Astra asks Daihatsu to lift stake

Astra asks Daihatsu to lift stake

BALI: P.T. Astra International, the largest automaker in Indonesia, is asking Daihatsu Motor Co. to raise its stake in their local joint venture, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported in its Thursday evening edition, citing sources close to the matter.

Astra appears to be asking for more funds and personnel from Daihatsu in return for ceding management control to the Japanese partner. The venture is currently 50 percent owned by Astra, 40 percent by Daihatsu and 10 percent by Nichimen Corp.

Although the details of the request have not been disclosed, Astra is known to be in talks to raise the Japanese partners' combined stake to 65 percent-75 percent. It will likely raise capital through a third-party allocation of shares mainly to Daihatsu, but it is not clear how many shares Nichimen will buy.

Astra plans to specialize in domestic sales and withdraw from development and production at the joint venture, the financial daily reported. -- Dow Jones

;Agencies; ANPAf..r.. CorporateBrief-DoCoMo-Malaysia DoCoMo eyes Taiwan, Malaysia JP/16/Brief

DoCoMo eyes Taiwan, Malaysia

TOKYO: Top Japanese mobile phone carrier NTT DoCoMo Inc. plans to offer its popular i-mode mobile phone-based Internet service in Taiwan and Malaysia, a news report said Thursday.

"KG Telecommunications Co. of Taiwan will begin offering the Chinese version of the i-mode service in Taiwan in late June. Taiwanese users will be able to exchange e-mail, download news stories, manage their bank accounts, buy tickets and use other services via mobile phone," the Nihon Keizai Shimbun said.

DoCoMo will receive royalties from KG Telecom, in which DoCoMo owns a 21 percent stake, for providing technology for such things as the calculation of telecom fees based on volume of transmitted data and displaying information content on cell phone screens, it said.

DoCoMo and Maxis Communications, Malaysia's largest mobile phone firm, are also expected to reach a similar accord in early July to offer i-mode service in Malaysia, the Nihon Keizai said. -- AFP

;Agencies; ANPAf..r.. CorporateBrief-Toyota-China Toyota to build new plant in China JP/16/Brief

Toyota to build new plant in China

TOKYO: Japan's largest automaker Toyota Motor Corp. plans to build a new plant in China to produce a luxury car targeting wealthy Chinese, a Japanese newspaper reported Thursday.

The new factory, to be built in the industrial city of Tianjin, near Beijing, will have a production capacity of 50,000- 60,000 vehicles a year starting in 2005, the Nihon Keizai financial daily said without quoting sources.

The newspaper said officials from Toyota and China FAW Group Corp., based in the northeastern Chinese city of Changchun, are now in final talks toward a comprehensive tie-up, including joint production of the luxury car.

"Nothing has been decided," said Toyota spokeswoman Nami Kanda when asked to confirm the report. -- AP

;Agencies; ANPAf..r.. CorporateBrief-considering WorldCom considering 16,000 layoffs JP/16/Brief

WorldCom considering 16,000 layoffs

JACKSON, Mississippi: WorldCom Inc. plans another round of job cuts - possibly as many as 16,000, or about 20 percent of its global work force, a company official familiar with the situation said Wednesday.

The layoffs would be the second round this year for WorldCom, which is facing US$30 billion in debt. In April, the company said it was eliminating 3,700 U.S. jobs to better align costs with projected revenue. Those cuts were limited to WorldCom Group, which includes the high-growth data, Internet and international businesses.

WorldCom is the second-largest U.S. long-distance provider, which it operates through its MCI Group. -- AP