IV. International
(4-02-09)
. Asian stocks
climbed, extending the regional benchmark index’s
biggest monthly selling since 1998 on
better-than-estimated US economic report and earnings
for Hutchison Whampoa Ltd, US futures advanced.
.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index has rallied 21% from
a 5-year low on March 9 technically entering a bull
market. It rose 1.5% to 85.60. The gauge jumped 14% in
March, the biggest monthly gain since Oct 1998, when
governments were cutting interest rates to alleviate the
Asian financial crisis.
.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average gained
1.8% while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index
rose 3.6%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index advanced
1% as the central bank said the country wasn’t at risk
of a US-style sub-prime crisis. All markets advanced
except New Zealand and Sri Lanka.
.
The slump in global
trade has left a growing number of empty cargo ships and
tankers cruising the seas in search of the cheapest
places to drop anchor while they ride out the economic
storm.
. About 1k
of the world’s shipping vessels is laid up for lack of
freight and the number could swell in several thousands
in the next few years, reported Norwegian risk
management foundation Det Norske Veritas. Popular
SE Asian ports, such as Singapore, are turning
ships away. The Philippines (RP) has opened 4 ports to
laid up vessels and is considering adding at least 2
more.
.
Shipping companies pay by dead weight ton, a measure of
the vessel’s carrying capacity. In Subic, RP, it costs
just over 17 cents a ton to park a ship for a day. Most
stay at least a month, and the ticking meter adds up to
big bills, not even counting the cost of food and
salaries for the crew minding the idle vessels.
.
Countries importing
Chinese goods should be responsible for the
heat-trapping gases released during manufacturing, a top
Chinese official (Li Gao, China’s top climate
negotiator) and director of the National Development
& Reform Commission.
.
China has surpassed the US as the world’s largest
emitter of greenhouse gases. But 15% to 25% of its
emissions are generated by manufacturing goods for
export.
.
China claimed credit for the economic growth that it has
brought to Tibet, something the Tibetans vehemently
deny. The latter argue that they have not benefited from
China’s economic boon and that its government policies
adversely affect their livelihood.
.
Elpida Memory Inc.,
Japan’s biggest maker of computer memory chips,
surged 18% as optimum share scales units will help it
avoid early repayment of loans.
. Sony,
the world’s second-biggest maker of consumer
electronics, jumped 7.4% to 2,215 yen. Merrill
Lynch & Co. upgraded the stock to “buy” from
“neutral” saying the company’s reorganization would
boost earnings.
. Japan took
the rare step of ordering battleships of missile
interceptors to protect its northern coast in case a
rocket (kwangmyongsong 2 Satellite) launch by North
Korea on April 4-8 goes awry.
.
Hynix
soared 15% to 11,700
won after saying it expects a significant reduction
in chip supply this year. Hyundai joins Power-chip
Semiconductor Corp, Taiwan’s biggest computer
memory chipmaker in predicting on easing the glut in the
industry that drove down prices. Power-chip rose 6.9% to
NT$4.02, extending its previous 6.8% jump.
.
Young people should enter the job market earlier to
improve their chances, if a recovery arrives in 2012,
tycoon Terry Gou said, as the opposition Democratic
Progressive Party was protesting for more jobs.
. Taiwan
contacted China to discuss a possible Economic
Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA), while
considering to design a withdrawal strategy if the other
side fails to live up to the accord, Economics Minister
Yiin Chii-ming said.
.
Li & Fung
in Hong Kong sank 4.7% toHK$18.58. The company
which posted a 21% decline in 2008 net income said the
deterioration of the US consumer market threatens
earnings.
.
China Dongxiang (Group) Co., owner of the
Chinese rights to Kappa sportswear, slumped 7.4% to
HK$2.99 in Hong Kong. JP Morgan Chase & Co. cut its
rating to “neutral” from “overweight,” citing adroit
secret gains in stock.
.
Hutchison added 33% to HK$42.55. Net income fell
42% to HK$17.7 billion ($2.28 billion), beating the
median estimate of HK$14.3 billion in Bloomberg survey
of analysts, after narrowing losses at its mobile-phone
unit.
. Cheung
Kong (Holdings) Ltd., also controlled by Li
Ka-Shing, rose 1.9% to HK$71.40 as it reported a 44%
decline in full-year profit that was in line with
analyst estimates. The company is the world’s
second-biggest developer by market value.
.
ICBC, the world’s largest lender by market value,
surged 15% to HK$4.11. Goldman Sachs committed to
hold 80% of its almost 16.5 billion shares in ICBC until
April 2010 under a new agreement. Goldman Sachs
subsequently added the
stock to its Asia-Pacific “conviction buy” list.
* The gains trimmed
the index’s drop this year to 4.4% while the MSCI World
Index lost 9.8%. Both are set for their sixth-straight
quarterly declines. Hutchison’s Li, dubbed “Superman” by
local media because of his investment acumen, told
reporters in Hong Kong that he couldn’t say if the stock
market had bottomed yet.
.
Shinchang Electric Co.
offered union leaders a proposal that would reduce wages
at the auto parts company by 20% in exchange for no
layoff among its 810 workers. Eight days later, the
union agreed.
. The deal
is one sign of the unusual way South Korea is
grappling with the global economic crisis. Across the
country, executives, salaried employees and hourly
workers at companies, from banks to shipbuilders, are
joining to slash wages and other costs with the goal of
avoiding layoffs.
. The
government passed a law in Feb 1998 that let companies
impose layoffs at will. But because of union pressures,
no SK company attempted to do so until July of that
year, when Hyundai Motor Co. announced it would
fire 1600 of its 35k workers. In response, the union
shut down and occupied its main factory for a month. The
strike ended when Hyundai agreed to lay off only 277
workers, mostly from its cafeteria service.
.
Chronically hungry
North Korea has refused further US food aid, State
Department and other aid groups said. Five US
non-governmental organizations distributing food left
last month.
.
With the UN World Food Program involved in food
distribution, the NGOs focused on reaching the most
vulnerable, including children, pregnant women and
nursing mothers. It had brought in 78k tons and
distributed them all by the end of the month.
. North
Korea was threatened with sanctions if it goes ahead
with its rocket launch. NK said sanctions would violate
the spirit of disarmament agreement and said it would
treat the pacts as null and void if punished for
exercising its sovereign right to send a satellite into
space.
.
Many Tibetan areas in
China felt under siege last month as authorities
launched a show of force to prevent protests
commemorating a failed Tibetan uprising that began 50
years ago on 3/10. Residents described a life of
increased restrictions, large and small, and admitted to
simmering anger and frustration at heavy-handed security
following last year’s riots in Lhasa, administrative
capital of the Tibet Autonomous Region
(TAR).
. Last
March, initially peaceful protests commemorating the
original 1959 uprising turned into deadly rioting. Monks
complained they were not allowed to read their sutras
or Buddhist scripture. The new holiday (50 years of
Chinese direct control of Tibet) is aggravating problems
in the region and would be a day of mourning for
Tibetans worldwide.
.
This year, following the
Tibetan New Year lunch celebration, the government
imposed a new policy requiring monks to get special
permission if they want to leave the monastery together
in groups of 3 or 4.
.
There has been a lot of
speculation about Pres. Susilo B. Yudyohono’s chances of
reelection. Many recent polls organizations in
Indonesia have pointed to the near certainty of his
reelection. This has aroused concerns as to a deficit of
democracy in the elections.
.
PT Geo Dipa Energi (GDE) inked a deal with state
engineering company PT Rekayasa Industry and
State-run Bank Negara Indonesia (BNI) to
construct & finance a geothermal plant in West Java.
.
Bank Indonesia has revised downwards its
economic growth forecast to between 3% and 4% from their
previous estimate of between 4% and 5% as investments
and exports have plummeted.
. Indian
tennis authorities dismissed (3/27) Australia’s security
concerns over playing a Davis Cup series in Chennai
on May 8-10. The latter asked for a venue change after
receiving advice from “a variety of sources.”
.
Actor & sitting Congress MP from Mumbai (Notte Govinda)
announced 3/30 his decision not to seek reelection to
Lok Sabha, claiming rivals in the party created
obstacles for him during tenure.
.
India admitted that there have been attempts at hacking
into computers at Indian embassies but underscored that
it has taken a slew of measures to ensure no sensitive
information was stolen in the process.
. Pakistan’s
ruling party (Pakistan People’s Party), which
narrowly survived a meltdown in the face of massive
street demonstrations, is working to regroup and regain
credibility despite its weakened top leader in Pres.
Asif Ali Zardari.
.
His critics describe him
as isolated, surrounded by a few hawkish advisers and
unwilling to face facts. They noted that only under
intense pressure from the army chief and the US, a major
source of economic and military aid, did he agree to
restore the judges & call off plans to forcibly thwart a
mass protest in the capital.
. One thing
the dissidents have in common is a strong devotion to
the memory and ideals of Zardari’s late wife (former
PM Benazir Bhutto) who was assassinated 12/2007.
They view Zardari as a businessman with a reputation for
corrupt dealings and a short temper as a poor substitute
who damaged the party and the country.
