Indian town by China

RANCHI:

Jharkhand state of India is looking to China to help it design and build cost-effective and modern townships in the state. The state government has already signed a MoU with the Shanghai Urban Construction Group last month and is set to ink a similar pact with the Beijing Urban Authority. China has signed several agreements in the steel, mining and other sectors in Jharkhand. — HNS

Australia to hike rates

SYDNEY:

Australia’s central bank said it could adjust interest rates to fight off rising inflation sparked by high oil prices. CPI figures released in September showed year-on-year inflation at three per cent - the upper limit of the Reserve Bano of Australia’s target. The bank did not significantly change its outlook for inflation. — AP

Exports rise in Taiwan

TAIPEI:

Taiwan posted regord-high exports in October, boosted by strong demand from China, Hong Kong and other trading partners in Asia. Exports in October rose by 16.6 per cent from a year earlier to $17.93 billion, the highest monthly level on record. Taiwan’s imports in October totaled $16.39 billion, nine per cent higher than a year earlier. — AP

Fiat, Ford seal car deal

TURIN:

Fiat SpA and Ford Motor Co have signed an agreement to collaborate on small cars, concluding a preliminary project to co-develop new models due in 2007 and 2008. The two carmakers said they expected to save on development costs and benefit from economies of scale in the production of the vehicles and procurement of parts. — AP

Taiwan to relax law

TAIPEI:

Taiwan may relax its tight restrictions on chip investments in rival China by allowing its chip factories there to use slightly more advanced technology. Taiwan now allows its chip firms to build eight-inch wafer plants in China, using older 0.25-micron technology. But chipmakers in China may be allowed to move up to the 0.18-micron circuits. — AP

DoCoMo to expand

TOKYO:

Japan’s largest cellular phone service operator NTT DoCoMo Inc has agreed to purchase a 40 per cent stake in Tower Records Japan Inc, making it the largest shareholder in the top retailer of music software in Japan and the world. — AP

Dhakal, Carol meet

KATHMANDU:

Chandi Raj Dhakal, president of FNCCI and Mary C Carol, trade representative of FNCCI in US held a meeting recently in Kathmandu, and discussed on promoting bilateral trade and other related matters. “A FNCCI team is visiting US next year to foster trade relations between Nepali and American private sector,” Dhakal informed. Meanwhile, Carol noted that the Nepali readymade garment is facing tough time. She also suggested for a meaningful homework to get duty free market access to the US market. — HNS

FNCCI team in Japan

KATHMANDU:

A FNCCI team on Sunday left for Japan to participate in Asian Forum for Venture Business scheduled for November 8-9 in Osaka. The delegation is led by Aajad Shrestha, third vice-president of FNCCI and accompanied by Kiran Prakash Sakha, chairman of EPC and Prakash Giri, coordinator of HRD and SAARC forum at FNCCI. The programme is organised by Asian Productivity Council. — HNS