Singapore (AP) - A consortium of four companies announced Feb. 23 it would begin

televising business news to Asia by satellite later this year. To be known as Asia

Business News, the channel is to broadcast from Singapore in English using Indonesia's

Palapa satellite, reaching markets in Hong Kong, Indonesia, Thailand, Taiwan, and

the Philippines.

Asia Business News (Singa-pore) Pte. Ltd. is owned 36 percent by Television New Zealand

Ltd., 36 percent by Telecommunications Inc. of the United States, 18 percent by Business

News Network Ltd. of Hong Kong and 10 percent by Singapore International Media Ventures

Pte. Ltd. of Singapore.

Vietnamese Workers Protest Korean Bosses

HO CHI MINH CITY, Vietnam (AP)-Vietnam and South Korea have been trying to increase

economic ties, but a strike and other protests at Korean-run factories in Ho Chi

Minh city have shown they're not getting along in the work place.

About 680 workers at the Ree Young company, a Vietnamese-South Korean joint venture

that manufactures luggage, dropped their tools for about three hours on Feb. 6 to

protest what they said were substandard wages, forced overtime and brutal treatment

by their Korean bosses.

It was the largest wildcat strike since Vietnam's foreign investment law was promulgated

five years ago, the Saigon newspaper reported last week.

Vietnam And Malaysia Tie Shoe Deal

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) - The Saigon Shoe Factory of Vietnam signed an agreement

on Feb. 18 with Bata (Malaysia) Ltd. to manufacture 100,000 pairs of shoes a month

for Bata, the national news agency Bernama reported.

Under the 1.5 million ringet (U.S. $577,000) contract, Bata will provide SSF with

the necessary plant equipment, raw materials, components and technical expertise

at SSF's factory in Ho Chi Minh city,

Bernama said.

The Vietnamese factory is to provide the required factory space and work force, and

95 percent of the shoes are to be exported to Europe, it added.

Taiwan And Malaysia Strengthen Trade Ties

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) - After years of negotiations, Taiwan and Malaysia signed an

agreement on Feb. 18 to enhance investment protection despite the absence of diplomatic

ties.

The agreement, signed by Huang Hsin-Pi, Taiwan's representative in Malaysia, and

his counterpart Syed Manson Barakbah, secures investors' rights with regulations

on expropriation, repatriation of investments and settlement of investment disputes.

"The agreement will encourage investments in Malaysia and boost our trade with

Malaysia," Huang said.

Barakbah said he expected Taiwan to have more confidence in their investments, adding

that his country welcomes high-tech investments from this island.