Japan's farm imports up

TOKYO (AFP): Japan's farm imports grew 5.5 percent to a record US$40.2 billion in the year to December, with imports from Indonesia Australia and China posting the sharpest gains, it was announced yesterday.

The Japan External Trade Organisation (Jetro) said imports of vegetables and seafood showed the steepest increases in terms of value, although imports of beef posted the biggest gains in terms of volume, hitting a new record.

The United States remained the top supplier of agricultural products, accounting for 29.9 percent of all imports, followed by China with 8.5 percent, Taiwan with 7.7 percent and Australia with 6.6 percent, the agency said.

Imports from Indonesia jumped 20.9 percent to $1.1 billion and imports from Australia were up 16.6 percent at $2.7 billion while those from China advanced 13.6 percent to $3.4 billion.

Belgium cuts rate

BRUSSELS (AFP): The National Bank of Belgium cut several interest rates, including the directive central rate, by 0.10 percentage points here yesterday, the bank announced in a communique.

The central rate was cut from 5.80 to 5.70 percent, and the rate for overnight advances to financial institutions within their credit ceilings from 7.30 to 7.20 percent.

But the discount rate remained unchanged at 4.75 percent, and the rate for overnight advances for financial institutions exceeding their credit ceilings remained at 10.0 percent.

The interest rate cut was the third so far this month. The central rate has been lowered incrementally from 7.50 to 5.70 percent since December 7, in the wake of falling German interest rates.

KL airport to cost more

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuter): Phase one of Malaysia's new international airport is now expected to cost an estimated 12 billion ringgit (US$4.7 billion), a third more than the original estimate of nine billion ringgit ($3.5 billion), the government said yesterday.

The original estimate for the first phase did not include 2.5 billion ringgit ($968 million) for the privatised packages and the cost of the rail link between its site in Sepang and Kuala Lumpur, which is 70 km (45 miles) away, Deputy Prime Minister and finance minister Anwar Ibrahim told a news conference.

Anwar also announced, as widely expected, that the Anglo- Japanese Airport Consortium (Ajac) will not be the construction manager of the land and air-side facilities of the project which began last year.

Instead Malaysia's Public Works Department and several experts will take over as construction managers. He did not name the experts.

"The decision to terminate Ajac's services will not affect the implementation of the project," said Anwar, who chairs the Cabinet Committee on the airport.

Mobil back in Vietnam

FAIRFAX, Virginia (AFP): Mobil, the second largest U.S. oil company, announced it was part of an international consortium that signed a contract with the state oil company PetroVietnam to explore a tract offshore Vietnam.

The agreement marks Mobil's return to southeast Asia after pulling at the end of the Vietnam war in April 1975.

Vietnam agreed to allow an international consortium to drill in the Blue Dragon field.

The consortium was made up of Mobil (50 percent), Japan Petroleum (25 percent), Indonesia Petroleum (15 percent) and Nissho Iwai (10 percent).

"Blue Dragon is an intriguing exploration prospect and fits our strategy of finding and developing new core assets for the long-term," Mobil's chair and chief executive officer Lucio Noto said yesterday.

Also drilling at the block will be PetroVietnam and the Russian company Zarubezhneft.

Iranian-Thai trade pact

NICOSIA (Reuter): Iran and Thailand have signed a memorandum of understanding to raise Iranian exports of oil and other goods to Thailand, the Iranian agency IRNA said yesterday.

It said the memorandum was signed on Tuesday in Tehran between Iran's Minister of Post and Telecommunications Mohammad Gharazi and Thailand's Commerce Minister Uthai Pimchaichon.

Gharazi said the memorandum stipulated that Iran would export to Thailand crude oil, steel, iron, copper and carpets and will import rice and other commodities from Thailand.

He put the value of current trade between the two countries at $170 million a year.

Foreign capital in Burma

RANGOON (AFP): Foreign companies have invested US$1.4 billion in Burma since the country opened its doors five years ago, an official newspaper said yesterday.

Of the 73 ongoing projects, one is in agriculture, eight in fisheries, five in mining, 27 in industry, 12 in oil and gas, one in transportation and 19 in hotels and tourism, the Mirror said.

The biggest part of the investment -- $432.5 million including a local share equivalent to $30.5 million -- has been in hotels and tourism, it said.

The second largest share -- $305 million including $9.4 million worth of local kyats -- has been in oil and gas development.

Of the hotel projects now underway, 10 involve only foreign money and nine are joint ventures, the daily said.

San Miguel's investment

MANILA (AFP): San Miguel Corporation (SMC), the Philippines' largest private firm, yesterday announced a 12-billion-peso (US$428.6-million ) expansion and modernization plan, including its facilities in China and Southeast Asia this year.

Officials of the beer-based consumer giant said at their annual stockholders meeting that the expansion of investments abroad would be supported by a 100-million-dollar bond float in foreign markets later this year.

SMC Chairman Andres Soriano said among the projects scheduled for expansion were the company's joint venture brewery in Guangzhou, as well as the establishment of another joint venture brewery in Shunde, Guangdong province as he forecast that China would soon become the world's largest beer market.

He also announced that an Indonesian brewery acquired by San Miguel, P.T. Delta Djakarta, was expanding and said they had signed an agreement for another joint venture with Vinagan Brewery in Nha Trang, Vietnam.

BT in multi-media services

LONDON (AFP): The chairman of British Telecommunications (BT) Sir Ian Vallance said the company was willing to invest 15 billion pounds (US$22.5 billion) in British multi-media services.

Vallance told journalists at the Foreign Press Association that "significant opportunities" existed in this sector.

He said the "unprecedented" investment would serve to build the necessary infrastructure to bring the multimedia services, such as home shopping and video on demand, to residential customers, but it was conditional on two things: Whether the British government agreed to the "relaxation of the current restrictions on BT conveying broadcast entertainment, and whether BT is given access to appropriate radio spectrum."

Vallance did not specify the time period for the 15-billion- pound investment, merely indicating that BT currently invests "about 2.5 billion pounds per year."