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