• Chinese president meets Chinese, Nigerian businessmen

Finance", he said, "I am happy that we have agreed to harmonise these resources for the benefit of our people".
Daukoru, said that the signing of the Production Sharing Contract (PSC) which was concluded yesterday, is an expression of government sincerity and seriousness about the cooperation it has sought from the South Koreans
"We have fulfilled our aspect of the deal", he told his guest, "it is your turn to honour your own", he said.
In his response, the South Korean Minister of Commerce, Industry and Energy, Mr. Sye Kyun Chung, expressed his joy with the bilateral relationship between his country and Nigeria.
"The MoU on Energy and Mineral resources cooperation and the PSC signed between our two countries", he noted, "are excellent examples of bilateral cooperation that would contribute to Korea's energy supply and security and Nigeria's diversification of oil development".
Fielding questions from Journalists later, Mr. Chung said that Korea is allowed a grace of one and half years to start the implementation of the agreement, saying that his country would want to start the Project as soon as possible.
Shedding more light on the projects, Dr. Daukoru told the press that the 1025km Gas Pipeline that form part of the project would start from the Northern fringe of the Niger Delta to Abuja, then to Kaduna.
"The Rail line is supposed to be cross connection between the North-South, the Western end of the existing system and Eastern length of the existing system," he explained.
The three MoUs signed were: the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) represented by the Group Managing Director (GMD) of the NNPC, Engr Funsho Kupolokun and Korean Gas Corporation which President, Mr. Soo ho Lee signed for it.
The MoU is to explore gas cooperation.
The second one was between Nigerian Mineral Resources and Geological Survey Agency (NMRGS) and Korean Resources Corporation. The Director General of NMRGS, Dr. Siyanbola Malomo signed for his Agency while Mr. Yang Soo Park stood for Korea.
It is on mineral resources information exchange and joint exploration.
The last one was, which centres on research and development of geo scientific knowledge signed by Dr. Malomo of the NMRGS and Dr. Tai Sup Lee, President of Korea Institute of Geosciences and Mineral Resources for their two organisations.
It could be recalled that President Olusegun Obasanjo had initiated courtesy visits between the Ministers of Energy of both countries in April, 2005.
In July 2005 and MoU integrating upstream investments to downstream projects was agreed and signed in July 2005, tagged Integrated Korean Project in Nigeria.
Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media. (allafrica.com)
FVAN47742693
Document AIWVAN0020060315e23e00007

South Korea Beats India to Nigeria's Blocs 321 & 323
by Hector Igbikiowubo & Luka Binniyat

1,435 words

14 March 2006

06:45 AM

All Africa

AFNWS

English

(c) 2006 AllAfrica, All Rights Reserved
Mar 14, 2006 (Vanguard/All Africa Global Media via COMTEX) --
SOUTH Korea, the world's fifth largest oil importer has beaten India's Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) to control of Nigeria's oil blocs 321 and 323 after months of horse trading and media speculation about the outcome. The South Koreans have also pledged an investment package of $6 billion (about N768 billion) over the next few years.
Resources, said yesterday by phone from Abuja. India's Oil & Natural Gas Corp. withdrew from the venture, ending a six_month ownership dispute.
Competition for reserves among Asia's state_run oil producers is intensifying after prices rose to records because demand in Asia and the U.S. outpaced supply growth. Since August, India has lost to Chinese government_run companies in bids to acquire assets worth about $7.9 billion in Kazakhstan, Ecuador and Nigeria.
"Everybody is trying to secure their own resources instead of being dependent on somebody else," said Fadel Gheit, senior energy analyst with Oppenheimer & Co. in New York. "All these government_owned companies or government agencies are emerging from the bureaucracy and the state's shadow."
South Korea's victory in Nigeria was India's fourth defeat in a year in bidding for overseas reserves.
South Korea, which imports almost all of its oil, has increased consumption 91_fold in four decades to 2.28 million barrels a day in 2004. In January, the top seven suppliers to Asia's third_biggest economy were all from the Middle East, led by Saudi Arabia.
Oil from Nigeria, the sixth_biggest producer in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, is prized by refiners for the amount of high_value gasoline it yields.
Fields available for investment are diminishing at a time when oil demand is rising, especially in countries such as China, India and South Korea, said Mark Routt, an oil analyst at Energy Security Analysis Inc. in Wakefield, Massachusetts.
The list of alternatives that the state_run companies "get to choose from are only blocks and resources that are not state preserves," Routt said in a phone interview.
Oil & Natural Gas, which had sought a 90 percent stake, turned down an offer of a 30 percent stake in the venture. Equator Exploration Ltd., based in Tortola in the British Virgin Islands, received a 30 percent stake and a local Nigerian partner won 10 percent, Chukwueke said. The agreement will be announced officially today.
Oil & Natural Gas "was looking for operatorship," said Praveen Martis, an energy analyst at U.K._based Wood Mackenzie Consultants Ltd. "They probably don't want to be there as a junior partner."
Ownership of the Nigerian areas has been disputed since Oil & Natural Gas initially offered the highest so_called signature bonus, or fees paid to the government on signing drilling contracts, of $175 million for Block 321 and $310 million for Block 323 in August 2005.
A South Korean group led by Korea National pre_empted Oil & Natural Gas's offer by pledging investments in Nigeria. The group plans to build two 2.25 million_kilowatt gas_fired power plants and a 1,200_kilometer gas pipeline, South Korea's Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy said in a statement today. The investments will account for 20 percent of Nigeria's electricity supply by 2010, it said.
The pledge to build the power plants prompted Nigeria to cut the signature bonus Korea has to pay to $90 million from $320 million, the ministry said.
Of the South Korean companies' share of the project Korea National has 75 percent, Korea Electric Power Corp. 15 percent and Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. 10 percent.
In November, Oil & Natural Gas and a partner, billionaire steelmaker Lakshmi Mittal, also offered to spend $6 billion on refining and power plants in Nigeria.
India may still win stakes in Nigeria's deepwater fields if the Nigeria government grants the Southeast Asian nation preferential treatment, the same terms Korea received last year, for two deepwater blocks in this year's bidding round, Chukwueke said.
"You win some, you lose some," said S. Raghu Raman, energy adviser at the Confederation of Indian Industry, the nation's largest industry body. "There are many companies competing for assets. This is not the end of the road for ONGC," as the Indian company is known.
President Roh Moo Hyun of South Korea met his Nigerian counterpart Olusegun Obasanjo in Abuja to attend the signing of the oil drilling agreement yesterday. On March 6, Roh began an eight_day trip to Egypt, Nigeria and Algeria.
In August, China National Petroleum Corp. beat India by agreeing to pay $4.18 billion for PetroKazakhstan Inc. The Chinese company in September outbid India's Oil & Natural Gas Corp. in buying assets of EnCana Corp. in Ecuador for $1.42 billion.
In January, CNOOC Ltd., China's third_largest oil company, bought a Nigerian oil field stake for $2.27 billion after India's government barred Oil & Natural Gas from acquiring the stake because of a lack of disclosure on ownership. CNOOC bought the stake in the OML 130 oil area, also known as the Akpo field, from South Atlantic Petroleum Ltd.
Korean National Oil Corporation and Equator Exploration Limited, the operators of the blocks paid the required Signature Bonus at the ceremony.
The two countries also singed three Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Gas and Solid Mineral development.
The Korean are expected among other things, to lay over 1000 km gas pipelines, refurbish some Nigerian rail lines and build a gas powered electricity plant of 2250 kilowatt capacity.
Speaking at the venue of the ceremony, the Nigerian Minister of State for Petroleum Dr. Edmund Daukoru, said that both countries have complementary endowments that can be harnessed for their good.
"Nigeria is heavily endowed with natural and human resources", he said. "and South Korea has technology, Skill and Finance", he said, "I am happy that we have agreed to harmonise these resources for the benefit of our people".
Daukoru, said that the signing of the Production Sharing Contract (PSC) which was concluded yesterday, is an expression of government sincerity and seriousness about the cooperation it has sought from the South Koreans
"We have fulfilled our aspect of the deal", he told his guest, "it is your turn to honour your own", he said.
In his response, the South Korean Minister of Commerce, Industry and Energy, Mr. Sye Kyun Chung, expressed his joy with the bilateral relationship between his country and Nigeria.
"The MoU on Energy and Mineral resources cooperation and the PSC signed between our two countries", he noted, "are excellent examples of bilateral cooperation that would contribute to Korea's energy supply and security and Nigeria's diversification of oil development".
Fielding questions from Journalists later, Mr. Chung said that Korea is allowed a grace of one and half years to start the implementation of the agreement, saying that his country would want to start the Project as soon as possible.
Shedding more light on the projects, Dr. Daukoru told the press that the 1025km Gas Pipeline that form part of the project would start from the Northern fringe of the Niger Delta to Abuja, then to Kaduna.
"The Rail line is supposed to be cross connection between the North-South, the Western end of the existing system and Eastern length of the existing system," he explained.
The three MoUs signed were: the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) represented by the Group Managing Director (GMD) of the NNPC, Engr Funsho Kupolokun and Korean Gas Corporation which President, Mr. Soo ho Lee signed for it.
The MoU is to explore gas cooperation.
The second one was between Nigerian Mineral Resources and Geological Survey Agency (NMRGS) and Korean Resources Corporation. The Director General of NMRGS, Dr. Siyanbola Malomo signed for his Agency while Mr. Yang Soo Park stood for Korea.
It is on mineral resources information exchange and joint exploration.
The last one was, which centres on research and development of geo scientific knowledge signed by Dr. Malomo of the NMRGS and Dr. Tai Sup Lee, President of Korea Institute of Geosciences and Mineral Resources for their two organisations.
It could be recalled that President Olusegun Obasanjo had initiated courtesy visits between the Ministers of Energy of both countries in April, 2005.
In July 2005 and MoU integrating upstream investments to downstream projects was agreed and signed in July 2005, tagged Integrated Korean Project in Nigeria.
Document AFNWS00020060314e23e000xn
Vanguard (Nigeria) - AAGM: Nokia Wants to Be Part of the Nigerian Society - Terho.
Okoh Aihe

1,082 words

13 March 2006

Vanguard (Nigeria)

AIWVAN

English

The Financial Times Limited. Asia Africa Intelligence Wire. All material subject to copyright. Vanguard (Nigeria) (c) 2006 All rights reserved
About three weeks ago at the 3GSM Conference in Barcelona, Spain, where Nokia launched a cocktail of new products, Petteri Terho, Director, Strategy and Business Development, New Growth Markets took time off to speak to Assistant Editor, Okoh Aihe, on his company's plan for Africa and Nigeria in particular. It turned out that Nigeria is vital in Nokia's strategy to control the mobile world.
I work with Nokia Network in an area we call the New Growth Markets. New Growth markets refer to a number of markets where there is a lot of development. Actually 80 per cent of the new billion people who are joining mobility will come from the new growth market. Take those countries like India, China, Nigeria, Russia, South Africa, Brazil, all these countries that have huge potentials for large growth but the penetration is not yet there. We are working very closely not only with the operators but also with the governments and the regulators who are the policy makers because in theory the enabling environment dictates how mobility can grow.
Apart from what you said now about working with governments and operators what are the other strategies that you have?
Take it a little bit backward. There are about ten people every second, every minute, every hour, and every day joining mobility and that is one million new people everyday get a cell phone and turn to mobility. We have to make sure that these people can afford the communication. We have to make sure as an industry that our equipment, whether is network equipment or the phones are affordable for people to use. And affordable in this sense means that we have to go the level where people can spend five dollars or less in mobility; and when we reach such level, then we as an industry have been successful, some people have joined the benefits of mobility.
Sometimes I get annoyed because all my phones are Nokia phones and many more people in my office carry high end Nokia phones. Now what is your strategy for that kind of market?
We have to be active in all these markets where we are. Nokia wants to be visible. We want to be there not just as a member or vendor over there but we want to be a responsible citizen. That is why we are opening our office in Nigeria. We want to show our face over there and be part of the society. And if you look at Africa and Nigeria may be in particular, it's not one Africa, it's not one Nigeria. There are different segments. There are the people who can afford the latest gadgets, the 9300, 9500 and there are the people who are getting their first phone call. We have to make sure we can address all the segments in this market, no matter how different, through the operators; through different business models to make sure that this takes place. Africa is a place of phenomenal growth. It is somewhere we are in, where we are going to be very active. We have very recently been very more active in North Africa and the other office is in Johannesburg, South Africa. Right now we a re looking to expand there because Africa is so large.
Where do you have your factories?
If you look at the network side, our network equipment are manufactured in two places and we have phones manufactured in nine countries. The factories are in locations where we can achieve the economy of scale and the latest of our factories that we built was in India in January which is now fully operational.
When you talk of economy of scale how well does Nigeria fit into your plan as a country where you can set up a plant. What numbers are you looking at?
If you look at a mobile phone factory there are so many other things that will come with it but I think it is more important to look at it from economic perspective. If you put a factory there is a thousand or more people employed but if it's a network rollout you employ three, four or five thousand people indirectly depending upon the capacity of the network. So it is not the factory which is important but it's really what kind of a whole ecosystem we bring around and I think from that perspective it is more beneficial to do network rollout than to bring a factory.
We listened to your CEO this morning and he was saying that Nokia would back the GSM Association Fund for developing countries. For instance in a place like Nigeria what conditions need to be in place for you to be actively involved in the market?
Nokia will be actively involved in the Nigerian market and now we are setting up our offices. It is not Nigeria alone but I think our involvement will include the other countries in Sub Saharan Africa but there has to be good rules and regulation regarding telecoms and telecoms investment. Most of the investments in the world are done with an idea of return on investment. There has to be flexibility and credibility. There are few other elements that need to be in place in order for mobility to take place, in order for the operator to continue their investment and making sure they can cope with the investment on the long term. Nigeria is the jewel of Africa, with a hundred and twenty, hundred and forty million people, it has huge growth potentials. We shall definitely be there but all these elements that protect a market must be there.
Your chairman gave a picture of the market share that Nokia wants to have globally. What numbers are you doing now and what do you hope to get out of the Nigerian market?
Are you now referring to mobile phones?
Yes.
I may not know the accurate number but we need to make sure that our equipment is affordable for the consumers. Regardless of that there is a different cell phone for a different segment. Also at Nokia we have to make sure that the brand that we have is accepted by the Nigerian consumer.
Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media. (allafrica.com)
FVAN47718620
Document AIWVAN0020060314e23d0000e

China flexes economic muscle in Africa
493 words

13 March 2006

Hindustan Times

HNTM

English

(c) 2006 The Hindustan Times Ltd
Indo-Asian News Service
Nairobi, March 13 -- Mary Okello explains why she sees nothing wrong in buying African products made in China. "I prefer the Chinese to the Indian shops. We understand each other," says Okello.
At his busy but grimy shop in a suburb of this Kenyan capital, Xhu confides that his plastic extensions used by African women for braiding their hair are particularly popular.
Shao Weijian at the Chinese embassy here says: "We believe more Chinese investments will come to Kenya due to the favourable business climate here, not only to increase employment for Kenya but also to bring advanced technologies and management from China to Kenya."
China's growing trade with Kenya not only cements its longstanding diplomatic ties with 47 of Africa's 53 states. As the world's second-largest consumer of crude oil, Africa's petrol deposits are particularly high on Beijing's shopping list.
China is currently the world's second largest economy after the US, and has a vast domestic market that consumes some six million barrels of oil a day.
Although trade with Africa only makes up three percent of the Asian country's total foreign trade, it was worth a record-breaking $37 billion in 2005, according to Beijing's White Paper on Africa released in January.
Beijing says it seeks to establish "a new strategic partnership with Africa on a basis of 'win-win' economic relationships with reinforced cultural exchanges."
China now gets 20 percent of all its total oil needs from the Gulf of Guinea and Sudan. But its relations with "rogue" African states has made the US and Europe suspicious.
Western nations, when giving aid to developing countries, often take into account the recipient's human rights and governance credentials.
China's policy on Africa makes clear that it has no interest in mixing politics with business with politics.
Sudan is a good example. Beijing bought 50 percent of Sudan's total oil exports in 2005, and its investments in the country include 13 of the 15 largest foreign companies operating in Sudan.
The UN and human rights organisations have repeatedly accused Khartoum of training and arming Arab militias who the US has accused of genocide in Sudan's western Darfur region.
China opposed a UN Security Council resolution authorising sanctions against parties trying to disrupt the peace process in Sudan, despite being accused of acting only to safeguard its economic interest in the region.
Beijing also donated 3,000 tonnes of wheat to Zimbabwe, currently reeling from severe food shortages. Many believe the shortages are the result of President Robert Mugabe's controversial land reform programme.
Although China has also been involved in launching Nigeria's first space satellite, a milestone for African telecommunications, it has also been accused of being a major arms dealer on the continent.
Published by HT Syndication with permission from Indo-Asian News Service.
HTS ak 060313-231397
Document HNTM000020060313e23d002h7
BusinessBC

Indian firm loses to South Korean on Nigerian oil deal: Second most populous nation has also lost to China in Kazakhstan, Ecuador, Nigeria

Bloomberg

774 words

13 March 2006

Vancouver Sun

VNCS

Final

F2

English

Copyright © 2006 Vancouver Sun
India imports 70 per cent of the oil it consumes, and it consumes a lot -- 2.2 million barrels a day.
Domestic production is barely 800,000 barrels, and the Indian Petroleum Ministry has launched a tour of developed countries, including Canada, entreating foreign exploration companies to come to the subcontinent and drill in 55 new potential oil and gas blocks that opened for bidding this month.
But India's hopes to control its oil supply suffered a setback last week when South Korea, the world's fifth-largest oil importer, won control of a Nigerian drilling venture, pledging as much as $6 billion US of investments and defeating a bid from India.
Korea National Oil Corp. will lead a group owning 60 per cent of areas known as Blocks 321 and 323, Tony Chukwueke, head of Nigeria's Department of Petroleum Resources, said by phone from Abuja.
India's Oil & Natural Gas Corp. withdrew from the venture, ending a six-month ownership dispute.
Competition for reserves among Asia's state-run oil producers is intensifying after prices rose to records because demand in Asia and the U.S. outpaced supply growth. Since August, India has lost to Chinese government-run companies in bids to acquire assets worth about $7.9 billion US in Kazakhstan, Ecuador and Nigeria.
"Everybody is trying to secure their own resources instead of being dependent on somebody else," said Fadel Gheit, senior energy analyst with Oppenheimer & Co. in New York. "All these government-owned companies or government agencies are emerging from the bureaucracy and the state's shadow."
South Korea's victory in Nigeria was India's fourth defeat in a year in bidding for overseas reserves.
South Korea, which imports almost all of its oil, has increased consumption 91-fold in four decades to 2.28 million barrels a day in 2004. In January, the top seven suppliers to Asia's third-biggest economy were all from the Middle East, led by Saudi Arabia.
Oil from Nigeria, the sixth-biggest producer in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, is prized by refiners for the amount of high-value gasoline it yields.
Fields available for investment are diminishing at a time when oil demand is rising, especially in countries such as China, India and South Korea, said Mark Routt, an oil analyst at Energy Security Analysis Inc. in Wakefield, Mass.
The list of alternatives that the state-run companies "get to choose from are only blocks and resources that are not state preserves," Routt said in a phone interview.
India's Oil & Natural Gas, which had sought a 90-per-cent stake, turned down an offer of a 30-per-cent stake in the venture. Equator Exploration Ltd., based in Tortola in the British Virgin Islands, received a 30-per-cent stake and a local Nigerian partner won 10 per cent, Chukwueke said.
Oil & Natural Gas "was looking for operatorship," said Praveen Martis, an energy analyst at U.K.-based Wood Mackenzie Consultants Ltd. "They probably don't want to be there as a junior partner."
Ownership of the Nigerian areas has been disputed since Oil & Natural Gas initially offered the highest so-called signature bonus, or fees paid to the government on signing drilling contracts, of $175 million for Block 321 and $310 million for Block 323 in August 2005.
A South Korean group led by Korea National pre-empted Oil & Natural Gas's offer by pledging investments in Nigeria. The group plans to build two 2.25 million-kilowatt gas-fired power plants and a 1,200-kilometre gas pipeline, South Korea's Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy said in a statement. The investments will account for 20 per cent of Nigeria's electricity supply by 2010, it said.
In November, Oil & Natural Gas and a partner, billionaire steelmaker Lakshmi Mittal, also offered to spend $6 billion on refining and power plants in Nigeria.
India may still win stakes in Nigeria's deepwater fields if the Nigerian government grants the South Asian nation preferential treatment, the same terms Korea received last year, for two deepwater blocks in this year's bidding round.
Photo: Photo by Amit Bhargava, Bloomberg News / A camel passes a Cairn Energy exploration rig in Rajasthan, India, which imports 70 per cent of its oil. It consumes 2.2 million barrels a day.; Photo: Photo by Amit Bhargava, Bloomberg News / An Indian Oil Corporation gas station is pictured in New Delhi.
Document VNCS000020060313e23d00035

Nokia Wants to Be Part of the Nigerian Society - Terho
by Okoh Aihe

1,066 words

13 March 2006

12:20 PM

All Africa

AFNWS

English

(c) 2006 AllAfrica, All Rights Reserved
Mar 13, 2006 (Vanguard/All Africa Global Media via COMTEX) --
About three weeks ago at the 3GSM Conference in Barcelona, Spain, where Nokia launched a cocktail of new products, Petteri Terho, Director, Strategy and Business Development, New Growth Markets took time off to speak to Assistant Editor, Okoh Aihe, on his company's plan for Africa and Nigeria in particular. It turned out that Nigeria is vital in Nokia's strategy to control the mobile world.
I work with Nokia Network in an area we call the New Growth Markets. New Growth markets refer to a number of markets where there is a lot of development. Actually 80 per cent of the new billion people who are joining mobility will come from the new growth market. Take those countries like India, China, Nigeria, Russia, South Africa, Brazil, all these countries that have huge potentials for large growth but the penetration is not yet there. We are working very closely not only with the operators but also with the governments and the regulators who are the policy makers because in theory the enabling environment dictates how mobility can grow.
Apart from what you said now about working with governments and operators what are the other strategies that you have?
Take it a little bit backward. There are about ten people every second, every minute, every hour, and every day joining mobility and that is one million new people everyday get a cell phone and turn to mobility. We have to make sure that these people can afford the communication. We have to make sure as an industry that our equipment, whether is network equipment or the phones are affordable for people to use. And affordable in this sense means that we have to go the level where people can spend five dollars or less in mobility; and when we reach such level, then we as an industry have been successful, some people have joined the benefits of mobility.
Sometimes I get annoyed because all my phones are Nokia phones and many more people in my office carry high end Nokia phones. Now what is your strategy for that kind of market?
We have to be active in all these markets where we are. Nokia wants to be visible. We want to be there not just as a member or vendor over there but we want to be a responsible citizen. That is why we are opening our office in Nigeria. We want to show our face over there and be part of the society. And if you look at Africa and Nigeria may be in particular, it's not one Africa, it's not one Nigeria. There are different segments. There are the people who can afford the latest gadgets, the 9300, 9500 and there are the people who are getting their first phone call. We have to make sure we can address all the segments in this market, no matter how different, through the operators; through different business models to make sure that this takes place. Africa is a place of phenomenal growth. It is somewhere we are in, where we are going to be very active. We have very recently been very more active in North Africa and the other office is in Johannesburg, South Africa. Right now we a re looking to expand there because Africa is so large.
Where do you have your factories?
If you look at the network side, our network equipment are manufactured in two places and we have phones manufactured in nine countries. The factories are in locations where we can achieve the economy of scale and the latest of our factories that we built was in India in January which is now fully operational.
When you talk of economy of scale how well does Nigeria fit into your plan as a country where you can set up a plant. What numbers are you looking at?
If you look at a mobile phone factory there are so many other things that will come with it but I think it is more important to look at it from economic perspective. If you put a factory there is a thousand or more people employed but if it's a network rollout you employ three, four or five thousand people indirectly depending upon the capacity of the network. So it is not the factory which is important but it's really what kind of a whole ecosystem we bring around and I think from that perspective it is more beneficial to do network rollout than to bring a factory.
We listened to your CEO this morning and he was saying that Nokia would back the GSM Association Fund for developing countries. For instance in a place like Nigeria what conditions need to be in place for you to be actively involved in the market?
Nokia will be actively involved in the Nigerian market and now we are setting up our offices. It is not Nigeria alone but I think our involvement will include the other countries in Sub Saharan Africa but there has to be good rules and regulation regarding telecoms and telecoms investment. Most of the investments in the world are done with an idea of return on investment. There has to be flexibility and credibility. There are few other elements that need to be in place in order for mobility to take place, in order for the operator to continue their investment and making sure they can cope with the investment on the long term. Nigeria is the jewel of Africa, with a hundred and twenty, hundred and forty million people, it has huge growth potentials. We shall definitely be there but all these elements that protect a market must be there.
Your chairman gave a picture of the market share that Nokia wants to have globally. What numbers are you doing now and what do you hope to get out of the Nigerian market?
Are you now referring to mobile phones?
Yes.
I may not know the accurate number but we need to make sure that our equipment is affordable for the consumers. Regardless of that there is a different cell phone for a different segment. Also at Nokia we have to make sure that the brand that we have is accepted by the Nigerian consumer.
Document AFNWS00020060313e23d002ut

Guardian Review Pages

Review: Paperbacks: Non-fiction

Ian Pindar, Harriet Castor, John Dugdale, Vera Rule

1,223 words

11 March 2006

The Guardian

GRDN

19

English

© Copyright 2006. The Guardian. All rights reserved.
The Great Mortality: An Intimate History of the Black Death , by John Kelly (Harper Perennial, pounds 8.99)
While the ancient Greeks and Romans regarded cleanliness as a civic virtue, Europe's body-loathing Christians were a stinky lot, afraid to disrobe lest it provoked improper thoughts. Because of this, writes Kelly in this lively investigation, human fleas played as prominent a role in the spread of the black death as rat fleas. Poor sanitation, famine and war were the three major causes of the plague that swept Europe from 1347-51, but that didn't stop the moralists from claiming that God was upset with everyone. If the Jews weren't to blame, it was women. One pious chronicler objected that Englishwomen "dress in clothes so tight, they have to wear a fox tail hanging down inside their skirts to hide their arses". For a book about unremitting death, The Great Mortality is a remarkably good read. Kelly has a novelist's empathy for ordinary people and excels at fleshing out their daily lives. But he has worrying news about medieval Englishmen: apparently, instead of saying, "I have a liking for the moon" (a strange enough statement in the first place), they pronounced it, "I hava leaking for the moan," which sounds like something out of ' Allo ' Allo! .
Ian Pindar
Hitler's Piano Player: The Rise and Fall of Ernst Hanfstaengl, Confidant of Hitler, Ally of FDR , by Peter Conradi (Duckworth, pounds 8.99)
Ernst Hanfstaengl (known as "Putzi") fell under Hitler's spell after hearing him speak at a Munich beer cellar in 1922. An impromptu performance on a rickety piano outside Hitler's flat led to him becoming "Hitler's mood maker", playing Wagner to warm him up before a speech. Putzi composed a "Hitler Songbook" in 1924, but eventually lost faith. "It is a terrible thing," he said during the war, "when you think you got on a bandwagon and it turns out to be a dustcart." Putzi thought saying "Heil Hitler" was silly, and very soon Goebbels and Goring were plotting his death. Conradi's account of Putzi's flight to Switzerland has all the elements of a gripping thriller, and this well-written, non-judgmental biography perfectly captures Putzi's predicament. Wanted by the Gestapo, the Harvard-educated ex-Nazi returned to America and got his revenge by providing US intelligence with a detailed psychological profile of Hitler. One of his observations was that the Fuhrer always gesticulated with a whip when talking to women, which "seems to be connected with a hidden desire for some state of erection, which would overcome his fundamental sexual inferiority complex". IP
The Wreckers , by Bella Bathurst (Harper Perennial, pounds 8.99)
"For as long as there have been ships, there have been wrecks, and for as long as there have been wrecks, there have been wreckers," writes Bella Bathurst, though exactly what wreckers did, down the ages, is a moot point. Were they a prototype RNLI, saving lives and indulging in a spot of "pro-active beachcombing" only as an afterthought? Or were they booty-crazed brutes, luring ships on to the rocks and drowning any sailors unlucky enough to survive? In an attempt to find answers Bathurst braves the most hazardous shipping routes around the British coast, from the treacherous Goodwin Sands off Kent to the terrifying currents of the Pentland Firth. She writes about the sea with compelling grace and shows a fierce regard for the endurance and "blood-born navigational skills" of the communities that survived on its fringes. Wrecking offered many "a form of fishy Marxism", with stolen trophies making the difference between destitution and survival. Here moral boundaries - as clear, perhaps, to a landlubber as a coastline drawn on a map - prove on closer inspection quite as nebulous as the true border between land and sea.
Harriet Castor
Kuhn vs Popper: The Struggle for the Soul of Science , by Steve Fuller (Icon, pounds 7.99)
You'd be forgiven for thinking this prickly, provocative study is modelled on Wittgenstein's Poker , focusing on Karl Popper's 1965 London clash with the author of The Structure of Scientific Revolutions just as the earlier book centred on his brief spat with Wittgenstein. Its publishers naughtily encourage that assumption, highlighting the London debate on the jacket. Steve Fuller, however, makes only glancing references to this encounter. A sociologist with a philosophical bent, he's concerned instead with the respective conceptions of science embodied in Kuhn's notion of "paradigm shift" and Popper's insistence on "falsifiability". Kuhn won the debate "in the court of public opinion", he concedes, but argues that Kuhn's ideas were shaped by the cold war, providing a rationale for blinkered toilers in America's military-industrial complex. And just as mistaken as the perception of the younger man as a 60s radical is Popper's reactionary image: he became a grumpy old man, but the self-critical methodology he set out in the 30s shows him to be the real radical, preaching science as continual revolution.
John Dugdale
Other Routes , edited by Tabish Khair et al (Signal Books, pounds 14.99)
I felt sorry for the writers in this anthology of 1,500 years of African and Asian travel writing. Not for their transitory vicissitudes, since they were a decidedly robust lot, from the medieval Korean official who was blown so far off course on a ferry crossing that he ended up unwanted in China, to the Nigerian child slave even further adrift in Georgian Cornwall (he liked the port of Fowey, and it liked him). But because they've been extracted, so that the reader gets only a day out with such terrific companions as Ibn Battuta and Sei Shonagon, voyagers with whom you would happily share a cabin for months. And even more so because of the prissiness of some of the editors' introductions: Queen Emma of Hawaii and Dean Mohamed (of Patna by birth, but of Cork and Brighton by taste and inclination) seem to have existed mostly so that academic points could be made about whose view of where should be permissible. Skip the intros and instead read Basho on the road or the Moghul ruler Babur on the gardens of Samarkand.
Vera Rule
Top 10 non-fiction paperbacks
1 Behind Closed Doors Tomlin, Jenny; Hodder pounds 6.99 (21,563)
2 Moondust Smith, Andrew; Bloomsbury pounds 8.99 (12,509)
3 The World According to. . . Clarkson, Jeremy Penguin pounds 6.99 (10,465)
4 Instant Confidence McKenna, Paul Bantam Press pounds 9.99 (8,437)
5 Stuart: A Life Backwards Masters, Alexander Harper Perennial pounds 7.99 (7,909)
6 I Choose to Live Dardenne, Sabine Virago pounds 6.99 (7,841)
7 Confessions of a Bad Mother Calman, Stephanie Pan pounds 6.99 (7,798)
8 The Farm Benson, Richard Penguin pounds 8.99 (6,865)
9 Does Anything Eat Wasps? Profile pounds 7.99 (5,983)
10 I Can Make You Thin McKenna, Paul Bantam Press pounds 9.99 (5,174)
Figures in brackets indicate sales this week. Arrows indicate position relative to previous week Data supplied by Nielsen BookScan (C)Nielsen BookScan 2006 (01483 712222 or www.nielsenbookscan.co.uk )
Document GRDN000020060310e23b000ek

PXIT, VCSY, VRDM, XKEM, EENT, FLIP have also been added to naked short lists today
1,782 words

8 March 2006

M2 Presswire

MTPW

English

(c) 2006 M2 Communications, Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
BUYINS.NET, www.buyins.net , announced today that these select companies have been added to the NASDAQ, AMEX and NYSE naked short threshold lists: Phoenix Interests, Inc. (OTCBB: PXIT), Vertical Computer Systems, Inc. (OTCBB: VCSY), Veridium Corporation (OTCBB: VRDM), Xechem International, Inc. (OTCBB: XKEM), Energy and Engine Technology Corporation (OTCBB: EENT), FTS Group, Inc. (OTCBB: FLIP). For a complete list of companies on the naked short lists please visit our web site. To find the SqueezeTrigger Price before a short squeeze starts in any stock, go to www.buyins.net .
Phoenix Interests, Inc. (OTCBB: PXIT) operates as a business development company in the United States. As a business development company, it intends to provide longterm debt and equity investment capital to support the expansion of companies in various industries with a focus on private companies involved in the gaming and entertainment sectors. Phoenix Interests was founded in 1999 as Thoroughbred Interests, Inc. and changed its name to Phoenix Interests, Inc. in 2004. The company is based in Jeffersonville, Indiana. With 19.59 million shares outstanding and an undisclosed short position, there is a failure to deliver in shares of PXIT.
Vertical Computer Systems, Inc. (OTCBB: VCSY) provides administrative software, Internet core technologies, and derivative software application products. The company, through its subsidiary, Now Solutions, Inc., develops and markets administrative software product, emPath 6.3, which is human resources/payroll software. Its Internet core technologies include SiteFlash that utilizes Extensible Markup Language (XML) and focuses on the content management, e-commerce, and workflow; and the Emily XML Scripting Language, which is Java compatible. In addition, Vertical Computer Systems develops other SiteFlash-based products, such as ResponseFlash, NewsFlash, AffiliateFlash, and UniversityFlash. Further, it provides consulting and training services. The company markets its products primarily in the United States and Canada through its distribution network. Vertical Computer Systems was incorporated in 1992 and is based in Fort Worth, Texas. With 914.44 million shares outstanding and an undisclosed short position, there is a failure to deliver in shares of VCSY.
Veridium Corporation (OTCBB: VRDM) through its subsidiaries, provides various waste management services to industrial organizations in the United States. Its services include environmental services, such as transportation, distribution, recycling, and disposal services specific to the materials and processes for various industrial wastes; recycling metal-bearing and chemical hazardous wastes; and field services, which include remedial, industrial cleaning, and other related services to its clients at their sites and facilities. The company offers its services through four service centers located in Paterson, New Jersey; Sandwich and Milford, Massachusetts; and Plainville, Connecticut. Veridium Corporation, formerly known as KBF Pollution Management, Inc., was founded in 1984 and is headquartered in Paterson, New Jersey. Veridium Corporation is a subsidiary of GreenShift Corporation. With 47.52 million shares outstanding and an undisclosed short position, there is a failure to deliver in shares of VRDM.
Xechem International, Inc. (OTCBB: XKEM) a development stage biopharmaceutical company, engages in the research, development, and production of generic and proprietary drugs from natural sources. Its principal product under development is NICOSAN/HEMOXIN, which would be used for the treatment of sickle cell disease. The company also applies its proprietary extraction, isolation, and purification technology to the production and manufacture of Paclitaxel, which is an anti-cancer compound used for the treatment of ovarian, breast, small cell lung cancers, and AIDS related kaposi sarcomas. In addition, Xechem International engages in the research and development of other compounds using traditional medicinal plants, microbial fermentation, or semisynthesis to produce anti-cancer, anti-fungal, anti-viral, anti-inflammatory, anti-aging, and memory enhancing compounds. The company has operations in the United States, India, China, and Nigeria. Xechem International was founded in 1994 by Ramesh C. Pandey and is headquartered in New Brunswick, New Jersey. With 259.69 million shares outstanding and an undisclosed short position, there is a failure to deliver in shares of XKEM.
Energy and Engine Technology Corporation (OTCBB: EENT) engages in the development and marketing of power generation products for the long haul trucking industry, as well as heating and air conditioning systems for the long haul trucking and marine industries. It primarily offers AXP 1000 auxiliary power generator and over the road comfort system for long haul trucks. The company was founded as Bidder Communications, Inc. in 1999 and changed its name to Energy & Engine Technology Corporation in 2001. Energy & Engine Technology is headquartered in Plano, Texas. With 135.63 million shares outstanding and an undisclosed short position, there is a failure to deliver in shares of EENT.
FTS Group, Inc. (OTCBB: FLIP) engages in the acquisition and development of a chain of retail wireless stores. It also markets, sells, and activates cellular and satellite handsets, cellular accessories, and other related wireless products, such as wireless fidelity service and related access equipment for residential or business purposes. As of December 31, 2003, the company owned five retail wireless locations in the Florida market and one in the Philadelphia market. The company markets and distributes its satellite and cellular based wireless products and services in the Florida Gulf Coast market, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania's Philadelphia market, through its e-commerce site, www.SatPhoneCenter.com , worldwide. The company was organized in 1997 as Full Tilt Sports, Inc. and changed its name to FTS Apparel, Inc. in 2000. Further, it changed name to FTS Group, Inc. in 2004. FTS Group is headquartered in Levittown, Pennsylvania. With 56.98 million shares outstanding and an undisclosed short position, there is a failure to deliver in shares of FLIP.
About BUYINS.NET
WWW.BUYINS.NET is a service designed to help bonafide shareholders of publicly traded US companies fight naked short selling. Naked short selling is the illegal act of short selling a stock when no affirmative determination has been made to locate shares of the stock to hypothecate in connection with the short sale. Buyins.net has built a proprietary database that uses Threshold list feeds from NASDAQ, AMEX and NYSE to generate detailed and useful information to combat the naked short selling problem. For the first time, actual trade by trade data is available to the public that shows the attempted size, actual size, price and average value of short sales in stocks that have been shorted and naked shorted. This information is valuable in determining the precise point at which short sellers go out-of-the-money and start losing on their short and naked short trades.
BUYINS.NET has built a massive database that collects, analyzes and publishes a proprietary SqueezeTrigger for each stock that has been shorted, www.buyins.net/squeezetrigger.pdf . The SqueezeTrigger database of nearly 650,000,000 short sale transactions goes back to January 1, 2005 and calculates the exact price at which the Total Short Interest is short in each stock. This data was never before available prior to January 1, 2005 because the Self Regulatory Organizations (primary exchanges) guarded it aggressively. After the SEC passed Regulation SHO, exchanges were forced to allow data processors like Buyins.net to access the data.
The SqueezeTrigger database collects individual short trade data on over 7,000 NYSE, AMEX and NASDAQ stocks and general short trade data on nearly 8,000 OTCBB and PINKSHEET stocks. Each month the database grows by approximately 50,000,000 short sale transactions and provides investors with the knowledge necessary to time when to buy and sell stocks with outstanding short positions. By tracking the size and price of each month's short transactions, BUYINS.NET provides institutions, traders, analysts, journalists and individual investors the exact price point where short sellers start losing money.
All material herein was prepared by BUYINS.NET, based upon information believed to be reliable. The information contained herein is not guaranteed by BUYINS.NET to be accurate, and should not be considered to be all-inclusive. The companies that are discussed in this opinion have not approved the statements made in this opinion. This opinion contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. This material is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as an offer or solicitation of an offer to buy or sell securities. BUYINS.NET is not a licensed broker, broker dealer, market maker, investment banker, investment advisor, analyst or underwriter. Please consult a broker before purchasing or selling any securities viewed on or mentioned herein. BUYINS.NET may receive compensation in cash or shares from independent third parties or from the companies mentioned.
BUYINS.NET affiliates, officers, directors and employees may also have bought or may buy the shares discussed in this opinion and may profit in the event those shares rise in value. Market commentary provided by Thomas Ronk.
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You should consider these factors in evaluating the forward-looking statements included herein, and not place undue reliance on such statements. The forward-looking statements in this release are made as of the date hereof and BUYINS.NET undertakes no obligation to update such statements.
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Document MTPW000020060308e23800337

Nigeria lists projects to meet WSIS goals
Vanguard-Nigeria

1,179 words

8 March 2006

ISI Emerging Markets Africawire

LQAF

English

© Copyright 2006. Internet Securities, Inc. All rights reserved.
By Godfrey Ikhemuemhe Posted to the Web: Wednesday, March 08, 2006
Its reckoning time for countries around the world that undertook to implement the goals of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) and build the future Information Society. The International Telecommunications Union (ITU) under whose auspices the WSIS initiative was held has released what it calls a Golden Book, which highlights the commitments of each country to the goals of the WSIS. In the book, Nigeria says it is pursuing three main projects in line with its promises at the global meet in Tunis where issues about how to use ICT to drive development were discussed. First in the projects lined up by Nigeria is the Feasibility study for the development of virtual library for and by Higher Education institutions in Nigeria. The project is expected to be executed with assistance from UNESCO, and support from the Government of Japan's Fund-in-Trust. A virtual library (VL) is a repository of knowledge, which has no physical existence but exists electronically. Access to a VL is not constrained by time or geographic location and it augments an existing physical library. Rationalising the project, its implementers, the Presidency say that the challenge for Nigeria is to expand access to education & current learning materials without most of the required funds disappearing in to physical expansion of libraries & related structures. 'President Obasanjo asked the Director General of UNESCO to facilitate the development of an actionable, technically feasible, cost-effective, future-proofed & sustainable plan that sets out a road map to efficiently deliver local & international content to all Nigerian HEI's'. The feasibility study indicates that the projected annual income is N7,153,793,750.00 or US$51,098,526.79 recurrent surplus is N1,479,319,622.68 or $10,566,568.73 It also projects that the project costs to all Higher Education Institutions over 5 years would be N16,253,083,887.55 or $116,093,456.34 in capital cost and  N5,674,474,127.32 or $40,531,958.05 in Recurrent Costs, bring the total cost to N21,927,558,014.87 or US $156,625,414.39. Start-up costs per user is expected to be N9,368.95 or us $72.63. The project, which has a timescale of 2008, is designed for the whole of the country with expected expansion to the whole of the West African sub-region. The partners to the project are the Presidency, Nigeria, the United Nations Education Scientific & Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), and all Nigerian Higher Education Institutions. The next project, which the federal government is put forward in the Golden Book is the National Rural Telephony programme (NRTP). NRTP is aimed at providing telecommunication services to the remaining 343 Local Government Areas (LGAs) in the country, which do not have any form of communication facilities. The implementation is being carried out in phases. The first phase, the government says, is on going in 218 LGAs with equitable spread through the country and it is expected to be completed by 2006. The project when completed will introduce 150326 lines into the national network, thus enabling the under-served to communicate and have access to Internet. NRTP is Government efforts to empower 75% of the people living in the rural areas of the country to communicate and to have access to Internet. It is in line with WSIS action lines aimed at connecting every village throughout the globe by the year 2015. Holistically, government having provided enabling environment, will also provide infrastructure and services. The NRTP was launched in November 2005 and it is projected to be completed in 2006. The partners in the project are The People Republic of China and the Federal Republic of Nigeria, through Concessionary Loan. The financial commitment expected for the execution of the project is between '‚¬1 - '‚¬10m. The federal government has also given a commitment to deliver a Nigeria's National Cyber Security policy, which is expected to engender a Safely Connected, Committed, Creative, Competitive and Caring Society. Cyber Security is comprised of National Security and Economic Security. It is an ongoing and continuous process, which requires a holistic approach. In is expected that Nigeria's National Cyber Security policy will engender a Safely Connected, Committed, Creative, Competitive and Caring Society by: 1 Providing all stakeholders in our country with secure access to cyber resources, computers, electronic and ancillary devices; the Internet and related resources; along with associated knowledge management and technological processes and procedures; 2 Focusing on the safety and development of our children, and empowering adults with the requisite skills to ensure an economically sustainable, vibrant democratic future and improved well being of all our citizens; 3 Promoting citizens trust in, access to, and interaction with open, good and forward thinking governance; 4 Maximizing the safety and potential of our citizens, and accelerate innovation, to develop a secure knowledge-based and future proofed society.The timescale for delivering on the commitment is put at 2006 while it is expected to cost less than '‚¬100'000. Even the civil society in Nigeria is being held accountable for its commitment to delivering the benefit of ICT to the society. It listed the Lagos Digital Village as its own project. The LDV is a partnership of the Junior Achievement of Nigeria, Microsoft, and the Lagos State Government. The Lagos Digital Village, located at the New Library Building in Ebute Metta (Lagos, Nigeria), is an Information Technology training and opportunity centre for Nigeria's youth. The vision of the village is to raise 'a new generation of Nigerian youth who are well equipped with appropriate Information Technology skills and are well positioned for personal development, nation building and global participation.' The project is key to bridging the digital divide and it will open doors for many underserved young Nigerians, improve their values and quality of life, and help them to attain greatest heights in the educational and job markets in which they would otherwise have never had the opportunity. The project is a multi-stakeholder partnership between Junior Achievement of Nigeria, Microsoft and the Lagos State Government, and it enjoys support from volunteer tutors and the Lagos Mainland Local Government. The Executive Governor of Lagos State, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, commissioned the project on The 28th of May 2004; and project delivery took off with the provision of a Lagos State-sponsored cyber café. Programs available at the village include First Steps (Computer Appreciation); Intricate Details (How to build your own Computer); Work Better (Office Productivity Tools); and Great Leap (Internet and the World Wide Web). Delivery ranges from 3 weeks to 2 months and courses are taught by a faculty made up of volunteers who are qualified Information Technology instructors who wish to contribute their own quota to the emergence of a New Nigeria where young people can compete favourably with their peers anywhere in the world after they might have been equipped with appropriate Information Technology skills. 
Document LQAF000020060308e238000h1

BRIEFING - ASIA INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY - MARCH 7, 2006
975 words

7 March 2006

Asia Pulse

APULSE

English

(c) 2006 Asia Pulse Pty Limited
An executive briefing on information technology for March 7, 2006, prepared by Asia Pulse ( http://www.asiapulse.com ), the real-time, Asia-based wire with exclusive news, commercial intelligence and business opportunities.
WEBEX COMMUNICATIONS LAUNCHES 'WEBOFFICE' SOLUTION IN INDIA
BANGALORE - Web communications services provider WebEx Communications Inc today launched on-demand "WebOffice" solution for the Indian market targeting offshoring and outsourcing firms.
The solution, a business collaboration service, enables effective management of projects undertaken by multiple vendors, service providers and partners, according to the San Jose, California-based company.
US-BASED CSS TO FORAY INTO AUSTRALIA
CHENNAI - Cybernet Software Systems (CSS), a US-based IT services group with facilities here, today said it has decided to foray into the Australian market with the setting up of a 100 per cent subsidiary in that country.
CSS, which presently has presence in the United Kingdom and Singapore besides in India, said it has already opened a full-fledged office in Melbourne.
INDIA'S TELELOGIC ACQUIRES I-LOGIX FOR US$80 MLN
MUMBAI - Software solution provider, Telelogic today said it acquired US IT firm I-Logix in an all cash deal of US$80 million.
I-Logic is a leading provider of modelling tools for the embedded market with revenue at US$26.8 million with 11 per cent in operating margin during the year ended 2005.
PHILIPPINES' KORONADAL CITY SEEKS TO BECOME CALL CENTRE HUB
KORONADAL CITY - The city government here plans to invest on the establishment of modern information and communication technology (ICT) and language training facilities as it gears to transform the city into a prime outsourcing and contact centre hub in Mindanao over the next two years.
Mayor Fernando Miguel said the local government is currently preparing a program that will manage the development of a ready pool of highly-trained professionals and skilled workers for future jobs in call centre s and medical transcription companies.
SYMANTEC WARNS OF FURTHER ONLINE ID THEFT DAMAGES IN S. KOREA
SEOUL - South Korean Internet users are increasingly becoming a target of computer hackers who seek financial gains by stealing online identities, a report showed Tuesday.
The Internet Security Threat Report by Symantec Corp., a U.S. publisher of anti-virus software, found that the most malicious computer threats around the world for the second half of last year were worms, viruses and trojan horses designed to steal users' personal information.
A T KEARNEY, UGS AND TCS LAUNCH ASIAN SOURCING NETWORK
NEW DELHI - Global sourcing services firm A T Kearney Procurement Solutions and UGS, provider of product lifecycle management software and services, on Monday launched a joint solution called 'Asian Sourcing Network' to enable manufacturers to connect companies from low-cost countries to their global innovation networks.
The two companies are teaming up with Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) to open the first Asian Sourcing Network (ASN) center in Coimbatore, UGS said in a statement.
VIETNAM SOFTWARE PARK BAGS US$103 MLN IN INVESTMENT
HANOI - The Quang Trung software park said it has so far attracted 70 software enterprises, including 30 foreign-invested ones, with a total investment capital of VND1.65 trillion (around US$103 million).
After five years of operation, the park now accommodates 4,300 employees and students, 20 times higher than the figure from 2001, according to an announcement by the park's administration last Friday.
ACROART'S NEW SOFTWARE CREATES 3-D DIGITAL CAMERA IMAGES
TOKYO - Japan-based advertising agency Acroart Co. has developed software that uses a pair of digital cameras to produce 3-D images.
Images captured by two digital cameras are automatically adjusted for 3-D viewing by the new software, which is loaded on a special terminal. The two photos are then printed out side by side and assume a 3-D nature when viewed through special lenses resembling opera glasses.
CITIZEN WATCH PARTNERS WITH OSAKA UNIV ON ROBOT DEVELOPMENT
TOKYO - Japan's Citizen Watch Co. (TSE:7762) on Monday announced a collaborative partnership for robot development with the Osaka University Graduate School of Engineering.
The university will provide Citizen Watch with essential software technologies for robot control, and in turn Citizen Watch will provide the university with robot components.
HOTMAIL FOUNDER SABEER BHATIA LAUNCHES NEW INTERNET VENTURE
NEW DELHI - Hotmail founder Sabeer Bhatia has floated a new venture Blogeverywhere.com that enhances the speed and functionality of e-mail browsing and allows users to post their comments on any website in the world.
"In the last 10 years, there has been no significant development of technology in Hotmail. Since the last one year, we were thinking of how to increase its speed. The tool we have come up with addresses that problem," he said at a press conference.
INDIAN TELCO MTNL EYEING INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITIES IN CHINA
NEW DELHI - State-run telco MTNL (BSE:MTNL) is exploring investment opportunities in Chinese telecom companies and also scouting Nigeria and Sri Lanka for investment opportunities and joint ventures in the wireless segment, the Rajya Sabha was informed today.
MTNL is exploring possibilities of investing in the Chinese telecom market. Various telecom technology companies are being considered for this purpose so that a decision for acquiring a stake can be taken, minister of state for IT and telecom Shakeel Ahmad said in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha.
THAILAND PREPARING INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDER PROTECTION LAW
BANGKOK - The Assistant to the Information and Communication Technology Minister, Mr. Kannawat Wassinsangworn, is preparing to bring forth internet service provider protection laws, which will block obscene websites.
Mr. Kannawat stated that over the past year, the ministry was able to block the majority of more than 3,000 foreign websites displaying improper content and materials.
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