.
In the
capitals of
Pakistan, India and Afghanistan,
buildings shook and walls swayed for about a minute.
Panicked people ran from their houses. Tremor continued
for hours, and communications throughout the region were
cut.
.
Damage was extensive in Kashmir, the disputed territory
divided between India and Pakistan.
.
The quake also jolted parts of
Bangladesh,
but no casualties or damage was reported there.
.
Among major IPOs this quarter,
Thailand
is likely to lead the region with over $2 billion worth.
.
Fear of the bird flu surging across
Asia
has played a major role in the US Government’s flurry of
preparations for a worldwide epidemic.
.
China
Construction Bank
begins what could be China’s largest IPO, as the lender
seeks to raise as much as $7.7 billion.
.
China
has sided with North Korea’s demand for a civilian
reactor in its nuclear accord, complicating 5he talks,
diplomats say.
.
Bank of China promised to buy back Scottish
lender RBS’ $3 billion stake if the Chinese bank fails
to go public within 3 years.
.
CCP (Chinese Communist Party) vowed to spread
benefits & economic growth more fairly among all levels
of Chinese society, seeking particularly to close the
wide income gap between farmers and urban dwellers.
.
Many species of bats found across China are infected
with virus similar to the SARS virus, an international
team reported in the journal Science.
.
A planned
American weapons sale to
Taiwan
will damage relations between Washington & Beijing, said
a Chinese official.
.
Pres. Chen shared his vision of a global democratic
community and urged the region’s democracies to help
authoritarian states like China democratize at the
World Forum for Democratization in
Asia
(WFDA) held Sept. 15-17 at Taipei International
Convention Center.
.
Taipei City councilors lashed out at
Taiwan’s largest companies for failing to hire disabled
workers, saying they are guilty of labor rights
violations.
.
Japanese PM
Koizumi vowed to press with reforms, including
privatization of the postal system. His LDP (Liberal
Democratic Party) won a commanding 296 seats out of
480 in the Sept. 11 lower house election.
.
Ahead of the vote, cabinet ministers tendered their
resignation but all were reappointed.
.
A press survey underscored the strength of public
support for Mr. Koizumi and the hope for reform.
.
Japan
will extend measures to free oil reserves held by
private sector for an additional 30 days, said the
Industry Minister.
.
Japan has confirmed the vessels carrying pipes are
sailing in the East China Sea toward 2 gas fields
at the center of an energy and border dispute between
Japan and China, sad the Trade Minister. Japan has made
inquiries to China over the matter, but Beijing has yet
to respond.
.
South Korea
will keep sending food aid to rival North Korea despite
the Communist regime’s demand that international donors
halt emergency food shipment and provide development aid
instead, an official said.
.
Lawmakers urged the Central Bank to bee prudent in
implementing its monetary policy in a parliamentary
audit before BOK is scheduled to set interest rates.
.
Companies are urged to take initiatives to use Internet
space to provide more information on their products.
.
A top
Philippine official (Speaker Jose de Venecia) proposed
that
Philippines
would let creditor nations invest in poorer ones as a
way to solve the global debt crisis. It is gaining
momentum among international lending institutions and
policy makers.
.
Investments could range from basic infrastructure and
social projects, e.g., roads, schools & power grids to
more commercial deals in tourism, timber, housing and
food processing.
.
Western governments are not required to provide new
money and all investments are voluntary. But creditor
countries would be entitled to a share of projects from
the ventures they help finance.
.
At their July summit in Scotland, G-8 leaders agreed
to write off about $40 billion in debts for 18 of the
world’s poorest nations, 16 of them in sub-Sahara
Africa.
.
About 90% of RP’s national budget goes toward government
expenses and toward paying principal & interest on $56
billion in sovereign debt.
.
Indonesian
militants are fighting in the Muslim insurgency in
Southern Thailand despite Bangkok’s denials, said
an adviser to PM Thaksin.
.
Commerce Ministry projects that Thailand’s
export of textiles and garments will almost double to
$7.5 billion this year, led by the shipment of
ready-to-wear clothes..
.
Thailand has
been selected to host the 13th APEC Clean
Fossil Energy Technical & Policy Seminar 2005 in its
northern province
of Lampang in
December.
.
Energy representatives from 21 member economies
of the Asian Pacific Economic Cooperation will
attend the event. They include Australia, Brunei,
Canada, Chile, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Indonesia
Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru,
Philippines, Papua New Guinea, Russia, Singapore, US,
Vietnam and Thailand.
.
The Cabinet has approved an Interior Ministry proposal
on drafting a new ministerial regulation to control
computers online games, aiming to solve problems caused
by children’s addiction to electronic games.
.
Indonesia sold
$1.5 billion in bonds, as demand for emerging debt
eclipsed concerns about oil prices and terrorism.
.
Indonesia frantically hunted masterminds of the latest
Bali bombings. Police said they may have once had
training in Southern Philippines.
.
After making its presence felt in the Indonesian oil
market over the last 35 years, Japanese manufacturer
Mitsubishi has now hooked a total sales of 1.5
million units, and plans to invest $50 million in its
plants to comply with emission specifications.
.
A security
scare swept through
Malaysia’s
diplomatic community after 7 embassies received
suspicious packages containing threats of revenge for
injustices against Muslims.
.
Green Packet’s 3G Mobile Solution has been
selected by Far EasTone to provide its products
for the latter’s 3G expansion project.
.
The state investment arm (Khazanah) bought 42.8
million shares or 8.4% of Pos Malaysia from
Aroma Teraju. It didn’t disclose the price paid.
.
PM Hun Sen of
Cambodia
warned that anyone accusing him of ceding land to the
Vietnamese during the coming border talks would be
jailed and fined.
.
More than 170 Muslim families have fled their homes in a
remote part of Pursat province after Forestry
Administration rangers tore down homes and allegedly
threatened to kill residents who stayed.
.
At a cost of
$200, a former physics professor turned an ordinary
street bike into an environment-friendly alternative to
a motorbike, powered by the sun instead of high-priced
gasoline.
.
India will
face a severe water crisis in 20 years if the government
does not change its ways and clashes are already taking
place because the resource is so scarce, the World
Bank has warned.
.
India’s economy grew 8.1% in the Quarter ended June 30
from a year ago, driven by consumer and corporate
spending.
.
India’s foreign exchange reserves rose to $143.06
billion the week ending 9/30 after slipping lower in the
last couple of weeks.
.
Aiming to
capture higher market share in mobile phones, Tata
Teleservices plans to launch Nonstop Mobile
that offers unlimited calls for 2 years fro date of
activation.
.
A Pakistani
military court sentenced 4 more officers to death and 2
others to life for involvement in the al-Qaida
assassination attempt on Pres. Musharraf in 2003.
.
Pakistani security forces have arrested the chief of an
al Qaida-linked Sunni extremist group who allegedly
masterminded a string of suicide attacks on rival
Shiites, sources said.
.
Agriculture is the mainstay of the Pakistani
economy, employing 50% of the population. Wheat,
rice, cotton, sugarcane & tobacco are chief crops;
cattle and sheep are raised.
.
Its industrial base is able to supply many of the
country’s needs in consumer goods, although production
has slowed in recent years.
.
The ruling
party alliance of
Bangladesh
demanded that government leaders allegedly patronizing
Islamic militants be arrested within a month.
.
Tata Sons has said that it would be forced to
look for investment opportunities elsewhere if Dhaka
does not come up with favorable contracts.
.
The judiciary has been targeted to press for
introduction of Islamic laws in the mainly Democratic
country, security experts said.
