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.