QANTAS TO CUT 1,500 JOBS, SHUT CALL CENTRES
Sydney (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - Qantas (ASX:QAN) will cut 1,500 jobs worldwide to try and offset the rising cost of jet fuel.
The carrier has also scrapped plans to hire another 1,200 workers and will retire 22 older aircraft from its fleet of 228. "The jobs to be cut will be principally concentrated in non-operational areas, although operational positions will also go," Chief executive Geoff Dixon said.
He said there will be compulsory redundancies, as well as voluntary redundancies, early retirements, leave without pay, an accelerated leave program and full time jobs moved to part-time.
Its call centres in Tucson, Arizona and London will be shut.
MITSUBISHI CORP TO BUY US$1.18 BLN STAKE IN COAL JV WITH BHP
Tokyo (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - Mitsubishi Corp. (TSE:8058) said Thursday it will spend around 126 billion yen (US$1.18 billion) to acquire an interest in a metallurgical coal project in northeastern Australia.
The BHP Billiton Mitsubishi Alliance, a 50-50 joint venture between Anglo-Australian resource giant BHP (ASX:BHP) and Mitsubishi, will purchase 100 per cent of the New Saraji Project from Australian miner New Hope Corp. (ASX:NHC).
BHP Billiton Mitsubishi will take over exploration work from New Hope, with commercial production and exports to Japan and elsewhere to begin as soon as 2013.
CHINA'S POWER GIANTS HUANENG AND HUADIAN TO REGISTER H1 LOSSES
Beijing (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - Two leading Chinese power producers, Huaneng Power International, Inc. (SSX:600011) and Huadian Power International Corporation Limited (SSX:600027, SEHK:1071) have respectively issued statements to estimate net losses for the first half of 2008.
It is the first time for the two power giants to incur losses, which are also expected to mirror the across-the-board losses of China's whole thermal power industry in H1, due mainly to sharp rises of the power coal price while the electricity tariff is capped by the government.
PETROVIETNAM, MOROCCAN COS IN US$600 MLN FERTILISER PLANT JV
Hanoi (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - A joint venture between Vietnamese and Moroccan companies will see the construction of a US$600 million fertiliser plant in Morocco to supply Vietnam and other countries in the region.
A memorandum of understanding on investing to build the diammonium phosphate (DAP) plant will be signed by the PetroVietnam Fertilizer and Chemical Company and Office Cherifien des Phosphates (OCP) next month.
The plant will be capable of producing up to 1 million tons of DAP a year.
The plant, to be operational in 2011 is expected to help Vietnam reduce its imports of DAP. OCP is the third biggest phosphates producer in the world and exports 30 million tonnes of phosphates annually.
PT SAPTA MEDAN TO BUILD CPO PROCESSING PLANT IN W SUMATRA
Painan, West Sumatra (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - Plantation company PT Sapta Medan plans to build a crude palm oil (CPO) processing plant with a capacity of 40 tons per hour at a cost of Rp80 billion (US$8.7 million) in Pesisir Selatan district, West Sumatra.
"The company is slated to build the plant early in 2009 on 30 hectares of land in Silaut III, Lunang Silaut subdistrict," Pesisir Selatan district head H Nasrul Abit said on Thursday.
The plant is expected to start operating in mid 2010.
Pesisir Selatan is the only CPO producing district in West Sumatra with oil palm plantations covering an area of 70,000 hectares.
TAIWAN'S CPC EYES PARTNERSHIP WITH CANADIAN FIRM ON OIL SAND PROJECT
Taipei (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - Taiwan's CPC Corp. sealed a memorandum of understanding with the Canadian-based Indian Oilsands Thursday to pave the way for a possible partnership on oil sands development in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan.
CPC noted that oil sands are naturally occurring mixtures of sand or clay, water and an extremely dense and viscous form of petroleum called bitumen, which can be extracted and upgraded to usable products.
Canada has the world's largest oil sands deposits, with at least 315 billion barrels available.
MALAYSIA'S MMC GETS EXCLUSIVE RIGHTS TO BUILD POWER PLANT IN UAE
Kuala Lumpur (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - MMC Corporation Bhd (KLSE:2194) has obtained exclusive rights to build a power plant in the United Arab Emirates, with a potential capacity of up to 1,000 megawatts.
In a statement here Thursday, MMC Corp said the agreement gave MMC Utilities exclusive rights to conduct technical and economical feasibility studies and once approved, to establish a concession company to manage, operate and maintain the power plant for 20 years.
MMC International chief executive officer, Feizal Ali, said the project followed the group's success in power and water projects in Saudi Arabia, Oman, Jordan and Algeria.
TOP AUSTRALIAN RESORTS UP FOR SALE
Hobart (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - Some of Australia's best known resorts are up for sale.
Voyages Hotels & Resorts has announced today its parent company, GPT Group (ASX:GPT), will divest its hotel and resort portfolio.
Tasmania's Cradle Mountain Lodge, Queensland's Lizard Island resort, as well the Northern Territory's Ayers Rock Resort and El Questro Wilderness Park will be sold off with no time frame set for completion of process.
There are 21 hotels within the Voyages portfolio which include more than 1,700 hotel rooms, camp grounds, lodges, touring, retail, catering and an airport operation.
GPT is a property investment company with a core focus on ownership, management and development of retail, office and industrial property.
SOUTH KOREA'S DC CHEMICAL Q2 NET INCOME UP 211% TO US$139 MLN
Seoul (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - South Korea's top polysilicon producer DC Chemical (KSE:010060) said today its second quarter net profit more than tripled on rising overseas demand for the product, a key component of solar panels.
Net income jumped 211.6 per cent year-on-year to 140.9 billion won (US$139 million) in the April to June period, DC said. Sales gained 69.2 per cent to 575.3 billion won while operating income came to 180.1 billion won, up 363.8 per cent from the same period last year.
DC Chemical expects its new plant to be completed by the end of next year, raising its daily polysilicon production capacity from 5,000 tons to 26,500 tons.
RELIANCE IND COMPLETES PHYSICAL LAYING OF EAST-WEST GAS PIPELINE
New Delhi (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - Reliance Industries Ltd (BSE:500325) has mechanically completed laying of the East-West pipeline that will ship gas from its eastern offshore fields to consumption centres in the west, but commissioning of the 1,386-km line is not likely before August-end.
After mechanical completion, the pipeline is tested first by water flooding and then filling it with gas to check for leaks and other parameters.
The entire process will take between 20 to 25 days and the pipeline will be commissioned not before second half of August, the source said.
Reliance, he said, bought about 5 million standard cubic meters per day of gas from GAIL India (BSE:532155) for 'gas-in'.
Source:
Business in Asia Today - July 18, 2008
published by Asia Pulse
Sydney (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - Qantas (ASX:QAN) will cut 1,500 jobs worldwide to try and offset the rising cost of jet fuel.
The carrier has also scrapped plans to hire another 1,200 workers and will retire 22 older aircraft from its fleet of 228. "The jobs to be cut will be principally concentrated in non-operational areas, although operational positions will also go," Chief executive Geoff Dixon said.
He said there will be compulsory redundancies, as well as voluntary redundancies, early retirements, leave without pay, an accelerated leave program and full time jobs moved to part-time.
Its call centres in Tucson, Arizona and London will be shut.
MITSUBISHI CORP TO BUY US$1.18 BLN STAKE IN COAL JV WITH BHP
Tokyo (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - Mitsubishi Corp. (TSE:8058) said Thursday it will spend around 126 billion yen (US$1.18 billion) to acquire an interest in a metallurgical coal project in northeastern Australia.
The BHP Billiton Mitsubishi Alliance, a 50-50 joint venture between Anglo-Australian resource giant BHP (ASX:BHP) and Mitsubishi, will purchase 100 per cent of the New Saraji Project from Australian miner New Hope Corp. (ASX:NHC).
BHP Billiton Mitsubishi will take over exploration work from New Hope, with commercial production and exports to Japan and elsewhere to begin as soon as 2013.
CHINA'S POWER GIANTS HUANENG AND HUADIAN TO REGISTER H1 LOSSES
Beijing (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - Two leading Chinese power producers, Huaneng Power International, Inc. (SSX:600011) and Huadian Power International Corporation Limited (SSX:600027, SEHK:1071) have respectively issued statements to estimate net losses for the first half of 2008.
It is the first time for the two power giants to incur losses, which are also expected to mirror the across-the-board losses of China's whole thermal power industry in H1, due mainly to sharp rises of the power coal price while the electricity tariff is capped by the government.
PETROVIETNAM, MOROCCAN COS IN US$600 MLN FERTILISER PLANT JV
Hanoi (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - A joint venture between Vietnamese and Moroccan companies will see the construction of a US$600 million fertiliser plant in Morocco to supply Vietnam and other countries in the region.
A memorandum of understanding on investing to build the diammonium phosphate (DAP) plant will be signed by the PetroVietnam Fertilizer and Chemical Company and Office Cherifien des Phosphates (OCP) next month.
The plant will be capable of producing up to 1 million tons of DAP a year.
The plant, to be operational in 2011 is expected to help Vietnam reduce its imports of DAP. OCP is the third biggest phosphates producer in the world and exports 30 million tonnes of phosphates annually.
PT SAPTA MEDAN TO BUILD CPO PROCESSING PLANT IN W SUMATRA
Painan, West Sumatra (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - Plantation company PT Sapta Medan plans to build a crude palm oil (CPO) processing plant with a capacity of 40 tons per hour at a cost of Rp80 billion (US$8.7 million) in Pesisir Selatan district, West Sumatra.
"The company is slated to build the plant early in 2009 on 30 hectares of land in Silaut III, Lunang Silaut subdistrict," Pesisir Selatan district head H Nasrul Abit said on Thursday.
The plant is expected to start operating in mid 2010.
Pesisir Selatan is the only CPO producing district in West Sumatra with oil palm plantations covering an area of 70,000 hectares.
TAIWAN'S CPC EYES PARTNERSHIP WITH CANADIAN FIRM ON OIL SAND PROJECT
Taipei (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - Taiwan's CPC Corp. sealed a memorandum of understanding with the Canadian-based Indian Oilsands Thursday to pave the way for a possible partnership on oil sands development in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan.
CPC noted that oil sands are naturally occurring mixtures of sand or clay, water and an extremely dense and viscous form of petroleum called bitumen, which can be extracted and upgraded to usable products.
Canada has the world's largest oil sands deposits, with at least 315 billion barrels available.
MALAYSIA'S MMC GETS EXCLUSIVE RIGHTS TO BUILD POWER PLANT IN UAE
Kuala Lumpur (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - MMC Corporation Bhd (KLSE:2194) has obtained exclusive rights to build a power plant in the United Arab Emirates, with a potential capacity of up to 1,000 megawatts.
In a statement here Thursday, MMC Corp said the agreement gave MMC Utilities exclusive rights to conduct technical and economical feasibility studies and once approved, to establish a concession company to manage, operate and maintain the power plant for 20 years.
MMC International chief executive officer, Feizal Ali, said the project followed the group's success in power and water projects in Saudi Arabia, Oman, Jordan and Algeria.
TOP AUSTRALIAN RESORTS UP FOR SALE
Hobart (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - Some of Australia's best known resorts are up for sale.
Voyages Hotels & Resorts has announced today its parent company, GPT Group (ASX:GPT), will divest its hotel and resort portfolio.
Tasmania's Cradle Mountain Lodge, Queensland's Lizard Island resort, as well the Northern Territory's Ayers Rock Resort and El Questro Wilderness Park will be sold off with no time frame set for completion of process.
There are 21 hotels within the Voyages portfolio which include more than 1,700 hotel rooms, camp grounds, lodges, touring, retail, catering and an airport operation.
GPT is a property investment company with a core focus on ownership, management and development of retail, office and industrial property.
SOUTH KOREA'S DC CHEMICAL Q2 NET INCOME UP 211% TO US$139 MLN
Seoul (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - South Korea's top polysilicon producer DC Chemical (KSE:010060) said today its second quarter net profit more than tripled on rising overseas demand for the product, a key component of solar panels.
Net income jumped 211.6 per cent year-on-year to 140.9 billion won (US$139 million) in the April to June period, DC said. Sales gained 69.2 per cent to 575.3 billion won while operating income came to 180.1 billion won, up 363.8 per cent from the same period last year.
DC Chemical expects its new plant to be completed by the end of next year, raising its daily polysilicon production capacity from 5,000 tons to 26,500 tons.
RELIANCE IND COMPLETES PHYSICAL LAYING OF EAST-WEST GAS PIPELINE
New Delhi (ANTARA News/Asia Pulse) - Reliance Industries Ltd (BSE:500325) has mechanically completed laying of the East-West pipeline that will ship gas from its eastern offshore fields to consumption centres in the west, but commissioning of the 1,386-km line is not likely before August-end.
After mechanical completion, the pipeline is tested first by water flooding and then filling it with gas to check for leaks and other parameters.
The entire process will take between 20 to 25 days and the pipeline will be commissioned not before second half of August, the source said.
Reliance, he said, bought about 5 million standard cubic meters per day of gas from GAIL India (BSE:532155) for 'gas-in'.
Source:
Business in Asia Today - July 18, 2008
published by Asia Pulse
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