- IV.
International
. PC chip demand in Asia Pacific
& Japan during the first week of the year has been weaker
than expected, forcing Intel to trim revenue estimates for
the quarter.
. Thousands
marked the 50th anniversary of the US nuclear test in
the Pacific test that exposed Japanese fishermen to
radiation, staging a protest against nuclear weapons.
. Japan &
Asian emerging market economies have one thing in common: they are desperate to keep their currencies
down against the US dollar.
. China has launched a nationwide campaign to
tighten controls on internet cafes, suspending the issuance of new
licenses and ordering local officials to work down on unregistered
or loosely managed operations.
. Premier Wen
Jia Bao promised to make more citizens share in their
country’s meteoric economic growth, particularly farmers &
migrant workers left behind by the boon.
. China’s banking system is too fragile for the
country to immediately abandon its policy of pegging the value of
the Chinese yuan to the US dollar, wrote Alan
Greenspan to the Senate Banking Committee Chair.
. In China, where few consumers have credit cards, one online retailer
combines high-tech with bike-tech. Dongheng.com, a Chinese
retailer modeled after Amazon.com allows customers to buy
items with money vendors or cash-on-delivery, and operate a fleet
of bicycle delivery boys to courier the packages to customers and
pick up the payments.
. US-China relations will be damaged if
the cause of freedom & democracy suffers in Hong Kong,
said Randall Shriver, Dep. Asst. Secretary of State for East Asian
& Pacific Affairs. He spoke after China warned the US against
making comments on Hong Kong or otherwise interfering in its
internal affairs.
. Beijing was irritated at
the participation in US Senate hearing of Hong Kong
legislators. Their trip to Washington came amidst attacks by
Beijing-controlled media against unpatriotic opponents of its
policies in Hong Kong.
. Hong Kong is
considering the introduction of the city’s first goods &
services tax. The legacy of rapid economic growth in the late
1980’s and early 1990’s means only 1.2 million of its 3.2
million of its working population pay a salary tax.
. Of the 50k
tax-paying companies in Hong Kong, 500 companies provide 60% of
Govt’s total profits tax revenue. Hong Kong has an
extremely narrow tax base.
. As Asia’s
financial capital, Hong Kong taxes neither investment
income nor income earned outside the territory, nor does it impose
any significant import duties.
. Japan’s foreign reserves rose to $777 billion
in Feb., equivalent to about 20% of GNP, as efforts to fortify the
economic system continued.
. Motorola is facing stiff competition from Samsung
in the mobile phone market. Samsung concentrates on higher priced
models, and thus makes almost as much as Motorola in sales.
. South Korea imposed import restrictions on iron
& steel scrap to alleviate a shortage of raw materials, the
government said.
. The South
Korean Govt. will identify and complete an official list of
victims of the 7/1950 killings of civilian refugees by US troops
at No Gun Ri under a new law, which also clears the way for a
monument to rise at the site.
. South Korean producer
prices in Feb. rose 4.5% from a year ago, the most since
Nov.’98, amidst a rise of more than 20% in metal prices.
. South
Korea’s two main
opposition parties impeached Pres. Roh Moo-hyun last week
for breaking an election impartiality law. He was the first leader
in history to be impeached, plunging the country into a political
crisis and leaving South Koreans more deeply divided than at any
point since the restoration of democracy in 1987. Impeachment will
mean increased economic and political uncertainty.
. North Korea has demanded the withdrawal of US
troops from South Korea as a condition for dismantling its nuclear
weapons program.
. Election fever is on in the Philippines.
Election is the great equalizer. This is the only thing that
Filipinos, especially in the lower socio-economic echelon, are
wooed personally by the politicians.
. For this
year’s elections, there are some 30 show business &
broadcast personalities, seeking elective office, including the
presidency. GMA (Pres. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo) is the candidate
of choice among the upper class and business groups, who see
continuity and predictability in her.
. Fernando
Poe, Jr. (FPJ) is the No. 1 challenger, but is a high-school
dropout. The peso’s plunge is attributed to him. He
scored zero among the businesspeople.
. The other
challengers (Raul Roco and Panfilo Lacson) have no chance of
winning. GMA has the Govt. resources and bureaucracy at her
disposal and is supported by the biggest coalition of incumbent
mayors, governors and congressmen. It’s a case of the “devil
you know is better than the one you don’t know. So, stick with
the status quo!”
. Vote-buying
will be rampant during the elections in May. The result is a chain
of perverse behaviors and even more perverse reasoning.
Politicians say they steal because people expect to be bought,
while voters demand doles because they think that is the only way
they can get back tax money that has been stolen from them.
. A Bangkok Post report said that San Miguel Corp. would spend 3.7 billion bath
($93.15 million) on a beer plant in Rayong, 180 kms. east of
Bangkok. San Miguel has overseas breweries in Hong Kong, China,
Australia, Indonesia & Vietnam. It is also making a push into
Malaysia & Taiwan in 2004 to propel growth.
. Prime Minister Ahmed Badawi called snap elections to consolidate
his position after replacing predecessor Mahathir Mohammad
who retired in Oct. after 27 years in office. Elections must be
held before the end of the month.
. General
elections in Malaysia are scheduled on March 21.
Fundamentalist Islamic opposition launched its campaign by
questioning the Prime Minister’s handling of revelations about Malaysia’s
role in supplying a nuclear black market.
. Political
observers expect Badawi’s ruling coalition to retain
overwhelming majority in parliament, but his own standing within
the coalition could depend on whether he succeeds in rolling back
recent gains by an opposition Muslim party.
. Badawi has sought to present himself as a
reformer by ordering a crackdown on several top officials
suspected of corruption.
. In 2003, trade between Vietnam
& US has doubled, reaching about $6.6 billion annually,
according to both countries’ figures. The US is now Vietnam’s
larges export market, wt clothing, shoes, furniture and seafood
making up the bulk of the goods.
. The 2
countries signed an agreement in Dec. to cooperate in fighting
drug trafficking after 6 years of juggling over the details.
Another agreement provided for the first direct flights between
the countries.
. Vietnam’s economic worries lent urgency to the
initiative. Its economy has been growing, consistently at about 7%
a year, the second-fastest growth rate in the world after China’s,
according to the World Bank. It needs t grow even faster to
create the nearly 15 million new jobs Vietnam needs within
a decade to absorb all the young people entering the workplace.
Officials have calculated that economic ties with the US are key
to growth rates of 8% or higher.
. Desire for
closer ties with US is dictated by Vietnam’s age-old
anxiety over China. The leadership is eager to offset the
likely influx of Chinese good & businesses. Vietnams officials
welcome a heightened US interest in their country to
counterbalance Chinese influence in the region.
. Its human
rights records, particularly repression of some Protestant
religious groups could undercut efforts to expand economic
compensation further.
. Singapore
Telecom sold its share of
Lycos Asia to its partner Terra Lycos for $1. The joint venture
was once valued at $50 million during the height of the dot-com
gold rush.
. More than 70 child laborers between
the ages of 7 and 10 were rescued, a few of at least 35k children
that social groups believe work in Mumbai’s industries in
India.
. The attacks on Shiites in Pakistan was
the worst in the country (42 killed at least and 150 wounded)
since July when members of a Sunni Muslim extremis group blew
themselves up in a mosque in Quetta, killing dozens of
worshippers.
. Hundreds of Maoist rebels stormed a
telecom tower in eastern Nepal in their biggest offensive
since peace talks with the government collapsed in August, the
military said.
. The mayor of Kabul was fired by Prime
Minister Hamid Karzai after complaints of rampant bribery
& land grabbing by senior government members.
