In Wednesday's Asia papers

19 November 2008 01:00  [Source: ICIS news]

ASAHI SHIMBUN, Japan

 

Front page

 

Ex-vice minister, wife slain

The homes of two retired top health ministry bureaucrats were invaded Tuesday, leaving two people dead and one seriously wounded.

 

Business & Industry

 

6 top bank groups post sharp drops

Japan's six major banking groups posted sharp declines in their net profits in the first half of this fiscal year.

 

CHINA DAILY, China

 

Front page

 

Food safety procedures tightened

The government unveiled on Tuesday major initiatives to ensure that imports, exports and domestic consumption of food conform to the highest standards.

 

Fuel tax 'to be levied soon as timing is right'

The government is likely to levy fuel tax soon while rolling back road tolls and maintenance taxes, a senior researcher close to energy policy makers said Tuesday.

 

Business & Industry

 

Economic downturn makes job seekers lower outlook

Layoffs and a shrinking job market have forced fresh graduates to lower their expectations of finding good jobs, some visitors to a national job fair said Tuesday.

 

TAIPEI TIMES, Taiwan

 

Front page

 

Vouchers to be issued by government

Lawmakers will write a special law for the program as borrowing the funds will conflict with Article 23 of the Budget Law and Article 4 of the Public Debt Act

 

Journalists urge police to stop asking for photographs

The Association of Taiwan Journalists (ATJ) demanded yesterday that the National Police Agency (NPA) stop pressuring photojournalists to help find potential suspects in the rallies that ensued during a controversial visit made by Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait Chairman Chen Yun-lin earlier this month.

 

Business & Industry

 

More stimulus needed: analysts

Economists said the success of a planned distribution of consumer vouchers would depend on economic figures to be released tomorrow

 

Small businesses say they prefer cash to vouchers

Small independently owned businesses — some of which do not have business registration certificates — said yesterday that they wished the government would give out cash instead of consumption vouchers so that they too could benefit from the policy.

 

KOREA HERALD, South Korea

 

Front page

 

Shipbuilders brace for stormy seas

The tide of restructuring that began on Wall Street has reached shipyards in Korea, which had been enjoying an unprecedented boom for the past years.

 

Lee urges steps to lower lending rates

President Lee Myung-bak instructed financial authorities yesterday to take steps to help lower lending rates at commercial banks to relieve the financial burden of households and smaller companies.

 

Business & Industry

 

No new updates

 

NEW STRAITS TIMES, Malaysia

 

Front page

 

Cruise along PLUS highway after midnight for 10 per cent discount

PLUS Expressways Bhd agreed to reduce toll rates for its PLUS and Elite highways by 10 per cent -- but only for travel between midnight and 7am from Jan 1 for two years.

 

Govt revamps water services to prevent crisis

The Federal Government has restructured the country's water services industry to ensure water crises do not occur in future, said Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

 

Business & Industry 

 

Eagle eyes on govt prime land

Property companies will have to wait a bit longer to get their hands on the government's prime land in the Klang Valley as details are being finalised by the Economic Planning Unit (EPU).

 

Automotive policy needs overhaul: Observers

The country's automotive policy should be overhauled to ensure a fairer and more open industry for both Malaysian and foreign players, industry watchers said.

 

BUSINESS TIMES, Singapore

 

Front page

 

Nikkei edges down as global recession fears weigh

Japan's Nikkei share average edged down 0.2 per cent on Wednesday as fears of global recession outweighed a positive impact from overnight gains in US shares.

 

NOL to cut jobs, profit outlook grim

Singapore's Neptune Orient Lines will axe 1,000 jobs as part of moves to save US$200 million in costs next year to help ride out an expected severe downturn in the shipping sector, the company said on Wednesday.

 

Business & Industry

 

Budget deficit to overshoot estimates

The government is likely to end the current fiscal year with a budget deficit of more than three times the $800 million first projected, as it has stepped up spending to shield the economy from the global downturn that has pushed Singapore into recession.

 

Pirates hijack vessel with US$100m oil cargo

Pirates captured a Saudi-owned supertanker loaded with more than US$100 million worth of crude oil off the coast of Kenya, seizing the largest ship ever hijacked, US Navy officials said on Monday.

 

BANGKOK POST, Thailand

 

Front page

 

Tax breaks may be extended

The Finance Ministry will propose extending tax breaks for the property sector until March 2010 to bolster the economy.

 

Puea Thai chief set to step aside Suchart 'preparing for PPP to be disbanded'

Suchart Thada-Thamrongvech will step down as Puea Thai party leader to prepare for the dissolution of the People Power party (PPP) and a new election, sources said yesterday.

 

Business & Industry

 

No new updates

 

JAKARTA POST, Indonesia

 

Front page

 

Rupiah tips 10-year low before BI intervenes

The rupiah bounced back from its weakest level in 10 years on Tuesday as demand for the corporate sector to pay off any year-end overseas obligations begins to build.

 

Aburizal to sue ‘Tempo’ for defamation

Rather than make use of the press law to settle a dispute with Tempo magazine, chief welfare minister Aburizal Bakrie has chosen to file criminal charges against the magazine for allegedly defaming him.

 

Business & Industry

 

Minister defends expansion of oil palm plantations

Agriculture Minister Anton Apriyantono on Tuesday defended Indonesia’s drive to expand oil palm plantations, despite a demand by environmentalists for a moratorium on deforestation.

By: Staff Reporter
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