Pontianak to host travel meeting<\/p>\n
PONTIANAK, West Kalimantan: Pontianak, capital of Indonesia's
\nWest Kalimantan province, will host the 2nd travel exchange
\nmeeting of the Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Malaysia and the
\nPhilippines-East ASEAN Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) on Sep. 6-9.<\/p>\n
The meeting will not only involve the concerned countries but
\nalso 11 Indonesian provinces, said a statement issued by the
\nprovincial communication and information office here Thursday.<\/p>\n
The Tourism Ministry's head for foreign cooperation, Yabes
\nTosia, said here Wednesday that foreign buyers outside the BIMP-
\nEAGA would hopefully attend the international event as well.<\/p>\n
The BIMP-EAGA, formed in March 1996, aims to increase trade,
\ninvestment and tourism in the region.<\/p>\n
Besides Brunei, the organization also covers Kalimantan,
\nSulawesi, Maluku, Papua in Indonesia; Sabah, Sarawak and Labuan
\nin Malaysia; and Mindanao and Palawan in the Philippines. --
\nAntara<\/p>\n
S'pore sends mission to Thailand<\/p>\n
SINGAPORE: Forty-one Singapore companies will travel to
\nThailand next week seeking a share of the kingdom's booming auto
\nindustry, the government said Thursday.<\/p>\n
International Enterprise Singapore (IE Singapore), the
\ngovernment's trade body, said the 73 participants would market
\ntheir expertise in electronics and precision engineering, and
\ndescribed the trip as the biggest ever Singaporean business
\nmission to Thailand.<\/p>\n
IE Singapore said local businesses are hoping to capitalize on
\nThailand's status as the vehicle assembly and export hub of
\nSoutheast Asia.<\/p>\n
\"Automotive Resources Asia claims that by 2006, Thailand will
\nhave 48 percent share of the total number of vehicles produced in
\nASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations),\" IE Singapore
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
IE Singapore said that despite the lack of automotive assembly
\nactivities in the city-state, Singapore had built up a highly
\ncompetitive automotive support industry. -- AFP<\/p>\n
Saudi to replace 17,800 foreigners<\/p>\n
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia is to replace 17,800 white-collar foreign
\nworkers with Saudis in a continuing \"Saudization\" of its labor
\nforce to reduce unemployment in the oil-rich Arab state, Saudi
\nmedia said on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
The lay-off include 16,204 employees from the public education
\nsector, 854 from private education and 42 from the defense
\nministry, al-Watan newspaper said, adding the posts would be
\nadvertised for Saudis within days.<\/p>\n
Most of the foreign workers will lose their right of residence
\nwhen their contracts end and will have to leave the country
\nwithin a month.<\/p>\n
The government is trying to boost the numbers of jobs for
\nSaudi nationals because of an unemployment rate estimated to be
\nas high as 12 percent. Foreigners make up just over half of the
\nnational work force.<\/p>\n
Analysts say oil revenues are increasingly unable to meet the
\nneeds of the more than 17 million Saudis. There are around six
\nmillion expatriates in the kingdom.-- Reuters<\/p>\n
S'pore key exports rise 18.7%<\/p>\n
SINGAPORE: Singapore's key non-oil domestic exports (NODX)
\nrose 18.7 percent in June from a year ago, a better performance
\nthan expected and a significant rise from the previous month,
\nofficials said Thursday.<\/p>\n
International Enterprise Singapore (IE Singapore), the
\ngovernment's trade body, said the rise in June's NODX to S$1.19
\nbillion (US$680 million) was influenced by strong growth in
\npharmaceuticals and a long-awaited pick-up in the electronics
\nindustry.<\/p>\n
The June NODX growth was one of a series of government
\nindicators released pointing to a pick-up in Singapore's economy
\nafter a long slump chiefly caused by the Severe Acute Respiratory
\nSyndrome (SARS) crisis.<\/p>\n
IE Singapore predicted total trade growth for this year would
\nbe between four and six percent, up from 1.5 percent in 2002,
\nwith a further pick-up in electronics and chemical exports
\nexpected. -- AFP<\/p>\n
HK jobless rate rises to new high<\/p>\n
HONG KONG: Hong Kong's unemployment rate rose to a new high of
\n8.6 percent in the three months to June, reflecting the continued
\nimpact of SARS on the labor market, the government said Thursday.<\/p>\n
It said unemployment rate rose from 8.3 percent in March-May,
\nwhile the underemployment rate -- which counts people with jobs
\nnot paying enough to cover their basic needs -- increased to 4.3
\npercent from 3.8 percent for the same period.<\/p>\n
A government spokesman said the increase in unemployment was
\nagain concentrated in the tourism and local consumption-related
\nsectors, reflecting the continued impact of the Severe Acute
\nRespiratory Syndrome (SARS) on the labor market.<\/p>\n
Also, there was a marked rise in unemployment among younger
\npeople as fresh graduates and school leavers joined the labor
\nforce, the spokesman said. -- AFP<\/p>",
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