IV. International (07-01-06)
.
Renewed worries over the
outlook for US interest rates sent global markets
tumbling last month, with the Japanese stock market
plunging more than 4% (June 13), its biggest one-day
loss in 2 years.
.
In Bombay,
Indian shares plummeted 4.5% to their lowest point this
year. South Korean shares dropped 2.9%, while
Hong Kong
plunged 2.5%.
.
China
has become a powerful player in several American
economies. It has made direct investment worth millions
of dollars and sharply increased trade with African
countries. In Zimbabwe, the roads are filled with
Chinese buses, the market with Chinese goods, and
Chinese-made planes are in the skies.
.
East Timor rebel soldiers surrendered the first
of their weapons to Australian peacekeepers, the
start of a process deemed vital to ending months of
bloody unrest.
.
Green tea is widely drunk in Asia where
incidence of lung cancer & heart disease s lower than in
the US. New evidence also shows that green tea’s high
concentration of antioxidants called catechins
may offer arrange of benefits, notably as a counter to
heart disease & turner.
. China’s
sales of military vehicles and weapons to
Sudan, Nepal and Burma
have aggravated conflicts and abetted violence and
repressive rule in those countries, Amnesty
International said in a report.
.
Officials with city government and committee organizing
the 2008 Olympics in Beijing went into damage control
following the abrupt dismissal of Vice Mayor Liu Zhihua
on unspecified corruption charges. Liu oversaw an office
in charge of monitoring all Olympic construction.
. Chinese
authorities tired to slow the spread of a toxic spill by
building 51 makeshift dams along the tainted Dasha
River and using fire trucks to pump out polluted
water before it reaches a reservoir serving a city of 10
million people, state media said.
.
Thousands of people
rallied in
Central
Taiwan in weekend protests, calling for Pres. Chen
Shiu-bian to resign over scandals involving his family
and senior aides.
.
Gradually and without fanfare, China has softened its
stand on Taiwan and played down its long-standing row to
recover the self-ruled island by force, if necessary. It
shifted the focus to preventing any move toward formal
independence.
.
Taiwan’s tourist shares have soared over the past few
months despite an overall drop in the market but
analysts say a few can rise even further as the island
prepares to cut restrictions on travelers from rival
China.
.
The Bank of
Japan
may be forced to delay the end of its 5-year policy of
0% rates due to sharp stock declines, giving the
Japanese economy more time to benefit from rock-bottom
lending rates.
.
Pro-whaling nations led by Japan lost 2 key votes at the
International Whaling Commission’s annual
meeting, an indication they may not have the majority
needed to repeal the group’s ban on commercial hunting.
.
Despite months of pressure from Washington, Japan has
become increasingly reluctant to join a Bush
administration plan for sanctions against Iran if
negotiations fail to resolve concerns over the country’s
nuclear program, Japanese & American officials said.
. North Korea
declared it was not bound by a moratorium on testing
long-range missiles, and increasing fears that it would
launch an intercontinental ballistic missile. North
Korea wanted direct talks with US over its plans to
test-fire a long-range missile, but top US envy rejected
it.
.
South Korea
said its humanitarian aid to North Korea might be
affected by such a test. South Korean president cited
missile crisis as reason for canceling a trip to the
North that could have offered a rare chance for talks to
soothe tensions.
.
Prosecutors detained a former president of state-run
Korea Asset Mgmt Corp (KAMCO) on charges of
receiving bribes in exchange for forgiving bad debts of
troubled affiliates of the Hyundai Automotive Group.
. Philippines’
most successful export: its workers! They nurse the sick
in California, drive fuel trucks in Iraq, sail cargo
ships through Panama Canal and cruise ships through the
Gulf of Alaska. They pour sake for Japanese
businessmen and raise the children of Saudi
millionaires.
.
Dependence on the export of people has become a formula
for stagnation. Once one of the strongest in Asia, the
Philippine economy now ranks near the bottom. The
government invests little money in manufacturing,
education or healthcare. The economy can’t create even
the 1.5 million jobs a year needed to keep up with
population growth.
.
The Shoe Mart Mall of
Asia is RP’s largest mall, surpassing its cousin,
Shoe Mart Megamall and the third largest mall in the
world, in terms of floor size.
.
Although airlines remain
skeptical about whether Suvarnavhumi airport in
Thailand
will be ready for commercial use on Sept. 28, they have
welcomed the government’s decision to open Don Muang
airport.
.
The Revenue Dept plans to tighten its scrutiny of
corporate tax returns to guard against tax evasion and
siphoning by company directors and executives.
. The
National Electronics & Computer Technology Center
(Nectec) is on a mission to revolutionize Thai
fashion as it aims to make clothes to better fit the
majority of Thai men and women as well as standardize
sizes and give a meaning to S/M/L rather than today’s
almost random size gradings.
.
Bursa
Malaysia
says the stock is no longer “designated security.” Iris
has been designated for 6 weeks for what Bursa cited an
excessive speculation.
.
Tien Wah managing director says the RM108 million
offer for New Toyo is off because the two
companies couldn’t reach a consensus, but they are
keeping their options open.
.
Hong Leong Credit will battle with Amanah Raya
Bhd (ARB) for Southern Investment Bank Bhd (SIBB).
However, Bumiputra-Commerce says no offer for
SIBB has been received for either party.
.
The draft Securities
Law, revised by the National Assembly Standing
Committee, states that the commission should be
placed under the control of the Ministry of Finance
(MoF) due to
Vietnam’s
limited experience with stock markets.
.
Hundreds of pharmaceutical manufacturers and state
administrators discussed preparations for smooth
integration into the World Trade Organization (WTO)
at a conference in Hanoi last month.
.
The European Union-funded 12 million euro tourism
project, Vietnam Human Resources Development in
Tourism, signed a Memorandum of Agreement with ACCOR
Group that aimed to cooperate to train international
standard-skilled workers for the tourism industry.
.
There are many reasons
to think that
India will
continue to generate big profits for investors over the
next 15 years, much like Japan did during the decades
following World War II. With a young population and a
high savings rate, India’s Finance Ministry has
recently targeted 10% annual growth and is now within
striking distance of that number.
.
India has become synonymous with outsourcing, commanding
some 85% of the global outsourcing business. The
outsourcing industry would become for India what the
automotive industry was for Japan and oil was for Saudi
Arabia. By 2010, Indian companies engaged in information
technology and outsourcing, together will earn $60
billion. That’s 50% more than Microsoft earns today.
.
Debilitating bureaucracy and ubiquitous poverty
notwithstanding, Indian elites have a strong work ethic
and emphasis on education. Combine this motivation with
common law-based legal traditions and institutions, and
you have factors that oil the wheels of commerce in ways
that don’t show up in economic textbooks.
.
A tide of Islamic
military is spreading across and beyond the
semi-autonomous tribal areas of NW Pakistan
that hug the Afghan borders, despite the deployment of
some 70k Pakistani troops there, according to a variety
of people with close family, professional & political
ties to the tribal regions.
.
In North Waziristan, barbers are ordered not to
shave off beards, and thieves have been swiftly
beheaded. In Swat, TV sets & VCRs have been
burned in public. In Dir, religious groups openly
recruit teenagers to fight US forces in Afghanistan. In
the Khyber area, armed squads have burst into
rooming houses forcing people to pledge to obey Islamic
law.
.
The army’s aggressive efforts since 2004 have backfired,
alienating the populace with heavy-handed tactics and
undermining the traditional authority of tribal elders
and officials. The local Taliban movement, which has
close ethnic & theological links to the Taliban across
the border in Afghanistan, has won new supporters and
been able to carve out enclaves of alternative power.
.
Dhaka,
Bangladesh
will soon slash by 5% import duty on about 4k items
originating from 6 signatory countries of the South
Asian Free Trade Agreement. The revised duty will be
effective from July 1 as was decided during the April
18-19 of trade ministers from SAFTA countries, sources
said.
.
Business leaders & academicians of Sylhet
stressed the need for immediate establishment of an
export processing zone (EPZ) or an industrial port in
the greater Sylhet region for boosting real trade with 7
NE states of India as well as for utilizing the
investment opportunities in the region rich in natural
resources.
.
PM Khaleda Zia
hoped Japan would take the leading role in the
construction of the Palma Bridge, making its
massive contribution toward major infrastructure
development in the country.
