June 18 (<a href=quote.bloomberg.com>Bloomberg) -- Petroleos de Venezuela SA, the state oil company, will resume exports of reformulated gasoline from its Paraguana refinery on Sunday, almost seven months after they were halted because of a nationwide work stoppage.

A shipment of 300,000 barrels will be sent to the U.S. east coast, said a Petroleos de Venezuela spokesman at Paraguana, the world's largest refinery complex. The shipment was supposed to go out a month ago but was repeatedly delayed because of planned maintenance at the Puerto La Cruz refinery, said the spokesman.

The shutdown of the Puerto La Cruz refinery meant that the gasoline that had been slated to be shipped was kept back for domestic use, the spokesman said. The Puerto La Cruz refinery resumed production last week.

Exports from Paraguana, which includes the Amuay and Cardon refineries, were slashed in December when a nationwide strike began. The refinery resumed operations in April, two months after the end of the strike, which was aimed at ousting President Hugo Chavez.

Paraguana exported about 3 million barrels of gasoline, all conventional unleaded, in April and May. Reformulated gasoline, which is especially blended to reduce tailpipe emissions, is more difficult to produce.

Wed June 18, 2003 01:40 PM ET By Axel Bugge

BRASILIA, Brazil (<href=reuters.com>Reuters) - Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva meets President Bush this week in an encounter that may take relations between the Hemisphere's two most populous nations to a new level of cooperation.

Brazil's first working class president and Bush, a conservative, may be unlikely bedfellows. But as Lula forged ahead to establish a regional leadership role for the Latin American giant since coming to power in January he has become an important partner for Washington.

That role, coupled with Lula's market-friendly policies of tight spending and keeping inflation low, has pleasantly surprised Washington, which worried that Brazil's first elected center-left government would mismanage the economy.

As the two leaders meet at the White House on Friday, Lula can present a country that has investor confidence and strong prospects in a region where many are struggling. They are expected to discuss trade, regional hotspots and Lula's ambitions to help the poor.

Analysts say nothing concrete may come out of the meeting, even on Americas-wide trade where Brazil and the United States disagree on how to proceed, but it signals the start of much closer engagement with Brazil's single largest export market.

Lula is bringing with him 10 ministers, likely making this the first such major summit between Brazil and the United States since World War II when President Getulio Vargas was persuaded by Franklin D. Roosevelt to join the allies in the war.

Anthony Harrington, the former U.S. ambassador to Brazil, said the meeting is a "milestone" which is "taking things to a new level of engagement."

"There is a recognition of mutual interest on the part of the U.S. in Brazil's success," said Harrington. "Brazil can be a very large anchor of stability and in fact seems to be."

With a population of 175 million and an economy that represents just under 50 percent of all South America, Brazil under Lula has begun to forge regional integration.

Lula sought to help stabilize the volatile political situation in Venezuela and offered to help President Alvaro Uribe to fight drug trafficking and violence in Colombia.

Those efforts have helped change suspicions about the former firebrand union leader in Washington, even to the extent that the United States has said it will forgive Brazil for its staunch opposition to the Iraq war.

"There is a recognition by the U.S. of the role Brazil plays in the region as an example of democracy and moderation," said an official at Brazil's foreign ministry. The visit should end "any mutual ideological distrust there may be."

Indeed, many say Lula and Bush got on well when they met in Washington in December, before Lula was sworn in.

"Even though their backgrounds could hardly be more different, they are both rather plain-spoken, direct individuals," said Harrington.

By Ariel Cohen Special to <a href=www.upi.com>UPI Published 6/17/2003 12:00 PM

WASHINGTON, June 17 (UPI) -- As the Bush White House and the Temporary Administration in Baghdad headed by L. Paul Bremer are planning the future of post-úSaddam Iraq, economic issues also loom large on the horizon. After security is achieved and remnants of the ancien regime are eradicated, a postwar economic strategy needs to be developed and implemented, which will be beneficial for Iraq, for the countries of the Middle East, and for the developing world, which suffers disproportionally from high oil prices.

The full reintegration of Iraq's oil industry into the global marketplace would allow a more abundant and stable energy supply and a greater revenue flow for the Iraqi budget, foster a higher living standard for the Iraqi people, and provide numerous business opportunities for the region and the world. Private ownership of the oil industry is the key for such reform.

Saddam's regime has succeeded in bankrupting the country, even though it boasts the world's second largest oil reserves after Saudi Arabia. The oil sector provided more than 60 percent of the country's gross domestic product and 95 percent of its hard currency earnings. Yet GDP for 2001, at the market exchange rate, was estimated to be only about one-third its 1989 level. Iraq also is hobbled by its $200 billion foreign debt. This devastation was wrought by such policies as the nationalization of the country's chief export commodity, oil; extensive central planning of industry and trade; the 1982-ú1988 war against Iran; and the invasion of Kuwait, which precipitated the 1991 Gulf War. Iraq's economy has been grossly mismanaged. Sound economics are needed to help the Iraqi people rebuild their lives and their country after two decades of wars and four decades of repression under the previous regime.

The way out of the economic morass for the Iraqi economy lies through privatization of its abundant oil assets. If successful, Iraq's privatization of its oil sector, refining capacity, and pipeline infrastructure, could serve as a model for privatization by other OPEC members, thereby weakening the cartel's domination of the energy markets.

Examples of Russia, Great Britain and Norway indicate clearly that private ownership of the oil industry provides higher investment and production growth rates than state management. And the case of Venezuela proves that even relatively well-managed state oil companies are likely to disintegrate if poor political leadership is exercised, as President Hugo Chavez has demonstrated.

The road to economic prosperity in Iraq will not be easily paved, but the Bush Administration can help the future Iraqi government achieve fundamental structural reform with massive, orderly, and transparent privatization of various sectors of the economy, including the oil industry. The United States should offer its guidance on establishing sound economic and trade policies to stimulate growth and recovery.

Privatization efforts in other countries demonstrate that privately held infrastructure, including oil, and oil service companies, attract modern technology and management expertise, produce greater efficiencies, improve production standards, and generate higher revenues than do centrally planned and state-owned industries.

Iraq's oil industry cannot thrive without access to global capital markets. In particular, the Administration should work with the future leadership of Iraq to convince them that the next Iraqi federal government must develop mechanisms for privatizing industries and taxing oil sales. It should develop a taxation or another revenue distribution mechanism, such as a revenue management scheme, which will ensure sharing the energy proceeds equitably among individual Iraqis within the three major ethnic regions: Kurds in the North, Shi'a Arabs in the South, and Sunni Arabs in the central region. Examples of such schemes already exist in Alaska and Singapore, where funds are deposited into individual bank accounts. On the other hand, a Norwegian scheme, in which the nation's windfall oil revenue is managed by the government for the sake of the "society at large" -- not individuals -- is less advisable in the case of Iraq.

Economic reform cannot be neglected for long. In the coming months the United States, its allies, and international financial institutions (IFIs) must provide the necessary technical and financial assistance that enables the Iraqis to create modern legal environment that recognizes property rights and is conducive to privatization.

A key role here can be played by the large and successful Iraqi expatriate community (as well as other Western-educated Iraqis) to provide the personnel, expertise and entrepreneurial know-how that can ensure a successful privatization reform. Contrary to the advice proffered by some in Europe and the United Nations, who advocated continuation of the U.N.-run oil-for-food program, transition to private oil production should be rapid. Prices will need to be deregulated, including in the utilities and the energy sector. Finally, it should be a top priority to liberalize Iraq's trade, with an eye to eventual Iraqi membership in the World Trade Organization. Restoring Iraq quickly to the global economic mainstream is critical to end the damage caused by decades of isolation and to lift living standards.

Economic growth will be an important contribution to the stabilization of Iraq, allowing the United States and other forces stationed there to depart. As the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia looks increasingly shaky as the top global oil supplier due to the mounting concerns about indigenous terrorism, structural reform and comprehensive privatization is a winning strategy for the people of Iraq, its future government, for the region, and for the United States. -0- Ariel Cohen, Ph.D., is Research Fellow in the Davis Institute for International Studies at the Heritage Foundation. He specializes in international energy security.

<a href=www.abs-cbnnews.com>abs-cbnnews.com, Wednesday, June 18, 2003 10:1:0 p.m

A study conducted by investment firm JP Morgan Securities Ltd. showed that the Philippines has one of the lowest cement prices in the whole world and the lowest cement prices in Southeast Asia.

JP Morgan’s “Construction & Building Material Sector” report published in February showed that the cement price in the Philippines is among the lowest in the world. The country was ranked 69 out of 73 countries in terms of cement prices.

The study showed that Switzerland has the highest cement price in the world with $110 per ton followed by Dominican Republic and Venezuela’s $100 per ton. China, on the other hand, has the lowest cement price at $28 per ton.

The study revealed that the $34 per metric ton cement price in the Philippines is the lowest in Southeast Asia compared to Indonesia’s $60 per ton, Vietnam’s $55, Malaysia’s $52, Taiwan’s $46, Thailand’s $39 and Singapore’s $38 per ton.

Trade Secretary Manuel Roxas II earlier said the continued imposition of additional duties on imported cement has helped the government in its efforts to keep prices of cement stable despite the peak season of construction activities in the country.

Roxas said stable cement price was in sharp contrast to earlier claims that prices of cement would go up after the Department of Trade and Industry imposed a P20.60 per bag additional duty on imported cement since December 2001 after it found merit in the petition filed by the Philippine Cement Manufacturers Corp. (PHILCEMCOR).

Roxas ordered the imposition of an additional P20.6 per bag duty November of 2001 on all cement imports after finding enough evidence that the influx of cheap cement into the country have injured the local players.

However, the Tariff Commission ruled in March last year that no definitive safeguard measure in the form of quota restrictions or higher tariff should be imposed on cement imports as PHILCEMCOR failed to prove that imported cement caused material injury on the domestic market. PHILCEMCOR elevated the case to the Court of Appeals.

On June 5, the appellate court upheld the authority of the DTI secretary to overturn the ruling of the Tariff Commission and remanded the cement petition back to the DTI.

Meanwhile, Akbayan Party-list Rep. Loretta Ann P. Rosales Wednesday called on Roxas to publicly declare what he intends to do regarding the application for safeguard measures to protect the local cement industry.

Roxas denied an application for safeguard measures in the form of 50-percent tariffs on imported gray Portland cement from certain countries like Indonesia and Taiwan on April 5, citing a Department of Justice opinion saying he was bound by the “negative findings” of the Tariff Commission advising against imposing definitive safeguard measures in favor of the cement industry.

However, the CA ruled that the Tariff Commission’s findings were merely recommendatory, regardless of whether it was positive or negative. L. Agcaoili

Rosales said it was important for the DTI to act expeditiously on the matter since it is not only the local manufacturers who are in dire need of protection but the thousands of workers whose jobs will be affected by any downturn in the industry.

Rosales believed that the CA decision was a big win for workers, who would bear the brunt of a surge in cement imports had the decision found Roxas bound to the Tariff Commission’s recommendations.

BW5090 JUN 18,2003 5:45 PACIFIC 08:45 EASTERN     Business Editors/High-Tech Writers     LAKELAND, Fla.--(<a href=www.businesswire.com>BUSINESS WIRE)--June 18, 2003--Computer Renaissance, America's Largest Computer Franchise, today announced the opening of two new full service computer stores in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale area. Opening today is a new location at 1550 West 84th Street in Hialeah, FL in the Palm Lake Springs Shopping Center. An additional Computer Renaissance location is planned to open next month in nearby Boca Raton, FL. These will complement the existing locations in Kendall, FL and Davie, FL.     "We are delighted to expand our services to customers throughout South Florida" said Jack Hollis, Chief Executive Officer of Computer Renaissance. "We will offer shoppers the same great values and customer service that have earned us customers for life from coast to coast. With our new emphasis with the small business market we will be able to deliver world class services to this growing industry segment. Computer Renaissance prides itself on being a local community retailer, specializing in personal service, with decisions made locally to better serve its customers. The new stores are an extension of that commitment to the communities of Hialeah and Boca Raton."     "Computer Renaissance has a unique niche in the computer market by offering both world class customer service and great prices," said new franchise Jady Abou. "Customers will quickly discover they receive a higher level of service and benefits than they normally receive from a big box electronics store." Mr. Abou was born and raised in Venezuela and is a graduate of The University of Florida. His family has been in the retail business for over 50 years and he grew up working for his family. His goal is to make Computer Renaissance a one stop total solution provider for both consumers and businesses in the Hialeah community.

    About Computer Renaissance

    Originally founded in 1988 on the basis of buying and selling used PC products to business clients, today Computer Renaissance thrives in a technology-driven society. Their model has evolved into a service based company that offers total computer solutions to small business and consumers. Computer Renaissance also offer customer built computers with the highest quality industry components. There are currently 100 Computer Renaissance stores throughout the United States. --30--EG/mi* CONTACT: Computer Renaissance, Lakeland Matt Kelton, 863/669-1155 E-mail: mkelton@compren.com www.computerrenaissance.com KEYWORD: FLORIDA INDUSTRY KEYWORD: SOFTWARE HARDWARE COMPUTERS/ELECTRONICS RETAIL CONSUMER/HOUSEHOLD MERGERS/ACQ PRODUCT SOURCE: Computer Renaissance