In Tuesday's Asia papers

19 September 2006 02:53  [Source: ICIS news]

Asahi Shimbun, Japan (online edition)

Front page

  

Countdown to 20 Sept: Diplomats chasing all snippets on Abe

Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe is definitely the man of the moment.

With his election as next Liberal Democratic Party president seemingly assured, diplomats in Tokyo are scrambling to learn as much as possible about Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's likely successor. They won't have long to wait as the LDP holds its leadership election on Wednesday.

 

Typhoon No 13's deadly landfall

The 13th typhoon of the season rolled over southern prefectures Sunday, flooding rivers, damaging homes and trains, and killing at least eight people.

The storm made landfall near Sasebo, Nagasaki Prefecture, just after 1800., following heavy downpours earlier in the day in southwestern parts of the country.

 

Business & Industry

 

3 banks follow US in sanctions on Iran

Three of Japan's major banks have halted all dollar transactions with Bank Saderat, a large state-operated bank in Iran, in line with US sanctions imposed earlier as an anti-terror step.

Japan imports more than 10% of its oil from Iran. If the sanctions are broadened, Japanese companies could find it more difficult to pay for their oil purchases. The three banks are the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking and Mizuho Corporate Bank.

 

Russians stealing crab, selling spoils in northern ports

WAKKANAI, Hokkaido--Russian boats apparently are brazenly stealing crab traps laid by Japanese fishermen and then having the audacity to sell their ill-gotten haul at northern Japanese ports. That, at least, is what some Japanese fishermen say.

In a further twist to already strained debate over Russo-Japanese fishing rights, fishermen at the northern tip of Hokkaido claim that boats are coming from Russian waters to steal hair crabs, a prized delicacy.

 

China Daily, China (online edition)

Front page

 

More peacekeepers heading to Lebanon

The nation will increase the strength of its peacekeeping force in Lebanon to 1,000 from fewer than 200 now to try and achieve stability in the country, Premier Wen Jiabao said yesterday.

“China is very concerned about the situation in Lebanon and hopes it can be fully resolved,” Wen said at a joint press conference with visiting Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi after a one-hour closed-door meeting.

 

75th anniversary of invasion marked

Watching a historical film. Visiting museums. Shutting down businesses for the day. These were among the many ways people across the country yesterday marked the 75th anniversary of the ’18 September Incident’, which signalled the start of Japan's invasion of China.

University students nationwide were offered half-price tickets to Tokyo Trial, a movie released earlier this month by Shanghai Film Group Corporation.

 

Business & Industry

 

IMF plans to boost bigger say for China

A plan by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to boost China's voting rights is not aimed at putting more pressure on Beijing to make its exchange rate flexible or undertake other policy changes, IMF chief Rodrigo de Rato said yesterday.

The 184-member institution plans to adjust its existing structure by immediately boosting the quotas of China, South Korea, Turkey and Mexico and later rework the voting rights of all member nations within two years.

 

New vision sought for community health care

Improvement in community health care and the establishment of a universal health care system are key to revamping the country's troubled system, experts said over the weekend.

More than 300 senior officials, researchers and representatives from different sectors of the nation's health care industry gathered at Shanghai-based China Europe International Business School to discuss “New Horizons for China's Medical Reform.”

 

Taiwan News, Taiwan (online edition)

Front page

 

Yao says talks with legislators still on despite budget freeze

Examination Yuan President Yao Chia-wen revealed at a press conference yesterday that he has continued to communicate with the Legislative Yuan since lawmakers froze the top government branch's 2006 budget in January.

“The communications were made in an attempt to persuade the lawmaking body to recall the budgetary blockage”, Yao said.

 

Premier Su's job said to be safe for now

Opposition party Kuomintang appears unlikely to initiate a proposal to recall Premier Su Tseng-chang anytime soon, though some of its legislators said they would join hands with the People First Party in pushing this issue when the Legislature meets today for another three-month session.

Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng said KMT Chairman Ma shares his view that the opposition parties would not necessarily benefit from Su's resignation from the premiership, as it may give President Chen an excuse to dissolve the Legislature according to the Constitution.

 

Business & Industry

 

Group licensed for $1bn steel project in Vietnam

Taiwan's Tycoons Worldwide Steel officially yesterday received a license from the government of Vietnam to invest $1bn in a steel plant to meet growing demand in the communist nation.

Tycoons Worldwide Steel Vietnam, a subsidiary of the Taiwanese giant, is to build a steel refinery and rolling mill with a capacity to process five million tons of steel ingots a year.

 

Taiex gains sharply on easing political woes

Taiwan share prices closed 3.01% higher yesterday, supported by a steady Wall Street as investors took advantage of easing domestic political worries and picked up stocks to boost their portfolios, dealers said.

The market welcomed the fact that there were no major incidents during pro- and anti-President Chen Shui-bian street demonstrations over the weekend despite the heavy turnout, they said.

 

Korea Herald, South Korea (online edition)

Front page

 

'Experience Korea' center to be built in Insa-dong

The Seoul City government plans to establish an eight-story cultural complex in Insa-dong, central Seoul, by 2009, to give visitors a better taste of Korea's culture and traditional values.

The plan is part of a series of projects to attract more tourists to the capital. Insa-dong is a center for Korean antiques and artworks and one of the city's most popular destinations with foreign tourists.

 

Brokers to be quizzed over gaming scandal

Prosecutors said yesterday they will subpoena brokers accused of delivering kickbacks to politicians and government officials in exchange for allowing certain gift certificate providers to operate in nationwide arcades.

Prosecutors have been tracking down the bank accounts of a few brokers related to the recent gaming scandal. They have acquired evidence that tens of millions of won had been deposited last year to a bank account belonging to a high-ranking official at the Korea Game Development and Promotion Institute, they said.

 

Business & Industry

 

Corporate pension assets to fuel market expansion

Korea's corporate pension assets are expected to soar to over Won2,110trn ($2.19bn) by 2050, which would bolster the country's stock and bond markets, a researcher said yesterday.

“In the long term, corporate pension assets will expand enormously, driven by a strong growth of the 'defined contribution' type schemes,” Kim Jae-chil, a researcher at the Korea Securities Research Institute, said in a study published in the latest edition of the Capital Market Forum, a Korean-language quarterly magazine.

 

Interest rates on mortgage loans on the decline

Commercial lenders' interest rates on mortgage loans are falling amid expectations the central bank will end its high interest rate policy in the coming months to boost the slackening economy.

Kookmin Bank, the country's largest lender, yesterday lowered rates on housing loans by 0.04 percentage point, the biggest cut in 11 months.

 

Business Standard, India (online edition)

Front page

 

ONGC, OilIndia to hog new licences

Government-owned oil companies are expected to walk away with the largest chunk of the 55 oil and gas prospecting licences put up for auction last week, according to a preliminary analysis of the bids.

Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) could bag 18-24 blocks, followed by OilIndia with 7-10 blocks. Private sector refining and petrochemicals major Reliance Industries is likely to get 5-6 blocks while Essar Oil could end up with 2-3 blocks, according to numbers crunched by various analysts.

 

PMO queries merger of Indian, Air-India

The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) has objections to the civil aviation ministry’s proposal to merge the two state-owned carriers, Indian Airlines and Air-India, into a holding company with two operating divisions.

According to a composite note prepared by the PMO, which includes comments from the finance and commerce ministries, the proposal in its current format is not viable because the two airlines were set up for different purposes and a merger will weaken their position in the domestic and international markets.

 

Companies & Industry

 

Reliance Life to set up Rs5m data centre

Moving ahead with its plan to become a fully integrated player in the global clinical research space, the Mukesh Ambani promoted Reliance Life Sciences, is setting up a world class clinical data management (CDM) centre at Bangalore.

The centre, which will have a team of 100 scientific and software professionals initially, will handle inhouse projects as well as client-based global outsourcing projects. The

 

Videocon to set up 9 SEZs

The Videocon group is on a roll. While it’s already within striking distance of the largest overseas acquisition by an Indian company, Videocon’s activity on the domestic front is no less spectacular.

Videocon is setting up nine special economic zones (SEZs) in Maharashtra, West Bengal, Gujarat and Karnataka with a total area of over 12,000 acres. J M Morgan has been appointed as advisor to chalk out strategies in setting up infrastructure projects for the group across the country.

 

Business Times, Singapore (online edition)

Front Page

 

China wins as members approve IMF overhaul

(SINGAPORE) An overwhelming 90.6% vote by International Monetary Fund (IMF) member countries yesterday will immediately give China, South Korea, Mexico and Turkey a bigger say in how the fund operates.

And separately, the World Bank will address corruption as a priority to ensure loan dollars desperately needed by poor countries do not go missing.

 

August exports growth comes in below expectations again

(SINGAPORE) For a second straight month, Singapore's key non-oil domestic exports have expanded below expectations.

The NODX in August rose just 2.6% from a year ago - against private sector economists' forecasts of 7.8-15.5% - dragged down largely by a hefty fall in pharmaceutical shipments, according to the latest trade figures released yesterday by International Enterprise Singapore, the government's trade promotion arm.

 

Singapore Companies

 

Creative steals a march on Microsoft

(SAN FRANCISCO) While Microsoft's Zune MP3 player remained a mere promise yesterday, Creative Technology delivered to market a competing device crafted with movie viewing in mind.

Creative's freshly unveiled Zen Vision W player is a hand-held device featuring an 11cm screen and software to link with the Unbox online digital movie sales and rental service launched by online retailer Amazon earlier this month.

 

Chemoil Energy hits the road with $374m IPO

Marine fuel supplier Chemoil Energy kicked off roadshows yesterday for an initial public offering worth up to $374m, the second-biggest IPO in Singapore this year, bankers said.

A source close to the deal told Reuters on Saturday a total of 439.49m shares - equivalent to 30% of the enlarged share capital - would be sold in the IPO at an indicative price range of $0.65 to $0.85 a share.

 

Bangkok Post, Thailand (online edition)

Front Page

 

Court drops foreigner's case against PM
A Thai court has dropped a case in which an American businessman filed a criminal lawsuit accusing Thailand's Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra of perjury, thus relieving the kingdom's embattled caretaker premier of at least some of the tension that continues to coalesce.
Dispersing some of the dark clouds on Mr Thaksin's horizon, the court handed down its decision that the statue of limitations on the case had expired and indicated that it thus closed the book on the case.

School mourns terrorist bomb victim
SONGKHLA - Fellow teachers and students at Phol Vidhya School in Hat Yai district mourned the death of an English teacher, Canadian national Jesse Lee Daniel, who was one of four victims killed in the Saturday night bombings.
Five bombs exploded in central Hat Yai, Thailand's southern commercial hub, Saturday night leaving four persons dead and some 80 others wounded. The bombings were condemned not only by the Thai authorities and people but also international organisations, including Amnesty International (AI), which viewed the incidents as violent acts against innocent civilians.

 

Business & Industry

 

Relations still strong in spite of violence

The ongoing violence in southern Thailand will not have any impact on investments and trade with Malaysia, according to Datuk Seri Rafidah Aziz, Malaysia's minister for international trade and industry.

“Malaysian businesses do not just need to look at those southern provinces, as Thailand is a big country and they could invest in any part,” she said yesterday at a seminar in Bangkok on business ties between Thailand and Malaysia.

 

Regional integration can help drive costs down, say central bankers

Singapore -- Greater financial integration within Asia would help reduce mismatches and transaction costs as a result of using the US dollar as the primary medium for settlement, say regional central banks. But full integration and a common currency similar to the European Union could take decades, experts agreed at a discussion on regional integration at the annual IMF/World Bank meetings.

Zeti Akhtar Aziz, the governor of Malaysia's Bank Negara, said regional economic integration had occurred with the sharp rise in intra-regional trade, which now accounted for 60% of Malaysia's exports.

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