.
In Asia, girls
from villages in Nepal & Bangladesh are sold to
brothels in India for $1,000. Trafficked women from
Thailand & RP are increasingly joined by women from
other countries in SE Asia.
.
Tang Chan International
will expand in China and Thailand through land
transport firm Zero Co. of Japan after the
latter’s IPO last month.
.
Hong Kong listed automotive & property group is
already involved in the production of vehicle
components, such as seats and shock absorbers in various
Chinese cities. It has joint ventures in car & truck
manufacture in China.
.
In Singapore & Thailand, it distributes Nissan &
Suburban vehicles, including passenger cars, commercial
vehicles and forklifts.
.
The logistics company which employs more than 1,000
people posted a profit of 956 million yen on
revenue of 48.8 billion yen.
.
Zero is eyeing opportunities in Thailand
which has the biggest automotive industry in Southeast
Asia. Some of the biggest car makers are based there,
earning it the label, “Detroit of the East.”
. China’s
central bank will inject $308 million into the nation’s
#3 broker Shenyin & Wanugo Securities, in a
continuing effort to aid the overcrowded, struggling
sector.
.
Chinese oil company CNOOC withdrew its $68.5
billion for CA energy firm Unolocal after what it
called unprecedented and unwarranted political
opposition from members of Congress.
. Shares in
China’s Baidu surged more than 4x from their
offering price, in the best US stock debut in over 5
years.
. China’s
central bank declared that recent slight increases in
value of the yuan was a one-time event, and not
the beginning of gradual climb as officials sought to
diminish speculation for a substantive revaluation.
.
Royal Bank of Scotland is close to a deal to
acquire a stake of about 10% in the Bank of China
for around $2.5 billion.
. China has a
rapidly growing auto market with vehicle sales of
slightly more than %4 million last year. Demand is
expected to grow at an annual rate of about 15%,
significantly more than in the developed markets of
Japan, Europe and US.
. China’s huge
economy has grown by a blazing 9.5% in the first half of
2005, surging abroad despite efforts to ease breakneck
growth, said a government spokesman.
.
Two reports (by Hong
Kong brokerage CLSA and National Bureau of
Statistics) reinforced views that Chinese
manufacturing is gradually cooling.
. Taiwan
and the Philippines are set to sign an MOU on
agriculture and aquaculture as part of measures to
support a targeted 15% increase in exports to Taiwan
this year, said the representative of MECO (Manila
Economic and Cultural Office).
.
China’s military build-up poses a long-term threat not
only to Taiwan but to the US military in the
Pacific and to regional powers, such as India and
Japan.
.
“Because of a growing
sense of threat from North Korea’s nuclear
ambitions, it is no longer taboo to talk about nuclear
weapons in Japan.” Robyn Lim, Professor of Intl.
Relations at Nagoya U. in Japan.
.
The post-WW II pacifism under which Japan’s military is
known as “self-defense” force remains strong. But the
rise of China and North Korea’s nuclear ambitions has
spurred an “active pacifism” on a more pragmatic line of
defense.
.
Its burgeoning supply of plutonium is already drawing
suspicion from its Asian neighbors. It is the 3rd
largest user of nuclear power after the US and France.
.
Nagasaki was destroyed by 12 pounds of plutonium, while
Japan currently has nearly 100,000 pounds and plans to
have more. A massive $20-billion plutonium reprocessing
plant will open in the northern part of Honshu (the main
island), marking an expansion into a branch of nuclear
energy that is complex, risky & costly.
. Japan will
impose retaliatory 15% duties (amounting to $51 million
in penalties) on US steel imports on September 1.
.
Elections will be held
on Sept. 11 after the Upper House rejected PM Koizumi’s
bid to split up and sell Japan’s postal service, which
has $2.9 trillion in savings and insurance deposits.
.
Over 1 million songs were downloaded in only 4 days at
Apple Computer’s new iTunes Music Store in
Japan, a record launch for the company in any country.
.
Intel
is the subject of a South Korean antitrust probe
related to its rebate and marketing deals with PC makers
there.
.
Standard Chartered said newly acquired operations
in South Korea helped lift first-half net 2.8%.
. South
Korea’s ambassador (Hong Seok Hyun) is stepping down
over a scandal with a record of him agreeing to create
slush funds for the 1997 presidential race.
. Hyundai
posted a 24% profit increase, overcoming the US dollar’s
weakness and high raw-materials costs.
.
North Korea toughened its stand at 6-nation
nuclear talks, inviting US to stop using its nuclear
deterrent to protect the South.
. Singapore’s
economy grew 4% in the first half of the year and
government officials see 3.5%-4.5% growth for this year.
.
Some developers in
Singapore are surging into action to take advantage
of the package of property measures unveiled by
government consultants on the possibility of jacking up
prices of properties they’re currently marketing.
. Raffles sold
its entire hotel business, including Singapore’s
Raffles Hotel, to Colony Capital of Los Angeles
for about $859 million.
.
A protracted political
crisis and delayed fiscal reforms are costing a heavy
shadow over the Philippine economy, already hurt
by a growing budget deficit and a huge debt.
.
Sabah has canceled licenses allowing poultry
import from RP which recorded its first case of bird flu
last month.
.
Among countries in SE Asia, RP 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.
.
Refugee camps along the
Thai-Burma border keep many safe from persecution
at home, but Thailand’s restrictive
administrative policies offer little hope for the
future.
. Thailand
has been generous I meeting refugees’ humanitarian needs
but it is equally true that the government’s failure to
initiate long-term solutions has produced misery in many
of the Karen border camps.
.
Overcrowding in refugee
camps has created numerous health risks, particularly in
Tham Hin, where sanitation is a chronic problem and
infectious diseases spread virtually unchecked through
the camp. Children are susceptible to unsuspecting
illnesses, such as pneumonia and bronchitis. Outbreaks
of malaria, dengue fever & tuberculosis are also common.
. India
will need $150 billion in foreign investment to upgrade
its roads, ports and other infrastructure. It will rely
on nuclear energy to accelerate growth, defending its
recent nuclear cooperation pact with the US.
. India
suffered 2 disasters: an off-shore oil rig fire killed 5
and left 45 missing, and a record 37 inches of rain
killed 200 and crippled Mumbai.
.
With cows sacred to
Hindus who make up the bulk of India’s billion-plus
population, an estimated 35k cows and buffaloes roam
free in New Delhi, sharing space with hordes of monkeys,
camels and stray dogs.
. India is the
most popular destination, the choice of 69% of all US
software companies that off-shored work in 2004.
(Another 14% chose Russia, followed by China and Canada
at 9% and 8% respectively).
.
India has changed a lot in the last 10-15 years. It’s
not a place of small-time operators anymore, e.g.,
spending $500k in Fremont, CA vs. $1.5 million in
Bangalore.
.
Dell, Intel & Microsoft have built big
development centers in India during the past few years,
sparking a talent war that has driven Indian tech
salaries from around 10% of US wages to 20% today.
.
The high court in
Pakistan blocked a plan by an Islamist provincial
government to start a Taliban-style judicial system
enforced by police.
.
Pakistan will expel an estimated 1400 from
Islamic seminaries/madrassas, requiring them to register
by year’s end after the London attack. It has around
10,000 Quran-based schools.
. Tata
Consulting Services Ltd. of India plans to open a
training center in Pakistan this fall, venturing across
a heavily guarded border to launch the first formal
joint venture between companies from rival nations.
.
Three and a half years ago, Pres. Musharraf vowed to
eradicate extremism, promising to take action against
any Pakistani involved in terrorism inside the country
and abroad.
.
Evidence that 3 of 4 London bombing suspects had visited
Pakistan for up to 3 months last year has thrown new
light on old facts..
.
Despite government promises and denials, radical
groups continue to operate in the country. Religious
schools still recruit and indoctrinate militants to
fight abroad. Several leaders & members of extremist
outfits., arrested in 2002, are back on the street.
Military training camps remain.
