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Delegates from 46 countries are
gathering for the 20th meeting of the Asian Development Bank
(ADB) amid concern over the bank"s role in aiding regional
development.
The three-day meeting, the first to be held in Japan since
the bank"s inaugural meeting in Tokyo in 1966, will open
tomorrow with political controversy dogging its heels.
Taiwan, one of the ADB"s founders, will boycott the meeting
for the second year in succession in protest against China"s
admission last year.
Taiwan, which borrowed only 100 mln dlrs or 0.51 pct of the
ADB"s total lending of 19.4 billion dlrs over the past 20 years,
is staying away because its name was changed by the bank to
"Taipei, China."
But the boycott is likely to be overshadowed by the
presence of communist giants China and the Soviet Union.
Moscow is attending an ADB meeting for the first time in
what is widely seen as a first step to eventual full
membership.
China is expected to obtain its first loans from the bank
in 1987.
A senior ADB official said Peking, now the bank"s third
largest shareholder after the United States and Japan, would
also take one of the 12 seats on the bank"s board of governors.
The official, who declined to be identified, expected
sparks to fly when governors met in formal session on Tuesday.
He said calls for expanded bank lending were expected from
poorer countries in the Asia-Pacific region, hit by plunging
commodity prices, tariff barriers in export markets, a growing
resources crunch and balance of payments crises.
But the U.S. Delegation was likely to repeat warnings ADB
lending should stress quality over quantity, the official said.
The debate over ADB lending is fuelled by the bank"s highly
successful money management.
With liquid reserves of about four billion dlrs, profits
have been rising steadily and touched 287 mln dlrs last year.
The key indicator of the ADB"s reduced role in regional
development is its net transfer of resources -- loan
disbursements less repayments made by borrowers -- which fell
sharply to 237 mln dlrs in 1986 from 421 mln in 1985.
In 1986, the bank approved loans totalling two billion
dlrs, but only to 19 of its 29 developing members.
ADB chief economist Kedar Nath Kohli told Reuters the bank"s
ordinary lending had declined each year since 1984.
"I"m afraid if you exclude India and China, it"s going to go
down even further in 1987," Kohli said.
Kohli said developing countries in the region were entering
a period of painful adjustments.
He said one country that seemed to be on the right track
was South Korea, which had bucked the regional trend of rising
indebtedness by cutting its foreign debt by about two billion
dlrs last year.
One country that has complained about the ADB's lending
policies is Vietnam, which charged at last year's meeting that
the bank had cut off its aid on political grounds.
The bank abruptly halted loans to Hanoi after the fall of
the Saigon government in 1975. Despite Moscow's presence,
however, the bank is not expected to change its Vietnam policy.
The Philippines, the ABD's second-largest borrower in 1986
with loans totalling 316 mln dlrs, is happy with the bank's
role.
Finance Minister Jaime Ongpin told Reuters he expected the
figure would reach roughly the same level this year.
REUTER
| "NORM" | [] | "NOT-USED" | "PUBLISHED-TESTSET" | "21829" | "17207" | [
"japan",
"china",
"taiwan",
"ussr",
"usa",
"vietnam",
"south-korea",
"philippines"
] | [] | [
"adb-asia"
] | [] | 26-APR-1987 07:50:48.05 | ADB DELEGATES GATHER IN JAPAN AMID CONTROVERSY |
The Bank of Japan intervened buying
dollars shortly after the opening of 137.70 yen, dealers said.
Strong selling from life insurance companies and investment
trusts pressured the dollar downward, but the U.S. Unit
steadied on profit-taking buying by petroleum companies and
intervention by the central bank.
The dollar's upward potential looks limited as forward
dollar selling by exporters for commercial purposes is expected
above 137.80, dealers said.
REUTER
| "NORM" | [
"money-fx",
"dlr"
] | "NOT-USED" | "PUBLISHED-TESTSET" | "21830" | "17208" | [
"japan"
] | [] | [] | [] | 26-APR-1987 20:39:56.64 | BANK OF JAPAN INTERVENES IN TOKYO BUYING DOLLARS |
Japan's Jiji Press quoted Bank of Japan
Governor Satoshi Sumita as telling Japanese reporters the
central bank will continue determined market intervention to
prevent a further rise in the value of the yen.
Sumita, who is attending an annual meeting of the Asian
Development Bank, also said he does not think the yen will
continue to rise, Jiji reported. He said the Bank of Japan is
keeping close contact with other major industrial nations on
concerted market intervention, Jiji said. He said coordinated
intervention is the only way to stop the dollar from dropping
too fast, Jiji said. The dollar fell below 138 yen today.
REUTER
| "NORM" | [
"money-fx",
"dlr",
"yen"
] | "NOT-USED" | "PUBLISHED-TESTSET" | "21831" | "17209" | [
"japan"
] | [
"sumita"
] | [] | [] | 26-APR-1987 22:02:13.59 | SUMITA SAYS FURTHER YEN RISE UNLIKELY - JIJI PRESS |
The Bundesbank intervened in the Tokyo
foreign exchange market to buy a small amount of dollars
against marks through the Bank of Japan, dealers said.
The West German central bank bought dollars when the dollar
was at about 1.7770-80 marks. Dealers' estimates of the
intervention amount varied from 100 mln to one billion dlrs.
Some dealers said the Bank of Japan appeared to have
undertaken small-lot mark-selling intervention on its own
account.
REUTER
| "NORM" | [
"money-fx",
"dlr"
] | "NOT-USED" | "PUBLISHED-TESTSET" | "21832" | "17210" | [
"japan",
"west-germany"
] | [] | [] | [] | 26-APR-1987 22:41:44.69 | BUNDESBANK INTERVENES IN TOKYO VIA BANK OF JAPAN |
Japanese Finance Minister Kiichi Miyazawa
told a press conference the basic solution to currency
instability among major nations is economic policy
coordination.
He said that is a time-consuming process as coordination
does not always proceed in a way policy makers envisage. "That
is democracy," he said. Upon that foundation, Miyazawa said,
there must be coordinated intervention. Major nations have
sufficient funds to continue concerted intervention, he added.
"Without doubt this set-up of coordinated intervention will
continue to operate," Miyazawa said.
Miyazawa said Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone and U.S.
President Ronald Reagan are likely to reaffirm the Louvre and
Washington Group of Seven (G-7) agreements on currency
stability when they meet later this week.
Asked whether the dollar is declining against all major
currencies, not only the yen, Miyazawa declined to make any
comments.
He reiterated that many major nations have undertaken
coordinated intervention in recent weeks to prop up the dollar,
including countries who are not members of the G-7.
REUTER
| "NORM" | [
"money-fx",
"dlr"
] | "NOT-USED" | "PUBLISHED-TESTSET" | "21833" | "17211" | [
"japan"
] | [
"miyazawa"
] | [] | [] | 26-APR-1987 22:49:27.79 | MIYAZAWA SAYS POLICY COORDINATION KEY TO CURRENCY |
CSR Ltd <CSRA.S> said it plans to offer
3.50 dlrs a share cum-bonus for all the issued capital of
building products group Monier Ltd <MNRA.S>.
The offer values Monier's current issued capital of 156.28
mln shares at 547 mln dlrs and compares with the latest share
market price of 2.80 dlrs, equal to last Friday's close.
Monier recently said it proposes to make a one-for-two
bonus issue before June 30.
CSR will shortly announce further details of the offer
including a CSR share alternative, it said in a statement.
CSR said it currently holds 323,000 Monier shares or only
0.21 pct of the company's issued capital.
Redland Plc <RDLD.L>, the holder of 49.87 pct of Monier,
has agreed with CSR that Redland will not accept the offer for
its stake initially, CSR said.
Instead, CSR has granted Redland two alternative options,
the first giving Redland the right to accept the CSR offer at
the same price within six months of the closing date of the
bid, the company said.
The second grants Redland the option to increase its Monier
holding to 50.1 pct in the same period.
The second option is exercisable by Redland at 3.50 dlrs a
share, CSR said.
Both option deals are subject to the approval of Monier
shareholders except CSR and Redland.
As previously reported, Redland and Monier had been
discussing a possible Redland bid for Monier but the talks
broke off two weeks ago.
CSR said Redland supports the CSR offer as a means of
establishing a fruitful joint venture in building materials in
which they both have interests. At the end of the offer, they
will discuss how these interests may be developed.
Redland has indicated that it would be prepared to consider
at a later stage an increase in CSR's Monier stake to enable it
to become a CSR subsidiary, assuming Redland exercises the
second option, CSR said.
It said the offer is generous because it will give Monier
shareholders a price equivalent to 16.8 times after-tax
earnings in 1985/86 ended June 30, a 25 pct premium over
Friday's market price and a 125 pct premium over last reported
net tangible asset backing per share of 1.57 dlrs.
The offer is beneficial for both CSR and Monier
shareholders, CSR's chief executive officer Bryan Kelman said.
"The acquisition will broaden CSR interests in building
materials by the addition of complementary domestic and
overseas businesses in concrete and clay tiles, metal roofing
materials and concrete blocks and piping," Kelman said in the
statement.
"Importantly, the acquisition will provide CSR with new
growth opportunities in building materials both in Australia
and overseas," he added.
Monier, which earned a net 32.49 mln dlrs in 1985/86, has
operations in a number of countries, including the U.S., Japan,
Britain and New Zealand, as well as Australia.
REUTER
| "NORM" | [
"acq"
] | "NOT-USED" | "PUBLISHED-TESTSET" | "21834" | "17212" | [
"australia"
] | [] | [] | [] | 26-APR-1987 22:57:22.08 | CSR PLANS TAKEOVER BID FOR MONIER |

CORRECTION - BUNDESBANK INTERVENES IN TOKYO
In the Tokyo item "/BUNDESBANK INTERVENES IN TOKYO VIA BANK
OF JAPAN," please read in the second para: "Dealers' estimates of
the intervention amount varied from 10 mln to 100 mln dlrs."
Corrects figures from 100 mln to one billion dlrs.
REUTER

| "UNPROC" | [
"money-fx",
"dlr"
] | "NOT-USED" | "PUBLISHED-TESTSET" | "21835" | "17213" | [
"japan"
] | [] | [] | [] | 26-APR-1987 23:26:24.51 | |
The Soviet Union is attending an
Asian Development Bank (ADB) annual general meeting for the
first time, but has not decided whether to apply for
membership, a senior Soviet State Bank official said.
"No specific plans exist for applying for membership," Yurij
Ponomarev, international managing director of the State Bank,
told Reuters. "It's too early to draw up any plans."
The USSR is attending the 20th meeting as an observer.
"The sole purpose is to observe and collect information
first hand," Ponomarev said.
He said the Soviet Union was responding to a long-standing
ADB invitation to attend the meetings.
"This is one of the fastest growing regions in the world,"
the State Bank official said. "It is in our interest to have
good contacts."
But those strengthened contacts will not be made at the
expense of the Soviet Union's other relationships, he said.
Delegates here said the USSR move was connected to recent
efforts to develop closer ties with Asia. The policy was
announced last year by Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev in a
speech at Vladivostok.
Moscow's decision to attend the meetings follows its
application last year for membership of the General Agreement
on Tariffs and Trade (GATT).
Delegates said the USSR faces lacklustre growth and is
searching for ways to boost its economy.
Although the ADB said political ideology is not a critiera
for membership, several delegates said politics would play a
large role in any decision to allow Moscow to join.
Moscow's application would have to be approved by
two-thirds of the board of governors representing
three-quarters of the total voting power of member countries.
The basic votes of the 47 members are all equal and total
one-fifth of all votes. The remainder are proportional to the
number of shares held by each member.
Japan is the largest shareholder, at 15.1 pct, followed by
the U.S. With 14.9 pct and China with 7.2 pct.
The U.S. Has more than 12 pct of the total votes,
insufficient to block a Moscow membership bid.
Japanese officials said Tokyo has not decided its position
regarding the possibility of Soviet membership and said they
noted the Soviets had not yet made any move to join.
REUTER
| "NORM" | [] | "NOT-USED" | "PUBLISHED-TESTSET" | "21836" | "17214" | [
"japan",
"ussr"
] | [] | [
"adb-asia"
] | [] | 26-APR-1987 23:32:09.99 | USSR ATTENDS ADB MEET, UNCERTAIN ON MEMBERSHIP |
Spring rain in the last few days has
helped ease a serious drought in most of north China, the New
China News Agency said.
It said rain fell in Peking, Shandong, Hebei, Henan,
Shanxi, Shaanxi, Qinghai, Sichuan and parts of Inner Mongolia.
It said the drought in Shanxi, north Hebei, north Shaanxi and
Peking has basically ended.
But snowfalls of 10 mm have affected spring sowing in
Liaoning, struck by abnormally cold and warm weather since
January, including rainfall 10 times more than normal in some
places, it said, but gave no more details.
REUTER
| "NORM" | [] | "NOT-USED" | "PUBLISHED-TESTSET" | "21837" | "17215" | [
"china"
] | [] | [] | [] | 26-APR-1987 23:42:23.02 | RAINFALL EASES DROUGHT IN NORTH CHINA |
President Reagan is expected to tell
Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone this week that the U.S. May be
able to lift trade sanctions against Japan by the end of June,
the New York Times said.
The newspaper, quoting administration officials, said that
under such a scenario the President would announce just before
the June 8-10 economic summit meeting in Venice that he hoped
to lift the restrictions on electronics imports by the end of
the month. Japan, for its part, would have to show that it had
stopped underpricing semiconductors and had widened access in
Japan for U.S. Chip producers.
The U.S. Administration imposed 100 pct tariffs on 300 mln
dlrs worth of Japanese color television sets, motorised tools
and personal computers on April 17.
Japanese officials have said Nakasone's main demand when he
arrives for talks with Reagan on Wednesday would be the
immediate lifting of the tariffs.
But with Congress planning further trade reprisals against
Japanese trade policies, the end-of-June timeframe is seen as
the best Reagan can offer, the Times said. It said some verbal
formulation was expected to be found in a communique that would
allow Nakasone to claim at least a modest victory.
REUTER
| "NORM" | [
"trade"
] | "NOT-USED" | "PUBLISHED-TESTSET" | "21838" | "17216" | [
"usa",
"japan"
] | [
"nakasone",
"reagan"
] | [] | [] | 27-APR-1987 00:44:20.00 | U.S. MAY TELL JAPAN SANCTIONS CAN END - NY TIMES |
The Philippines has received a 300
mln dlr loan from the Japanese Export-Import Bank, Philippine
Finance Minister Jaime Ongpin told Reuters.
Ongpin said the loan, carrying interest of 5.5 pct a year,
matches a 300 mln dlr economic recovery loan approved by the
World Bank in March.
Ongpin said Japanese Finance Minister Kiichi Miyazawa
expressed satisfaction at the recent rescheduling of the
Philippines' 10.3 billion dlr foreign debt during a meeting
here yesterday. The 14th yen aid package from Japan's Overseas
Economic Cooperation Fund was also discussed.
Ongpin said the Japan is expected to respond favourably to
a Philippine request to raise the aid level to between 75 and
80 billion yen.
The aid package, originally scheduled for Japan's 1986/87
fiscal year ended March, was delayed because of the
Philippines' change of government last year.
"The Japanese have indicated we may not get as much as we
are asking for in one big jump from the 13th yen package of 49
billion yen," he said. "But they are likely to bring it up to
that level for the 15th package."
Ongpin said Manila had 14 projects in the pipeline for the
14th yen package.
"We are trying get the 15th package mainly in the form of
untied commodity loans," he said.
Discussion on a Philippine request for 500 mln dlrs in soft
loans to finance a land reform program, for which Japan is
expected to supply most of the financing, had been put off
until next month because of delays in preparatory work.
Ongpin said he will make a strong pitch for the land reform
program in his speech on Tuesday at the 20th annual meeting of
the Asian Development Bank (ADB) here.
Ongpin said the Philippines is very happy about the ADB's
support after President Corazon Aquino took over from deposed
leader Ferdinand Marcos.
"But I would like to see them push more aggressively in the
field of lending to the private sector," he said.
The Philippines was the bank's second-biggest borrower
after Pakistan in 1986, with loans totalling 316 mln dlrs.
Ongpin said he expects ADB lending to the Philippines in
1987 to reach the same level.
"They have told us they can lend us two billion dlrs if we
want. But we have to come up with the projects," he said.
REUTER
| "NORM" | [] | "NOT-USED" | "PUBLISHED-TESTSET" | "21839" | "17217" | [
"japan",
"philippines"
] | [
"ongpin"
] | [
"adb-asia"
] | [] | 27-APR-1987 00:48:57.77 | PHILIPPINES TO GET 300 MLN DLR JAPANESE LOAN |
U.S. Treasury Secretary James Baker
has cancelled a trip to Australia because of pressing business
at home, including the visit this week by Japanese Prime
Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone, a Treasury spokesman said.
The spokesman, who asked not to be identified, said, "I
would not draw any conclusion from the cancellation ... I would
just say it's the press of business."
He said Nakasone's visit was "part of the press of business"
but denied the cancellation was linked to the current turmoil
in the financial markets.
REUTER
| "NORM" | [] | "NOT-USED" | "PUBLISHED-TESTSET" | "21840" | "17218" | [
"usa",
"australia"
] | [
"james-baker"
] | [] | [] | 27-APR-1987 00:53:25.17 | U.S. TREASURY SECRETARY CANCELS TRIP TO AUSTRALIA |
Fresh tremors hit the northern area of
the Indonesian island of Sumatra after an earthquake measuring
6.6 on the Richter scale yesterday and local officials told
Reuters they fear flooding after a dam was cracked.
Contacted by telephone, they said the area around the town
of Tarutung, south of the city of Medan and about 560 km west
of Singapore, was shaken by more tremors this morning.
The dam on the Sigeon river is leaking and there is a
possibility of flooding if it rains in the next few days before
repairs can be made, they said.
REUTER
| "NORM" | [] | "NOT-USED" | "PUBLISHED-TESTSET" | "21841" | "17219" | [
"indonesia"
] | [] | [] | [] | 27-APR-1987 01:08:32.41 | STRONG INDONESIAN EARTHQUAKE LEADS TO FLOOD FEARS |
Egypt is trying to persuade Arab states
and banks to buy its military debts to the United States and
other Western countries so it can repay them on better terms,
an Egyptian official said.
"We want the Arabs to buy the debt and reschedule it at a
more reasonable interest rate of up to seven pct," the official,
who asked not to be named, told Reuters.
Egypt owes the U.S. 4.5 billion dlrs in military debt and
has failed to persuade Washington to reduce interest rates on
it averaging about 14 pct.
Eqypt also owes France an undisclosed amount, estimated by
Arab diplomats at over two billion dlrs, and has not serviced
the debt for over a year. Other military debts are owed to
Spain, West Germany and Britain.
The official said negotiations on the possibility of buying
the debt have started, with approaches made to Kuwait and Saudi
Arabia, but no firm decisions have been reached.
The official also said the International Monetary Fund
(IMF) and Egypt have agreed on certain economic reforms in
return for emergency funds. An accord with the IMF would open
the way for Cairo to reschedule its 40 billion dlr debt.
The official said the IMF agreement requires Egypt to raise
energy prices to international levels, unify its multi-tiered
foreign exchange system and raise interest rates.
"Egypt will seek loans from various countries immediately
after the agreement with the IMF is signed," he said.
"If an Arab country buys part of the military debt or gives
us guarantees, it will encourage banks to step in," he added.
REUTER
| "NORM" | [] | "NOT-USED" | "PUBLISHED-TESTSET" | "21842" | "17220" | [
"egypt",
"usa"
] | [] | [
"imf"
] | [] | 27-APR-1987 01:11:59.67 | EGYPT SEEKS ARAB FUNDS TO BUY ITS MILITARY DEBTS |
A fire damaged a large stock of
imported sugar stored in a customs warehouse at Karachi on
Saturday night, customs officials said.
They said the warehouse contained about 15,000 tonnes of
sugar in 150,000 bags but they did not know how much had been
destroyed or damaged. They said the cause of the fire was
unknown.
REUTER
| "NORM" | [
"sugar"
] | "NOT-USED" | "PUBLISHED-TESTSET" | "21843" | "17221" | [
"pakistan"
] | [] | [] | [] | 27-APR-1987 01:16:14.62 | FIRE DAMAGES PAKISTAN SUGAR STOCK |
Malaysia may cut its base lending
rate by 0.75 to one percentage point from a current 8.5 pct in
June to stimulate economic growth, Finance Minister Daim
Zainuddin said.
The last cut, of 0.5 pct, was effected by banks and finance
companies on April 1 following a Central Bank directive.
The lending rate has been declining in recent months
because the Central Bank has injected more funds into the
economy, Daim told an assembly of the dominant Malay-based
United Malays National Organisation party.
Daim, who is also the party's Treasurer General, said
Malaysia's gross domestic product growth in 1987 is likely to
exceed the one pct forecast in his 1987 budget presented last
year. He gave no details of the expected rise.
GDP growth in 1986 was 0.5 pct.
REUTER
| "NORM" | [
"interest",
"gnp"
] | "NOT-USED" | "PUBLISHED-TESTSET" | "21844" | "17222" | [
"malaysia"
] | [] | [] | [] | 27-APR-1987 01:18:54.86 | MALAYSIA MAY CUT BASE LENDING RATE IN JUNE |
Taiwan's unemployment rate fell to 2.03
pct of the labour force in March from 2.37 pct in February and
2.79 pct in March 1986, the government statistics department
said.
A department official said the decline was due to rising
employment in the manufacturing sector, including textiles and
footwear.
The unemployed totalled 163,000 in March against 193,000 in
February and 216,000 in March 1986.
The labour force fell to 8.03 mln in March from 8.14 mln in
February and 7.74 mln in March 1986, it said.
REUTER
| "NORM" | [
"jobs"
] | "NOT-USED" | "PUBLISHED-TESTSET" | "21845" | "17223" | [
"taiwan"
] | [] | [] | [] | 27-APR-1987 01:28:05.50 | TAIWAN UNEMPLOYMENT FALLS IN MARCH |
Three Japanese trading companies and one
coin retailer will start selling Australia's Nugget gold coins
in Japan from May 12 after actively buying at the first
international trading of the coins last Thursday, officials
involved in the sale said.
They estimated Japanese companies bought 30 pct of 155,000
ounces sold on Thursday.
The coins are likely to be sold in Japan at prices similar
to the South African krugerrand.
REUTER
| "NORM" | [
"gold"
] | "NOT-USED" | "PUBLISHED-TESTSET" | "21846" | "17224" | [
"japan",
"australia"
] | [] | [] | [] | 27-APR-1987 01:29:37.16 | JAPANESE FIRMS TO SELL AUSTRALIAN GOLD COINS |
Algeria's national petroleum agency
Sonatrach and the U.S. Panhandle-Trunkline <PEL.N> group signed
a 20-year accord for the delivery of liquefied natural gas
(LNG), the official APS news agency said.
Deliveries will start next winter and rise over three years
to reach 4.5 billion cubic metres annually, with 60 pct of the
gas carried in Algerian ships to a terminal at Lake Charles,
La., APS said.
APS said the pricing formula will "preserve the purchasing
power of LNG and the interests of Sonatrach, and take into
account ... The world (and) the American market."
The agreement follows months of negotiations between
Panhandle Eastern Petroleum Corp and Sonatrach over the new LNG
contract.
The talks followed an accord in July 1986 which resolved a
long-standing dispute between Sonatrach and Panhandle
subsidiary <Trunkline Gas Co> after the U.S. Group unilaterally
suspended purchases of Algerian LNG.
REUTER
| "NORM" | [
"nat-gas"
] | "NOT-USED" | "PUBLISHED-TESTSET" | "21847" | "17225" | [
"algeria",
"usa"
] | [] | [] | [] | 27-APR-1987 01:31:05.62 | ALGERIA SIGNS MAJOR LNG DEAL WITH U.S. GROUP |
Foreigners were net sellers of Japanese
stocks in the week ended April 17 for the seventh consecutive
week, the Tokyo Stock Exchange said.
Net sales were 112.15 billion yen against 105.80 billion
the previous week.
Overseas investors sold shares worth 727.08 billion yen on
the Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya Exchanges, down 5.3 pct from the
previous week. They bought stock worth 614.93 billion yen, down
5.2 pct.
REUTER
| "NORM" | [] | "NOT-USED" | "PUBLISHED-TESTSET" | "21848" | "17226" | [
"japan"
] | [] | [] | [
"tse"
] | 27-APR-1987 01:33:55.58 | FOREIGN INVESTORS NET SELLERS OF JAPANESE STOCKS |
Central bank governors
from Spain, Latin America and the Caribbean will meet here this
week for two separate conferences on finance and monetary
problems, the Central Bank of Barbados said.
The 24th session of Central Bank governors of the American
continent opens today for two days and the central bank
governors of Latin America and Spain will hold a separate
conference from April 29-30.
Representatives of the Inter-American Development Bank, the
International Monetary Fund and other international financial
organisations will attend both conferences.
REUTER
| "NORM" | [] | "NOT-USED" | "PUBLISHED-TESTSET" | "21849" | "17227" | [
"barbados",
"spain"
] | [] | [] | [] | 27-APR-1987 01:42:06.31 | LATIN AMERICAN, SPANISH BANK GOVERNORS TO MEET |
Finance minister Manuel Azpurua said he
will visit Japan in mid-May to seek new credits for planned
expansion in Venezuela's state-owned aluminum, steel and
petrochemical industries.
Azpurua told reporters he will be accompanied by central
bank president Hernan Anzola and director of public finance
Jorge Marcano.
"The idea is to hold meetings with Japanese economic and
financial authorities, with the banks which have business and
credits in Venezuela and with some of the Japanese companies
already active here," Azpurua said.
Azpurua said he was optimistic about the trip, in light of
Japan's recent announcement it will disburse 30 billion dlrs in
new credit to Latin American countries.
"I think this trip is being taken at an opportune time and
will allow us to reveal the potencial which this country holds
for the Japanese economic community," Azpurua said.
He would not say how much Venezuela will seek in credits
from Japan.
REUTER
| "NORM" | [
"alum",
"iron-steel",
"pet-chem"
] | "NOT-USED" | "PUBLISHED-TESTSET" | "21850" | "17228" | [
"venezuela",
"japan"
] | [] | [] | [] | 27-APR-1987 02:00:12.82 | VENEZUELA FINANCE MINISTER TO SEEK JAPANESE CREDIT |
Japan's preliminary industrial production
index (base 1980) rose 0.7 pct to a seasonally adjusted 122.8
in March from the previous month, the Ministry of International
Trade and Industry said.
Production had fallen 0.2 in Feburary from a month earlier.
The preliminary, unadjusted March index fell 0.2 pct from a
year earlier after remaining flat in Feburary.
The adjusted March producers' shipment index (same base)
fell 0.6 to 117.3 from February. The unadjusted index rose 0.3
pct from a year earlier.
The adjusted March index of producers' inventories of
finished goods (same base) rose 0.7 pct to 105.4 from Feburary.
The unadjusted index fell 1.1 pct from a year earlier.
REUTER
| "NORM" | [
"ipi",
"inventories"
] | "NOT-USED" | "PUBLISHED-TESTSET" | "21851" | "17229" | [
"japan"
] | [] | [] | [] | 27-APR-1987 02:21:13.19 | JAPAN INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION RISES IN MARCH |
The Bank of Japan intervened in the
market, buying a moderate amount of dollars around 137.80-85
yen, dealers said.
Some dealers noted talk that the Bundesbank intervened here
directly buying dollars against marks, after reports that it
intervened through the Bank of Japan in the morning.
The dollar moved up on short-covering aided by the central
bank intervention, they said.
REUTER
| "NORM" | [
"money-fx",
"dlr"
] | "NOT-USED" | "PUBLISHED-TESTSET" | "21852" | "17230" | [
"japan"
] | [] | [] | [] | 27-APR-1987 02:30:57.13 | BANK OF JAPAN INTERVENES IN TOKYO |
The U.S. Secretary of Commerce
Malcolm Baldrige said a further decline of the dollar would not
be productive.
He told reporters here that Treasury Secretary James Baker
"feels, and I feel the same way, that a further dollar fall
would be counterproductive."
Baldrige also said governments cannot determine long-term
currency exchange rates and that currencies would eventually
reflect underlying economic fundamentals.
The U.S. Commerce Secretary is in Hong Kong after stops in
Peking and Seoul on an Asian trade tour.
REUTER
| "NORM" | [
"money-fx",
"dlr"
] | "NOT-USED" | "PUBLISHED-TESTSET" | "21853" | "17231" | [
"hong-kong",
"usa"
] | [] | [] | [] | 27-APR-1987 02:37:14.92 | BALDRIGE SAYS FURTHER DOLLAR FALL NOT PRODUCTIVE |
C. Itoh and Co Ltd <CITT.T> said in a
statement it has agreed in principle to buy a Cray Research Inc
<CYR> X-MP supercomputer worth 8.3 mln dlrs.
The computer will be paid for and used by the Century
Research Center (CRC), a research body specialising in civil
engineering, in which C. Itoh has a 36.2 pct stake, a company
spokesman said. The final contract will be signed on May 15 and
delivery is scheduled for December this year.
The U.S. Administration has been urging Japan to buy more
U.S. Supercomputers to help relieve trade friction and reduce
Japan's trade surplus with the U.S.
The supercomputer will the eighth such machine sold to a
Japanese concern, the spokesman said.
He said Cray has about 70 pct of the world supercomputer
market but under 10 pct in Japan.
Fujitsu Ltd dominates the Japanese market for such
machines, industry sources said.
Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp, which bought a Cray
supercomputer in 1984 when it was publicly-owned, is the only
government-owned entity to have done so. Trade Minister Hajime
Tamura was quoted as saying last week that the government is
considering buying U.S. Supercomputers.
REUTER
| "NORM" | [] | "NOT-USED" | "PUBLISHED-TESTSET" | "21854" | "17232" | [
"japan",
"usa"
] | [] | [] | [] | 27-APR-1987 02:42:56.63 | C. ITOH TO BUY CRAY SUPERCOMPUTER |
A Chinese newspaper said the country
must be careful about introducing credit instruments to avoid
the risk of an uncontrolled credit expansion.
It said: "The introduction of credit, while undoubtedly
facilitating business, could result in unhealthy expansion of
the volume of money in circulation..." adding that the ordinary
consumer must learn how to use credit wisely.
The paper said in an editorial that "a sound approach and
one that will not entail the risks of introducing uncontrolled
expansion of credit into the monetary system is the present one
of issuing renminbi in larger denomications."
Today, the first two of nine new bank notes, including
notes for 50- and 100-yuan were introduced. The largest
denomination had been 10 yuan.
The paper said the new notes are necessary because of the
rapid development of the economy, which has made it
inconvenient to carry large amounts of cash in small
denominations.
Economists have been urging that personal cheques, buying
on instalment, letters of credit and credit cards be introduced
more widely, it added.
REUTER
| "NORM" | [
"money-supply"
] | "NOT-USED" | "PUBLISHED-TESTSET" | "21855" | "17233" | [
"china"
] | [] | [] | [] | 27-APR-1987 02:44:18.17 | CHINA CALLS FOR CAUTION ON NEW CREDIT INSTRUMENTS |
India, which received its first
loans from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in 1986, expects to
increase borrowing this year, an Indian official said.
The official, a member of the Indian delegation at the
ADB's annual meeting here, told Reuters the bank is likely to
approve three loans totalling between 350 and 400 mln dlrs in
1987, up from the 250 mln in two loans in 1986.
The official said negotiations on a 100 mln dlr loan for
the modernisation of the Haldia and Madras ports had been
completed and only need approval by the bank's board.
The official said an ADB team is now in India for a survey
of the second project involving imports of railway locomotives.
He said the bank was also likely to extend a credit line to the
Industrial Development Bank of India.
The ADB in 1986 extended a 100 mln dlr line of credit to
state-owned Industrial Finance Corp of India.
The official said the ADB wants to gradually expand lending
to India. "They (the bank) do not want their traditional
borrowers from smaller countries in the region to get
overwhelmed by (India and China)," he said. China is expected to
receive its first ADB loan this year.
"We are quite satisfied at having opened this new window in
borrowing," the official said. "Our projects are being vetted
quickly. We have no complaints."
He said the ADB in any case would not be able to match
Indian borrowing needs.
"In fiscal 1986/87 ending June India will borrow two billion
dlrs from the World Bank alone," he said.
"That represents the total ADB lending to all its borrowers
in 1986."
The official said total Indian development assistance from
multilateral and bilateral creditors is likely to total four
billion dlrs in 1986/87.
Asked to comment on U.S. Criticism of the quality of ADB
lending, the official said: "The ADB is a regional bank and
ought to have a better understanding of realities in Asia."
"You cannot apply World Bank conditionalities everywhere," he
said. "The U.S. Cannot impose one yardstick for every country."
REUTER
| "NORM" | [] | "NOT-USED" | "PUBLISHED-TESTSET" | "21856" | "17234" | [
"japan",
"india"
] | [] | [
"adb-asia"
] | [] | 27-APR-1987 03:06:12.08 | INDIAN BORROWING FROM ADB SEEN RISING |
Taiwan accused China of trying to
downgrade its international status by forcing the Asian
Development Bank (ADB) to change its name in the organisation.
Taiwan is boycotting the annual meeting of the ADB, which
opened in Tokyo today, in protest at the Bank's decision to
change its name to "Taipei, China" from "Republic of China" after
admitting China as a member.
"It is a plot by China to downgrade Taiwan's status in the
organisation," Foreign Ministry spokesman Cheyne Chiu told a
news conference.
REUTER
| "NORM" | [] | "NOT-USED" | "PUBLISHED-TESTSET" | "21857" | "17235" | [
"taiwan",
"china"
] | [] | [
"adb-asia"
] | [] | 27-APR-1987 03:15:44.58 | TAIWAN ACCUSES CHINA OF UNDERMINING ITS ADB STATUS |
The Reagan Administration is
considering tax incentives to boost oil output and restore
100,000 jobs, U.S. Energy Secretary John Herrington said.
A tax credit for new exploration would be part of a package
to bring 1,000 idle drilling rigs back into operation and raise
domestic production by one mln barrels a day, he said.
The tax status of exploration might also be changed,
Herrington told reporters at the World Petroleum Congress.
He said the oil industry was experiencing difficult times
internationally and had been devastated in the United States.
Consumer demand and a significant decline in domestic
production has resulted in a rise in oil imports of one mln
barrels a day in over the last 16 months, Herrington said.
"Steps must be taken...To reverse the downturn in our
domestic energy industry and to safeguard and increase our
energy security," he said.
The administration is committed to improving marketplace
conditions and incentives to spur exploration and development.
"This commitment includes rejecting quick fix solutions,
like an oil import fee, which are bad for the United States and
bad for the world," he added.
REUTER
| "NORM" | [
"crude"
] | "NOT-USED" | "PUBLISHED-TESTSET" | "21858" | "17236" | [
"usa"
] | [
"herrington"
] | [] | [] | 27-APR-1987 03:28:31.23 | U.S. CONSIDERING OIL INDUSTRY TAX INCENTIVES |
Bangladesh's overall balance of payments
deficit narrowed to 3.03 mln U.S. Dlrs in November from 8.3 mln
in October and 22.63 mln in November 1985, Central Bank
officials said.
The current account deficit increased to 28.68 mln dlrs in
November against 10.69 mln in October and 55.19 mln in November
1985.
The trade deficit rose to 88 mln dlrs from 36.36 mln in
October and 86.2 mln in November 1985.
REUTER
| "NORM" | [
"bop",
"trade"
] | "NOT-USED" | "PUBLISHED-TESTSET" | "21859" | "17237" | [
"bangladesh"
] | [] | [] | [] | 27-APR-1987 03:37:56.22 | BANGLADESH PAYMENTS DEFICIT NARROWS IN NOVEMBER |
Total world closing stocks of primary
zinc at smelters, excluding Eastern Bloc countries, fell 31,800
tonnes to 432,800 tonnes in March from a corrected February
figure of 464,600 tonnes, provisional European Zinc Institute
figures show.
This compares with 403,300 tonnes in March last year.
Total European stocks of primary zinc, excluding
Yugoslavia, fell 10,100 tonnes to 149,900 tonnes in March from
160,000 tonnes in February, against 131,300 tonnes in March
last year.
REUTER
| "NORM" | [
"zinc"
] | "NOT-USED" | "PUBLISHED-TESTSET" | "21860" | "17238" | [
"netherlands"
] | [] | [] | [] | 27-APR-1987 03:47:51.53 | WORLD MARCH ZINC SMELTER STOCKS FALL 31,800 TONNES |
President Jaime Lusinchi is preparing
an economic package in response to demands from organised
labour in Venezuela for a general wage increase and controls on
inflation, the state news agency Venpres reported.
Venpres said the plan includes pay hikes and a "strategy
against indiscriminate increases in prices or speculation."
The Venezuelan Workers Confederation (CTV), the country's
largest labour group, last week proposed a general wage
increase of between 10 and 30 pct and a six-month freeze on
consumer prices and on layoffs.
The CTV asked Lusinchi to respond to its proposal before
the May 1 Workers' Day holiday.
Labour's demands comes as private economists forecast
inflation will reach between 25 and 30 pct in 1987 as the
country begins to feel the effects of the December devaluation
of the bolivar by 100 pct against the dollar.
Inflation increased 4.2 pct in the first two months of
1987, almost double the rate in the same 1986 period.
Venpres said Lusinchi is prepared to approve some price
increases, but intends to protect the public against
speculation and indiscriminate hikes in the cost of living.
REUTER
| "NORM" | [
"cpi"
] | "NOT-USED" | "PUBLISHED-TESTSET" | "21861" | "17239" | [
"venezuela"
] | [] | [] | [] | 27-APR-1987 03:51:50.46 | VENEZUELA PREPARING NEW WAGE, INFLATION PLAN |
Japanese Finance Minister Kiichi Miyazawa
told a parliamentary Upper House budget committee that he does
not think the dollar is in a freefall.
He said concerted intervention is only a supplementary
measure to moderate volatility in exchange rates and repeated
that policy coordination among major industrial nations is
necessary. "We cannot expect currency stability only through
coordinated market intervention," he said.
Miyazawa also told the committee the U.S. Has not called on
Japan to cut its 2.5 pct discount rate.
Miyazawa said the government is not considering investing
in U.S. Government bonds to help stabilize exchange rates. This
matter has to be dealt with carefully because it involves the
public's money and exchange rates are moving widely, he added.
The ministry will consider where to invest its funds when
exchange rates become stable, he said.
Asked if Japan is considering a request to the U.S. For it
to raise its discount rate to stabilize exchange rates,
Miyazawa said the U.S. Has not been able to take action now
because it has to maintain its economic growth.
REUTER
| "NORM" | [
"money-fx",
"dlr",
"interest"
] | "NOT-USED" | "PUBLISHED-TESTSET" | "21862" | "17240" | [
"japan",
"usa"
] | [
"miyazawa"
] | [] | [] | 27-APR-1987 03:55:26.22 | MIYAZAWA DOES NOT THINK DOLLAR IN FREEFALL |
Good soaking rain is boosting the sugar
cane crop in the key Mackay region of Queensland following a
prolonged dry spell relieved only by intermittent falls, an
Australian Sugar Producers Association spokesman told Reuters.
The rains began late last week, developed into heavy
downpours over the weekend and are continuing today, he said
from Brisbane.
The Mackay and Burdekin regions, which together grow about
half the Australian cane crop, have been the Queensland cane
areas hardest hit by unseasonal dry weather since December.
The spokesman said the rain missed the Burdekin area, just
to the north of the Mackay region on the central Queensland
coastal fringe, although recent light showers have freshened
the crop there.
Owing to the dry spell in the Mackay and Burdekin areas,
the overall 1987 Australian cane crop is likely to be below the
25.4 mln tonnes crushed in 1986 for a 94 net titre raws outturn
of 3.37 mln tonnes, he said.
But any decline will not be as great as seemed likely a
couple of months ago when it appeared the Mackay-Burdekin crops
were going to suffer badly, he said.
Preliminary crop estimates are expected to be available
early next month, the spokesman said.
The crush in the Mackay-Burdekin is likely to start later
this year, in late June or early July against mid-June last
year, to allow the cane to grow and sweeten further, he said.
The crush normally runs to around the end of December.
Elsewhere in the sugar belt, the cane is doing well, with
some mill areas expecting record crops, he said.
Industry records show variations in the crop are not always
mirrored in raws output. In 1985, 24.4 mln tonnes of sweeter
cane than in 1986 produced 3.38 mln tonnes of raws.
REUTER
| "NORM" | [
"sugar"
] | "NOT-USED" | "PUBLISHED-TESTSET" | "21863" | "17241" | [
"australia"
] | [] | [] | [] | 27-APR-1987 03:59:25.25 | SOAKING RAINS BOOST DRY AUSTRALIAN SUGAR CANE AREA |
The Bundesbank urged the West German
government not to relax efforts to rein in spending when taxes
are cut in a 1990 fiscal reform package, saying that higher
expenditure could lead to a dangerous rise in interest rates.
The Bundesbank's 1986 annual report said the government's
choice of measures to compensate for any cut in tax income was
a key political task. "There will also be consequences for the
state's attitude on spending," it said.
It added that, while tax cuts should have a stimulatory
effect on the economy, the government should not expect any
significant increase in tax income in the short-term.
The reform will cut taxes by a gross 44 billion marks, of
which 19 billion marks will be financed through as yet
unspecified measures.
The Bundesbank noted that reducing tax preferences and
financial grants as well as raising some indirect taxes were
being considered.
"As experience shows that a tax cut is not self-financing
... The question remains of how the rest of the tax cuts will
be financed," the Bundesbank said.
The Bundesbank noted that in 1986, spending had increased
by more than the three pct annual average rise for 1982 to
1986. If this three pct limit were exceeded over a long period,
there would be a danger that increased new borrowing would be
necessary to finance deficits.
It added that interest rates in West Germany were now low,
partly because of a high influx of foreign funds. But the
situation would become more difficult if the government's
credit requirements increased massively. "The anticipated
stimulatory effects on the economy from the tax cuts could be
thrown into jeopardy by higher interest rates," it said.
REUTER
| "NORM" | [] | "NOT-USED" | "PUBLISHED-TESTSET" | "21864" | "17242" | [
"west-germany"
] | [] | [] | [] | 27-APR-1987 04:00:37.90 | BUNDESBANK CALL TO BONN ON OVER-SPENDING RISKS |
Germany's current account and trade
surpluses should narrow sharply in 1987 but they will take a
long time to get back to normal levels, the Bundesbank said in
its 1986 yearly report.
The procedure would be slow as an abrupt turnaround in
external factors such as oil prices and exchange rates was not
expected. It did not specify what levels it considered normal.
West Germany posted a record trade surplus of 124 billion
marks in 1986, after 86 billion in 1985 and its current account
surplus widened to 76.50 billion from 44.6 billion.
Signs imports would continue to rise, a factor already
noted at the start of 1986, while exports rose only slightly,
would lead to a smaller trade surplus, the Bundesbank said.
In real terms, West German imports rose 5.7 pct in 1986
while exports only increased by 0.8 pct.
Germany's current account surplus widened to a provisional
6.6 billion in February from 4.8 billion in January but was
down from 6.85 billion posted in February 1986.
The trade surplus in February widened to a provisional 10.4
billion marks from 7.2 billion in January and was still above
the 6.84 billion reached in the same month the year before.
REUTER
| "NORM" | [
"bop",
"trade"
] | "NOT-USED" | "PUBLISHED-TESTSET" | "21865" | "17243" | [
"west-germany"
] | [] | [] | [] | 27-APR-1987 04:02:40.00 | GERMAN TRADE SURPLUS SHOULD NARROW, BUNDESBANK SAYS |
The Bank of Japan's deputy governor
Yasushi Mieno told a parliamentary Upper House budget committee
that the central bank has no monetary measures other than
intervention planned to stabilize currency rates.
He also said the Bank of Japan is not considering a cut in
its 2.5 pct discount rate.
Mieno said the central bank is determined to restore
currency stability through intervention by the major industrial
nations as recent exchange rate volatility stems from
speculation. Economic fundamentals have not changed, he added.
REUTER
| "NORM" | [
"money-fx",
"interest"
] | "NOT-USED" | "PUBLISHED-TESTSET" | "21866" | "17244" | [
"japan"
] | [] | [] | [] | 27-APR-1987 04:24:43.50 | BANK OF JAPAN DEPUTY SAYS NO NEW MEASURES PLANNED |
U.S. Secretary of Commerce Malcolm
Baldrige said he hopes Japanese Prime Minister Yasuhiro
Nakasone will make specific proposals to ease U.S.-Japan trade
friction at a meeting with President Reagan this week.
He also told reporters he hopes the U.S. Will soon be able
to lift sanctions imposed against Japan for alleged violations
of an accord on semiconductors.
"We have been very specific about our trade problems," he
told a news conference during a stopover in Hong Kong. "I hope
(Nakasone) brings some specific answers to the trade problems."
"We want to lift the sanctions as soon as possible," Baldrige
said.
He said that once the U.S. Determines that Japan is selling
semiconductors at cost it will be able to lift the 300 mln U.S.
Dlrs of duties it imposed on Japanese electronics goods on
April 17.
"We have not seen that yet," he said, adding that it would
take about one month to determine whether the alleged
violations of a bilateral semiconductor pact had been
discontinued.
Baldrige did not say what specific solutions he wanted for
U.S.-Japan trade problems.
But the New York Times today quoted administration sources
as saying that the U.S. May be able to lift trade sanctions
against Japan by the end of June.
Japan would have to show that it had stopped underpricing
semiconductors and had widened access in Japan top U.S. Chip
producers.
Baldrige also said that despite the current trade rift, the
U.S. And Japan have long had friendly ties that neither side
wants to change.
"We have a very special relationship with Japan. Japan is a
friend and our ally," Baldrige said. "Neither one of us wants
that to change."
He also repeated statements that he did not foresee a trade
war with Japan but that the U.S. Had no choice but to impose
the trade sanctions.
REUTER
| "NORM" | [
"trade"
] | "NOT-USED" | "PUBLISHED-TESTSET" | "21867" | "17245" | [
"hong-kong",
"usa",
"japan"
] | [] | [] | [] | 27-APR-1987 04:28:43.31 | BALDRIGE SAYS U.S. WANTS JAPAN TRADE PROPOSALS |
Central bank money stock was growing
at about seven pct in the first quarter of 1987, down from
9-1/2 pct in the second half of 1986, so there are signs that
the pace of growth is slowing even though it is still above
target, the Bundesbank said in its 1986 annual report.
The Bundesbank set a target range of three to six pct
growth from fourth quarter 1986 to fourth quarter 1987 for
central bank money stock. In the previous year it grew 7.7 pct,
outside the 3-1/2 to 5-1/2 pct target range.
The Bundesbank noted that monetary policy in 1986 was
limited by a series of external factors.
These included the revaluation of the mark, growing foreign
payments surpluses of non-banks, and currency inflows.
The Bundesbank therefore tolerated the monetary overshoot
in 1986, as an attempt to counter monetary expansion with
interest rate and liquidity moves would have increased upward
pressure on the mark, it said.
The lower end of the 1987 target range would be realistic
if a large part of funds currently held in a liquid form were
invested in long-term bank accounts or bonds, public bonds or
foreign securities, the Bundesbank said.
But if companies and private households continue to hold
their funds in liquid forms, or if there are further currency
inflows, growth will be closer to the upper end of the range.
"The more the conflict between external constraints and
domestic objectives relaxes -- and many things point to this at
the time of writing this report -- the more possible it will be
to do justice again to the medium-term concept of money supply
control," the Bundesbank said.
It noted that prices were beginning to tend upwards again
at the start of 1987.
There would be virtually no easing of other production
costs in 1987 to compensate for the rise in unit-wage costs.
"Nevertheless, no inflationary trends are likely to set in
this year," the Bundesbank said.
A link between excessive monetary growth and intensifying
price rises can only be observed in the long term, it added.
The continuing trend for non-banks to switch into long-term
borrowing to take advantage of low interest rates, while for
the same reason shunning long-term investments, increases the
risks in changing interest rates for banks refinancing
themselves with variable-interest deposits, it added.
REUTER
| "NORM" | [
"money-supply"
] | "NOT-USED" | "PUBLISHED-TESTSET" | "21868" | "17246" | [
"west-germany"
] | [] | [] | [] | 27-APR-1987 04:52:43.21 | SIGN OF SLOWING IN GERMAN MONEY GROWTH -BUNDESBANK |
A top United Arab Emirates (UAE)
banker said a new law would be introduced soon obliging courts
to recognise interest rates contracted between bank and
borrower.
Sheikh Suroor bin Sultan al-Dhahiri, Chairman of Abu Dhabi
Commercial Bank, told reporters after the shareholders' meeting
last night the decree would make interest in debt cases payable
at the contracted rate up to the day a case is filed in court.
Subsequently, interest would be charged at a maximum nine
pct for personal and 12 pct for corporate loans, he said.
The law, if passed, would mark a breakthrough in solving
what UAE bankers say is one of their biggest problems,
collecting bad debts in court.
Under current UAE law in all emirates, except Dubai, courts
recognise only simple interest at a maximum nine and 12 pct
even if a loan was contracted at higher compounded rates.
The Central Bank said last year that roughly a quarter of
total loans in the UAE banking system were non-performing.
Sheikh Suroor also said a judicial committee set up to consider
debt cases would begin functioning within a month.
REUTER
| "NORM" | [
"interest"
] | "NOT-USED" | "PUBLISHED-TESTSET" | "21869" | "17247" | [
"uae"
] | [] | [] | [] | 27-APR-1987 04:55:17.67 | UAE TO RECOGNISE CONTRACTUAL INTEREST RATES |
Attempts to hold currency rates
rigidly within tight ranges through European Monetary System
intramarginal intervention can be counterproductive, bringing
funds into the stronger currency from the weaker at rates still
considered fairly favourable, the Bundesbank said.
"The movements thus sparked can actually promote the weaker
tendency of a currency, requiring still larger obligatory
intervention when rates hit band limits," it said in its 1986
annual report. The other danger was that money supply expansion
could be caused in the stronger currency nation without its
central bank being involved in the activity.
"For this reason, currency levels should be allowed as much
room for manoeuvre as possible inside the band limits when a
currency is in a phase of weakness," the Bundesbank said.
"In addition, speculative positions are made more expensive
to hold when interest differentials are increased."
In the report, the Bundesbank gave a rare glimpse of the
extent of intramarginal and obligatory EMS intervention that
has taken place since the foundation of the eight-currency
system on March 13, 1979.
Obligatory intervention is that required by EMS central
banks when a currency reaches its agreed limit against another
participating unit.
Intramarginal intervention is undertaken on agreement
between central banks when speculative pressure moves a
currency in an unwanted direction, although it may not yet be
near any allowed EMS limits.
At the start of this year, central banks were very actively
selling marks and supporting weaker currencies, primarily the
French franc, as speculative EMS pressure grew.
But the announcement by the Bank of France that it was
ceasing intramarginal intervention sent the franc straight to
its then-permitted floor of 31.8850 marks per 100.
Data in the Bundesbank report showed the EMS central banks
bought a net total 29.9 billion marks after the April 6, 1986
realignment until the selling petered out on July 7.
But this was far outweighed by net purchases between July
8, 1986, and the realignment on January 12 this year totalling
63.0 billion marks - 44.1 billion of which was intramarginal
and 18.9 billion was obligatory intervention.
The data showed that 17.4 billion marks of the total
eventually filtered into the West German monetary system.
Since the latest realignment, central banks have bought
16.1 billion marks in intramarginal intervention, the
Bundesbank said, without naming the banks involved.
Only very high activity after the March 21, 1983
realignment came close to matching moves up to last January.
Then, central banks bought a massive 61.6 billion marks in the
period up to July 1985, mainly to stabilise the EMS as the
dollar surged.
This then turned into mark sales of a net 34.0 billion from
July 11, 1985 in the run-up to the April 1986 realignment.
REUTER
| "NORM" | [
"money-fx"
] | "NOT-USED" | "PUBLISHED-TESTSET" | "21870" | "17248" | [
"west-germany"
] | [] | [] | [] | 27-APR-1987 05:19:15.02 | EMS INTERVENTION SAID SOMETIMES COUNTERPRODUCTIVE |
Chancellor Helmut Kohl has decided to
keep Bundesbank President Karl Otto Poehl in office for a
further eight years, the news magazine Der Spiegel said.
Government officials were not immediately available to
comment on the report, which said that because Poehl is a
member of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), Kohl had not taken
the decision lightly.
Poehl has been Bundesbank chief since January 1, 1980,
while Kohl's conservative/liberal coalition has held power
since 1982.
Der Spiegel said Kohl would have preferred to offer the
post to a member of his Christian Democratic Union (CDU).
But the magazine noted Poehl enjoyed a good international
reputation. Officials have often said Poehl and CDU Finance
Minister Gerhard Stoltenberg hold each other in high regard.
Poehl's current term expires at the end of this year.
Officials have said no date has been set for an announcement on
whether his tenure will be extended.
Poehl was made an economic adviser to SPD Chancellor Willy
Brandt in 1971. A year later he was appointed State Secretary
at the Finance Ministry when former SPD Chancellor Helmut
Schmidt was Finance Minister.
There has recently been press speculation that the
Bundesbank presidency may be offered to Poehl's deputy, Helmut
Schlesinger, a conservative monetarist.
According to these reports, Schlesinger would be replaced
two years later by CDU member Hans Tietmeyer, the current
Finance Ministry State Secretary.
Also under discussion as president was Johann Wilhelm
Gaddum, a member of the Bundesbank board and a CDU member who
is known to be close to Kohl.
REUTER
| "NORM" | [] | "NOT-USED" | "PUBLISHED-TESTSET" | "21871" | "17249" | [
"west-germany"
] | [
"poehl",
"kohl"
] | [] | [] | 27-APR-1987 05:46:13.54 | POEHL TO REMAIN BUNDESBANK CHIEF, MAGAZINE SAYS |
Coats Viyella Plc <CPAT.L> and <Youghal
Carpets (Holdings) Plc> have agreed to merge on the basis of an
offer from Coats, a joint statement said.
Coats is offering one Irish penny in cash per Youghal
ordinary share. The offer also covers shares arising on
conversion of Youghal convertible preference shares.
As an alternative, Coats is offering a convertible
redeemable note of 10 pence sterling per Youghal ordinary
share.
The notes being offered will have the right to conversion
into Coats Viyella ordinary shares or redemption at 10 pence
stg in 10 years time, the statement said.
For 1986, Coats Vieylla had pre-tax profits of 182 mln stg
on turnover of 1.75 billion stg. Youghal in 1986 had a pre-tax
profit of 205,000 Irish pounds on turnover of 44.5 mln Irish
pounds.
Foir Teoranta, which holds four mln Youghal ordinary shares
plus preference shares which are convertible into 27.6 mln
ordinary shares, has irrevocably undertaken to accept the
offer.
The cash terms value Youghal at 538,000 Irish pounds.
REUTER
| "NORM" | [
"acq"
] | "NOT-USED" | "PUBLISHED-TESTSET" | "21872" | "17250" | [
"uk"
] | [] | [] | [] | 27-APR-1987 05:47:32.88 | COATS VIYELLA MAKES AGREED BID FOR YOUGHAL |
South Africa's trade surplus fell
sharply to 940.8 mln rand in March after rising to 1.62 billion
in February, Customs and Excise figures show.
In February last year the surplus stood at 752.8 mln rand.
Exports fell to 3.24 mln rand in March from 3.36 billion in
February while imports rose to 2.30 billion rand from 1.74
billion.
This brought total exports for the first quarter of this
year to 9.92 billion rand and imports to 6.45 billion rand for
a surplus of 3.47 billion versus 2.47 billion rand in the same
in 1986 period.
REUTER
| "NORM" | [
"trade"
] | "NOT-USED" | "PUBLISHED-TESTSET" | "21873" | "17251" | [
"south-africa"
] | [] | [] | [] | 27-APR-1987 06:03:23.49 | SOUTH AFRICAN TRADE SURPLUS FALLS SHARPLY IN MARCH |
The resignation of Finance Minister
Dilson Funaro is bound to focus attention on whether Brazil
will now adopt a more flexible debt stance and move towards an
accord with creditors, bankers and political analysts said.
With Funaro in charge, Brazil's relations with creditors
sank to a low ebb, they said.
Bankers told anti-Funaro jokes from Sao Paulo to New York
and economic analysts said the personal animosity between the
minister and U.S. Bankers was a real obstacle to reaching
agreement on rescheduling Brazil's 111 billion dlr debt.
Commenting on Funaro, a foreign banker here recently told
Reuters, "They (banks) see his removal pretty much as a
precondition for getting serious negotiations under way."
Funaro angered the banks in February by suspending interest
payment on Brazil's 68 billion dlr bank debt.
There was also a question of personal style. Bankers
disliked Funaro's aloof demeanor and in private heatedly
accused him of arrogance and inflexibility.
However, Funaro did not fall because he upset foreign
bankers but rather because his Cruzado Plan price freeze last
year was a massive flop, economically and politically.
However, it is in the domain of the debt and Brazil's
relation with creditors that his departure will have the most
closely-watched international repercussion, bankers said.
It became part of Funaro's trademark that he would have no
truck with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), thus
effectively blocking a debt agreement.
He argued that if Brazil sought the help of the IMF, the
Fund would lay down conditions which would lead to recession.
Funaro and others who supported this position had memories
of the IMF austerity program in Brazil in the early 1980s, a
period when hungry crowds stormed supermarkets.
The foreign banker in Sao Paulo said, "I think Brazil could
have an agreement with the IMF which would allow (it)
acceptable growth."
Argentina, working with the IMF, won excellent terms for a
major portion of its 50 billion dlr debt earlier this month.
Given the IMF role in the Argentine accord, a U.S. Diplomat
here said the agreement had been extremely damaging for Funaro
because it showed that cooperation with the IMF bore fruit.
Mexico has also taken the IMF path and, earlier than
Argentina, clinched a favourable pioneering agreement with
creditors on its 100 billion dlr debt.
Brazil is now the only one of the three biggest Latin
American debtors not to have a debt agreement.
Some Brazilian opinion, particularly in the business
community, is favourable to an IMF accord.
A leading newspaper, Jornal do Brazil, carried a report
from Washington over the weekend saying it was a myth the IMF
brought recession and the best moment for an accord was now. As
it happens, a routine IMF mission is visiting Brasilia.
The government has repeatedly dismissed speculation it is
considering any major change in debt policy and political
analysts caution against expecting changes on the IMF issue.
The government of President Jose Sarney has gained a
reputation for chronic indecisiveness and some analysts believe
the government will turn to the IMF only if it comes to the
conclusion there really is no option.
But such a policy shift looks more and more likely before
too long in the eyes of many analysts.
One major political obstacle, Funaro, is no longer in the
picture and the economic pressures on Brazil are growing.
The sharp drop in the trade surplus, which triggered
Brazil's present debt crisis, shows no sign of being reversed.
In the first quarter of 1987 Brazil chalked up a surplus of
only 526 mln dlrs, just a fraction of the 2.47 billion dlr
surplus it had in the same period last year.
Brazilian officials concede that time is not on their side
in the debt crisis.
"Brazil has an interest in resolving this problem as rapidly
as possible," Central Bank President Francisco Gros said on
Friday.
REUTER
| "NORM" | [] | "NOT-USED" | "PUBLISHED-TESTSET" | "21874" | "17252" | [
"brazil"
] | [] | [
"imf"
] | [] | 27-APR-1987 06:05:46.79 | FUNARO'S DEPARTURE COULD LEAD TO BRAZIL DEBT DEAL |
Shares in Kloeckner-Werke AG <KLKG.F>
were suspended from stock exchange trading pending an
announcement expected by the company today or tomorrow, a
bourse spokesman said, without giving further details.
Kloeckner shares closed Friday at 67.20 marks. They had
come under pressure in recent sessions on reports the company
may be exposed to as much as 300 mln marks in debts as a result
of the bankruptcy of steelmaker Eisenwerk-Gesellschaft
Maximilanshuette mbH (Maxhuette).
Kloeckner owns just over 49 pct of the share capital in the
Bavarian-based Maxhuette.
REUTER
| "NORM" | [] | "NOT-USED" | "PUBLISHED-TESTSET" | "21875" | "17253" | [
"west-germany"
] | [] | [] | [] | 27-APR-1987 06:07:02.53 | KLOECKNER-WERKE SHARES SUSPENDED IN FRANKFURT |
Oil prices have stabilized in world
markets and demand is likely to increase in the second half of
the year, Indonesia's Mines and Energy Minister Subroto said.
He told a meeting of oil industry executives that oil
prices had stabilized at 18 dlrs a barrel -- the average fixed
price OPEC put into effect in February -- and supply and demand
have been in equilibrium since March.
If OPEC does not increase overall output in the second half
of the year, prices will tend to increase, because non-OPEC
producers have not been able to produce more oil at current
prices, he said.
But he declined to predict, when asked after the meeting,
whether OPEC would raise its production ceiling of 15.8 mln
barrels at its next meeting in June.
He said in his speech that world oil production over the
last two months was estimated at 45.6 mln barrels a day, or two
mln barrels a day less than world oil demand.
Oil production by industrialized countries, particularly
the U.S. And Canada, is expected to decrease this year, but
some of that slack will be taken up by increased production in
Cameroon, India and other developing countries, he said.
This year is a battle between OPEC and non-OPEC oil
producers and consumers in the industrialized world for the
upper hand in world oil markets, Subroto said in an earlier
speech to management trainees at Pertamina Oil Company.
"If OPEC emerges the winner, than it can gradually resume
its former role in world oil markets," he said.
"But don't expect oil prices to return to the level of 28-30
dlrs a barrel, at least not in the next three or four years,"
Subroto said.
REUTER
| "NORM" | [
"crude"
] | "NOT-USED" | "PUBLISHED-TESTSET" | "21876" | "17254" | [
"indonesia"
] | [
"subroto"
] | [
"opec"
] | [] | 27-APR-1987 06:27:25.47 | WORLD OIL DEMAND LIKELY TO INCREASE, SUBROTO SAYS |
Toshiba Corp <TSBA.T> will set up a
five-year technology partnership with California-based SDA
Systems Inc with the intention of designing and producing
computer microchips, a company spokesman said.
Toshiba's investment in the project is likely to total less
than 10 mln dlrs over the five years, he said.
REUTER
| "NORM" | [] | "NOT-USED" | "PUBLISHED-TESTSET" | "21877" | "17255" | [
"japan",
"usa"
] | [] | [] | [] | 27-APR-1987 06:31:40.95 | TOSHIBA TO SET UP MICROCHIP PARTNERSHIP IN U.S. |
Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone said he
hopes his visit to Washington later this week will help resolve
Japan's severe trade problems with the United States.
Nakasone leaves on his sixth official visit to the United
States on Wednesday, only weeks after President Reagan imposed
punitive tariffs of 300 mln dlrs a year on Japanese electronic
goods for alleged violation of a semiconductor pact.
Japan also faces more possible sanctions amid calls in the
U.S. Congress for further action to help improve trade
imbalances.
Japan's trade surplus with the United States reached a
record 58.6 billion dlrs in 1986.
Nakasone told reporters that special envoy Shintaro Abe,
who has just returned from Washington, told him protectionist
sentiment in the United States is severe.
"We are well aware of a movement in the United States to
enact legislation," Nakasone said.
He said friends at home and abroad have advised him not to
go to the United States but it is now more important than ever
that he express Japan's view and carefully listens to the views
of the United States.
"My visit to the United States at this time will be the most
important visit of all," Nakasone said.
While in Washington, he said he hopes to have candid and
frank discussions with President Reagan and Congressionl
leaders. He said he plans to discuss exchange rate stability,
economic cooperation to developing countries and U.S.-Soviet
disarmament and arms control.
On the recently imposed trade sactions, Nakasone said he
would present evidence that Japanese semiconductor imports are
increasing and that Japan is monitoring exports to third
countries.
"We have full confidence we can present clear evidence," he
said. "(Therefore), we will request that the sanctions be lifted
at the earliest possible time."
On the trade imbalance, Nakasone said Japan has already
taken action. The volume of exports to the United States has
been cut, while U.S. Imports have increased.
But Japanese imports from Europe and other Asian nations
have recently surged, those from the United States remain weak,
indicating a lack of U.S. Competitiveness, he said.
Nakasone said Japan will continue to strive to improve the
trade imbalance but the United States will have to become more
competitive and improve its huge budget deficit.
He said he will also discuss the forthcoming Venice summit
of the seven major industrial nations in June.
"We can further enhance the efforts for improving peace,
disarmament and the world economies as a whole through
solidarity," Nakasone said.
REUTER
| "NORM" | [
"trade"
] | "NOT-USED" | "PUBLISHED-TESTSET" | "21878" | "17256" | [
"japan",
"usa"
] | [
"nakasone"
] | [] | [] | 27-APR-1987 06:39:34.03 | NAKASONE HOPES U.S. VISIT WILL HELP END TRADE ROW |
Insects are threatening to destroy
367,000 hectares or about one-third of the spring rice crop in
northern Vietnam, Hanoi radio reported.
Drought has hit another 189,000 hectares, with 40,000
hectares very badly affected, it said.
Insecticides are in short supply so only the most
endangered rice fields should be sprayed, the radio added.
The affected areas -- the Red River delta and other coastal
areas in northern Vietnam -- produce between 30 to 40 per cent
of the country's rice.
The radio report, monitored in Bangkok on April 20 but only
translated here over the weekend, said the threatened damage
was spread over twice as large an area as last year.
Vietnam has not been able to grow enough food for its
expanding population, with the Soviet Union buying rice in
Thailand and Burma in recent years for supply to Vietnam.
Vietnam produced 18.2 million tonnes of food, most of it
rice, last year and hopes to boost that to 23-24 million tonnes
by 1990.
REUTER
| "NORM" | [
"grain",
"rice"
] | "NOT-USED" | "PUBLISHED-TESTSET" | "21879" | "17257" | [
"thailand",
"vietnam"
] | [] | [] | [] | 27-APR-1987 06:41:27.14 | NORTHERN VIETNAMESE RICE CROP THREATENED |
The Bank of Japan will sell 600 billion
yen in 60-day financing bills tomorrow through 36-day
repurchase agreements maturing June 3 to roll over a previously
issued 400 billion yen of such bills maturing tomorrow, money
traders said.
The yield on the bills for sale to banks and securities
houses by money houses will be 3.8498 pct compared with the
one-month commercial bill discount rate today of 3.8125 pct and
the one-month certificate of deposit rate of 4.18/07 pct.
The traders estimate the surplus tomorrow at about 700
billion yen. The remaining 300 billion yen is mainly due to
increased cash holdings by the banking system because of
central bank dollar purchases.
The operation will put the outstanding supply of such bills
to 3,500 billion yen.
REUTER
| "NORM" | [
"money-fx"
] | "NOT-USED" | "PUBLISHED-TESTSET" | "21880" | "17258" | [
"japan"
] | [] | [] | [] | 27-APR-1987 06:41:45.29 | BANK OF JAPAN TO SELL 600 BILLION YEN IN BILLS |
Karl Otto Poehl is likely to be re-elected
President of the Bundesbank when his current term in office
expires at the end of this year, government sources said.
They were commenting on a report in Der Spiegel news
magazine which said Chancellor Helmut Kohl had decided to keep
Poehl in office for another eight years.
Government spokesman Friedhelm Ost had no comment on the
report, other than to say that the subject of the Bundesbank
presidency was not currently under discussion. Der Spiegel said
that, because Poehl is a member of the Social Democratic Party
(SPD), Kohl had not taken the decision lightly.
Poehl has been Bundesbank chief since January 1, 1980,
while Kohl's conservative/liberal coalition has held power
since 1982. Der Spiegel said Kohl would have preferred to offer
the post to a member of his Christian Democratic Union (CDU).
REUTER
| "NORM" | [] | "NOT-USED" | "PUBLISHED-TESTSET" | "21881" | "17259" | [
"west-germany"
] | [
"poehl",
"kohl"
] | [] | [] | 27-APR-1987 06:46:39.05 | FURTHER TERM FOR POEHL LIKELY, BONN SOURCES SAY |
The central bank issued 7.53 billion
Taiwan dlrs worth of certificates of deposits (CDs), bringing
issues so far this year to 174.48 billion against 40 billion a
year ago, a bank spokesman said.
The new CDs, with maturities of six months, one and two
years, carry interest ranging from 4.03 to 5.12 pct.
The issues are designed to help curb the growth of M-1b
money supply.
REUTER
| "NORM" | [
"money-supply"
] | "NOT-USED" | "PUBLISHED-TESTSET" | "21882" | "17260" | [
"taiwan"
] | [] | [] | [] | 27-APR-1987 06:47:51.48 | TAIWAN ISSUES MORE CDS TO CURB MONEY SUPPLY GROWTH |
Japanese Finance Minister Kiichi
Miyazawa opened the 20th annual meeting of the Asian
Development Bank by holding out the promise of more Japanese
money for the organisation.
"We are ... Striving to enhance the flow of capital from
Japan to the developing countries," he said.
"The Asia-Pacific region is an area of special concern for
us in our bilateral and multilateral assistance."
He said Tokyo was ready to study setting up a special
Japanese fund at the ADB, like the one at the World Bank.
The World Bank fund is earmarked for use by developing
countries.
Developing countries and the United States have criticised
Japan for failing to use its trade surplus to help poor
countries.
Later this week, Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone is
expected to tell President Reagan that Japan plans to extend as
much as 30 billion dlrs to developing countries over the next
three years, Japanese officials said. The exta ADB funding
would be part of that amount.
"Our cooperation is intended to contibute to ... Alleviating
the burden on (developing countries)," said Miyazawa, who is
also chairman of the ADB board of governors.
"The developing countries today find themselves in a very
difficult situation," he said. "With a few notable exceptions,
those countries that are highly dependent upon commodity
exports face a rough road ahead."
While the developing countries can help themselves by
striving to become internationally competitive and seeking to
attract foreign investment, the ADB also has a role to play, he
said.
Miyazawa told the meeting the bank must beef up its
economic advice program to developing nations and must work
vigorously to identify development projects for loans.
He also called for more use of loans that were not tied to
development projects, but provided more overall help to the
borrower.
ADB President Masao Fujioka supported Miyazawa's view.
"The bank has been fondly described as the family doctor,"
Fujioka said. "The bank will now have to equip itself to meet a
range of services required to attend to varied needs of its
developing members."
Miyazawa told the meeting Tokyo was ready to allow its
Export-Import Bank to co-finance ADB loans. These would not
have to be used for the purchase of Japanese equipment.
Tokyo was also prepared to let the Asian Development Bank
raise more funds in Tokyo and financial markets should it need
to do so, he said.
REUTER
| "NORM" | [] | "NOT-USED" | "PUBLISHED-TESTSET" | "21883" | "17261" | [
"japan"
] | [
"miyazawa",
"fujioka"
] | [
"adb-asia"
] | [] | 27-APR-1987 06:48:30.38 | JAPAN HOLDS OUT PROMISE OF FUNDS FOR ASIAN BANK |
Nippon Steel Corp <NSTC.T> nominated
Hiroshi Saito as president, to replace Yutaka Takeda, subject
to shareholders' approval at a meeting on June 26, company
officials told a press conference.
Takeda will become chairman, and vice president Akira Miki
will be vice chairman, they said. Current chairman Eishiro
Saito, who is also chairman of the Federation of Economic
Organisations (Keidanren), a leading Japanese business
organisation, will act as honorary chairman and advisor, they
added. Nippon Steel is now undergoing a strict rationalisation
program to meet declining demand for steel products.
REUTER
| "NORM" | [] | "NOT-USED" | "PUBLISHED-TESTSET" | "21884" | "17262" | [
"japan"
] | [] | [] | [] | 27-APR-1987 06:51:49.00 | NIPPON STEEL NOMINATES NEW PRESIDENT |
The United States and Japan are waging a
behind the scenes battle at this week's Asian Development Bank
meeting over Tokyo's attempts to win a greater say in the
organization, U.S. And Japanese delegates said.
Washington is opposing the Japanese efforts because it
would mean the end of the long-standing parity between the two
nations in the Bank, U.S. Officials said.
Right now, the two countries' voting shares are about
equal, Japan having 12.53 pct and the United States 12.36 pct.
The slight difference is due to a temporary delay in the U.S.
Subscription to the Bank.
"It's quite a delicate matter," Japanese Finance Ministry
deputy director general Fumiya Iwasaki told Reuters. "I don't
see the discussion ending soon."
The issue is further complicated because other member
nations would have to give up some of their power in the Bank
if Japan were to increase its influence, he said.
Tokyo raised the issue at last year's annual meeting in
Manila, arguing that the 3.7 billion dlrs it has contributed to
the Bank's soft loans fund entitled it to a greater say in the
overall organization. The United States has given 1.2 billion
dlrs to the Asian Development Fund.
REUTER
| "NORM" | [] | "NOT-USED" | "PUBLISHED-TESTSET" | "21885" | "17263" | [
"japan",
"usa"
] | [] | [
"adb-asia"
] | [] | 27-APR-1987 06:52:19.33 | U.S., JAPAN AT ODDS AT ADB MEETING |
The three Australian participants in
the <Kalgoorlie Mining Associates> (KMA) gold mining venture
are discussing a possible restructuring of their interests in
<Gold Mines of Kalgoorlie Ltd> (GMK), KMA said.
The other participants are Western Mining Corp Holdings Ltd
<WMNG.S> (WMC) and Poseidon Ltd <POSA.S>, GMK said in a brief
statement. It gave no further details.
KMA is owned 52 pct by <Kalgoorlie Lake Pty Ltd> (KLV) and
48 pct by a local unit of Homestake Mining Co <HM>.
KLV in turn is owned 47 pct each by Poseidon and GMK and
six pct by WMC.
The KMA joint venture was formed in 1976 and operates the
Mount Charlotte and Fimiston gold mines in Western Australia.
The two mines produced a total of 222,000 ounces of gold in
1985/86 ended June 17.
KMA is the sole source of GMK's revenue and profits and the
major contributor to Poseidon's earnings, their annual reports
show. GMK is owned 31.8 pct by WMC.
REUTER
| "NORM" | [
"gold"
] | "NOT-USED" | "PUBLISHED-TESTSET" | "21886" | "17264" | [
"australia"
] | [] | [] | [] | 27-APR-1987 06:57:39.48 | GMK SAYS THREE KMA PARTNERS MULLING RECONSTRUCTION |
The Bank of Japan intervened in the
market, buying a moderate amount of dollars around 137.80-85
yen, dealers said.
Some dealers noted talk that the Bundesbank intervened here
directly buying dollars against marks, after reports that it
intervened through the Bank of Japan in the morning.
The dollar moved up on short-covering aided by the central
bank intervention, they said.
REUTER
| "NORM" | [
"money-fx",
"dlr"
] | "NOT-USED" | "PUBLISHED-TESTSET" | "21887" | "17265" | [
"japan"
] | [] | [] | [] | 27-APR-1987 07:07:53.68 | BANK OF JAPAN INTERVENES IN TOKYO |
Japanese Finance Minister Kiichi Miyazawa
told a parliamentary Upper House budget committee that he does
not think the dollar is in a freefall.
He said concerted intervention is only a supplementary
measure to moderate volatility in exchange rates and repeated
that policy coordination among major industrial nations is
necessary. "We cannot expect currency stability only through
coordinated market intervention," he said.
Miyazawa also told the committee the U.S. Has not called on
Japan to cut its 2.5 pct discount rate.
Miyazawa said the government is not considering investing
in U.S. Government bonds to help stabilize exchange rates. This
matter has to be dealt with carefully because it involves the
public's money and exchange rates are moving widely, he added.
The ministry will consider where to invest its funds when
exchange rates become stable, he said.
Asked if Japan is considering a request to the U.S. For it
to raise its discount rate to stabilize exchange rates,
Miyazawa said the U.S. Has not been able to take action now
because it has to maintain its economic growth.
REUTER
| "NORM" | [
"money-fx",
"dlr",
"interest"
] | "NOT-USED" | "PUBLISHED-TESTSET" | "21888" | "17266" | [
"japan",
"usa"
] | [
"miyazawa"
] | [] | [] | 27-APR-1987 07:08:34.59 | MIYAZAWA DOES NOT THINK DOLLAR IN FREEFALL |
The Bank of Japan's deputy governor
Yasushi Mieno told a parliamentary Upper House budget committee
that the central bank has no monetary measures other than
intervention planned to stabilize currency rates.
He also said the Bank of Japan is not considering a cut in
its 2.5 pct discount rate.
Mieno said the central bank is determined to restore
currency stability through intervention by the major industrial
nations as recent exchange rate volatility stems from
speculation. Economic fundamentals have not changed, he added.
REUTER
| "NORM" | [
"money-fx",
"interest"
] | "NOT-USED" | "PUBLISHED-TESTSET" | "21889" | "17267" | [
"japan"
] | [] | [] | [] | 27-APR-1987 07:10:09.39 | BANK OF JAPAN DEPUTY SAYS NO NEW MEASURES PLANNED |
New York Federal Reserve Bank
President Gerald Corrigan opposed a further fall in the value
of the dollar but refused to say whether U.S. interest rates
would be raised to protect the currency.
"A further decline in the dollar or appreciation of the yen
at this juncture I would regard as counterproductive," he told a
news conference.
His comments echoed those made last week by U.S. Treasury
Secretary James Baker, who also warned against a further dollar
fall.
Currency speculators and investors are convinced that a
further dollar fall is needed to help reduce the huge U.S.
trade deficit, dealers said, adding the only thing likely to
help the dollar is seen as a rise in U.S. Interest rates.
Corrigan refused to say whether the U.S. was ready to risk
damaging its economic recovery by raising interest rates.
The dollar's sharp drop this month has also raised
questions about the usefulness of recent meetings of the Group
of Seven. But Corrigan said: "They have played a constructive
role in so far as the broad objective of facilitating a higher
degree of economic policy coordination."
Reuter
| "NORM" | [
"money-fx",
"dlr",
"interest"
] | "NOT-USED" | "PUBLISHED-TESTSET" | "21890" | "17268" | [
"japan",
"usa"
] | [
"corrigan"
] | [] | [] | 27-APR-1987 07:11:40.68 | FED'S CORRIGAN OPPOSES FURTHER DOLLAR FALL |
President Reagan warned the U.S.
Congress in his weekly radio address against passing what he
called dangerous, protectionist trade legislation that would
tie his hands in trade negotiations with Japan and other
countries.
Reagan, who will hold talks with Japanese Prime Minister
Yasuhiro Nakasone here this week, said he would lift tariffs
imposed last week against some Japanese products as soon as
Tokyo complied with a U.S.-Japanese pact on semiconductors.
U.S. officials gave the same message to former Japanese
Foreign Minister Shintaro Abe in talks here last week.
In his weekly radio address on Saturday, Reagan said he
would tell Nakasone: "We want to continue to work cooperatively
on trade problems and want very much to lift these trade
restrictions as soon as evidence permits.
Reagan said the 100 pct tariffs he imposed on some 300 mln
dlrs worth of Japanese goods was a special case of trade
retaliation and did not signal a shift in what he called his
staunch anti-protectionist policies.
"In imposing these tariffs we were just trying to deal with
a particular problem, not begin a trade war," he said.
Reuter
| "NORM" | [
"trade"
] | "NOT-USED" | "PUBLISHED-TESTSET" | "21891" | "17269" | [
"usa"
] | [
"reagan"
] | [] | [] | 27-APR-1987 07:12:03.05 | REAGAN WARNS CONGRESS ON PROTECTIONISM |
Japanese Finance Minister Kiichi Miyazawa
told a press conference the basic solution to currency
instability among major nations is economic policy
coordination.
He said that is a time-consuming process as coordination
does not always proceed in a way policy makers envisage. "That
is democracy," he said. Upon that foundation, Miyazawa said,
there must be coordinated intervention. Major nations have
sufficient funds to continue concerted intervention, he added.
"Without doubt this set-up of coordinated intervention will
continue to operate," Miyazawa said.
Miyazawa said Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone and U.S.
President Ronald Reagan are likely to reaffirm the Louvre and
Washington Group of Seven (G-7) agreements on currency
stability when they meet later this week.
Asked whether the dollar is declining against all major
currencies, not only the yen, Miyazawa declined to make any
comments.
He reiterated that many major nations have undertaken
coordinated intervention in recent weeks to prop up the dollar,
including countries who are not members of the G-7.
Reuter
| "NORM" | [
"money-fx",
"dlr"
] | "NOT-USED" | "PUBLISHED-TESTSET" | "21892" | "17270" | [
"japan"
] | [
"miyazawa"
] | [] | [] | 27-APR-1987 07:13:16.65 | MIYAZAWA SAYS POLICY COORDINATION KEY TO CURRENCY |
The Philippines has received a 300
mln dlr loan from the Japanese Export-Import Bank, Philippine
Finance Minister Jaime Ongpin told Reuters.
Ongpin said the loan, carrying interest of 5.5 pct a year,
matches a 300 mln dlr economic recovery loan approved by the
World Bank in March.
Ongpin said Japanese Finance Minister Kiichi Miyazawa
expressed satisfaction at the recent rescheduling of the
Philippines' 10.3 billion dlr foreign debt during a meeting
here yesterday. The 14th yen aid package from Japan's Overseas
Economic Cooperation Fund was also discussed.
Ongpin said the Japan is expected to respond favourably to
a Philippine request to raise the aid level to between 75 and
80 billion yen.
The aid package, originally scheduled for Japan's 1986/87
fiscal year ended March, was delayed because of the
Philippines' change of government last year.
"The Japanese have indicated we may not get as much as we
are asking for in one big jump from the 13th yen package of 49
billion yen," he said. "But they are likely to bring it up to
that level for the 15th package."
Ongpin said Manila had 14 projects in the pipeline for the
14th yen package.
"We are trying get the 15th package mainly in the form of
untied commodity loans," he said.
Discussion on a Philippine request for 500 mln dlrs in soft
loans to finance a land reform program, for which Japan is
expected to supply most of the financing, had been put off
until next month because of delays in preparatory work.
Ongpin said he will make a strong pitch for the land reform
program in his speech on Tuesday at the 20th annual meeting of
the Asian Development Bank (ADB) here.
Ongpin said the Philippines is very happy about the ADB's
support after President Corazon Aquino took over from deposed
leader Ferdinand Marcos.
"But I would like to see them push more aggressively in the
field of lending to the private sector," he said.
The Philippines was the bank's second-biggest borrower
after Pakistan in 1986, with loans totalling 316 mln dlrs.
Ongpin said he expects ADB lending to the Philippines in
1987 to reach the same level.
"They have told us they can lend us two billion dlrs if we
want. But we have to come up with the projects," he said.
REUTER
| "NORM" | [] | "NOT-USED" | "PUBLISHED-TESTSET" | "21893" | "17271" | [
"japan",
"philippines"
] | [
"ongpin"
] | [
"adb-asia"
] | [] | 27-APR-1987 07:14:00.45 | PHILIPPINES TO GET 300 MLN DLR JAPANESE LOAN |
Chancellor Helmut Kohl has decided to
keep Bundesbank President Karl Otto Poehl in office for a
further eight years, the news magazine Der Spiegel said.
Government officials were not immediately available to
comment on the report, which said that because Poehl is a
member of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), Kohl had not taken
the decision lightly.
Poehl has been Bundesbank chief since January 1, 1980,
while Kohl's conservative/liberal coalition has held power
since 1982.
Der Spiegel said Kohl would have preferred to offer the
post to a member of his Christian Democratic Union (CDU).
But the magazine noted Poehl enjoyed a good international
reputation. Officials have often said Poehl and CDU Finance
Minister Gerhard Stoltenberg hold each other in high regard.
Poehl's current term expires at the end of this year.
Officials have said no date has been set for an announcement on
whether his tenure will be extended.
Poehl was made an economic adviser to SPD Chancellor Willy
Brandt in 1971. A year later he was appointed State Secretary
at the Finance Ministry when former SPD Chancellor Helmut
Schmidt was Finance Minister.
There has recently been press speculation that the
Bundesbank presidency may be offered to Poehl's deputy, Helmut
Schlesinger, a conservative monetarist.
According to these reports, Schlesinger would be replaced
two years later by CDU member Hans Tietmeyer, the current
Finance Ministry State Secretary.
Also under discussion as president was Johann Wilhelm
Gaddum, a member of the Bundesbank board and a CDU member who
is known to be close to Kohl.
REUTER
| "NORM" | [] | "NOT-USED" | "PUBLISHED-TESTSET" | "21894" | "17272" | [
"west-germany"
] | [
"poehl",
"kohl"
] | [] | [] | 27-APR-1987 07:16:46.51 | POEHL TO REMAIN BUNDESBANK CHIEF, MAGAZINE SAYS |
A visiting U.S. Mint official told
reporters that American Eagle gold coins took the largest share
of the world bullion coin market in 1986 despite the fact sales
only began in October last year.
She said the U.S. Coins accounted for 37 pct of the world
market share, against 31.9 pct for Canadian coins and 18.6 pct
for South African. She gave no sales volume figures for 1986.
Sales of the U.S. Coins in the first six months of issue
totalled 2.32 mln ounces, exceeding the target of 2.2 mln in
the first year, she said.
Japan alone has imported 140,000 ounces of the coins since
November, the official said, adding that the U.S. Mint sees
Japan as a major market.
Sumitomo Corp and Tanaka Kikinzoku KK already distribute
the coins in Japan, she said. Nissho Iwai Corp has just been
appointed a distributor, she added.
The U.S. Started issuing gold bullion coins, following the
ban on imports of South African Krugerrands to the U.S., In a
bid to offer investment grade coins to investors, the Mint said
in a statement.
REUTER
| "NORM" | [
"gold"
] | "NOT-USED" | "PUBLISHED-TESTSET" | "21895" | "17273" | [
"japan",
"usa"
] | [] | [] | [] | 27-APR-1987 07:18:39.06 | U.S. OFFICIAL SAYS EAGLE GOLD COIN HAS MAJOR SHARE |
U.S. Secretary of Commerce Malcolm
Baldrige said he hopes Japanese Prime Minister Yasuhiro
Nakasone will make specific proposals to ease U.S.-Japan trade
friction at a meeting with President Reagan this week.
He also told reporters he hopes the U.S. Will soon be able
to lift sanctions imposed against Japan for alleged violations
of an accord on semiconductors.
"We have been very specific about our trade problems," he
told a news conference during a stopover in Hong Kong. "I hope
(Nakasone) brings some specific answers to the trade problems."
"We want to lift the sanctions as soon as possible," Baldrige
said.
He said that once the U.S. Determines that Japan is selling
semiconductors at cost it will be able to lift the 300 mln U.S.
Dlrs of duties it imposed on Japanese electronics goods on
April 17.
"We have not seen that yet," he said, adding that it would
take about one month to determine whether the alleged
violations of a bilateral semiconductor pact had been
discontinued.
Baldrige did not say what specific solutions he wanted for
U.S.-Japan trade problems.
But the New York Times today quoted administration sources
as saying that the U.S. May be able to lift trade sanctions
against Japan by the end of June.
Japan would have to show that it had stopped underpricing
semiconductors and had widened access in Japan top U.S. Chip
producers.
Baldrige also said that despite the current trade rift, the
U.S. And Japan have long had friendly ties that neither side
wants to change.
"We have a very special relationship with Japan. Japan is a
friend and our ally," Baldrige said. "Neither one of us wants
that to change."
He also repeated statements that he did not foresee a trade
war with Japan but that the U.S. Had no choice but to impose
the trade sanctions.
REUTER
| "NORM" | [
"trade"
] | "NOT-USED" | "PUBLISHED-TESTSET" | "21896" | "17274" | [
"hong-kong",
"usa",
"japan"
] | [] | [] | [] | 27-APR-1987 07:24:22.56 | BALDRIGE SAYS U.S. WANTS JAPAN TRADE PROPOSALS |
Sugar beet plantings are almost
complete in southern West Germany but are lagging behind in
other regions, trade sources said.
In the west of the country, about 60 pct of the plantings
were completed, while in the north only 40 pct of the sugar
beet area has been sown, they said.
The weather is forecast to stay mild in northern West
Germany in the coming days and more planting progress is
expected there, they said.
This year's area sown to sugar beets is likely to fall to
38,500 hectares from around 40,000 last year.
REUTER
| "NORM" | [
"sugar"
] | "NOT-USED" | "PUBLISHED-TESTSET" | "21897" | "17275" | [
"west-germany"
] | [] | [] | [] | 27-APR-1987 07:24:51.19 | GERMAN SUGAR BEET PLANTINGS MOST ADVANCED IN SOUTH |
French household consumption of
manufactured goods fell 3.6 pct in March, the National
Statistics Institute (INSEE) said.
It said the figure fell to 46.35 billion francs seasonally
adjusted and in real terms from February's 48.07 billion, where
it had held steady for three months.
It said sales of most durable goods had fallen 3.5 pct
while household electricals, clothing and textiles were down by
about eight pct from February.
REUTER
| "NORM" | [] | "NOT-USED" | "PUBLISHED-TESTSET" | "21898" | "17276" | [
"france"
] | [] | [] | [] | 27-APR-1987 07:25:11.26 | FRENCH HOUSEHOLD CONSUMPTION DOWN 3.6 PCT IN MARCH |
President Reagan is expected to tell
Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone this week that the U.S. May be
able to lift trade sanctions against Japan by the end of June,
the New York Times said.
The newspaper, quoting administration officials, said that
under such a scenario the President would announce just before
the June 8-10 economic summit meeting in Venice that he hoped
to lift the restrictions on electronics imports by the end of
the month. Japan, for its part, would have to show that it had
stopped underpricing semiconductors and had widened access in
Japan for U.S. Chip producers.
The U.S. Administration imposed 100 pct tariffs on 300 mln
dlrs worth of Japanese color television sets, motorised tools
and personal computers on April 17.
Japanese officials have said Nakasone's main demand when he
arrives for talks with Reagan on Wednesday would be the
immediate lifting of the tariffs.
But with Congress planning further trade reprisals against
Japanese trade policies, the end-of-June timeframe is seen as
the best Reagan can offer, the Times said. It said some verbal
formulation was expected to be found in a communique that would
allow Nakasone to claim at least a modest victory.
REUTER
| "NORM" | [
"trade"
] | "NOT-USED" | "PUBLISHED-TESTSET" | "21899" | "17277" | [
"usa",
"japan"
] | [
"reagan",
"nakasone"
] | [] | [] | 27-APR-1987 07:25:24.81 | U.S. MAY TELL JAPAN SANCTIONS CAN END - NY TIMES |
U.S.-based insurance and investment
broker <Integrated Resources Inc> has set up two subsidiaries
in Hong Kong, a company statement said.
<Integrated Resources Insurance and Investment Services
Ltd> will focus on insurance marketing and <Integrated
Resources (HK) Ltd> on stock broking.
The statement gave no financial details for the local
firms.
REUTER
| "NORM" | [] | "NOT-USED" | "PUBLISHED-TESTSET" | "21900" | "17278" | [
"hong-kong",
"usa"
] | [] | [] | [] | 27-APR-1987 07:26:48.48 | INTEGRATED RESOURCES SETS UP BRANCHES IN HONG KONG |
The U.S. warned its major
trade partners that its trade deficit must fall by September or
a protectionist trade bill from Congress would be highly
likely.
Meanwhile, European Community (EC) external trade chief
Willy de Clercq said that if Japan's trade surplus, which hit
almost 90 billion dlrs last year, continued so high, there
would be stormy weather ahead.
U.S. Trade representative Clayton Yeutter told trade
leaders from Japan, the EC and Canada that there was at least a
50-50 chance that a protectionist bill reaching the House of
Representatives this week would pass the Senate in September.
The U.S. economy badly needed better trade figures by then,
or President Ronald Reagan would have a difficult time vetoing
such a bill, he said, according to a series of briefings to
reporters by official delegates at the weekend meeting.
A 15 billion dlr U.S. Trade deficit in March had only
incensed Congress further, he said.
Reuter
| "NORM" | [
"trade"
] | "NOT-USED" | "PUBLISHED-TESTSET" | "21901" | "17279" | [
"japan",
"usa"
] | [
"de-clercq",
"yeutter"
] | [
"ec"
] | [] | 27-APR-1987 07:27:50.15 | U.S. WARNS OF TRADE BILL, EC ATTACKS JAPAN |
Thailand will this week seek
clarification from the U.S. About its decision to freeze rice
export prices from January to early April, Commerce Minister
Montri Pongpanich said.
Montri told reporters he will seek a meeting with U.S.
Ambassador William Brown to determine why the U.S. Failed to
set its weekly rice prices in accordance with rising world
prices during the period.
He said the U.S. Has followed a policy of weakening world
rice prices by announcing highly subsidised export prices lower
than those quoted by Thai traders.
Thai officials said weekly rice prices as announced by the
U.S. Agriculture Department were unchanged for 11 weeks up to
April 8.
Thailand, a major rice exporter, has criticised the U.S.
Farm Act which provides heavy subsidies to U.S. Exporters
enabling them to compete with Thai exporters.
Thai officials said average export prices of Thai rice fell
19 pct last year and another 5.8 pct during the first quarter
this year.
The Board of Trade said Thailand exported 1.23 mln tonnes
in January/March, down from 1.29 mln a year ago.
It said the export decline was partly due to the reluctance
of Thai traders to accept all foreign orders as world prices
did not rise in line with firming domestic prices.
The board said, however, that Thailand may export more rice
later this year, especially to Africa, the Middle East and
Asia, due to lower production in many drought affected African
countries and to expected small exportable surpluses in Burma
and Pakistan.
It said Thai rice exports to nine major African buyers rose
to 351,889 tonnes during the first quarter from 93,038 a year
earlier.
REUTER
| "NORM" | [
"grain",
"rice"
] | "NOT-USED" | "PUBLISHED-TESTSET" | "21902" | "17280" | [
"thailand",
"usa"
] | [] | [] | [] | 27-APR-1987 07:28:06.01 | THAILAND TO SEEK CLARIFICATION ON U.S. RICE PRICES |
Britain's ruling Conservatives
maintained a commanding lead in a new opinion poll, reinforcing
views that Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher is poised to call a
general election in June.
The Harris poll published in the Observer newspaper gave
the Conservatives the support of 42 pct of those questioned,
Labour 31 pct, and the Liberal-Social Democratic Alliance
trailing with 25 pct.
This would give the Conservatives a 94-seat overall
majority in the House of Commons.
Reuter
| "NORM" | [] | "NOT-USED" | "PUBLISHED-TESTSET" | "21903" | "17281" | [
"uk"
] | [] | [] | [] | 27-APR-1987 07:28:29.65 | NEW POLL PUTS BRITISH CONSERVATIVES WELL AHEAD |
Japan's 1987 car export
restraint to the European Community (EC) is not enough, EC
external trade chief Willy de Clercq said.
There are also strong signs Japanese exporters are
diverting cars to the EC after the dollar's fall against the
yen made their U.S. market unprofitable, he told reporters
after meeting U.S., Japanese, and Canadian trade ministers.
The EC has agreed that if it detects an abnormal diversion
in Japanese exports from the U.S. To the EC market due to
currency movements over the past two years, it will move to
prevent it, he said.
Over the period, the yen has risen against the dollar
almost eight times as fast as against the European Currency
Unit, he said.
Japan has set an unofficial, voluntary 10 pct rise in car
exports to the EC this year as part of its efforts to stop its
rising trade surplus with the Community, which hit a record 18
billion dlrs last year.
But Japanese car exports to the EC so far this year jumped
over 30 pct compared to a drop of 17 pct in U.S. Sales, and a
seven per cent fall globally. "We think there is some diversion
there," said de Clercq.
Reuter
| "NORM" | [
"trade"
] | "NOT-USED" | "PUBLISHED-TESTSET" | "21904" | "17282" | [
"japan"
] | [
"de-clercq"
] | [
"ec"
] | [] | 27-APR-1987 07:28:38.38 | EC SAYS JAPAN CAR EXPORT RESTRAINT NOT ENOUGH |
Senior officials from the Group of
Seven (G-7) countries will meet next week to decide an agenda
for the body's June summit scheduled to be held in Venice,
Japanese officials said.
The meeting will provide senior government officials with
their first chance to discuss the recent sharp drop of the
dollar, although the main focus of the gathering is longer
term, they said.
Deputy Finance Ministers, including Japanese Vice-Finance
Minister Toyoo Gyohten, will attend. The meeting will be held
in Italy, they said, but gave no other details.
The leaders of the G-7, the United States, Britain, Canada,
France, Italy, Japan and West Germany, are expected to discuss
ways of improving economic policy coordination in Venice.
The hope is that increased coordination will help reduce
the huge imbalances in world trade and calm volatile currency
markets. But economists say the strategy has so far not worked.
Japanese officials admitted there is little more they can
do on their own to stem the dollar decline, which last week saw
the currency plunge to a post-war low below 140 yen.
The officials said they expected sentiment against the
dollar to change soon, once the U.S. Trade deficit starts to
fall and the Japanese surplus begins to shrink.
"We have already seen some signs of improvement (in the
trade picture), but the market does not appreciate it yet," one
said.
Last week's passage of the Japanese government budget by
parliament's Lower House also paves the way for Tokyo to take
additional action to stimulate its sagging economy and boost
imports, the officials said.
Reuter
| "NORM" | [
"trade",
"money-fx",
"dlr"
] | "NOT-USED" | "PUBLISHED-TESTSET" | "21905" | "17283" | [
"japan"
] | [] | [] | [] | 27-APR-1987 07:28:53.17 | G-7 OFFICIALS TO DECIDE ON SUMMIT AGENDA |
The Bank of England said it did not
intervene in the money market during the morning.
It also said that it had raised its estimate of the
liquidity shortage in the market to 450 mln stg from 400 mln.
REUTER
| "NORM" | [
"money-fx"
] | "NOT-USED" | "PUBLISHED-TESTSET" | "21906" | "17284" | [
"uk"
] | [] | [] | [] | 27-APR-1987 07:31:11.28 | BANK OF ENGLAND DOES NOT INTERVENE IN MONEY MARKET |
Three Japanese trading companies and one
coin retailer will start selling Australia's Nugget gold coins
in Japan from May 12 after actively buying at the first
international trading of the coins last Thursday, officials
involved in the sale said.
They estimated Japanese companies bought 30 pct of 155,000
ounces sold on Thursday.
The coins are likely to be sold in Japan at prices similar
to the South African krugerrand.
REUTER
| "NORM" | [
"gold"
] | "NOT-USED" | "PUBLISHED-TESTSET" | "21907" | "17285" | [
"japan",
"australia"
] | [] | [] | [] | 27-APR-1987 07:31:38.46 | JAPANESE FIRMS TO SELL AUSTRALIAN GOLD COINS |
Strikers at the Caterpillar Inc tractor
plant near Glasgow, due to be closed by the U.S.-owned firm,
voted to end their occupation of the factory after more than
three months.
A meeting attended by 700 of the plant's 1,200 workers
approved an agreement reached with management on Thursday after
four days of talks. Production will resume today.
The agreement calls for the establishment of a working
group of representatives from both sides, which has been given
until October 16 to find a new buyer for the factory.
The company has promised that there will be no job losses
before that date. Workers began their occupation on January 14
after Caterpillar said it planned to close the plant and lay
off the entire work force.
Reuter
| "NORM" | [] | "NOT-USED" | "PUBLISHED-TESTSET" | "21908" | "17286" | [
"uk"
] | [] | [] | [] | 27-APR-1987 07:31:47.80 | WORKERS VOTE TO LEAVE CATERPILLAR <CAT> PLANT |
Finance Minister Manuel Azpurua said
today he will travel to Japan in mid-May to seek new credits
for planned expansions in Venezuela's state aluminum, steel and
petrochemical industries.
Azpurua told reporters he will be accompanied by Central
Bank President Hernan Anzola and Director of Public Finance
Jorge Marcano.
'The idea is to hold meetings with Japanese economic and
financial authorities, with the banks which have business and
credits in Venezuela and with some of the Japanese companies
already active here,' Azpurua said.
Reuter
| "NORM" | [
"alum",
"iron-steel",
"pet-chem"
] | "NOT-USED" | "PUBLISHED-TESTSET" | "21909" | "17287" | [
"venezuela",
"japan"
] | [] | [] | [] | 27-APR-1987 07:31:54.89 | VENEZUELA FINANCE MINISTER TO JAPAN IN MID-MAY |
Central bank governors
from Spain, Latin America and the Caribbean will meet here this
week at two separate conmferences to discuss finance and
monetary problems, the Central Bank of Barbados said.
The 24th session of central bank governors of the american
continent opens today for two days. Central bank governors of
Latin America and Spain will hold a separate conference from
april 29-30.
Representatives of the Inter American Development Bank, the
International Monetary Fund and other international financial
organizations will attend both conferences.
The Central Bank of Barbados gave no agenda for the
meetings
Reuter
| "NORM" | [] | "NOT-USED" | "PUBLISHED-TESTSET" | "21910" | "17288" | [
"barbados",
"spain"
] | [] | [] | [] | 27-APR-1987 07:32:04.63 | CENTRAL BANK GOVERNORS TO MEET IN BARBADOS |
Oil prices have stabilized in world
markets and demand is likely to increase in the second half of
the year, Indonesia's Mines and Energy Minister Subroto said.
He told a meeting of oil industry executives that oil
prices had stabilized at 18 dlrs a barrel -- the average fixed
price OPEC put into effect in February -- and supply and demand
have been in equilibrium since March.
If OPEC does not increase overall output in the second half
of the year, prices will tend to increase, because non-OPEC
producers have not been able to produce more oil at current
prices, he said.
But he declined to predict, when asked after the meeting,
whether OPEC would raise its production ceiling of 15.8 mln
barrels at its next meeting in June.
He said in his speech that world oil production over the
last two months was estimated at 45.6 mln barrels a day, or two
mln barrels a day less than world oil demand.
Oil production by industrialized countries, particularly
the U.S. And Canada, is expected to decrease this year, but
some of that slack will be taken up by increased production in
Cameroon, India and other developing countries, he said.
This year is a battle between OPEC and non-OPEC oil
producers and consumers in the industrialized world for the
upper hand in world oil markets, Subroto said in an earlier
speech to management trainees at Pertamina Oil Company.
"If OPEC emerges the winner, than it can gradually resume
its former role in world oil markets," he said.
"But don't expect oil prices to return to the level of 28-30
dlrs a barrel, at least not in the next three or four years,"
Subroto said.
REUTER
| "NORM" | [
"crude"
] | "NOT-USED" | "PUBLISHED-TESTSET" | "21911" | "17289" | [
"indonesia"
] | [
"subroto"
] | [
"opec"
] | [] | 27-APR-1987 07:32:15.73 | WORLD OIL DEMAND LIKELY TO INCREASE, SUBROTO SAYS |
The Soviet Union will present a draft
treaty today calling for elimination of all U.S.-Soviet
medium-range missiles in Europe, an official source in the
Soviet arms negotiating team told Reuters.
The draft treaty will be handed over to the American team
negotiating on medium-range missiles during talks at the U.S.
Diplomatic mission in Geneva this afternoon, the source said.
The United States presented its draft treaty, which would
also scrap the so-called "Euromissiles," during a previous round
of negotiations in early March.
REUTER
| "NORM" | [] | "NOT-USED" | "PUBLISHED-TESTSET" | "21912" | "17290" | [
"switzerland",
"usa",
"ussr"
] | [] | [] | [] | 27-APR-1987 07:33:56.13 | SOVIETS TO PRESENT TREATY ON MISSILES - SOURCES |
Saudi Arabia will not seek to push OPEC
oil prices above the current benchmark of 18 dlrs per barrel
unless oil demand grows strongly, the Middle East Economic
Survey (MEES) said.
The Cyprus-based weekly newsletter quoted authoritative
Saudi sources as saying the Kingdom's oil price policy would
not change "unless and until there is a strong revival in the
growth of demand for oil."
MEES said this contradicted recent hints of new Saudi price
hawkishness from U.S. Congressional and oil industry sources.
The Saudi sources said their policy was firmly based on the
long-term need to restore the competitive position of oil in
general and OPEC oil in particular against other energy
sources.
"Saudi Arabia is certainly committed to cooperating with its
OPEC partners to exercise the necessary production restraint to
maintain the 18 dlr per barrel reference price level," MEES
said.
The newsletter said Saudi output in the first three weeks
of April averaged slightly above its OPEC quota of 4.133 mln
barrels per day (bpd). Output would fall in the last week,
causing the month's average to be below quota, MEES said.
MEES estimated overall OPEC production for April at around
16.8-16.9 mln bpd -- two mln bpd more than both its figures for
March and Reuter estimates for March.
It said Iranian production had risen by 500,000 bpd this
month to 2.2-2.3 mln bpd, around its quota level. In Iraq, with
an OPEC-assigned quota of 1.466 mln bpd, output rose this month
to two mln bpd, not including "war relief" supplies from Kuwait
and Saudi Arabia, the newsletter said.
Nigeria, which has had problems selling its full 1.238 mln
bpd entitlement, increased its output to 1.2 mln bpd, it added.
REUTER
| "NORM" | [
"crude"
] | "NOT-USED" | "PUBLISHED-TESTSET" | "21913" | "17291" | [
"cyprus",
"saudi-arabia",
"iran",
"iraq",
"kuwait",
"nigeria"
] | [] | [
"opec"
] | [] | 27-APR-1987 07:40:04.43 | SAUDIS NOT SEEKING OIL PRICE ABOVE 18 DLRS - MEES |
The cut in the lending rates and other
changes made in the interest rates will hit the profitability
of many commercial banks in India, Indian Banks' Association
chairman M. N. Goiporia told a bankers' conference.
The changes were announced by the Reserve Bank of India on
March 31 and became effective on April 1.
"Some of the latest credit policy measures such as reduced
lending rates, raising the statutory liquidity ratio and
restructuring of deposit rates will pose a potential threat to
commercial banks' continuing higher profitability levels," he
said.
Goiporia said most foreign and Indian commercial banks
including those owned by the government have been making
profits over the years, mainly due to better fund management
and the enlargement of the banks' capital base. He did not
elaborate.
The Reserve Bank's new credit policy for commercial banks
cut the maximum lending rate by one pct to 16.5 pct, raised
rates on deposits of two years by a half pct to nine pct and by
one pct to 10 pct on deposits of more than two years. To cut
excess liquidity in the industry, the Reserve Bank raised the
banks' liquidity ratio by a half pct to 37.5 pct, immobilising
nearly five billion rupees of deposits, bankers said.
REUTER
| "NORM" | [
"interest"
] | "NOT-USED" | "PUBLISHED-TESTSET" | "21914" | "17292" | [
"india"
] | [] | [] | [] | 27-APR-1987 07:40:49.36 | INDIAN BANKER SAYS RATES CUT AFFECTS PROFITABILITY |
French Finance Minister Edouard Balladur
said the Group of Seven major industrial nations, G-7, can
achieve stable currency values by adhering to accords reached
this year in Paris and Washington.
Balladur, asked at a news conference if coordinated market
intervention by central banks was sufficient to halt the
dollar's recent slide, said "each country has to fulfill
commitments" outlined in the G-7 accords.
Earlier this month in Washington, finance ministers of the
U.S., Japan, West Germany, France, Italy, Britain and Canada
reaffirmed an earlier Paris accord to arrest the dollar's fall.
Balladur said the current nervousness in foreign exchange
markets can be partly attributed to "some operators in the
market only watching short term economic indicators. You have
to keep a cool head," he said, declining to elaborate further.
In an earlier speech before the Milan Chamber of Commerce,
the minister said European countries have to seek "a better
consensus of economic and monetary policies."
On the European Monetary System, he said, "The persistent
vulnerability of the foreign currency mechanism, particularly
to the movements of the dollar, can be explained by the absence
of a common policy for currencies of other countries."
Balladur said, "I am profoundly convinced that the European
countries have to define together this position with respect to
the dollar and the yen."
He said Italy eventually would have to abandon its higher
margin of fluctuation within the European Montetary System. "I
hope that the spectacular improvement of the economic situation
and of the balance of payments will permit (Italy) to do it
soon."
The lira is currently allowed a fluctuation margin either
side of its agreed midpoints with other EMS currencies of six
pct, against 2.25 pct permitted for the other members.
REUTER
| "NORM" | [
"money-fx",
"dlr",
"lit"
] | "NOT-USED" | "PUBLISHED-TESTSET" | "21915" | "17293" | [
"italy",
"france",
"usa"
] | [
"balladur"
] | [] | [] | 27-APR-1987 07:46:34.04 | BALLADUR URGES ADHERENCE TO G-7 CURRENCY ACCORDS |
Norway's stock exchange has touched record
levels, propelled by higher oil prices and foreign buying
interest. But analysts say the bullish trend probably will not
last. Tight restrictions on foreign ownership of shares have
held back development on the market, they say. While some of
these rules could soon be eased, Norway's unresolved economic
woes mean the prices boom is likely to be short-lived.
Last Thursday, the all-share index reached 325.48 points to
beat the previous record of 325.31 set in mid-November, 1985.
Brokers say the new record, spurred by firmer oil prices
above 18 dlrs a barrel which are crucial to Norway's economy,
has for now set the Oslo bourse apart from the current
fluctuations on other world stock markets.
"It's an underdeveloped market...Virgin territory ," Jenny
Tora, a Scandinavian securities analyst with London-based
stockbrokers James Capel, told Reuters.
But the attraction for foreign investors of the stock
market, where price/earnings ratios average around a relatively
low 11, is tempered by restrictions and some nervousness about
the future of Norway's economy, analysts say.
Foreign ownerhsip is limited in all sectors and varies
between 10 and 40 pct of the shares of any company - and the
class of shares rarely carry voting rights.
"It's often hard to get stocks as the quotas are full," Tora
said. "There can be problems of liquidity in the market. You can
get into the market, but perhaps not get out."
Analysts said this meant that foreign interest had been
restricted mostly to professional trading rather than client
buying, and that the market missed some speculative impetus.
There are also no stock options, and bonds cannot be held
by foreigners in Norwegian securities trading.
Thor Bang, chief economist at Den Norske Creditbank A/S,
Norway's biggest bank, said he thought the stocks boom had
little foundation in Norway's economic situation.
"One of the factors (in the rise) is a belief in...Political
stability," he told Oslo's business daily, Dagens Naeringsliv.
The minority Labour government has looked increasingly
stable since it came to power in May, 1986, with the former
right-centrist coalition in disarray.
But stock market analysts say continued economic problems
could soon jeopardise the bourse's bull trend, in spite of the
appreciation of the crown against the dollar.
Although firming oil prices mean better news for Norway,
Western Europe's biggest oil producer after Britain, analysts
point to high interest rates, uncertainty over the future price
of oil and a weighty current account balance of payments
deficit as threats to the bourse.
Interest rates stand at around 14 pct, while annual
inflation is 10 pct. The current account balance of payments
deficit stood at 32.8 billion crowns last year, against a
surplus of 26.8 billion crowns in 1985.
"I'd be very cautious about present stock levels," Chris
Honnor of London-based brokers Grieveson Grant said.
The record-breaking performance last Thursday meant that
the all-share index had increased by 16 pct from the start of
1987.
On Friday the index leapt another 7.78 points to 333.26.
But analysts noted this was largely due to much better than
expected profits in the first quarter from Norsk Hydro,
Norway's largest diversified corporation.
Foreign investors, spurred by the appreciating crown and
the rise in oil prices, have been more prominent in the market
this year, although they still trade selectively mainly in
Norsk Hydro, Norsk Data and a few other top-traded industrials.
Earlier this month the government proposed allowing the
share of foreign ownerhsip permitted in financial institutions
to rise in a bid to boost competition. Depending on the
circumstances, the share foreign owners can have will rise from
10 pct to between 15 and 25 pct.
Saga Petroleum, Norway's largest fully private oil company,
has also said it will seek government permission to boost
permitted foreign share ownerhsip to 40 pct from the present 20
pct. Saga shares have registered some of the strongest gains on
the bourse because of the move, adding more than 60 pct to
their value so far this year.
REUTER
| "NORM" | [] | "NOT-USED" | "PUBLISHED-TESTSET" | "21916" | "17294" | [
"norway"
] | [] | [] | [
"ose"
] | 27-APR-1987 07:57:49.23 | NORWAY BOURSE PRICE BOOM WILL NOT LAST - ANALYSTS |
Representatives of the Group of Seven will
meet in the Sardinian resort of Porto Cervo from April 30 to
May 2 to discuss the agenda for the group's Venice summit in
June, sources close to the Italian Foreign Ministry said.
The sources said the meeting would be informal and attended
by the personal representatives of G-7 leaders.
The sources did not comment on reports from Osaka that
deputy finance ministers would attend the Porto Cervo meeting,
and said there would be a complete information blackout on the
gathering.
The sources had no comment on statements by Japanese
officials in Osaka yesterday that the falling dollar would be
among topics discussed.
The Japanese officials had said the meeting, while focusing
on longer-term issues, would provide senior government
officials with their first chance to discuss the recent sharp
drop of the dollar.
REUTER
| "NORM" | [] | "NOT-USED" | "PUBLISHED-TESTSET" | "21917" | "17295" | [
"italy"
] | [] | [] | [] | 27-APR-1987 08:02:36.89 | G-7 OFFICIALS TO MEET IN SARDINIA THIS WEEK |
Treasury Secretary James Baker has
cancelled a trip to Australia because of pressing business at
home, including the visit this week by Japanese Prime Minister
Yasuhiro Nakasone, a Treasury spokesman said.
The spokesman, who asked not to be identified, said: "I
would not draw any conclusion from the cancellation...I would
just say it's the press of business."
But he added that the visit by the Japanese leader was "part
of the press of business."
The spokesman denied the cancellation was linked to the
current turmoil in the financial markets.
Nakasone's visit is expected to be crucial for the currency
markets. Unless the Japanese prime minister brings with him
measures to stimulate the Japanese economy by fiscal expansion
or lower interest rates, the visit is likely to be considered
by currency markets as an outright failure.
In addition, it is thought highly unlikely that Nakasone
and Reagan will agree on the removal of U.S. trade sanctions
imposed earlier this month on certain electronic goods.
But the participation in the talks by Baker, the
administration's top policy maker on international economic
affairs, suggests that hard bargaining between the two sides
may be in prospect.
Asked if the trip by Baker, who was to have left April 30
and returned May 6, had been dropped in the last couple of
days, the Treasury spokesman replied: "I would think so."
He described the trip as "purely ceremonial."
Both Japan and the United States have a lot to lose from an
unsuccessful outcome to the this week's talks.
Tokyo and Washington are aware that nervous currency
markets stand ready to bail out of dollars and buy yen, which
economists fear could send world interest rates soaring and
even lead to global recession.
Baker has been the driving force behind the
administration's efforts to coordinate international economic
policies and reduce global trade imbalances.
Reuter
| "NORM" | [
"money-fx",
"trade"
] | "NOT-USED" | "PUBLISHED-TESTSET" | "21918" | "17296" | [
"usa",
"australia",
"japan"
] | [
"james-baker",
"nakasone"
] | [] | [] | 27-APR-1987 08:15:16.13 | U.S. TREASURY'S BAKER CANCELS TRIP TO AUSTRALIA |
The 22nd annual meeting of the Asian
Development Bank will be held in Peking in 1989, a senior bank
official told Reuters.
China, which was admitted as the bank's 47th member in
March 1986, will take a place on the ADB board at the current
meeting here, he said.
Peking's representatives have been attending board meetings
over the past year as observers with no voting rights, he
added.
He said China, the bank's third-largest shareholder after
Japan and the United States, will take the seat on the
12-member board currently occupied by a grouping of Sri Lanka,
Vietnam, the Maldives, Laos and Afghanistan.
He also said the U.S., Whose nominee on the board, Joe O.
Rogers, resigned in September 1986, has named Victor Frank as
his replacement.
Frank, a private-sector appointee, is awaiting Senate
approval and will take up his post later this year, he added.
REUTER
| "NORM" | [] | "NOT-USED" | "PUBLISHED-TESTSET" | "21919" | "17297" | [
"japan",
"china"
] | [] | [
"adb-asia"
] | [] | 27-APR-1987 08:16:35.20 | CHINA TO HOST 1989 ADB ANNUAL MEETING |
The Reagan Administration is
considering tax incentives to boost oil output and restore
100,000 jobs, U.S. Energy Secretary John Herrington said.
A tax credit for new exploration would be part of a package
to bring 1,000 idle drilling rigs back into operation and raise
domestic production by one mln barrels a day, he said.
The tax status of exploration might also be changed,
Herrington told reporters at the World Petroleum Congress.
He said the oil industry was experiencing difficult times
internationally and had been devastated in the United States.
Consumer demand and a significant decline in domestic
production has resulted in a rise in oil imports of one mln
barrels a day in over the last 16 months, Herrington said.
"Steps must be taken...To reverse the downturn in our
domestic energy industry and to safeguard and increase our
energy security," he said.
The administration is committed to improving marketplace
conditions and incentives to spur exploration and development.
"This commitment includes rejecting quick fix solutions,
like an oil import fee, which are bad for the United States and
bad for the world," he added.
REUTER
| "NORM" | [
"crude"
] | "NOT-USED" | "PUBLISHED-TESTSET" | "21920" | "17298" | [
"usa"
] | [
"herrington"
] | [] | [] | 27-APR-1987 08:17:09.02 | U.S. CONSIDERING OIL INDUSTRY TAX INCENTIVES |
Representatives of the Group of Seven will
meet in the Sardinian resort of Porto Cervo from April 30 to
May 2 to discuss the agenda for the group's Venice summit in
June, sources close to the Italian Foreign Ministry said.
The sources said the meeting would be informal and attended
by the personal representatives of G-7 leaders.
The sources did not comment on reports from Osaka that
deputy finance ministers would attend the Porto Cervo meeting,
and said there would be a complete information blackout on the
gathering.
The sources had no comment on statements by Japanese
officials in Osaka yesterday that the falling dollar would be
among topics discussed.
The Japanese officials had said the meeting, while focusing
on longer-term issues, would provide senior government
officials with their first chance to discuss the recent sharp
drop of the dollar.
REUTER
| "NORM" | [] | "NOT-USED" | "PUBLISHED-TESTSET" | "21921" | "17299" | [
"italy"
] | [] | [] | [] | 27-APR-1987 08:18:43.76 | G-7 OFFICIALS TO MEET IN SARDINIA THIS WEEK |
French Finance Minister Edouard Balladur
said the Group of Seven major industrial nations, G-7, can
achieve stable currency values by adhering to accords reached
this year in Paris and Washington.
Balladur, asked at a news conference if coordinated market
intervention by central banks was sufficient to halt the
dollar's recent slide, said "each country has to fulfill
commitments" outlined in the G-7 accords.
Earlier this month in Washington, finance ministers of the
U.S., Japan, West Germany, France, Italy, Britain and Canada
reaffirmed an earlier Paris accord to arrest the dollar's fall.
Balladur said the current nervousness in foreign exchange
markets can be partly attributed to "some operators in the
market only watching short term economic indicators. You have
to keep a cool head," he said, declining to elaborate further.
In an earlier speech before the Milan Chamber of Commerce,
the minister said European countries have to seek "a better
consensus of economic and monetary policies."
On the European Monetary System, he said, "The persistent
vulnerability of the foreign currency mechanism, particularly
to the movements of the dollar, can be explained by the absence
of a common policy for currencies of other countries."
Balladur said, "I am profoundly convinced that the European
countries have to define together this position with respect to
the dollar and the yen."
He said Italy eventually would have to abandon its higher
margin of fluctuation within the European Montetary System. "I
hope that the spectacular improvement of the economic situation
and of the balance of payments will permit (Italy) to do it
soon."
The lira is currently allowed a fluctuation margin either
side of its agreed midpoints with other EMS currencies of six
pct, against 2.25 pct permitted for the other members.
REUTER
| "NORM" | [
"money-fx",
"dlr",
"lit"
] | "NOT-USED" | "PUBLISHED-TESTSET" | "21922" | "17300" | [
"italy",
"france"
] | [
"balladur"
] | [] | [] | 27-APR-1987 08:19:58.38 | BALLADUR URGES ADHERENCE TO G-7 CURRENCY ACCORDS |
<Quintette Coals Ltd> of Canada and
Japanese steelmakers failed to agree on the Canadian coal base
price over four years from April 1, but agreed to have another
round of talks in late May, officials involved said.
Japanese firms have asked for the base price to be set at
44 U.S. Dlrs per tonne (FOB), sharply lower than the 75 to 76
dlrs of the past four years, they told Reuters. The base price
is reviewed every four years under the long-term accord.
The Canadian mine insisted on maintaining the present
price, they said.
Japanese firms bought 4.75 mln tonnes of Quintette coal in
1986/87, and plan to buy the same volume in 1987/88 depending
on the result of the talks, the officials said. They added
Japan has no plans to withdraw its price cutback request due to
recent falls in coking coal prices on the world market.
Meanwhile <Gregg River Co> of Canada has agreed on a
Japanese proposal to set a temporary price of 75.80 Canadian
dlrs on and after May shipment following the failure of the
1987/88 price talks, they said. Japanese firms plan to buy
150,000 tonnes of Gregg River coal for May shipment and hold
another round of talks with Gregg in late May, they added.
REUTER
| "NORM" | [
"iron-steel"
] | "NOT-USED" | "PUBLISHED-TESTSET" | "21923" | "17301" | [
"japan",
"canada"
] | [] | [] | [] | 27-APR-1987 08:20:24.50 | JAPAN STEELMAKERS, CANADA MINE DISCUSS COAL PRICE |
South Korean prosecutors formally charged
the chief executive of Pan Ocean Shipping Company, the
country's largest shipping firm, with alleged financial
offences.
A statement from the prosecutors' office said charges of
illegal capital movement, violation of foreign exchange laws
and tax evasion were laid against Hahn Sang-yon, president of
the hugely indebted company whose chairman, Park Ken-sek, fell
to his death a week ago.
Prosecutors said that over the past six years Hahn and Park
illegally sent abroad more than 15 mln dlrs.
The prosecutors said that the two executives used more than
2.7 mln dlrs of the diverted funds to acquire U.S. Real estate.
The Office of National Tax Administration has sent banking
experts to the United States to investigate.
Park plunged to his death from his 10th floor office window
on April 19.
Finance Minister Chung In-young last week ordered the
state-owned Korea Exchange Bank to take over Pan Ocean,
burdened by debts of more than 1,000 billion won.
REUTER
| "NORM" | [
"ship"
] | "NOT-USED" | "PUBLISHED-TESTSET" | "21924" | "17302" | [
"south-korea"
] | [] | [] | [] | 27-APR-1987 08:27:25.36 | TOP EXECUTIVE OF PAN OCEAN SHIPPING CHARGED |
Japan's preliminary industrial production
index (base 1980) rose 0.7 pct to a seasonally adjusted 122.8
in March from the previous month, the Ministry of International
Trade and Industry said.
Production had fallen 0.2 in Feburary from a month earlier.
The preliminary, unadjusted March index fell 0.2 pct from a
year earlier after remaining flat in Feburary.
The adjusted March producers' shipment index (same base)
fell 0.6 to 117.3 from February. The unadjusted index rose 0.3
pct from a year earlier.
The adjusted March index of producers' inventories of
finished goods (same base) rose 0.7 pct to 105.4 from Feburary.
The unadjusted index fell 1.1 pct from a year earlier.
REUTER
| "NORM" | [
"ipi",
"inventories"
] | "NOT-USED" | "PUBLISHED-TESTSET" | "21925" | "17303" | [
"japan"
] | [] | [] | [] | 27-APR-1987 08:39:29.16 | JAPAN INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION RISES IN MARCH |
Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone was
advised to work out a plan for his government to buy more than
one billion dlrs worth of foreign industrial products as part
of efforts to defuse Japan's trade frictions with the United
States, officials said.
Former Foreign Minister Shintaro Abe made the
recommendation at a meeting with Nakasone soon after returning
from a U.S. Visit designed to pave the way for the prime
minister's visit to Washington starting next Wednesday.
Abe met President Ronald Reagan and U.S. Congressional
leaders during his visit.
It was not known how Nakasone responded to the suggestion.
It also included increasing the nation's untied loans to
developing countries to between 25 billion and 30 billion dlrs
over the next three years and giving foreign firms greater
access to a six billion dlr international airport project in
western Japan, officials said.
Abe called for tax cuts and government funds to be funneled
into public works projects to stimulate domestic demand. Abe
spoke of the possibility that Nakasone's visit could coincide
with the passage of a protectionist trade bill by the U.S.
House of Representatives.
Reuter
| "NORM" | [
"trade"
] | "NOT-USED" | "PUBLISHED-TESTSET" | "21926" | "17304" | [
"japan",
"usa"
] | [
"nakasone"
] | [] | [] | 27-APR-1987 08:40:20.43 | NAKASONE ADVISED TO EXPAND PURCHASES ABROAD |
Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone,
beleaguered by political turmoil at home, sets out Wednesday on
a tough mission to Washington aimed at defusing the most
serious U.S.-Japanese trade tension in recent memory.
Two rounds of talks between President Reagan and Nakasone,
scheduled for Thursday and Friday, come on the heels of the
imposition by the United States of punitive tariffs on Japanese
goods for the first time since World War Two.
In the past, bilateral trade friction involving cotton
goods, steel, television sets, textiles and cars have ended
with Japan taking on voluntary export curbs.
Nakasone's visit could coincide with the passage of a
protectionist trade bill by the U.S. House of Representatives.
A proposed amendment to the bill, drafted by Representative
Richard Gephardt of Missouri, will mandate a 10 pct annual
reduction in the trade surpluses of Japan and other nations
which have large trade gaps with the United States.
The United States last year had a record trade deficit of
169.8 billion dlrs and Japan accounted for about one-third.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Yoshifumi Matsuda said recently
he was reasonably optimistic about the results of talks between
the two leaders.
Top U.S. and Japanese officials have shuttled back and
forth across the Pacific to lay the groundwork for Nakasone's
visit. The last of the talks leading up to the main event will
be in Washington next Wednesday between U.S. Secretary of State
George Shultz and Foreign Minister Tadashi Kuranari.
Nakasone will have an economic package worked out by the
ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and by an advisory body
led by former Bank of Japan Governor Haruo Maekawa.
Japan plans to spend over 5,000 billion yen to boost
domestic demand, increase imports of U.S. products including
supercomputers and give more help to developing countries,
government officials said.
The government has been making last ditch efforts in time
for Nakasone's trip to address outstanding bilateral issues,
officials said.
The issues include foreign access to a new Japanese
overseas telecommunications venture and a six billion dlr
international airport project in western Japan.
Nakasone and his party last week reached a compromise
accord with opposition parties over a controversial sales tax
plan in exchange for parliamentary passage by the Lower House
of a government draft budget for 1987/88.
The accord, offered by House Speaker Kenzaburo Hara,
virtually killed the Nakasone-sponsored plan, but left room for
future tax reform plans, political analysts said.
Nakasone, who led his party to a resounding electoral
triumph last July, saw his popularity drop because of the sales
tax.
His party suffered setbacks in an Upper House by-election
and nationwide local elections in the past two months.
Mitsuru Uchida, professor of political science at Waseda
University, told Reuters: "I doubt that whatever Nakasone does
in Washington -- no matter how good it might be -- would help
restore his weakened power-base at home."
Many analysts said Nakasone might step down after the
Venice summit of industrialized nations in June.
Reuter
| "NORM" | [
"trade"
] | "NOT-USED" | "PUBLISHED-TESTSET" | "21927" | "17305" | [
"japan",
"usa"
] | [
"nakasone",
"reagan"
] | [] | [] | 27-APR-1987 08:43:28.47 | NAKASONE TO MEET REAGAN AMID TRADE TENSIONS |
Attempts to hold currency rates
rigidly within tight ranges through European Monetary System
intramarginal intervention can be counterproductive, bringing
funds into the stronger currency from the weaker at rates still
considered fairly favourable, the Bundesbank said.
"The movements thus sparked can actually promote the weaker
tendency of a currency, requiring still larger obligatory
intervention when rates hit band limits," it said in its 1986
annual report. The other danger was that money supply expansion
could be caused in the stronger currency nation without its
central bank being involved in the activity.
"For this reason, currency levels should be allowed as much
room for manoeuvre as possible inside the band limits when a
currency is in a phase of weakness," the Bundesbank said.
"In addition, speculative positions are made more expensive
to hold when interest differentials are increased."
In the report, the Bundesbank gave a rare glimpse of the
extent of intramarginal and obligatory EMS intervention that
has taken place since the foundation of the eight-currency
system on March 13, 1979.
Obligatory intervention is that required by EMS central
banks when a currency reaches its agreed limit against another
participating unit.
Intramarginal intervention is undertaken on agreement
between central banks when speculative pressure moves a
currency in an unwanted direction, although it may not yet be
near any allowed EMS limits.
At the start of this year, central banks were very actively
selling marks and supporting weaker currencies, primarily the
French franc, as speculative EMS pressure grew.
But the announcement by the Bank of France that it was
ceasing intramarginal intervention sent the franc straight to
its then-permitted floor of 31.8850 marks per 100.
Data in the Bundesbank report showed the EMS central banks
bought a net total 29.9 billion marks after the April 6, 1986
realignment until the selling petered out on July 7.
But this was far outweighed by net purchases between July
8, 1986, and the realignment on January 12 this year totalling
63.0 billion marks - 44.1 billion of which was intramarginal
and 18.9 billion was obligatory intervention.
The data showed that 17.4 billion marks of the total
eventually filtered into the West German monetary system.
Since the latest realignment, central banks have bought
16.1 billion marks in intramarginal intervention, the
Bundesbank said, without naming the banks involved.
Only very high activity after the March 21, 1983
realignment came close to matching moves up to last January.
Then, central banks bought a massive 61.6 billion marks in the
period up to July 1985, mainly to stabilise the EMS as the
dollar surged.
This then turned into mark sales of a net 34.0 billion from
July 11, 1985 in the run-up to the April 1986 realignment.
REUTER
| "NORM" | [
"money-fx"
] | "NOT-USED" | "PUBLISHED-TESTSET" | "21928" | "17306" | [
"west-germany"
] | [] | [] | [] | 27-APR-1987 08:46:08.86 | EMS INTERVENTION SAID SOMETIMES COUNTERPRODUCTIVE |