.
Asian high net
worth individuals are more risk-averse, compared to
their American and European counterparts. The result is
the return from their investment is much lower compared
to their counterparts in the West.
.
China agreed
to take steps to crack down on piracy of US products as
part of package on incremental market measures to ease
mounting anti-Chinese sentiment in Congress.
.
Buyout
specialist Wilbur Ross is investing in a $100-million
textile plant in China that will export to US and other
countries.
.
China will allow foreign institutional investors to buy
up to $10 billion in yuan-denominated stock, even
as share prices sag.
.
Foreign investment in China fell 3.2% in the first half,
a sign capital inflows may be leveling off.
.
PetroChina and Lukoil are seen as leading
likely bidders for PetroKazakhastan. India’s
OBGL Videsh also has signaled interest.
.
The Hong
Kong activists lost their final challenge of a law
that bans people from holding protests without police
approval.
.
A Chinese
general said Beijing might respond with nuclear weapons,
if US attacks China in a conflict over Taiwan.
.
Section 2(b)(6) of the Taiwan Relations Act
states: “It is the policy of the US… to maintain the
capacity to resist any resort to force or other force of
coercion that would jeopardize the security, or the
social or economic system, of the people of Taiwan.”
.
Mayor of Taipei (Ma Ying-jeou) was elected Chair
of Taiwan’s Nationalist Party. Born in Hong Kong,
he is considered a mainlander by many native-born
Taiwanese.
.
Bank of
Japan should
set out a price target as it fights years of deflation,
the Cabinet Office said in its annual economic white
paper.
.
Railway mogul
Yoshiaki Tsutunami’s fall from grace is viewed by many
in Japan as shifting from decades of meek
corporate accountability, ushering in more modern
management styles.
.
Named one of the richest men in the world by
Forbes magazine, he wielded absolute power for 4
decades over the Seibu group, a constellation of
railroads, real estate, sports teams and glitzy hotels
from Toronto to Tokyo.
.
Those who earned his displeasure endured punishment
ranging from a slap in the face to firing. For almost 7
years until 2004 he never held an official board
meeting, ruling by decree instead. He was charged with
massive insider trading and falsifying corporate
records.
.
A deep bow and a resignation ended a CEO’s
responsibility. Not anymore when a company is public,
the responsibility is with shareholders. Foreigners now
own 34% of Japanese shares, compared with 23% 6 years
ago. About 8% of the Japanese household savings is
invested in the stock market versus 34% in US, said the
Bank of Japan. The arrest of Tsutsumi conveys a
message that transparency has finally come.
.
Singapore
suffered from a slowdown in global demand for
electronics in Q1. Compared with 2004, CDP increased
3.9% in Q2 compared with 2.8% growth in Q1.
.
Pres. SR Nathan of Singapore has submitted
his eligibility application to run for a second term as
president, ending months of speculation over his plans.
.
Among
countries of Southeast Asia, Philippines has one
of the most visible divides between rich and poor. The
poor don’t care who or which party is in power. In a
recent survey by Pulse Asia found that
lower-class Filipinos increasingly believe the
government is irrelevant to their ability to escape
poverty. Only 15% of the poor think government help is
crucial, down from more than a third last year.
.
With inflation
running at 8% a year, many people are cutting down on
how much they eat.
.
Pres. GMA will
not leave office without the participation of the middle
class in the demonstrations against her, which was
crucial to people power revolts that toppled presidents
in 1986 (Marcos) and 2001 (Estrada).
.
S&P
and Fitch Ratings cut their outlook for RP’s
sovereign credit ratings over concerns that political
turmoil over GMA’s leadership will derail badly needed
fiscal overhauls. Current debt is at $70 billion.
.
In 2004, the
remittances of OFWs through Philippine banks totaled
$8.5 billion. ILO has a much higher interest at $21
billion through formal & non-formal channels. Jan-May
remittances were up 19.2%.
.
The number of people involved in their family network
which include OFW retirees is estimated at 35 million
Filipinos, which is 40% of the population.
.
Polls in RP are unreliable because they don’t
measure the pulse of the nation. Their skewed survey is
focused on responses from Metro Manila which is
traditionally an opposition stronghold.
.
Thailand’s PM
(T. Shinawatra) got wide powers to tap phones, command
security and order curfews, to fight Muslim separatists.
.
A decades-old Muslim separatist movement in the southern
region died down in late 1980s, after the government
granted an amnesty. But violence surged again last year,
with almost daily attacks.
.
Southern Muslims have long complained of discrimination
in education, employment and economic development.
. Indonesia
expects to avert calls from an international crimes
tribunal as military atrocities in East Timor by
promoting instead a truth commission, after it voted for
independence in 1999.
.
UN has urged the tribunal if it does not take steps to
hold credible trials of those charged of massacre of at
least 1,400 civilians killed by militiamen at the
direction of security forces.
.
A coalition of 12 international human rights groups
criticized the proposed truth commission’s lack of a
criminal justice component and a proposal to give
amnesty to those who committed crimes against humanity.
.
The Indonesian government and Aceh separatists
will sign a formal accord this month to end a 30-year
conflict that has killed about 15,000 people, Indonesian
& Finnish officials said.
. Indonesian
prosecutors believe they have a strong case and can
prove US mining giant Newmont dumped toxic waste
into Buyat Bay on eastern Sulawesi island.
Its subsidiary is Newmont Minahasa Raya.
.
If Myanmar takes over the ASEAN chairmanship from Malaysia
in 2006 under an alphabetical-rotation system, the US
and EU are likely to boycott key meetings with the
group.
. Some ASEAN
members cringe at the thought of Myanmar presiding over
the group in 2006, but there is no precedent from
forcing it to give up its turn.
. Indian
troops shot dead 17 rebels in Indian Kashmir, while 2
soldiers and a civilian were killed as the hunt
continued for militants sneaking across the border from
Pakistan.
.
PM Manmohan Singh left for US visit with UN
reforms enhancing economic ties & cooperation in a dozen
key areas including civilian nuclear energy high on the
agenda.
. Pakistan
announced that PM Shaukat Aziz’s coming visit to
Canada and US has been postponed indefinitely.
.
Thousands of Pakistani tribesmen shouted anti-US slogans
as they buried 3 of 24 suspected militants killed inside
Pakistan by US forces operating in Afghanistan.
. Three trains
collided in a deadly chain reaction in southern
Pakistan, killing at least 127 people and injuring
hundreds in the country’s worst crash in more than a
decade, police and railway officials say. Some 13 cars
derailed.
