.
Federal
Reserve chair Alan Greenspan said the integration of
China, India and former Soviet bloc
into the world trading system is helping to contain
inflation.
.
The World Bank warned about the ramifications of
an avian-flu pandemic on East Asian economies but said
tourism has grown this year.
.
China and Vietnam reported new bird-flu outbreaks in
poultry despite massive prevention efforts, while Japan
prepared to destroy 180k birds to stop a suspected
outbreak, and Thailand announced plans to
distribute its own generic antiviral drug.
.
GE Commercial Finance Real Estate is to spend $5
billion in Asia
and $3 billion in Mexico as it increases its exposure to
the markets.
.
Temasek’s deal
to invest $3.6 billion in the Bank of
China
has hit one obstacle, suggesting Beijing may be feeling
seller’s remorse.
.
Authorities ordered all live poultry market in
Beijing to close immediately and went door-to-door
seizing chickens and ducks from private homes, as it
beefed up fight against bird-flu.
.
Chinese
officials have been focusing on a more mundane foreign
exchange issue in recent months: how to build a
functioning foreign exchange market that can handle
day-to-day trading of its currency.
.
China-US textile talks ended with the 2 sides
apparently further away from resolution than ever,
heightening trade tensions.
.
Japan’s new
trade minister said he will take a friendly approach
toward a dispute with China over drilling for natural
gas.
.
US and Japan agree to strengthen military ties.
Plans include reduction by 7k of a number of Marines in
Okinawa and building a new generation of radar equipment in
Japan as part of a
missile defense system.
.
Japan’s domestic corporate goods price index, a
measure of wholesale prices, rose 0.2% month-on-month in
September and 1.7% year-on-year.
.
The Japanese space agency completed the first
successful test of a prototype jet that can fly at 2x
the speed of sound, 3 years after an earlier test ended
in a fiery wreck in Australia’s outback.
.
Bitter
opposition is expected in Japan to a decision to break
the postwar nuclear taboo by allowing the US Navy to
station a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier (USS
Kitty Hawk) in Yokusuka, south of Tokyo.
.
Singapore
Telecommunications Ltd (SingTel) said its aggregate
mobile subscriber base in
Asia exceeded 74 million users,
as of 09/30/05, up 31% from more than 56 million in 2004.
.
Lecturers at
Warwick University have voted against setting up a
branch campus in Singapore because of worries about
limits on academic freedom.
.
Three local banks: DBS Group, United Overseas Bank
and OCBC have reported a combined net profit of
$3.53 billion on the first nine months of this year.
.
Microsoft has
threatened to withdraw its Windows Operating System
from South
Korea if a
watchdog orders it to remove programming from its
instant messenger and media player.
.
SK Finance-Economy Minister said government would not
raise taxes in the next 4-5 years to keep higher taxes
from hurting the economy..
.
The Bush
administration accused North Korea of manufacturing
high-quality counterfeit $100 bill made public after a
16-year probe.
.
The
Philippines
(RP) may face a severe debt problem in 5 years if the
Arroyo administration fails to pursue economic and
fiscal reform measures, warned Merrill Lynch.
.
Smart Shirt Ltd (RP), Tristate (UK),
Luen Thai International Group (HK), Hoffen
Industries Corp (RP) plan to infuse $500-million
investment in RP over an indefinite period, which is
expected to generate employment and improve production
capacity.
.
In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange,
Banco de Oro said it would pay potential buyers an
interest of 9.73% a year.
.
A Philippine court sentenced an Indonesian and 2
Filipinos to death for their participation in the
bombings in Manila and 2 Mindanao cities on 2/14/05 that
killed 8 people.
.
Staff of
Thai Airways International staged a rally
demanding company’s board of directors to resign for the
company’s depressing performance and its “mischievous”
business plan.
.
The Mall Group has cut its sales growth
projections for this year nearly in half on the grounds
that the government’s stricter control on personal debt
have lowered consumer’s purchasing power.
. Some of
Bangkok’s mid-size department stores have given
themselves pricey overhauls to strengthen their appeal
and become more competitive against larger retailers.
.
Indonesia is
expected to miss its target of 6 million foreign
tourists this year after being struck by a series of
calamities this year.
.
Government plans to sign the heads of an agreement by
the end of the month with Japanese buyers to extend
existing liquefied natural gas supply contract of 6
million metric tons per annum that expires in 2010.
.
Forbes magazine is exploring the possibility of
publishing an Indonesian language edition in the
country.
.
Malaysia banks
are in for a rough time in 2006 as Bank Negara
Malaysia is expected to raise interest rates, says
an analyst for CLSA Malaysia.
.
Malaysia’s 2006 calendar-year palm oil output is
forecast to rise to 15.60 million tons, from a likely
15.14 million tons in 2005, says Oil World.
.
The increase in the share of Malaysian exports to Europe
to 80.9% next year will enable exporters to expand their
markets for consumer electronics.
.
As new bird
flu outbreaks are reported in all 3 regions of
Vietnam,
localities have been urged to immediately adopt measures
to control the spread of the killer virus.
.
The Health Ministry has signed an agreement with
20 cities and provinces for launch of a campaign to
prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS, using $35 million
pledged by the World Bank to 2011.
.
The Ministry of Planning & Investment recently
approved a proposal from the Vung Tau-Paradise
joint venture to seek new foreign partners.
.
An apparently
coordinated succession of powerful explosions tore
through 2 crowded markets and a public bus in
New Delhi,
India,
killing dozens of people on one of the busiest shopping
weekends of the year.
.
BP is expanding efforts to set up beachheads
in China and India, sealing a joint
venture in India to seeking Chinese partnerships.
.
US-based
W.R. Grace & Co. has acquired Flexit Laboratories
Pvt. Ltd., a manufacturer & supplier of
chromatography products headquartered in Pune.
.
Pioneer of CDMA technology, Qualcomm Inc. said it
will continue to invest in India to expand its 2
research & delivery centers in the country.
.
President
Musharraf suspended the purchase of 77 US fighter
planes, saying the funds are reportedly needed for
rebuilding parts of
Northern
Pakistan, flattened by an October 8 earthquake.
.
Reconstruction
of areas of North Pakistan hit by earthquake will
require billions of dollars over many years, UN relief
chief (Jan England) warned.
.
Pakistan cancelled the $2.6 billion sale of controlling
stake in state-owned Pakistan Telecommunications
to the UAE’s Etisalat in a setback to economic
reform plans.
