Inco reaps $8.7m profit<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): PT International Nickel Indonesia (PT Inco)
\nyesterday announced that its unaudited net earnings for the first
\nquarter of 1994 were US$8.7 million, or three cents a share.<\/p>\n
The profit in the January to March period was far greater than
\nthe $5.4 million, or two cents per share, gained in the same
\nperiod of last year, and the $2.4 million, or one cent per share,
\nfor the fourth quarter of last year, the company said.<\/p>\n
It said the increase was primarily due to higher nickel
\ndeliveries resulting from higher production and lower unit
\nproduction costs, partially offset by lower realized nickel
\nprices.<\/p>\n
Inco's net realized price for nickel in matte averaged $2.02
\nper pound in the first quarter of 1994, compared to $2.11 in the
\nsame period of last year and $1.7 in the fourth quarter of last
\nyear.<\/p>\n
The selling price of the company's nickel in matte, an
\nintermediate product which is sold under long-term contracts, is
\ndetermined by a formula based on the London Metal Exchange cash
\nprice for nickel.(10)<\/p>\n
PT Impack issues bonds<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): PT Impack Pratama, a plastic packaging
\nmanufacturer, has issued US$9 million in convertible bonds with a
\ncoupon rate of two percent per year.<\/p>\n
The company said here yesterday that the bonds, which will
\nmature in 1999, were privately placed with four venture capital
\nfunds -- Indonesian Strategic Investment Fund, managed by Lippo
\nPacific; Wardley Asia Pacific Investments Ltd; Pacific RIM
\nInvestments LTD, managed by HSBC Private Equity Mgt Ltd, and
\nJanlin Associates Ltd, a company associated with the Peregrine
\nIndonesia Fund, managed by Peregrine Batavia Investment
\nManagement Ltd.<\/p>\n
The private placement was arranged by PT Lippo Securities.
\nProceeds from the bonds will be used to invest in new equipment
\nand to repay debts.<\/p>\n
Impack Pratama, which exports its products to Australia, New
\nZealand, Taiwan and the Philippines, consists of four product
\ndivisions responsible for the production of PVC compounds,
\nthermoforming, corrugated plastics and building products.(10)<\/p>\n
Finnair rents out 9 planes<\/p>\n
HELSINKI (AFP): Finnair has signed contracts worth 140 million
\nFinnish marks (US$25.45 million) for the renting out of nine of
\nFinnair's 57 aircraft to foreign companies, the company said.<\/p>\n
Under the agreement, Indonesian airline Garuda will hire one
\nDC-10 with cockpit and service personnel to transport pilgrims
\nfrom Indonesia to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia until the end of June.<\/p>\n
Three MD-83's will fly charter flights between May and October
\nfor British Airtours International from Britain to the
\nMediterranean, also with Finnish pilots and technical personnel.
\nAustrian Airtransport has hired one MD-82 for the summer.<\/p>\n
One Finnish DC-10 will continue to fly in the name of Texas
\nairline Express One, and three unspecified planes will fly for
\nVenezuelan Aeropostal until the end of September.<\/p>\n
Finnair has itself hired one DC-10 from the Irish company GPA,
\nand was to return it to Ireland in the next few days.<\/p>\n
German rate cut ineffective<\/p>\n
FRANKFURT (Reuter): The Bundesbank on Wednesday announced a
\nsharper-than-expected drop in a key interest rate but failed to
\nalleviate gloom on the domestic bond market, which has been sent
\ninto a tailspin by fears of rising U.S. rates.<\/p>\n
The central bank said its securities repurchase rate -- a
\nguide for German money-market interest rates in general -- had
\nfallen to 5.58 percent this week from 5.70 a week ago. The drop
\nwas well above market forecasts which had called for a fall of a
\ntenth of a percentage points at most.<\/p>\n
German debt futures prices plunged after the Bundesbank news.
\nThe June Bund hit a low of 94.16 after closing at 94.85 on
\nTuesday. It briefly recovered as operators covered some short
\npositions but towards the close of trading it was down back near
\nthe lows, trading down 55 basis points at 94.30.<\/p>\n
The German Bund market has lost nearly two percent of its
\nvalue since the U.S. Federal Reserve announced on Monday its
\nlatest tightening of monetary policy, leading to a quarter-point
\nrise in the Fed Funds rate to 3.75 percent.<\/p>\n
Warning on labor rights<\/p>\n
SINGAPORE (AFP): Singapore warned yesterday that developing
\ncountries could lose the competitive edge their industries enjoy
\nif forced to adopt unrealistically high labor standards as a
\ncondition for trading with rich industrial nations.<\/p>\n
\"Our view is that trade and labor standards are two separate
\nmatters and should not be linked,\" Labor Minister Lee Boon Yang
\ntold some 300 union leaders attending a conference here.<\/p>\n
Lee said that although a move to include social clauses
\ncovering labor rights and standards in the recently signed Final
\nAct of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade was dropped
\n\"the subject is not dead by any means.\"<\/p>\n
The move, spearheaded by the United States, drew fire from the
\nAssociation of Southeast Asian Nations, one of the world's
\nfastest industrializing regions, grouping Brunei, Indonesia,
\nMalaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.<\/p>\n
\"With declining competitiveness in the global market, the
\ndeveloped countries are increasingly turning to trade
\nprotectionism to support their industries and markets,\" Lee said.<\/p>\n
Uruguay Round beneficial<\/p>\n
WASHINGTON (AFP): The Uruguay Round world trade agreement will
\nbenefit developing countries, a senior IMF official said here
\nWednesday, answering concerns that rich countries would be the
\nchief gainers.<\/p>\n
\"The Uruguay Round will be generally beneficial to developing
\ncountries,\" International Monetary Fund Research Department
\ndirector Michael Mussa told a press conference.<\/p>\n
\"The Uruguay Round is certainly not perfection ... there will
\nremain significant barriers to trade,\" Mussa said of the trade
\nliberalization agreement signed in Morocco last week which will
\nlead to the creation of the World Trade Organization.<\/p>\n
But he said the recent experience of developing countries
\nthemselves showed that more liberal trade was advantageous.<\/p>\n
\"Developing countries themselves have been experiencing strong
\ngrowth, and strongly growing economies tend to increase their
\ntrade volume,\" Mussa said.<\/p>\n
\"Many developing countries have on a unilateral basis reduced
\nsignificantly their own trade barriers\" and that has been a very
\nimportant factor in boosting trade and their own economic growth,
\nMussa said.<\/p>\n
Pesticide usage discussed<\/p>\n
DAVAO, Philippines (AFP): Sixteen Asian nations gathered in
\nthis southern city yesterday for a UN-sponsored conference on
\ncurbing the use of dangerous pesticides.<\/p>\n
The conference, hosted by the UN Food and Agricultural
\nOrganization (FAO), also discussed the use of integrated pest
\nmanagement (IPM), a method of balancing organic farming methods
\nwith the use of pesticides to minimize the effects on health and
\nthe environment.<\/p>\n
Among the countries which sent representatives to the
\nconference in this Philippine city were Bangladesh, Bhutan,
\nBurma, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Nepal,
\nPakistan, Philippines, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Thailand and
\nVietnam.<\/p>\n
FAO regional coordinator Peter Kenmore said that \"most of the
\npesticides used in these countries are highly hazardous,\" yet
\nmany were still being widely used.<\/p>\n
Nigeria cuts oil output<\/p>\n
LAGOS (Reuter): Nigeria, the main violator of OPEC's crude oil
\noutput quotas, has ordered oil-producing firms to cut back to
\nwithin assigned levels, an official spokesman said.<\/p>\n
\"We do not have reasons to doubt the companies are complying,\"
\nthe spokesman told Reuters Wednesday.<\/p>\n
He read a long letter titled \"Strict Quota Compliance\" which
\nhe said Oil Minister Don Etiebet sent to producers on April 11,
\nordering them to limit output to within Nigeria's OPEC quota of
\n1.865 million barrels per day (bpd).<\/p>\n
An official from a major foreign oil firm said most companies
\nhad taken the letter seriously because of the threat of sanctions
\nby the Nigerian authorities.<\/p>\n
State-owned Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation has a
\nmajority stake in all the equity producers.<\/p>\n
Rubber prices steadier<\/p>\n
SINGAPORE (AFP): Singapore's rubber futures prices ended
\nsteadier in subdued trading amid growing concerns over labor
\nriots in Indonesia, dealers said yesterday.<\/p>\n
\"It is anyone's guess how long the riots are going to last and
\nthere is growing concern among traders of a significant raw
\nmaterial shortage,\" said a dealer.<\/p>\n
The disputes by workers demanding higher wages caused rubber
\nprices to escalate in Japan as well, helped along by a stronger
\nJapanese yen, dealers said.<\/p>\n
At 0930 GMT, Basis June RSS 1 was quoted at 150.00 Singapore
\ncents, RSS 3 at 94.25 U.S. cents and TSR 20 at 167.50 Singapore
\ncents.<\/p>\n
China wins U.S. deals<\/p>\n
BEIJING (Reuter): A Chinese trade and investment mission to
\nthe United States will return home with signed contracts worth
\nover $11 billion, the official Xinhau news agency said yesterday.<\/p>\n
Xinhua said a trade and investment fair in New York closed
\nwith the signing of 62 contracts and agreements worth US$5.4
\nbillion. Eleven contracts worth $1.3 billion and 134 agreements
\nworth $4.4 billion had been signed at a similar fair in Los
\nAngeles last week.<\/p>\n
The New York deals included six contracts for U.S. investment
\nin China and agreements by China to buy $600 million worth of
\nU.S. commodities, it said.<\/p>\n
The 200-member mission arrived in the United States two weeks
\nago as part of China's efforts to obtain renewal of most favored
\nnation (MFN) trading status from U.S. President Bill Clinton.<\/p>",
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