JAKARTA: The Jakarta Stock Exchange has suspended shares of
JAKARTA: The Jakarta Stock Exchange has suspended shares of four companies from trade Thursday as they failed to submit their financial statements for 2001 on time.
The four are debt-ridden pulp and paper producer PT Indah Kiat Pulp & Paper, paper producer PT Pabrik Kertas Tjiwi Kimia, textile company PT Argo Pantes and garment company PT Bhuwanatala Indah Permai.
Both Indah Kiat and Tjiwi Kimia are units of Singapore-based Asia Pulp and Paper Co.
The reports for the financial year ended Dec. 31 were due Wednesday.
The shares may resume trade if the companies inform the Jakarta bourse that they will submit the financial reports before July 31, an official at the bourse said. If they don't file by the deadline, their shares will remain suspended, he said. -- Dow Jones
Asia's first interactive TV network
KUALA LUMPUR: A Malaysian firm said Thursday it would launch Asia's first interactive television network offering Internet, multimedia messaging, banking and other services by end of July.
The home-grown "eTV" system, which will be rolled out on July 30, offers broadcast, Internet and telecommunication services on the television screen, said developer Enhanced TV Technologies (M) Sdn. Bhd.
It allows users to surf the Internet, send and receive e-mails and mobile phone text messages, chat online, make international phone calls, pay bills and carry out banking transactions, the company said.
Enhanced TV Technologies operations director Rannie Tay said the eTV device was a "personal computer inside a TV" and would help bridge the digital divide in Malaysia.
"You can watch and participate in your favorite TV game show real-time, catch the latest breaking news and order a pizza almost simultaneously. You can also e-mail a friend and pay a few bills, all from the comfort of your couch with the help of a remote control." -- AFP
Yahoo swings to profit
SUNNYVALE, California: Internet giant Yahoo swung to profit in the second quarter, announcing Wednesday it earned a net profit of US$21.4 million, compared with a loss of $48.5 million in the same period a year ago.
The profit, amounting to three cents a share, was a penny better than expected on Wall Street for one of the bellwethers of the Internet industry.
Yahoo, the largest Internet portal, announced that revenues increases 24 percent from a year ago to $225.8 million, also better than had been forecast.
The company expects its sales for the third quarter to be 225 million to $250 million, while it anticipates sales for all of 2002 to come in at $900 million to $940 million -- both figures better than expected on Wall Street. -- AFP
Accenture to cut jobs in Australia
SYDNEY: The Australian division of Accenture Ltd. is to cut staff numbers by between 85 and 100 by its Aug. 31 end of financial year.
The layoffs will include analysts through to associate partner level employees and reflects a "realigning of skill sets as well as currently challenging economic conditions," a spokesman said Thursday.
Accenture globally employs more than 75,000 people, of which
Earlier this week, the U.S.-based international management consulting firm confirmed it is looking to dismiss about 1,000 managers, or 1 percent, of its global workforce by Aug. 31. The cuts will be concentrated in the U.S., the U.K. and Australia.
Accenture, formerly known as Andersen Consulting, is set to report fiscal third-quarter results Friday. -- Dow Jones
Aussie bank eyes British bank
LONDON: National Australia Bank, the leading Australian bank, is mulling over a possible bid for Abbey National, Britain's sixth biggest bank, the Financial Times reported on Thursday.
The newspaper, which did not reveal its sources, reported that NAB had already discussed the matter with its investment banking advisers, Goldman Sachs, but that NAB's plans were at an "early stage".
NAB is widely believed to be keen to boost its presence in Britain, where it has already bought smaller banks Clydesdale, Yorkshire and Northern. -- AFP