Indosat cancels Satelindo IPO

Indosat cancels Satelindo IPO
JP/12/Brief

JAKARTA: PT Indonesian Satellite Corp., or Indosat, a state-
owned telecommunications company, said Wednesday it canceled
indefinitely, plans to launch an initial public offering of
shares in unlisted unit Satelit Palapa Indonesia, or Satelindo.

"Following a series of preparation steps for an IPO, it was
decided that it is not possible to proceed with the IPO during
the current period," Indosat said without giving further details.

Indosat holds 77 percent of Satelindo, the country's second
largest cell phone operator.

It planned to offer Satelindo's shares in May, but the
government ordered Indosat to delay the IPO until after the state
has sold its stake in Indosat, said people close to the talks.

Indonesia said last month it plans to raise Rp 1.7 trillion in
June through selling a 14 percent-15 percent stake in Indosat, in
which the government currently holds 65 percent.

The sale will form the first stage of a plan to sell 45
percent of the international call operator this year to help
reduce a budget deficit. -- Dow Jones

Hitachi, IBM tie up in storage

TOKYO: IBM, the world's biggest computer maker, and Japan's
Hitachi Ltd. said Wednesday they would form an alliance in
technology storage and set up a joint venture for hard disk
drives to boost competitiveness.

The pair will work together for a number of years to research
and develop technologies for next-generation storage networks,
systems and solutions.

Separately, they decided to combine various hard disk drive
operations into a new joint venture, 70 percent owned by Hitachi
which will pay International Business Machines for its hard disk
drive assets.

The new firm will integrate Hitachi and IBM's research,
development and manufacturing operations as well as sales and
marketing teams.

"Strong hardwear is essential to our company-wide efforts to
enhance solutions operations," said Yoshiro Kuwata, executive
vice president and director at Hitachi. --AFP

Vietnam to set up Eximbank

HANOI: Vietnam's Finance Ministry is preparing to set up an
Export-Import Bank to expand the country's trade activities, a
ministry official said Wednesday.

The official said preparations for the Eximbank will be
complete by September.

The new bank will provide exporters and importers with
necessary support - including long-term trade credits - thereby
helping increase Vietnam's trade volume, he said.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said
details of the new bank have not been finalized.

Vietnam has set targets for attaining exports worth US$17.2
billion and imports of $17.6 billion this year. Both targets are
10 percent higher than last year. --AP

Jeep recalls over 1.1m SUVs

DETROIT : The Chrysler arm of DaimlerChrysler AG will recall
more than 1.1 million Jeep sport utility vehicles to fix an
engine problem that could result in a fire, the automaker said on
Tuesday.

The latest recall comes amid several efforts by Chrysler to
improve its quality and reputation among consumers.

It brings the total number of vehicles recalled by Chrysler in
the past four months to about 3.3 million -- far more than the
company will sell in the United States this year.

In a statement, Chrysler said the recall covers 2000-2002 Jeep
Wranglers, 2000-2001 Jeep Cherokees and 1999-2002 Jeep Grand
Cherokees, all with 4-liter inline six-cylinder engines. --
Reuters