■Real estate
Hong Kong to halt land sales
Hong Kong will halt all government land sales until the end of next year as it seeks to prop up the sagging property market after home prices dropped by almost two thirds since their 1997 peak. The government will resume selling land after that date at the request of the city's developers, Housing secretary Michael Suen told legislators. The cancellation of sales includes two scheduled auctions in the year through March 31. "We shouldn't compete with private developers," Suen said. "A clear housing policy we set forth now is a starting point to restore people's confidence in the property market." The government is under pressure to do something about a five-year, 60 percent slump in property prices that has left homeowners with more debt than equity.
■ Banking
ADB may redirect aid to Bali
The Asian Development Bank is considering whether to redirect all its loans for Indonesia to Bali, which is struggling to recover from terrorists bombs that killed nearly 200 and devastated the economy. "The Bali bombing can have a dampening effect on tourism and also on investor confidence," Tadao Chino, the Manila-based bank's president, told reporters in Sydney yesterday. "We are looking into the potential for refocusing our ongoing loans to Indonesia and extending our existing projects in Bali," he added. The Oct. 12 bombings killed nearly 200 people, most of them foreign tourists, and wreaked havoc on the tourism industry that is the backbone of the Balinese economy.
■ Parking space
US gets first `robot' garage
Although the US is known for its technological innovation, it has been decidedly old-fashioned in its parking. Until now, that is. Drivers in Hoboken, New Jersey, across the river from Manhattan, can now let a "robot garage" do the work for them. A German entrepreneur on Tuesday opened the fully automatic, computer-driven garage in the US, an innovation Europe and Asia are already acquainted with. Customers drive their cars into the garage, where sensors electronically identify the vehicle and then guides it to one of 320 parking places using lifts and sledges.
■ Internet
America Online boss quits
AOL Time Warner Inc said James de Castro, president of the company's America Online Internet service, will leave after seven months on the job. The online unit, serving 35 million subscri-bers, will report to America Online Vice Chairman Ted Leonsis. De Castro, a radio industry veteran, was hired by former America Online Chief Executive Officer Robert Pittman in April to help reverse declining advertising sales. De Castro is at least the fourth senior executive to depart America Online in the past five months. Pittman left in July, a week before AOL Time Warner said the government was investigating the unit's accounting.
■ NATO summit
Prostitutes prepare to profit
Strip clubs, escort services and other businesses in Prague's thriving sex industry are preparing for a busy week of high-brow customers during an upcoming NATO summit. Some night clubs in the city's center, like many other businesses, plan to close early or entirely for security reasons during the military alliance's two-day summit next week, which is expected to draw 2,000 delegates from around the world including military brass and 46 heads of state.
Agencies
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