 million) to Spicers' group sales and make an immediate positive earnings contribution. Spicers is 42 percent owned by Amcor, which last week flagged a proposal to spin off its paper assets, including the Spicers stake, into a separate listed company to be called PaperlinX.

Computer Associates to set up Indian e-commerce portal
NEW DELHI - The Indian subsidiary of US-based Computer Associates (CA) is planning to set up a joint venture portal in the country as part of its global push into e-business. CA will hold either a 70:30 or 60:40 majority stake in the portal business. The company declined to specify how much it would invest in the project, but has promised to inject $100 million into India's IT sector for development centers and facilities.

Indian power authority clears $337m Kerala project
NEW DELHI - The Central Electricity Authority (CEA) in India has accorded techno-economic clearance for the Rs14.70 billion ($337 million) Kannur combined cycle power project in southern state of Kerala. The project, promoted by the Nambiar Group, will have a total capacity generation of 513 MW and the plant will run on naptha and natural gas, CEA said in a statement.

(Asia Pulse)

Front | China | Southeast Asia | Japan | Koreas | India/Pakistan | Central Asia/Russia | Oceania

Business Briefs | Global Economy | Asian Crisis | Media/IT | Editorials | Letters | Search/Archive

Car Rentals in Jackson Mississipi Car Rentals in Jackson Wyoming

back to the top

©1999 Asia Times Online Co., Ltd.