1. Timor (2 x 23)<\/p>\n
East Timor faces tough talks
\non boundary, oil and gas<\/p>\n
JP\/16\/Timor<\/p>\n
Dow Jones
\nCanberra<\/p>\n
East Timor, the world's newest nation, will have trouble
\nsettling its disputed maritime boundaries with Australia, Stephen
\nSherlock, an analyst at the Australian Parliament library, said
\nThursday.<\/p>\n
At stake are potentially huge royalties from energy production
\nin the area.<\/p>\n
East Timor wants to settle the issue in such a way as to
\nincrease potential revenue from the development of oil and gas
\nresources in the Timor Sea, between the two nations, but it isn't
\nin a very good bargaining position.<\/p>\n
\"Actually they don't really have any leverage to make
\nAustralia come to the negotiating table,\" he said in an interview
\non Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio.<\/p>\n
If Australia says it doesn't want to negotiate new boundaries,
\nthen the only way for East Timor to bring Australia to the table
\nis by applying enough domestic or international pressure to do
\nso, he said.<\/p>\n
East Timor could theoretically line up with Indonesia on the
\nissue and seek joint talks on the issue, but \"there's no sign
\nthat Dili and Jakarta are getting together or even that there's
\nany serious discussion in either capital about it.\"<\/p>\n
\"It's something that may happen in the future but there's no
\nsign of it actually happening\" now, he said.<\/p>\n
\"Since the issue potentially involves major economic assets,
\nthe success of future trilateral relations between East Timor,
\nIndonesia and Australia may depend on a final resolution,\" he
\nsaid in a research paper issued by the library.<\/p>\n
East Timor came into existence May 20, and immediately signed
\nthe Timor Sea Treaty with Australia.<\/p>\n
The treaty is the fundamental document setting out how the
\neconomic benefits of energy developments in a Joint Petroleum
\nDevelopment Area in the Timor Sea are shared between the two.<\/p>\n
The treaty, which hasn't yet been ratified, was established
\nwithout prejudice to the setting of maritime boundaries between
\nthe two nations.<\/p>\n
East Timor didn't establish maritime boundaries with Australia
\nor any other nation and it didn't inherit any boundaries that
\nexisted prior to May 20.<\/p>\n
Sherlock said East Timor agreed to put aside the seabed
\nboundary issue because it didn't want to jeopardize a possible
\nflow of revenue that likely will come from energy production in
\nthe Joint petroleum Development Area in the next several years,
\nnamely the Bayu-Undan project, operated by Phillips Petroleum Co.<\/p>\n
First stage of Bayu-Undan, to strip condensate and liquefied
\npetroleum gas from wet natural gas and reinject the dry gas into
\nthe offshore reservoir, is scheduled to begin production early in
\n2004.<\/p>\n
Australia refused to agree to a new seabed boundary and new
\ntalks on the matter might have stalled investment in energy
\nexploration and production in the area, he said.<\/p>\n
In June, Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri said East Timor will
\nmake its claim for the maritime boundary with Australia \"under
\ninternational law.\"<\/p>\n
East Timor previously has said it wants the boundary set at
\nthe midpoint between the two nations.<\/p>\n
2. Pipe ( 4 x 10)<\/p>\n
China signs
\ndeal for
\nUS$8.5b
\npipeline<\/p>\n
JP\/16\/Pipe<\/p>\n
Deal signed for US$8.5b China gas pipeline<\/p>\n
Agence France-Presse
\nHong Kong<\/p>\n
Chinese energy giant PetroChina Co, has signed a framework
\nagreement with an international consortium led by Dutch\/Shell
\nGroup to build an US$8.5 billion east-west gas pipeline, it
\nannounced Thursday.<\/p>\n
Company vice president Wang Fucheng told a press conference
\nthat Petrochina would hold a 50 percent stake in the 4,000-
\nkilometer (2,500-mile) pipeline.<\/p>\n
Shell, along with consortium partners ExxonMobil of the United
\nStates and Russia's OAO Gazprom, will each have a 15 percent
\ninterest.<\/p>\n
The remaining five percent will be held by Chinese oil firm
\nSinopec.<\/p>\n
The pipeline will cost $5.2 billion to build, with the
\nremaining $3.3 billion spent on operating costs.<\/p>\n
Two junior partners were also named, the Hong Kong-listed
\nChina Light Power and Hong Kong China Gas Co., although no
\ndetails were given as to the nature of their involvement.<\/p>\n
The ambitious project, one of the largest of its kind ever in
\nChina, will bring natural gas from the Tarim Basin in the
\ncountry's northwestern Xinjiang region to bustling and energy-
\nhungry Shanghai in the east.<\/p>\n
Construction of the pipeline has been delayed for several
\nmonths because of the prolonged negotiations between PetroChina,
\none of China's main state-controlled oil and petrochemicals
\ngroups, and the consortium.<\/p>\n
The terms of ExxonMobil's involvement was only announced on
\nMonday, although it had been known the U.S. firm wanted to take
\npart ever since the Shell-led consortium agreed to the 45-percent
\nstake late last year.<\/p>\n
At the news conference, Wang said about 35 percent of the
\ntotal project investment would be equity financed by the
\nconsortium partners, with the rest financed using debt.<\/p>\n
PetroChina's investment in the whole project will amount to
\n$2.7 billion and the company had still to decide how this would
\nbe financed, Wang said.<\/p>\n
The company did not rule out the possibility of an issue on
\nChina's yuan-denominated A-share market, he added.<\/p>\n
The pipeline project has attracted criticism from human rights
\ngroups, who say the non-ethnic Chinese inhabitants of Muslim-
\nmajority Xinjiang are unlikely to see any benefits.<\/p>\n
On Wednesday the London-based Free Tibet Campaign -- the
\npipeline will also run through Qinghai province, formerly part of
\nTibet -- said the project was \"unlikely to be in the interests\"
\nof local people.<\/p>\n
3. Korea (1 x 21)<\/p>\n
Bank raises S.Korea growth forecast<\/p>\n
JP\/16\/Korea<\/p>\n
South Korean central bank raises GDP growth forcast to 6.5 percent<\/p>\n
Agence France-Presse
\nSeoul<\/p>\n
South Korea's central Bank of Korea (BoK) on Thursday raised
\nits 2002 economic growth forcast to 6.5 percent, saying the
\neconomy would see a full recovery in the second half.<\/p>\n
BoK governor Park Seung said the expansion would be spurred by
\nsolid domestic consumption and recovering exports and investment.<\/p>\n
\"Exports and capital investments will recover in real terms in
\nthe second half, becoming the main engines for the fully-fledged
\neconomic recovery in the second half,\" he said.<\/p>\n
\"This year's economic growth is expected to stand at 6.5
\npercent,\" the governor said, adding gross domestic product (GDP)
\nis forecast to grow 6.1 percent in the first half and 6.8 percent
\nin the second half.<\/p>\n
The new forecast is higher than the BoK's projection of 5.7
\npercent in April and the government's revised forecast of 6.0
\npercent.<\/p>\n
4. World ( 1 x 21)<\/p>\n
Judge sets trial date for WorldCom<\/p>\n
JP\/16\/World<\/p>\n
WorldCom faces March trial for securities fraud<\/p>\n
Gail Appleson
\nReuters
\nNew York<\/p>\n
A federal judge set a March trial date on Wednesday for
\nscandal-plagued telecommunications group WorldCom Inc. on alleged
\nsecurities fraud and named a former top regulator to oversee that
\nno key documents are shredded and no excessive payouts are made
\nto top officers.<\/p>\n
U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff set March 31 as the tentative
\ndate for the Securities and Exchange Commission to begin
\npresenting its case accusing the Clinton, Mississippi-based
\nWorldCom of violating securities laws by covering up $1.22
\nbillion in losses by improperly booking $3.85 billion in
\nexpenses.<\/p>\n
The SEC is seeking unspecified monetary penalties and to bar
\nthe company from violating securities laws again.<\/p>\n
Rakoff also appointed Richard Breeden, a former head of the
\nSecurities and Exchange Commission, to ensure no documents are
\ndestroyed by the company and that no payments that exceed
\n$100,000 are made to current or former executives.<\/p>\n
\"I want a hands-on monitor who will report to me what's going
\non,\" Rakoff said, adding that Breeden will be free to \"look into
\nevery nook and cranny to fulfill his function.\"<\/p>\n
Breeden's appointment follows allegations that bankrupt energy
\ntrader Enron Corp.'s auditor, Andersen, and telecommunications
\nprovider Global Crossing Ltd. shredded documents that could have
\nshed light on the companies' accounting methods. Enron also
\nawarded bonuses to key staffers as the energy company's problems
\ndeepened.<\/p>\n
A WorldCom spokeswoman declined to comment on the judge's
\nmove.<\/p>\n
WorldCom's Chief Executive John Sidgmore on Tuesday tried to
\nallay fears on Wall Street that the company would file for
\nbankruptcy protection or break up its core assets, but he made
\nclear that its position was dependent on negotiations for new
\ncredit lines.<\/p>\n
\"This (bankruptcy) is not our preferred path,\" he told
\nreporters during a 45 minute grilling by 100-plus reporters on
\nTuesday. \"And I think, fundamentally, the real issue hinges on
\nwhat the banks do right now.\"<\/p>\n
Despite its woes, the company staved off a delisting of its
\ntwo tracking stocks that was set for Friday by appealing Nasdaq's
\nclaim that WorldCom no longer met the requirements.<\/p>",
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