IDEMITSU, MITSUI CHEM, OTHERS PLAN VIETNAM PETROCHEMICAL COMPLEX
TOKYO (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - Japan's Idemitsu Kosan Co. (TSE:5019) and Mitsui Chemicals Inc. (TSE:4183) said Thursday they will construct a petrochemical complex in Vietnam with Kuwait Petroleum International Ltd. and PetroVietnam.
The firms have agreed to set up a joint venture, Nghi Son Refinery & Petrochemical LLC, in June at a capitalization of US$200 million. The joint venture will build a refinery and a petrochemical plant at a total cost of US$5.8 billion. The complex is to begin operating in late 2013 with a daily refining capacity of 200,000 barrels.
It is expected to produce petroleum products, such as gasoline, kerosene and diesel oil, as well as polypropylene, paraxylene and other basic petrochemical materials. Output will be sold in Vietnam and neighboring countries.
INDIAN M&A VALUE NEARS US$6 BLN IN FIRST 2 MONTHS
NEW DELHI (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - Indian corporates have announced 92 merger and acquisition deals, valued at nearly US$6 billion, in the first two months of the new calender year, global consultancy firm Grant Thonrton has said.
Banking and financial services, and shipping and ports attracted the maximum deals during the period. Outbound deals have outnumbered domestic ones in terms of value breakup. Domestic deals accounted for US$2.7 billion, whereas outbound deals totalled US$2.8 billion.
Inbound deals were valued at US$0.45 billion, the report showed. The most significant M&A deal in the first two months of 2008 was HDFC Bank's (BSE:500180) acquisition of Centurion Bank of Punjab (BSE:532273) followed by a subsequent merger. The M&A scene recently received a major boost with Tata Motors (BSE:500570) acquisition of iconic brands Jaguar and Land Rover from Ford for US$2.30 billion.
AUSTRALIA 3RD MOST COMPETITIVE BUSINESS ARENA INTERNATIONALLY: SURVEY
SYDNEY (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - Australia has been ranked the fourth most competitive place to do business behind Mexico, Canada and the United States, in a new survey. Melbourne also triumphed over Sydney as the most competitive big city in Australia, according to the study carried out by professional services firm KPMG.
The KPMG Competitive Alternatives Survey compared business costs in 10 countries and 136 cities and showed Australia was one of the cheapest countries in the industrialised world to base a business.
However, only one per cent separated Australia from second place. KPMG chief executive Geoff Wilson said Australia was an excellent base for business given its distinct cost advantage. Australia ranked second for manufacturing costs, had the third most competitive transportation costs and the fourth cheapest labour costs of the countries surveyed.
INDONESIA KEEN TO PURCHASE THAI RICE, SAYS PM
JAKARTA (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - Thailand's Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej on Thursday said that Indonesia expressed a desire to buy Thai rice on an annual basis and that Thailand wanted to purchase liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) from Indonesia in reciprocation.
Initially, the Indonesian government expressed its intention to buy 100,000-300,000 tonnes of Thai rice each year and the Thai government wanted to purchase one million tonnes of LPG from Indonesia in return. Additionally, Jakarta was willing to support Thailand's plan to buy fertilizers, which are abundant in Indonesia.
Mr Yudhoyono said Thailand and Indonesia would discuss the bilateral cooperation at all levels and expand their cooperation in trade and investment, security, energy, and fishery affairs to increase trade value.
NESTLE OPENS ICE CREAM PLANT IN SOUTH CHINA
GUANGZHOU (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - Nestle opened a new ice cream plant in south China on Wednesday, demonstrating its aim to further develop the Chinese market. The 22,000-sq-m factory, in Guangzhou will increase the food and drink giant's annual ice cream productivity to 64 million liters, three times the output from its old facilities.
The plant, involving 250 million yuan (US$35.6 million) in investment, will help Nestle to promote its high-end ice cream brand in south China and meet the growing demand for ice cream products, said Peter Brabeck-Letmathe, chairman and CEO of the Nestle Group worldwide at the opening ceremony.
Nestle, the world's largest food company, has opened 20 factories in 17 regions across China since it entered the market two decades ago, employing more than 13,000 people.
HONG KONG LAUNCHES FREE WI-FI TO SHARPEN COMPETITIVE EDGE
HONG KONG (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government on Thursday officially launched a Wi-Fi program to give free access to hotspots, which an official said would help sharpen the city's competitive edge.
The GovWiFi program now gives free access to wireless Internet at over 30 government buildings and will have put in place around 2,000 hotspots to cover about 350 locations by mid-2009, said Frederick Ma, secretary for commerce and economic development.
The program will cover libraries, government offices, job centers, public inquiry centers, sports, cultural and recreation centers, community centers and parks. Ma said the provision of public Wi-Fi services was booming, with over 1,000 hotspots installed in just the first two months of 2008.
JAPANESE TO SPEND US$6 BLN ON INDONESIAN OIL REFINERY, LNG PROJECTS
JAKARTA (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - Three Japanese investors have agreed to cooperate with Indonesia's PT Pertamina to invest US$6.5 billion on oil refinery and liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects in Indonesia.
Mitsui Oil Exploration Co. will team up with Pertamina to modify the Cilacap oil refinery in Central Java at a cost of US$1.9 billion expanding its processing capacity from 348,000 to 410,000 barrels of crude per day. Pertamina will also, in cooperation with Itochu Corp. (TSE:8001), expand the daily processing capacity of its oil refinery in Balikpapan from to 280,000 barrels and that of the Balongan refinery in Indramayu to 250,000 barrels at a cost of around US$3.2 billion, a Pertamina official said.
Pertamina also plans to build an LNG plant in Senoro, Central Sulawesi at a cost of US$1.4 billion in cooperation with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (TSE: 7011).
SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS TARGETS US$70 BLN IN SALES
SEOUL (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - Samsung Electronics Co. (KSE:005930) plans to increase its annual sales to 70 trillion won (US$70.6 billion) this year, the company's vice chairman Yoon said Friday. For 2007, Samsung Electronics posted 7.42 trillion won in net profit on sales of 63.17 trillion won.
It was the first time that Samsung saw its yearly sales figure, excluding earnings in overseas units, exceed the 60-trillion-won mark.
Competition will become fiercer in the global electronics market, Yoon forecasted, saying structures of competition between businesses will become more complex and Japanese companies will try to regain market leadership.
CHINA CITIC BANK REPORTS 2007 NET PROFIT MORE THAN DOUBLED
BEIJING (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - China CITIC Bank (SEHK:0998, SSX:601998), the nation's seventh largest lender, said its net profit more than doubled last year, powered by a jump in interest and fee income.
Net profit rose to 8.29 billion yuan (US$1.18 billion) from 3.73 billion yuan last year, the bank said in a statement to the Shanghai Stock Exchange. Per-share earnings rose to 0.23 yuan from 0.12 yuan in 2006.
Operating revenue surged 56.1 per cent from a year earlier to 27.8 billion yuan in 2007, it said. Net interest income rose 58.9 per cent to 26.2 billion yuan last year on increasing outstanding loans. CITIC bank raised US$5.4 billion in April through simultaneous initial public offerings in Shanghai and Hong Kong.
BANGLADESH'S GRAMEEN CYBERNET SIGNS BROADBAND DEAL WITH ERICSSON
DHAKA (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - Grameen CyberNet Limited has signed a deal with Ericsson to have technological facilities to provide advanced broadband services like games and video-on-demand to its customers.
The facility would be a fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) network based on Ericsson's GPON (Gigabit Passive Optical Network) solution, said a press release Wednesday.
Under the agreement, Ericsson will deliver central office optical equipment and devices for the home base on its EDA 1500 solution, plus infrastructure such as fiber systems and cables.
Source:
Business in Asia Today - MARCH 28, 2008
published by Asia Pulse
COPYRIGHT © 2008
TOKYO (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - Japan's Idemitsu Kosan Co. (TSE:5019) and Mitsui Chemicals Inc. (TSE:4183) said Thursday they will construct a petrochemical complex in Vietnam with Kuwait Petroleum International Ltd. and PetroVietnam.
The firms have agreed to set up a joint venture, Nghi Son Refinery & Petrochemical LLC, in June at a capitalization of US$200 million. The joint venture will build a refinery and a petrochemical plant at a total cost of US$5.8 billion. The complex is to begin operating in late 2013 with a daily refining capacity of 200,000 barrels.
It is expected to produce petroleum products, such as gasoline, kerosene and diesel oil, as well as polypropylene, paraxylene and other basic petrochemical materials. Output will be sold in Vietnam and neighboring countries.
INDIAN M&A VALUE NEARS US$6 BLN IN FIRST 2 MONTHS
NEW DELHI (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - Indian corporates have announced 92 merger and acquisition deals, valued at nearly US$6 billion, in the first two months of the new calender year, global consultancy firm Grant Thonrton has said.
Banking and financial services, and shipping and ports attracted the maximum deals during the period. Outbound deals have outnumbered domestic ones in terms of value breakup. Domestic deals accounted for US$2.7 billion, whereas outbound deals totalled US$2.8 billion.
Inbound deals were valued at US$0.45 billion, the report showed. The most significant M&A deal in the first two months of 2008 was HDFC Bank's (BSE:500180) acquisition of Centurion Bank of Punjab (BSE:532273) followed by a subsequent merger. The M&A scene recently received a major boost with Tata Motors (BSE:500570) acquisition of iconic brands Jaguar and Land Rover from Ford for US$2.30 billion.
AUSTRALIA 3RD MOST COMPETITIVE BUSINESS ARENA INTERNATIONALLY: SURVEY
SYDNEY (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - Australia has been ranked the fourth most competitive place to do business behind Mexico, Canada and the United States, in a new survey. Melbourne also triumphed over Sydney as the most competitive big city in Australia, according to the study carried out by professional services firm KPMG.
The KPMG Competitive Alternatives Survey compared business costs in 10 countries and 136 cities and showed Australia was one of the cheapest countries in the industrialised world to base a business.
However, only one per cent separated Australia from second place. KPMG chief executive Geoff Wilson said Australia was an excellent base for business given its distinct cost advantage. Australia ranked second for manufacturing costs, had the third most competitive transportation costs and the fourth cheapest labour costs of the countries surveyed.
INDONESIA KEEN TO PURCHASE THAI RICE, SAYS PM
JAKARTA (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - Thailand's Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej on Thursday said that Indonesia expressed a desire to buy Thai rice on an annual basis and that Thailand wanted to purchase liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) from Indonesia in reciprocation.
Initially, the Indonesian government expressed its intention to buy 100,000-300,000 tonnes of Thai rice each year and the Thai government wanted to purchase one million tonnes of LPG from Indonesia in return. Additionally, Jakarta was willing to support Thailand's plan to buy fertilizers, which are abundant in Indonesia.
Mr Yudhoyono said Thailand and Indonesia would discuss the bilateral cooperation at all levels and expand their cooperation in trade and investment, security, energy, and fishery affairs to increase trade value.
NESTLE OPENS ICE CREAM PLANT IN SOUTH CHINA
GUANGZHOU (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - Nestle opened a new ice cream plant in south China on Wednesday, demonstrating its aim to further develop the Chinese market. The 22,000-sq-m factory, in Guangzhou will increase the food and drink giant's annual ice cream productivity to 64 million liters, three times the output from its old facilities.
The plant, involving 250 million yuan (US$35.6 million) in investment, will help Nestle to promote its high-end ice cream brand in south China and meet the growing demand for ice cream products, said Peter Brabeck-Letmathe, chairman and CEO of the Nestle Group worldwide at the opening ceremony.
Nestle, the world's largest food company, has opened 20 factories in 17 regions across China since it entered the market two decades ago, employing more than 13,000 people.
HONG KONG LAUNCHES FREE WI-FI TO SHARPEN COMPETITIVE EDGE
HONG KONG (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government on Thursday officially launched a Wi-Fi program to give free access to hotspots, which an official said would help sharpen the city's competitive edge.
The GovWiFi program now gives free access to wireless Internet at over 30 government buildings and will have put in place around 2,000 hotspots to cover about 350 locations by mid-2009, said Frederick Ma, secretary for commerce and economic development.
The program will cover libraries, government offices, job centers, public inquiry centers, sports, cultural and recreation centers, community centers and parks. Ma said the provision of public Wi-Fi services was booming, with over 1,000 hotspots installed in just the first two months of 2008.
JAPANESE TO SPEND US$6 BLN ON INDONESIAN OIL REFINERY, LNG PROJECTS
JAKARTA (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - Three Japanese investors have agreed to cooperate with Indonesia's PT Pertamina to invest US$6.5 billion on oil refinery and liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects in Indonesia.
Mitsui Oil Exploration Co. will team up with Pertamina to modify the Cilacap oil refinery in Central Java at a cost of US$1.9 billion expanding its processing capacity from 348,000 to 410,000 barrels of crude per day. Pertamina will also, in cooperation with Itochu Corp. (TSE:8001), expand the daily processing capacity of its oil refinery in Balikpapan from to 280,000 barrels and that of the Balongan refinery in Indramayu to 250,000 barrels at a cost of around US$3.2 billion, a Pertamina official said.
Pertamina also plans to build an LNG plant in Senoro, Central Sulawesi at a cost of US$1.4 billion in cooperation with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (TSE: 7011).
SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS TARGETS US$70 BLN IN SALES
SEOUL (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - Samsung Electronics Co. (KSE:005930) plans to increase its annual sales to 70 trillion won (US$70.6 billion) this year, the company's vice chairman Yoon said Friday. For 2007, Samsung Electronics posted 7.42 trillion won in net profit on sales of 63.17 trillion won.
It was the first time that Samsung saw its yearly sales figure, excluding earnings in overseas units, exceed the 60-trillion-won mark.
Competition will become fiercer in the global electronics market, Yoon forecasted, saying structures of competition between businesses will become more complex and Japanese companies will try to regain market leadership.
CHINA CITIC BANK REPORTS 2007 NET PROFIT MORE THAN DOUBLED
BEIJING (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - China CITIC Bank (SEHK:0998, SSX:601998), the nation's seventh largest lender, said its net profit more than doubled last year, powered by a jump in interest and fee income.
Net profit rose to 8.29 billion yuan (US$1.18 billion) from 3.73 billion yuan last year, the bank said in a statement to the Shanghai Stock Exchange. Per-share earnings rose to 0.23 yuan from 0.12 yuan in 2006.
Operating revenue surged 56.1 per cent from a year earlier to 27.8 billion yuan in 2007, it said. Net interest income rose 58.9 per cent to 26.2 billion yuan last year on increasing outstanding loans. CITIC bank raised US$5.4 billion in April through simultaneous initial public offerings in Shanghai and Hong Kong.
BANGLADESH'S GRAMEEN CYBERNET SIGNS BROADBAND DEAL WITH ERICSSON
DHAKA (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - Grameen CyberNet Limited has signed a deal with Ericsson to have technological facilities to provide advanced broadband services like games and video-on-demand to its customers.
The facility would be a fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) network based on Ericsson's GPON (Gigabit Passive Optical Network) solution, said a press release Wednesday.
Under the agreement, Ericsson will deliver central office optical equipment and devices for the home base on its EDA 1500 solution, plus infrastructure such as fiber systems and cables.
Source:
Business in Asia Today - MARCH 28, 2008
published by Asia Pulse
COPYRIGHT © 2008
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