BUSINESS BRIEFS
Possible buyers eyeing KGMB
Advertiser Staff and News Services
The owner of KGMB said it is holding talks with a potential buyer for the local television station.
In a conference call with analysts yesterday, Jeff Smuylan, chairman and chief executive officer of Indianapolis-based Emmis Communications Corp. said the company is in "deep discussions" with investment groups for KGMB. He did not name the parties.
Since May 2005, Emmis has sold 14 of its 16 TV stations, including local television station KHON. The Office of Hawaiian Affairs previously explored purchasing KGMB but did not submit an offer.
HAWAIIAN FLEW MORE LAST MONTH
Hawaiian Airlines said it flew 485,001 passengers in September, up 3.1 percent from the same month a year earlier.
The state's largest airline said its planes were 83.1 percent full last month, which was down 6 percentage points from September 2005's 89.1 percent.
The airline also recorded 548.8 million revenue passenger miles in September, which was a 4 percent decrease from the previous September. Available seat miles were 660.3 million, which was up 2.9 percent from last September.
INDONESIA WANTS GAS DEAL REVISED
JAKARTA, Indonesia — Indonesia has terminated a contract with U.S. oil company Exxon Mobil Corp. to develop a natural gas field in the East Natuna Sea and is negotiating a new deal with the company, the energy minister said.
Exxon Mobil insisted the deal stood, saying it had told the government it would fulfill its contractual obligations to develop the Natuna block and was in discussions with potential gas buyers.
A dispute between the two parties would concern foreign investors, who have long complained that poor contract enforcement in Indonesia make it hard for multinational companies to tap the country's rich natural resources.
Energy Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro said "the contract has been terminated because they couldn't propose the commercialization and feasibility for the development of Natuna."
