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

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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

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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

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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
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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