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

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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

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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

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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