In Monday's Asia papers

04 June 2007 02:00  [Source: ICIS news]

Asahi Shimbun, Japan (online edition)

Front page

 

Coalition backs down on 'amakudari' bill

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Friday abandoned attempts to steamroll a civil-service reform bill through the Diet, following heated exchanges, no-confidence motions and a delayed vote on pension reform legislation.

The ruling coalition had initially planned to seek passage Friday in the Lower House of the legislation designed to reform the civil servant system.

 

Tokyo to require firms to meet CO2 targets

The Tokyo metropolitan government plans to require large companies and factories to meet reduction goals for carbon dioxide emissions under a new set of standards intended to combat global warming.

Companies or factories that fail to meet their emission reduction targets would be required to buy carbon emissions credits from others that have successfully cut down their CO2 emissions.

 

Business & Industry

 

Taxi-fare hikes OK if operators improve

The transport ministry will allow taxi operators to raise their fares but only if they make efforts to improve their business operations, officials said Thursday.

Cab companies are currently seeking fare increases to cover deficits in their operating costs.

 

DoCoMo to expand flat-rate data services

NTT DoCoMo Inc. plans to introduce flat-rate billing options for all types of mobile data communications services by the end of 2008, its president says.

"We have to see how much of a workload (the flat-rate services will add) to our telecommunications networks," DoCoMo President Masao Nakamura told The Asahi Shimbun on Thursday.

 

China Daily, China (online edition)

Front page

 

3 killed, 300 injured as quake rocks Yunnan

Three people were confirmed dead and more than 300 injured when an earthquake with a magnitude of 6.4 hit the region surrounding Pu'er city in Southwest China's Yunnan Province early yesterday morning.

About 186,000 people have been affected by the quake, the strongest in Yunnan Province since 1996, when a temblor with a magnitude of 7 struck the tourist city of Lijiang.

 

Most stocks will be traded normally

Almost all the stocks listed on the Shanghai and Shenzhen exchanges will be traded normally today despite rules on suspension of shares which witness wild fluctuations - a move analysts say could prevent panic selling.

Only a few shares in Shanghai and two in Shenzhen will be suspended for an hour at the beginning of trading, the two bourses announced yesterday.

 

Business & Industry

 

Safety watchdog rejects US's toothpaste warning

The country's top quality watchdog this weekend strongly disagreed with a warning by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) over the safety of Chinese toothpaste, saying it was "unscientific, irresponsible and contradictory".

In response to an FDA notice saying toothpaste made in China may contain a poisonous chemical, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) said in a statement that it is safe to consume the chemical in question in small quantities.

 

Most stocks will be traded normally

Almost all the stocks listed on the Shanghai and Shenzhen exchanges will be traded normally today despite rules on suspension of shares which witness wild fluctuations - a move analysts say could prevent panic selling.

Only a few shares in Shanghai and two in Shenzhen will be suspended for an hour at the beginning of trading, the two bourses announced yesterday.

 

Taiwan News, Taiwan (online edition)

Front page

 

DPP officials defend plan for language scholarships

Ruling party officials yesterday defended a program to help foreign news workers study the Chinese language with a scholarship after local media ran reports criticizing the program as being aimed at "brown nosing" foreign journalists.

The Government Information Office, the agency that handles and reviews the application process, stressed that the policy will help bolster international exchanges and help to increase foreign media's understanding of the country.

 

DOH denies drug trafficker was employed by the agency

The Department of Health yesterday refuted a news report claiming that a captured drug trafficker was a counsellor hired by the department to help drug addicts break their habit.

The police suspect that the 45-year-old heroin trafficker surnamed Tseng posed as a DOH counsellor in a bid to get in contact with drug addicts and sell or offer drugs to them.

 

Business & Industry

 

Lower barriers on cheese trade please Swiss

A long battle came to a close on June 1 when the European Union and non-member Switzerland formally removed barriers to the trade in cheese, a product that stimulates national pride and commercial acumen as much as tastebuds.

 

US economy shows signs of vigour, but questions remain on recovery

The latest economic data point to an acceleration in the US economy after the weakest growth in over four years, but some analysts say a full recovery is not yet in sight.

Friday's Labor Department report showing a surprise gain of 157,000 jobs in May along with other robust data appeared to validate the view of the Federal Reserve that the world's biggest economy will gather steam over 2007, with strong consumer spending offsetting a slump in housing.

 

Korea Herald, South Korea (online edition)

Front page

 

New law takes on patriarchal family system

Korea's male-oriented family system will meet significant changes beginning 1 January next year, following the controversial abolishment of the age-old patriarchal family headship known as "hoju."

The Supreme Court yesterday disclosed the finalized details of the new registration law, promulgated last month to replace the hoju system beginning in 2008.

 

South Korea eyes high-tech navy

South Korea is ratcheting up efforts to build a blue-water, or deep sea, navy to secure maritime transportation routes as well as wield a sea-going deterrent against various threats.

The Navy took a major step in that direction by launching its first destroyer equipped with the Aegis combat system, which links radar and weapons systems to simultaneously detect, track and engage hundreds of aircraft and missiles.

 

Business & Industry

 

Consumer confidence boosts auto sales

Local automakers' sales soared last month, boosted by the highest consumer confidence levels seen in a year.

Last month Hyundai Motor Co., the largest local automaker, saw its monthly sales rise by 7.7% from a year ago.

 

Korean stocks likely to face correction

The Korean stock market is expected to undergo a correction this week following the main index's record-breaking rally, analysts said yesterday.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index finished last week at 1,716.24, up 5% from the previous week, extending gains for the 13th week.

 

Business Standard, India (online edition)

Front page

 

India Inc`s net up 47% despite poor Q4 show

Higher sales and other income combined to help India Inc report its highest net profit growth in the last three years in the 2006-07 financial year (FY07).

A total of 1,700 companies that have declared their results so far have reported a 47% increase in net profit. 

 

Paramount Airways woos GoAir for buyout

After Air India-Indian Airlines, Jet Airways-Sahara and Kingfisher-Deccan Aviation, another aviation merger is in the air.

Madurai-based Paramount Airways is interested in acquiring the Mumbai-based budget carrier GoAir, promoted by the Wadia group.

 

Economy & Policy

 

Plan to overhaul textile park scheme

The Centre is working out a seven-point revamped Scheme for Integrated Textile Parks (SITP). The move comes at the initiative of the textiles ministry.

The original scheme was approved by the Centre in July 2005. Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services (IL&FS) was engaged as the project management consultant to help the ministry implement the scheme. A ministry source said the government, however, decided to revamp the scheme after a not-very-encouraging feedback.

 

Spices Board floats company to get into retail

The commerce ministry-promoted Spices Board is getting into retail by floating a company to market spices in India and abroad.

Christened Flavourit Spices Trading Ltd, the company will focus on selling a range of spices like mint, chilies and cumin under the brand name of Flavourit.

 

Business Times, Singapore (print edition)

Front page

 

HK to infuse new life into secondary bourse

Hong Kong’s stock exchange plans to toughen listing requirements for its secondary bourse to bolster its reputation and attract new blood.

Under a proposal by Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing, only companies with a market capitalisation of at least Hong Kong dollar (HK$) 100m ($12.8m ,S$19.6m) and cash flow of HK$20m will be able to list on the Growth Enterprise Market (GEM). There will also be measures to fine-tune the listing rules of GEM to those of the main board. Public consultation will take place before any new measures are implemented.

 

US investors buy more S'pore shares in Q1

American investors trading on the Singapore Exchange were undaunted by the big global sell-off at the end of February this year.

In fact they stepped up their purchases - net of sales - adding on $2.8bn worth of Singapore stocks to their portfolio for the first quarter of this year, up from $1.3bn in the last three months of 2006.

 

Business & Industry

 

S'pore firms cast wider net abroad in exec talent search

Singapore companies searching for executives are casting their net wider than ever, according to executive search firm Egon Zehnder International (EZI).

'More than 75% of our searches in this part of the world are cross-border,' said Sydney-based partner Damien O'Brien, who was in Singapore recently.

 

HK may impose 50-cent tax on plastic bags

Hong Kong’s first attempt at a 'green tax' is likely to be levied early next year as the city tries to clean up its environmental act - but the move faces plenty of opposition.

Customers will have to pay 50 HK cents for each giveaway plastic bag under a tax the authorities have grappled with for decades but never got around to introducing.

 

Bangkok Post, Thailand (online edition)

Front page

 

School bomb wounds 20 young footballers

A bomb exploded yesterday at a village soccer match in Bannang Sata district of Yala province, wounding 20 young players, three of them seriously.

It went off about 5:30pm at a match between two village youth sides was in progress.

 

Sonthi's amnesty plan gets a roasting

Junta leader Sonthi Boonyaratkalin denied that he initiated the idea of amnesty for politicians found guilty of electoral fraud, but critics of the plan said Sunday has gone too far with his "puzzling" proposal.

Gen Sonthi, chief of the Council for National Security that seized power last September, floated the idea of an amnesty for most of the 111 politicians banned from politics by a tribunal last week.

 

Business & Industry

 

Wacoal may outsource as baht remains strong

Thai Wacoal Plc, an underwear producer and subsidiary of the Saha Group, is conducting a feasibility study on outsourcing lingerie production abroad to benefit from the strong baht.

Managing director Amnuay Bumroongwongtong said that some imported items might become cheaper than locally made products due to the baht's appreciation.

 

Esso's Thai unit to list on SET this year

Esso (Thailand) Plc, the local oil-refining and distribution unit of Exxon Mobil, has confirmed its intention to list on the Stock Exchange of Thailand this year.

The planned listing is in line with a pledge the company made to the government when it sought approval to expand its oil refinery, which now has a capacity of 165,000 barrels per day.

By: Staff Reporter
+44 20 8652 3214

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