Deal on money transfer

Deal on money transfer

JAKARTA (JP): PT Bank Nusa International (NusaBank) has signed an agreement with the state-owned postal service Perum Pos dan Giro (PPG), to use its money transfer service to send the remittances of the bank's clients who work in foreign countries to beneficiaries throughout Indonesia.

NusaBank is a private bank affiliated with the Bakrie Group.

The president of NusaBank, Bangun Sarwito Kusmoljono, told newsmen here yesterday that the agreement was aimed at securing the safety of the money remitted by around one million Indonesian workers overseas.

He said NusaBank and its correspondent banks in many countries will transfer the money to Indonesia while PPG will deliver the money to Indonesian beneficiaries wherever they are.

PPG's President, Marsudi, explain that with PPG's 23,000 outlets in 3,774 district offices all over the country, NusaBank will be able to reach the beneficiaries quite efficiently.(03)

Japan's oil imports rise

TOKYO (AFP): Japan's crude oil imports rose 4.2 percent from a year earlier to 149.26 million barrels in March, the second increase in a row, the international trade and industry ministry said yesterday.

For the year to March, imports were up 0.3 percent at 1.61 billion barrels, marking the seventh consecutive increase in the annual figure.

The United Arab Emirates remained the biggest supplier last month, accounting for 39.63 million barrels. It was followed by Saudi Arabia with 27.05 million barrels, Iran with 18.30 million barrels and Indonesia with 12.39 million barrels, the ministry said.

Japan's production of fuel oil in March rose 5.1 percent from a year earlier to 131.34 million barrels, the eighth increase in a row, the ministry said. Production for the year was up 3.2 percent at 1.38 billion barrels.

Domestic sales of fuel oil rose 3.1 percent to 142.66 million barrels, a record for March, while sales for the year were down 0.4 percent at 1.43 billion barrels, the ministry said.

Korean capital abroad up

SEOUL (AFP): Relaxed government rules helped South Korea's corporate investment abroad increase 250 percent from a year ago to 466 million dollars in this year's first quarter, a press report said.

North America was the top investment market for South Korean industries, representing 46 percent of the total, the national Yonhap news agency quoted the finance ministry as saying.

Asia was second with 32 percent and Europe third with 19 percent, it said.

Relaxed government regulations have encouraged more South Korean firms to invest abroad, the news agency said.

Investment in Thailand up

BANGKOK (AFP): The Thai Commerce Ministry has announced that the number of businesses entering the Thai market was down this year, but total registered capital is soaring, a local daily reported yesterday.

Some 5,139 new businesses opened their doors in the first quarter of 1994, about 10 percent lower than for the January- March period last year, The Nation said.

But registered capital was 5.22 billion baht (US$208 million) more than the first quarter of last year, totaling 19.25 billion baht ($770 million), it said.

Limited companies account for the lion's share -- 3,764 new entrants with 17.83 billion baht in registered capital, the report said.

Thailand boasts the second-highest growth rate among Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). The International Monetary Fund has forecast 8.2 percent growth rate for the Thai economy for 1994.

RP to build telecom tower

MANILA (AFP): The Philippines government is to build a US$250 million tower to boost the country's telecommunication capabilities, a Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) official said yesterday.

The 434-meter (1,432-feet) tower in the capital Manila, which will be the country's tallest structure, is scheduled for completion by 1998, the DOTC spokesman said.

The building will house various telecommunications systems, including television broadcast antennas, long-distance telephone and cellular telephones equipment, as well as airport radar, the DOTC said.

The tower will be constructed under a 'build-operate-transfer' (BOT) scheme, under which a private firm will build it and then operate it for a few years before transferring ownership to the government.

Two firms, Australia's International Finance and Marketing Consultants, which has already begun a feasibility study into the project, and a Japanese company, Mitsui and Co., have submitted proposals for construction of the tower.

Iran's debt rescheduled

TEHRAN (AFP): Iran has signed agreements with Denmark and major German corporations to reschedule debts of more than US$500 million, central bank governor Mohammad Adeli said yesterday.

Adeli told the official news agency IRNA that Denmark agreed to grant Iran a credit of $210 million to pay off debts to Danish enterprises, including those due in 1994-1995. Iran would have six years to pay them off.

Several major German corporations, including Mercedes-Benz, Grundig, Krupp and Preussag, also agreed to reschedule 520 million German marks (around $300 million) of Iranian debts.

In February, Iran obtained a loan from German banks to cover arrears due in 1994 which were guaranteed by the German Hermes credit insurance group.

Iran also signed a deal with German banks last year to reschedule non-guaranteed credits worth some $1.2 billion.

It has signed similar rescheduling agreements with other major European trade partners -- Italy, Switzerland and Austria -- as well as Japan, worth some $6.5 billion.

Mercedes-Benz's loss

BONN (AFP): The Mercedes-Benz AG company, the car division of Daimler-Benz AG, is set to announce a net loss of 1.198 billion marks (US$704 million) for 1993 on Tuesday, the Die Welt newspaper reported yesterday.

Mercedes-Benz had reported a net profit of 849 million marks in 1992. Die Welt said that the loss expected on Tuesday would be the biggest in the history of the company.

The report also said that sales had fallen by 2.7 percent to 64.696 billion marks.

Sales had fallen particularly sharply in Germany, by 19.6 percent for commercial vehicles to 82,215 vehicles from 109,807 in 1992. Domestic sales of cars had fallen by 5.9 percent to a value of 17.147 billion marks.

Japan vehicle output falls

TOKYO (AFP): Japanese motor vehicle production in the year to March fell 12 percent from the previous year to 10.85 million units for a postwar record of the third straight yearly decline, an industry association said yesterday.

The Japan Automobile Manufacturers' Association said the decline was the biggest since 1947, when output plunged 18.9 percent.

Car output fell 11.8 percent to 8.2 million units for the third consecutive drop, while production of trucks fell 12.7 percent to 2.6 million units for the fifth straight decline.

Output of buses declined 11.8 percent to 46,847 units for the first drop in four years.

The association reported a 7.1 percent decline in domestic demand, which marked the third straight yearly fall, and an estimated 18.3 percent drop in exports.

Industry observers attributed the decline in motor vehicle production to sluggish domestic demand and exports, along with a continued shift to overseas production by Japanese automakers prompted by the yen's appreciation.