[ HAWAII INC. ]

NEW JOBS

>> The Radisson Waikiki Prince Kuhio Hotel has hired Vidal Demonti as restaurant manager for Trellisses Restaurant. He was most recently maitre d' for the Plaza Club.

>> Robin Kennedy has joined New Wave Broadcasting as sales manager. She will oversee the sales department for 102.7 Da Bomb, 97.5 KPOI, 93.1 KQMQ, 99.5 The Breeze-KHUI and Radio Disney AM 690. She most recently worked as sales and account manager at Cox Radio, KXME.

PROMOTIONS

>> Hawaii Pacific Federal Credit Union has appointed Ernesto Lung to controller. He will manage all accounting and financial operations of the credit union and be responsible for budgeting and regulatory reporting. Prior to joining the credit union, he held positions in Central Pacific Bank's controller division and Bank of America's finance division.

>> Karen Lockwood has been named Atlantis Adventures' director of revenue development. She will develop and implement strategies to generate new monies by leveraging the company's existing resources and infrastructure. Prior to accepting this new role, she was the company's director of marketing services.

>> Sheraton Kauai Resort has named Denise Wardlow director of sales and marketing. She supervises the resort's sales, food and beverage, marketing, advertising and public relations. She was previously director of rooms and revenue management at Sheraton Maui.

>> Island Title Corp. has promoted Ryan S. Yamauchi to escrow division vice president. He has served as the company's director of marketing since April and has been in the real estate industry for five years.

>> Remedy Intelligent Staffing has promoted Norine Kekuaokalani to customer service supervisor. She has worked for the company since February. Kekuaokalani will be responsible for front office operations and serving clients and applicants. Remedy provides staffing placement in categories including clerical, administrative, customer service, call center, light industrial and technical.

ON THE BOARD

>> The board of directors of Island Holdings Inc. has elected Tyler M. Tokioka corporate secretary. He will oversee the boards minutes and bylaws. Tokioka also serves as assistant vice president and director of office services of Island Holdings' subsidiary Island Insurance Cos. Other subsidiaries include Atlas Insurance Agency and IC International. With origins dating back to 1929, Hawaii-based Island Holdings provides diversified risk management services.

RECOGNITION

>> American Express Financial Advisors honored Darin Acopan with the Mercury award for business production during his first 20 weeks with the company. He provides financial services in the Honolulu area. His previously worked in marketing for Salomon Smith Barney Inc. in Honolulu.

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Six Continents says Asia hotels ripe for picking

SINGAPORE >> Six Continents Plc plans to add 25 hotels in Asia in two years, aiming to strike better deals as a slump in demand intensifies after the Bali bomb attack, a top executive said.

The owner of Inter-Continental and Holiday Inn hotels expects to have 175 hotels in the region by the end of 2004, compared with 150 now, said Richard Hartman, the London-based company's Asia- Pacific managing director. Most of the expansion will be in China, where demand is strongest, he said.

Japan vows to tighten belt next year

TOKYO >> Japan's government vowed on Friday to tighten its belt after Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi set in motion plans for new spending this year that will worsen its already huge debt burden.

Hours after Koizumi asked his ministers to compile an extra budget for the current business year that means he will break a self-imposed debt ceiling, the government said it would spend less in the next year and keep bond issuance as low as possible.

"In the fiscal 2003/04 budget, we will keep both general spending and spending in the overall budget below fiscal 2002/03 levels," the government said in a statement issued after a meeting of Koizumi's top economic advisors.

"We will also inherit the spirit of the ¥30 trillion ceiling and restrain government bond issuance to the best of our ability."

Earlier, Koizumi signed off on a spending package for this year that includes extra spending of ¥3 trillion ($24.50 billion), ¥1.5 trillion in public works spending and the same amount in social "safety net" measures.

S. Korean economy grows 1.3% in quarter

Seoul >> South Korea's economy grew more than expected in the third quarter as exports of goods from cars to computer chips rose at the fastest pace in two years.

Gross domestic product expanded 1.3 percent from the second quarter, seasonally adjusted, the Bank of Korea said. That compares with the median forecast of 1.2 percent growth in a Bloomberg News survey of 11 economists and a 1.4 percent expansion in the second quarter.

Economic growth will double to 6 percent this year, the Bank of Korea said, four times the average rate that the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development anticipates for 30 industrialized nations. Rising sales by companies such as Samsung Electronics Co. and Hyundai Motor Co. may temper a slowdown in consumer demand following government efforts to control record- high household debt.

China retail sales expected to rise

Beijing >> China's retail sales will probably grow 9.3 percent this month from a year ago, lifted by surging sales of cars, furniture and electronic home appliances, according to a government forecast.

Retail sales will be 374 billion yuan ($45.2 billion) this month, according to a forecast published on the Web site of the State Economic and Trade Commission. Sales rose 9.4 percent in October, the biggest increase in 10 months.

Rising retail sales are helping to boost industrial production, which expanded at its fastest rate in three years last month, which in turn is helping slow growth in the jobless rate. Higher sales may also limit the drop in consumer prices, which haven't increased since October 2001.

Philippine imports jump 21 percent

Manila >> Philippine imports grew more slowly in September than in the previous month, giving the country its fourth trade surplus in five months.

Imports rose 21 percent from a year earlier to $3.02 billion, led by electronics and industrial machinery, the National Statistics Office said. That gave the Southeast Asian nation a trade surplus of $164 million for the month. Imports had risen 22.4 percent in August, the fastest pace in 32 months.

Rising imports suggest exporters are buying more machinery and raw material in anticipation of demand for their computer chips and disk drives. Imports this year started to recover two months ahead of exports and have risen eight months in a row.

Honda-controlled plant OK'd by China

Tokyo >> Honda Motor Co. said it won Chinese government approval to form the first foreign-controlled automobile joint venture in the world's most populous nation.

Japan's second-largest automaker will set up the plant together with Guangzhou Automobile Group Co. and Dongfeng Motor Corp. Honda will hold 65 percent, Guangzhou 25 percent and Dongfeng 10 percent of the $193 million joint venture.

The plant will begin operations in mid-2004.