KL hopes to trade in gold dinar
KL hopes to trade in gold dinar
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia hopes to base its trade with Iran on the gold dinar soon as a first step in decreasing dependency on the U.S. dollar in international trade, Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said Tuesday.
Mahathir, who is also finance minister, was responding to a question at a news conference on whether Malaysia would realize its long-held ambition to start using the dinar this year.
"Well, we hope very soon. Maybe (this year) we'll see whether we can do it with Iran," he said after opening an international convention on the gold dinar which, according to Islamic law, is roughly 4.3 grams in weight.
Malaysia had discussed the issue with Iran and "they decided that they should go ahead," he said.
Mahathir proposed more than a year ago that the gold dinar be used for international trade to prevent a repeat of the currency crisis which devastated Asia in 1997-1998. -- AFP
FDI falls sharply in South Korea
SEOUL: Foreign direct investment in South Korea has fallen sharply this year, halving to US$412 million in the first five months to May, the Bank of Korea (BoK) said Tuesday.
Foreign direct investment in South Korea stood at $812 million during the same period of last year.
Domestic and overseas investment by South Korean firms has also been falling but they have been spending a greater proportion of their investment capital abroad, the central bank said.
Foreign direct investment in South Korea jumped from $2.84 billion in 1997 to $5.41 billion in 1998 to peak at $9.33 billion in 1999 in the aftermath of the regional financial crisis when local assets were sold off en masse as companies struggled to raise cash to pay off debt.
Foreign direct investment then fell to $9.28 billion in 2000 and then plunged to $3.53 billion in 2001 and $1.97 billion last year. -- AFP
India mulls Delhi to Hanoi train
NEW DELHI: Foreign Minister Yashwant Sinha told a Southeast Asian ministerial meeting that India would study the feasibility of starting a train from New Delhi to pass through five regional capitals to wind up in Hanoi, a report said Tuesday.
According to The Indian Express newspaper, Myanmar's Foreign Minister Win Aung proposed the continental train service to Sinha in talks at last month's Southeast Asian ministerial meeting in Phnom Penh.
"Sinha responded favorably to the proposal and promptly asked for a feasibility study to be carried out at the earliest to take matters ahead," the daily reported.
"Starting from New Delhi the route will pass through Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and culminate in Hanoi in Vietnam," it said.
"The immediate purpose of the project is to improve transport links. ... But in the long run the project aims at tapping the tremendous trade potential in the area." -- AFP
Vietnam to launch first satellite
HANOI: Vietnam expects to launch its first satellite into orbit in late 2005, officials said Tuesday.
"We have invited operators from the United States, France, Japan and Russia to bid for the manufacture and launch of Vinasat, Vietnam's first-ever satellite," said an official from Vietnam Posts and Telecommunications Corp (VNPT.)
The bid packages are scheduled to be opened later this month, he added, speaking privately.
Another official from VNPT, Doctor Luu Van Luong, senior adviser for Vinasat, told AFP it is the technical criteria rather than the price that will dictate who wins the contract.
"It is too early to say how much the project will cost. We will choose a contractor who meets our technical demands. The price could be negotiated," Luong said.
Vinasat will cover the whole of Vietnam and other Southeast Asian nations, as well as parts of China, Japan and the Korean peninsula. -- AFP
SKorea posts $2.35b surplus
SEOUL: South Korea posted a trade surplus of US$2.35 billion in June, the largest in 42 months, the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy said Tuesday.
Exports in June jumped 22.3 percent from last year to $15.77 billion, as business firms focused on increasing overseas shipments to make up for falls in domestic demand and to minimize the impact from expected strikes.
The strengthening of the won against the dollar also helped to increase exports, the ministry said.
Imports increased by a smaller margin, growing 12.5 percent to $13.42 billion.
For the first six months to June, the aggregate trade surplus stood at $3.39 billion, down from $4.93 billion during the same period of last year.
It marked the third consecutive month of trade surplus and the highest level in 42 months. -- AFP