IV. International
(1-16-09)
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The World Bank’s
corruption-fighting unit black-listed four state-owned
Chinese firms “from engaging in colluding
practice” using the bidding process, stopping an
estimated $33 million from being awarded. They were
China Road & Bridge Corp (barred for 8 years), China
State Construction Corp and China Wu Yi Co Ltd (6 years
each), and China Gaw-Engineering Corp (5 years).
.
Three of the barred firms were from PI, e.g. E.C.
de Luna Construction Corp (barred permanently, the
strongest possible sanction), Cavite Ideal International
Construction and CM Pancho Construction Inc (4 years).
. Three
were from India, e.g., Satyam Computer Services,
Wipro Technologies and Megasoft Consultants. More on
them in detail in my OP ED TUESDAY columns! South
Korea’s Dongsung Construction Co Ltd (4 yrs).
.
For 2 days, drivers held
Chongqing (Sichuan province metropolis of 31 million
people) under siege, blocking roads and smashing cars.
The Communist Party quickly stopped the violence by
promising to address the drivers’ demands for easier
access to fuel and better working conditions.
.
Members of China’s upwardly mobile working
class-taxi drivers, teachers, factory workers, auxiliary
police officers have mounted protests since the
Chongqing strike, refusing to work until their demands
were met.
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The Chinese government has long feared the rise of the
labor movement, banning unauthorized unions and
arresting those speaking for workers’ rights.
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Urban workers
say they are worried about being able to pay for their
children’s college education, missing payments on car
loans, and not having enough money left each month to
dine out with friends or go on vacation. In the past 30
years of economic liberalization, younger Chinese
have come to see those things not as a luxury of modern
life but as a right.
.
In concise and eloquent prose it listed four complaints:
it was difficult to get gasoline; management fee paid to
taxi companies are too high; too many illegal “black”
taxis taking away their work; and the meter was charging
too little for waiting time.
.
The few drivers who dared to work that day were roughly
pulled out of their cars and their vehicles damaged.
Even as government officials praised the taxi drivers
for their candor, they were hunting for organizers and
looked for connections between Chongqing and other
protests across the country. One of the promises of CCP
was to set up pension and health insurance system with
taxi companies which the latter doubt will happen.
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A constantly free trade
agreement between Hong Kong and mainland China
has increased Hong Kong’s role as a major springboard
for hundreds of American companies and the Chinese
market. Nearly 400 other US companies had opened local
offices in Hong Kong, growing from 414 firms in 1996 to
1,285 firms in 2007.
. Hong Kong
is attractive because of its British legal system and a
very strong rule of law. Six years (2003) after its
status changed from a dependent territory of UK to a
special administrative region (SAR), Hong Kong and
China signed a free-trade agreement known as CEPA (Closer
Economic Partnership Agreement).
.
Hong Kong shows the benefit of being the freest economy
on earth. The Economic Freedom of the World
ranked Hong Kong as the world’s freest economy for the
12th consecutive year. US and Australia tied
for 8th place in 2008.
. Japan
has become the land of
incredible shrinking prime ministers. PM Taro Aso and
his two predecessors (Shinzo Abe resigned in Sept’07,
and Yasuo Fukuda resigned in Sept’08) have shrunk by
following the same formula of fecklessness.
. While
accomplishing little, they managed to frighten or offend
many of Japan’s elderly voters, a large and politically
powerful group. Their approval ratings plummeted below
30%. It took about 11 months each, from Abe and Fukuda
to squander political capital, sink in the polls, lose
heart and quit.
. After less
than 3 months in power, Aso has shown the public that he
can be a high-strung stud, quick to anger and prone to
sudden, disorienting changes of direction. He’s got a
60% disapproval rating. The more the Aso cabinet delays
the dissolution of parliament and general elections, the
farther its support votes will drop.
.
Back in 2008, the
Japanese yen reigned supreme. It seemed it
could do no wrong. Investors started dropping stocks
like a bad habit in 2008. Commodities were also shunned.
2008 was anything but stable for most financial
institutions. (Sean Hyman’s Currency Investor)
.
As investors around the world were avoiding risk, they
were moving money out of the higher-yielding currencies
which had gone up for multiple years back-to-back
against the yen fearing that these had the most
room to fall the most. The yen became the prime
target for the money from stocks and commodities along
with the US dollar and US Treasuries.
. The yen
went up faster than the dollar in 2008. As soon as
investors feel the coast is clear, they will be the
quickest to move out of the yen into other
currencies. While the dollar and yen will both
fail in 2009, the yen will fall faster. That will
cause the dollar/yen pair to eventually rise,
since the dollar will be stronger of the two.
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Remittance from overseas
Filipino workers climbed to $1.3 billion in November, up
10.5% from a year earlier, said the Philippine
Central Bank.
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Malacanang (counterpart of US White House) said it would
support random drug testing for government officials and
employers to get rid of civil servants hooked on drugs.
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Filipino business leaders expect turnover, export and
profitability t dip this year, compared to 2008, as they
brace for the full effect of the global financial crisis
but are still relatively optimistic compared to their
neighbors.
.
Opposition Democratic
Party leader (Abhisit Vejjajeva) won a majority in
Parliament and was expected to be named Thailand’s
next prime minister. The Oxford-educated politician
received 233 votes vs. 197 for opponent.
.
Dep. PM (Kobsak Sabhavasu) overseeing the economy
insisted (1/15) the government was not just giving out
money to people after its economic stimulus measures
were heavily criticized by many sides.
.
Regardless of location, the true color of Muslim
extremists is starting to surface, e.g., Jemaah
Islamiyah. Two of its members planned to hijack a
plane in Bangkok in 2011 and slam it at Changi Airport,
a regional aviation hub. The plot was broken by the
authorities.
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This same group of
criminal fanatics had also developed plans to bomb the
water pipes at the Singapore-Malaysia causeway,
the Singapore subway system, and the US Navy repair
yards in Singapore.
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Many of them were trying
to hide in the south of Thailand in 2001 and 2002 but
anti-terrorist operatives captured several of them and
in most cases deported them to Singapore or Malaysia.
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In Indonesia, it
was called Jemaah Palembang and it plotted to
kill foreigners or Christian priests in the country and
had link to Jemaah Islamiyah, according to Indonesian
authorities. It was a violent group targeting innocent
non-Muslim civilians in Bukit Tinggi (West Sumatra) and
Lampung (South Sumatra).
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Leaders of India’s
biggest technology, software and biotech companies
warned that the attacks on the nation’s businesses would
shatter investor confidence in the economy. They
demanded that the government provide them with automatic
weapons, grenades and military support to safeguard
their facilities.
. Biocon
and other business technology companies are working with
authorities in Karnataka state, of which Bangalore is
the capital, to develop a security force for the city’s
industrial sector. The Federation of Indian Chambers
of Commerce & Industry in New Delhi offered to pay
the cost to counter terrorism.
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Critical sectors, such
as tourism, airlines and outsourcing industry are
beefing up security because of recent attacks. Industry
members contend that if India does not evolve a
concerted counterterrorism policy soon, foreign
investment will be
frightened off.
. Pakistan’s
investigation of
terror attacks in Mumbai has begun to show substantive
links between the 10 gunmen and an Islamist militant
group.
.
One of the top leaders
(Zarar Shah) of the militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba (Army
of the Pure) captured in a raid earlier in
Pakistani-controlled Kashmir, has confessed to the
group’s involvement in the attack as India and US have
alleged, according to senior Pakistani officials.
.
Shah’s conversation with one of the terrorists at Taj
Mamahal Palace & Tower was intercepted by the US and he
admitted that he talked t attackers to give them advice.
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Taliban militants are
beheading and burring their way through Pakistan’s
picturesque Swat Valley. Residents say insurgents now
control most of the mountainous region outside the
lawless tribal areas where jihadists thrive.
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The deteriorating situation in former terrorist havens
comes despite an army offensive that began in 2007 and
an attempted peace deal. It is especially worrisome to
Pakistan’s officials because the valley is close areas
where al-Quaeda & the Taliban militants have
traditionally operated and whose military is staging a
separate offensive.
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Officials estimate that up to a third of Swat’s 1.5
million people have left the area’; 80% of the valley is
now under Taliban control. The militants are le by a
cleric who demands imposition the harsh brand of Islamic
law. His appeal tapped into widespread frustration with
the area’s inefficient judicial system.
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After 2 years of
army-backed emergency rules, democracy returned to
Bangladesh as the secular Awami League Party,
an overwhelming victory in election results announced
12/30. It was led by Sheikh Hasina, a former prime
minister. It was not known whether the army would fully
give up their power and return to the barracks.
.
The losing Bangladesh Naturalist Party complained
of irregularities at many polling stations and said the
party would file a lawsuit, according to news reports.
It won only 31 seats, its worst showing ever, reported
AP.
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Mr. Hasina has promised to quash Islamists’ ire having
been wounded by a grenade at a 2004 rally in an
attack linked to Islamic
radicals that killed 23 people.
January 26 is Chinese
Lunar New Year. Happy New Year!
