The Hong Kong dollar is likely to come under renewed speculative pressure during the coming week but no dramatic fall is expected, analysts said on Sunday. I think some pressure may be building but at the present time I don't see any way that Hong Kong would abandon its peg (to the US dollar)," investment adviser Marc Faber said.

Analysts said the local currency would face continued attacks during the week after it fell to around the key support level of 7.75 to the dollar on Friday. Hong Kong markets are closed on Monday for a public holiday. Asian currencies, which have been hit recently by a spate of speculative attacks, slid on Friday after Indonesia's decision to move to a managed float system for the rupiah.

German firm bid for Nepal power plant: Noell Stahl-und Machinenbau of Germany has won a 1.21 billion rupee contract to supply steel equipment for a hydroelectric plant in Nepal. Noell offered the lowest bid among 13 competitors from eight nations in a race to supply equipment for the 144-megawatt Kali Gandaki hydroelectric plant in the Syangja district of western Nepal. The state-owned Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) said in a statement that the tender amount quoted by the German firm was 20.86 per cent less than estimates for the work. The Manila-based Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Japanese government are funding $160 million each for the project which is expected to cost $425 million. The Nepali government will raise the remaining amount from internal sources.

Pakistan fertiliser plant:

Pakistan's privatisation commission initiated the sale process of the state-owned Pak Arab Fertilizers on Sunday by inviting firms to apply for the purchase of the urea making plant. It said firms should write by August 25 to the Privatisation Commission with a brief investor profile expressing interest in the unit, which also makes calcium ammonium nitrate and nitro phosphate. The Pak Arab Fertilizers Ltd has a paid- up capital of 743 million rupees and total assets of 2.135 billion rupees, a government statement said.

Dubai trade sees gold demand up:

Dubai's gold traders said on Sunday that they expected demand to rise in the next week after national holidays are over in the Indian subcontinent, the world's largest gold market. A Dubai-based refinery said it had doubled its output this month of the benchmark Ten Tola Bar (TT) to meet the forecast rise in demand ahead of the Indian festival season. Dubai is the main source of gold imported to India. Around three quarters of Dubai's gold imports are re-exported to India, the world's second most populous country after China.

Thailand tastes IMF medicine:

Thais were waking up to a sense of new economic reality as the first austerity measure under a new International Monetary Fund-sponsored plan saw prices jump due to a value added tax increase over the weekend. VAT rose to 10 per cent from seven per cent, sending prices of most goods, other than exempted fresh foods, higher from Saturday.

Oil investment incentives lack bite:

Major oil companies are not likely to pump billions of dollars into Indonesia despite new incentives to build refineries as long as the domestic market remains closed to them, industry sources said. Oil companies want a share of the domestic market before they commit billion-dollar investments there, one source at a major oil company said over the weekend.

President Suharto, in a decree dated July 31, issued new and clearer guidelines to woo the private sector to build refineries. But the incentives did not end state-owned Pertamina's monopoly in the retail market. However Pertamina was allowed to build jointly with the private sector and enabled private refineries to sell their products to Pertamina.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.