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.