VIETNAMESE CO, PARTNERS INK JV CONTRACT ON NGHI SON OIL REFINERY
Hcm City (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - A joint venture contract on the Nghi Son oil refinery and petrochemical project was signed in Ho Chi Minh City on April 7.
The complex, the largest so far, will be built in Nghi Son commune, Tinh Gia district of the central province of Thanh Hoa with an investment capital of US$6 billion for its first phase.
The joint venture is between the Vietnam National Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam) and Kuwaiti and Japanese partners. The first phase includes the construction of an oil refinery with an annual capacity of 7 million tonnes of crude oil, a polypropylene plant with an annual manufacturing capacity of between 150,000-350,000 tonnes and a polyester fibres plant that is expected to pump out 260,000 tonnes a year.
TOSHIBA LIFTS COMMERCIAL PAPER ISSUANCE PROGRAM TO Y400 BLN
Tokyo (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - In preparation for rising funding demand, Toshiba Corp. (TSE:6502) has boosted its issuance program for commercial paper to 400 billion yen (US$3.9 billion) from a previous 250 billion yen.
The company's funding needs are poised to grow as it actively expands its businesses in areas such as semiconductors and nuclear power plants.
Toshiba plans to begin building flash memory factories in Iwate and Mie prefectures in spring 2009. Its combined investment, along with its partner, U.S. data storage product manufacturer SanDisk Corp., will top 1.7 trillion yen.
HYUNDAI MOTOR STARTS 2ND PLANT IN CHINA
Beijing (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - South Korea's Hyundai Motor Co. (KSE:005380) on Tuesday started commercial operations at its second factory in China as part of its efforts to drive up sales in the world's fastest-growing automobile market.
The new US$790 million facility on the outskirts of Beijing is expected to eventually allow Hyundai Motor to double its production capacity in China to 600,000 units a year.
In a statement, Hyundai Motor Chairman Chung Mong-koo said the second plant will help the automaker cut costs and introduce vehicles for Chinese drivers.
SANTOS AWARDS DESIGN CONTRACTS FOR AUSTRALIAN LNG PROJECT
Perth (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - Foster Wheeler and Bechtel Corporation have been awarded preliminary engineering and design contracts for Santos Ltd's proposed A$7.7 billion (US$7 billion) Gladstone liquified natural gas (LNG) project in Queensland. The two studies, to be undertaken in parallel, are expected to take six months to complete.
Santos said it anticipated a final investment decision by the end of 2009 and first LNG cargo by early 2014.
Santos acting chief executive David Knox said the Gladstone plant would involve coal seam gas being cooled to LNG then exported to Japan, China and South Korea.
INDIA'S GODREJ ENTERS WOMEN'S HYGIENE MARKET WITH SWEDISH CO
New Delhi (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - India's Godrej Consumer Products (GPCL) (BSE:532424) has forayed into the women's hygiene market through a joint venture with Sweden-based SCA Hygiene Products AB with plans to set up a Rs 400 million (US$10 million) manufacturing unit.
Godrej SCA Hygiene, an 50:50 joint venture between the two companies, has introduced sanitary napkin brand 'Libresse', from SCA's global portfolio.
It is aiming to capture a 15-20 per cent share of the women's hygiene market India in the next 3 years, currently pegged at Rs 700 crore and growing at 9 per cent per annum.
INDIA'S RELIANCE MONEY DRAWS UP AGGRESSIVE GLOBAL EXPANSION PLAN
New Delhi (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - Seeking to complement its domestic target of doubling its Indian presence to 20,000 outlets this year, Anil Ambani group's Reliance Money has drawn out an aggressive expansion plan for the overseas market to set up shop in about half a dozen locations by the end the current fiscal year.
Reliance Money CEO Sudip Bandyopadhyay said the company will be setting up offices in six to seven strategic locations around the world in 2008-09.
S KOREA'S FEBRUARY RETAIL SALES GROW 7.2 PCT
Seoul (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - Retail sales in South Korea grew 7.2 per cent in February from a year earlier, fueled by strong demand for cosmetics and automobile fuel, a government report said Tuesday.
According to the report by the Korea National Statistical Office (NSO), South Korea's retail sales amounted to 19.41 trillion won (US$19.89 billion) in February.
Department store sales rose 5.7 per cent annually, while sales at large-sized discount shops surged 4.6 per cent over the cited period, the office said.
CHINA'S IMPORTED MILK POWDER PRICES RISE ON STRONG DEMAND
Shanghai (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - The retail prices in China of imported milk powder under brands such as Wyeth, Meadjohnson, Dumex and Nestle have been raised in recent weeks, and the range of the price hikes is largely 5-7 per cent. Market analysts attribute this mainly to strong demand for milk products in China and cost rises caused by global grain prices hikes.
The prices of imported milk powder products have been rising since the second half of last year, to about 200 yuan (US$27.83) for a can of 900 grams at present, from about 160 yuan a year ago.
Customs statistics show that China imported 299,000 tons of milk products in 2007, down 14.2 per cent year on year, but the import value reached US$740 million, up 33.3 per cent.
TAIWAN'S MARCH CPI UP 3.96 PCT YR-ON-YR
Taipei (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - Led by a 9.33 per cent hike in food prices, Taiwan's consumer price index (CPI) rose to 103.12 in March, representing a 3.96 per cent rise compared to the same month last year, the statistics bureau announced Monday.
"Although March's CPI was 1.07 per cent lower than in February, the CPI for the first quarter still recorded an average increase of 3.59 per cent," said Chao-Ming Wu, a section chief of the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS).
The month-on-month decline in inflation reflected a fall in prices from highs set during the Chinese New Year holiday, when the prices of overseas travel, caretakers, and fruits and vegetables usually spike.
INDONESIA TO END PORT OPERATOR'S MONOPOLY DESPITE PROTEST
Jakarta (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - The Indonesian government and the House of Representatives are set to pass a new maritime bill into law calling for an end to the monopoly of state port operators, despite strong opposition from longshoremen.
The bill will end the monopoly enjoyed by PT Pelabuhan Indonesia (Pelindo) I, II, III and IV at 112 major ports in the country.
Around 10,000 longshoremen led by the port labor union (SPPI) are set to stage a strike today when the House holds a plenary session on the bill potentially disrupting exports.
Chairman of the Commission V Ahmad Muqowam said in principle both the House and the government had approved the bill and that it would be passed into law today.
Source:
Business in Asia Today - MARCH 18, 2008
published by Asia Pulse
COPYRIGHT © 2008
Hcm City (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - A joint venture contract on the Nghi Son oil refinery and petrochemical project was signed in Ho Chi Minh City on April 7.
The complex, the largest so far, will be built in Nghi Son commune, Tinh Gia district of the central province of Thanh Hoa with an investment capital of US$6 billion for its first phase.
The joint venture is between the Vietnam National Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam) and Kuwaiti and Japanese partners. The first phase includes the construction of an oil refinery with an annual capacity of 7 million tonnes of crude oil, a polypropylene plant with an annual manufacturing capacity of between 150,000-350,000 tonnes and a polyester fibres plant that is expected to pump out 260,000 tonnes a year.
TOSHIBA LIFTS COMMERCIAL PAPER ISSUANCE PROGRAM TO Y400 BLN
Tokyo (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - In preparation for rising funding demand, Toshiba Corp. (TSE:6502) has boosted its issuance program for commercial paper to 400 billion yen (US$3.9 billion) from a previous 250 billion yen.
The company's funding needs are poised to grow as it actively expands its businesses in areas such as semiconductors and nuclear power plants.
Toshiba plans to begin building flash memory factories in Iwate and Mie prefectures in spring 2009. Its combined investment, along with its partner, U.S. data storage product manufacturer SanDisk Corp., will top 1.7 trillion yen.
HYUNDAI MOTOR STARTS 2ND PLANT IN CHINA
Beijing (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - South Korea's Hyundai Motor Co. (KSE:005380) on Tuesday started commercial operations at its second factory in China as part of its efforts to drive up sales in the world's fastest-growing automobile market.
The new US$790 million facility on the outskirts of Beijing is expected to eventually allow Hyundai Motor to double its production capacity in China to 600,000 units a year.
In a statement, Hyundai Motor Chairman Chung Mong-koo said the second plant will help the automaker cut costs and introduce vehicles for Chinese drivers.
SANTOS AWARDS DESIGN CONTRACTS FOR AUSTRALIAN LNG PROJECT
Perth (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - Foster Wheeler and Bechtel Corporation have been awarded preliminary engineering and design contracts for Santos Ltd's proposed A$7.7 billion (US$7 billion) Gladstone liquified natural gas (LNG) project in Queensland. The two studies, to be undertaken in parallel, are expected to take six months to complete.
Santos said it anticipated a final investment decision by the end of 2009 and first LNG cargo by early 2014.
Santos acting chief executive David Knox said the Gladstone plant would involve coal seam gas being cooled to LNG then exported to Japan, China and South Korea.
INDIA'S GODREJ ENTERS WOMEN'S HYGIENE MARKET WITH SWEDISH CO
New Delhi (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - India's Godrej Consumer Products (GPCL) (BSE:532424) has forayed into the women's hygiene market through a joint venture with Sweden-based SCA Hygiene Products AB with plans to set up a Rs 400 million (US$10 million) manufacturing unit.
Godrej SCA Hygiene, an 50:50 joint venture between the two companies, has introduced sanitary napkin brand 'Libresse', from SCA's global portfolio.
It is aiming to capture a 15-20 per cent share of the women's hygiene market India in the next 3 years, currently pegged at Rs 700 crore and growing at 9 per cent per annum.
INDIA'S RELIANCE MONEY DRAWS UP AGGRESSIVE GLOBAL EXPANSION PLAN
New Delhi (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - Seeking to complement its domestic target of doubling its Indian presence to 20,000 outlets this year, Anil Ambani group's Reliance Money has drawn out an aggressive expansion plan for the overseas market to set up shop in about half a dozen locations by the end the current fiscal year.
Reliance Money CEO Sudip Bandyopadhyay said the company will be setting up offices in six to seven strategic locations around the world in 2008-09.
S KOREA'S FEBRUARY RETAIL SALES GROW 7.2 PCT
Seoul (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - Retail sales in South Korea grew 7.2 per cent in February from a year earlier, fueled by strong demand for cosmetics and automobile fuel, a government report said Tuesday.
According to the report by the Korea National Statistical Office (NSO), South Korea's retail sales amounted to 19.41 trillion won (US$19.89 billion) in February.
Department store sales rose 5.7 per cent annually, while sales at large-sized discount shops surged 4.6 per cent over the cited period, the office said.
CHINA'S IMPORTED MILK POWDER PRICES RISE ON STRONG DEMAND
Shanghai (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - The retail prices in China of imported milk powder under brands such as Wyeth, Meadjohnson, Dumex and Nestle have been raised in recent weeks, and the range of the price hikes is largely 5-7 per cent. Market analysts attribute this mainly to strong demand for milk products in China and cost rises caused by global grain prices hikes.
The prices of imported milk powder products have been rising since the second half of last year, to about 200 yuan (US$27.83) for a can of 900 grams at present, from about 160 yuan a year ago.
Customs statistics show that China imported 299,000 tons of milk products in 2007, down 14.2 per cent year on year, but the import value reached US$740 million, up 33.3 per cent.
TAIWAN'S MARCH CPI UP 3.96 PCT YR-ON-YR
Taipei (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - Led by a 9.33 per cent hike in food prices, Taiwan's consumer price index (CPI) rose to 103.12 in March, representing a 3.96 per cent rise compared to the same month last year, the statistics bureau announced Monday.
"Although March's CPI was 1.07 per cent lower than in February, the CPI for the first quarter still recorded an average increase of 3.59 per cent," said Chao-Ming Wu, a section chief of the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS).
The month-on-month decline in inflation reflected a fall in prices from highs set during the Chinese New Year holiday, when the prices of overseas travel, caretakers, and fruits and vegetables usually spike.
INDONESIA TO END PORT OPERATOR'S MONOPOLY DESPITE PROTEST
Jakarta (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - The Indonesian government and the House of Representatives are set to pass a new maritime bill into law calling for an end to the monopoly of state port operators, despite strong opposition from longshoremen.
The bill will end the monopoly enjoyed by PT Pelabuhan Indonesia (Pelindo) I, II, III and IV at 112 major ports in the country.
Around 10,000 longshoremen led by the port labor union (SPPI) are set to stage a strike today when the House holds a plenary session on the bill potentially disrupting exports.
Chairman of the Commission V Ahmad Muqowam said in principle both the House and the government had approved the bill and that it would be passed into law today.
Source:
Business in Asia Today - MARCH 18, 2008
published by Asia Pulse
COPYRIGHT © 2008
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