JAKARTA: The plantation unit of Indonesia's PT Astra

JAKARTA: The plantation unit of Indonesia's PT Astra
International, PT Astra Agro Lestari, plans to issue around Rp
400 billion in bonds later this year, a source said Tuesday.

"We hope the bond will be issued in the fourth quarter of the
year," the source, who declined to be named, told Dow Jones
Newswires.

The terms of the bond issue were unavailable, but Astra Agro
is expected to offer a bond with a fixed coupon rate to attract
investors, who most likely would prefer to buy bonds with a fixed
rate rather than a floating rate as domestic interest rates are
currently falling.

It is unclear, at this stage, what the proceeds of the issue
will be used for, the source said. -- Dow Jones

BP quarterly profit falls

LONDON: British oil major BP announced Tuesday a fall of about
one third in second-quarter profit from the year-earlier period
but said conditions had improved from the first quarter.

Pro-forma profits, adjusted to take account of exceptional
items, fell by 36 percent to US$2.11 billion from the year-
earlier period but rose by 38 percent from the first quarter of
2002.

For the first half, pro-forma profit dropped 47 percent from
the year-earlier period to $3.76 billion.

"Although the upstream and downstream business environment
showed some improvement over the first quarter, the half year's
trading conditions were significantly less favorable than a year
ago," said chief executive John Browne.

"The world economy continued to recover during the second
quarter and further growth is expected in the third quarter,
though recent financial market weakness poses a downside risk to
this economic outlook.

BP said full-year production remained on track to grow at its
target annual rate of 5.5 percent as new projects come on stream.
-- AFP

BAT posts 11% jump in profits

LONDON: British American Tobacco on Tuesday reported an 11
percent rise in first-half profits, aided by the absence of a
one-off charge and lower interest payments.

BAT, owner of the Lucky Strike, Dunhill and Benson and Hedges
brands, reported that pre-tax profit for the six months to June
30 rose to 1.041 billion pounds (US$1.6 billion) from 934 million
in the same period a year earlier.

But turnover fell 1.0 percent on the same period a year
earlier to 12.478 billion pounds, as cigarette sales declined
five percent to 380 billion.

BAT said its performance was adversely affected by currency
fluctuations, particularly of the South African rand, which wiped
about 40 million pounds off its operating profits.

And, while it said it still expected to achieve high single-
figure profit growth for the full year, it warned recent currency
movements, particularly the decline of the U.S. dollar, could
jeopardize its targets. -- AFP

Nissan to launch fuel cell car

TOKYO: Japanese automaker Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. will launch
its first fuel cell vehicle by 2003, two years earlier than
planned, president Carlos Ghosn announced Tuesday.

"I can tell you today that the first fuel cell vehicle put on
the market by Nissan will be advanced by two years," Ghosn told a
news conference.

"We are moving up our fuel cell (offering) from 2005 to 2003,"
he said.

Nissan said in January it was developing the technology for
the environmentally-friendly cars.

Last October Japan's number three car maker and its 44.4
percent shareholder Renault SA of France said they had set aside
85 billion yen (US$708 million) over five years for the project,
to be run jointly. Nissan owns 15 percent of Renault.

Rival Honda Motor Co. Ltd's U.S. unit said on July 25 it had
received the first U.S. government certificate for fuel cell
vehicles, clearing the way for their commercialization. -- AFP

Megabank to set up holding company

TOKYO: Japanese megabank Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. said
Tuesday it will establish a holding company by early December to
boost its competitiveness as a fully-fledged financial group.

The new firm, named Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc., will
look after three SMBC affiliates -- Sumitomo Mitsui Card Co.,
SMBC Leasing Co. and Japan Research Institute -- as its wholly
owned units, a company statement said.

SMBC's shares in two other affiliates, Daiwa Securities SMBC
Co. and Daiwa SB Investments Ltd., will also be transferred to
the holding company which will be capitalized at one trillion yen
(US$8.3 billion), the statement added.

Daiwa Securities SMBC, a wholesale brokerage, is owned 60
percent by Daiwa Securities Group Inc. and 40 percent by SMBC.

With the reorganization move, SMBC will become the last of
Japan's top-four financial groups to be structured into a holding
company after Mizuho Holdings Inc., Mitsubishi Tokyo Financial
Group Inc. and UFJ Holdings Inc. -- AFP

Losses at Japan's Hitachi shrink

TOKYO: Japan's Hitachi Ltd. said Tuesday its net loss shrank
in the three months to June from a year earlier thanks to cost
cuts and fresh demand for technology, but it was cautious about
future prospects.

The nation's largest electronics firm incurred a group net
loss of eight billion yen (US$67 million) in the first quarter
against a loss of 34.0 billion yen last year.

It returned to a pre-tax profit of 1.0 billion yen reversing a
loss of 25.7 billion yen, but revenue fell four percent to
1,865.2 billion yen.

"Hitachi's first quarter results were better than initially
expected thanks to strong performances by information-related
equipment and electronic devices," the company said in a
statement.

"Together with the sharp appreciation of the yen, the
company's operating environment has become increasingly
difficult." -- AFP