Bundesbank cuts rate
FRANKFURT (AFP): The German Bundesbank announced yesterday afternoon that it had cut its Lombard rate from 6.75 to 6.50 percent and its discount rate from 5.25 percent to five percent.
Many analysts had expected the central bank to reduce the Lombard rate as part of its policy of gradual monetary loosening, but fewer had looked for a cut of the discount rate as well. The latter is currently considered of greater market significance.
The previous Bundesbank rate cut came last February 17, when the bank lowered the discount rate by half a point to 5.25 percent but kept the Lombard rate steady.
A bit later in the afternoon, the Swiss central bank in Zurich announced that it was reducing its discount rate from four to 3.5 percent.
The Swiss Lombard rate varies daily and is calculated to reflect the average of money market interest rates over a two-day period.
Taspen pays pension funds
JAKARTA (JP): The pension funds for former government employees were paid fully by the state-owned PT Taspen, instead of the state budget during the first three months of this year.
The president of PT Taspen, Purwanto Abdulcadir, said in a press release on Wednesday that the funds were derived from the government employees' pension fund contributions, which equal 4.75 percent of their monthly salaries, and from the company's income from its investment funds, which have now reached Rp 6 trillion (US$2.8 billion).
Beginning this month, 77.5 percent of the monthly pension funds will be derived from the state budget, and 22.5 percent from the pension funds raised by Taspen.
Since Taspen disburses about Rp 230 billion each month for pensioners, this means about Rp 180 billion will be derived from the state budget and Rp 50 billion from Taspen's pension fund.
According to Purwanto, this plan has been made to reduce the burden of the state budget.
The number of pensioners served by Taspen have increased over the last five years from 1.1 million in 1989 to 1.4 million last year, raising pension payments from Rp 1.04 trillion in 1989 to Rp 2.2 trillion in 1993.
The number of government employees taking part in PT Taspen's fund scheme has also increased from 3.9 million in 1989 to 4.3 million last year. (10)
PLN gets chopper
JAKARTA (JP): PT Industri Pesawat Terbang Nusantara (IPTN), the state-owned aircraft manufacturer, delivered one NBell-412 helicopter to the State Electricity Company (PLN) during a ceremony here yesterday.
PLN's president Zuhal, who received the multi-purpose helicopter from IPTN's president B.J. Habibie, said his company will use the chopper for operations and supervising electricity facilities throughout the country.
IPTN designs its NBell-412 helicopters for passenger transportation (with a capacity of 15 seats), offshore operations, firefighting, medical evacuation or search and rescue (SAR) operations. Such aircraft can fly at speeds of 232 kilometers per hour with a range of 675 kilometers. (icn)
Dankos pays dividends
JAKARTA (JP): PT Dankos Laboratories, a pharmaceutical company listed on the Jakarta and Surabaya stock exchanges, will pay one- for-two share dividends, in addition to a cash dividend of Rp 125 (5.8 U.S. cents) per share.
Paulus Harianto said the dividend payout plan was approved during the company's annual shareholder meeting yesterday.
The bonus shares will be issued from retained earnings and will increase the company's common shares to 42.52 million.
He said the shareholders also approved a proposal to sell the company's shares worth around Rp 2.4 billion (US$1.14 million) in PT Hexpharm Jaya to Taisho Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd of Japan.
Dankos's after-tax earnings rose by 83.8 percent to Rp 21.5 billion last year.(hen)
RI firm builds Hanoi hotel
HANOI (AFP): Indonesian firm Global Metropolitan Development (GMD) began work yesterday on a joint venture hotel in Hanoi, which is currently suffering a critical shortage of international grade rooms.
The 200-bed hotel and office complex is a joint venture between the GMD and Toserco, a Hanoi-based state tourism company, the Vietnam News Agency reported.
Construction of the US$35.5 million project is expected to be completed by the end of 1996, the report said.
Toserco runs the Hanoi Hotel, one of only a handful serving the growing international business and tourism market in the city.
Of the major hotel chains, only France's Sofitel has a hotel in Hanoi, where the market has been dominated by state tourism firms and small private "mini-hotels."
KL turns to RI for workers
KUALA LUMPUR (Reuter): Labor-short Malaysia will turn to countries such as Indonesia and Bangladesh for workers following Manila's decision to cut the number of Filipinos employed overseas, a minister said yesterday.
Malaysia respects the decision and will not interfere, Malaysian Human Resources Minister Lim Ah Lek was quoted as saying by the national Bernama news agency.
Philippine President Fidel Ramos said on Wednesday plans have been drawn up to slow down the sending of workers abroad.
This includes Malaysia where Deputy Home (Interior) Minister Megat Junid Megat Ayob says there are 40,000 Filipinos working as maids.
More than two million foreigners work in fast-growing Malaysia, mostly in construction and plantations. The country has recently launched a nationwide hunt against illegal immigrants.
Fuel cell vehicle launched
ULM, Germany (Reuter): German industrial giant Daimler-Benz has unveiled Europe's first fuel cell-powered vehicle, the first to be produced by a car maker anywhere in the world.
The vehicle, a minivan, runs on a hydrogen fuel cell system developed with Canadian cell developer Ballard Power Systems. Ballard has developed the world's first fuel cell-powered vehicle, a bus, which is on trial in Canada.
"This could be the biggest innovation in propulsion technology of the next millennium." Daimler's research chief Hartmut Weule told a news conference:
"We must meet future mobility needs in an environmentally responsible way," he said, adding that a fuel cell vehicle was in its purest form a totally emission-free vehicle.
The technology works by passing hydrogen through polymer cells which in the process, with the aid of catalysts, converts it chemically to water. This releases an electric current which can drive electric motors in vehicles or in numerous other applications.
Unlike normal car engines, the process has no combustion or moving parts and is emission-free and noiseless.
Honda unveils new van
TOKYO (Reuter): Japanese auto giant Honda Motor has introduced the world's first commercial van fitted with caterpillar treads instead of wheels.
Honda begins selling its 660 cc, four-wheel-drive Acty Crawler, which has rubber treads in place of rear wheels, in Japan next month, the company said.
The vehicle was developed for use in rough terrain but can also be driven on highways at speeds of up to 85 km (53 miles) per hour.
Honda hopes to sell 700 crawlers a year in Japan at a retail price of about 1.8 million yen (US$17,500). It has no current plans to export the vehicles.