S KOREA'S KOOKMIN BANK TO BUY 30 PCT STAKE IN KAZAKH LENDER
SEOUL (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - South Korea's top lender Kookmin Bank (KSE:060000) said today it had decided to buy a 30 per cent stake in a bank in Kazakhstan for 621.3 billion won (US$623.2 million) as part of efforts to expand its global networks. Kookmin Bank said it had agreed to buy the stake in Bank CenterCredit, Kazakhstan's sixth-largest lender, and planned to increase its holdings to as much as 50.1 per cent through stock purchases or new share offerings. "The deal will pave the way for Kookmin to secure a new growth engine by tapping the Central Asian markets," an official at Kookmin Bank said.
HANOI'S NOI BAI AIRPORT TO BUILD SECOND TERMINAL
HANOI (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - The construction of a second passenger terminal (T2) at Hanoi's Noi Bai International Airport is expected to commence in October 2008.
The T2 terminal will be built at a cost of close to US$419 million, which comes from the national reserve capital through the Viet Nam Development Bank. It is designed to receive 10 million passengers per annum once it becomes operational in October, 2010, coinciding with the 1,000th anniversary of Thang Long-Ha Noi.
At that time, the existing terminal T1 capable of handling 6 million passengers will only serve domestic flights.
SAMSUNG HEAVY WINS US$1.3 BLN SHIP ORDER
SEOUL (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - Samsung Heavy Industries Co. (KSE:010140), the world's second-largest shipyard, said today that it had won a deal valued at 1.35 trillion won (US$1.3 billion) to build two drill ships.
The deal with an unidentified American company called on Samsung Heavy to deliver the vessels, used for deep-water oil exploration, by July 2011, the company said in a regulatory filing.
Shipyards in South Korea, the world's largest shipbuilding nation, have received record orders in recent years as demand has surged for vessels to transport raw materials to China and goods to the rest of the world.
MITSUBISHI MOTORS TO OFFER LOW-EMISSION DIESEL VEHICLES IN JAPAN
TOKYO (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - Mitsubishi Motors Corp. (TSE:7211), which already has plans to sell low-emission diesel vehicles in Europe, will release them at home as well, President Osamu Masuko told The Nikkei in an interview.
"Market conditions have ripened for diesel vehicles in Japan," Masuko said in reference to such factors as higher environmental awareness. Mitsubishi Motors plans to sell diesel vehicles domestically following their 2009 European launch.
In its three-year business plan through fiscal 2010 drawn up at the end of last month, the automaker says it will spend an average of 90 billion yen (US$895.6 million) a year on capital investment, up 7 per cent from the average for the previous three years, and an average of 80 billion yen a year on R&D, up 8 per cent.
Most of this money is to be spent on environmental technologies, including electric vehicles.
INDONESIA'S PT SAMPOERNA TO INVEST $US66 MLN IN EXPANSION
JAKARTA (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - Agribusiness company PT Sampoerna Agro (JSX:SGRO) has said it will invest up to Rp600 billion (US$66 million) this year building new palm oil processing plants and expanding oil palm plantations.
The company planned to start planting oil palm trees on more than 15,000 hectares of plantation land in Sumatra and to open 20,000 hectares of new plantation lands, President Allan Goeh said.
The company may not need to borrow to finance the investment as it is financially healthy, he said.
The company earned handsome profits last year, with the soaring price of palm oil rising to US$1,200 per ton from earlier expectations of only US$585 per ton.
CHINA'S FIRST JOINT FUTURES FIRM TO ACCELERATE NATIONAL DISTRIBUTION
BEIJING (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - The Galaxy Futures Brokerage Co., Ltd., China's first joint futures company, will accelerate distribution nationwide to set up operations in China's major cities before the end of this year, said Chen Xiaoxue, chairman of the company.
Jointly funded by Galaxy Securities Brokerage Company and ABN AMRO Bank, the futures company, with registered capital of 120 million yuan (US$16.9 million) has established seven operations in seven Chinese cities, including Beijing and Shanghai.
The company plans to establish six to eight operations within a year and transfer its headquarters from Dalian to Beijing.
SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS TO UPGRADE CHIP LINES
SEOUL (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - Samsung Electronics Co. (KSE:05930, the world's largest maker of computer memory chips, has said it will spend 1.34 trillion won (US$1.3 billion) to upgrade its existing memory chip lines.
The investment was aimed at boosting price competitiveness by lowering production costs, Samsung Electronics said in a regulatory filing.
AUSTRALIA'S HASTIE GROUP ACQUIRES TWO QLD HYDRAULICS FIRMS
SYDNEY (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - Industrial refrigeration and building services company Hastie Group Ltd (ASX:HST) has acquired two hydraulics firms in Queensland and reaffirmed its full year earnings guidance.
Hastie will pay a combined purchase price for the two businesses, Beavis & Bartels and GTS Plumbing, of $A21.5 million ($US19.98 million) cash, plus a performance-based earn out over two years.
"These two acquisitions are the next significant step in our stated strategy to build a national commercial hydraulics business," chief executive David Harris said.
BAKRIE TELECOM CHALKS UP 98 PCT INCREASE IN NET PROFIT
JAKARTA (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - The net profit of publicly traded telecommunications company PT Bakrie Telecom (JSX:BTEL) shot up 98.5 per cent to Rp144.27 billion (US$16 million) last year, from only Rp72.68 billion in the previous year.
Company finance director Jastiro Abi attributed the increase in profit to the fast-growing number of subscribers and the successful expansion of coverage to the regions.
Jastiro said the increase in the number of subscribers to 3.82 million from 1.55 million had resulted in a 112 per cent rise in its income to Rp1.29 trillion from Rp607.07 billion. In 2007, the firm expanded its network service to 17 more cities, bringing the number of cities it covers to 34.
HONG KONG GNP RISES 14.6 PCT IN FOURTH QUARTER OF 2007
HONG KONG (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - Hong Kong's gross national product in the fourth quarter of last year rose by 14.6 per cent over a year earlier to 465.3 billion HK dollars ($US59.8 billion), according to the latest official figures.
During the period, the gross domestic product of Hong Kong is estimated at 447.2 billion HK dollars, up 11.7 per cent, said the Census and Statistics Department of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government.
After netting out the effect of price changes, Hong Kong's GNP rose 9.4 per cent in real terms.
Source:
Business in Asia Today - MARCH 17, 2008
published by Asia Pulse
COPYRIGHT © 2008
SEOUL (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - South Korea's top lender Kookmin Bank (KSE:060000) said today it had decided to buy a 30 per cent stake in a bank in Kazakhstan for 621.3 billion won (US$623.2 million) as part of efforts to expand its global networks. Kookmin Bank said it had agreed to buy the stake in Bank CenterCredit, Kazakhstan's sixth-largest lender, and planned to increase its holdings to as much as 50.1 per cent through stock purchases or new share offerings. "The deal will pave the way for Kookmin to secure a new growth engine by tapping the Central Asian markets," an official at Kookmin Bank said.
HANOI'S NOI BAI AIRPORT TO BUILD SECOND TERMINAL
HANOI (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - The construction of a second passenger terminal (T2) at Hanoi's Noi Bai International Airport is expected to commence in October 2008.
The T2 terminal will be built at a cost of close to US$419 million, which comes from the national reserve capital through the Viet Nam Development Bank. It is designed to receive 10 million passengers per annum once it becomes operational in October, 2010, coinciding with the 1,000th anniversary of Thang Long-Ha Noi.
At that time, the existing terminal T1 capable of handling 6 million passengers will only serve domestic flights.
SAMSUNG HEAVY WINS US$1.3 BLN SHIP ORDER
SEOUL (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - Samsung Heavy Industries Co. (KSE:010140), the world's second-largest shipyard, said today that it had won a deal valued at 1.35 trillion won (US$1.3 billion) to build two drill ships.
The deal with an unidentified American company called on Samsung Heavy to deliver the vessels, used for deep-water oil exploration, by July 2011, the company said in a regulatory filing.
Shipyards in South Korea, the world's largest shipbuilding nation, have received record orders in recent years as demand has surged for vessels to transport raw materials to China and goods to the rest of the world.
MITSUBISHI MOTORS TO OFFER LOW-EMISSION DIESEL VEHICLES IN JAPAN
TOKYO (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - Mitsubishi Motors Corp. (TSE:7211), which already has plans to sell low-emission diesel vehicles in Europe, will release them at home as well, President Osamu Masuko told The Nikkei in an interview.
"Market conditions have ripened for diesel vehicles in Japan," Masuko said in reference to such factors as higher environmental awareness. Mitsubishi Motors plans to sell diesel vehicles domestically following their 2009 European launch.
In its three-year business plan through fiscal 2010 drawn up at the end of last month, the automaker says it will spend an average of 90 billion yen (US$895.6 million) a year on capital investment, up 7 per cent from the average for the previous three years, and an average of 80 billion yen a year on R&D, up 8 per cent.
Most of this money is to be spent on environmental technologies, including electric vehicles.
INDONESIA'S PT SAMPOERNA TO INVEST $US66 MLN IN EXPANSION
JAKARTA (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - Agribusiness company PT Sampoerna Agro (JSX:SGRO) has said it will invest up to Rp600 billion (US$66 million) this year building new palm oil processing plants and expanding oil palm plantations.
The company planned to start planting oil palm trees on more than 15,000 hectares of plantation land in Sumatra and to open 20,000 hectares of new plantation lands, President Allan Goeh said.
The company may not need to borrow to finance the investment as it is financially healthy, he said.
The company earned handsome profits last year, with the soaring price of palm oil rising to US$1,200 per ton from earlier expectations of only US$585 per ton.
CHINA'S FIRST JOINT FUTURES FIRM TO ACCELERATE NATIONAL DISTRIBUTION
BEIJING (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - The Galaxy Futures Brokerage Co., Ltd., China's first joint futures company, will accelerate distribution nationwide to set up operations in China's major cities before the end of this year, said Chen Xiaoxue, chairman of the company.
Jointly funded by Galaxy Securities Brokerage Company and ABN AMRO Bank, the futures company, with registered capital of 120 million yuan (US$16.9 million) has established seven operations in seven Chinese cities, including Beijing and Shanghai.
The company plans to establish six to eight operations within a year and transfer its headquarters from Dalian to Beijing.
SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS TO UPGRADE CHIP LINES
SEOUL (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - Samsung Electronics Co. (KSE:05930, the world's largest maker of computer memory chips, has said it will spend 1.34 trillion won (US$1.3 billion) to upgrade its existing memory chip lines.
The investment was aimed at boosting price competitiveness by lowering production costs, Samsung Electronics said in a regulatory filing.
AUSTRALIA'S HASTIE GROUP ACQUIRES TWO QLD HYDRAULICS FIRMS
SYDNEY (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - Industrial refrigeration and building services company Hastie Group Ltd (ASX:HST) has acquired two hydraulics firms in Queensland and reaffirmed its full year earnings guidance.
Hastie will pay a combined purchase price for the two businesses, Beavis & Bartels and GTS Plumbing, of $A21.5 million ($US19.98 million) cash, plus a performance-based earn out over two years.
"These two acquisitions are the next significant step in our stated strategy to build a national commercial hydraulics business," chief executive David Harris said.
BAKRIE TELECOM CHALKS UP 98 PCT INCREASE IN NET PROFIT
JAKARTA (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - The net profit of publicly traded telecommunications company PT Bakrie Telecom (JSX:BTEL) shot up 98.5 per cent to Rp144.27 billion (US$16 million) last year, from only Rp72.68 billion in the previous year.
Company finance director Jastiro Abi attributed the increase in profit to the fast-growing number of subscribers and the successful expansion of coverage to the regions.
Jastiro said the increase in the number of subscribers to 3.82 million from 1.55 million had resulted in a 112 per cent rise in its income to Rp1.29 trillion from Rp607.07 billion. In 2007, the firm expanded its network service to 17 more cities, bringing the number of cities it covers to 34.
HONG KONG GNP RISES 14.6 PCT IN FOURTH QUARTER OF 2007
HONG KONG (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - Hong Kong's gross national product in the fourth quarter of last year rose by 14.6 per cent over a year earlier to 465.3 billion HK dollars ($US59.8 billion), according to the latest official figures.
During the period, the gross domestic product of Hong Kong is estimated at 447.2 billion HK dollars, up 11.7 per cent, said the Census and Statistics Department of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government.
After netting out the effect of price changes, Hong Kong's GNP rose 9.4 per cent in real terms.
Source:
Business in Asia Today - MARCH 17, 2008
published by Asia Pulse
COPYRIGHT © 2008
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