Rig Tenders to buy vessel from China
Rig Tenders to buy vessel from China
JAKARTA: Indonesia's PT Rig Tenders said on Friday it plans to buy an accommodation vessel worth US$7.73 million from a Chinese company to meet an increase in demand from oil and gas companies operating in Indonesia.
Rig Tenders, a shipping company and offshore support services provider, said in a statement that the vessel will be made at China's Fujian Mawei Shipbuilding Ltd. and have a capacity of 250 people.
The 5,100 metric ton vessel, which is expected to begin operations in 2004, will be rented to CNOOC, an offshore-China oil producer, for its Java Sea operations employees' accommodation and activities, Rig Tenders said.
The company said it currently has three accommodation vessels. It has 29 vessels, which contribute almost 98% of its total revenue.
Chuan Hup Holdings Ltd. holds a 49% stake in Rig Tenders.--Dow Jones
;; ANPAf..r.. CorporateBrief-Samsung Samsung to make China main base JP/14/Samsung
Samsung to make China main base
SEOUL: South Korean microchip giant Samsung Electronics said on Friday it will make China the main base for production of personal computers and screens so as to reduce costs.
Samsung, the world's largest microchip maker, said it was moving production of PCs and TFT-LCD flat screens to China to compete with foreign rivals.
"China will become our main PC production base by 2005," a Samsung spokesman said, adding the company would keep core semiconductor lines and research centers at home.
He said the relocation of PC operations was prompted by rising costs locally. Samsung's PC business accounts for a fifth of total sales.
Last year Samsung launched a TFT-LCD (liquid crystal display) factory in China's eastern city of Suzhou with an initial investment of US$537.9 million and has promised to invest more money in the plant.
The company reported a 41 percent drop in net profit in the second quarter due to a fall in prices for memory chips and flat screens.--AFP
;; ANPAf..r.. CorporateBrief- Commonwealth Bank cuts 3,700 jobs JP/14/job
Commonwealth Bank cuts 3,700 jobs
SYDNEY: Australia's Commonwealth bank announced it was slashing 3,700 jobs on Friday under a restructure designed to improve customer service.
Australia's second largest bank said about a quarter of the job losses had already taken place and the rest would occur over the next three years.
The bank currently has a workforce of about 33,000.
"As a consequence of process simplification, work redesign and removing unnecessary work, the bank's domestic workforce is expected to reduce by approximately 3,700 between July 2003 and June 2006," the bank said in a statement to the Australian Stock Exchange.
It said most of the job cuts would be in processing, administration and head office related functions.
"Our customers tell us they need a better, faster and more responsive service," chief executive David Murray said.
Murray said a "cultural transformation" was needed at the bank and the bank planned to "empower motivate and skill" its staff. --AFP
;; ANPAf..r.. CorporateBrief-Boeing Boeing looking to Japanese market JP/14/Boeing
Boeing looking to Japanese market
TOKYO: U.S. aircraft maker Boeing Co. sees great potential in the Japanese market as well as the rest of the world for its proposed 7E7 jet, a company official said on Friday.
"We think we have a real winner in this product," Boeing director Randy Tinseth, who is in charge of marketing, said during a visit to Tokyo.
Boeing plans to sell 2,000 to 3,000 of the mid-sized 7E7 Dreamliner jets in the next 20 years although it does not have a regional breakdown for the sales, Tinseth said.
The 7E7 jets, which carry 200 to 250 passengers, are lighter and more fuel efficient than current comparable models. The planes will have wider aisles, more cabin humidity and will feel as if passengers are flying at a lower altitude than in other airplanes, according to Boeing.
The suppliers will be announced later this year for the new jet, expected to make its first flight in 2007 and be delivered the following year. Boeing is in talks with 50 airlines about the new jet, Tinseth told reporters. -- AP ;; ANPAf..r.. CorporateBrief-GM-union GM reaches agreement with union JP/14/GM
GM reaches agreement with union
DETROIT: General Motors reached a four-year agreement with United Auto Workers, GM said on Thursday.
The UAW agreement came after the union, which represents 115,000 GM employees, reached accords with Ford Motor Co. and DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler.
GM did not disclose details, but the deal is believed to be similar to the agreement reached with Ford and Chrysler.
Both Ford and Chrysler won concessions this week to close plants and keep wages low to remain competitive against rivals Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Corp., the financial news agency Bloomberg reported.
GM also reached a four-year agreement with Delphi Corp., the world's largest auto part maker. GM is the world's largest automaker by sales, but the company has struggled to compete against Asian rivals.-- DPA