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	May 31, 2000	atimes.com

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Business in Asia Today

Nissan to make Renault cars in Brazil
TOKYO - The Nissan Motor Co (TSE:7201) will begin to manufacture five car models at the Latin American plants of Renault SA by 2005. The partners plan to cooperate in production and sales in the Mercosur area, a four-nation European-style common market formed in 1991 by Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay.

BOJ acts to reduce systematic banking risk
TOKYO - The Bank of Japan (BOJ) from August 19 will test a real-time gross settlement (RTGS) system designed to reduce the risk of a liquidity crisis at one or more banks setting off a chain reaction at other banks, the BOJ said. The central bank plans to implement the system on January 4, 2001 at about 500 private financial institutions that have current-account deposits with the central bank.

Matsushita to build $836m chip plant
OSAKA - The Matsushita Electronics Corp said it will build a 90 billion yen ($836 million) facility in Niigata Prefecture to mass produce system chips for use in digital TVs and other high-tech equipment. Construction work began earlier this month inside a company plant in Arai, Niigata Prefecture. The facility will be equipped with a clean room having a total floor space of 12,000 sq meters and production lines to make chips with a circuit width of 0.13 micron. Starting in December 2001, a workforce of about 250 will produce the equivalent of some 5,000 eight-inch wafers a month.

Fuji, GM to develop new cars
TOKYO - Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd (TSE:7270) has released a five-year business plan in which the auto maker will cooperate with members of the General Motors Corp group, including Suzuki Motor Corp (TSE:7269), in a bid to expand operations. The plan calls for joint development of new cars for the global market and cooperation in manufacturing and marketing. Fuji Heavy plans to develop jointly with General Motors a wagon using a new platform developed by the Japanese firm for release in fiscal 2004.

Hyundai head confident on liquidity recovery
SEOUL - President Kim Yun-keun of Hyundai Construction and Engineering Co said Monday that his company's liquidity crunch was a temporary mismatch of funds and that the main creditor bank ''can afford to help us overcome it''.

Samsung Techwin receives $100m order
SEOUL - Samsung Techwin (KSE:12450) said Monday it has received orders for $100 million worth of parts from American engine maker Pratt and Whitney. The core parts will be shipped over the next five years and be used in all their engines, including the PW4000, V2500, JT9D, F100-220 and F100-229.

SDB Bank, NY Life in tie-up
BEIJING - China's State Development Bank (SDB) and the New York Life Insurance Co (NYL) signed an agreement here on May 26 inviting the SDB to act as investment advisor in China for the United States insurance company. Under the agreement, NYL will invest in China's infrastructure in the form of equity while the SDB will help the company find and appraise potential infrastructure projects, and provide consulting services for appraisal, finance and negotiations of these projects.

Lam to build HK freshwater reservoir
HONG KONG - The Lam Construction Company Limited is to build a HK$120 million (US$15.4 million), freshwater reservoir in Hong Kong, after signing a contract with the government. The Director of Water Supplies, Hugh Phillipson, signed a contract with the company Monday to build the Yau Tong No 2 Fresh Water Service Reservoir. The reservoir will meet new water demand stemming from planned developments in the areas. Work is scheduled to begin in June this year for completion by August 2003.

Netalone, Ericsson announce m-commerce JV
HONG KONG - Netalone.com Ltd (HKSE: 336) has announced a partnership with Ericsson to capture the mobile e-commerce business in Greater China. Netalone will provide its ASP technical expertise in e-commerce applications and cross platform solutions & systems integration to develop an m-commerce platform. Ericsson will also provide mobile Internet technology through its secured payment solution, e-pay, and technical and resources support to netalone's e-commerce applications. Netalone would soon provide m-commerce ASP services to businesses. The new platform would be firstly deployed to its fashion and lifestyle portal, www.izzue.com.

European firms win Three Gorges bid
BEIJING - Contracts were signed on May 24 for providing systems to adjust the speed of power generating units and create magnetic conditions for the power stations being constructed on the left bank of the Three Gorges. The world-famous Alstom Power Electric Power Company of France and the Voith Siemens Hydropower Generation Gmbh & Co KG won the bidding, which started on March 20. They are investing $12.76 million and $12.79 million in the projects.

Beijing Scitech to build $150m mall
BEIJING - The Beijing Scitech Group has signed a contract with the Beijing Economic and Technology Development Zone to set up a shopping mall in southern Beijing. The 16.720ha shopping mall is expected to cost $100 to $150 million. It is scheduled for completion in one or two years. The mall will offer multiple services, including shopping, entertainment, cinema, club, skating and a recreational park for children, as well as catering.

Octopus Online, aranium.com sign MoU
KUALA LUMPUR - Octopus Online, a leading entertainment portal in Malaysia, and mobile e-commerce start-up aranium.com Sdn Bhd have signed a memorandum of understanding to form a strategic partnership. Cosmos Discovery Sdn Bhd said that the strategic partnership would see aranium securing entertainment content from Octopus Online and Octopus Online obtaining wireless technology from aranium.

Jakarta considers trade in Net start-ups
JAKARTA - The head of the Capital Market Supervisory Agency (Bapepam), chairman Herwidayatmo, said he hoped approval could be given by June to the Jakarta Stock Exchange (JSX) to start trading in Internet start-up companies. He said the agency had yet to decide whether the JSX could go ahead with its new listing regulation, but he added that he personally had no objection to the plan. ''I hope my office can come up with the approval (of the new regulation) promptly, so that it can be implemented before the second week of June,'' he told The Jakarta Post.

Freight forwarding JV starts in Indonesia
JAKARTA - A new freight forwarding joint venture company, PT Angkasa Oriental Express (JSX: PTAOE), is to be set up in Indonesia. AOE Freight Pte Ltd, a subsidiary of the Airocean Group Limited, signed a shareholders' agreement with PT Megah Antara Samudera (JSX: PMAS) Monday. The joint venture would first provide freight forwarding services to customers located in Jakarta and then to others located in other parts of Indonesia.

Telkom to restart shelved $15m project
JAKARTA - The state-owned PT Telkom (JSX:TLKM) plans to carry out its Personal Handyphone System project shelved in 1997 as a result of monetary crisis. The Rp125 billion ($15 million) mobile telephone project for Jakarta was to be implemented in 1995 in cooperation with NEC Sumitomo of Japan, Komarudin, a Telkom official said.

SecureNet captures ANZ Bank contract
SYDNEY - IT security provider SecureNet Ltd (ASX:SNX) has announced it has won a A$1.5 million (US$855,750) contract to develop key infrastructure for ANZ Banking Group Ltd's Internet-based services. SecureNet managing director Geoffrey Ross said the contract demonstrated the company's growing international profile as a developer and provider of Internet-based trust solutions. The Melbourne-based company designs and manufactures encryption devices for voice, facsimile and data transmission systems.

Drug purchases go online in Australia
SYDNEY - Medicine Quantale Ltd (ASX:MQL) and secure transaction company Cosmos.com Ltd have signed an agreement that will enable consumers to pay for their pharmaceutical purchases over the telephone or the Internet. The deal between Cosmos and MQL's wholly-owned subsidiary - Pharmasol Pty Ltd - will also allow pharmacists to pay their suppliers electronically, MQL said. MQL Managing Director Paul McGlone said the agreement was the first of its kind in the industry and would provide both pharmacists and customers with a flexible state-of-the-art solution to payment issues.

$211m deal boosts CSR's Stateside presence
SYDNEY - Australia's biggest construction and building company CSR Ltd continues to strengthen its presence in the United States, announcing a A$370 million (US$211.01 million) acquisition. CSR beat four other bidders for American Limestone Company, a major aggregates and pre-mixed concrete producer in Tennessee and Virginia.

Microsoft, Compaq India announce Net alliance
NEW DELHI - US giant Microsoft Corporation and Compaq Computer India Tuesday announced an exclusive partnership under which they will invest Rs10 million ($226,757) to help Indian businesses and developers leverage the Internet for strategic gain. ''For a three month period beginning May 15 the two Information Technology giants will invest Rs10 million to leverage Windows 2000 and Compaq hardware and provide Indian customers with an optimal e-business solution,'' the companies said.

(Asia Pulse)

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