Medco to acquire oil blocks
Medco to acquire oil blocks
JAKARTA: Indonesia's oil producer PT Medco Energi International said Thursday it will acquire by October stakes in two oil blocks in South Sumatra and Irian Jaya provinces for US$11 million.
"We will buy a 60 percent stake in a company that operates an oil block in South Sumatra for $6 million," Medco's Chief Executive Hilmi Panigoro said.
He said Medco will also buy an 80 percent stake in another company that operates an oil block in Irian Jaya province for $5 million.
He didn't disclose the names of the companies, but said the company that operates the oil block in South Sumatra is a British company, while the one in Irian Jaya is an American company.
He said Medco will use proceeds from the $100 million Eurobonds issued earlier this year and cash to finance the acquisition.
"(The) proceeds will also enable us to acquire and finance (other) acquisitions," he added.
Other acquisition options include acquiring interests in production blocks, new and existing oil and gas assets, and equity stakes, Panigoro said. -- Dow Jones
;Agencies; ANPAf..r.. CorporateBrief-AOL AOL reveals suspicious accounting JP/16/Brief
AOL reveals suspicious accounting
NEW YORK: Media titan AOL Time Warner said Wednesday it had found US$49 millions in dodgy accounting at its advertising and commerce division and it was investigating other deals.
AOL said it discovered the transactions in the past 10 days and disclosed them to market regulators in documents swearing to the accuracy of its accounts.
The group said it had identified three deals involving the unit in which it suspected income to AOL may have been wrongly recognized as advertising and commerce revenues.
The three suspect deals, spread over a year and a half, amounted to about $49 million.
"While these amounts are an insignificant portion of the company's revenue during these reporting periods, the company stated that it is further reviewing these, as well as other, transactions involving the AOL division relating to advertising and commerce revenues," AOL said in a statement.
The group said it was conducting an internal review to check whether the accounting was incorrect and whether action should be taken over its reported financial results. -- AFP
;Agencies; ANPAf..r.. CorporateBrief-News-Corp News Corp. loses US$1.74 billion JP/16/Brief
News Corp. loses US$1.74 billion
NEW YORK: Rupert Murdoch's media empire News Corp. reported Wednesday a US$1.74-billion quarterly loss after a calamitous investment in Gemstar-TV Guide International.
The result for the April-June quarter represented a dramatic deterioration from losses of $265 million incurred a year earlier.
But the Adelaide, Australia-based media company said its underlying business was strengthening.
"We are in an excellent position for continued profit improvement as we advance into our new year with a lower cost structure and signs of an improving marketplace," Murdoch told industry analysts here.
News Corp. said its sales -- driven by television, cable and newspaper divisions -- leapt $387 million, or 11.24 percent, to $3.83 billion.
Operating profit, which discounts the heavy writedowns, taxes and interest payments, rose 25.21 percent to $452 million. -- AFP
;Agencies; ANPAf..r.. CorporateBrief-Fujitsu Fujitsu to cut 2,100 jobs JP/16/Brief
Fujitsu to cut 2,100 jobs
TOKYO: Japanese computer titan Fujitsu Ltd. said Thursday it would cut 2,100 jobs, or 1,2 percent of its workforce, at four factories through a generous voluntary retirement scheme to stem billowing losses.
Employees who opt to leave the troubled company could receive up to 40 months in additional salary.
"The adjustment in our human resources is part of our strategy to deal with the slumped market conditions," said a Fujitsu spokeswoman, who declined to be named.
The retirement program attracted 2,100 applicants between the end of July through to last week, she said. It was offered to staff at three Fujitsu plants that make printed circuit boards and one which produces electronics parts.
It wasn't clear how much the restructuring would cost, but Fujitsu would give workers eight to 40 months severance pay in addition to normal retirement benefits, spokespeople said. -- AFP
2002.-- AFP