More technicians join Garuda unit<\/p>\n
JAKARTA: More than 90 percent of national flag carrier PT
\nGaruda Indonesia's maintenance workers have agreed to be
\ntransferred to a subsidiary the airline plans to set up, the
\nairline said in a press release on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
As of Wednesday, 2,490, or 90.6 percent, of the total 2,750
\ntechnicians working in the firm's maintenance unit had agreed to
\njoin PT Garuda Maintenance Facility Aero-Asia (GMF-AA), while the
\nremaining 260 technicians had yet to make up their minds, the
\nairline said.<\/p>\n
The deadline for the remaining technicians to decide was Aug.
\n7.<\/p>\n
As a part of the government's 2002 - 20003 public sector
\nmaster plan, Garuda is seeking to concentrate on core flight
\nservices, and as a result will spin off its non-core business
\nunits, including the maintenance unit.<\/p>\n
Garuda has thus been trying to persuade its maintenance
\nworkers to move to GMF-AA, which it set up in 2002.<\/p>\n
However, some of the technicians have been refusing to be
\ntransferred for months arguing that GMF-AA was a new company that
\nlacked clear plans and strategies. -JP<\/p>\n
PT PAL refurbishes 2 ships<\/p>\n
JAKARTA: State-owned shipbuilder PT PAL has successfully
\nrefurbished two vessels belonging to the Directorate General of
\nCustoms and Excise, the company said on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
PT PAL's president director, Adwin H. Suryohadiprodjo, said in
\na press release that the company had delivered the refurbished
\nvessels to Director General of Customs and Excise Edi
\nAbdulrahaman in Surabaya.<\/p>\n
"As a result of the refurbishment, the functions of the
\nvessels have been improved and they are now as good as new,"
\nAdwin said in the press release.<\/p>\n
The vessels account for two of the 28 patrol boats belonging
\nto the directorate general.<\/p>\n
Of these, PAL has been working on refurbishing some 12 vessels
\nsince February 2001. The repairs includes engine replacements,
\nrevamping interiors, upgrading electronics and electrical
\nsystems, as well as work on the vessels' hulls.<\/p>\n
The Directorate General of Customs and Excise originally
\nbought the 28 patrol boats from PT PAL Indonesia.--JP<\/p>\n
Astra Says blast won't hurt sales<\/p>\n
JAKARTA: Indonesian car maker PT Astra International said
\nWednesday a bomb blast that occurred in the capital Tuesday won't
\nhurt its performance this year, and forecast sales to expand 3.9%
\nfrom 2002.<\/p>\n
"The bombing won't hurt our sales performance," Astra's
\npresident Budi Setiadharma told reporters.<\/p>\n
Setiadharma said the company expects its car sales this year
\nto rise to around 330,000 units from 317,761 units a year
\nearlier.<\/p>\n
He said he expects consumers' purchasing power to remain
\nsteady despite the rupiah's decline following the bombing. The
\ngovernment has strong foreign exchange reserves, which would
\nenable it to stabilize the local currency in the near term, he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Astra also said it plans to pay an interim cash dividend of Rp
\n50 per share.<\/p>\n
During the first six months of this year, the company sold
\n61.919 vehicles, compared with 60,677 units a year ago. -- Dow
\nJones<\/p>\n
Japan Tobacco seeks 4,000 job cuts<\/p>\n
TOKYO: The world's third largest tobacco firm Japan Tobacco
\n(JT) said Wednesday it will offer voluntary retirement in an
\neffort to cut 4,000 jobs while deciding to stop selling Marlboro
\nbrand cigarettes in Japan.<\/p>\n
The measures are part of a medium-term management plan from
\nApril 2003 to March 2006 to help offset a gradual decline in
\ntobacco consumption, the company said in a statement.<\/p>\n
Under the streamlining move, JT is to close one third of 17
\ntobacco factories in Japan by March 2006. JT has already
\nannounced a plan to reduce the number of plants to 17 from the
\ncurrent 25 by the end of March 2005.<\/p>\n
The tobacco giant also said it would cut its 31 sales branches
\nacross the nation by 20 percent by March 2006.<\/p>\n
"It is expected that approximately 4,000 jobs will become
\nredundant" as a result of cost reduction measures, JT said.<\/p>\n
"The company will offer a voluntary retirement package to
\neligible workers" in Japan, it added.<\/p>\n
As of March 2003, the troubled firm had 17,400 employees in
\nJapan. -- AFP<\/p>\n
EU charge Microsoft abuses continue<\/p>\n
BRUSSELS: Backed by new evidence, the European Union on
\nWednesday accused Microsoft Corp. of trying to monopolize markets
\nfor server software and audiovisual players and gave the U.S.
\ngiant a last chance to defend itself before demanding changes in
\nthe ubiquitous Windows operating system.<\/p>\n
The EU's executive Commission, which has been investigating
\nMicrosoft for four years, said recently collected information
\nfrom businesses across Europe and the United States confirmed
\nthat abuses were "still ongoing."<\/p>\n
"We have now a very strong case. The case as it stands now is
\ntoo strong to ignore for the company at issue," said Commission
\nspokesman Tilman Lueder. Wednesday's information did not include
\nnew allegations but substantiated existing complaints and Lueder
\nsaid Microsoft could still face fines.<\/p>\n
The Commission specifically charges Microsoft with unfairly
\nleveraging the "overwhelmingly dominant position" Windows has in
\npersonal computers into the market for servers, which tie those
\ndesktop computers together. -- AP<\/p>\n
HSBC gets license in China<\/p>\n
BEIJING: HSBC Holdings is the latest foreign bank to be
\nallowed limited access to buying yuan-denominated Chinese stocks
\nunder a new policy, the government said Wednesday.<\/p>\n
The license granting the bank status as qualified foreign
\ninstitutional investors (QFIIs) was issued by the China
\nSecurities Regulatory Commission, the commission said on its
\nwebsite.<\/p>\n
A number of foreign banks have been approved as QFIIs, from
\nUBS AG and Nomura Securities Co. Ltd. in May to Deutsche Bank
\nearlier this week.<\/p>\n
In March, HSBC Holdings Plc was among a group of foreign and
\nlocal banks appointed as custodians charged with providing
\nsecurities settlement and custody services for QFIIs.<\/p>\n
China launched the QFII plan in hopes of lifting its ailing
\nyuan-denominated A-share market and help push forward reform of
\nthe domestic capital markets. -- AFP<\/p>\n
Bayer sees net profit drop 56%<\/p>\n
FRANKFURT: German chemicals and pharmaceuticals maker Bayer
\nsaid Wednesday its net profit fell 56 percent in the second
\nquarter from a year ago, blaming the weak economy and issuing a
\ncautious outlook for the rest of the year.<\/p>\n
Profit in the April-June period fell to 128 million euros
\n(US$145 million) from 293 million euros in the same quarter a
\nyear ago. The 2002 figure was boosted by a one-time gain of 269
\nmillion from selling Bayer's remaining stake in its Agfa-Gevaert
\nphotography unit.<\/p>\n
"For the time being, we cannot expect any stimulus for our
\nbusiness through an improvement in the economy," chief executive
\nWerner Wenning said in a statement.<\/p>\n
He said the company would have to press on with internal cost-
\ncutting and restructuring in order to improve earnings.<\/p>\n
Bayer said weak demand and a stronger euro had hurt sales at
\nkey divisions such as health care, polymers and chemicals.<\/p>\n
Overall sales fell by 3.3 percent to 7.26 billion (US$8.20
\nbillion); however, Bayer said that, figured in local currencies,
\nsales rose 7.3 percent. -- AP<\/p>",
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