Indian firm

Indian firm submits Medco bid

NEW DELHI: Indian Oil Corp., which controls half of the nation's US$15 billion a year fuel market, submitted a final bid to buy a stake in Indonesia's PT Medco Energi International, N.K. Nayyar, director for planning and business development at the Indian company, told reporters in New Delhi.

PT Medco is Indonesia's biggest oil company.

Indian Oil, Oil & Natural Gas Corp. and other Indian oil companies are buying oil exploration assets overseas to secure supplies. India, Asia's third biggest oil consumer after China and Japan, imports 70 percent of its annual crude requirement.

India is likely to import 100 million tons of crude oil for the fiscal year ending March, 11 percent more than a year ago. -- Bloomberg

;AP; ANPAf..r.. Brief-ASIA-PULP Asia Pulp Units Seek Agreement on Lower Rupiah Bond Payment JP/14/Brief

APP units seek to lower payment

JAKARTA: PT Pabrik Kertas Tjiwi Kimia and PT Pindo Deli Pulp & Paper Mills, two of four Asia Pulp & Paper Co.'s operating units in Indonesia, are seeking an agreement with their rupiah bondholders today for lower interest payments.

Tjiwi Kimia and Pindo plan to continue paying interest on a combined Rp 400 billion (US$43.5 million) of bonds, at 2 percentage points more than the three-month central bank bill rate, starting in October, Yan Partawidjaja, a spokesman from Asia Pulp's parent, the Sinar Mas group, said in Jakarta.

The new interest rate would be lower than the 17 percent paid previously to rupiah bondholders under a January 2002 agreement. Still, it is higher than what foreign creditors would receive under a debt-repayment plan proposed in 2003. -- Bloomberg

;AFP; ANPAf..r.. Brief-China-bonds China Development Bank issues 1 billion dollars in global bonds JP/14/Brief

Chinese bank to issue $1b bonds

BEIJING: The China Development Bank (CDB), the largest of China's three policy banks, issued US$1.0 billion in global bonds in New York, with Goldman Sachs and other top investment banks as major underwriters, state press reported Wednesday..

The offer comprises 600 million dollars in 10-year bonds with a coupon or interest rate of 4.75 percent and 325 million euros in 5.5-year bonds at 3.875 percent, Xinhua news agency reported.

This is the first time the CDB has raised funds on the international capital markets since 2000, it said.

The funds will be used to support China's infrastructure facilities and industries, as well as pillar industries, the bank said. -- AFP

;AFP; ANPAf..r.. Brief-Philippines-WBank World Bank arm to invest in Philippine fast food chain Jollibee: JP/14/Brief

IFC to invest in Jollibee

MANILA: The World Bank's private sector financing arm will put some of the US$100 million it plans to invest in the Philippines into local fast food chain Jollibee Foods, a report said on Wednesday.

International Finance Corporation (IFC) country manager Vipul Bhagat told the BusinessWorld newspaper the body wants to help both the company expand in the provinces and entrepreneurs who want to run their own Jollibee restaurants.

"We want to provide business support to Jollibee while giving assistance to small and medium enterprises (SMEs)," Bhagat was quoted as saying. -- AFP