In Thursday's Asia papers

11 June 2009 02:00  [Source: ICIS news]

ASAHI SHIMBUN, Japan

Front page

Aso: CO2 emissions to be cut 15% by 2020
Prime Minister Taro Aso announced plans Wednesday to cut the nation's greenhouse gas emissions by 15 percent from 2005 levels by 2020.

Minshuto panel slams prosecutors
A third-party committee appointed by Minshuto (Democratic Party of Japan) to examine the Nishimatsu political donation scandal has attacked prosecutors for making "fairly unreasonable" arguments.

Business & Industry

No new updates.

CHINA DAILY, China

Front page

Ma's move paves way to meet Hu
The prospects of the highest-level talks between the mainland and Taiwan for the first time since 1949 soared Wednesday with Ma Ying-jeou set to become the chairman of the KMT.

IPO norms favor small investors
China's securities regulator Wednesday revised the draft rule on its new IPO mechanism in a bid to improve market fairness and better protect small investors.

Business & Industry

Consumer prices fall for 4th month
Chinese prices fell in May for a fourth month as food and energy costs declined from last year's high levels, data showed Wednesday, giving the government a freer hand to carry out its huge stimulus plan.

$88m subsidies for energy-saving bulbs
China's top economic planner, unveiled a plan Wednesday to promote the use of 120 million compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) this year, an effort aimed to boost consumption while saving energy.

TAIPEI TIMES, Taiwan

Front page

Wu bows out as Ma runs for KMT chair
President Ma Ying-jeou announced yesterday he would run in the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairman election on July 26 to push for closer cooperation between the government and the party.

Palau to accept Uighur detainees
The tropical Pacific island nation of Palau announced yesterday it will accept up to 17 Chinese Muslims who have languished in legal limbo at Guantanamo Bay despite a Pentagon determination that they are not “enemy combatants.”

Business & Industry

AU Optronics expects rise in shipments
AU Optronics Co, the world’s No. 3 liquid-­crystal-­display (LCD) panel maker, said yesterday computer and TV panel shipments could grow at a faster-than-­expected pace this quarter on swift rebound and lead to supply constraint and further price increases through the third quarter.

Citibank trims Taiwan’s GDP forecast by 1.2%
Citibank Taiwan Ltd yesterday trimmed its GDP forecast for Taiwan to a contraction of 4.4 percent this year from a previous estimate of a 3.2 percent contraction on worse-than-expected exports in the first half of this year

KOREA HERALD, South Korea

Front page

Gaeseong park at a crossroads
The long-awaited inter-Korean talks at the North Korean border city of Gaeseong today are expected to be a watershed for the future of the joint industrial park there.

Prepare for collapse of N. Korea: analyst
Washington must be prepared to play a direct role in dealing with a possible collapse of the North Korean dictatorship, a senior analyst at a U.S. think tank said in a recent report.

Business & Industry

Ssangyong racing toward a deeper crisis
The situation at Ssangyong Motor Co. is reaching a critical point as union members continue their occupation of the troubled automaker's plant in Pyeongtaek, south of Seoul.

'Balance of interests key to FTA with N.Z.'
Maintaining balanced interests is important while developing the free trade deal between Korea and New Zealand, the country's top trade official said yesterday.

NEW STRAITS TIMES, Malaysia http://www.nst.com.my/

Front page

Tourism boost seen with new Firefly service
Tere-ngganu expects more tourists from Singapore now that budget airline Firefly had added the Kuala Terengganu-Singapore route to its network.

MB sees world-class status for conservation centre
The Perak government wants to transform the wildlife centre here -- currently the habitat of pheasants, deer and seladang -- into a world-class conservation centre.

Business & Industry

Plugging the palm oil leak
Malaysia plans to step up enforcement against oil palm seed scams and theft of palm fruits and oil, which are costing the country billions in lost revenues.

Support for Asian rating agency proposal
The idea for Asia to have its own international rating agency drew warm welcome from industry players who think that it could be worth pursuing.

BUSINESS TIMES, Singapore

Front page

BOK holds rates for 4th mth
South Korea's central bank on Thursday held interest rates steady for a fourth consecutive month at a record low of 2.00 per cent, as expected, judging its past rate cuts would be enough to revive the economy.

Goldman CEO Blankfein sees long recession
Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein said on Wednesday he believed a current upturn in world markets was probably not a full recovery from crisis and said he expected a further long recession.

Business & Industry

ECB fears bank crisis in 2010
The European Central Bank (ECB) fears another banking crisis in 2010 if the recession drags on, said ECB financial stability expert Dejan Krusec on Wednesday, cited on the website of the Daily Telegraph.

Update: Nikkei breaks 10,000 to hit 8-mth high
Japan's Nikkei stock average edged up 0.2 per cent on Thursday, breaking above the psychologically important 10,000 level for the first time in eight months as steel and bank shares gained.

BANGKOK POST, Thailand

Front page

Flu cancels classes
The slowly building influenza infections forced a school to shut down, after a student was diagnosed with A(H1N1) and 13 classmates showed flu symptoms.

Hazing seniors suspended
Seventy-five senior university students accused of taking part in a brutal hazing of first-year students face a one-year suspension.

Business & Industry

Abhisit sees slow recovery
The prime ministers figures the economy will contract until the third quarter of this year but then grow one or two per cent during 2010.

Chrysler, Fiat finalize alliance
Chrysler and Fiat announced Wednesday they have finalized a global strategic alliance.

JAKARTA POST, Indonesia

Front page

US plans no more federal money for GM, Chrysler
President Barack Obama's auto task force is telling skeptical lawmakers his government has no plans to pump more dollars into General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC, and the public has a "reasonable probability" of getting its money back.

By: Staff Reporter
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