British missions visiting Sulawesi

British missions visiting Sulawesi

JAKARTA: Two British trade delegations are visiting the South
Sulawesi provincial capital of Makassar to promote trade between
the United Kingdom and Indonesia.

British ambassador Richard Gozney is leading a group
representing British agribusiness companies to the town from
Monday to Tuesday, while another group from the British Chamber
of Commerce (Britcham) is visiting the town from Sunday to
Tuesday, according to an embassy statement.

During a seminar on Monday, the British agribusiness firms
gave presentations to assist small and medium enterprises engaged
in agricultural production and packaging.

While on Tuesday, Britcham is to host a energy forum focusing
on the utilization of small power technologies and carbon
reduction.

A number of the British company representatives will then go
on to visit other regions of Sulawesi and further agribusiness
seminars will be held in Manado (Sept. 12-13) and Kendari (Sept.
16-17). -- JP

;AFP;
ANPAf..r..
MoneyMatter-Japanese-Machinery
Japanese machinery orders rise 1.9%
JP/16/Money

Japanese machinery orders rise 1.9%

TOKYO: Japanese private sector machinery orders rose 1.9
percent in July from the previous month after growing 2.9 percent
in June, the government said Monday.

On a year-on-year basis, orders excluding volatile
shipbuilding and power generation equipment orders fell 5.8
percent in the month after dropping 7.6 percent in the previous
month, the Cabinet Office said.

Machinery orders are considered a leading indicator of
corporate capital spending.

Private-sector economists had forecast machinery orders would
come in at between a rise of 1.9 percent and a fall of 5.2
percent month-on-month, with a consensus of a 2.0 percent
decline.

Machinery orders from manufacturers rose 8.3 percent month-on-
month while orders from non-manufacturers fell 1.9 percent from
June, the Cabinet Office said. -- AFP

;AFP;
ANPAf..r..
MoneyMatter-Thailand-tourism
Thailand's tourism arrivals up
JP/16/Money

Thailand's tourism arrivals up

BANGKOK: Bucking a global tourism downturn sparked by the
September 11 attacks on the United States, Thailand is
experiencing a surge in tourism numbers, a newspaper reported
Monday.

The Land of Smiles hosted 5.36 million visitors in the first
half of the year, a six percent increase on the same period last
year prior to 9/11, the Nation newspaper cited tourism officials
as saying.

"Thailand has had less of an impact than neighbouring
countries," Juthamas Siriwan, the newly appointed governor of the
Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), told the English-language
daily.

The number of American tourists has declined by 3.6 percent in
the period, but far less than the 30.14 percent plunge seen in
Malaysia or the 14 percent drop in Australia, the newspaper said.

Juthamas also said there have been no reported cancellations
from overseas tourists planning to come to Thailand on Wednesday,
the first anniversary of the deadly attacks which rocked the
global tourism industry. -- AFP

;AFP;
ANPAf..r..
MoneyMatter-KL-industrial
KL industrial production increases
JP/16/Money

KL industrial production increases

KUALA LUMPUR: Stronger demand for manufacturing exports helped
push Malaysia's industrial production to 6.9 percent in July
compared to the same month last year, the government said Monday.

The rise, which was at the top end of projections by analysts
surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires, was fed by gains in all sectors
but particularly manufacturing, which increased 8.1 percent on-
year, the Department of Statistics reported.

Economists had been expecting the manufacturing sector to be
boosted by a recovery in exports, which rose 15 percent to 31
billion ringgit (US$8.15 billion) in July.

Compared with June, the industrial production index - which
includes the manufacturing, mining, and electricity sectors -
registered a growth rate of 10.4 percent, a marked improvement
over a 6.3 percent on-month decline in the previous month, the
department said. -- AFP