Indonesia's Telkom eyes acquisitions in SE Asia

JAKARTA - PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia, Indonesia's biggest phone firm, said on Thursday it is looking at acquisitions in Southeast Asia as it sees its domestic market maturing.

Indonesia, Southeast Asia's biggest economy, has become one of the world's most crowded telecommunications markets, with 11 operators fighting for custom in a population of 237 million.

"Telkom is looking for acquisition opportunities in Southeast Asia, including mobile phone providers as our market is starting to mature," said CEO Rinaldi Firmansyah.

"We need a new market but we will not go to Africa. It's too far...But in Asia we're open for any acquisition possibilities," he said on the sidelines of a conference.

Telkom, which rarely comments on regional expansion, tried last year to acquire a stake in Iran Telecom but failed as it lacked backing from Indonesia's government.

Firmansyah did not say how big the firm's warchest would be, but said earlier on Thursday that it sees capital expenditure in 2011 at about US$2 billion.

"We see the same capex for next year at about $2 billion to finance our infrastructure projects as well as maintenance," said Firmansyah.

Telkom needs to invest heavily in telecoms infrastructure such as towers, and is also shifting its focus to data services to earn higher profits as Indonesian subscriber growth slows.

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MobiFone tops list of biggest tax contributors

A customer trials Mobifone 3G Mobile Internet service

Photo: Tuoi Tre

MobiFone, a mobile service operator under the Vietnam Post and Telecommunications Group, has topped the list of 1,000 largest corporate income tax payers in Vietnam, according to a report released Wednesday by Vietnam Report Co and newswire VietnamNet.

This is the first profile ever compiled for publication of Vietnam's top corporate income tax contributors. The ranking aims to recognize and honor enterprises for their good business performance and for their significant contributions to the country's budget over three consecutive years.

Information to compile the business profiles was collected from business results and individual data by the Vietnam Report Company in co-ordination with Taxation magazine of the General Department of Taxation, and domestic and foreign consultants.

Rankings are based on the total corporate income tax paid over three consecutive financial years between 2007 and 2009.

The following are the top 10 corporate income tax contributors: * Vietnam Mobile Telecom Services Co (Mobifone) * Military-run Viettel Corp (Viettel) * PetroVietnam Gas Corp (PVG) * Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam (Vietcombank) * Petrovietnam Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam) * Vietnam National Coal and Mineral Industries Group (Vinacomin) * Vietnam Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Agribank) * Vietnam Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Industry and Trade (Vietinbank) * Prudential Vietnam * Phu My Hung Corp

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Nissan, Renault to develop platform: report

Photo: AFP

TOKYO - Japan's Nissan Motor and its partner Renault of France will jointly develop a platform for at least 10 models of vehicle to consolidate suppliers and cut procurement costs, a report has said.

The two companies, which intend to design the common platform for medium-sized sport utility vehicles and sedans, also plan to standardize 70 key components, including windows and brakes, the Nikkei business daily said.

The key components account for about 80 percent of the total cost of parts and materials, the report added.

With bulk purchasing leading to lower unit prices, the automakers expect to eventually cut parts procurement costs for midsize vehicles by about 30 percent, or several billion dollars a year, Nikkei said.

Renault owns 44 percent of the number-three Japanese maker, which also has a 15-percent share in the French firm.

Nissan and Renault produce the Micra at a joint venture in India.

The common platform and standardized parts will be used in vehicles from 2013 and account for about 1.5 million units a year -- roughly a quarter of the total that the two firms sold globally last year, the daily said.

Nissan's X-Trail and Dualis SUVs and Renault's Fluence sedan and Megane are among the models that will share the platform and components, Nikkei added.

The partners have begun examining possible suppliers for the standardized parts, with final selections to be made starting this fall.

Nissan moved under Renault's umbrella in 1999, and the two firms established a joint procurement organization in 2001.

They began buying all materials and parts through this entity in April 2009. But because the two share only eight types of components, including air conditioners and batteries, the cost benefits so far have been limited.

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Piaggio targets Asia expansion for margin boost

MILAN - Italy's Piaggio SpA, best known for its Vespa scooters, plans to expand in Asia to take advantage of higher growth and margins than in mature European markets, it said on Thursday.

In a business plan, Piaggio, which produces motorbikes, scooters and light vehicles, set a target for its core earnings margin of 15 percent, up from 13.2 percent set for 2012 in its previous plan, and in line with expectations.

"The plan is focused on new industrial plants in India and in Vietnam, on strengthening the commercial presence in Asian markets via new products and on development of new technologies for European and American markets," it said.

Analysts were expecting a margin target in 2013 for earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation of between "over 14 percent" and "over 15 percent".

In the first half, Piaggio's EBITDA margin was 14.3 percent.

In India, Piaggio plans a new plant for scooter and motorbike models with the launch of Vespa models in 2012. In Vietnam, the existing plant will be expanded to satisfy demand on South East Asia markets.

In China, the plan targets further development of joint ventures operating on this market, it said.

Piaggio gave no details on investments but said net debt is targeted at 300 million euros in 2013. At the end of 2009, net debt was 352 million euros.

Piaggio shares were down 2.22 percent at 2.42 euros off a recent 20-week high. The STOXX Europe 600 auto index was up 0.6 percent.

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Mobifone tops list of biggest tax contributors

The Vietnam Report Company and online newspaper VietnamNet announced the
1,000 largest corporate income tax payers in Vietnam in a profile
released Sept. 22.

This is the first profile ever compiled for publication of Vietnam's top
corporate income tax contributors. The ranking aims to recognise and
honour enterprises for their good business performance and for their
significant contributions to the country's budget over three consecutive
years.

Information to compile the business profiles
was collected from business results and individual data by the Vietnam
Report Company in co-ordination with Taxation magazine of the General
Department of Taxation, and domestic and foreign consultants.

Rankings are based on the total corporate income tax paid over three consecutive financial years between 2007 and 2009.

The following are the top 10 corporate income tax contributors:

* Vietnam Mobile Telecom Services Company (Mobifone)

* Military-run Viettel Corporation (Viettel)

* PetroVietnam Gas Corporation (PVG)

* Joint Stock Commercial Bank For Foreign Trade Of Vietnam (Vietcombank)

* Petrovietnam Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam)

* Vietnam National Coal - Mineral Industries Group (Vinacomin)

* Vietnam Bank For Agriculture And Rural Development (Agribank)

* Vietnam Joint Stock Commercial Bank For Industry And Trade (Vietinbank)

* Prudential Vietnam

* Phu My Hung Corporation./.

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Toshiba industrial motor plant opens

Global electronics giant Toshiba Corporation opened a new industrial
motor manufacturing facility in Vietnam on Sept. 22, aiming to meet the
rising demand for high-efficiency, environmentally friendly motors.

The opening ceremony of the new production facility at the Amata
Industrial Park in southern Dong Nai province was attended by Deputy
Minister of Industry and Trade Hoang Quoc Vuong.

Toshiba Industrial Products Asia Co Ltd, Toshiba Corporation's Vietnam
subsidiary, began constructing the factory in April 2009 on
approximately 80,000sq.m of land. The completed facility has a floor
area of 24,000sq.m.

"We have set a target of
manufacturing 1.2 million motors a year by 2015, and expect a turnover
of 400 million USD," said Norio Sasaki, president and CEO of Toshiba
Corporation.

The alarm over global warming has
spurred demand for high-efficiency motors that consume less power and
emit less CO2, Sasaki said.

"The effect in reducing
CO2 discharge of 1.2 million high-efficiency industrial motors is around
200,000 tonnes, equivalent to planting 14 million trees," he said.

The plant expects to employ around 500 people when it operates at maximum capacity.

The manufacture of high-efficiency industrial motor requires many
materials including metal and plastic that the company can source from
the domestic market.

"Toshiba hopes to cooperate and use products of Vietnamese supporting industries," Sasaki said.

At present, the ratio of domestically-produced materials and
components is 33 percent, and they plan to increase this to 70 percent,
according to Norihiro Tsujioka, general director of Toshiba Industrial
Products Asia.

The current output of the new plant
is 7,000 motors, for which it employs 150 local employees. It expects to
increase its operating hours from the current eight hours a day to 16
hours by December, and 24 hours by next year.

The
manufacture and sale of motors meeting higher levels of efficiency than
current regional standards are expected to become mandatory in the
United States in December this year, and other governments are expected
to follow suit, Tsujioka said./.

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North in deficit as south runs surplus

Hanoi's trade deficit reaches nearly 10 billion USD, while HCM City
reaps a trade surplus of about 300 million USD in the first nine months
of this year, statistics offices in the two cities stated.

In Hanoi, the trade deficit almost doubles the export value, the
statistics office reports, adding that in the first nine months of this
year, the city is expected to earn an export revenue of 5.5 billion USD,
a year-on-year increase of 19.5 percent.

Meanwhile, the import value rises by 18.2 percent to 15.5 billion USD.

In September alone, Hanoi's trade gap is predicted to hit 1.08 billion
USD, up 70 million USD over August. Export revenue is expected to drop
0.3 percent against the previous month to 680 million USD, while import
turnover is expected to rise 1.3 percent to 1.76 billion USD.

“It is easy to understand why Hanoi has a big trade gap. It is a large
developing city with a high demand for machinery, equipment,
accessories and materials for construction projects," said an official
from the statistics office's trade section.

She,
however, added that in the first nine months of the year, huge sums are
spent on imported luxury goods such as cars, wine, cigarettes and
interior furnishings.

The Hanoi Statistics Office
earlier forecast that the capital would suffer a trade deficit of 13.8
billion USD in 2010, with exports earning just 7.6 billion USD and
imports 21.4 billion USD.

From January to September
2010, HCM City's import turnover is estimated to reach nearly 15.5
billion USD, a year-on-year increase of 12.6 percent. Its export value
is predicted to reach 15.8 billion USD, representing a year-on-year
increase of just 1 percent.

In the coming months,
export turnover should rise as market demand would typically rise in the
last months of the year, the city's Statistics Office stated. Although
HCM City experiences a trade surplus, the office reports that exporters
are encountering persistent difficulties.

Officials
said the price of raw materials is increasing, which would affect
exporters' competitiveness. They also said the city is suffering a
shortage of skilled workers and that some industries are facing material
shortages, both of which are hitting exports.

In September alone, the city's export revenue month-on-month drops 9.7 percent to 1.7 billion USD.

Meanwhile, the decrease in gold and crude export volumes also
contributed to the fall in the city's total export value, officials
said./.

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