Bangladesh to push for investment

Bangladesh to push for investment

DHAKA: Bangladesh is to push for investment and the reduction
of its trade deficit during Indonesian President Megawati
Soekarnoputri's three-day visit starting on Wednesday, officials
here said.

Her visit to Bangladesh comes as Prime Minister Khaleda Zia's
government pursues its "Look East Policy" to boost economic ties
with neighboring Myanmar and Thailand.

A business delegation will travel with the president. There is
currently no Indonesian investment in Bangladesh.

Several agreements are likely to be signed, including one on
double taxation and renewing a 1978 trade accord between the two
countries, they said.

The trade balance between the two countries is more than
US$162 million in Indonesia's favor, according to official
figures.

Exports from Bangladesh includes jute products and garments,
while imports include mineral products, plastics and machinery.
-- AFP

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MoneyMatters-KL-manufacturing-sales-rice
KL manufacturing sales rise
JP/16/MONEY

KL manufacturing sales rise

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian manufacturing sales rose 4.9 percent
in April from a year earlier to 25.8 billion ringgit (US$6.79
billion) but were down 11 percent from March, official data
showed on Tuesday.

According to earlier data, March manufacturing sales rose 10
percent year-on-year to 28.6 billion ringgit and 10.4 percent
month-on-month.

In a statement, the Statistics Department said a total of
987,862 persons were employed in the manufacturing sector in
April, up 2.3 percent year-on-year and 0.1 percent month-on-
month.

Total salaries and wages in April rose 7.6 percent year-on-
year and 0.6 percent month-on-month to 1.56 billion ringgit.

In the four months to April, total manufacturing sales rose
11.4 percent year-on-year to 107.5 billion ringgit, with total
salaries and wages up 6.9 percent at 6.2 billion ringgit. -- AFP

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MoneyMatters-German-business-confidence-down
German business confidence down
JP/16/MONEY

German business confidence down

BERLIN: While investor confidence in Germany appears to be on
the rise again, company bosses are not so sure and business
confidence in the euro zone's biggest economy is at a 10-year low
point, the DIHK Federation of German Chambers of Commerce said on
Tuesday.

DIHK published the results of its latest survey which showed
that companies' business expectations were at their lowest levels
since the 1993 recession.

"With a minus of 25 percentage points, companies' business
expectations are currently worse than they have been in 10
years," DIHK wrote.

Only 17 percent of companies polled expected business to
improve this year, the lowest proportion seen since the start of
the 1993 recession.

By contrast 42 percent of companies were predicting a
deterioration in business, the highest proportion since 1993.

"The German economy is stuck in a stubborn economic lull,"
DIHK said. -- AFP

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MoneyMatters-SKorea-maintain-call-rate
S. Korea maintains call rate at 4.0%
JP/16/MONEY

S. Korea maintains call rate at 4.0%

SEOUL: South Korea's central Bank of Korea (BoK) on Tuesday
maintained its call rate target at 4.0 percent for June, citing
an improved economic outlook for the second half of this year.

The ongoing economic slump had been deepening because of
slackening domestic consumption, which cancels out increasing
exports, the bank's Monetary Policy Committee said.

However the economy will start benefiting from stimulus
measures taken in May, including a 25 basis point cut in the call
rate target and a four trillion-won (US$3.4 billion)
supplementary budget, it said.

"Investment is slow and consumer confidence is at a bottom as
the economy is going through a slump. But we will begin to see
the light at the end of the tunnel in the second half of this
year," BoK governor Park Seung said.

Park said that when these stimulating measures produce
results, South Korea's gross domestic product (GDP) growth for
this year could reach four percent. -- AFP

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MoneyMatters-Singapore-key-exports
Singapore's key exports rise 8.0%
JP/16/MONEY

Singapore's key exports rise 8.0%

SINGAPORE : Singapore's key non-oil domestic exports (NODX)
rose eight percent in May from a year ago, improving on the
previous month's performance, but electronics remained weak,
officials said on Tuesday.

The rise in May's NODX to 8.63 billion Singapore dollars (US$5
billion) resulted from a strong showing by the chemicals sector,
said International Enterprise Singapore (IE Singapore), the
government trade body.

The May performance was in line with analysts' forecasts. --
AFP