Caltex to terminate contract with Citra Tubindo JAKARTA (JP): American oil firm PT Caltex Pacific Indonesia has decided to terminate its welded steel pipe procurement contract with PT Citra Tubindo two years ahead of plan to comply with a ruling issued by the antimonopoly commission. Caltex's corporate communications manager Harry Bustaman said on Wednesday that the company had sent a letter to Citra last Thursday to notify the latter of its decision.

ASEAN delegates meet in Hanoi HANOI (AFP): ASEAN delegates bunkered down to focus on regional issues here on Wednesday seeking to finalize an agreement on resolving the growing wealth gap between member countries, officials said. A Vietnamese ASEAN foreign affairs spokesman said forum delegates were focusing on closing the development gap between member countries, which range from First-World Singapore to dirt- poor Cambodia.

Aspac beats Panasia in Kobatama JAKARTA (JP): Defending champion Aspac Texmaco outclassed Bandung-based Panasia Indosyntec 92-84 in action on the seventh day of the third series of the 2001 Nuvo Kobatama national basketball league here on Wednesday. Jakarta-based Dwidasa Mitra proved too powerful for Bima Sakti Nikko Steel of Malang, winning 68-57. The victory moved Dwidasa to seventh place in the standings, while Bima Sakti moved to the bottom of the standings in the 10-team league.

Doctors to be quizzed over report on Gus Dur's health JAKARTA (JP): National Police chief Gen. Surojo Bimantoro said on Wednesday that four doctors would soon undergo a preliminary police investigation in respect of their determination that President Abdurrahman Wahid was physically and psychologically unfit to lead the country. "I have instructed the National Police chief of detectives, Insp. Gen.

Poultry breeders accuse big firms of unfair practices JAKARTA (JP): Small-scale poultry breeders accused major poultry companies on Wednesday of engaging in unfair business practices, including price-fixing and holding a monopoly. M. Alie Aboebakar, chairman of the Indonesian Association of Poultry Breeders (PPUI), which groups the country's small-scale breeders, accused the big companies of violating Law No. 5/1999 on monopolies and unfair business practices.

Auto makers warn government that tax increase will backfire JAKARTA (JP): A number of auto manufacturers warned the government on Wednesday that imposing higher luxury sales taxes would hurt automobile sales this year, which could in turn backfire on the plan to raise tax receipts. They said the tighter tax policy would be counterproductive given this year's sluggish auto market.

Do we really need rates hike? By Zatni Arbi JAKARTA (JP): It was not long ago that we were complaining of how difficult, and costly, it was to get a new phone line in our office or home. We were at the mercy of the only public telephone service provider that we had, who constantly told us that it cost them thousands of dollars to add just a single phone line to the existing network.

Gus Dur camp turns up the heat on Megawati JAKARTA (JP): President Abdurrahman Wahid's camp turned up the heat on Vice President Megawati Soekarnoputri on Wednesday, saying that she should immediately resign if she wanted to have a clean fight against the embattled President.

ASEAN delegates pass Hanoi draft on wealth disparity HANOI (AFP): ASEAN delegates on Wednesday ended three days of talks and passed a draft resolution aimed at resolving the growing wealth gap between member countries, officials said. A communique issued after the meeting said the Hanoi Declaration on ASEAN was passed but details would not be released until a later date.

Danamon sells 14% shares in Chinatrust JAKARTA (JP): Publicly listed Bank Danamon agreed on Wednesday to sell 14 percent of its shares in Bank Chinatrust Indonesia, a joint-venture bank, to Taiwan's Chinatrust Commercial Bank. Danamon said in a media statement that the transaction would allow Chinatrust Commercial Bank to control a 99 percent stake in the joint-venture bank.