PC that will read HD DVD discs
Japan’s Toshiba Corp has developed the world’s first PC able to read HD DVD discs, a next-generation disc format it is promoting over a rival standard pushed by Sony Corp.
Toshiba, the world’s third-largest notebook computer maker behind Dell Inc and Hewlett-Packard Co, said the PC would be introduced in Japan in early 2006. It is still considering the timing for an overseas launch.
The PC will be equipped with a slim, read-only HD DVD drive produced by Toshiba Samsung Storage Technology, a joint venture between Japan’s second-largest electronics conglomerate and South Korea’s Samsung Electronics. In addition to content in the high-definition HD DVD format, the new PC will also allow consumers to both read and write to conventional DVD and CD discs.
Trade surplus record
Germany will post fresh record trade surpluses this year and next as exports continue to expand despite an expected slowdown in global growth, the DIHK chambers of commerce and industry association has forecast. Releasing the results of its annual survey of trade offices around the world, DIHK said it now expected exports to grow 7.0 per cent in 2005, up from a 6 per cent forecast made last year. It also raised its forecast for import growth, to 7.5 per cent from 6 percent, but said Germany’s surplus in trade in goods would widen from 2004’s record 156 billion euros ($188.1 billion). DIHK said countries close to the borders of the 25-nation European Union, such as Russia and Turkey, along with Asian countries were the main engines of demand for German goods, although exports to China this year would be lower than in 2004. Trade with oil producers in the Middle East was also booming, it said.
Steel demand up
World steel demand will rise by four per cent to five per cent a year from 2004 through 2006, led by strong consumption in China, the International Iron and Steel Institute said.
Demand will be between 1.04 billion and 1.05 billion tonnes in 2006, up from 972 million tonnes in 2004.
“The strongest growth continues to come from China, which should see a 10 per cent increase in steel demand in 2005 and a further seven per cent to 10 per cent growth next year,” the institute said. But it added prospects for steel demand were uncertain, as the recent sharp rise in oil prices could dampen economic growth.
Loans worth $455 million approved
The Saudi Industrial Development Fund (SIDF) has approved loans totaling SR1.71 billion ($455.7 million) for 15 projects.
The projects, approved at a board meeting of the fund chaired by Yousif bin Ibrahim Al-Bassam, include both new and expansion projects. The projects cover production and distribution of natural gas to serve factories of the Industrial City of Riyadh, insulation sheets, prayer rugs and carpets, pastry products, plastbau wall and ceiling panels, craft paper and cardboard, oxygen and nitrogen gases, liquefied argon and krypton-xenon mix, non-woven fabrics, gypsum powder and decorative products, motor vehicle tyres, polypropylene non-spun texture, iron billets made of scrap steel, and polypropylene/polyamide yarns. The SIDF, since its inception, has committed SR51.21 billion in loans for 2,701 industrial projects.
Steel plants coming up
UAE-based Al Nasser Industrial Enterprises (ANIE) plans to build two steel plants in Abu Dhabi Industrial City.
The plants, which go on stream in 2007, will have a combined capacity of 450,000 tonnes per year (tpy). One unit will manufacture billets and the other will be a direct reduction iron (DRI) plant. HYL and GA Danieli are the technology and equipment suppliers for the plants.
EBS doubling production
Emirates Building System (EBS), a subsidiary of Dubai Investments specialising in steel structures, has said it plans to double its annual production capacity to over 50,000 tonnes.
EBS, which manufactures, sells and erects steel structures, said in a statement that the expansion — costing around Dh50 million ($13.62 million) — is to meet rising demand in the Gulf Arab region which is experiencing a construction boom. “Our entire production has been exclusively booked till the second quarter of 2006,” said Dubai Investments chief executive Khalid Kalban.
Foodco’s investment
Abu Dhabi National Foodstuff Company (Foodco) has announced it will invest Dh200 million ($54 million) in an industrial zone for foodstuffs in the UAE capital. It will be ready by 2007.
