TOYOTA TO MAKE HYBRID CARS IN AUSTRALIA
Nagoya (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - Toyota (TSE: 7203) will begin building a hybrid Camry sedan at its Altona plant in Melbourne within 18 months, the car giant announced today.
Toyota hopes to make 10,000 ofthe fuel-efficient cars each year in Australia and the Australian government had offered the company a A$35 million (US$33.2 million) subsidy from its Green Car Fund.
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, who was present at Toyota's Japanese headquarters in Nagoya for the announcement, said it was an important moment for the Australian car industry.
The petrol-electric hybrid used one-third less petrol than a conventional car and would save the average motorist A$1,000 (US$948) a year in fuel costs.
Toyota president Katsuaki Watanabe said Australia had joined Japan and the United States as part of Toyota's hybrid family.
FOSTER'S CEO RESIGNS AS CO DOWNGRADES EARNINGS
Melbourne (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - Foster's Group Ltd (ASX:FGL) chief executive Trevor O'Hoy has resigned, as the global beverages company downgraded its earnings and flagged writedowns of up to A$700 million (US$663.95 million) on the value of its underperforming wine assets.
Mr O'Hoy has taken responsibility for the poor performance of the wine business, which was mostly created from the A$2.6 billion acquisition of Beringer in the US in 2000 and the A$3.2 billion acquisition of Southcorp in Australia in 2005.
Foster's admitted today it had paid too much to acquire wine assets and that it was reviewing the operation, which could lead to asset sales. Mr O'Hoy, who was appointed in March 2004, has agreed to help the company through its transition to a new boss.
INDONESIAN COAL MINER BAYAN TO LAUNCH IPO TO RAISE US$400 MLN
Jakarta (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - Coal producing company PT Bayan Resources plans to launch initial public offering (IPO) in July 2008 hoping to raise US$400 million in fresh funds.
Bayan resources has named PT Trimegah Securities and PT Merrill Lynch Indonesia as the lead underwriters for the IPO, the newspaper Investor Daily reported today.
Trimegah President Avi Dwipayana said Bayan plans to sell 30 per cent of its shares and for which the subsidiary of the Gunung Bayan Group and the underwriters plan road shows to the United States, Australia and Hong Kong. PT Bayan has three coal mines in East Kalimantan with a total production capacity of 7 million tons a year.
ADIDAS TO OPEN UP TO 160 NEW STORES IN INDIA IN 2008
New Delhi (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - German sportswear and apparel major Adidas is going for a major expansion across India in 2008, which will involve setting up of around 160 new stores and setting footprints in 140 cities.
Adidas India managing director Andreas Glenner said the company was identifying properties in various cities and will set up 150-160 stores this year.
By the end of 2008, Adidas will have 450 franchise stores in India, he said.
When the planned expansion is completed, Adidas will have presence in 140 cities as against 119 cities currently, he added.
KOREA'S ROTEM WINS US$230 MLN OMANI ORDER FOR WASTEWATER PLANT
Seoul (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - Rotem Co., an affiliate of South Korea's leading automaker Hyundai Motor Co. (KSE:005380), said today it has won a US$230 million contract to build a wastewater disposal plant in Oman.
The deal with Oman Wastewater Service Co. calls on Rotem to complete the plant by June 2011, according to the Korean company. The plant in the Middle Eastern country's capital Muscat is expected to treat 80,000 tons of wastewater on a daily basis.
BLACKSTONE INVESTS US$159 MLN IN SHANGHAI COMMERCIAL PROPERTY
Shanghai (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - Global asset management giant Blackstone Group recently spent 1.1 billion yuan (US$158.9 million) on a commercial project in Shanghai, the first investment launched by Blackstone on China's property market.
The commercial project was purchased by VXL Capital Limited in 2006 with 585 million yuan.
After only two years, VXL Capital Limited will gain 600 million yuan by selling 90 per cent of the equities of the project. The deal was conducted overseas as the buyer and the seller are all foreign enterprises.
MITSUBISHI CORP IN TALKS ON FLOATING LNG PLANT OFF NIGERIA
Tokyo (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - Mitsubishi Corp. (TSE:8058) said Monday that it has reached a tentative agreement to jointly develop a liquefied natural gas facility off the Nigerian coast with two foreign firms.
Peak Petroleum Industries Nigeria Ltd., one of the parties in the agreement, holds 100 per cent of the concession at the drilling site.
The extraction, liquefaction and storage would be accomplished using a specially designed tanker produced by Flex LNG Ltd., the other partner in the discussions. Annual output is expected to reach 1.5 million tons in a few years.
HOLCIM LANKA MAKES BID TO INVEST IN JAFFNA CEMENT PLANT
Colombo (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - Holcim Lanka, the Sri Lankan unit of the Swiss cement multinational, said it has made an investment proposal to Lanka Cement to revive production at its defunct plant in the northern Jaffna peninsula or build a new one.
Holcim Lanka chairman Manilal Fernando said his firm is prepared to invest in a profit sharing joint venture if the government does not want to sell the plant in Kankesanturai, in Jaffna.
He said the government must give a chance to all parties interested in the plant, sitting on a rich limestone deposit, which is also eyed by India's Birla group.
State-run Lanka Cement, which is listed on the Colombo stock exchange, has a plant with a 250,000 tonnes-a-year capacity kiln that has been defunct for more than a decade owing to fighting between government forces and Tamil Tigers.
TAIWAN RECORDS 2ND HIGHEST MONTHLY EXPORT VALUE IN MAY
Taipei (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - Taiwan's exports totaled US$21.38 billion (NT$650 billion) in May, the second highest monthly amount ever recorded, the Ministry of Finance (MOF) said Monday.
The US$21.38 billion in exports, paced by booming exports to other Asian markets, lagged only behind the US$24.25 billion in exports recorded in March, MOF statistics indicated.
The country's May exports to China (including Hong Kong), India, South Korea, Japan, and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) all increased by more than 23 per cent compared with May 2007, Hsu said.
EXPERTS SAY VIETNAM'S COAL RESERVES MAY BE DEPLETED BY 2015
Hanoi (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - Local experts have warned that Vietnam's coal reserves could be exhausted by 2015, creating a dependency on expensive imported coal.
As the country is currently selling coal at a cheaper export price than import, Vietnam may end up buying back some of its coal at a higher price if national reserves are exhausted, they said.
At the current rate of exploitation and export, supplies may run dry even earlier than 2015, the experts warned.
Vietnam exported 32.5 million tonnes of coal last year, bringing in just over US$1 billion.
Source:
Business in Asia Today - JUNE 10, 2008
published by Asia Pulse
COPYRIGHT © 2008
Nagoya (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - Toyota (TSE: 7203) will begin building a hybrid Camry sedan at its Altona plant in Melbourne within 18 months, the car giant announced today.
Toyota hopes to make 10,000 ofthe fuel-efficient cars each year in Australia and the Australian government had offered the company a A$35 million (US$33.2 million) subsidy from its Green Car Fund.
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, who was present at Toyota's Japanese headquarters in Nagoya for the announcement, said it was an important moment for the Australian car industry.
The petrol-electric hybrid used one-third less petrol than a conventional car and would save the average motorist A$1,000 (US$948) a year in fuel costs.
Toyota president Katsuaki Watanabe said Australia had joined Japan and the United States as part of Toyota's hybrid family.
FOSTER'S CEO RESIGNS AS CO DOWNGRADES EARNINGS
Melbourne (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - Foster's Group Ltd (ASX:FGL) chief executive Trevor O'Hoy has resigned, as the global beverages company downgraded its earnings and flagged writedowns of up to A$700 million (US$663.95 million) on the value of its underperforming wine assets.
Mr O'Hoy has taken responsibility for the poor performance of the wine business, which was mostly created from the A$2.6 billion acquisition of Beringer in the US in 2000 and the A$3.2 billion acquisition of Southcorp in Australia in 2005.
Foster's admitted today it had paid too much to acquire wine assets and that it was reviewing the operation, which could lead to asset sales. Mr O'Hoy, who was appointed in March 2004, has agreed to help the company through its transition to a new boss.
INDONESIAN COAL MINER BAYAN TO LAUNCH IPO TO RAISE US$400 MLN
Jakarta (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - Coal producing company PT Bayan Resources plans to launch initial public offering (IPO) in July 2008 hoping to raise US$400 million in fresh funds.
Bayan resources has named PT Trimegah Securities and PT Merrill Lynch Indonesia as the lead underwriters for the IPO, the newspaper Investor Daily reported today.
Trimegah President Avi Dwipayana said Bayan plans to sell 30 per cent of its shares and for which the subsidiary of the Gunung Bayan Group and the underwriters plan road shows to the United States, Australia and Hong Kong. PT Bayan has three coal mines in East Kalimantan with a total production capacity of 7 million tons a year.
ADIDAS TO OPEN UP TO 160 NEW STORES IN INDIA IN 2008
New Delhi (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - German sportswear and apparel major Adidas is going for a major expansion across India in 2008, which will involve setting up of around 160 new stores and setting footprints in 140 cities.
Adidas India managing director Andreas Glenner said the company was identifying properties in various cities and will set up 150-160 stores this year.
By the end of 2008, Adidas will have 450 franchise stores in India, he said.
When the planned expansion is completed, Adidas will have presence in 140 cities as against 119 cities currently, he added.
KOREA'S ROTEM WINS US$230 MLN OMANI ORDER FOR WASTEWATER PLANT
Seoul (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - Rotem Co., an affiliate of South Korea's leading automaker Hyundai Motor Co. (KSE:005380), said today it has won a US$230 million contract to build a wastewater disposal plant in Oman.
The deal with Oman Wastewater Service Co. calls on Rotem to complete the plant by June 2011, according to the Korean company. The plant in the Middle Eastern country's capital Muscat is expected to treat 80,000 tons of wastewater on a daily basis.
BLACKSTONE INVESTS US$159 MLN IN SHANGHAI COMMERCIAL PROPERTY
Shanghai (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - Global asset management giant Blackstone Group recently spent 1.1 billion yuan (US$158.9 million) on a commercial project in Shanghai, the first investment launched by Blackstone on China's property market.
The commercial project was purchased by VXL Capital Limited in 2006 with 585 million yuan.
After only two years, VXL Capital Limited will gain 600 million yuan by selling 90 per cent of the equities of the project. The deal was conducted overseas as the buyer and the seller are all foreign enterprises.
MITSUBISHI CORP IN TALKS ON FLOATING LNG PLANT OFF NIGERIA
Tokyo (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - Mitsubishi Corp. (TSE:8058) said Monday that it has reached a tentative agreement to jointly develop a liquefied natural gas facility off the Nigerian coast with two foreign firms.
Peak Petroleum Industries Nigeria Ltd., one of the parties in the agreement, holds 100 per cent of the concession at the drilling site.
The extraction, liquefaction and storage would be accomplished using a specially designed tanker produced by Flex LNG Ltd., the other partner in the discussions. Annual output is expected to reach 1.5 million tons in a few years.
HOLCIM LANKA MAKES BID TO INVEST IN JAFFNA CEMENT PLANT
Colombo (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - Holcim Lanka, the Sri Lankan unit of the Swiss cement multinational, said it has made an investment proposal to Lanka Cement to revive production at its defunct plant in the northern Jaffna peninsula or build a new one.
Holcim Lanka chairman Manilal Fernando said his firm is prepared to invest in a profit sharing joint venture if the government does not want to sell the plant in Kankesanturai, in Jaffna.
He said the government must give a chance to all parties interested in the plant, sitting on a rich limestone deposit, which is also eyed by India's Birla group.
State-run Lanka Cement, which is listed on the Colombo stock exchange, has a plant with a 250,000 tonnes-a-year capacity kiln that has been defunct for more than a decade owing to fighting between government forces and Tamil Tigers.
TAIWAN RECORDS 2ND HIGHEST MONTHLY EXPORT VALUE IN MAY
Taipei (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - Taiwan's exports totaled US$21.38 billion (NT$650 billion) in May, the second highest monthly amount ever recorded, the Ministry of Finance (MOF) said Monday.
The US$21.38 billion in exports, paced by booming exports to other Asian markets, lagged only behind the US$24.25 billion in exports recorded in March, MOF statistics indicated.
The country's May exports to China (including Hong Kong), India, South Korea, Japan, and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) all increased by more than 23 per cent compared with May 2007, Hsu said.
EXPERTS SAY VIETNAM'S COAL RESERVES MAY BE DEPLETED BY 2015
Hanoi (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - Local experts have warned that Vietnam's coal reserves could be exhausted by 2015, creating a dependency on expensive imported coal.
As the country is currently selling coal at a cheaper export price than import, Vietnam may end up buying back some of its coal at a higher price if national reserves are exhausted, they said.
At the current rate of exploitation and export, supplies may run dry even earlier than 2015, the experts warned.
Vietnam exported 32.5 million tonnes of coal last year, bringing in just over US$1 billion.
Source:
Business in Asia Today - JUNE 10, 2008
published by Asia Pulse
COPYRIGHT © 2008
No comments:
Post a Comment