'Only parts of operation suspended'

'Only parts of operation suspended'

SINGAPORE: PT Freeport Indonesia reiterated Monday that only
parts of the operations at its open pit Grasberg gold and copper
mine are suspended.

PT Freeport Indonesia, the mine operator, is a unit of New
Orleans-based Freeport-McMoran Copper & Gold Inc.

"There are some parts of the open pit where you can't do
anything because of the slippage," a PT Freeport spokesman told
OsterDowJones, referring to a land slippage that occurred on
Thursday at the Grasberg mine located in the province of Papua.

The spokesman was speaking in response to news reports on the
Indonesian Mines and Energy Minister's statement that the company
will stop production from its open pit mine for two weeks.

"The minister was saying that it will take about two weeks to
clear the rocks and slippage," the spokesman said. "It doesn't
mean the whole mine will be closed for two weeks."

The slippage killed two employees and injured five, while six
are still missing. "For sure, the underground operations (at
Grasberg) are still operating," said the spokesman. -- Dow Jones

;AFP;
ANPAf..r..
Brief-Stocks-Malaysia
Malaysia's Astro IPO oversubscribed
JP/14/Brief

Malaysia's Astro IPO oversubscribed

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian satellite television operator Astro's
initial public offering (IPO) was 8.16 times oversubscribed by
the public, the Malaysian Issuing House said on Monday.

MIH said 111,817 applications were received for 241.21 million
shares for Astro All Asia Networks' public tranche.

For eligible Astro subscribers, retailers, distributors and
installers, it said 88,139 applications were received for 245.41
million shares, representing an oversubscription rate of 6.22
times.

MIH said Astro's institutional offering of 425 million shares
to foreign and Malaysian institutional and selected investors was
fully subscribed.

Astro said on Sunday the IPO's retail portion was fixed at
3.65 ringgit a share and its institutional portion at 4.06
ringgit (US$1.07) a share.

The company's overall institutional portion was 16 times
oversubscribed, the Star newspaper said on Monday. -- AFP

;AP;
ANPA ..r..
Brief-paper-merger
Purchase of Buhrmann NV approved
JP/14/brief

Purchase of Buhrmann NV approved

BRUSSELS: European Union regulators Monday approved the purchase
by Australia's PaperlinX Ltd. of the paper division of Dutch
office products company Buhrmann NV, a 746 million euro (US$873
million) deal that will create the world's third-largest paper
company.

After an investigation that focused on the British and Irish
markets, where both parties' activities overlap, the European
Commission concluded that the deal "raises no competition
concerns."

PaperlinX is buying the unit to strengthen its market position
inside Europe. The company's operations will double in size as a
result of the deal. It reported a 2002 net profit of $155
million.

PaperlinX said it expected its earnings per share to grow by
around 5 percent in the first year following the acquisition, and
by at least 40 percent after three years.

Buhrmann is selling the unit to lower debt and to focus on
distributing office products and graphic systems such as prepress
machines and cutting, folding and binding equipment. -- AP

;AFP;
ANPAf..r..
Brief-air-sector
EADS sees signs of Asian recovery
JP/14/brief

EADS sees signs of Asian recovery

MADRID: The European Aerospace Defense and Space Co. sees some
signs of a recovery in the global aircraft industry, particularly
in Asia, the Spanish business daily Expansion reported on Monday,
quoting EADS chief executive Rainer Hertrich.

In an interview with Expansion, Hertrich said that while the
crisis "is not over yet, there are strong signs of a recovery in
some areas such as Asia," where Airbus has been asked "to speed
up deliveries that had been put on hold."

"The U.S. may be behind and could perk up a bit later, but
we're convinced that its market will grow," he said.

"There is no reason for mergers (such as an announced alliance
between Air France and Dutch carrier KLM) to affect" Airbus
programs such as the planned extra-large A380 jet, Hertrich
added.

EADS owns 80 percent of the European aircraft maker Airbus,
with the rest held by BAE Systems of Britain. -- AFP