Kia to resume production from December: South Korea's Kia Motors would resume production from December 1, aided by rising orders and lower inventories, a company statement said on Friday. Kia suspended production of some assembly lines from Monday at least to the end of November because of sluggish sales at home and abroad, and production was widelyexpected to be curtailed on and off through December. But, a Kia statement said buying orders for December delivery rose to 20,000 units and inventories fell to 10,000 units, which is half of a reasonable stockpile. "As we believe Hyundai will sign a contract to take over a controlling stake in Kia on December 1 as scheduled, we decided to normalise production as soon as possible. This will help the buyer and our subcontractors," the statement said. Hyundai Motor won an international bid to takeover Kia and its sister Asia Motors in October.

Forex trade urged to cool deals before euro launch: The world's umbrella body of national forex Associations has urged members to refrain from any unnecessarily active trading during the last days of 1998 ahead of the launch of Europe's single currency, the euro. "The efforts underway are certainly unprecedented in today's markets, and require the utmost attention and care on the part of all concerned," the Financial Markets Association (ACI), said in astatement. Market participants were making intensive preparations, such as the complex conversion of trading books and supporting systems to prepare for the euro's introduction, the statement said. ACI said such a refraining measure "will assist in avoiding any undue volatility or unnecessary work load during these extremely important transition days." Paris-based ACI has 24,000 members worldwide, spreadacross 59 countries, making it the largest international association in the wholesale financial markets.

Pension funds to oppose Corrections Corp deal: Three pension funds which together hold less than five per cent of Corrections Corp outstanding stock plan to vote against the firm's acquisition by CCA Prison Realty Trust, according to media reports on Friday. CCA Prison Realty Trust is a real-estate investment trust spun off from Corrections Corp last year. But, in April the two companies decided to merge into the REIT for its tax advantages and access to capital. The reports said that CaliforniaPublic Employees Retirement System, the New York State Common Retirement Fund and the New York City employee fund group plan to vote against the merger in shareholder meetings next week. Robert Crants III, president of CCA Prison Realty Trust andson of the chief executive of Corrections Corp, said that he expected the deal to be completed as planned and doubted the negative votes would have an impact. Corrections Corp shareholders are expected to vote next Tuesday, while CCA Prison Realty shareholders will vote on Thursday.

Thai Airways restates 1996-97 earnings: Thai Airways International Plc on Friday restated its earnings for the year to September 30, 1997, to show a 25.2-billion baht net loss instead of a 2.76 billion baht net profit. The change was made to comply with an instruction from the Stock Exchange of Thailand, the carrier said in a statement. Thai Airways said the 1997 loss, based on a new accounting procedure, reflected foreign exchange losses after the Thai baht's devaluation in July,1997. On Thursday, the company announced a 3.70 billion baht net profit for the year to September 30, 1998.