SYDNEY, Australia, June 21 /PRNewswire/ -- A round-up of Asian stock markets prepared by Asia Pulse ( http://www.asiapulse.com), the real-time, Asia-based wire with exclusive news, commecial intelligence and business opportunities.

MITSUI OIL EXPLORATION BUYS RIGHTS IN THAI OIL, GAS FIELDS

TOKYO - Mitsui Oil Exploration Co. announced Monday that it has acquired concession rights to Thai oil and gas fields from a U.S. concern. In an agreement reached Friday, Mitsui Oil Exploration and a Thai government- affiliated oil development firm purchased 46.34% of the rights in two mining zones for about 90.2 billion yen (US$825.4 million). The average daily production of the two fields is about 59,000 barrels of crude oil and roughly 6.79 million cubic meters of natural gas.

UAE'S ETISALAT OFFERS US$2.58 BLN FOR STAKE IN PAKISTAN TELECOM

ISLAMABAD - The UAE's telecom giant Etisalat Friday offered the highest bid of US$2.58 billion for a 26% strategic stake in Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) along with management control. The company offered $1.96 per share through a sealed bid with its nearest rival China Mobile offering $1.063 per share. SingTel of Singapore, the third company to take part in the bidding, offered 88 cents per share. The Cabinet Committee on Privatization (CCOP) will give its final decision on the bid.

HYUNDAI TO BUILD JV COMMERCIAL VEHICLE PRODUCTION UNIT IN CHINA

SEOUL - Hyundai Motor Co. (KSE:05380), South Korea's largest automaker, Tuesday signed a joint venture deal with a Chinese motor company to build a commercial vehicle production plant in China. The automaker and Guangzhou Motor Co. plan to establish Guangzhou Hyundai Motor Co. in Guangzhou, southern China. They will make an initial investment of US$43 million in the project.

TAIWAN'S INVESTMENT IN CHINA DECREASES SHARPLY IN JAN-MAY

TAIPEI - Taiwan's investment in China fell sharply in the first five months of this year, decreasing by 28.78% to US$1.96 billion from the previous year's level, according to data released by the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA). The MOEA Investment Commission approved a total of 536 projects for investment in China during the January-May period. In May, the Investment Commission approved 128 investment projects in China worth a combined US$495.4 million.

INDIA SEEKS LNG FROM QATAR TO RESTART DABHOL PROJECT

NEW DELHI - India Monday sought fuel from Qatar to restart the US$2.9 billion Dabhol power project in Maharashtra. New Delhi is seeking one million tones per annum of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Qatar to fire the 740 MW Phase-I and the nearly complete 1444 MW Phase-II of the project. "We have sought conversion of the present supplies of 5 million tones per annum of LNG into 7.5 million tones. We have also indicated additional requirement for the Dabhol project," Petroleum Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar told reporters after meeting visiting Qatar's Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Ahmed Bin Abdullah Al Mahmoud here.

AUSTRALIAN BANKS RESPOND TO U.S. SECURITY BREACH

SYDNEY - Australian banks are checking the accounts of 127,000 credit card holders to see if they have been affected by a massive security breach in the United States. However, the banks say most victims of the credit card scam have already been identified and were issued with replacement cards earlier in the year. About 50,000 MasterCard holders and 77,000 Visa card holders in Australia are among the 40 million credit card holders worldwide that may have been exposed to a fraud scam linked to a card processing company, Card Systems Solutions.

MANULIFE-SINOCHEM PLANS BIGGER NETWORK IN CHINA

BEIJING - Manulife-Sinochem, the first joint venture life insurance company in China, Monday announced a strategic expansion plan to establish a nationwide subsidiary network for its growing business. "Our purpose is to set up subsidiaries and sales offices in 30 cities by 2007," said James Lin, general manager of Manulife-Sinochem Life Insurance Co Ltd. It has received a licence from the China Insurance Regulatory Commission to establish a subsidiary in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, which is expected to inaugurate in November.

ISUZU TO PRODUCE MORE DIESEL ENGINES IN US FOR GM

TOKYO - Isuzu Motors Ltd. is gearing up to expand its supply of diesel engines to General Motors Corp., providing about 18,000 more units a year. Dmax Ltd., an Ohio diesel engine producer jointly owned by Isuzu and GM, will supply 6.6-liter V-8 engines, which will be installed in diesel versions of the GMC Savannah and the Chevrolet Express vans. Dmax will supply 9,000 additional motors annually in its first year and will double the figure in the second year.

WALMART TO BUILD FOOTWEAR LOGISTICS CENTER IN QUANZHOU

FUZHOUe - Work will soon start on a footwear logistics center for Walmart in Quangang District of Quanzhou City. With a total investment of 100 million yuan (US$12 million), the center will be built jointly by C & J Corporation of Taiwan and Quanzhou Baofeng Light Industry Co., Ltd. They plan to invest 20 million yuan in the first phase of the project, which involves the building of a 15,000-square-meter standard logistics workshop, capable of processing 10 million pairs of shoes each year, and the capacity is expected to hit 30 million pairs after the second phase construction.

INDIA ALLOWS 3 SINGAPORE BANKS TO SET UP WHOLLY-OWNED UNITS

NEW DELHI - India will allow three major Singapore banks to set-up wholly- owned subsidiaries in the country to boost investments as part of the bilateral Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement [CECA] cleared by the Cabinet on Monday. The three banks -- DBS Holdings (SGX:D05), Oversea Chinese Banking Corporation (SGX:O04) and United Overseas Bank (SGX:U11) -- will be given national treatment at par with Indian banks with regard to branches, places of operation and prudential requirements, Commerce Minister Kamal Nath told reporters. In turn, Indian banks already operating in Singapore will qualify for national treatment there, which means they will be allowed electronic fund transfer and clearance besides use of local ATMs, he said.

Asia Pulse Pte Ltd. Each day Asia Pulse creates up to 300 items of news, business opportunities, expert commentary and industry profiles. Asia Pulse is a unique joint venture involving the resources of Asia's major news and information groups:

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