Negotiations on railways

Negotiations on railways

YOGYAKARTA (JP): Director General of Land Transportation
Soejono said yesterday that the government is inviting private
firms to cooperate with the state-owned railway company Perumka
in running both cargo and executive class trains.

In a seminar held at the University of Gadjah Mada, Soejono
said that negotiations concerning the cooperation are still being
conducted and are scheduled to be completed next year.

"In the planned cooperation, private firms will only be
licensed to operate the trains, while Perumka will still own all
of the facilities including engines, cars, signals and the
railway tracks," he said, adding that the join operation projects
should hire Perumka's human resources.

Perumka's president, Anwar Suprijadi, said that his company
expects to operate the JS950 express passenger trains between
Jakarta and the East Java capital of Surabaya, and will cover the
distance in nine hours, and JB250 trains linking Jakarta and
Bandung of West Java within two hours.

The planned projects, which will be launched at the 50th
anniversary of the country's independence in 1995, will involve
private companies, including PT Lorinta for the JS950
trains.(mun/icn)

;AFP;
ANPAf..r..
Bizbrief-Spore-triangle
Growth triangle pact signed
JP/9/COLBOX2

Growth triangle pact signed

SINGAPORE (AFP): Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia are to sign
a preliminary agreement today to formalize an economic growth
triangle nearly five years after it was first proposed.

The memorandum of understanding (MOU), to be signed in
southern Malaysia's Johore state, provides for setting up a
consultative mechanism to oversee trilateral cooperation
activities in the zone, a statement from the Trade and Industry
Ministry here said.

Growth triangles are localized economic zones involving
contiguous provinces in neighboring countries.

The concept of a growth triangle encompassing Singapore, Riau
Province in Indonesia and Malaysia's Johore state was first
proposed by Singapore in December 1989. Several projects were
already underway in the area.

Parts of Indonesia, particularly Batam island, made quick
economic headway from increased tourism and the spillover of
manufacturing operations from Singapore firms seeking land and
inexpensive labor, businessmen said.

Singapore's Deputy Premier Lee Hsien Loong, Indonesia's
Coordinating Minister for Industry and Trade Hartarto
Sastrosoenarto and Malaysia's International Trade and Industry
Minister Rafidah Aziz will sign the MOU, the statement said.

;AFP;
ANPAf..r..
Bizbrief-Tokyo-dollar
Dollar mostly higher
JP/9/COLBOX3

Dollar mostly higher

TOKYO (AFP): The dollar closed slightly higher in Tokyo
yesterday in narrow trading with investors sidelined ahead of
next week's U.S. Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting.

The U.S. unit closed at 100.31 yen on the Tokyo foreign
exchange market, up 0.05 yen from the previous day's finish of
100.26 yen. The dollar traded at 100.37 yen in New York late
Thursday.

In Singapore, the U.S. dollar ended virtually unchanged
against most major currencies in light trading, dealers said.

Rates provided by the Banque Nationale de Paris showed the
dollar strengthening slightly to 1.5715 marks compared with
Thursday's closing at 1.5705 marks.

In London, sterling also managed to rise against the mark to
2.4570 marks from 2.4547. The French franc rose to 3.4465 francs
to the mark, compared with 3.4475 at the Thursday close and a
year-low of 3.4515 reached on Thursday morning here.

The dollar was being traded at 1.5720 marks from 1.5705 at the
close on Thursday, at 100.25 yen from 100.30, at 1.3295 Swiss
francs from 1.3270 and at 5.4138 French francs from 5.4237.

The mark was trading at 3.4465 French francs from 3.4475, at
1,038.2 lira from 1,040.5, at 0.8465 Swiss francs from 0.8440 and
at 63.85 yen from 63.80.

The price of gold rose to $380.25 per ounce from $379.75.

;AFP;
ANPAf..r..
Bizbrief-France-poor-debt
Rich ease debt repayment
JP/9/COLBOX4

Rich ease debt repayment

PARIS (AFP): The Club of Paris, grouping most of the rich
creditor countries, has agreed to ease the debt burden bearing on
the poorest countries by increasing the slice of their annual
debt payments which may be canceled.

A club official said that the arrangement should avoid the
need for debtors to seek a rescheduling each year.

Until now poor countries have been able to obtain cancellation
of only up to half of the annual payments due but from now on
this percentage could be increased in theory to 67 percent.

Meanwhile a Club official said that this year the Club had
rescheduled debts of 15 countries amounting to US$21.3 billion
and the figure next year was expected to be the same.

The Club of Paris, representing 18 countries, has until now
handled only the amounts due under annual deadlines and not the
debt stock, except in the cases of Indonesia, Poland and Egypt.

The decision revealed yesterday affects, in theory, 27
countries, among them many African countries, countries in
central America and in South Asia, and particularly Vietnam, in
all of which per capita annual income is less than $695.

The overall debts amount to $35 billion, of which $28 billion
come within the ambit of the Club.

;AFP;
ANPAf..r..
Bizbrief-Thailand-oil
PTT to expand overseas
JP/9/COLBOX5

PTT to expand overseas

BANGKOK (AFP): The Petroleum Authority of Thailand (PTT) said
yesterday it was stepping up overseas expansion, with joint
venture projects in China and Vietnam already under way.

PTT governor Luen Krisnakri said the authority was
establishing trading companies in Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and the
Philippines and had undertaken feasibility studies in other Asian
states, such as India, Indonesia and Malaysia.

In China, PTT entered a joint venture agreement with Charoen
Phokphand Group (CP) and the China Petro-Chemical International
Co. (SINOPEC) for operations, including two service stations
already operating in Maoming.

Fourteen more service stations are under construction and
await authorization, out of a projected total of 200 within five
years, a PTT statement said.

In Vietnam, PTT is working with France's Total and Viet Gas to
develop the liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) market and build an LPG
filling plant, the statement said.

PTT, which purchased overseas natural gas for the first time
last year, is also negotiating exploitation of several gas fields
in the Gulf of Thailand, including ventures with Myanmar and
Malaysia.

;AFP;
ANPAf..r..
Bizbrief-USA-housing
U.S. housing starts up
JP/9/COLBOX6

U.S. housing starts up

WASHINGTON (AFP): U.S. housing construction soared 6.9 percent
in November, the largest increase in eight months, the Commerce
Department said.

The increase, which came after a 4.6 percent drop in housing
construction in October, surprised analysts who expected rising
mortgage rates to slow down single-family construction.

;REUTER;
ANPAf..r..
Bizbrief-Cambodia-WBank
Cambodia gets WB aid
JP/9/COLBOX7

Cambodia gets WB aid

PHNOM PENH (Reuter): The World Bank has signed an agreement to
provide Cambodia technical assistance worth US$17 million,
Finance Minister Keat Chhon said yesterday.

The minister signed the agreement at the Finance Ministry
along with Arnaud Guinard, the permanent representative of the
World Bank for Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar.

Chhon said the money would be used to provide technical
assistance, training and equipment for civil service reform and
"to provide a legal environment conducive to the development of
the private sector".

Guinard said progress had been made in the past two years and
training was important.

Chhon said he hoped the agreement would demonstrate to other
contributors the benefits of technical and financial assistance
to Cambodia.

He said he would like to secure $335-350 million from
international donors in 1995, compared to $275 million this year.

;AFP;
ANPAf..r..
Bizbrief-Malaysia-inflation
Malaysia's inflation up
JP/9/COLBOX8

Malaysia's inflation up

KUALA LUMPUR (AFP): Malaysia's annual inflation rate, measured
by the consumer price index, rose 3.6 percent in November from
3.1 percent the previous month, a government agency said
yesterday.

The increase pushed the country's annual inflation rate for
the January-November period to 3.8 percent over the previous
year, the statistics department said.

The higher figure was largely attributable to rising prices of
food, beverages, transport and fuel, it said.

Prices of food rose 5.4 percent, beverages and tobacco 4.9
percent and transport and communication 4.8 percent, the
department said in its latest monthly inflation data.

The treasury has targeted to curb overall inflation at 3.8
percent for this year, on an 8.5 percent growth in gross domestic
product (GDP). Inflation stood at 3.6 percent last year, with GDP
growth at 8.5 percent.

The central bank has been concerned with rising inflation in
an economy which has been growing at a robust rate of more than
eight percent since 1987.