- IV.
International
.
In preparing for the potential recurrence of the deadly SARS
virus this winter, companies in Asia
are revamping their production plans, e.g., Komatsu Ltd,
Matsushita Electric Industrial Co, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries
Ltd, and Honda Motor Co have already instituted changes to better
deal with business complications resulting from SARS.
.
Moscow is increasingly turning east to reshape the energy map of
Asia and at the same time assert itself on the world stage as an
important player economically.
. A new study by the Atlantic Council of the United States, released
last week, said that US-advocated missile defenses need not
destabilize Asia, may not protect South Korea or Taiwan in
meaningful ways and could provoke a US-China crisis.
. US Treasury Secretary
John Snow called on China to
have a more flexible exchange rate. European officials and IMF
have urged China to make
the change as well. But China’s
Central Bank and the State Foreign Exchange Administration have
dismissed calls for revaluation.
. President Hu Jintao
stayed in the background and played it safe throughout his
political ascent to power. Now that he has the presidency, will he
show his true colors and where he stand on reform?
. Hongkong’s legislature
will enact a law outlawing groups banned on the mainland and
criminalizes the handling of state secrets. With this, Hongkong
will lose the claim of being Asia’s most open society
. Tens of thousands of
people surrounded Hongkong’s
legislature to slam the Govt. and its planned anti-subversion
bill, raising the pressure on the territory’s embattled leader.
. Tung Chee-hwa stunned
his Beijing bosses by agreeing to delay implementing a security
bill after a key ally quit following last weeks’s huge protests,
saying it threatened civil liberties.
. Toyota will demonstrate its Intelligent Multimode Transit System
at the 2005 World Expo in Japan.
. GM’s HydroGen3 fuel cells vehicle became the first to be okayed
for commercial use in Japan.
FedEx will use the car to deliver packages in Tokyo.
. Though the new Solara is built on the Camry platform, which means Japan-based,
Toyota is responsible for the engine, transmission & drive
train; all phases of its production were US-based.
.
Honda expects sales this year in Europe, Japan and US to meet
projections, or slightly beat last year’s.
.
Japan’s industrial
production rose sharper than expected 2.5% in May. The number of
jobs rose 40k for the month, the first rise in 26 months.
.
Japan will be
joining its allies on the ground in postwar Iraq, winning the
approval of lawmakers from a bill that authorizes Japanese troops
to help with reconstruction, despite concerns they would get
dragged into combat.
.
South Korea said
North Korea has reprocessed a “small portion” of the 8k spent
nuclear fuel rods, a key step in making weapons.
.
EU govts. voted 13-2 to impose a 34% tariff in memory chips
from a South Korean firm
(Hynix Semiconductor), sources close to the case said.
. Tycoon Eduardo Cojuangco lost his shares in United Coconut
Planters Bank of the Philippines,
which he illegally acquired according to the anti-graft court, in
favor of the govt.
. Foreign currency loans were down in Q1.
. An official of the Dept. of Labor & Employment said that over
80% of firms in the Southern Tagalog region did not conform with
govt. labor standards.
. A US bankruptcy judge has
paved the way for Singapore
Technologies Telemedia to buy 61.5% of Global Crossing Ltd. The
transaction, strongly objected to by XO Communications, JP Morgan
Chase & IDT Corp, must still be approved by US regulators and
national security officials.
. Global Crossing’s planned sale to Singapore
Technologies Telemedia may face opposition from DOD & DHS on
concerns about foreign
ownership of US telecommunications assets.
. Malaysia recorded a
trade surplus of RM6.34 billion in May, its 67th
consecutive month of trade surplus since Nov. 1997, aid the
Ministry of Trade & Industry (MITI).
. Top export destinations were ASEAN, US, Europe, Japan, China &
Hongkong, constituting 79.9% of total exports.
. Malaysia urged Asia-Europe Meeting (Asem) to adopt practical
approaches, e.g., improve ability to detect and target bulk cash
movements, in combating the financing of terrorism and money
laundering.
. The US Govt is offering financial incentives to small Thai
businesses looking to link up with American franchisors
through OPIC, according to US Embassy in Bangkok. It was set up to
support US franchise development overseas.
. Thailand will not renew Thai-US Treaty of Amity, which expires next
year. Existing privileges for American companies will be phased
into the framework of a new bilateral trade agreement, according
to the Commerce Minister.
. A free trade between Thailand & US would lead to greater
economic activity between the two countries, according to Ellen
Devlin, president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Thailand
(Amcham). Amcham represents almost 600 American businesses in
Thailand.
. The value of foreign direct investment (FDI) approvals in Indonesia
rose sharply the first half of the year with US$4.37 billion,
compared with $3.04 billion in the same period last year.
. IMF & WB urged Indonesia
to tackle judicial and legal reforms, problems of decentralization
and market policy to attract foreign investments.
. Police arrested 3 suspected members of Jemaah Islamiyah (JI)
extremist network who planned a campaign of killings and bombings
in Jakarta last week.
. Monsanto India
will issue bonus equity shares to shareholders in the ratio of
2:1.
. Blue Dart Express Ltd, South Asia’s largest integrated air
express, courier and logistic company, has announced expansion of
its network in South India.
. HCL Comnet, a leading IT services company, has bagged a Rs. 31
crore network management order from NIC, India’s
leading public sector general insurance company.
. Vietnam will soon get
its first digital subscriber line (DSL) network. Juniper Networks
and Siemens will lead the charge to introduce DSL to this emerging
market in Southeast Asia.
. Year-round forced labor in Burma is as normal as an American
driving to work on weekdays. Villagers are treated as beasts of
burden. The public works projects are done mostly for the benefit
of the military rogues.
. SMEs will benefit from spin-off effects of multinational
corporations’ investment and participation in development
programs in Brunei.
