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หัวข้อ:Asia stocks move broadly forward โดย:4202680858 HONG KONG, China (CNN) -- Asian markets stormed ahead on Friday, with no selling pressure from the United States. The Topix index closed up 0.93 percent to 1042.95 in Tokyo. The tech-influenced Nikkei 225 average climbed 1.82 percent to 10,826.09. Taiwan and South Korea both climbed more than 2 percent. Australia and New Zealand also moved ahead. Hong Kong closed on a slight gain, with Singapore up near the close. Only the relatively small markets in the Philippines and Sri Lanka fell DoCoMo up with no WorldCom pressure U.S. stock markets were closed on July 4, for the national Independence Day holiday. They reopen Friday, though many U.S. investors will be making the most of a long summer weekend. The yen has shown a strong run against the dollar in 2002, lifting foreign reserves in Japan to another record. Asian stock markets have increasingly shown a life of their own in 2002. Some experts saying they've decoupled to some degree. With no pressure from WorldCom-related anxiety, NTT DoCoMo jumped 2.54 percent to 283,000 yen. It is the largest cell-phone service in Japan. Asian markets also showed no reaction to the death of three people in Los Angeles airport. Israel claims it was a terrorist-related attack. The FBI stated there is no concrete proof yet, one way or the other. Though almost all Asian markets rose, there were losing stocks. Japanese trading house Mitsui & Co. fell again, down 3.6 percent to 781 yen. The company saw three of its executives arrested on Wednesday on suspicion of rigging a bid on a power plant project on a Russian island. 7/7/2002 8:15:17 PM หัวข้อ:Enron Board inoged financial warnings โดย:4202 The board of Enron ignored evidence of financial problems at the company, a US Senate subcommittee has found. "Much that was wrong with Enron was known to the board," the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations said in a report into the scandal. The report said the board failed to protect shareholders, and contributed to Enron's collapse last year. Lawyers representing Enron and the company's former directors have disputed the findings. 'Red flags' missed Enron collapsed last December, becoming the biggest company bankruptcy in US corporate history. The firm's collapse was blamed on complex financial arrangements and questionable accounting practices. The Senate subcommittee said that claims by former directors that they were not told about dubious practices were not true. The report said directors failed to heed "more than dozen red flags that should have caused the Enron board to ask hard questions, examine Enron policies and consider changing course." But attorney Robert Bennett, who is representing Enron, said the report was "grossly unfair" and that it leapt to "unfounded conclusions". And an attorney representing Enron's former directors, W Neil Eggleston, said the board was "misled by Enron management and outside auditors about now-suspect transactions." High-risk accounting The report said that former Enron auditor David Duncan had warned directors on the audit committee about some of the company's accounting practices. It said Mr Duncan told them that told directors on the audit committee some of the actions were "pushing the limits" and were "at the edge" of normal accountancy procedures. Mr Duncan pleaded guilty to obstruction in the investigation into Enron's collapse, and last month was the chief prosecution witness in the trial of accountants Arthur Andersen The firm was found guilty of obstruction of justice after it shredded documents relating to Enron. Action needed The report also said that the board failed to question the cash being generated by outside partnerships operated by Enron's Chief Financial Officer Andrew Fastow. And it said the board gave the opportunity for company executives to improve Enron's accounts by waiving conflict-of-interest rules for Mr Fastow. It also criticises the board for approving "lavish" pay packages for senior staff, and for failing to monitor a credit line used by Enron's former chief executive Kenneth Lay. The report adds that the independence of some of the directors was compromised by consultancy payments they received from Enron. The chairman of the subcommittee, Senator Carl Levin, said the findings showed the need for legislation tightening controls over accountants and corporate conduct. Last month the US Senate's banking committee approved an accounting reform bill that would establish an independent body to oversee accountants. 7/7/2002 9:23:34 PM หัวข้อ: โดย:4202026807 7/7/2002 9:24:55 PM หัวข้อ:Enron Board inoged financial warnings โดย:4202680734 The board of Enron ignored evidence of financial problems at the company, a US Senate subcommittee has found. "Much that was wrong with Enron was known to the board," the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations said in a report into the scandal. The report said the board failed to protect shareholders, and contributed to Enron's collapse last year. Lawyers representing Enron and the company's former directors have disputed the findings. 'Red flags' missed Enron collapsed last December, becoming the biggest company bankruptcy in US corporate history. The firm's collapse was blamed on complex financial arrangements and questionable accounting practices. The Senate subcommittee said that claims by former directors that they were not told about dubious practices were not true. The report said directors failed to heed "more than dozen red flags that should have caused the Enron board to ask hard questions, examine Enron policies and consider changing course." But attorney Robert Bennett, who is representing Enron, said the report was "grossly unfair" and that it leapt to "unfounded conclusions". And an attorney representing Enron's former directors, W Neil Eggleston, said the board was "misled by Enron management and outside auditors about now-suspect transactions." High-risk accounting The report said that former Enron auditor David Duncan had warned directors on the audit committee about some of the company's accounting practices. It said Mr Duncan told them that told directors on the audit committee some of the actions were "pushing the limits" and were "at the edge" of normal accountancy procedures. Mr Duncan pleaded guilty to obstruction in the investigation into Enron's collapse, and last month was the chief prosecution witness in the trial of accountants Arthur Andersen The firm was found guilty of obstruction of justice after it shredded documents relating to Enron. Action needed The report also said that the board failed to question the cash being generated by outside partnerships operated by Enron's Chief Financial Officer Andrew Fastow. And it said the board gave the opportunity for company executives to improve Enron's accounts by waiving conflict-of-interest rules for Mr Fastow. It also criticises the board for approving "lavish" pay packages for senior staff, and for failing to monitor a credit line used by Enron's former chief executive Kenneth Lay. The report adds that the independence of some of the directors was compromised by consultancy payments they received from Enron. The chairman of the subcommittee, Senator Carl Levin, said the findings showed the need for legislation tightening controls over accountants and corporate conduct. Last month the US Senate's banking committee approved an accounting reform bill that would establish an independent body to oversee accountants. 7/7/2002 9:27:30 PM หัวข้อ:Afghans mourn murdered minister โดย:4202680023 Afghanistan is burying its vice-president Haji Abdul Qadir, whose assassination on Saturday has underlined the difficulty of re-establishing stability after decades of conflict. Qadir - one of few prominent members of the majority Pashtun community in the government - was shot dead by unidentified gunmen as he left his office in Kabul. Thousands of people said prayers for the dead minister at the main mosque in the capital, including fellow members of the cabinet, other mujahideen commanders and dignitaries. The coffin bearing his body, draped with the Afghan flag, was taken by helicopter for burial in his home city of Jalalabad, in the east of the country, where Qadir wielded great power. Also taken for burial was his son-in-law, who drove the car which was ambushed by gunmen on Saturday. In the wake of the killing, Qadir's brother Din Mohamed voiced fears over the ability of the government led by Hamid Karzai to maintain security. "If they don't pay attention there will be problems. If they can't keep security for their own people, their ministers, what can the government do?" he said in a BBC interview. Hard to replace The Afghan Government has set up a commission to investigate the killing which it called a "terrorist attack", and has declared a day of national mourning for Qadir on Tuesday. President Hamid Karzai made Qadir one of his vice-presidents last month after Pashtun complaints that the government was dominated by ethnic Tajiks from the Northern Alliance which fought the Taleban and al-Qaeda. Qadir was a powerful military and political figure with large business interests in eastern Afghanistan. There is no obvious successor to his power base. Another brother - commander Abdul Haq - was captured and executed by the Taleban in its death throes last autumn. There is also no word so far about who might succeed him as vice-president or as minister of public works - an influential post because of the large amounts of money being spent on major reconstruction projects in Afghanistan. The Pashtun community in Afghanistan was the power base of the ousted Taleban regime and there are concerns that the assassination could destabilise the eastern provinces. Qadir had powerful friends who may wish to take revenge, the BBC's Kate Clark reports from Kabul. From Bin Laden to Bonn Our correspondent says Qadir was a man shrouded in controversy. He first achieved fame as a mujahideen commander during the war against the Soviets in the 1980s. Qadir was a rare Pashtun voice in the government Having made his money exporting goods to Pakistan, he was the first Afghan host to al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden, letting him use a network of caves in the east after he left Sudan. He went on to become one of the few prominent Pashtuns to join the Tajik and Uzbek-dominated Northern Alliance. Sudden attack In the attack on Saturday, two gunmen leapt from behind bushes and sprayed Qadir's car with dozens of bullets from assault rifles fired at point-blank range. The vice president was shot through the head and his driver was also killed. The killers made their escape in a car despite a major security operation launched in the city. A spokesman for President Karzai, himself a Pashtun, said he was upset at losing a "prominent member of his government and a Pashtun". There has been international condemnation of the assassination. President Bush and the French government both said it made them more determined than ever to help build stability in Afghanistan. The Turkish-led international peacekeeping force rejected suggestions the murder reflected badly on them. "ISAF is not responsible for providing close protection," spokesman Colonel Samet Oz was quoted as saying. 7/7/2002 9:40:39 PM หัวข้อ:Japan on a hot streak? โดย:4202612588 TOKYO (Reuters) - A closely watched Japanese economic index hit its maximum 100 level for the first time in more than five years this week, providing more evidence that the nation's recovery from recession is becoming more entrenched. The government said on Friday that its index of coincident indicators, which reflects current economic conditions, stood above the "boom-or-bust" level of 50 for the fourth straight month in May, rising to a perfect score from a revised 80.0 in April. The diffusion index, which subtracts negative components from positive ones, includes such key measures as industrial output and retail sales, and a reading of over 50 for three straight months or more is seen as a sign the economy is expanding. The May diffusion index of leading economic indicators, which predicts conditions in the coming months, came in at 88.9 compared with a revised 75.0 a month earlier, above 50 for the fifth straight month. The leading index includes housing starts and new job offers. The reading of 100 on the coincident index means that all nine component indicators improved from three months earlier, the first time this has happened since November 1996. "You must remember that a very high reading in these indices does not necessarily mean growth is strong. It just shows that all the indicators are pointing in the same direction," said Azusa Kato, economist at BNP Paribas. "Having said that, the pace of recovery in exports is far faster than anyone had expected and a consequent pickup in industrial output has been strong as well." Separate government data showed Japanese households spent 1.6 percent less in May from a year earlier. The average household spent 292,183 yen ($2,431) during the month. Friday's data will strengthen the view that the world's second biggest economy is recovering from its worst post-war slump, but the upturn remains patchy and dependent on an export pick-up driven by a weaker yen. The dollar's recent slump against other major currencies, including the yen, is already raising worries that the recovery could be short-lived. The Bank of Japan's "tankan" survey of business sentiment showed on Monday the key diffusion index for major manufacturers rising to minus 18, its highest since June 2001 and a record gain of 20 points. But the survey also showed that capital spending, which takes up a large chunk of the economy, was unlikely to show a big rise any time soon. A Reuters poll released on Friday showed economists expect machinery orders, a key indicator of private capital spending, to fall 2.8 percent in May from the previous month. "Recent economic indicators have underscored the government's assessment that the economy has bottomed out," Economics Minister Heizo Takenaka told a news conference. "On the other hand, we need to consider the fallout from a drop in U.S. stock prices, mainly in the foreign exchange market, as a risk factor (for the Japanese economy)," he added. 7/7/2002 11:13:26 PM หัวข้อ:Japan on a hot streak? โดย:4202612588 TOKYO (Reuters) - A closely watched Japanese economic index hit its maximum 100 level for the first time in more than five years this week, providing more evidence that the nation's recovery from recession is becoming more entrenched. The government said on Friday that its index of coincident indicators, which reflects current economic conditions, stood above the "boom-or-bust" level of 50 for the fourth straight month in May, rising to a perfect score from a revised 80.0 in April. The diffusion index, which subtracts negative components from positive ones, includes such key measures as industrial output and retail sales, and a reading of over 50 for three straight months or more is seen as a sign the economy is expanding. The May diffusion index of leading economic indicators, which predicts conditions in the coming months, came in at 88.9 compared with a revised 75.0 a month earlier, above 50 for the fifth straight month. The leading index includes housing starts and new job offers. The reading of 100 on the coincident index means that all nine component indicators improved from three months earlier, the first time this has happened since November 1996. "You must remember that a very high reading in these indices does not necessarily mean growth is strong. It just shows that all the indicators are pointing in the same direction," said Azusa Kato, economist at BNP Paribas. "Having said that, the pace of recovery in exports is far faster than anyone had expected and a consequent pickup in industrial output has been strong as well." Separate government data showed Japanese households spent 1.6 percent less in May from a year earlier. The average household spent 292,183 yen ($2,431) during the month. Friday's data will strengthen the view that the world's second biggest economy is recovering from its worst post-war slump, but the upturn remains patchy and dependent on an export pick-up driven by a weaker yen. The dollar's recent slump against other major currencies, including the yen, is already raising worries that the recovery could be short-lived. The Bank of Japan's "tankan" survey of business sentiment showed on Monday the key diffusion index for major manufacturers rising to minus 18, its highest since June 2001 and a record gain of 20 points. But the survey also showed that capital spending, which takes up a large chunk of the economy, was unlikely to show a big rise any time soon. A Reuters poll released on Friday showed economists expect machinery orders, a key indicator of private capital spending, to fall 2.8 percent in May from the previous month. "Recent economic indicators have underscored the government's assessment that the economy has bottomed out," Economics Minister Heizo Takenaka told a news conference. "On the other hand, we need to consider the fallout from a drop in U.S. stock prices, mainly in the foreign exchange market, as a risk factor (for the Japanese economy)," he added. Copyright 2002 Reuters All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. 7/7/2002 11:23:49 PM หัวข้อ:Japan 'buys' CO2 credits from Kazakhstan โดย:4202680445 Japan 'buys' CO2 credits from Kazakhstan July 7, 2002 (CNN) TOKYO, Japan (CNN) -- Japan has agreed a deal with Kazakhstan giving it the right to emit 62,000 tons of carbon dioxide a year under an arrangement designed to help Japan meet its emission targets under the Kyoto protocol, a newspaper reported Sunday. According to the Yomiuri Shimbun daily the deal involves Japan agreeing to renovate thermal power plants in the Central Asian nation, cutting Kazakhstan's carbon dioxide emissions and effectively "buying" Japan emission credits. In return Japan can count the reduction towards its own cuts in gas emissions under the 1997 protocol aimed at combating global warming. The so-called Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) of the Kyoto Protocol allows industrialized countries to gain emission rights by helping developing countries cut their own gas emissions. The Japanese parliament ratified the protocol last month, under which the government is committed to cutting carbon dioxide emissions by an average of six percent from the 1990 level between 2008 and 2012. The Kazakhstan agreement marks Japan's first use of the CDM option. Government sources quoted in Sunday's Yomiuri Shimbun said they planned to cover about 1.6 percent of the cuts under this method. In order to cover this Japan needs to 'buy' credits to emit at least 19 million tons of carbon dioxide, so the Kazakhstan deal will only go a small way to cover this. In 1990 Japan accounted for some 8.5 percent of global emissions of so-called greenhouse gases. The United States, which alone accounted for over a third of total global emissions in 1990, has rejected the protocol altogether. It says the pact is defective because it does not require developing nations to cut their gas emissions. 7/8/2002 8:39:53 AM หัวข้อ:EXPORTERS CONCERNED: 'Indians dumping rice' โดย:4202680437 EXPORTERS CONCERNED: 'Indians dumping rice' Published on Jul 8, 2002 Cheap parboiled stock depressing prices, but govt sticks with annual export target Rice exporters have recently expressed concern about falling export prices in the rest of the year due to the dumping of cheap parboiled rice on the world market by Indian exporters. "As a result, the government will miss its goal for this year's rice exports of 7 million tonnes," said Chookiat Ophaswongse, deputy managing director of Huay Chuan Rice Co Ltd, a leading rice exporter. The government's rice price guarantee policy is also an important factor reducing the country's export competitiveness, he said. Exporters are reluctant to accept foreign orders for future delivery as they stand to lose from higher domestic rice prices propped up by government intervention. "We can say that rice exporting and trading by the private sector is stagnant because exporters cannot buy local rice and quote a competitive export price compared with export rivals like India and Vietnam with their low costs," he said. Indian exporters backed by their government are likely to dump the country's parboiled rice stock in the world market during the rest of this year, he said. Their marketing strategy would directly hit Thai rice exports as India could offer its rice at US$40 (Bt1,665) per tonne below the price of Thai rice. Thailand exported 300,000 tonnes of rice in May - the lowest monthly volume in the past several years - compared with an average of 500,000-to-600,000 tonnes. However, rice prices so far this year have been good as a result of the production cycle, which faced market difficulties late last year, Chookiat said. He was also worried that the strengthening baht would drive up export prices. Exporters may have to hike quotes of some rice from the earlier $200 a tonne to $290 a tonne. The country would lose export markets from the higher quotations. "If exporters cannot export rice due to the high cost, it will make a bigger headache for the government later in the year as stock piles up. We [exporters] also forecast that Thailand will have an abundant rice harvest [in the next crop season coming up at year-end] due to favourable environmental conditions," he said. Senior Commerce Ministry officials still believe that the country will achieve its rice export target of 7 million tonnes, as rice export prices are increasing, particularly for high quality rice. Pitsanu Rienmahasarn, deputy director-general of the Foreign Trade Department, claimed that the country concentrates on exporting mainly high-quality fragrant rice while India's stock is of low quality, so the dumping of Indian rice would not harm Thai exports. The United States forecast that India's rice exports this year would grow 750,000 tonnes to 4 million tonnes "based on competitive pricing strategies for low-quality white rice and parboiled rice".Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said in his weekly radio address yesterday that the country had agreed in principle to join forces with Pakistan to boost prices of rice "and will invite India, China and Vietnam to join hands on rice exports, and make it a fair price for farmers". The export price of jasmine rice in the past two months jumped to $360 per tonne from $280 late last year, said. The export prices of 25-per-cent white rice surged to $180 from $150 per tonne and of 5-per-cent white rice to $200 from $167 per tonne in the same period. claimed that the country concentrates on exporting mainly high-quality fragrant rice while India's stock is of low quality, so the dumping of Indian rice would not harm Thai exports. The United States forecast that India's rice exports this year would grow 750,000 tonnes to 4 million tonnes "based on competitive pricing strategies for low-quality white rice and parboiled rice". Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said in his weekly radio address yesterday that the country had agreed in principle to join forces with Pakistan to boost prices of rice "and will invite India, China and Vietnam to join hands on rice exports, and make it a fair price for farmers 7/8/2002 8:59:05 AM หัวข้อ:Jobless rate edges up to 5.9 percent โดย:4202680726 Jobless rate edges up to 5.9 percent Payroll growth weaker than expected ASSOCIATED PRESS From www.msnbc.com WASHINGTON, July 5 The nations unemployment rate edged up to 5.9 percent in June as the lingering effects of last years recession continued to make life difficult for job hunters. The Labor Departments latest snapshot of the jobs market released Friday also showed that 36,000 jobs were created in June, on top of a 24,000 increase the month before BUT JOB GROWTH wasnt strong enough to prevent the unemployment rate from rising in June from Mays 5.8 percent rate. Many analysts were predicting the jobless rate would nudge up in June but they were forecasting much stronger job growth with payrolls increasing by 75,000. Job losses in manufacturing and in the retail sector, including car dealerships and department stores, blunted gains elsewhere, making for tepid job creation during the month. As other parts of the economy are gaining ground after the slump, the labor market is continuing to suffer from some of the fallout. Companies whose profits and revenues took a hit during the slump have been worried about the recoverys staying power and have been wary of making big commitments in hiring and in capital investment. There is just not the confidence in the recovery on the part of employers to venture out and start reloading hiring back workers, said economist Ken Mayland, president of ClearView Economics. Citing uncertainties about the recoverys vitality, Federal Reserve policy-makers left short-term interest rates at 40-year lows last week, the fourth time this year they held rates steady. Mayland believed Fridays report raises the odds that the Fed will stay on the sidelines for the rest of this year and put off an interest-rate increase until next year. Americans confidence in the economy, as measured by the Conference Board, fell in June to a four-month low, pulled down by accounting scandals and worries about jobs. Some economists worry that rising unemployment could make consumers whose spending accounts for two-thirds of all economic activity in the United States less willing to spend, something that would slow the economic recovery. The nations manufacturers were hardest hit by the recession and saw hundreds of thousands of jobs evaporate. Even though the industry is on the comeback trail, it is continuing to shed workers. Factories cut 23,000 jobs in June, on top of 27,000 in May. Still, the industrys job losses are moderating, the government said. Between March 2001 and January of this year, manufacturing had lost an average of 115,000 jobs a month. In comparison, job losses averaged 63,000 a month in February and March, and 24,000 a month in April through June. Retailers cut 18,000 jobs in June, after a loss of 22,000 the month before. The industry has lost 186,000 jobs since its recent peak in July of last year. But construction companies added 14,000 jobs in June. Employment in health services went up by 34,000, mainly in hospitals, and 33,000 jobs were added in finance, insurance and real estate. The government on Wednesday reported that new claims for unemployment benefits dropped to a 15-month low last week, suggesting that companies are reducing layoffs. But economists said that even if companies reduce the speed at which they lay off workers, the jobless rate probably would continue to rise. They said it would take time for companies to feel more secure about the economic recovery and step up hiring. Some economists believe the unemployment rate could rise as high as 6.5 percent by the fall, perhaps hold steady and then start going down. 7/8/2002 9:09:29 AM หัวข้อ:Stocks soar after calm Fourth โดย:4202612240 Stocks soar after calm Fourth By Peter Edmonston THE WALL STREET JOURNAL from www.msnbc.com July 5 The Dow industrials staged their biggest gain of the year Friday, as investors snapped up bargains amid relief that there were no major terrorist incidents on the July 4 holiday. THE DOW JONES Industrial Average vaulted 324.53 points, or 3.6%, to close at 9379.50, in an abbreviated trading session that ended at 1 p.m. EDT. Fridays dramatic gains easily erased two days of losses early in the week, leaving the blue-chip barometer up 1.5% from a week ago its first weekly gain since the period ending May 17. The Nasdaq Composite soared 68.11, or nearly 5%, to 1448.28, notching its largest one-day increase since May 8. Still, the Nasdaq declined 1% for the week. Other major stock indexes finished sharply higher. The Standard & Poors 500-stock index leapt 35.03 to 989.02, the New York Stock Exchange Composite jumped 16.29 to 529.49, and the Russell 2000 small-stock index ended up 18.17 at 521.47. Bond prices sagged as investors shifted funds into equities. Bond trading also will finish early, at 2 p.m. In the currency markets, the dollar strengthened against the yen and the euro. With the exception of Thursdays shooting at Los Angeles International Airport that left two dead an event city officials were suggesting was an isolated incident July 4 was largely free of the terrorist activity that many had feared. Coming after weeks of terror-related jitters that have kept many investors on the sidelines, Thursdays relatively uneventful holiday was a key factor driving Fridays gains, market watchers said. Financial markets in the U.S. were closed Thursday in observance of Independence Day. This is really a short-covering rally, said Raymond James technical analyst Art Huprich, who argued that the calm of July 4 has sent many bears running for shelter. Short covering occurs when investors who have previously borrowed stocks to make a pessimistic bet seek to unwind those positions by purchasing the same stocks and returning them to the lender. Short covering would tend to benefit the areas of the market that have faced the deepest skepticism in recent weeks, Mr. Huprich said, things like beaten-down tech stocks and biotechs. Indeed, technology was a star performer on Friday, thanks in part to a dramatic run-up in chip stocks. Advanced Micro Devices, which warned early Wednesday of lower-than-expected second-quarter sales, nevertheless jumped 10% to $9.34 Friday on the New York Stock Exchange. Archrival Intel saw its shares gain 10% to $19.54 on the Nasdaq Stock Market. The Philadelphia Stock Exchanges semiconductor index surged 9%. The days rally was exceedingly broad, extending beyond tech to the financial, manufacturing and health-care sectors as well. Advancing stocks outweighed decliners by a ratio of more than 4 to 1 on the Big Board. Gains in the Dow industrials were large enough to trigger the New York Stock Exchanges circuit breaker provision, which restricts certain kinds of volatile computer-aided trades. Investors may have been encouraged by Wednesdays late-day rally, which followed steep selloffs on Monday and Tuesday. It may have set the stage for a short-term bottom, Mr. Huprich said. Wall Street appeared unfazed by Fridays lackluster economic news. Fresh data from the Labor Department showed that nonfarm business payrolls grew by a scant 36,000 in June after a revised increase of 24,000 in April. The numbers showed the labor market remained in a holding pattern, said Lois Orr, a Labor Department official. The figures surprised Wall Street, which expected payrolls to grow by 75,000, according to a consensus forecast of economists surveyed by Thomson Global Markets. The unemployment rate climbed a tenth of a percentage point to 5.9% as employers remained reluctant to add new workers to their payrolls. Those data were in line with expectations. Meanwhile, overseas markets which had already been up sharply before U.S. trading began were goosed even higher by Fridays rally on Wall Street. Londons Financial Times-Stock Exchange 100-Share Index closed up 3.2%, Pariss CAC 40 Index advanced 4.5%, and Frankfurts Xetra DAX was 4.2% higher in late-afternoon trading. Earlier in Asia, Tokyos Nikkei 225 closed 1.8% higher and Hong Kongs Hang Seng added 0.4%. This holiday-shortened week was a mixed one for Wall Street, with stocks taking big losses on Monday and Tuesday but clawing their way higher on Wednesday. U.S. investors have been relentlessly selling stocks for six weeks on a confluence of negative factors, including earnings prospects that remain bleak, fears of terrorism and the continuing string of accounting scandals that have made Wall Street question the integrity of companies. A series of debacles in recent weeks at companies such as WorldCom, Tyco International, ImClone Systems, Global Crossing, and Adelphia Communications have reduced investors already waning confidence in the market. The drumbeat of corporate woes continued on Friday with news that Qwest Communications is under criminal investigation by the U.S. Justice Department, according to people with knowledge of the situation. The telecommunications concern already is facing a regulatory probe into its accounting practices. Friday morning, the companys general counsel said: We have no reason to believe that we are the subject of any investigation by the U. S. Department of Justice. Shares of Qwest rose 7% to $1.82 Friday on the New York Stock Exchange. And Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea said early Friday that it adjusted its results for 2001 and restated its 1999 and 2000 results because of accounting irregularities related to vendor-allowance and inventory issues. But the long-awaited restatement actually resulted in narrower losses than A&P had previously reported, and shares of the supermarket operator jumped 10% to $18.05 Friday on the Big Board. In major U.S. market action: Stocks surged. On the Big Board, where 710 million shares traded, 2,512 rose and 572 fell. On the Nasdaq, trading volume was 1.1 billion shares. Bonds fell. The 10-year Treasury note shed 3/4 point, or $7.50 for each $1,000 invested. The yield, which moves inversely to price, rose to 4.861%. The 30-year bond was off nearly 1 1/8 point to yield 5.533%. The dollar strengthened. It traded late Friday at ฅ120.14, up from 119.92 late Wednesday in New York, while the euro fell against the dollar to 97.28 cents from 98.06 in the previous session. Complete coverage of major U.S. markets (available only to WSJ.Com subscribers): Technology stocks: See a roundup of activity in the tech sector. Bonds: See a roundup of activity in credit markets. Dollar: See a roundup of activity in foreign exchange markets. 7/8/2002 9:12:31 AM หัวข้อ:Wall St. confidential โดย:4202620011 NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - After five quarters of falling profits, investors desperate for a break will be focusing on an early set of second-quarter earnings reports due next week. The question is, will the numbers say anything encouraging, and even if they do, will it matter? Despite last week's run-up, stocks are having another awful year. So far in 2002, the Nasdaq composite has tumbled 29 percent, the Dow industrials are off about 8 percent and the S&P 500 has fallen 15 percent. A few weeks ago, many analysts were still looking for profits in the second-quarter to rise after five quarters of declines. But now that's changed, and the estimate is that earnings in the second quarter were virtually flat, and in fact declined 0.2 percent from the same period one year earlier. So the expectation for profit growth has switched to the just-started third quarter. "As we kick off earnings season, it's going to be important what these companies are saying. Estimates are down so low, that if companies keep disappointing, markets are gonna have a big hurdle to overcome," said Brett Gallagher, head of equities at Julius Baer. "However, expectations for this quarter in general are so low that it will be fairly easy for companies to beat and that can give us a short-term boost. But will it mean anything? Expectations for the subsequent quarters are still too aggressive and unrealistic," Gallagher said. According to earnings tracker First Call, third-quarter profits are expected to show a gain of 16.5 percent and the fourth-quarter, a gain of 28.8 percent, compared to the same period a year earlier. For the full-year, profits are expected to grow 6.6 percent. But that growth may not necessarily translate into a better second half of the year for stocks. Concerns about the potential impact of global terrorism, a weakening dollar and a seemingly endless parade of corporate scandals have knocked stocks lower. "With scandal-ridden capital markets, a mediocre recovery and still high valuations, a lengthy bottoming and healing period is needed before we get a substantial upturn in equities," Charles Pradilla, chief investment strategist at SG Cowen, wrote in a research note Friday. Investors, in particular, are reeling from the fears about corporate governance that have rocked markets since energy trading firm Enron's bankruptcy last fall. Most recently, telecom WorldCom (WCOME: Research, Estimates) said it improperly accounted for nearly $4 billion in expenses. "There's going to be a period of tremendous disclosure about corporate practices during the quarter" as companies struggle to come clean, said Douglas Altabef, managing director at Matrix Asset Advisors. "People are going to want to speak before they are 'outed' by someone else. In the short-term it will feel like a self-inflicted witch hunt, but in the long-term, its going to be very much a positive thing." Quarterly reporting heats up A number of big names are due to report results this week. On Monday, aluminum maker and Dow component Alcoa (AA: Research, Estimates) is expected to report earnings of 29 cents per share, a 39 percent decline from the 48 cents per share it earned a year earlier. Wednesday brings results from biotech Genentech (DNA: Research, Estimates) and Web media company Yahoo! (YHOO: Research, Estimates). Genentech is expected to earn 22 cents per share, 15 percent better than the 19 cents per share a year earlier. Yahoo! is forecast to have earned 2 cents a share, doubling its results from a year ago. On Thursday, Dow component and diversified manufacturer General Electric (GE: Research, Estimates) is expected to report earnings per share of 44 cents, 12 percent better than the 39 cents earned one year earlier. "GE will probably talk up their numbers, but I don't know if I buy it," said Julius Baer's Gallagher. Juniper Networks (JNPR: Research, Estimates), a provider of communications equipment for telecoms, is expected to show a loss of a penny Thursday, down 111 percent from the 9 cents earned one year earlier. Thursday also brings results from Rambus (RMBS: Research, Estimates). The chipmaker is expected to have earned 6 cents per share, a 49 percent improvement over the 4 cents it earned one year earlier. But, as is often the case, it's going to be what companies say about forward-looking quarters that is going to be most influential. "The bottom line on these conference calls is that the outlook is not going to be rosy," Paul Meeks, an independent technology analyst, told CNNfn's Street Sweep. Although the pace of the economic recovery has slowed a bit of late, many sectors of the economy are still showing decent growth, economists say. Reports last week showed that manufacturing activity and factory orders have held up, while construction spending and the services sector of the economy have eased. Friday's ho-hum unemployment report from the Labor Department seemed to give credence to the likelihood of what economists are suggesting may be a "jobless recovery." Unemployment, the most closely watched economic indicator, rose to 5.9 percent, in line with a survey of economists surveyed by Briefing.com, while the number of new jobs created only increased by 36,000, rather than the 75,000 expected. "These top line numbers suggest we are into what's beginning to look like a jobless recovery," "We simply can't drive unemployment down if we're only adding 30,000 or 40,000 jobs. So, basically, we're looking at a situation where the recovery is calling, but the labor market isn't really picking up the phone," Jared Bernstein, labor economist at the Economic Policy Institute, told CNNfn's CNNmoney Morning. This week also brings a number of significant economic reports. On Thursday, the U.S. Department of Labor releases its Producer Price Index, a measure of the price of goods at the wholesale level. June PPI is expected to be flat, after falling 0.4 percent the previous month. Stripping out the often volatile food and energy components, the index is expected to show a rise to 0.1 percent from a breakeven reading the previous month. On Friday, the Census Bureau releases June retail sales, projected to show an 0.6 percent rise after showing an 0.9 percent decline in May. Excluding the auto component, sales are projected to rise 0.4 percent, after declining 0.4 percent last month. Also Friday, the preliminary University of Michigan reading on consumer sentiment for July is due. The index is expected to show a rise to 93.3 in July from 92.4 in June. Find this article at: http://money.cnn.com/2002/07/05/markets/sun_lookahead/index.htm 7/8/2002 9:29:04 AM หัวข้อ:Europe Isnt Ready to Lead โดย:4202680882 Europe Isnt Ready to Lead Who will lead the worlds economy if America cant? NEWSWEEK INTERNATIONAL July 8 issue Europeans have long aspired to end Americas dominance as the worlds economic leader. The single market and the euro are widely seen as essential steps in this direction. But is Europe ready to lead? Do Europeans understand what it would take? DESPITE A BUDDING recovery, the United States is hardly the model of economic health that it once was. On several issuesfrom steel tariffs to the resurgent budget deficit to shady corporate practicesAmerica has demonstrated a growing failure of leadership. Over the past two decades the United States has shown what it takes to be an economic superpowera strong currency, openness to imports, concessions in trade negotiations and articulating an economic philosophy for the rest of the world. Now that its apparently fading on so many counts, the question becomes: is Europe willing and prepared to do what the United States once did, in order to supplant it? First the exchange-rate issue. The euro will probably continue strengthening against the dollar, if only because of Americas huge and growing $400 billion-a-year current-account deficit. This means that, every year, the United States borrows about 4 percent of its GDP on world markets. If international investors lose confidence in the U.S. economy, fewer people will want to hold dollar assets. The dollar will falland the euro will appreciate. This may be a normal market cycle, but there will be consequences. Among others, European companies will see their U.S. profits erode. What happens if the dollar falls farther and faster than anticipated? Are European industrial companies ready to compete with a euro worth $1.10, $1.15 or $1.25? The flip side of the much-desired strong euro would almost certainly be a surge in imports from the United States and the rest of the world. Exports might fall, resulting in job lossesperhaps even a trade deficit for the European Union. U.S. companies have been strong competitors during the past few years, even at 90 cents per euro. Thats partly because they reformed and streamlined their operations when the dollar was weak in the mid- and late 1980s. Europeans may have wasted a similarly beneficial period in recent years by not adopting reforms forcefully enough. Europeans are rightfully angry at new U.S. steel tariffs. But given the sheer size of Americas trade deficit, Washingtons policies are actually relatively moderate. The question remains: if Europe were in a similar position, would its voters and politicians be equally sensitive to whats best for the global economy? Would European politicians be able to face the incredible pressures that would build for protectionist measures if it were Europe, and not the United States, that ran a persistent and substantial trade deficit? Not likely, I fear. Similarly, the question remains whether Europeans are ready to assume responsibility for the success of ventures like the World Trade Organization. In the past the United States often greased the wheels of trade negotiations by offering more concessions than would be dictated by strict bargaining strategy. Now U.S. domestic opposition to being the importer of last resort is growing. Witness those new tariffs on imported steel and lumber. We can expect the same for textiles, garments and sugar. Americas retreat from its leading role presents an opportunity for the European Union. Trouble is, its political institutions have yet to mature to the point where they can resolve trade disputes, say, by looking beyond the immediate and narrow self-interests of its member states. One example is agricultural subsidies, which, among other negative effects, harm developing countries. America no longer has the right to lecture other countries in this regard, after the farm bill recently passed by Congress. But that does not absolve Europe from undertaking its own reforms. Ultimately, the most important task for either Europe or the United States is to provide a model for successful global growth and development. Its no accident that, in the 1990s, U.S.-style market capitalism became fashionable worldwide. Who could argue with success? But a weaker U.S. economy may leave much of the developing world without a successful example for economic self-management. Does Europe present an alternative? Hardly. Europeans have for too long been afraid to discuss some of the more unpleasant truths about their economiesand the reasons for Europes high unemployment and low growth in recent years. Europes chance for economic leadership may come sooner than expected. But too many Europeans havent yet grasped the basic secret of Americas leadershipthe hard work and tough choices that are involved. Thats what Europeans now face, in this season of elections and decision making that will shape their future. Lets hope they recognize that such sacrifices will pay off for them, well as for the rest of the world. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FRIEDRICH is chief economist for Allianz Group and Dresdner Bank in Frankfurt. 7/8/2002 9:29:07 AM หัวข้อ:Enron board 'ignored financial warnings' โดย:4202612711 The board of Enron ignored evidence of financial problems at the company, a US Senate subcommittee has found. "Much that was wrong with Enron was known to the board," the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations said in a report into the scandal. The report said the board failed to protect shareholders, and contributed to Enron's collapse last year. Lawyers representing Enron and the company's former directors have disputed the findings. 'Red flags' missed Enron collapsed last December, becoming the biggest company bankruptcy in US corporate history. The firm's collapse was blamed on complex financial arrangements and questionable accounting practices. The Senate subcommittee said that claims by former directors that they were not told about dubious practices were not true. The report said directors failed to heed "more than dozen red flags that should have caused the Enron board to ask hard questions, examine Enron policies and consider changing course." But attorney Robert Bennett, who is representing Enron, said the report was "grossly unfair" and that it leapt to "unfounded conclusions". And an attorney representing Enron's former directors, W Neil Eggleston, said the board was "misled by Enron management and outside auditors about now-suspect transactions." High-risk accounting The report said that former Enron auditor David Duncan had warned directors on the audit committee about some of the company's accounting practices. It said Mr Duncan told them that told directors on the audit committee some of the actions were "pushing the limits" and were "at the edge" of normal accountancy procedures. Mr Duncan pleaded guilty to obstruction in the investigation into Enron's collapse, and last month was the chief prosecution witness in the trial of accountants Arthur Andersen The firm was found guilty of obstruction of justice after it shredded documents relating to Enron. Action needed The report also said that the board failed to question the cash being generated by outside partnerships operated by Enron's Chief Financial Officer Andrew Fastow. And it said the board gave the opportunity for company executives to improve Enron's accounts by waiving conflict-of-interest rules for Mr Fastow. It also criticises the board for approving "lavish" pay packages for senior staff, and for failing to monitor a credit line used by Enron's former chief executive Kenneth Lay. The report adds that the independence of some of the directors was compromised by consultancy payments they received from Enron. The chairman of the subcommittee, Senator Carl Levin, said the findings showed the need for legislation tightening controls over accountants and corporate conduct. On Monday an accounting reform bill is set to reach the floor of the US Senate. The bill would establish an independent body to oversee accountants, and attempt to close regulatory loopholes. 7/8/2002 9:35:08 AM หัวข้อ:Talks on weapons inspectors fail again โดย:4202680676 Talks on weapons inspectors fail again By Ewen MacAskill London July 7 2002 The chance of the US making war on Iraq increased on Friday when crucial talks in Vienna between the United Nations and Iraq halted without agreement. UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan met Iraqi Foreign Minister Naji Sabri to press for UN weapons inspectors to be allowed back into the country. After the meeting Mr Annan said: "There has been some movement, but obviously not enough." Another round of talks is planned within a few months, probably in Europe. A Foreign Office source said its diplomats had not been wildly optimistic about the possibility of a breakthrough. Weapons inspectors left Iraq in December, 1998, claiming that Saddam Hussein was hindering their search for weapons of mass destruction. The UN wants the inspectors back to establish whether President Saddam has restocked his arsenal. The Vienna talks were the third time Mr Annan has met Mr Sabri since March. Mr Annan will report to UN Security Council members on Monday The talks broke down hours after The New York Times published a Pentagon plan for the invasion of Iraq, showing that preparations are at a much more advanced stage than previously thought. Tens of thousands of marines would attack from the south, probably from Kuwait, backed by planes, possibly operating from Turkey and Qatar. A US Government spokesman said contingency planning continued all the time and no decision had been made. The Iraqi press said yesterday that President Saddam had met his military commanders and had been reviewing plans to strengthen Iraq's defences. Mr Sabri said he wanted answers to many of the questions he submitted at the last talks in May, ranging from US threats for a "regime change" in Baghdad to a timetable for the lifting of UN sanctions, imposed when Iraq invaded Kuwait in August, 1990. Mr Annan has repeatedly said he was not in a position to answer any questions concerning US policy or other issues that fell within the province of the 15 UN Security Council members. "We need assurances from the United Nations," Mr Sabri said. "We are the victims of illegal practices forced by the United States on the Security Council. We have lost 1.67 million citizens as a result of the sanctions the Security Council imposed in clear violation of international law." 7/8/2002 10:02:23 AM หัวข้อ:TOKYO, Japan -- Bank of Japan Governor Masaru Hayami said Friday that the yen's level against the dollar is a threat to the country's economic fabric. โดย:4202680049 "If fluctuations are too sudden, it could lead to instability in financial markets and currency rates," he said before parliament. "That could have a negative effect on the economy." On a related front, the finance ministry revealed that foreign reserves hit a new high, mostly as a result of currency intervention. The yen is a little weaker against the dollar on Friday, at 120.33 in late morning Tokyo trade. The currency was not seriously affected by three shooting deaths at Los Angeles Airport (full story). Takenaka: 'The economy has bottomed' Economics Minister Heizo Takenaka also said the yen's strength posed a problem for Japan's recovery. "We need to consider the fallout from a drop in U.S. stock prices, mainly in the foreign-exchange market, as a risk factor," he said in a press conference. He stated that Japan's economy is coming into a cyclical recovery. "Recent economic indicators have underscored the government's assessment that the economy has bottomed," he said. The BOJ's Hayami was much more circumspect about Japan's rebound. Hayami: No clear signs of rebound "There are no clear movements toward an economic rebound," he said in his parliamentary address. He makes two each year. Hayami did refer directly to the tankan report that showed its largest quarterly jump when released on Monday (full story). That showed an improvement in corporate sentiment, he noted, and signs of an increase in exports and in production. Japan's economy will likely stop deteriorating if overseas economies improve, he stated. That would lead to improved earnings for Japanese companies and a rise in demand in Japan, he said. Japan is battling deflation and appears to be coming out of one of its worst recessions since World War II. Hayami said consumer prices will keep falling moderately. But wholesale prices seem to have stabilized. Reserves set a record Japan set yet another record for its foreign reserves on Friday, for the third month in a row. The Ministry of Finance said the country's foreign reserves rose to $446.2 billion at the end of June. That was an increase of $26.5 billion. "The rise was caused by the fact that we intervened in the currency market," one finance ministry official told reporters. The main driver of the increase in reserves was a jump in the amount of securities Japan owns, as a result of the central bank intervening in the currency markets. The finance ministry also stated that the euro's strengthening against the dollar led to higher reserves, as did an increase in the value of the U.S. bonds it owns. Bond reserves up 7.7 percent Japan has been buying U.S. Treasury bonds and selling yen, to weaken the yen. The country owned $363.4 billion in foreign bonds at the end of June, up 7.7 percent from the prior month. Japan has stepped into the currency markets repeatedly since May. For simplicity's sake, market players said it had "sold yen for dollars" during its intervention. But the figures show it has been buying dollar-denominated bonds. Japan's foreign-currency deposits dropped 0.76 percent to $65.5 billion. The stock market is rebounding on Friday, with the Topix up 0.82 percent to 1041.80 by midday. It lost ground for the first time in five days on Thursday (market open). 7/8/2002 10:11:37 AM หัวข้อ:Analysts must disclose interests โดย:4202680551 New SEC rules require analysts to disclose financial interest in stocks they discuss on TV, radio.July 5, 2002: 3:34 PM EDT NEW YORK (Reuters) - Securities analysts appearing on television and radio will have to disclose any financial interest in the stocks on which they comment from Tuesday, July 9, when new regulations take effect. The rules were previously announced by the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 8, with a 60-day grace period. They are part of a broad thrust by regulators to curb the potential for abuses such as those at Merrill Lynch (MER: Research, Estimates) in recent years, where Internet analysts publicly touted stocks they had slammed privately as "junk." The broad rules are designed to limit how and when analysts issue opinions on stocks, restrict their personal investing activities, and force banks to disclose more about their ties to companies they research and those of their analysts. Money managers and industry financial analysts are widely used as guest commentators on business talk shows, but at least one broadcaster downplayed the impact of the new rules. CNBC has had guidelines for financial professionals appearing on the cable business network for several years, according to Patti Domm, a senior news editor at the station. The company is a subsidiary of General Electric Co. (GE: Research, Estimates) Among other requirements, business professionals are asked to ensure their personal financial activity is consistent with the opinions expressed on CNBC, that their general financial position and that of their firm is disclosed, and any investment banking relationship between the firm and the relevant company is noted. A guest's interest in a stock may be disclosed by either an on-screen graphic or stated by the anchor, Domm said. "Now that it's a rule, we'll make even more effort to graphically represent (the guest's interest) or disclose it during the interview," Domm told Reuters. CNNfn will be in complete compliance with the new regulations, a spokesperson said. The company is owned by AOL Time Warner (AOL: Research, Estimates), which also is the parent company of CNN/Money. British Broadcasting Corp., based in London, was not immediately available to comment on the new rules. 7/8/2002 10:34:00 AM หัวข้อ:Most japanese manufacturer keep or boost domesstic output โดย:4202612463 Most Japanese manufacturers keep or boost domestic output: survey TOKYO - More than 60 per cent of major Japanese manufacturers plan to raise or to maintain levels of domestic production in fiscal 2004 compared with three years earlier, a survey published today showed. The firms aim to step up research and development to come up with new high added value products "in a drive to tap into domestic demand and end their reliance on exports," the Nihon Keizai Shimbun survey said. "The move may curb the hollowing-out trend of domestic industry at a time when China is emerging as the factory of the world", it said. Questionnaires were sent in early June to the presidents of 191 major manufacturers, with valid responses received from 140 of them, the Nihon Keizai said. Of those surveyed, 41 per cent said they would expand domestic output in fiscal 2004 compared with fiscal 2001, and 22 per cent said they would maintain production levels, the survey said. Asked why they expected to boost output in Japan, 62 per cent cited an expected rise in domestic demand for the products. The labour market for the domestic manufacturing sector, however, appears destined to decline. Almost 69 per cent of respondents said they would cut the number of permanent and temporary staff on a group basis, with just about six per cent saying they would increase it. "The surveyed companies were also found to be pursuing 'leaner management,' in which they try to secure profits by raising productivity while minimising staff and production facilities," the Nihon Keizai said. 7/8/2002 10:35:15 AM หัวข้อ:EU sees itseft as model for Asia โดย:4202612620 EU sees itself as model for Asia Asem ministers discuss monetary cooperation, single currency in Asia EUROPE on Saturday set itself up as a model for monetary cooperation in Asia, but has yet to achieve that region's impressive economic growth rates. The two-day Asia-Europe Finance Ministers' meeting (Asem), the first to be held since the physical launch of the euro, did not reach any agreements, but the ministers were generally upbeat about the prospects for global growth this year and 2003. While the international meeting touched upon a wide range of global financial issues, the nub of the talks revolved around Asian monetary cooperation. 'There is a need for mutual help and assistance. The conclusion is that the EU is a model for the future they would like to see in Asia,' Danish Finance Minister Thor Pedersen said at the meetings' concluding news conference. While the launch of euro cash is the crowning achievement of three decades of often tumultuous European cooperation, Asian countries have only recently begun to tread a similar path. 'In Asia we are seeing the start of cooperation which hopefully will also reach such wonderful results,' Mr Pedersen said, referring to the Jan 1 launch of euro cash, three years after it began its life on financial markets. Japanese Finance Minister Masajuro Shiokawa on Saturday presented a proposal that outlined the contours of a future currency regime that culminates in a single Asian currency. The proposal is part of the Kobe Research Project, an initiative launched by Asem in 2001. It outlines the path towards a single Asian currency, an Asian central bank and a monetary union after 2030. Asem groups the 15 European Union members plus China, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, South Korea, Vietnam, Singapore, the Philippines and Japan. The meeting took place as the global economy continues to slowly recover from the mild recession of 2001, but stock markets remain volatile with each new accounting scandal in the US unnerving investors. Currency markets are also unsettled with the dollar falling to lows not seen in over two years. Among the risks facing the world economy are corporate governance in the US, Latin America, and whether capital investment would pick up in the US. But even if a sharp fall in the dollar could hit the economies of export-dependent Asian countries, the meeting did not discuss the latest move in currency markets, said Mr Pedersen, speaking in his capacity as chairman of EU finance ministers. Last week the dollar fell to 28-month lows against the euro and suffered losses against the yen, whose strength triggered intervention by the European Central Bank and US authorities on behalf of the Bank of Japan. Japan is worried that a strong yen will take the steam out of the nascent Japanese recovery. The 1997 Asian financial crisis exposed the danger of rigid currency regimes amidst huge, potentially destabilising flows of global capital. Since then many Asian countries have adopted floating exchange rates, making them less vulnerable to speculative attacks. A key step forward in taking the sting out of such attacks is the web of swap agreements among several Asian central banks that has been set up under an initiative known as the Chiang Mai Initiative. The agreements load up the ammunition each country can use to defend themselves against attacks, a principle that was used by European countries in the early 1970s as they gradually started to bind the individual currencies closer to each other. The Kobe proposal takes regional monetary cooperation in Asia a significant step further and resembles Europe's efforts over three decades to create a monetary union, culminating in the third stage in the use of a single currency. Phase One of the Kobe integration process should be completed by 2010, Phase Two a transitional and preparatory period to be completed by 2030 and Phase Three is the final period that begins in 2030. This includes the launch of an Asian single currency, the establishment of an Asian economic and monetary union and an Asian Central Bank. - Reuters 7/8/2002 10:40:45 AM หัวข้อ:US unemployment edges higher โดย:4202612646 The US unemployment rate edged higher last month amid weaker than expected jobs growth, underscoring fears of a sluggish economic recovery. The jobless rate rose to 5.9% in June from 5.8% the previous month, the US Labor Department said. While the increase in unemployment was below most analysts' forecasts, separate figures showed that the US economy generated far fewer new jobs than expected. Non-farm businesses hired an extra 36,000 workers in June, falling far short of the predicted 86,000 increase. Rate rise delay The slower pace of job creation suggests that employers were reluctant to take on staff, in a sign that business confidence remained subdued. It also points towards further increases in the headline unemployment rate in the months ahead. Analysts estimate that about 100,000 new jobs need to be created every month in order to forestall further increases in the jobless rate. The latest figures support the widely held view that the US Federal Reserve will delay raising interest rates for some months to come. "[The figures are] not strong enough to say that the Fed has to move more quickly than the markets have anticipated," said Steve Ricchiuto, economist at ABN Amro. Labor Department statisticians said the jobs market is in a lull. "The labour market has been in a holding pattern in recent months, with non-farm payroll essentially flat since February and no significant change in the unemployment rate since April," the department said. No respite for manufacturers The beleaguered US manufacturing sector remained under pressure in June, with employers there shedding jobs for the 23rd month in a row. Retailers also retrenched, axeing 18,000 workers. But employment in the construction, services and government sectors rose. Elsewhere, Canada's official statistics agency on Friday said the unemployment rate there fell to 7.5% in June from 7.7% the previous month. 7/8/2002 10:47:59 AM หัวข้อ:ASEAN ministers to brainstorm over China โดย:4202681013 KUALA LUMPER Southeast Asian economic and trade ministers meet in Malaysia on Saturday to brainstorm over ways to regain the regions investment charm as it faces rising competition from powerhouses including China, officials said. We plan to review the entire Asean process, Malaysias International Trade and Industry Minister Rafidah Aziz said earlier this week. The annual retreat of trade ministers from the 10-member Association of South East Asian Countries (Asean) will consider a preliminary study, due for completion by the year end, by international consulting firm McKinsey on Asean competitiveness. This retreat will discuss in a free wheeling manner issues that we normally find it difficult to discuss at a more formal forum, Rafidah told the official Bernama news agency. The ministers will gather at a golf resort in Genting Highlands, a popular vacation spot near the capital city. Last year, much of the foreign direct investment (FDI) in Asia went to China, whose low-cost base is fast displacing Southeast Asia as the continents preferred manufacturing hub, economists say.A world Bank report in March said that China attracted US$ 44 billion of FDI last year, up 16 percent on 2000, while Thailands share fell 32 percent. However, Chinas rise is not just a threat to investment but an opportunity for Asean exporters. Goldman Sachs noted in a recent report that Chinas imports from the rest of Asia grew 25 percent in March and April versus the same period last year. - Reuters 7/8/2002 10:55:53 AM หัวข้อ:WHERE TO PUT YOUR MONEY: INVESTING โดย:4202612786 WHERE TO PUT YOUR MONEY: INVESTING Counting On Asia's Consumers First it was infrastructure development, then it was technology for export. Now Asian investors are searching for the region's next big money-spinning theme. With consumer markets booming, they may not have far to look -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- By Tom Holland/HONG KONG Issue cover-dated July 04, 2002 www.feer.com -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- IMAGINE FOR A MOMENT you had access to the sort of information every investor dreams of: Imagine that somehow a copy of a top investment magazine dated July 2012 slipped through a wormhole in time to materialize right beside you on your desk. Exploiting the information in its pages, you would become the most successful, most famous investor of the age. You would always buy at the bottom, always sell at the top, unerringly picking winning companies years before the mass of market players had even heard their names. You would eclipse John Templeton, George Soros, even Warren Buffett. Envious peers and importunate journalists would hang on your every word, constantly urging you to divulge the secret of your phenomenal fortune. You would pause, smile inscrutably and offer them some suitably cryptic comment. That's a fantasy, but it does serve a serious purpose. If a copy of the same magazine from 2002 had landed on your desk 10 years ago, you would have been able to read all about the Internet boom before it had even begun. You would have bought into companies like AOL, Cisco and Amazon years before any one else had heard of them, and of course you would have sold out at the perfect moment, just ahead of the crash. So ask yourself now what story that edition of the magazine from 10 years hence would tell, what trends it would describe, what investment themes it would reveal. One person whose job it is to ponder just such questions is Daniel Lian, an economist at investment bank Morgan Stanley in Singapore. To Lian the big trend of the next 10 years is already emerging. "It is inevitable Asia will see the rise of a more domestic consumption-oriented economic model," he says. "The old manufacture-for-export model will no longer be sustainable." Lian argues that last year's global economic downswing exposed the fundamental weakness of Asian countries' export-led development strategy. Now, with China fast emerging as an unbeatable competitor in the world's export markets, to ensure future growth other East Asian economies must redeploy their high savings rates to engineer a domestic consumer-consumption boom. This will mean rich pickings for canny investors. It's already happening in Korea. Low interest rates and a healthier banking system that is switching its focus from corporate lending to consumer credit have helped ignite a retail-spending spree of unprecedented proportions. And Korea's just the start; other countries including Thailand, Malaysia and even Indonesia are not far behind, say economists. It's a theme that resonates with investors. "Asian governments realize the tech bubble has burst and it's not something they are likely to see again. Now they want to shift to a more balanced growth model," says Winnie Lee, chief investment officer at BNP Asset Management Asia in Hong Kong. But generating decent investment returns from this emerging consumption trend may not be straightforward. "It's very difficult to get investment benefits from the stockmarket at the initial stages of a structural change in the economy," Lee says. "There is not sufficient market capitalization for the big funds to play on and stock prices are getting ramped up." The problem is that most of Asia's consumer-oriented stocks are far too small to catch the attention of big institutional investors with hundreds of millions or even billions of dollars under management. Those that do make it on to the big fund managers' radar screens are already fully valued. But there are still plenty of smaller companies out there, companies highly geared to domestic consumption growth that offer investors the winning combination of attractive valuations, high standards of corporate governance and fantastic growth rates. Susie Rippingall, senior portfolio manager at First State Investments in Singapore, spends much of her working life searching for such companies. As manager of the $60 million Scottish Oriental Smaller Companies Trust, she is obliged by her mandate to invest 80% of her portfolio in companies with a market capitalization of less than $750 million. At the moment 55% of her portfolio is invested in Asian consumer stocks. "For years investors thought Asia was all export driven; then they thought it was all technology driven. They didn't think to look at Asian consumers," she says. That's beginning to change, but even so finding the right stocks is no easy task. For Rippingall it's a question of visiting companies, talking to managers and building investments slowly over time--"kicking the tyres," as she puts it. SUSTAINABLE GROWTH In terms of numbers, Rippingall looks for companies trading at attractive price/earnings, or p/e, ratios, with a share price of, say, around 8-10 times earnings per share. On top of that she looks at dividend yields, but the key is healthy earnings growth. Rippingall typically looks for earnings growth rates of 15%, sustainable over the next three to five years. Rippingall's largest holding at the end of April was Korean chocolate-biscuit baker Lotte Confectionery, which currently boasts a p/e ratio of 11.5 times estimated earnings for 2002 and forecast earnings growth this year of a handsome 19%. In Korea other consumer-sector bulls favour more obvious plays like discount retailer Shinsegae Department Store, currently trading at a p/e ratio of 12.5, with earnings growth estimated at an impressive 57% for this year. Higher up the value curve, Hyundai Department Store is also attracting interest, with a p/e ratio of eight and 2002 earnings growth forecast at 21%. Less conventional consumer plays include television shopping channel CJ39 Shopping, on a p/e ratio of 13 and forecast 2002 earnings growth of a startling 121%. Some investors like door-to-door cosmetics retailer Pacific Corporation, which is currently trading at a p/e ratio of eight on forecast earnings growth of 13% for this year. With the stock up 69% over the last 12 months, however, others believe the company is fully priced. Holding consumer-credit stocks is also a favoured way to play Korea's retail boom. Among the leaders is Kookmin Credit Card, which offers investors a p/e ratio of 6.4 and projected 2002 earnings growth of 14%. Shinhan Finance also has its fans, with a p/e ratio of 8.4 and forecast earnings growth of 154%. Despite the attractive valuations, buying into Korean consumer stocks takes some nerve. Although down from its April highs, Seoul's benchmark Kospi index is still up 65% over the last nine months and many consumer stocks have far outstripped the index. Unsurprisingly investors have been taking profits following warnings that the country's consumer boom may be in danger of overheating and the Bank of Korea's recent 0.25 percentage-point interest-rate hike. But not everyone is losing sleep. Although consumer debt as a proportion of income has risen rapidly, approaching 80%, Koreans still have plenty of untapped savings and their net leverage is low by international standards. Meanwhile, despite their impressive performance, Korean consumer stocks still look cheap by international standards. "If you are really looking at value-driven investment, I contend there is good value in Korea," says Mark Rosenfeld, regional consumer analyst at Salomon Smith Barney in Hong Kong. Elsewhere in the region consumer-related stocks are also drawing favourable attention. In Hong Kong valuations are far less attractive than Korea, but old investor stalwarts like Giordano (p/e of 14, and earnings growth 14%), Esprit (p/e of 19.6, earnings growth 36%) and Texwinca Holdings, owner of the Baleno clothing retail chain (p/e of 14.6, earnings growth 15%) are drawing fresh investor interest as plays on domestic consumption growth within China. In Thailand, many investors are looking for a repeat, albeit less frenzied, of Korea's consumption boom. Among the stocks favoured by fund managers are plays on Thailand's growing demand for educational services. These include Amarin Printing, on a p/e ratio of eight and earnings growth of 11.6%, and SE-Education, with a p/e of just 6.7 and forecast earnings growth of 40% for this year. Also fancied by some investors as promising domestic consumer-demand plays are food-processor Thai Union Frozen Products (p/e of 7.8, earnings growth 12.8%), electrical-goods distributor Singer Thailand (p/e of 8.2, earnings growth 17%) and retailer Big C Supercenter (p/e of 13, earnings growth 18.5%). Despite a promising economic environment, Malaysian consumer stocks are widely regarded as expensive. Furniture retailer Courts Mammoth (p/e of 14, earnings growth 25%) still has some followers, though recent poorer-than-expected results have dimmed sentiment towards the stock. Indonesian consumer stocks have their fans too, though sky-high consumer- interest rates preclude the sort of spending splurge seen in Korea. Old favourites such as retailer Ramayana Lestari Sentosa (p/e of 16.7, earnings growth 8.6%), and noodle-maker Indofood Sukses Makmur (p/e of 9.4, earnings growth 56%) remain core holdings. But investors shouldn't just stick to old favourites says Ahmelia Mehta, regional consumer analyst at ING Financial Services in Singapore. She favours companies well positioned to benefit from rising home ownership across the region, and in particular stocks which cater to increasing Asian consumer interest in do-it-yourself home improvement. Among her top stock picks is Taiwanese trading company Test Rite Group (p/e of 10.9, earnings growth 26%), which operates DIY stores in Taiwan in a joint venture with British retail giant B&Q. In Thailand, she says listed Land & Houses subsidiary Home Product Center is well placed to take advantage of the same trend, though at a p/e ratio of 24.3 times and forecast 2002 earnings growth down 25%, the stock is looking heavily overpriced. Of course, there are significant risks in playing Asian consumer stocks. Across the region, investors should always take a long hard look at a company's corporate-governance track record before buying. A case in point is Singapore snack-maker Want Want Holdings. Long a favourite with investors looking to play the consumer growth story, Want Want's stock recently dived in price by more than a third after the company's management announced plans to build a 500-bed joint-venture commercial hospital in Hunan province China. "They really shot themselves in the foot there," says one fund manager. 7/8/2002 11:00:36 AM หัวข้อ:Enron board 'ignored financial warnings' โดย:4202680379 Sunday, 7 July, 2002, 13:51 GMT 14:51 UK ,BBC NEWS Enron board 'ignored financial warnings' The board of Enron ignored evidence of financial problems at the company, a US Senate subcommittee has found. "Much that was wrong with Enron was known to the board," the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations said in a report into the scandal. The report said the board - which included the UK Conservative peer Lord Wakeham - failed to protect shareholders, and contributed to Enron's collapse last year. Lawyers representing Enron and the company's former directors have disputed the findings. 'Red flags' missed Enron collapsed last December, becoming the biggest company bankruptcy in US corporate history. The firm's collapse was blamed on complex financial arrangements and questionable accounting practices. The Senate subcommittee said that claims by former directors that they were not told about dubious practices were not true. The report said directors failed to heed "more than dozen red flags that should have caused the Enron board to ask hard questions, examine Enron policies and consider changing course." But attorney Robert Bennett, who is representing Enron, said the report was "grossly unfair" and that it leapt to "unfounded conclusions". And an attorney representing Enron's former directors, W Neil Eggleston, said the board was "misled by Enron management and outside auditors about now-suspect transactions." High-risk accounting The report said that former Enron auditor David Duncan had warned directors on the audit committee about some of the company's accounting practices. It said Mr. Duncan told them that told directors on the audit committee some of the actions were "pushing the limits" and were "at the edge" of normal accountancy procedures. Mr. Duncan pleaded guilty to obstruction in the investigation into Enron's collapse, and last month was the chief prosecution witness in the trial of accountants Arthur Andersen The firm was found guilty of obstruction of justice after it shredded documents relating to Enron. Action needed The report also said that the board failed to question the cash being generated by outside partnerships operated by Enron's Chief Financial Officer Andrew Fastow. And it said the board gave the opportunity for company executives to improve Enron's accounts by waiving conflict-of-interest rules for Mr Fastow. It also criticizes the board for approving "lavish" pay packages for senior staff, and for failing to monitor a credit line used by Enron's former chief executive Kenneth Lay. The report adds that the independence of some of the directors was compromised by consultancy payments they received from Enron. The chairman of the subcommittee, Senator Carl Levin, said the findings showed the need for legislation tightening controls over accountants and corporate conduct. On Monday an accounting reform bill is set to reach the floor of the US Senate. The bill would establish an independent body to oversee accountants, and attempt to close regulatory loopholes. 7/8/2002 11:34:02 AM หัวข้อ:Argentina 'will not force savings swap' โดย:4202612380 Argentina 'will not force savings swap' The savings freeze has led to many protests Thousands of savers in Argentina will not be forced to swap their bank deposits for government bonds, the country's president has said. "There will not be mandatory bonds," President Eduardo Duhalde told a press conference on Saturday. Last month, the Argentine government offered the savers a chance to convert their savings into bonds, in an attempt to end the freeze on savings without leading to the collapse of the country's banking system. Restrictions on savings were imposed in December last year to stop a run on bank accounts. But the freeze led to public protests which helped to overthrow the then President Fernando de la Rua, and protests have continued this year with savers demanding access to their cash. Last week speculation grew that the government was about to force savers to convert their bank deposits into public bonds, in order to save the banks from collapse. New options Under the bond plan, savers were given a month to decide if they want to accept peso or dollar bonds to replace their bank savings. The government offered to swap up to 60bn pesos ($16bn) of deposits for bonds that could be converted to cash in either three, five or 10 year's time. But reports on Friday suggested that less than 1% of total bank deposits had been swapped for bonds. On Saturday the economy ministry a number of new incentives for people to accept bonds. These included allowing them to be used to buy shares on the stock exchange, or to buy new houses. 7/8/2002 11:45:00 AM หัวข้อ:Worldcom : The Fall of a Telecom Titan โดย:4202680130 Worldcon: The Fall of a Telecom Titan Soon after WorldCom CEO John Sidgmore revealed the most sweeping bookkeeping deception in history, a marked-up copy of his internal memo on the scandal was e-mailed to folks around the telecom industry. Under his predecessor, Sidgmore announced, WorldCom had overstated a key measure of earnings by more than $3.8 billion over five quarters, dating back to January 2001. The company's reported profits, it turned out, were really losses. In his memo to employees explaining America's latest corporate disgrace, Sidgmore wrote last Wednesday, "Our customers can count on WorldCom to meet their communications needs today and tomorrow." The memo that circulated included one wag's cynical addition: "Friday is sort of doubtful." Sidgmore went on to write, "I know I can count on you to be with me." To which the wag had tacked on: "Don't bother with a resume; no other telecoms are hiring." As WorldCom once big and rich enough to swallow No. 2 long-distance carrier MCI struggles to survive, it is laying off 17,000 workers. Its stock, which peaked at $64.50 three years ago, stopped trading last Tuesday at 83[cents], having all but wiped out employee retirement accounts. The plunge in WorldCom shares has cost investors upwards of $175 billion nearly three times what was lost in the implosion of Enron. WorldCom is not yet financially bankrupt, but it's clear that it like a fat slice of corporate America has been ethically bankrupt for years. We're only now getting a look at the red ink on the moral balance sheets, and new revelations of malfeasance in one company after another are sending shocks around the globe. The dollar is falling. Stocks are in a swoon. Foreigners are calling home capital. Corporate insiders are dumping shares by the bucketful. Individuals are redeeming mutual-fund shares. Pension funds are getting socked. Banks are taking loan-portfolio hits. This is all a direct result of the spreading collapse of confidence in U.S. companies and the executives and board members who run them a crisis that threatens to untrack a fragile economic recovery. Speaking at an economic summit in Canada, President Bush said he was "concerned about the economic impact of the fact that there are some corporate leaders who have not upheld their responsibility." The Federal Reserve seems concerned as well. At a meeting last week, it left interest rates unchanged signaling that the recovery isn't firmly rooted. Some economists speculate that the Fed will soon cut rates to guard against a "double-dip" recession. In the context of recent developments, President Bush's musings on CEO responsibility are as understated as the expenses in WorldCom's financial statements, the flashpoint for new worries of widespread accounting abuse. WorldCom said that an internal review uncovered huge hidden expenses mostly line charges that it pays to other telecom carriers that were characterized as capital investments, a gimmick that boosted its profits. The company fired its longtime chief financial officer, Scott Sullivan, 40, and is turning over its findings to the Securities and Exchange Commission. The SEC has filed fraud charges and is launching an investigation as is the Justice Department, at least two congressional committees and the state of Mississippi, where WorldCom is based. All current and former employees, along with WorldCom's ex-accounting firm, Arthur Andersen, have been ordered to refrain from Enron-like paper shredding. Investigators are especially eager to hear from WorldCom founder Bernie Ebbers, who resigned as CEO in April, not long after it was revealed that he owed the company $366 million in low-interest loans. Ebbers had worked closely with Sullivan, whose office adjoined the CEO's. Ebbers could not be reached for comment. In the same week that the veil was lifted from WorldCom's books: - Xerox restated $6.4 billion in revenues dating to 1997. A restatement had been expected under an agreement Xerox reached with the SEC three months ago, over the company's practice of immediately booking revenue from long-term leases of copiers and other equipment. But the amount turned out to be more than triple what investors had expected and sparked a 13% sell-off of Xerox's stock. - Tyco's former CEO, Dennis Kozlowski, already charged with evading $1 million of sales tax, was indicted anew, accused of tampering with evidence. He allegedly lifted a shipping document from a file before turning it over to prosecutors in New York City. He pleaded not guilty to the latest charges. - Martha Stewart faced fresh doubts about her explanation of why, after buying stock in a drug company run by a close friend, she sold her shares just ahead of bad news about the company's cancer drug. Stewart, recently appointed a director of the New York Stock Exchange, denies wrongdoing, but shares in her Martha Stewart Omnimedia have declined 40% in the past month over fears of damage to her image. - The Justice Department charged three former bankers in Britain with wire fraud in a $7.3 million scheme involving Enron-related partnerships. - Minneapolis-based supermarket chain Supervalu revealed that, like WorldCom, it has been overstating profits in its case, for four years. - A federal grand jury in Harrisburg, Pa., indicted three former Rite Aid executives on fraud charges. Source : Time.com (Sunday, July. 7, 2002) 7/8/2002 11:53:37 AM หัวข้อ:กรีนพีซจับมือไบโอไทยสร้างเครื่อข่ายในเอเชียต้านจีเอ็มโอ โดย:4202681294 กรีนพีซจับมือไบโอไทยสร้างเครื่อข่ายในเอเชียต้านจีเอ็มโอ กระทรวงวิทยาศาสตร์ฯ ๕ ก.ค.-กรีนพีซร่วมกับไบโอไทย สร้างเครือข่ายใน เอเชียเพื่อคุ้มครองผู้บริโภค ปกป้องแหล่งอาหาร เกษตรกรรมและความหลากหลายทางชีวภาพให้พ้นจากจีเอ็มโอ โดยจัดประชุมเชิงปฏิบัติการเกี่ยวกับจีเอ็มโอที่เชียงใหม่ ซึ่งได้รับความสนใจจากองค์กรพัฒนาเอกชนทั่วเอเชีย น.ส.วรุณวาร สว่างโสภากุล เจ้าหน้าที่รณรงค์ด้านพันธุวิศวกรรมของกรีนพีซ เอเชียตะวันออกเฉียงใต้ เปิดเผยว่า กรีนพีซ เอเชียตะวันออกเฉียงใต้และองค์กรความหลากหลายทางชีวภาพและภูมิปัญญาไทย(ไบโอไทย) จะร่วมกันเป็นเจ้าภาพจัดประชุมเชิงปฏิบัติการเรื่อง การดัดแปลงพันธุกรรม ในวันที่ ๕-๗ กรกฎาคมนี้ ที่โรงแรมโบตานิค เรซิเด้นส์ อำเภอแม่ริม จังหวัดเชียงใหม่ โดยมีองค์กรพัฒนาเอกชน(เอ็นจีโอ)ในภูมิภาคเอเชียจำนวน ๖๐ คนจาก ๑๒ ประเทศ ซึ่งเอ็นจีโอที่เข้าร่วมประชุมเป็นองค์กรด้านผู้บริโภค สิ่งแวดล้อมและเกษตรกรรม จากประเทศไทย กัมพูชา ลาว พม่า มาเลเซีย ฟิลิปปินส์ เวียดนาม อินโดนีเซีย เกาหลี จีน ไต้หวัน อินเดีย บังคลาเทศ ศรีลังกา เจ้าหน้าที่รณรงค์ด้านพันธุวิศวกรรมฯ กล่าวว่า ในการประชุมจะมีการให้ความรู้เกี่ยวกับการดัดแปลงพันธุกรรม(จีเอ็มโอ) และผลกระทบ โดยผู้เชี่ยวชาญที่ทรงคุณวุฒิจากองค์การต่างๆ เพื่อให้เอ็นจีโอในเอเชียแลกเปลี่ยนข้อมูลข่าวสารเกี่ยวกับจีเอ็มโอในภูมิภาคอย่างรอบด้าน พร้อมทั้งร่วมกันวิเคราะห์ผลกระทบและแนวทางแก้ไข นอกจากนี้ ยังเป็นการพัฒนาความร่วมมือในการทำกิจกรรมรณรงค์ต่อต้านจีเอ็มโอ ขณะนี้จะเห็นได้ว่าประเทศทางยุโรปปฏิเสธจีเอ็มโออย่างแข็งขัน เนื่องจากเห็นแล้วว่าจีเอ็มโอส่งผลกระทบในทุกด้าน ไม่ว่าจะเป็นความปลอดภัยต่อสุขภาพ สิ่งแวดล้อม เกษตรกรรม บริษัทผู้ผลิตจีเอ็มโอจึงหันมาหาตลาดเอเชีย กรีนพีซเห็นว่า ควรร่วมมือกันทุกฝ่ายเพื่อป้องกันไม่ให้จีเอ็มโอเข้ามาปนเปื้อนในเอเซีย ซึ่งถือเป็นแหล่งอาหารหลักของโลกน.ส.วรุณวาร กล่าว ด้านนายวิฑูรย์ เลี่ยนจำรูญ ผู้อำนวยการไบโอไทย กล่าวว่า ขณะนี้บริษัทข้ามชาติขนาดใหญ่ กำลังผลักดันทุกวิถีทางเพื่อให้ภูมิภาคเอเชีย เป็นตลาดใหญ่ของอาหารจีเอ็มโอ และเป็นแหล่งที่จะรับซื้อเมล็ดพันธุ์จีเอ็มโอ โดยมีการดำเนินการเชิงรุกในประเทศอินเดีย และ อินโดนีเซียไปแล้ว จึงมีความจำเป็นในระดับภูมิภาคที่จะต้องมีการแลกเปลี่ยนความรู้ ประสบการณ์จากองค์กรในประเทศต่างๆ ที่จะเข้ามาร่วมงานเพื่อที่จะปรึกษาหารือกัน ซึ่งถือเป็นครั้งแรกที่องค์กรต่างๆ ในระดับภูมิภาคจะมารวมกัน ทั้งนี้ นอกจากการประชุมเชิงปฏิบัติการแล้ว ในวันที่ ๘ กรกฎาคมนี้ ผู้เข้าร่วมการประชุมจะได้ไปเยี่ยมชมสวนเกษตรอินทรีย์ที่ตำบลแม่เทา อำเภอแม่ออน เพื่อทัศนศึกษาการเกษตรแบบไม่ใช้สารเคมี ซึ่งข้อกำหนดที่สำคัญของการเกษตรินทรีย์ก็คือจะต้องไม่ใช้เมล็ดพันธุ์ดัดแปลงพันธุกรรมในการเพาะปลูก สำนักข่าวไทย 7/8/2002 12:12:13 PM หัวข้อ:แมคโดนัลด์ฟินแลนด์ถูกแบนโฆษณาของเล่นแฮปปี้มีลส์ โดย:4202612653 โดย บิสิเนสไทย [9-5-2002] ศาลฟินแลนด์มีคำสั่งให้แมคโดนัลด์ยกเลิกการใช้ของเล่นเป็นสื่อโฆษณาหลัก ในการทำตลาดผลิตภัณฑ์ Happy Meals ส่วนแมคโดนัลด์ที่สิงคโปร์ก็ออกเมนูใหม่ให้เข้ากับท้องถิ่นด้วยชุด ข้าวต้มไก่ ศาลได้มีคำสั่งว่า โฆษณาของแมคโดนัลด์ที่เน้นตัวการ์ตูนของดิสนีย์ เป็นการฝ่าฝืนต่อกฏหมายคุ้มครองสิทธิผู้บริโภค โดยได้กำหนดโทษปรับไว้สูงสุดถึง 50,000 ดอลลาร์สหรัฐสำหรับกรณีแมคโดนัลด์ คำสั่งดังกล่าวเป็นกรณีตัวอย่างในฟินแลนด์ โดยจะถูกนำมาประยุกต์ใช้ทั่วไปสำหรับธุรกิจขายปลีกและการบริการ ระเบียบที่ออกมาหมายความว่าแมคโดนัลด์ไม่สามารถโฆษณาอาหารชุด Happy Meals หรือสินค้าอื่นๆใ นการโฆษณาทางทีวี โดยการสื่อถึงของเล่นเป็นหลักได้อีกต่อไป ในการโฆษณาต่อจากนี้ ทั้งหมดจะต้องสื่อถึงอาหารของแมคโดนัลด์เป็นหลักและจะต้องไม่มีการใช้ของเล่นมาส่งเสริมการขาย การแบนครั้งนี้เนื่องมาจากแคมเปญโฆษณาอาหารชุดแฮปปี้ มีลส์ ของแมคโดนัลด์ ที่ออกอากาศทางเครือข่ายทีวีฟินแลนด์เมื่อปีที่แล้ว ข้อมูลจากศาลกำกับดูแลด้านการตลาดได้กล่าวว่า อาหารชุดดังกล่าวถูกเน้นที่การโปรโมทของแถมซึ่งจะได้รับพร้อมกับอาหาร และมีเพียงการให้ข้อมูลด้านราคาเท่านั้น "ข้อความหลักที่ถูกสื่อออกไป สำหรับชุดแฮปปี้ มิลส์นั้น แมคโดนัลด์เน้นที่ของเล่นของดิสนีย์ นี่เป็นสิ่งที่ยอมรับไม่ได้และเป็นการฝ่าฝืนกฏหมาย" คำแแถลงการณ์ของศาล กลุ่มพิทักษ์สิทธิผู้บริโภคแห่งฟินแลนด์ หรือ Finland's Consumer Ombudsman ได้ยื่นฟ้องแมคโดนัลด์ต่อศาล เพื่อให้มีการวินิจฉัยในเรื่องของข้อความโฆษณาที่สื่อออกมา ว่าบริษัทควรจะขายสินค้าตามคุณภาพความเป็นจริง หรือเน้นที่การทำโปรโมชั่นอื่นๆ รวมทั้งการแจกของรางวัล กลุ่มพิทักษ์สิทธิผู้บริโภคแสดงความเห็นว่า การโฆษณาของแมคโดนัลด์มีเป้าหมายอยู่ที่กลุ่มเด็กเล็กอย่างชัดเจน กระนั้นก็ตามเอเยนซี่แย้งว่าโฆษณาชุดดังกล่าวไม่เคยใช้เวลาในช่วงของรายการเด็กเลย คำแถลงการณ์ของศาลที่ว่าโฆษณาได้มุ่งไปที่เด็กๆ จุดนี้เองเป็นจุดที่แมคโดนัลด์ใช้โต้แย้ง โดยทางบริษัทกล่าวว่าโฆษณาได้มุ่งเน้นไปที่บรรดาพ่อแม่ ผู้ปกครองของเด็กมากกว่า ศาลก็ได้ชี้ให้เห็นว่า โฆษณาทางทีวีได้แพร่ภาพในช่วงวันสุดสัปดาห์ระหว่างเวลา ตีห้าถึงเก้านาฬิกา ซึ่งเป็นช่วงที่เด็กๆกำลังดูทีวี และนั่นเป็นเวลาที่โฆษณาดังกล่าว รวมทั้งตัวละครของดิสนีย์ได้ปรากฏตัวออกมาดึงดูดความสนใจของเด็กๆ ที่มีอายุอยู่ในชั้นอนุบาลและชั้นประถมศึกษา แคมเปญซึ่งเป็นปัญหานี้สร้างสรรค์โดยลีโอ เบอร์เนทท์ เฮลซิงกิ จากกลุ่มบีคอมทรี ส่วนบริษัทมีเดียคอมจาก กลุ่มเกรย์ โกลบอลนั้นรับผิดชอบด้านการซื้อเวลาโฆษณา 7/8/2002 12:14:04 PM หัวข้อ:Internet Company Shutdown Pace Slows โดย:4202680353 Internet Company Shutdown Pace Slows The Associated Press Saturday, July 6, 2002; 2:36 PM NEW YORK In a sign that the Internet sector may be nearing the end of its brutal shakeout, the number of shutdowns and bankruptcies by dot-com companies in the first half of this year fell 73 percent from the same period last year, a new report from Webmergers.com shows. At least 93 Internet companies closed their doors or filed for bankruptcy protection in the first six months of 2002, down from 345 such casualties during the same period last year, according to the San Francisco research firm that has been keeping a tally of shutdowns. June, which had 13 shutdowns, marked the sixth consecutive month in which the number of shutdowns came in at less than 20. That's a considerable contrast from the 16-month period preceding January, when casualties averaged 44 a month. Since January 2000, when the Internet froth was at its peak, at least 862 dot-com companies have failed, according to Webmergers.com data. E-commerce and content companies many of which were business-to-consumer concerns that were quick fatalities during the first wave of the Internet shakeout dominate the Internet company failures to-date. Of the 862 shutdowns, 368, or 43 percent, are e-commerce companies, while content companies have a tally of 217, or 25 percent. Infrastructure, Internet access and professional-services companies account for 16 percent, 10 percent and 6 percent of shutdowns, respectively. Over the past two months, shut downs were dominated by Internet-content providers, infrastructure companies, Internet-services providers, and other providers of dial-up and broadband Internet-access service. As companies disappear, many people would prefer to forget the excesses of the dot-com frenzy, when start-ups, often based on little more than a PowerPoint presentation, scooped up millions from investors before collapsing. Webmergers.com has found, though, that a number of individuals are interested in remembering tales of such excesses. The research firm, along with the University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business, last week launched an online archive designed to create a permanent record of the dot-com era. The Web site, www.businessplanarchive.org, encourages former Internet executives, employees and investors to submit e-mails and other items from both failed and successful dot-com companies. So far, more than 400 individuals have registered with the site and its researchers have been promised hundreds of business plans, says Webmergers president Tim Miller. In one case, an East Coast venture capitalist who was about to destroy 1,500 business plans called up researchers and offered instead to ship them to the Business Plan Archive, says Miller in his latest report. 7/8/2002 12:27:07 PM หัวข้อ: โดย:4202681773 BANKRUPTCY LAW More flexibility for debtors in pipeline Proposed changes to the bankruptcy code will allow debtors to enter the court-supervised business rehabilitation process even if liabilities don't exceed assets, according to sources on a state legal reform committee. Another proposed change would strengthen the rights of small creditors and stipulate tighter restrictions on the role of planners and consultants in the rehabilitation process. The existing bankruptcy code is only open to companies which are deemed insolvent, where liabilities exceed assets. Legal experts have long argued the code should be expanded to cover firms unable to pay debt due to liquidity problems. By expanding the scope of the law, policymakers hope that they can help firms enter the rehabilitation process faster and head off costly, time-consuming delays in cases where creditors and borrowers cannot agree on a restructuring solution. Under the proposed amendments, a company unable to service their debt but still solvent could seek protection from the courts from foreclosure actions by proposing a rehabilitation plan. Another change would be in how small creditors are treated. Existing law groups small creditors into one single group, resulting in creditors with senior claims placed at a disadvantage to other small creditors when repayment is made. A proposed change would split small creditors into different groups based on the seniority of their repayment claims. Fees charged by plan administrators would also be clearly limited in the revised law, a concession to borrowers who have complained about high fees charged by creditor-appointed planners. Individuals found bankrupt could also clear their histories faster under the proposed amendments. Current law states that an individual is bankrupt for at least three years after a court ruling. But Roongrueng Bhidayasiri, a Thai Rak Thai MP, has proposed that borrowers be allowed to emerge from bankruptcy faster if they made payment against their debt. A borrower could be allowed to emerge from bankruptcy after just one year if they paid off 60% of their debt, or be cleared after two years after paying 40% of the debt under one proposal. But others on the review committee disagree, arguing that this would encourage borrowers to funnel away assets before being named bankrupt and then clear themselves while paying much less than their actual owed debt. But Dr Roongrueng said greater flexibility would help more executives and firms to recover from bankruptcy. He said borrowers should have a greater role in drafting rehabilitation plans, and agreed that the law should be amended to cover not just cases of insolvency, but illiquidity as well. 7/8/2002 1:04:57 PM หัวข้อ:'มหาธีร์'ทวงสร้างท่อก๊าซใต้'ทักษิณ'รับลูกยันเดินหน้าแน่ โดย:4202611515 จากหนังสือพิมพ์มติชน ประจำวันที่ 7 กรกฎาคม พ.ศ. 2545 เมื่อวันที่ 6 กรกฎาคม ผู้สื่อข่าวรายงานภารกิจของนายมหาธีร์ โมฮัมหมัด นายกรัฐมนตรีมาเลเซียและคณะซึ่งเดินทางมาเยือนไทยระหว่างวันที่ 5-7 กรกฎาคม ในฐานะแขกของรัฐบาลไทย ว่า นายมหาธีร์พร้อมด้วยภริยาและคณะ ได้เดินทางโดยเครื่องบินพิเศษของกองทัพอากาศจากเชียงใหม่ พร้อมด้วย พ.ต.ท.ทักษิณ ชินวัตร นายกรัฐมนตรี และภริยา นายกร ทัพพะรังสี รองนายกรัฐมนตรี นายอดิศัย โพธารามิก รัฐมนตรีว่าการกระทรวงพาณิชย์ และนายสุวัจน์ ลิปตพัลลภ รัฐมนตรีประจำสำนักนายกรัฐมนตรี และรัฐมนตรีว่าการทบวงมหาวิทยาลัย มายังกรุงเทพฯ จากนั้น เวลา 11.20 น.ได้ร่วมรับประทานอาหารกลางวันกับ พ.ต.ท.ทักษิณ ชินวัตร นายกรัฐมนตรีและภริยาที่โรงแรมเลอ รอยัล เมอริเดียน ถนนสุขุมวิท พร้อมกับกล่าวสุนทรพจน์ต่อที่ประชุมนักธุรกิจไทย-มาเลเซีย นายมหาธีร์กล่าวถึงความสัมพันธ์ทางการค้า-การลงทุน ระหว่างสองประเทศว่า น่าจะแจ่มใสเมื่อเศรษฐกิจของทั้งสองประเทศฟื้นตัวแล้ว โดยคาดว่าปีนี้ทั้งสองประเทศจะมีอัตราเติบโตทางเศรษฐกิจ 3.5 เปอร์เซ็นต์ ขณะที่การลงทุนของมาเลเซียในประเทศไทยมีบริษัทใหญ่ๆ มาลงทุน 16 แห่ง มูลค่าประมาณ 1000 ล้านบาท จนถึงขั้นเปิดหอการค้าไทย-มาเลเซียในวันเดียวกันนี้ นายกรัฐมนตรีมาเลเซียกล่าวด้วยว่า อาเซียนควรร่วมมือกันมากขึ้น โดยเฉพาะกับประเทศในเอเชียตะวันออกเฉียงเหนือ อีกทั้งภายในอาเซียนควรจะใช้ระบบความร่วมมือภายในระหว่างวัน โดยลดการพึ่งพาเงินสกุลดอลลาร์และหันมาใช้ระบบการหักบัญชีระหว่างกันมากขึ้น ส่วนข้อตกลงเขตการค้าเสรีอาเซียน(อาฟต้า)นั้น มาเลเซียได้ดำเนินการตามกรอบ โดยส่วนใหญ่ 90 เปอร์เซ็นต์ได้ลดภาษีนำเข้าสินค้าต่างๆ เหลือเพียงร้อยละ 0.5 ตามกรอบอาฟต้าแล้ว เหลือเพียงผลิตภัณฑ์เกี่ยวกับรถยนต์ที่ต้องขอเวลาอีก 2 ปีเพื่อปรับอุตสาหกรรมของมาเลเซีย "มาเลเซียไม่ได้เป็นห่วงเรื่องการแข่งขันของประเทศในอาเซียนด้วยกัน แต่ห่วงเรื่องการแข่งขันกับบริษัทรถยนต์ข้ามชาติที่สามารถผลิตภายในอาเซียนหรือใช้ชิ้นส่วนร้อยละ 20 ที่ผลิตในอาเซียน ก็ถือว่าเป็นผลิตภัณฑ์ของอาเซียนและส่งเข้าไปแข่งขันในมาเลเซีย ผู้สื่อข่าวรายงานว่า ในระหว่างที่นายกรัฐมนตรีมาเลเซียกำลังพบปะและรับประทานอาหารกลางวันร่วมกับนักธุรกิจไทย-มาเลเซีย ที่โรงแรมเลอ รอยัล เมอริเดียน ได้มีกลุ่มผู้ชุมนุมประมาณ 60 คน จากคณะกรรมการรณรงค์เพื่อประชาธิปไตย(ครป.) กลุ่มองค์กรเอกชนด้านแรงงาน และสหภาพแรงงานไวท์ เฮ้าส์ ซึ่งเดินขบวนมาจากบริเวณอาคารเวิลด์เทรด เซ็นเตอร์ มาชุมนุมที่หน้าโรงแรม เพื่อเรียกร้องให้นายกรัฐมนตรีมาเลเซีย ยกเลิกกฎหมายความมั่นคงภายในประเทศ ที่ส่งผลให้นายเทียน ชัว ผู้นำด้านสิทธิมนุษยชนมาเลเซีย และประชาชนกว่า 40 คน ถูกจับกุมโดยไม่มีการดำเนินคดีในศาลยุติธรรม อันเป็นการละเมิดสิทธิมนุษยชน โดยกลุ่มผู้ชุมนุมได้เรียกร้องให้มีการดำเนินคดีอย่างยุติธรรมกับนายเทียน และผู้ที่ถูกจับกุมภายใต้กฎหมายดังกล่าว นอกจากนี้ ยังได้เรียกร้องให้นายกรัฐมนตรีมาเลเซีย แสดงสปิริตของการเป็นผู้นำ โดยการอนุญาตให้นายอันวาร์ อิบราฮิม อดีตรองนายกรัฐมนตรีมาเลเซีย ซึ่งขณะนี้ถูกดำเนินคดีอยู่ เดินทางไปรักษาอาการบาดเจ็บที่กระดูกสันหลังที่ประเทศเยอรมนีตามที่เรียกร้อง และยังได้แสดงความเห็นคัดค้าน โครงการท่อส่งก๊าซไทย-มาเลเซียด้วย โดย นายอึง บุน ฮอง ที่ปรึกษาสถานเอกอัครราชทูตมาเลเซีย ประจำประเทศไทยมารับเอกสาร อย่างไรก็ตาม กลุ่มผู้ชุมนุมส่วนใหญ่ซึ่งเป็นผู้หญิง ได้ส่งเสียงตะโกน เป่านกหวีด และใช้เครื่องขยายเสียง สร้างความตื่นตระหนกให้กับนักท่องเที่ยว และส่งผลให้การจราจรบนถนนสุขุมวิท บริเวณหน้าโรงแรมติดขัดอย่างหนัก โดยมีเจ้าหน้าที่ตำรวจในพื้นที่กว่า 20 นายมารักษาความเรียบร้อย ต่อมาเวลา 14.30 น. นายมหาธีร์และคณะ เดินทางมายังทำเนียบรัฐบาล เพื่อหารือข้อราชการเต็มคณะ กับ พ.ต.ท.ทักษิณ จากนั้นในเวลา 17.30 น. พ.ต.ท.ทักษิณ และภริยา จะนำนายกรัฐมนตรีมาเลเซีย และภริยา เข้าเฝ้าฯสมเด็จพระนางเจ้าฯ พระบรมราชินีนาถ ณ พระตำหนักจิตรลดารโหฐาน พระราชวังดุสิต และในช่วงค่ำ พ.ต.ท.ทักษิณ และภริยา จะเป็นเจ้าภาพเลี้ยงอาหารค่ำอย่างเป็นทางการ แก่นายกรัฐมนตรีมาเลเซียและภริยา ณ ทำเนียบรัฐบาล พ.ต.ท.ทักษิณกล่าวภายหลังการหารือกับนายมหาธีร์ ถึงความร่วมมือด้านการค้า ว่า ความร่วมมือทางด้านการค้าการลงทุน เมื่อปี 2544 มีมูลค่าสูงถึง 5.8 พันล้านเหรียญสหรัฐ ก็หวังว่าในปีนี้ทั้งสองประเทศจะมีการเพิ่มปริมาณการค้าระหว่างกันให้ได้ถึง 4 เท่า และเชื่อมั่นว่าการค้าแบบหักบัญชีจะเป็นกลไกเสริมช่วยให้บรรลุเป้าหมาย นอกจากนี้ มีการพูดคุยกันเกี่ยวกับความคืบหน้าของโครงการท่อก๊าซไทย-มาเลเซีย ซึ่งทางมาเลเซีย สอบถามความมั่นใจ เพราะอยากให้เกิดประโยชน์ทั้งรัฐบาลและภาคการลงทุน ซึ่งตนได้ยืนยันไปแล้วว่าทางไทยจะเดินหน้าโครงการนี้ต่อไป ซึ่งนายมหาธีร์ห่วง 2-3 เรื่องคือ เรื่องต้นทุนที่หากล่าช้าก็จะสูงมาก และการร้องเรียนของประชาชน เพราะกลัวว่าจะเกิดปัญหา พร้อมรับปากว่าจะดูแลเรื่องสิ่งแวดล้อมให้ดี ทางมาเลเซียพร้อมดำเนินการแต่ยังไม่ระบุเวลา 7/8/2002 7:55:09 PM หัวข้อ:Korea helps build e-SMEs โดย:4202680163 In recent weeks we have been discussing some of the innovative work being done in South Korea to help small and medium-sized enterprises make optimum use of information technology. Today we will look at the final key strategy of the Korean government to digitise small businesses, through the establishment of a foundation for SME information-based operations. The first step is to set up physical facilities where a lot of SMEs are located. This information centre will promote the joint utilisation of computer and communication systems. Although Korea is now one of the leading producers of this equipment, the introduction of new technology without sound advance planning runs the risk of resulting in underutilisation. Attempts to share IT infrastructure might be a good starting point for SMEs as they rethink what they really need and seek to avoid overinvestment. The situation is different in Thailand where modern equipment is relatively expensive and scarce. Some entrepreneurs purchase the latest computer model only to use word-processing program. A Korea-style information centre for Thai SMEs could be a good place where entrepreneurs could learn how to make the best use of expensive equipment before deciding how much money, if any, they needed to invest in IT. Once the centre is established, the Korean government provides assistance in establishing community-style ``informatisation'', led by partnerships in each sector and provides consultancy services for members of the partnerships. The synergy from this activity includes joint purchases and online sales. With Internet penetration exceeding 50% of the population, e-commerce is very normal in Korea. One sees .com domain names everywhere, even on delivery trucks. It is not costly to create a company web site but it is very expensive to promote and draw customers to the site. The Korean attempt is to create a portal for purchasing SMEs' products. The result is lower operating costs, which frees more of the budget for promoting the web site. In Thailand, we can see similar efforts being made to promote joint SME online sales by many organisations such as the Department of Industrial Promotion and the Board of Investment. However, joint purchases among SMEs remain quite limited. My Japanese friend who lives in Thailand has proposed starting a web site where all purchase requests from various SMEs would be posted. At the end of the day, the computer would sum up all the orders for the web site operator to negotiate with suppliers for the best price. The suppliers would deliver the goods the following day to each buyer, while payment settlement would be done through the web site. My friend believes that such an approach would make everyone happy by increasing bargaining power with suppliers. To the best of my knowledge, this kind of web site for SMEs is still not available in Thailand. The Korean government has also initiated another activities specifically for small businesses, such as family-owned shops that have trouble competing with giant retailers. Point-of-sale (POS) equipment is distributed to small stores, whose operators also receive training and help to create a certification system required for online transactions. In Thailand, the recent co-operation among small stores under the rak bankerd (patriot) banner and Winstore, which works as a purchasing agent and distribution centre, is quite interesting. The co-operation seems to be the perfect match between physical and online shops. In addition, rak bankerd operators can derive the main source of their income from popular merchandise items, mobile devices provided by the Ucom group, while remaining competitive with big stores in sales of items such as soap and shampoo. The Korean government also develop an ASP-type (application service provider) e-business model for small enterprises to promote their utilisation of information in 20 industries. However, I think that the most important application for SMEs in Thailand should be accounting. Since most local SMEs are owned by a single entrepreneur, he might consider that there is no need for good accounting records. In addition, there might be some incentive to hide real revenue for tax reasons. However, the economic crisis taught a good lesson to entrepreneurs: they cannot seek more funds in a poor economy if the lenders or the investors cannot properly evaluate the feasibility of the business from its balance sheet. Bangkokpost 5 Jul 2002 7/8/2002 9:17:03 PM หัวข้อ:Mercedes boutique items selling well โดย:4202610459 Demand for Mercedes-Benz accessories and collectibles has promoted DaimlerChrysler (Thailand) to open a shop selling the products at The Emporium in Bangkok. Last year, the items contributed at least 25% of the company's earnings in Thailand from sales of parts and related products, said Joe Goh, the vice-president for after-sales service. More shops selling accessories and collectibles would be opened at other major department stores in Bangkok, Mr Goh said. The company is holding a Mercedes-Benz Accessories Collection 2002 promotion at The Emporium until July 15. When the new shops were in full operation, revenue from sales of the items were expected to reach 20 million baht a year, up from 18 million baht currently, Mr Goh said. ``We are the first company in the automobile industry in Thailand and Asia to introduce a boutique selling accessories in department stores,'' he said. 7/8/2002 9:19:57 PM หัวข้อ:Red tape in China sends Japanese back to Thailand โดย:4202612208 Japanese electronics manufacturers are preparing to move production plants back to Thailand from China, Industry Minister Suriya Juengrungruengkij said yesterday. Suriya said Japanese Chamber of Commerce members had informed him of the planned move by some electronics manufacturers. While giving no details about the names of manufacturers, the minister said that in the past three years, a group of electronic and electricity investors had moved their production base from Thailand to China. Now they want to come back, as they were unable to tolerate Chinese red-tape,he said. Most of Japanese investors in China are accustomed to Thailand, thus they will have no problems at all adapting themselves to their old base,Suriya said, adding that Japanese returnees would still be entitled to investment benefits as usual. The minister said Thailands exports of electronic and electric products accounted for around one trillion baht a year, or around 30 percent of total exports worth around three trillion baht. However, the country would still have to import parts and raw materials worth around 400-500 billion baht from overseas, but Suriya said, the ministry woukd try to encourage entrepreneurs to use local content as much as possible. He said foreign entrepreneurs should also help the country in terms of technology transfer. Compared to Chinese products, Suriya said, the Thai market still had an edge over the latter, in terms of quality. The government will continue encouraging Thai entrepreneurs to stay competitive as they will have to fight with more competitors in the near future,he said. Electronics have been one of Thailands key export industries and account for nearly a third of all exports of Thailand. On Wednesday, the National Economic and Social Development Board (NESDB) said electronics were on a cyclical recovery and would help drive this years gross domestic product (GDP) growth to at least 4.5 percent. Electronic parts and petrochemical products are following an uptrend, as global prices are picking up, while automobiles and processed food are growing at a normal pace.said NESDB secretary-general Chakramon Phasukvanich at an economic seminar. The NESDB, which last month raised growth forecast to 3.5-4.0 percent from of 2.0-3.0 percent, said 4.5-5.0 percent of growth was attainable. GDP growth of 5.0 percent is possible, depending on export growth. Domestic consumption alone will not be enough to support growth,said Chakramon. 7/8/2002 10:20:33 PM << End of file >>
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