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