State firm to set up plants
JAKARTA (JP): The state-owned PT Pupuk Kalimantan Timur (Pupuk Kaltim) fertilizer company in Bontang, East Kalimantan is investing US$9.5 million in ammonia bicarbonate and hexamine- producing plants.
"The new $5.7 million ammonia bicarbonate plant, PT Kaltim Ambika Wiratama, will have a production capacity of 10,000 tons per year while the new hexamine plant, PT Kaltim Hexamindo Wiratama, will produce 3,000 tons of hexamine per year," said Pupuk Kaltim's Director of Finance Zainal Soedjais on Wednesday, as quoted by the Antara news agency.
Hexamine is used as a base material in rubber and plywood- adhesives industries.
The new plants will be constructed by Chengda Engineering Corp. of China (CCECC) and is scheduled to be completed by the end next year.
The demand for ammonia bicarbonate in Indonesia last year reached 6,500 tons and for hexamine 1,683 tons. The raw material for both is imported.(10)
British mission due here
JAKARTA (JP): A trade mission from the Birmingham Chamber of Commerce and Industry will arrive on Monday to discuss business expansion with domestic partners.
The mission, consisting of representatives from 19 companies, represents a wide range of products, services and educational institutes.
The trade mission, led by Chris Barsby, will visit plants for power generation, telecommunications and transport equipment and raw material processing.
Suppliers of medical equipment, meanwhile, will discuss new product innovations with domestic distributors during the visit from April 11 to April 15.(icn)
Nippon-Marubeni venture
TOKYO (AFP): Japan's Nippon Paper Industries Co. and Marubeni Corp., will form a joint venture to produce pulp in Indonesia, aiming to ship production for European and Chinese markets, spokesmen said yesterday.
PT Tanjung Enim Lestari, capitalized at US$250 million, will be also controlled by Barito Pacific Timber of Indonesia.
The three companies will sign a contract in Jakarta today.
The venture is to build a plant in eastern Sumatra at a cost of $900 million. Full operation is scheduled for 1997.
Annual production is expected to reach 450,000 tons to be exported mainly to European countries and China, they said.
Tanjung Enim will also start an afforestation project in Indonesia.
Nippon Paper is the largest paper manufacturer in sales here, born out of merger between Jujo Paper and Sanyo-Kokusaku Pulp in April 1993.
U.S. firms to raise capital
WASHINGTON (AFP): American firms are planning an eight percent increase in investments in new building and equipment this year, the Commerce Department said yesterday in a quarterly report.
If realized, it would be the biggest rise in such investments since 1989. The previous quarterly estimates for 1994 was for a 5,4 percent rise.
Prior to last year's increase in investments of 7.1 percent, spending rose 3.4 percent in 1992 and declined 0.8 percent the previous year.
The 7,000 businesses surveyed said they planned to increase their investments by 633 billion this year.
Meanwhile, the Labor Department said the number of American workers filing first-time claims for unemployment benefits rose by 6,000 last week, pushing the number of jobless to 337,000.
It said the additional 6,000 jobless claims pushed last weeks total up to 337,000, up from a revised 331,000 during the week ended March 26.
New applications for unemployment benefits for the week ending April 2 outstripped the 5,000 that analysts had expected, though the job picture continues to improve, analysts said.
Dollar down, gold price up
LONDON (UPI): The dollar was weaker against the major European currencies yesterday ahead of the release of U.S. consumer credit data for February.
The greenback traded at 1.7103 against the German mark near mid-morning, down from Wednesday's London finish of 1.7150 marks. Against the pound, the dollar was trading at 1.47 compared to 1.4691 at the previous close.
The dollar was also lower against the Japanese yen, trading at 104.31, down from 104.60 at the close in London Wednesday.
The pound was trading at 2.5155 marks, down slightly on Wednesday's London finish of 2.5177.
In Frankfurt, the dollar opened at 1.7118, down from the previous close of 1.7155.
In Tokyo, the dollar closed at 104.27 yen, down from 104.34 at the previous close.
In Singapore, the dollar closed at S$1.5693, down from the previous close at S$1.5705.
In Hong Kong, the dollar closed at HK$7.7270, unchanged from the previous close.
Gold opened at $385.00 in Zurich, up from $384.15 at the previous close, while in London it opened at $385.25, up from the previous close at $384.25. It closed at $385.15 in Hong Kong, down from the previous close at $385.25.
Silver opened in Zurich at $5.53, up from the previous close at $5.52, and in London it opened at $5.54, up from the previous close at $5.50.
OPEC oil output rises
LONDON (Reuter): OPEC crude oil output rose in March to an estimated 25.03 million barrels per day (bpd), more than half a million bpd above the organization's agreed production ceiling.
A Reuter survey showed wellhead output had risen by 140,000 bpd from February despite low world oil prices caused by abundant supply.
Early views on the first two weeks of April, based mainly on tanker-tracking data, were that not much change should be expected since most OPEC members were producing near capacity.
March/April supply at around 25.0 million bpd compares with an OPEC ceiling set at 24.52 million for the rest of the year. Excess OPEC production was blamed for the steep $5 a barrel drop in oil prices last year.
For the first three months of 1994, OPEC production -- according to Reuters surveys -- averaged 24.92 million, down from 25.05 million bpd over the first three months of 1993.
The higher March 1994 figure is mostly attributed to greater flows from Iran, OPEC's second-largest producer, which is now seen at 3.70 million bpd, slightly above its 3.60 million quota.
U.S. protectionism feared
BANGKOK (AFP): Fears that Washington plans new forms of trade protectionism are dominating discussions at the 50th session of the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), the agency said yesterday.
The fears persist despite U.S. assurances to the contrary, an ESCAP statement said.
Indian Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao fired the first salvo in his opening address Tuesday, saying, "We should not countenance any moves to put social and environmental concerns on the trade agenda, with thinly veiled intentions to nullify the comparative advantage of developing countries."
Rao's statement was echoed by Bangladesh, China, Indonesia, South Korea and Malaysia, ESCAP said.
At issue is a U.S. move to establish working groups on labor rights and the environment in the new World Trade Organization, which will succeed the General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs (GATT).
"This is not, as some have alleged, protectionism or a barrier to trade, U.S. charge d'affaires Kenneth C. Brill told the ESCAP session Wednesday.
U.S. pilots sacked
DALLAS, Texas (AFP): The largest U.S. airline American Airlines announced Wednesday that it planned to sack 50 pilots as of June 1, and that 450 to 500 more could lose their jobs.
"Now that we can see farther ahead, we realize we need to go above 500," said American spokesman Al Comeaux. "We can't be sure what the final numbers will be or how long the furloughs will continue because the marketplace continues to change."
This new wave of layoffs reflects efforts by AMR Corp., the parent company of American Airlines, to return to the black. The plan has been to expand profitable routes, cut unprofitable ones and expand non-airline investments.
The layoffs scheduled for June brought to 510 the number of pilots laid off since last year. As of June, the company will employ about 9,500 pilots.
AMR reported a net loss of US$110 million for 1993, an improvement on the $935 million loss reported for 1992.