N-250 plane flies in Hanoi

N-250 plane flies in Hanoi

HANOI (AFP): An Indonesian-designed commuter aircraft flew a
demonstration flight for Vietnamese aviation officials in Hanoi
on Wednesday, an embassy official said.

The N-250 turboprop aircraft took to the skies at Hanoi's Noi
Bai International Airport before a crowd of officials from the
Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam, she said.

The N-250 is a home grown product designed by the Indonesian
state-owned PT Industri Pesawat Terbang Nusantara.

The new aircraft is capable of carrying 68 passengers and is
designed specifically for short haul commuter routes of up to 800
nautical miles (1,480 kilometers).

Certification by aviation officials of the prototype aircraft
is scheduled for 1999.

;REUTER;
ANPAf..u..
Air-France-[AIRF.PA]-says-Asia-traffic-rising
Air France [AIRF.PA] says Asia traffic rising
JP/11/BOX

Air France traffic rises

SINGAPORE (Reuter): Air France said on Wednesday its passenger
traffic originating in Asia rose 15 percent in the first quarter
of the financial year that began on April 1.

The airline said in a statement it intended to boost its
capacity for the Asian market by 40 percent over the next three
years to keep up its momentum.

It attributed the 1997 rise in passenger traffic to opening a
regional office in Hong Kong last September and to tailoring
services to Asian customers.

Air France operates 15 routes between Asia and Paris.

;AFP;
ANPAf..u..
SAfrica-Malaysia
Malaysian group injects 33 million dollars into S.African bank
JP/SAFRICA

Malaysia buys African bank

JOHANNESBURG (AFP): A Malaysian group, TA Enterprises, has
injected US$33 million into a newly formed bank in South Africa
called TA Bank, officials said Wednesday.

TA Enterprises, which acquired a South African stockbroking
firm in 1996, on Tuesday launched the new bank, which is licensed
to conduct banking and foreign exchange functions.

TA Bank is South Africa's eleventh foreign bank, and hopes to
offer a wide range of financial services to the southern African
region, TA Enterprises executive chairman Datuk Tony Tiah said.

The Malaysian institution invested an initial $33 million (150
million rand), which would be increased to $109 million (500
million rand) over the next five years, officials said.

Last year, TA Enterprises purchased a domestic stockbroking
firm, Kilroe Whitehead, now known as TA Securities.

;AFP;
ANPAf..b..
US-economy-prices
U.S. consumer price index up 0.1 percent in June
JP/11/BOX

U.S. consumer price index up

WASHINGTON (AFP): U.S. consumer prices gained 0.1 percent in
June over May and were up 2.3 percent year-on-year, the
government reported Wednesday.

The core rate in the consumer price index (CPI), which
excludes food and energy, also rose 0.1 percent last month and
2.4 percent for the year.

;AFP;
ANPAf..u..
US-results-Ford
Ford profits up 31.5 percent
JP/11/BOX

Ford profits up 31.5%

DETROIT, Michigan (AFP): The second largest U.S. automaker
Ford Motor Company reported Wednesday its second-quarter earnings
rose 31.5 percent to US$2.5 billion, compared with 1.9 billion in
the same period a year ago.

Per-share earnings were well ahead of most predictions at
US$2.06, up from $1.56.

Revenues were up slightly from the same period a year ago to
$40.3 billion from $38.9 billion.

Second-quarter results include a net one-time gain of $100
million reflecting the initial public offering of the Hertz
Corp., offset partly by charges associated with realignments of
manufacturing capacity and the sale of Ford's heavy truck
business.

;AFP;
ANPAf..r..
Malaysia-technology
Siemens to invest 12 million dollars in Malaysia's high-tech zone
JP/MALAYSIA

Siemens invests in Malaysia

KUALA LUMPUR (AFP): Germany electronic and engineering giant
Siemens AG is to invest an initial 30 million ringgit (US$12
million) to set up operations in Malaysia's newly created high-
technology zone.

The group will form a subsidiary, Siemens Multimedia Sdn.
Bhd., to tap the "multi-purposed smartcard" and electronic
government projects, said Christian Urbanke, managing director of
Siemens Electrical Engineering here.

The money would be used to buy equipment and fund training
programs, research and development in the multimedia super
corridor (MSC) for the first two years, Urbanke told Bernama news
agency in an interview.

The MSC, the pet project of Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad,
is for computers and technology-related industries and is aimed
at setting the pace for Malaysia to enter the information-
technology era.

;AFP;
ANPAf..r..
Swiss-prices
Switzerland most expensive country in Europe
JP/11/BOX

Switzerland is most costly

BERN (AFP): Switzerland is the most expensive country in
Europe and is beaten only by Luxembourg in terms of gross
domestic product per person, a federal statistics office study
issued here Wednesday said.

Switzerland in 1995 scored 143.3 points against a European
average of 100 points on prices covering the entire range of its
goods and services, the study said.

Denmark ranked as the second dearest country, followed by
Norway and Germany while Greece and Portugal were at the bottom
of the price league.

Luxembourg had the highest level of GDP per capita calculated
in dollars, with Germany, Austria and France trailing
Switzerland.

;AFP;
ANPAf..u..
US-results-GM
GM earnings jump
JP/11/BOX

GM earnings jump

DETROIT, Michigan (AFP): General Motors on Wednesday reported
a jump in second-quarter profits to US$2.1 billion, up from 1.9
billion in the same period a year ago.

Per-share earnings were US$2.68 from $2.63 a year ago for the
world's top automaker.

Total revenues for the three-month period rose to 45.14
billion dollars from 44.78 billion a year earlier.

"GM's results on both a reported and adjusted basis are a
further indication of our operating and financial strength," said
chairman John Smith.

"It's significant that, even though strike-related losses hit
the bottom line pretty hard in the second quarter, we still
earned a substantial amount of money during the period."

;AFP;
ANPAf..r..
France-Thomson
State to give up majority stake in Thomson-CSF
JP/11/BOX

State gives up in Thomson

PARIS (AFP): The state will give up its majority stake in
defense electronics group Thomson-CSF at the end of the
restructuring plan it plans for the group, French economics and
finance minister Dominique Strauss-Kahn said on Wednesday.

He told the National Assembly's defense committee that "When
you start with 58 percent and you want an alliance with a
partner, it's hard to stay above 50 percent".

When queried by correspondents, the minister said retention by
the state of a 33 percent blocking minority in the big group
would be "a good solution", but "there are others".