. Several
hotels in the Asia Pacific region now allows guests to
print in a rented Hewlett-Packard printer from their wireless
devices. HP has also developed a wireless printing platform
specifically for use with mobile phones, and Nokia is the first
handset maker to include the capability in its phones. HP is
working with Sony Ericsson to add the features to its phones.
. The Semiconductor
Industry Assn. forecast of this year’s sales will rise
15.8%, led by demand in Asia & Japan.
. Five
members of the banned Falun Gong religion in China were
convicted and sent to prison. The government says the group is
an evil cult and vowed to crush it.
. Chinese
airlines are expected to buy 2,400 new aircraft (from Boeing)
and engines (from GE), estimated at $197 billion in the next 20
years.
. Last
month, China and Brazil signed an accord that will
increase commercial alliances and technological cooperation in
agribusiness, construction, civil engineering and natural
resource development projects.
. Japan’s
government quarterly business survey index for Sept.
quarter—their capital spending rose 3.4% after falling 1.6%
the prior quarter.
. The
survey by the Asahi newspaper showed that constitutional
revision was favored by almost 90% of candidates from the ruling
Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) which won the general
election last week.
. Japan’s
jobless rate held steady at 5.1% in Sept. after hitting a record
high 5.5% in Jan. The ranks of the unemployed fell 109,000 vs. a
year earlier, while job holders fell 70,000.
. Five
Japanese IT companies—NEC, Sanyo, Space Creation, SwaNCorp
& Epson, are seriously considering the Philippines as their
IT production base.
. Toyota
earned $4.81 billion, a surprise 23% jump vs. last year.
. Prosecutors
in South Korea searched the offices of IBM to investigate
if the company gave cash to local affiliate LG IBM and Uinsol
so they could link government officials for sale.
. South
Korea said it will deploy US-made missiles in December that
could reach most North Korean targets, including its main
nuclear site.
. A
multi-nation group working on 2 nuclear power plants looks
poised to freeze work for a year to pressure North Korea
to drop its nuclear arms program. The group was formed in ’94
in a deal with North Korea.
. The
lifelong ambition of Kim Jong-Il is to become dictator over a
unified Communist North Korea, said Hwang Jang Yop, the
highest-ranking Pyongyang official to defect.
. With
an aggressive assertion that Taiwan is a separate country
from China, Pres. Chen Shui-bian declared his bid for
reelection, raising the issue of the island’s sovereignty to
boost his chances.
. The Philippines
will increase the size of its peacekeeping and humanitarian
contingent in Iraq from 178 to 500 police, military and medical
personnel.
. At
least 70 employees of Fujitsu (FPI) in RP will be laid off as
part of an attrition program being implemented this year, a top
official said.
. San
Miguel Corp acquired Taiwan Tea Corp’s 100% stakes in TTCV
investment (BVI) Co. Ltd. It intends to continue
running the Vietnam firm with the majority of its 500-strong
Vietnamese workforce, supported by a core management team to
oversee a smooth integration.
. Dollar
remittance from overseas Filipino workers hit $5.663 billion in
the first 9 months of 2003, compared to $5.389 billion during
same time in 2002, that will surely offset the sluggish export
performance.
. President
Megawati Sukarnoputri’s cabinet in Indonesia decided to
extend martial law in Aceh where government forces have been
fighting separatist rebels since May when peace talks broke down
and emergency rule was declared.
. She
ordered her ministers and other high-ranking officials to speed
up development of 88 borderline islands, e.g., Sipadan and
Ligitan.
. US
will provide Indonesia $157 million to help improve education in
the country.
. Deputy
P.M. Abdullah Ahmad Badawi was sworn in as Malaysia’s 5th
P.M. He is expected to generally maintain the status quo while
softening Mahathir’s confrontational stance toward the West.
.
Pakistani High Commissioner in Malaysia has suggested to the Ministry
of Railways to participate in the $3.84 billion double track
rail project in the country.
. India
reported $9.6 billion worth of software last year. Such
exports are expected to grow 26% this fiscal year.
. One of
Brazil’s foreign policy initiatives is the accord among
Brazil, India and South Africa, signed in June. It
focuses on scientific and technological cooperation, but one of
its strategies is to act as a unified opposition voice inside
the WTO.
. Pakistan’s
Education Minister said that her nation’s campaign to rein
in thousands of unofficial Islamic schools (madrassas) run as
prime recruiting ground for Muslim radicals, will require a
decade or more.
. World
Bank is in favor of Central Board Revenue (CBR) plan to
reform structure of direct taxes for speedy detection of
non-filers and non-payment of taxes by business community.
. Sri
Lanka suspended direct talks with Tamil Tiger rebels while
the P.M. and President tried to resolve a power struggle
stemming from the effort to end 19 years of civil war.
. Sri
Lanka’s president stunned the nation when she suspended
Parliament, dismissed 3 members of the cabinet and deployed
troops around the capital, moves that endanger the fragile peace
process with Tamil Tiger rebels.
. The UN
Security Coordinator (Tun Myat of Burma) was asked to step down
while an independent arms security investigates the failures
that led to so many casualties in a bombing at UN headquarters
in Baghdad.
. There
is a growing scandal of previously undocumented practices of
land-grabbing, corrupt municipal real estate holdings and
forcible occupation of properties in the capital of Afghanistan
where half of the population of 3.2 million does not have
adequate housing.
. The
powerful Defense Minister (M.Q. Fasim) and Education Minister
(Y. Qanooni) are accused of illegally occupying land and should
be removed from their posts, said UNCHR.
