KL hopes to trade in gold dinar<\/p>\n
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia hopes to base its trade with Iran on
\nthe gold dinar soon as a first step in decreasing dependency on
\nthe U.S. dollar in international trade, Prime Minister Mahathir
\nMohamad said Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Mahathir, who is also finance minister, was responding to a
\nquestion at a news conference on whether Malaysia would realize
\nits long-held ambition to start using the dinar this year.<\/p>\n
\"Well, we hope very soon. Maybe (this year) we'll see whether
\nwe can do it with Iran,\" he said after opening an international
\nconvention on the gold dinar which, according to Islamic law, is
\nroughly 4.3 grams in weight.<\/p>\n
Malaysia had discussed the issue with Iran and \"they decided
\nthat they should go ahead,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Mahathir proposed more than a year ago that the gold dinar be
\nused for international trade to prevent a repeat of the currency
\ncrisis which devastated Asia in 1997-1998. -- AFP<\/p>\n
FDI falls sharply in South Korea<\/p>\n
SEOUL: Foreign direct investment in South Korea has fallen
\nsharply this year, halving to US$412 million in the first five
\nmonths to May, the Bank of Korea (BoK) said Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Foreign direct investment in South Korea stood at $812 million
\nduring the same period of last year.<\/p>\n
Domestic and overseas investment by South Korean firms has
\nalso been falling but they have been spending a greater
\nproportion of their investment capital abroad, the central bank
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Foreign direct investment in South Korea jumped from $2.84
\nbillion in 1997 to $5.41 billion in 1998 to peak at $9.33 billion
\nin 1999 in the aftermath of the regional financial crisis when
\nlocal assets were sold off en masse as companies struggled to
\nraise cash to pay off debt.<\/p>\n
Foreign direct investment then fell to $9.28 billion in 2000
\nand then plunged to $3.53 billion in 2001 and $1.97 billion last
\nyear. -- AFP<\/p>\n
India mulls Delhi to Hanoi train<\/p>\n
NEW DELHI: Foreign Minister Yashwant Sinha told a Southeast
\nAsian ministerial meeting that India would study the feasibility
\nof starting a train from New Delhi to pass through five regional
\ncapitals to wind up in Hanoi, a report said Tuesday.<\/p>\n
According to The Indian Express newspaper, Myanmar's Foreign
\nMinister Win Aung proposed the continental train service to Sinha
\nin talks at last month's Southeast Asian ministerial meeting in
\nPhnom Penh.<\/p>\n
\"Sinha responded favorably to the proposal and promptly asked
\nfor a feasibility study to be carried out at the earliest to take
\nmatters ahead,\" the daily reported.<\/p>\n
\"Starting from New Delhi the route will pass through Myanmar,
\nLaos, Thailand, Cambodia and culminate in Hanoi in Vietnam,\" it
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
\"The immediate purpose of the project is to improve transport
\nlinks. ... But in the long run the project aims at tapping the
\ntremendous trade potential in the area.\" -- AFP<\/p>\n
Vietnam to launch first satellite<\/p>\n
HANOI: Vietnam expects to launch its first satellite into
\norbit in late 2005, officials said Tuesday.<\/p>\n
\"We have invited operators from the United States, France,
\nJapan and Russia to bid for the manufacture and launch of
\nVinasat, Vietnam's first-ever satellite,\" said an official from
\nVietnam Posts and Telecommunications Corp (VNPT.)<\/p>\n
The bid packages are scheduled to be opened later this month,
\nhe added, speaking privately.<\/p>\n
Another official from VNPT, Doctor Luu Van Luong, senior
\nadviser for Vinasat, told AFP it is the technical criteria rather
\nthan the price that will dictate who wins the contract.<\/p>\n
\"It is too early to say how much the project will cost. We
\nwill choose a contractor who meets our technical demands. The
\nprice could be negotiated,\" Luong said.<\/p>\n
Vinasat will cover the whole of Vietnam and other Southeast
\nAsian nations, as well as parts of China, Japan and the Korean
\npeninsula. -- AFP<\/p>\n
SKorea posts $2.35b surplus<\/p>\n
SEOUL: South Korea posted a trade surplus of US$2.35 billion
\nin June, the largest in 42 months, the Ministry of Commerce,
\nIndustry and Energy said Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Exports in June jumped 22.3 percent from last year to $15.77
\nbillion, as business firms focused on increasing overseas
\nshipments to make up for falls in domestic demand and to minimize
\nthe impact from expected strikes.<\/p>\n
The strengthening of the won against the dollar also helped to
\nincrease exports, the ministry said.<\/p>\n
Imports increased by a smaller margin, growing 12.5 percent to
\n$13.42 billion.<\/p>\n
For the first six months to June, the aggregate trade surplus
\nstood at $3.39 billion, down from $4.93 billion during the same
\nperiod of last year.<\/p>\n
It marked the third consecutive month of trade surplus and the
\nhighest level in 42 months. -- AFP<\/p>",
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