Govt urged to reveal 40 banks under IBRA care JAKARTA (JP): The government has a moral responsibility to disclose the names of 40 banks currently under the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA)'s supervision, economists said.

Shake-out looms as carmakers hunker down in Asian market TOKYO (Reuters): Asia's economic crisis has not cooled the enthusiasm of several big Japanese and U.S. carmakers hoping to solidify their positions in the region, but analysts said a prolonged slump could force a shake-out. Japan's carmakers, who have long dominated Southeast Asian markets and recently completed a fresh round of investments there, have mostly dug in their heels to wait out the crisis. At the same time, U.S.

28 sepaktakraw athletes to represent RI at Asiad JAKARTA (JP): A team of 28 Indonesian athletes will compete in the sepaktakraw event at the 13th Asian Games (Asiad) in Bangkok this December, a sports official said yesterday. Beddu Amang, chairman of the Indonesian Sepaktakraw Association, said in Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan, yesterday that he hopes the national squad for the traditional Southeast Asian ball game would consist of 14 men and 14 women.

Rights body to check on missing people JAKARTA (JP): The National Commission on Human Rights will assign an investigation team to compile information on the reported disappearances of several activists. After a four-hour meeting attended by all but one of its 25 members, the commission said it would need at least another week before issuing a report on the matter. Additional teams would be dispatched to gather and check facts on the reports of missing people.

Unicef to help govt provide baby food JAKARTA (JP): The United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) here yesterday to provide funds for the procurement of fortified complementary food for 70,000 infants in Java. The MOU was signed by Unicef representative for Indonesia and Malaysia Stephen Woodhouse and Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare and Poverty Eradication Haryono Suyono.

Astra sells 2,536 vehicles JAKARTA (JP): PT Toyota Astra Motor, a unit of PT Astra International, announced yesterday it sold 2,536 vehicles last month. The company said its March sales represented a 20 percent increase over February sales of 2,109 vehicles but a 68 percent drop from March sales last year, which stood at 7,928. It said its Toyota Kijang multipurpose van was the largest contributor to sales. In March this year, 2,337 Kijang were sold compared to 6,293 Kijang sold in March 1997.