In Thursday's Asia papers

05 July 2007 02:00  [Source: ICIS news]

Asahi Shimbun, Japan (online edition)

Front page

 

Workers flee scandal-hit pension agency

Workers at the Social Insurance Agency (SIA) are fleeing en masse, many of them tired of dealing with the aftermath of a series of scandals, SIA employment figures show.

Last fiscal year, at least 391 SIA employees left for "personal reasons," almost triple the number who quit in fiscal 2002.

 

Kyuma resigns over A-bomb remark

Defense Minister Fumio Kyuma resigned Tuesday to take responsibility for a remark that basically legitimized the 1945 atomic bombing of Nagasaki--and to limit damage to the ruling coalition in the Upper House election.

The opposition parties were preparing to submit a resolution calling on Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to dismiss Kyuma, but the defense minister didn't give them a chance to follow through with their plan.

 

Business & Industry

 

JVC's 110-inch TV world's largest

Victor of Japan (JVC) is taking orders for its 110-inch rear-projection TV, which it calls the world's largest television.

The HD-110MH80 features about 2.07m pixels, with an HDTV resolution of 1,920 horizontal pixels by 1,080 vertical pixels.

 

Yen hits lowest level since 1985

The yen sank in June to its lowest level against major currencies since the September 1985 Plaza Accord, the Bank of Japan said Tuesday.

In June, the yen's "effective exchange rate" against the currencies of Japan's 15 major trading partners, adjusted for inflation and other economic conditions, was 93.4 on a real basis against the base of 100 in March 1973, the BOJ's preliminary report said.

 

China Daily, China (online edition)

Front page

 

China's economy to grow 10.9% in 2007

China's economy is expected to grow 10.9%  this year after a 10.6%  increase in 2006, a government think tank report said Wednesday, urging further economic cooling measures.

The projected annual growth is supported by strong consumption and high levels of fixed-asset investment, said the State Information Centre, a research arm of the National Reform and Development Commission.

 

Ban slapped on polluting cities, zones

No new industrial projects will be approved in several cities and industrial parks along four major river systems to prevent them from being further contaminated.

Six cities, two counties and five industrial zones were indicted by the State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA) for their role in polluting the Yangtze, Yellow, Huaihe and Haihe rivers.

 

Business & Industry

 

Economist foresees US launching trade sanctions against China

American economist Stephen Roach believes there is a strong chance the United States will impose trade sanctions on China before the end of the year.

"The biggest challenge facing the world economy that I can see is the trade protectionism that is building up between the United States and China," he said in an interview with Xinhua during a visit to Beijing in his new role as chairman of Morgan Stanley's Asia operations.

 

Housing prices far exceed citizens' expectations

According to the latest survey by the China Consumers' Association, the current housing prices far exceed consumers' expectations and most citizens don't think the high prices would fall anytime soon.

The survey was conducted in 218 common residential communities and housing projects in 12 large Chinese cities including Beijing, Shanghai, Chongqing, Dalian, Shenzhen and Hangzhou.

 

Taiwan News, Taiwan (online edition)

Front page

 

Campaign aims to clear names of Sijhih Trio

Several human rights groups yesterday launched a signature campaign aimed at helping to clear the names of three men convicted for the 1991 murder of a couple in Sijhih, Taipei County.’

The three men, known as the "Sijhih Trio," are appealing their case while demanding that 40 judges, who had publicly insisted in July of 1996 that they were guilty, be excluded from the panel of three judges handling their appeal.

 

Taiwan shares close above 9,000 points

Taiwan shares hit a fresh 7-year high yesterday on strength in the construction sector.

The Weighted Price Index of the Taiwan Stock Exchange rose 72.78 points, or 0.8% , to close at 9,068.98 in heavy volume.

 

Business & Industry

 

Chrysler, Chery ink deal to export cars to U.S.

Chrysler Group signed a deal yesterday with China's biggest automaker, Chery, to produce cars for export to the United States in the first attempt by an American automaker to use China as a manufacturing base for world markets.

The first cars will be exported within a year to Latin America or Eastern Europe, and models should reach the United States and Western Europe within 2-1/2 years, said Chrysler Chairman and CEO Tom LaSorda.

 

American Chamber warns Mexico on product piracy

Mexico's competitiveness is being undermined by widespread product piracy, with studies showing the nation continues to have the world's fourth largest market of fraudulent goods, the American Chamber said Tuesday.

About 80%  of DVDs, 70%  of CDs and two-thirds of computer software sold in Mexico violate the nation's intellectual property laws, the association's vice president Larry Rubin said at a news conference.

 

Korea Herald, South Korea (online edition)

Front page

 

Ministry backs down in admissions dispute

The Education Ministry yesterday withdrew its demand that high school records account for 50% of university admissions scores.

The concession was made during a meeting between Education Minister Kim Shin-il and executives of the Korean Council for University Education in Seoul early in the morning.

 

Liberals agree to hold joint primary

Six presidential contenders from various liberal groups yesterday agreed to participate in a joint primary race to nominate a single candidate to stand in the December election.

Six presidential contenders from various liberal groups yesterday agreed to participate in a joint primary race to nominate a single candidate to stand in the December election.

 

Business & Industry

 

Watchdog digs deeper into internet portal operators

The Fair Trade Commission will extend its investigations into internet portal operators, the antitrust watchdog said yesterday. The probe, originally scheduled for completion at the end of last month, will continue through next weekend, it said.

The FTC said that it may expand the scope of the inquiry to include content suppliers and the Korea Internet Corporations Association to verify its findings.

 

Seoul to double overseas aid to $1bn

Korea will nearly double its aid to developing countries to $1bn in 2008 from this year's $600m, Finance Minister Kwon O-kyu said yesterday.

"To meet the demand of developing countries and to scale up reciprocal economic cooperation, we plan to expand the assistance of the Economic Development Cooperation Fund to $1bn a year," Kwon said at an international conference on development aid held in Seoul.

 

Business Standard, India (online edition)

Front page

 

A swig of foreign liquor could still cost heady sum

Scrapping duties on imported liquor to have little impact on prices.

Uncorking that bottle of champagne because the government has reduced duties on spirits? Well, hold the celebrations, dude, because it might turn out to be all song and dance about nothing or, at least, about very little.

 

JM Financial to pick up 60% in ASK Securities

Nimesh Kampani’s JM Financial Services will buy a 60%  stake in domestic institutional brokerage & equity research firm ASK Securities for Indian rupee (Rs)581.4m

($14.39m), barely four months after both the local companies separated from their long-time foreign partners.

JM Financial Services, which split from its seven-year partner Morgan Stanley in February, had given up two key businesses viz., institutional broking & sales & equity research, to the US bank for Rs19.12bn.

 

Economy & Policy

 

Cement firms break word, increase prices

Within four months of giving a commitment to the government that it will hold prices for a year, the cement industry today hiked prices by Indian rupee (Rs)3-5 ($0.07-0.12) per 50 kg bag, an increase of 1.3-2% .

“All cement companies have hiked prices by Rs3-5 in Maharashtra and southern India from today, taking the price per 50 kg bag to Rs270 in Maharashtra and Rs250 in the South. The rains have not affected demand as of now and no price cut is expected this monsoon,” said Sanjay Ladiwala, the president of the Mumbai Cement Stockists and Dealers Association.

 

High bids for wheat import tender

Toepfer, at $317 a tonne, lowest bidder to supply 0.92m tonne wheat

Seven international companies have offered to supply 0.92m tonne wheat to India in the unexpectedly high price range of $317-370 per tonne, said a government official. Toepfer, at $317 a tonne, is the lowest bidder.

 

Business Times, Singapore (print edition)

Front page

 

Treat forecasts of office rents with caution

The URA yesterday said property consultants' projections of office rent hikes - like Savills' projection last week that Singapore office rents could surpass Hong Kong's by end-2008 - should be interpreted with caution.

This is because such forecasts may not have factored in the additional supply of office and business park space that will be generated from latest government initiatives, it said in a statement.

 

S'pore-managed assets swell 24% to $891bn

Singapore's booming asset management industry saw its sixth consecutive year of double-digit growth in 2006, boosted by continuing worldwide interest in Asia's rapid economic expansion, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) said yesterday.

 

Business & Industry

 

Richard Yong's flight from law ends in Hong Kong

Former National Kidney Foundation (NKF) chairman Richard Yong and his wife were arrested in Hong Kong yesterday - just two months after the couple fled Singapore.

Yong, who faced demands to repay the charity a substantial sum, had slipped out of the country on May 17, just a day after he was declared bankrupt.

 

Jetro survey gives high marks to Singapore in IPR protection

The progress Singapore has made in protecting intellectual property rights (IPR) is mirrored in a recent survey, which shows only 17% of 87 Japanese companies polled here have been hit by piracy. And even then, the damage was largely not serious.

Only one of these 15 Japanese companies - manufacturers and distributors - indicated it 'suffered serious damage', according to the survey done in January and February by the Japan External Trade Organisation (Jetro) in Singapore.

 

Bangkok Post, Thailand (online edition)

Front page

 

No Thaksin drama at Man City

Manchester City inisted yesterday that they had complete faith in Thaksin Shinwatra as the new owner of the football club, which is on the verge of hiring former England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson as team manager.

Eriksson took a step closer to signing on as Man City leader after arriving in the city for talks with the club.

 

New budget unveiled

The government officially unveiled its record budget for 2008 on Wednesday, featuring spending of baht (Bt)1,660bn ($52.7bn), a deficit of Bt165bn, and another increase of 24%  in military spending.

The defence ministry will get the biggest increase in spending, with a budget of Bt140bn, representing 8.6% of the budget overall.

 

Business & Industry

 

Bazaar dispute goes to court

The Administrative Court has agreed to hear a case filed by a group of tenants at the Bangkok Bazaar next to Big C Ratchadamri fighting eviction by the Crown Property Bureau. The court had originally declined to hear the suit, viewing that the Crown Property Bureau (CPB) was not within the court's authority.

But the plaintiffs appealed the ruling on June 18, arguing that the CPB did have the status of a state entity under the 1936 Royal Assets Structuring Act.

 

Japanese start looking elsewhere

Japanese investors, the country's largest single group of investors, are looking at other destinations in the region as Thailand becomes less competitive amid rising costs and an appreciating currency, the Japan External Trade Organisation (Jetro) said yesterday.

''When we asked companies what their future plans were, a majority of the companies responded by saying that they would maintain their position as they were applying a wait-and-see approach,'' Jetro president Yoichi Kato said.

 

By: Staff Reporter
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