Domestic vehicles sales down in November

Domestic vehicles sales down in November

JAKARTA: As of November 2001, the country's domestic vehicle
sales, which includes vehicles made domestically and imported,
totaled 27,442 units, down from 27,768 units sold the previous
month, a statement said.

That brings overall domestic vehicle sales to 283,558 units in
the first 11 months of the year. In 2000, Indonesia's domestic
sales reached 344,000 vehicles.

The statement also said that exports also dropped to 2,840
units in November, as compared to 3,857 in October.

Of the total domestic sales in November, publicly listed PT
Astra International was the largest contributor, with overall
domestic and exports sales reaching 13,157 and 2,741 vehicles,
respectively.

After eleven months in 2001, the country's biggest automaker
posted overall domestic sales of 130,716 while its exports sales
amounted to 36,529 units. -- JP

Vietnam to sign Airbus contract: Report

HANOI: Vietnam Airlines will sign a contract late next month
for the purchase of five Airbus A321s as part of a 10-year
expansion plan that will cost US$1.26 billion, official media
reported on Friday.

The Saigon Times Daily gave no price for the Airbus purchases
but said an overall plan to expand the airline's domestic and
international services would involve spending 15 trillion dong
($995 million) by 2005 and 19 trillion dong ($1.26 billion) by
2010.

"Vietnam Airlines will sign a contract for new Airbus aircraft
late next month and delivery will be over five years," the paper
quoted Nguyen Xuan Hien, the state-run flag carrier's general
director, as saying. -- AFP

UMC may delay Singapore plant

TAIPEI: Taiwan's United Microelectronics Corp., the world's
second-largest contract semiconductor maker, said on Friday it
could delay the start of mass production at a cutting-edge plant
in Singapore.

"We will continue to build the shell (manufacturing plant
building) but the original schedule for moving in equipment was
third quarter and we may not be in such a hurry now," said a UMC
official in Taiwan.

The caution comes as semiconductor manufacturers struggle to
recover from a devastating 2001. The industry is expected to show
mild growth this year.

The official said UMC would probably make a final decision on
moving in production equipment at the US$3.6 billion wafer
fabrication facility, or fab, in the second quarter. -- Reuters

'Telekom, DiGi, Maxis to get 3G licenses'

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia will award third generation (3G) mobile
phone spectrum licenses to Telekom Malaysia, DiGi.Com and Maxis
Communications, a report said Friday.

Quoting unnamed sources, the Business Times daily said the
three network operators were chosen on the basis of their
financial capability in rolling out the costly services, adding
the decision was made late December.

The report said the government might also waive the 50
million-ringgit (US$13.16 million) license fee.

Malaysia has two other mobile phone network operators
servicing its more than seven million active mobile phone
subscribers. The others are Technology Resources Industries and
TimedotCom.

Last year, the government announced it would award 3G licenses
to three network facility providers via a "beauty contest" by
July this year, with the service to be launched by end-2003.

Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad had ruled out the option of an
auction of the 3G licenses because high bids at auctions in other
countries had been too costly for the companies that secured the
licenses.

Third-generation mobile phone services allow speedy access to
data and video through the Internet. --AFP