Li Peng meets East Java businesspeople<\/p>\n
SURABAYA: China's parliamentary speaker Li Peng met on Thursday
\nwith some 200 East Java businesspeople and leaders of the local
\nChinese community in Surabaya before ending his two-day stay
\nhere.<\/p>\n
During the meeting, the Chinese number two said that East Java
\nhad the potential to attract more Chinese investors.<\/p>\n
He said that China was currently taking steps to improve
\neconomic and trade cooperation with Southeast Asian countries.<\/p>\n
Li arrived in Jakarta earlier this week and was scheduled to
\nfly to Manila from Surabaya. -- JP<\/p>\n
Japan grants Jordan US$24.7 million in assistance<\/p>\n
TOKYO: Japan signed over to Jordan US$24.7 million in grant
\nassistance on Thursday to help the kingdom implement a socio-
\neconomic reform scheme aimed mainly at fighting unemployment.<\/p>\n
The Japanese embassy said in a statement the new contribution
\n"consists in non-project grant aid worth two billion yens and a
\nproject grant aid worth 968 million yens to improve the water
\nsystem in the eastern Zarqa district".<\/p>\n
The embassy underlined "Japan's strong commitment to assist
\nthe kingdom's national strategy aimed at alleviating poverty and
\nunemployment and upgrading living standards in Jordan".<\/p>\n
The "non-project" grant aid portion of the contribution will
\nbe used to import "supplies critically needed" to carry out
\nJordan's reforms program in cooperation with the World Bank and
\nthe International Monetary Fund (IMF).<\/p>\n
Jordan is plagued by a foreign debt which reached $7.4 billion
\nin late July, up from $6.9 billion at the end of 2001,
\nrepresenting 78.7 percent of its gross domestic product. -- AFP<\/p>\n
Australian job numbers surge but unemployment rate holds steady<\/p>\n
SYDNEY: Australia's unemployment rate held steady at 6.2 percent
\nin August, even though the overall number of jobs in the economy
\nsurged 88,500, according to figures released Thursday.<\/p>\n
The number of new jobs, all but 800 of them full-time
\npositions, almost trebled analyst forecasts of a 30,000 rise.<\/p>\n
The figures follow a 28,000 drop in job numbers in July, which
\nwas interpreted by many economists as a sign Australia's strong
\neconomic growth was slowing down.<\/p>\n
They were expecting only a moderate bounce in the job figures
\nafter an ANZ survey of job advertisements this week showed
\nadvertised vacancies were up just 0.2 percent in August, pointing
\nto sluggish job growth ahead.<\/p>\n
The participation rate -- the percentage of people over 15
\nworking or looking for work -- jumped to 63.8 percent in August
\nfrom 63.2 percent in July. -- AFP<\/p>\n
IMF sees fragile growth in Sri Lanka<\/p>\n
WASHINGTON: The IMF said Tuesday it expected Sri Lanka's economy
\nto grow between 3.5 percent and 4.0 percent this year, but it
\nwarned the outlook was fragile.<\/p>\n
A ceasefire in the 19-year conflict between the government and
\nTamil Tiger rebels had produced results, the International
\nMonetary Fund said in a review of the economy.<\/p>\n
Modest growth of 3.5 percent to 4.0 percent was expected this
\nyear, reflecting in part a gradual recovery in demand, the IMF
\nsaid. Farm output was forecast to recover with better rainfall in
\nthe second half of 2002, it said.<\/p>\n
"Executive directors noted that Sri Lanka is at a critical
\njuncture," the report said. -- AFP<\/p>",
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