Oracle fears bird-flu set back in Asia

SINGAPORE: Oracle Corp, the world's second-largest software

maker, said on Wednesday while customer activity in Asia had improved, spending

remained cautious on worries over the spread of bird flu.

"Compared to last year, there is undoubtedly more optimism, business

momentum is coming through, and we're seeing larger pipelines for Oracle, for

the tech sector, and for our customers," Oracle Asia Pacific Executive Vice

President Derek Williams told Reuters in an interview.

"But the nagging concern about bird flu has tempered the optimism (on

spending). There's general concern about the disease, and WHO (World Health

Organisation) warnings about human to human transmission," he added.

However, Oracle has not implemented any travel bans for its staff, he added.

The human death toll from Asia's bird flu outbreak rose to 14 on Wednesday as

a Vietnamese woman died from the virus that is infecting poultry in 10 countries

and spreading through China.

Oracle's Asian customers include Singapore Airlines Ltd, Malaysia's Maxis

Communications Bhd and Thailand's Krung Thai Bank.

For the fiscal second quarter ended November, Oracle Asia Pacific chalked up

revenues of $367 million, up 17 percent from $313 million in the first quarter.

The region accounted for about 15 percent of worldwide sales in the fiscal year

ended May 2003.

Sales of Oracle's Linux applications and technology infrastructure upgrades

at small- to medium-sized companies would drive its regional growth in 2004,

Williams said.

"Governments in Japan, China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Vietnam are turning

to solutions based on Linux for the public sector because of its low cost,"

he added. Linux, which offers an alternative to Microsoft's dominant Windows

software, is an operating system that can be copied and modified freely.

Oracle shares closed at $13.91 on Tuesday on Nasdaq. The stock has gained 23

percent in 2003.