BRIEFING - ASIA INFRASTRUCTURE - JULY 11, 2011

Abstract

SBI WILL NOT FUND REALTY PROJECTS IN INDIA'S DISPUTED AREAS NEW DELHI - Adopting a cautious approach in the wake of Indian Supreme Court asking the Uttar Pradesh state government to return land to original owners, country's largest lender State Bank of India (SBI, BSE:500112) said Friday it will not finance real estate projects which are mired in disputes over acquisition of land. "...if in a particular area where there has been a difficulty, those will not be financed," State Bank of India (SBI) chairman Pratip Chaudhuri told reporters on the sidelines of banking sector review conference presided over by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee.

An executive briefing on infrastructure for July 11, 2011,

prepared by Asia Pulse (http://www.asiapulse.com), the

real-time, Asia-based wire with exclusive news, commercial

intelligence and business opportunities.

INDONESIAN COAL MINERS TO INVEST US$75MLN TO IMPROVE

QUALITY

JAKARTA - Indonesian coal miners plan to build a facility to

improve the quality of their coal as the government has banned

the export of poor quality coal, the Indonesian Coal Mining

Association (APBI), said.

The government want to improve the quality of low ranked

coal to boost export revenues, said Supriatna Suhala, the

director executive of the association.

INDONESIA TO RAISE WHEAT FLOUR CAPACITY WITH 3 NEW

FACTORIES

JAKARTA - Indonesia will have three new wheat flour

factories increasing the country's annual production capacity

by 330,000 tons to 8.23 million tons by the end of this year.

PT Bumi Alam Segar and PT Horison Investment both in Bekasi

each with a production capacity of 90,000 tons, PT Golden Grand

Mills in Cilegon with a capacity of 150,000 tons, will come on

stream toward the end of this year.

SRI LANKA'S LOLC GROUP BUILDING 6 MW "DENDRO-POWER" PLANT

COLOMBO - United Dendro Energy, a unit of Sri Lanka's LOLC

group is building a 6 megawatt dendro power plant to be fired

by gliricidia with plans to eventually build 24MW of biomass

generating capacity, the company said.

The firm was now building a 4MW plant in the southern

Kalutara district, which can be expanded to 6MW. LOLC deputy

chairman Ishara Nanayakkara told shareholders in the group

annual report that the plant is expected to be commissioned in

2012.

SRI LANKAN TEA EXPORTER PLANNING OFF-SHORE BLENDING PLANT

COLOMBO - HVA Foods, a Sri Lanka-based branded tea exporter

is planning a blending unit in the Middle East to gain a bigger

share in the global retail market by making use of trade

liberties.

"Discussions with our Middle East partner is at an advanced

stage," HVA Foods chairman Rohan Fernando was quoted as saying

on LBR, a sister online publication.

INDIAN GSPL-LED CONSORTIUM GETS LOA FOR US$2.81BLN GAS

PIPELINE

MUMBAI - The Indian gas regulator, Petroleum and Natural Gas

Regulatory Board (PNGRB), has awarded a Letter of Authorisation

to a consortium led by Gujarat State Petronet Ltd (BSE:532702)

for developing Rs 12,500 crore (US$2.81 billion) natural gas

pipeline.

This LOA has cleared the path for GSPL to lay 4,000 km long

pipelines on three routes, Gujarat State Petronet informed the

Bombay Stock Exchange in a regulatory disclosure.

INDIA'S NEEPCO TO GO AHEAD WITH POWER PJT DESPITE BORDER

ISSUES

DHAKA - The Indian government is going ahead with its

proposed 1,500-MW Tipaimukh hydel power project in Manipur

despite objections from NGOs in India and opposition parties in

neighbouring Bangladesh.

Quoting Prem Chand Pankaj, chairman-cum-managing director of

the state-owned Indian firm North Eastern Electric Power

Corporation Ltd. (Neepco), IANS said "All apprehensions are

baseless. The mega hydel power project would be commissioned

despite opposition within the country and outside."

SBI WILL NOT FUND REALTY PROJECTS IN INDIA'S DISPUTED

AREAS

NEW DELHI - Adopting a cautious approach in the wake of

Indian Supreme Court asking the Uttar Pradesh state government

to return land to original owners, country's largest lender

State Bank of India (SBI, BSE:500112) said Friday it will not

finance real estate projects which are mired in disputes over

acquisition of land.

"...if in a particular area where there has been a

difficulty, those will not be financed," State Bank of India

(SBI) chairman Pratip Chaudhuri told reporters on the sidelines

of banking sector review conference presided over by Finance

Minister Pranab Mukherjee.

PHILS' METRO PAC WELCOMES DOTC REVIEW OF LRT-1 MRT-3

BIDDING

MANILA - The Philippines' Metro Pacific Light Rail Corp.

welcomes a review on the bidding of the operation and

maintenance (O&M) of the two mass rail systems in Metro

Manila.

"We welcome the review. If you look at the project, there is

no investment from public and private sector. In that case, it

is better that the government will review it," Ferdinand

Inacay, vice president for Business Development of Metro

Pacific Investment Corp. (MPIC) said in a telephone

interview.

PHILIPPINES' SM SUPERMALLS EYES DUMAGUETE FOR NEXT VENTURE

DUMAGUETE CITY - With the perceived growing economic

atmosphere in Dumaguete City, the capital of Negros Oriental,

the Philippines' largest shopping mall chain has signified its

intent to penetrate the city's market although there are no

definite plans yet, said Mayor Manuel Sagarbarria.

Mayor Sagarbarria disclosed that representatives of SM

Supermalls, owned by SM Prime Holdings, Inc. (PSE:SMPH), had

visited the city and met with him about three months ago in an

apparent move to check out the feasibility of setting up

business .

AUSTRALIA'S ENERGY WORLD SHARES GAINS ON PLACEMENT

SYDNEY - Shares in Australia's Energy World Corporation

(ASX:EWC) gained more than nine per cent after the gas pipeline

and power station builder agreed to sell 173 million new shares

to a new major shareholder.

Energy World International, the controlling shareholder of

Energy World, will also sell 85 million shares to Orchid Fund,

which is owned by an investment organisation started by New

Zealand-born Richard Chandler.

SAUDI ARABIA SETS UP 5 FIRMS WITH COMBINED CAPITAL OF

US$139MLN

RIYADH - Saudi Minister of Commerce and Industry, Abdullah

bin Ahmed Zaynal Ali Reza, has approved the establishment and

transformation of five companies with capitals of SR 524

million (US$139.7 million).

Dr. Hassan Fadhel Aqeel, a deputy of the Ministry of

Commerce and Industry for Internal Trade said in a statement

that the companies included Saudi Company for Special

Laboratories with a capital of SR 500 million; Real Estate

Mi'mar Company (SR 10 million); Rajhi Company for Heavy

Industries (SR 10 million); Real Estate Gulf Center Company (SR

2 million); and Muaiqel Company for Trade and Contracting (SR 2

million).

JAPAN PUBLIC LENDING TO QUAKE-HIT FIRMS REACHES US$6.5BLN

TOKYO - Japan Finance Corp. said Friday that it had loaned

527.1 billion yen (US$6.5 billion) to small and midsize firms

affected by the March 11 disaster through the end of June, more

than after the 1995 Kobe earthquake.

About 30 per cent of the 36,000 loans in the three and a

half months after the earthquake went to businesses in five of

the hardest-hit prefectures: Aomori, Iwate, Miyagi, Fukushima

and Ibaraki.

DUBAI ELEC AND WATER AUTHORITY LAUNCHES US$108MLN

SUBSTATION

DUBAI - Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) says it

has launched a 400 KV main Substation with a transformation

capacity of 2020 Megavolt Ampere in Al Barshaa area during the

second quarter of this year.

The cost of this substation is around AED 400 million

(US$108.9 million) so as to secure the ever-growing demand for

electricity for different purposes.

S.KOREAN BUILDERS' DOMESTIC ORDERS FALL 14% IN MAY

SEOUL - Domestic orders won by South Korean construction

companies sank in May, despite the government's measures to

boost the sluggish construction sector, a report said Monday.

According to the report by the Construction Association of

Korea (CAK), South Korea's construction companies clinched a

combined 8.46 trillion won (US$7.99 billion) in new orders in

May, down 14.1 per cent from the same month last year.

TAIPEI SHOPPING AREAS REMODELLING TO ATTRACT CHINESE

TOURISTS

TAIPEI - Shopping areas in Taipei City are committing

themselves to remodeling in order to attract Chinese free

independent travelers (FITs), business operators said

Saturday.

Lee Ching-lung, president of the Commercial Chamber of

Yongkong Street, a popular shopping district rich in cultural

ambiance, said stores in the area have been working with the

city government to add some zest into their facade.

S.KOREA TO STEP UP DEV'T SUPPORT FOR CONGO, ETHIOPIA

SEOUL - South Korea will intensify its support for economic

development in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Ethiopia to

help the African countries build their industrial

infrastructure, the finance ministry said Monday.

The move comes after President Lee Myung-bak recently

visited the two countries as part of his 10-day trip to the

African continent.

NSW, VICTORIA SCORE BADLY IN AUST'S US$17.3BLN BER INFRA

PROGRAM

CANBERRA - Australian states Victoria and New South Wales

have received poor marks in terms of getting value for money

out of the Building the Education Revolution (BER) program.

Federal Labor's controversial BER scheme has been labelled a

success by the taskforce set up to investigate inefficiencies

and dodgy workmanship.

JAPAN INTERESTED IN BUILDING TUNA PROCESSING PLANT IN

INDONESIA

MALANG - An Osaka businessman said he is interested in

building a tuna processing plant in Malang regency, East

Java.

The Indonesian Consul General in Osaka Ibnu Hadi when

accompanying a group of Japanese businessmen in Malang on

Friday said besides the plan to build a tuna processing plant,

they are also wished to invest in the raising sugar cane.

AUSTRALIA'S BRICKWORKS TO PASS ON CARBON COSTS

SYDNEY - Australian brick maker Brickworks Ltd (ASX:BKW)

intends to pass on the cost of the government's carbon tax with

price rises of up to six per cent.

The company says the $23 carbon tax will hit earnings by A$9

million (US$9.63 million) in the first year of operation,

before it undertakes any further action to reduce emissions.

AUST'S ADELAIDE BRIGHTON PROFIT US$5MLN LOWER WITH CARBON

PRICE

SYDNEY - Australian cement and lime supplier Adelaide

Brighton Ltd (ASX:ABC) estimates the carbon pricing scheme will

hit profit by A$5 million (US$5.35 million) in the first full

year of operation.

The estimate is before mitigation schemes.

INVESTMENT IN INDONESIA'S MP3EI WORTH US$6.49BLN IN H1

JAKARTA - The investment made on 19 projects in the

framework of the Master Plan for Acceleration and Expansion of

Indonesia`s Economic Development (MP3EI) in the first semester

of 2011 was recorded at Rp55.01 trillion (US$6.49 billion), a

minister said.

"Up to June 2011, a total of 19 projects have entered the

ground breaking stage (inauguration) while 63 others will be

inaugurated in the second semester of 2011," State-owned

Enterprise Minister Mustafa Abubakar said here over the

weekend.

TAIPEI IT PARK TO BREAK GROUND TODAY

TAIPEI - The Taipei IT Park, envisaged as a local version of

Japan's Akihabara 3C product center, is scheduled to break

ground Monday, the developer of the project said Saturday.

CyberMart, which won the bidding in April to develop the IT

center, said that Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. (TAIEX:2317)

chairman Terry Gou will address the ground breaking ceremony,

while Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin will also be present to witness

the event.

TAIWAN CONSTRUCTION SHARES BOOSTED BY SCRAPPING OF CHINA

CAP

TAIPEI - Shares of Taiwan's construction sector were lifted

in Friday morning trade by a government decision to ease

restrictions on China-bound property investment, dealers

said.

During the trade, the construction sector rose 0.96 per

cent, while the benchmark weighted index was down 0.01 per cent

at 8,772.66.

S.KOREA'S SAEMANGEUM 'MEGA RESORT' DEV'T TO KICKOFF THIS

MONTH

GUNSAN - South Korean developers said Saturday that they

plan to start work this month on a "mega resort" construction

project along the world's longest seawall on the country's

southwest coast.

JY Heavy Industries Co., which is leading a local

consortium, said 30 hectares of land between Sinsi and Yami

islands that is connected to land by the seawall will be

developed first. It said the remaining 165 hectares of land set

aside for the resort will be built up in due course.

INDIA'S GMR AIRPORTS RECEIVES US$131.9MLN FROM INVESTORS

NEW DELHI - GMR Infrastructure (BSE:532754) on Thursday said

a clutch of investors, including Standard Chartered Private

Equity (Mauritius) III Ltd, have invested Rs 584.6 crore

(US$131.9 million) in its subsidiary GMR Airports Holding.

In a notification to the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), GMR

Infrastructure said that the investors have invested in GMR

Airports Holding in the form of subscription to Compulsory

Convertible Preference shares.

INDONESIA'S TOWER BERSAMA TO BUY 4,000 TELCO TOWERS OF

INDOSAT

JAKARTA - Indonesian telecommunication tower operator PT

Tower Bersama (IDX:TBIG) said it is negotiating acquisition of

4,000 units of telecommunication towers of PT Indosat

(IDX:ISAT).

The subsidiary of the Saratoga Group is still in talks with

Indosat on possible acquisition of the towers worth an

estimated US$500 million, its finance director Helmy Yusman

said.

INDONESIA'S CIPUTRA SET TO CHALK UP 66% RISE IN PROPERTY

SALES

JAKARTA - Publicly traded Indonesian firm PT Ciputra Surya

(IDX:CTRS) set sales target at Rp1 trillion (US$117 million)

this year, up 66 per cent from last year.

The increase in sales is expected with the completion of a

number of new property projects including Ciputra World

Surabaya shopping mall starting operation in the East Java

capital.

(C) Asia Pulse Pte Ltd.

CONTACT:

Asia Pulse Production Centre

Phone: [phone]

Fax: [phone]

http://www.asiapulse.com