Business in Asia Today

BNP Paribas plans securities joint venture in China
BEIJING - French banking group BNP Paribas and Chinese securities firm Changjiang Securities will set up a Sino-foreign securities joint venture in China. According to an agreement, the joint venture securities company will provide financial services under Chinese laws and regulations, covering the distribution, offering and underwriting of stocks in the primary market. The new company will also offer financial advice and services for mergers and acquisitions. The company will be designed to serve Chinese companies and overseas companies with businesses in China, BNP Paribas said.

Australian wine maker BRL Hardy posts record profit
MELBOURNE - BRL Hardy Ltd (ASX:BRL), an Adelaide-based wine company, has posted a record A$72.2 million (US$37.78 million) full-year profit. BRL said that its annual sales revenue increased by an average rate of 21.4 percent during the past five years, while its full-year profit rose at an average annual rate of 27 percent since 1996, when its net profit was A$21.2 million.

Office Building Fund of Japan meets expectations
TOKYO - Office Building Fund of Japan Inc has posted an operating profit of 12.56 billion yen (US$98.79 million) for the period ended December 31, becoming Japan's first real estate investment trust (REIT) to announce its business results. The operating profit figure was in line with expectations. Office Building Fund booked a net profit of 5.34 billion yen, some 800 million yen above earlier forecasts. Distributable income, equivalent to dividends, stood at 19,026 yen per unit.

Singapore's Eastern Asia Tech sees earnings rise
SINGAPORE - Singapore-listed Eastern Asia Technology (SGX:ESAS) has reported that group pre-tax profits rose by 15 percent to S$14.6 million (US$8 million) for the 2001 fiscal year. Eastern Asia Technology is a designer and contract manufacturer of audio, video and Internet appliances for the sound, vision and Internet industries.

Japan's Furukawa cable-making unit to merge
PRODUCER TOKYO - Furukawa Electric (TSE:5801) announced that Nishiura Wire Co, a Furukawa Electric unit that makes fiber-optic cables and other communications cables, will be merged with a Kumamoto prefecture-based Okano Electric Wire Co group firm on April 1. The new entity will be capitalized at 249 million yen (US$1.96 million), and is expected to earn 3 billion yen in sales in the 2002 fiscal year.

Hong Kong's imGO posts US$2.56m operating profit
HONG KONG - The Hong Kong-listed wireless communications technology investment company imGO Ltd (SEHK:0067), has announced an operating profit of about HK$20 million (US$2.56 million) for the six months to December 31. ImGO said that its current portfolio of wireless technology investments has been valued conservatively, in line with global market conditions.

IBDS appointed ADAX's Asia-Pacific distributor
BERKELEY - Adax, a provider of wide area communications and signaling infrastructure, has appointed International Business Development Specialists (IBDS) as the Asian distributor for its entire collection of hardware and software products. IBDS will focus on all Asia-Pacific countries. Adax was founded in Berkeley, California, in 1982, and for 20 years has been providing signaling solutions for leading telecom companies.

Japan mobile phone subscribers edge up 0.6%
TOKYO - The nation's total subscribers to cellular and PHS (personal handyphone system) phones numbered 73.67 million at the end of February, up 0.6 percent on the year. Subscribers to the 3G (third-generation) FOMA service of NTT DoCoMo Inc (9437) totaled only 56,000, a figure that will make it difficult for the firm to reach its goal of 150,000 by the end of March.

Australia's ailing Dingo Blue to shut down
SYDNEY - Ailing Australian junior telecom Dingo Blue Pty Ltd will be shut down within the next four months. The move will leave its owner A$80 million (US$41.86 million) out of pocket, 170 staff jobless and 68,000 customers up for grabs.

Australian Gas Light to steer clear of telecoms
SYDNEY - The Australian Gas Light Co (AGL) vowed to stick to what it knows best, after a failed telecom venture ate into its half-yearly profit. The energy giant posted a lower-than-expected net profit of A$82.9 million (US$43.6 million) for the six months to December 31, down 60 percent on the same period last year.

Philippines Globe taps foreign market
MANILA - Globe Telecom has tapped foreign markets to fund its programmed US$258 million capital expenditure (capex) this year. Globe said that while it is yet to determine the funding mix for its capex, it is considering a bond offering, peso borrowing, as well as equity infusion and internal cash flow.

Japan's KDDI R&D builds high-speed optical system
TOKYO - KDDI R&D Laboratories Inc has developed an optical communications system that can transmit data equivalent to 1,800 two-hour movies in one second over 320 kilometers. KDDI R&D linked the system, which makes use of WDM (wave division multiplexing) technology, to an existing fiber-optic network in Shizuoka prefecture to send data at 2.52 terabits per second.

Dai Nippon Printing develops cheap smart cards
TOKYO - Dai Nippon Printing (TSE:7912) has developed inexpensive new smart cards for digital authentication and plans to launch them in July 2003. It has put in place a system to mass-produce smart cards that can be used for e-authentication in Windows 2000-based networks.

Yahoo Japan to carry out fifth stock split
TOKYO - Yahoo Japan (TSE:4689) will carry out a two-for-one stock split on March 31, marking the fifth time the firm has split its stock. The company's stock price stood above 150 million yen (US$1.1 million) at its peak, but fell to 5.35 million yen as of Thursday as a result of repeated stock splits and a sharp decline in prices of Internet-related issues.

Fujitsu-Siemens to boost spending in Taiwan
TAIPEI - Germany's Fujitsu-Siemens is planning to increase its Taiwanese investment and procurement to as much as US$800 million this year. Fujitsu-Siemens said that it put $615 million worth of capital investment into Taiwan last year.

Bank of Queensland plans IT upgrade
BRISBANE - The Bank of Queensland (ASX:BOQ) has awarded an American company a A$480 million (US$251 million) contract to outsource and upgrade the bank's information technology (IT) infrastructure. It is estimated the deal will save the bank A$100 million over the next 10 years.

MingHe-Han to build new factory
BEIJING - A new US$1 million factory is to be built in China's Xi'an province, for XinFei File Equipment Manufacturer, by Beijing-based MingHe-Han S&T Co Ltd Jupiter Enterprises Inc (JPEN), the parent firm of the newly acquired MingHe-Han S&T Co. Construction crews will break ground on March 10 and building should be completed within two months.

New Hong Kong construction portal to be set up
HONG KONG - The Canadian-based Conac Software Corp and the Hong Kong-based Macro.Build.com have announced that an agreement has been signed to finance C$2 million (US$1.26 million) for a new Hong Kong Internet joint venture. The joint venture will focus on establishing the first major construction portal service for the Hong Kong, China and Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) regions, to provide complete turnkey services for project and document management control.

BP to export LNG from Papua gas field to China
BIAK - Oil major BP will start exporting liquefied natural gas (LNG) from its gas field in Bintuni Bay in Indonesia's Papua province to China in 2006. The company's senior manager, Sunarto, said on Thursday that the maiden export of LNG to China could be delivered on time as both the central and provincial governments have expressed readiness to ensure the LNG shipment.

Fal Oil, Glencore win Pakistani contract
KARACHI - Pakistan State Oil (PSO) has awarded the contract for importing three cargoes of high sulphur fuel oil (HSFO) under a Japanese grant of US$22 million, to two suppliers, Fal Oil and Glencore. A source close to the PSO said that the Crown Agents for Overseas Governments and Administrations Ltd, which was authorized to manage the administration and procurement of the Japanese grant, on behalf of the government of Pakistan, declared the two companies winners of the contract to bring three cargoes of 55,000 tonnes of HSFO each during the March-April period.

China Northern Airlines adds new routes to Japan
DALIAN - Three new air routes linking Japan and Liaoning province in northeast China will open on April 19, China Northern Airlines announced. The Airbus A-300 will make the three new regular flights. The first will link Dalian, a port city in Liaoning, with Tokyo, another Dalian with Nagoya, and the third will link the province's capital city of Shenyang with Tokyo.

Privatization of Sydney Airport to proceed
CANBERRA - The sale of Sydney Airport is likely to be expedited despite reports of a split in cabinet over the timing of the A$4.5 billion (US$2.34 billion) privatization. Treasurer Peter Costello spelled out clearly his intention to sell Sydney Airport - and quickly.

Hong Kong's Cathay Pacific posts profit plunge
HONG KONG - Major Asia-Pacific carrier Cathay Pacific has reported a plunge in profit attributable to shareholders in 2001, to HK$657 million (US$84 million) from the record HK$5 billion recorded the year before. However, the airline remains upbeat, confident that its problems will be resolved as soon as the global economic slump picks up momentum. The directors have recommended a final dividend of 5 Hong Kong cents a share, 88.9 percent lower than in 2000.

Chinese airlines to be allowed greater foreign investment
BEIJING - Under new legislation, foreign investors will be allowed to own up to 49 percent of Chinese air companies, from the 35 percent permitted currently, aviation officials have announced. This policy may come into effect this year.

Russian auto giant makes Vietnamese debut
HANOI - Russian automobile giant, Ruspromavto Corp has made its debut in Vietnam. Ruspromavto is the largest automobile producer in Russia, manufacturing almost 30 percent of the country's auto output.

Subaru Australia, GM sign agreement
ADELAIDE - Subaru Australia and General Motors Acceptance Corp Australia (GMAC) have signed a three-year agreement to provide vehicle financing in Australia and New Zealand. The alliance between the two organizations will be branded Subaru Finance.

Hyundai, Samsung launch joint marketing campaign
SEOUL - The Hyundai Motor Co and the Samsung Electronics Co have agreed to launch their first-ever joint marketing campaign to expand the sales of Hyundai's New Grandeur XG sedan and Samsung's digital TV Pavv. The joint marketing campaign will be launched on Monday and run through April 30. During that period, anyone who buys both products will receive tickets to World Cup 2002 matches.

India's Maruti Udyog to export Alto model to Europe
NEW DELHI - India's largest car maker Maruti Udyog Ltd (MUL) will export a small size Alto VX passenger car to the European markets under the brand name of Suzuki Alto. MUL launched the Alto VX at the Geneva Motor Show as Suzuki Alto. The car will be manufactured at the company's Gurgaon factory and sold in western Europe.

(Asia Pulse)