Wed, Mar 10, 2004 page12

• World Business Quick Take

  • AGENCIES
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  ■ US jobs

  Small firms to outsource

  About 27 percent of US chief executive officers of small and midsize businesses plan to send jobs overseas within the next three years, the <> reported, citing a TEC International Inc survey. The survey by the San Diego, California-based organization of CEOs said manufacturing operations are more likely to be outsourced, followed by information technology jobs, the newspaper reported. Of the 1,091 chief executives surveyed in February, about 21 percent said they would outsource part of their companies' operations in the next 12 months, while 6.3 percent said they would outsource work in the next 36 months, the newspaper said. The survey also found about 62 percent of the CEOs are planning to hire more workers, while 6 percent expect total jobs to decrease and 33 percent say the number of jobs will stay the same, the newspaper said.

  ■ Mobile phones

  Usage soars in India

  India, one of the world's fastest growing markets for mobile phones, has signed up nearly 19 million new users in the past year, the government said. The figure reflects booming demand fueled by a growing middle class and price cuts by service providers, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India said on Monday. India added almost 1.7 million new subscribers in February, bringing the total number of mobile phones in use to 31.67 million, the authority said. A year earlier, the number was 12.87 million. Teledensity -- the extent of phone usage per 100 people -- increased to 7.2 from 5.11 a year earlier, it added. The Cellular Operators Association of India, a trade body representing most mobile phone companies, expects the number of mobile phones to exceed land-line phones in India by year end. India currently has about 42 million land-based phones.

  ■ Oil

  OPEC to cut supplies

  Purnomo Yusgiantoro, president of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, said the cartel would seek to manipulate the oil price through cuts in the supply beginning April 1. "The policy hasn't been changed. We want the crude oil price at US$22 to US$28 a barrel, although we have been planning to cut output quota by April 1 by one million barrel per day," Purnomo, Indonesia's Energy and Mineral Resources minister, said in Jakarta. "But if crude prices rise above US$28 a barrel for a certain period, it is possible for us to increase production. Right now, we are consulting each other. We do have an automatic adjustment policy. Our principle is to maintain security of supply to the market.

  ■ Steel

  Japan imports from India

  Japan resumed imports of steel plates from India after a year's halt to help it meet shortages of the material, the Japan Metal Daily said, without saying where it got the information. Japan is buying 6,000 tonnes of steel plates from India for loading in April for about US$590 a tonne on a cost and freight basis, or about 66,000 yen a tonne, the paper said. The steel plates are expected to arrive in Japan at the end of June, the paper said. Japan paying more for steel from India than steel from South Korea-based Posco because of a shortage of the material, the paper said. Posco charges ¥58,000 (US$521) a tonne for steel plates, the paper said.
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