European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - June 26, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Wednesday june 26, 1991 the stars and stripes Page 17money matters today a tip As part of an increased Effort to attract corporate customers Apple. Computer inc. Has introduced its first software package that allows users of Large networks of its macintosh personal computers to communicate easily with ism mainframes and minicomputers. Analysts said the Apple software was an improvement Over the cumbersome communications software now available from third party suppliers. A a a a  rates London up tuesdays rates for. The . Dollar to other currencies. Figures Are expressed in dollars to the British Pound other local currencies in dollars Gold was quoted at $364.25 an ounce Silver at $4 38ra. A. June 24 june 25 a British pound.,.1.6425 1.6325 German Mark. 1.7845 1.7975 French franc.,60595 6.0915 dutch Guilder ,.,., 2.03752.0167 belgian franc37.00. 36.9625 italian lira. .,.1,328.00 1,333.9. Swiss franc .1.5335. 1.5495 greek drachma ,.�?� .197.87 196.17 turkish lira.4,282.30 .4,282.30 saudi arabian Riyal .3.7501 a 3.7503 Spanish peseta 113.io 112.18 portuguese escudo,.,�?T. ,157 59 a 156.10 Canadian dollar.,., ,.1,1435 1.1420 austrian Schilling. 12.73 12.5925 norwegian Krone.7.0560. 6.9880 a danish Krone. .6,9745.6.9125 these Are unofficial rates As reported by wire service and banking sources and they Are listed to give some idea of daily currency fluctuations the Only official rate concerns the Sale of German Marks to . Personnel for personal use and this will be 1.75 through wednesday based on tuesdays noontime Price fixing. A Dow Jones. New York up monday a a a a 30 industrials 20 transport a a. 15 utilities -.65 stocks. Experts concerned by of japanese ventures in . By Elaine Kurten Bacini the associated press Tokyo a japanese buyouts of Columbia pictures the Rockefeller Center and other . Landmarks left Many americans apprehensive that the buying. Might never Stop. Now the experts Are becoming increasingly. Concerned because that buying has slowed Way Down. The japanese investment Boom in the. United states is waning and with it a lifeline of capital that could help the . Economy As it pulls out of the recession. Instead of buying american japanese investors Are keeping their Money at Home or seeking better deals elsewhere economists say. A the Bottom line is that the Lack of japanese investment has dampened  growth and it  have Hap pwned at a worse time a says economist Maria Ramirez president of Ramirez capital consultants inc. With a series of inflation chilling inter est rate increases the Central Bank has Cut off the seemingly limitless Supply of cheap Money that has made Japan the worlds largest capital exporter. A a according to the finance ministry i rect japanese investment in the United states dropped 20 percent to $26.13 bal lion in 1991 from its Zenith of $32.54 billion in 1989. A. In its annual Survey of overseas invest ment the Tovo a Izai data Bank reported that japanese companies had withdrawn from More than 200 of 12,500 overseas ventures the vast majority of them in the past two years. The decline is most obvious Innon manufacturing sectors such As real estate and finance says Yasuhiko Sasai dire Tor of the Japan external Trade Urgani nation a a International economic affairs division real estate investment in the United states has plunged from More than $14 billion in 1989 to $8 billion in 1990. The estimated total for this year is $5 billion to $6 billion according to the association. Erf foreign investors in . Real estate. That Quot decline helps keep property prices depressed in the United states. Japanese investors also arc shying away from the . Stock Market. When credit was cheap Banks were aggressively looking overseas for investment opportunities unavailable in Japan because of government restrictions. A now says Chung a Cha senior manager of the business planning department Lor  and banking co., a Scarcity of funds  up once lucrative investment markets in real estate mergers and acquisition s and aircraft leasing a among other areas. Japanese companies have been less inclined to pull Back from their factories in the United states. A a manufacturers can to just Stop investing.  to expand to keep their Over setts ventures going Quot Sasai says. But difficulties encountered by Tanu. Factor cars Quot who moved their production to the United states and other countries in the past five years partly to smooth Trade friction May be discouraging More such ventures. A unfamiliarity with foreign ways of doing business and worries Over How to Deal with environmental Impact i citric tons Patent issues product liability cases and different hiring practices have tarnished overseas ventures for Many japanese investors. Some japanese companies also arc finding their newly purchased Amei inn manufacturers a hefty economic Burden. After Bridges tone corp., Japan a biggest producer of rubber products acquired Firestone tire and rubber co for $2,6 billion in 1988,-it became saddled with $3 billion in debt that Many analysis say May damage the firm s Long term profitability. One reason that a mass exodus by the 1,433 japanese manufacturers with plants employing More than 300,000 people in the United states is unlikely is that potential buyers for such factories ate Lew and far Between. A a there Are lots of distil used Sellers firms that were  leveraged Ami now need to get out. But no one will buy a sighs one Tokyo mergers and acquisition expert. A a a v but japanese investors. Have become much Hoosier and that Means a slower economic recovery. A Dow Jones closing Range of averages. High Low. Close. Change 2957.29 2904.29. 2913.01 -52.55 1182.12 1157.62. 1161.50 -29.09 198 00 195.42 -197.12 -0.69 1049.43 1030,47 1034.47 -18.69 Amelco opens Warsaw office Warsaw Poland up american express one of the worlds leading firms for travel and financial services opened an office in Warsaw on tuesday after a 52-year absence from Poland. The office which also will in elude the first automatic Teller machine in Poland will offer various services including travel arrangements currency Exchange Piir Chase and cashing of american express travellers checks and replacement of lost or stolen travellers checks and american express cards. Amex also is actively seeking More outlets for its charge card in Poland. Already it has More than 500 agents an amount that is expected to double by the end of the year. A the political and economic reforms in Central and Eastern Europe Haiti generated new prospects for Long term growth in the travel and financial sectors a said Jurgen Aumuller president of american express for Europe the Middle East and Africa. A by building step by step a direct presence in the Region we Hope to support the further development of the Economy in  _. Amex which closed its offices in the Region with the outbreak of w orld War ii opened an office in Budapest Hungary in january and plans to open one in Prague. Economic surge in Warsaw Poland apr after lagging behind Czechoslovakia and Hungary in attracting Western investors Eastern Europe a largest country signed a flurry of deals this month that Promise an inflow of hundreds of millions of dollars. Poland is finally starting to reap some benefits from its crash privatization program although it May be some time before those benefits trickle Down to the Cash strapped populace. In addition to the Rise in foreign investment deals Poland j has cached agreements that will allow it to Purchase equipment on favourable terms Lor modernizing communications transportation and banking. The Steps Are crucial to up Era Dong Poland a backward Economy and meshing with the West. The successes come however against a backdrop of social gloom. Statistics show that the recession is worsening. For example sales to Poland a biggest Market the soviet Union Are expected to drop 70 percent this year. A and a political tug of War May not be helping the business climate. President Lech Walesa is threatening to dissolve parliament which he accuses of dragging its feet on legislation for economic Reform. Nevertheless a foreign investment Bill that just cleared parliament ends the need for government consent for most business Drafs and guarantees that foreign companies can move profits out of Poland. An april agreement by Western creditor governments to slash Poland s $46 billion foreign debt also helped attract foreign investment. Among major deals announced since june 1 Are a .-built financial Center and Unilever a Purchase of a majority stake in the former state soap monopoly. On monday Exxon a German affiliate said it would be a partner in a venture a worker tests an Otake television at scr Vass inc.s new factory in Poland. Running serv ice stations. Pepsico and coca cola also Are pursuing investment proposals. A the big names Are very important by cause they convince the other hesitating companies that it is Worth it to come Here and get started a said Janusz Walucki director of the foreign investment Agency s promotion Bureau. Though Poland charged ahead with the most Radical economic Reform plan of the East bloc countries that ousted communist rulers in 1989, it had been less successful than Hungary and Czechoslovakia in attracting investment with 38 million people Poland offers a larger potential Market than  15 million. Residents or Hung iry with 10 million. But its Economy was ravaged in the 1980s by political upheaval and tin in. Mense foreign debt posing too Many risks for most investors. The first non communist government launched Radical economic reforms in january 1990, but ministries remained hesitant to commit to deals. The turning Point appears to have come when private business Chah Pion Jan or Szy Toi Bielecki was sworn in As prime minister in january of this year. A Obielecki just Plain understands that if he does t get some deals done and lock in some of these Western companies that the whole great interest in Poland is going to erode a said Edgar Pulton director of the . Trade development Center. Billed As the largest . Investment in Poland to Date two engineering companies Golub corp. Of Schenectady n.y., and Epstein engineering inc. Of Chicago agreed this month to spend $100 million to build a financial Center with the National  Poland. Unilever the British dutch consumer products giant is paying $20 million Lor 80 percent of the Pollena detergent company the largest acquisition so tar in the drive to sell state owned industries to private investors. Unilever also plans to spend $24 million on new equipment. Pepsico and coca cola Are dueling with investment proposals of $60 million and $50 million respectively. General motors is considering putting $400 million into the polish Auto Industry