KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian industries suffered estimated losses of

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian industries suffered estimated losses of
between 20 million and 30 million ringgit (US$5.3 - $7.9 million)
during Monday's power blackout which hit five states, local media
reported on Wednesday.

Losses would have doubled if the outage had not occurred on a
public holiday, Lew Chin Hoi, chairman of the Federation of
Malaysian Manufacturers' (FMM) energy management committee said.

The worst-hit industries were cement and steel mills as they
operate 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, he said.

"Companies involved in the cement industry in Perak and Kedah
(states) incurred losses of between one million ringgit and three
million ringgit each. As for steel mills, the loss was about six
million," he was quoted as saying by the Bernama news agency.

"Other industries such as electronics, gloves and chemicals
were also affected but not as seriously as cement and steel
mills. The electronics companies lost around 60,000 ringgit
each," he said. -- AFP

HK told to do more to revive economy

HONG KONG: Chinese Vice-Premier Wu Yi has told a business
delegation from Hong Kong that a deal granting the territory more
favorable trade terms with the mainland is not a panacea for
reviving its economy, press reports said on Wednesday.

China and Hong Kong signed on June 30 the Closer Economic
Partnership Agreement (CEPA), which provides for a series of
measures boosting economic ties between the two sides.

Wu told a delegation from Hong Kong General Chamber of
Commerce in Beijing on Tuesday that although the signing of CEPA
can help improve Hong Kong's economy, its economic revival really
depends on different sectors of the community working together.

They should not only rely on the city's government to boost
the economy, the chamber's chief executive Eden Woon Yi-teng
quoted Wu as saying. -- AFP

IMF team in Argentina for talks

BUENOS AIRES: An IMF negotiating team arrived in Argentina on
Tuesday to restart stalled talks aimed at working out a loan
deal, with just one week before a key payment deadline.

The government of President Nestor Kirchner is working hard to
reach a three-year debt refinancing agreement with the
International Monetary Fund (IMF) before Sept. 9, when some US$3
billion in debt amortization payments are due.

If the deadline is not met, the country risks not meeting IMF
payments and damaging investor confidence just as the economy
seems to be recovering. Argentina has already declared a
moratorium on debt payments to private lenders.

Talks are continuing, but it is "difficult to tell whether we
are farther or closer" to a new accord with the IMF, Kirchner
said at a news conference in the province of Entre Rios. -- AFP

Office rents in Singapore plunge

SINGAPORE: Office rents in Singapore's prime districts dropped by
a steep 12.5 percent, the biggest quarterly drop among major
Asian cities, a research report said on Wednesday.

Rents in the city-state for the three-month period ending in
June slipped to S$3.10 (US$1.78) per square foot (psf), ranking
behind Tokyo, Bombay, New Delhi, Hong Kong, Seoul and Beijing.

The report by CB Richard Ellis (CBRE) cited the SARS outbreak
and economic uncertainty as reasons behind the fall.

The current rental rate in Singapore has fallen by 54 percent
from its peak in 1996 and returned to mid-1980 levels.

Tokyo saw a milder 1.47 percent decline in monthly prime
office rents to $7.87 psf, but remained the most expensive in the
region. -- DPA

Foreign investment in India plummets

NEW DELHI: Foreign investment in India in the July quarter more
than halved from a year earlier to US$529 million, a top finance
ministry official said on Wednesday.

India's Chief Economic Adviser Ashok Lahiri told reporters it
was difficult to pin the slide on any particular factor, but
added sometimes there was a lag between a pick-up in the economy
and in investments.

"I am not getting any sleepless nights yet," he said, adding
there were signs of a rise in the inflow of foreign investments
from July.

In the financial year to March 2003, a crippling drought
coupled with a global economic slowdown pulled down economic
growth to 4.4 percent -- one of the lowest levels since India
launched economic reforms in early 1990s.

Lahiri said India lagged behind China in the area of
investments, but he added it was due to a 10-year gap between the
two nations in launching economic reforms and liberalization. --
AFP