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