.
Pres. Bush attended APEC
forum last month. The Asian Pacific Economic
Cooperation forum involves 21 countries and
represents the most economically dynamic region in the
world.
.
They collectively account for 57% of the world’s gross
domestic product (GDP), 45.8% of the world’s trade
volume, and over 44.8% of the world’s population.
.
Within its first 10 years, they generated nearly 70% of
global economic growth.
.
Its member economies include:
Australia, Brunei,
Canada, Chile, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan,
Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea,
Peru, Philippines, Russia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand,
US and Vietnam.
. China’s
exports of electronic
information products this year will exceed $250 billion,
contributing one-third of the country’s total exports
for the first time, the state media reported.
.
Top Chinese leaders have shown strong determination to
increase the share of consumption in the country’s
economic growth for stable and fast development.
.
Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ), a
major international banking & financial services, has
bought a 19.9% stake in Tanjin City Commercial Bank
for $120 million.
.
China & France signed 16 cooperative agreements
concerning various sectors, e.g., purchase of 150
aircrafts from Airbus’ A320 family of single-aisle
planes, during the PM’s (Wen Jiabao) visit to France.
. China has
scotched press rumors that it is preparing a roadmap
that will give fill democracy to Hong Kong
within the next decade by 2017.
. Taiwan’s
VP Annette Lee was
selected to take over the Democratic Progressive
Party from Chairman Su as the party offered a
dazzling array of excuses from its electoral defeat.
.
Taiwan’s diverse society
has 19 different major faiths, though Buddhism &
Taoism are the predominant ones, with 4 million to 5
million believers each. There are 600k Christians
and nearly 300k Catholics; Muslims number
between 50k to 60k.
.
Families that hire local caregivers to look after the
sick & elderly family members will be paid a subsidy of
NT$5k t NT$10k per month for up to a year, according to
a draft plan by Council of Labor Affairs.
.
Hidetsuga Aneha, who has
stayed in the shadows, amid a scandal in
Japan
over the construction of unsafe buildings, was
questioned by the police last month. He has admitted to
falsifying reports.
.
A UN top development official (Kamal Dervis) said Japan
would get more bang for its buck if it spent more on
individual UN agencies instead of more for the core
budget.
.
For the first time in recent history, the yen is
weakening against the dollar at the same time
stock prices are rising.
.
The Roppingi Hills Mori Tower is considered the
winners’ circle, the place where the in-crowd hangs out
and where wannabe bigwigs dream of setting up shop.
.
Fujitsu Ltd.’s humanoid has started its stint as
a clerk at a shopping center. During its trial service
until 12/25, the robot will greet customers, provide
information on special discounts and transport products
at Aeon Co. Shopping Center in Yachiyo,
Chiba Prefecture.
.
The Bank of Korea
(BOK) raised last week the benchmark short-term call
rate by 25 basis points to 3.75%, a pre-emptive move to
keep recovering domestic demand from stoking inflation.
.
South Korea
plans to introduce a technologically-embedded, biometric
passport next year in an effort to join the US Visa
Waiver Program (VWP), the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs & Trade said.
.
Support from across the nation converges on Korea’s
cloning king Hwang Woo-suk who is now bed-ridden after
being stressed out due to disputes on his milestone stem
cell breakthroughs.
.
A reporter from MBC (Lee Sang-ho) is likely to face
criminal charges over the disclosure of wiretapped
conversations by the nation’s spy agency.
. North Korea
has produced more than $45 million I high-quality fake
bills since 1989 and is the world’s only state-sponsored
producer of the so-called “Supernote,” said US law
enforcement officials.
.
Driven by robust
remittances from overseas Philippine workers, the
peso posted last week its highest level against the
dollar since July 2003.
.
After property development, banking electronics,
telecommunications and water distribution, the Ayala
Corp is now venturing into the power sector.
.
The Philippine unit of OH-based Chiquita Brands
International plans to expand its Mindanao
banana plantation and venture into commercial farming of
bamboo.
.
San Miguel Corp is now in the catsup business. It
has formed a joint venture with the Campos family,
NutriAsia Pacific Ltd., incorporated in the
British Virgin Islands.
. Indonesian
president Yudhoyono announced a cabinet reshuffle that
replaced members of his economic team. The new finance
minister (Sri Mulyani) said the team would focus more on
effective spending and prudent fiscal management to
boost job creation and cut poverty.
.
Bank Indonesia
hikes interest rates again by 50 basis points (bps) to
12.75% in an attempt to strike a balance between
containing inflation and maintaining economic growth.
.
The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has
suggested that the tax amendments currently being
drafted stipulate that wrongdoings by tax officials be
considered criminal acts of corruption that should be
open to legal prosecution.
.
Advanced Info Service
Plc (AIS) of
Thailand
plans to invest $400 million in 2006, half of it on
expanding a third-generation (3G) mobile network.
.
The Office of Thai Trade Representative was
established in 2002 to boost trade relations with other
countries in the world, but its role has hardly been
recognized by the public in general.
. The eagerly
awaited Siam Paragon launched last week after
three years of planning among several world-class
American, French and Japanese designers.
.
Given the uncertainty in
Malaysia
surrounding the development of the land bought this
year, Johor
Port
shareholders are advised to take up MMC Corp’s
offer of RM2.50 cash over Johor
Port common
price.
. Maersk
expected to relocate to Northport. However
the move could affect Westport’s handling volume by 3%,
say analysts.
.
Southern Bank’s plan to buy insurer Asia
General is rejected. The move, analysts say, will
make it easier for rival Bumiputra-Commerce to
acquire the smaller bank.
.
Pres. Tran of
Vietnam
said central province of
Binh Thuan’s
economic development still had not reached the
province’s potential, saying its economic growth was
unstable and uncompetitive.
.
P.M. Khan met his constituents in Cu Chi last week while
National Assembly Chair Nguyen Van An met with Hanoi
People’s Council.
.
International donors last week pledged $3.748 billion in
Official Development Assistance (ODA) to Vietnam
for 2006, an increase of $300 million for 2005.
.
A recent survey of 85 large enterprises revealed
corporate governance is a relatively new concept in the
country.
. India
is one of top 20 countries in the world in terms of
spending on it private health care, but diverted less
than 1% of its GDP toward public health care.
.
Dabhol Power Co. (DPC) and Maharashtra State
Electricity Board (MSEB) settled their long-standing
disputes on the Power Purchase Agreement with current
terms filed in the Supreme Court.
.
Adidas has planned to make
India
the hub for its South Asian operations and will soon
enter a new segment through the launch of its eye-wear
on the domestic market.
.
The adviser to P.M. on
finance & revenue (Dr. Salman Shah) in
Pakistan
said the government has made all the necessary
arrangements to sustain the growth rate of above 8%.
.
China will work together with Pakistan & other regional
countries to protect the interests of developing nations
while adopting a “balanced package” at WTO Roha Round
of free-trade talks next year.
.
The government has laid down a solid foundation for the
expeditious socio-economic uplift of Pakistan.
.
The district Nazim Kanwar Naveed has announced
that to restore the fractured civic infrastructure is
the priority of the district government and work on
priority agenda is in progress.
.
In the new budget for
2006, Pres. Rajapakse of
Sri Lanka
announced a series of measures to benefit the masses
burdened by the high cost of living and to spur business
and investment.
.
Sri Lanka was awarded its first international credit
rating, setting the stage for it to issue bonds and
raise money to help rebuild its economy. It got a
BB-minus rating with a long-term stable outlook.
.
The 10th International Conference on
Sri Lankan Studies (ICSLS), a bi-annual meeting
of scholars researching on historical, socio-economic,
cultural and political aspects of Sri Lank will be held
Dec. 16-18 at
Kelaniya U.
.
The government will
start construction of the new railway line to
Kataragama within a year, Minister Mahinda
Amaraweera said.
.
A month-long 11th
Dhaka
International Trade Fair (DITF)
in Bangladesh
had only 4
overseas delegates and 22 foreign institutions scheduled
to take part due to changes to the date done 3x.
.
Two successive blow-outs at Tengratila Gas Field
within a span of 6 months cost the country an estimated
8 bcf (billion cubic feet) of gas plus Tk 76 crore
environmental loss, according to the probe committee
reports.
.
A newly formed forum in the knitwear sub-sector of the
apparel industry apprehends that Bangladesh may lose
part of the international market of its knit products
due to the persisting yarn scarcity on the local market.
