JAKARTA: The Indonesian government plans to issue Rp 2.7

JAKARTA: The Indonesian government plans to issue Rp 2.7 trillion (US$303 million) in bonds in the first week of April, an official at the Surabaya Stock Exchange said late Monday.

"The bonds will be listed on the Surabaya Stock Exchange in the first week of April and the auction of the bonds will begin in the second week of April led by the central bank," the exchange's president director Hindarmojo Hinuri told Dow Jones.

He said the bonds will likely have a maturity of eight to 10 years and will carry a coupon of 100 basis points above the weighted average rate on Sertifikat Bank Indonesia notes, or SBI. But he didn't specify whether the bonds will be priced based on the one or three-month notes.

The one-month SBI rate is currently 11.36 percent and the three month is 11.97 percent.

Indonesia plans to issue Rp 7.7 trillion in new bonds this year to help refinance its maturing debt. That is just a small fraction of the Rp 40 trillion of bonds coming due this year and the even greater amount maturing in 2004. -- Dow Jones

WTO farm talks kick off

GENEVA : Members of the World Trade Organization began key talks here on Tuesday on global agricultural reform amid wide differences between countries.

The meeting is scheduled to run until next Monday, when the 145-member WTO is supposed to have set the guidelines and targets for the farming negotiations.

Heading into the talks, one diplomat from a developing country commented there had been little progress.

"I don't see any convergence of opinion," the diplomat said.

The big farming exporters of the 18-strong Cairns Group led by Australia, and the United States, accuse the European Union of spending billions of dollars on protecting their farmers.

But the EU, along with Switzerland and Japan, say their so- called non-trade concerns such as the role played by farming on environmental protection are not sufficiently being taken into consideration. --AFP

Office rentals in Singapore slump

SINGAPORE : Office rentals in Singapore fell nearly five percent on average monthly in the first three months of 2003 and are expected to weaken further due to the fallout from the Iraq war and sluggish global economy, an industry report said Tuesday.

Office rentals slumped 4.9 percent to S$3.85 (US$2.19) a square foot (0.09 square meter) in the three months to March from the 3.6 percent fall in the previous quarter, said property consultant Jones Lang LaSalle.

The rental decline was sharper in the central business district where rates fell 5.7 percent to S$4.15 a square foot, it said.

It was the eighth straight quarterly decline, bringing office rentals to 1988 and 1989 levels.

There is no reprieve in sight on the horizon for office rentals as the repercussions from the Iraq war have yet to unfold and the global economy is unlikely to stage a rebound anytime soon, the report said.

"Looking ahead, even if oil prices are to stabilize after the initial hikes, the U.S. economy may not rebound immediately," the report said. -AFP

BOK rules out economic stimulus

SEOUL : The governor of South Korea's central bank on Tuesday ruled out taking measures to stimulate economic growth, citing strong fundamentals and risks of inflation.

"The BOK will not adopt a stimulus package because it may entail side effects such as rising inflation," Bank of Korea governor Park Seung told a group of business leaders in the southern city of Jeonju.

"Our economic fundamentals are good," he was quoted as saying by Yonhap news agency.

Park said South Korea's economic growth rate would be below five percent this year, down from an earlier estimate of 5.7 percent.

"Yet the growth forecast for South Korea is the second highest in Asia after China," Park said. "Seoul's economic growth will depend on how long the war in Iraq and the global economic slump will last."

He dismissed concerns the South Korean economy is in crisis. --AFP

China OKs another LNG power plant

SINGAPORE : The Chinese government has approved a proposal to build another liquefied natural gas-based power plant in Guangdong province, a China-based industry official told Dow Jones Newswires Tuesday.

The green light covers two, 350-megawatt LNG-based power generating units to be built by 2005 in the southern province's Guangzhou city, said the official.

The units will be housed at Pearl River Power Plant, which will be built by Guangzhou Development Industry (Holding) Co., the largest power producer in Guangdong province.

The official, who is involved in the power project, said the government has already approved proposals to build in Guangdong four, LNG-based power plants with capacity totaling 3,500 MW by 2005, expandable to 6,650 MW by 2010, he said.

Guangzhou Development Industry (Holding) Co. will also build another two, 350-MW LNG-based units at the Pearl River Power Plant by 2010 to increase the total generating capacity to 1,400 MW, the official said.

The official said the approval for the fifth plant will increase consumption of LNG to 3.7 million metric tons by 2005, 12 percent above the earlier estimate, and to 6.7 million tons by 2010, again 12 percent above the original estimate. --Dow Jones

German import prices up

WIESBADEN, Germany : Oil price rises sent German import costs in February up 0.6 per cent over the corresponding month last year, the federal statistics office said Monday.

Excluding crude oil and oil products, import costs were actually down by 2.3 per cent over February 2002, the office said.

The February figure follows rises of 0.5 per cent in January and December 2002 over the same months a year ago.

Import costs rose 0.6 per cent from January to February, mainly as a result of rising oil prices. --DPA

Confidence drops in New Zealand

WELLINGTON, New Zealand : Consumer confidence in New Zealand has dropped to its lowest level in more than two years as the economy slows, but remains positive overall, a survey released on Tuesday shows.

Confidence fell to 112.1 in March compared with 119.4 in December, according to the Westpac McDermott Miller Consumer Confidence Index. An index number above 100 indicates that there are more optimists than pessimists.

Lower export prices, a strengthening New Zealand dollar and a slowdown in domestic demand are all contributing to slowing growth.

Consumer confidence is at its lowest level since September 2000, the survey said.

This year is likely to see "growth moderation" as the economy slows, said Westpac Bank Treasury Economist Nick Tuffley.

"The domestic economy went great guns over 2002 but now appears to be running out of steam," he added. --AP

Tourism spending rose sharply

WELLINGTON, New Zealand : International tourists' spending rose more than 17 percent in 2002 to reach 6.1 billion New Zealand dollars (US$3.4 billion), Tourism Minister Mark Burton said Tuesday.

In the five-year period starting 1997, the visitor expenditure more than doubled from NZ$3.03 billion (US$1.6 billion), he said in a statement.

"Not only are we attracting more visitors but, more importantly, these visitors are staying longer and spending more," he said in a statement.

The survey of international visitors shows the average visitor is now spending NZ$3,420 (US$1,880) within the country, up 11 percent from the December 2001 figure.

It also said 55 percent of international visitors are independent travelers, who have made no domestic travel or accommodation arrangements before arriving in New Zealand.

Burton said the increased spending was excellent news at a time of concern over international events.

One in 10 New Zealand jobs is dependent on the tourism industry. --AP