PLN, university sign pact

PLN, university sign pact

JAKARTA (JP): The state-owned electricity company PLN
yesterday assigned Diponegoro University of Semarang in Central
Java to help improve the capability of its human resources and
coordinate research.

PLN's president, Zuhal, who signed a five-year agreement with
the university's rector, Prof. Moeljono S. Trastotenojo, during a
ceremony here yesterday, said the main objective of the
cooperation is to help educate his company's executives who have
held important posts but lack adequate academic education.

Only 5,000 of PLN's 54,000 employees are university graduates.

Zuhal said the university and PLN are committed to developing
joint research in electricity and project engineering.

"The research is expected to help locate engineering
technology suitable for PLN's power plants," he said. (fhp)

KL promotes palm oil

KUALA LUMPUR (AFP): Malaysia, the world's top palm oil
producer, is to dispatch a high-powered delegation to promote the
commodity in Japan, South Korea and Taiwan next month, government
officials said yesterday.

The May 22-to-June 7 mission, to be led by Primary Industries
Minister Lim Keng Yaik, will organize seminars, factory visits,
small exhibitions and cooking demonstrations to encourage palm
oil use in the three East Asian countries, ministry officials
said.

The mission is seen as part of Malaysia's increasingly
aggressive efforts to enhance sales in traditional markets as
well as break into new ones. Rival producer Indonesia is also
active.

Malaysia exports the commodity to 90 countries and is scouting
for even more buyers, with output expected to reach 8.6 million
tons by 2,000 from 6.5 million tons last year, officials said.

Palm oil is aiming to secure 32 percent of the global edible
oil market by the turn of the century, with Malaysia accounting
for 24 percent of production.

S'pore to raise oil refinery

SINGAPORE (AFP): The Singapore Refining Co. (SRC) is
forecasting a 50 percent increase in turnover when its new
refinery complex comes on stream by September next year, a
company official said yesterday.

SRC general manager and chief executive officer Jacobus Rinck
said the S$1.4 billion (US$897 million) complex on Merlimau
island near here will raise refining capacity by 60,000 barrels a
day to 285,000 barrels.

Rinck said that the higher rate of increase in turnover in
relation to the growth in capacity was due to the complex's
ability to produce more higher-value so-called "whiter" or
cleaner petroleum products like jet fuel and gasoline.

The complex will reduce SRC's output of heavier petroleum
products by between 15 percent and 20 percent, depending on the
type of crude oil being refined, from between 25-to-30 percent
currently, he said.

SRC is a joint venture between the Singapore Petroleum Co.,
British Petroleum and Caltex.

Japan VCR exports down

TOKYO (AFP): Japan's exports of video cassette recorders
(VCRs) fell 3.2 percent from a year earlier, while exports of
color television sets surged 20.2 percent, an industry
association said yesterday.

The Electronic Industries Association of Japan said VCR
exports in February totaled 1.17 million units and color TV
exports 297,000 units.

VCR shipments to the United States rose 2.4 percent on the
previous year to 315,000 units, but those to the European Union
plunged 47.8 percent to 75,000 units.

Exports to China more than doubled to 126,000 units and those
to Indonesia were up 252.3 percent at 145,000 units and Mexico up
126.4 percent at 23,000 units.

Exports to Hong Kong fell 20.4 percent to 101,000 units and
those to Singapore fell 16.3 percent to 146,000 units.

Color TV exports to China rose 73.3 percent from a year
earlier to 118,000 units and those to Hong Kong surging 111.2
percent to 85,000 units, the association said, attributing the
sharp rises to low year-earlier levels.

Vietnam to triple oil output

HANOI (Reuter): Vietnam hopes to triple oil production by the
turn of the century and will probably begin output from its two
newest fields late this year, the chairman of state oil firm
PetroVietnam said.

"I hope by the end of the century we will have at least
350,000 to 400,000 barrels per day (bpd) of production compared
to 130,000 to 140,000 bpd now," Ho Si Thoang told Reuters.

Total oil production is expected to be around 140,000 bpd or
more this year, rising to around 170,000 bpd in 1995, he added.

Manila defers tax

MANILA (AFP): The Philippine government yesterday deferred the
implementation of a 2.5-percent tax on export earnings following
strong opposition.

Finance Secretary Roberto de Ocampo said he would be meeting
with officials of the Philippine Exporters Confederation, Inc.
(Philexport) to thresh out their complaints on the measure.

Philexport officials have said the new taxes would dampen
exports, which grew by 8.9 percent to US$918 million in February
from a year earlier. No import figures for the period were given.

De Ocampo said the new tax, one of several measures aimed at
raising funds to narrow a huge budget deficit, was to have taken
effect on April 1 but was deferred to April 20 to give way to
consultations.

Rubber prices weaken

SINGAPORE (AFP): TSR 20 futures continued easing yesterday
with the decline slowed down by some physical uptake of SIR 20 in
Indonesia, dealers said yesterday.

Dealers said April shipment of SIR 20 FOB Belawan was traded
to a high of 50 US cents a kilo while May was traded at 48.75 US
cents.

RSS 1 and 3 held steady at Thursday afternoon's closing levels
with little trade transacted, dealers said.

At 09:15 GMT, Basis May RSS 1 was quoted at 151.00 Singapore
cents, RSS 3 at 94.00 US cents while TSR 20 shed four cents to
164.00 Singapore cents.

Japan's GDP to rise 1%

TOKYO (AFP): Japan's gross domestic product (GDP) is expected
to edge upward one percent from a year earlier thanks to
stronger-than-expected consumer spending, a research institute
said yesterday.

DKB Research Institute said in a report that economic recovery
would be confirmed in the middle of the year, supported by
growing individual consumption following cuts in income and
resident taxes.

Dai-ichi Kangyo Bank Ltd's research arm said consumer spending
was expected to increase 2.6 percent in the year after growing
1.1 percent in the year to March 1994.

It saw corporate capital spending falling 4.8 percent in the
current year after declining 8.8 percent the previous year.