In Wednesday's Asia papers

20 August 2008 01:57  [Source: ICIS news]

ASAHI SHIMBUN, Japan

 

Front page

 

Trekkers feared lost in landslide

Two hikers were feared buried in a landslide Tuesday on Mount Shiroumadake here, police said.

 

Business & Industry

 

Cuba can't make import payments

Cuba's national bank is unable to pay its Japanese import bills, the state-backed trade insurer Nippon Export and Investment Insurance (NEXI) has announced.

 

CHINA DAILY, China

 

Front page

 

Russia moves toward pullback but shows strength

Russia took the first steps toward a troop pullback from Georgia Tuesday but at the same time paraded Georgian prisoners on armored vehicles and seized four US Humvees.

 

On-grid energy price hike to take heat off power firms

China raises on-grid electricity tariffs Wednesday, in a move to reduce domestic power producers' losses and help boost supplies.

 

Business & Industry

 

No new updates

 

TAIPEI TIMES, Taiwan

 

Front page

 

Criminalize officials hiding income: DPP

A Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislator proposed amending the Public Functionary Assets Disclosure Law) yesterday to criminalize falsifying property disclosures in the wake of the money-laundering allegations that have engulfed former president Chen Shui-bian.

 

Bad management prolongs Taiwanese nightmare

Taiwan’s baseball team fell to Team USA 4-2 last night, dropping to 1-5 as its Olympic nightmare in Beijing continued. They fell just short in a close game that might have been won with forward-thinking managing.

 

Business & Industry

 

Chen scandal hits TAIEX again

Government officials yesterday urged stock investors not to overreact to the ongoing probe into the former first family over money-laundering allegations, which have wreaked havoc on the local bourse after the scandal came to light last week.

 

China Merchants Bank to open in Taipei and London

China Merchants Bank Co, the biggest bank in southern China, plans to open representative offices in London and Taipei as it speeds up expansion overseas to catch up with bigger rivals.

 

KOREA HERALD, South Korea

 

Front page

 

Parties break deadlock at Assembly

Ending a stalemate in the National Assembly that lasted more than 80 days, rival parties struck a deal yesterday to form standing parliamentary committees.

 

GNP picks leaders for Assembly panels

The ruling Grand National Party finalized the list of candidates to chair 11 standing parliamentary committees at a meeting of party legislators yesterday.

 

Business & Industry

 

Corporate debt ballooning

The debt ratios at the nation's conglomerates increased sharply during the past year, fueling concerns that they may face a growing financial burden amid the surging interest rates.

 

3.78 credit cards per head

An average Korean has 3.78 plastic cards, which is two or three times higher than the comparable figure in Europe, a report showed yesterday.

 

NEW STRAITS TIMES, Malaysia

 

Front page

 

ACA probes yet another top Sabah politician

The probe into the 48-year-old politician's dealings began after the Sabah ACA received 23 reports from a branch leader of a political party last month.

 

One year on — and her killer still walks among us: Nurin’s family suing police

A month later, the sexually ravaged body of the eight-year-old was found in a sports bag outside a shoplot in PJS 1, Petaling Jaya.

 

Business & Industry

 

YTL Corp nets lower profit in Q4

MALAYSIA'S largest builder and power group YTL Corp Bhd's net profit for its final quarter to June 30 2008 fell 35.5 per cent to RM231.5 million from RM359.4 million in the same period last year.

 

CIMB to arrange S$1b Islamic bond issue for City Dev

CIMB Group has won the mandate to arrange a S$1 billion (RM2.36 billion) Islamic bond issue for Singapore-listed property developer, City Developments Ltd (CDL).

 

BUSINESS TIMES, Singapore

 

Front page

 

Echoes of lost decade haunt Japan again

IN an attempt to shore up crumbling confidence, Bank of Japan (BOJ) governor Masaaki Shirakawa claimed yesterday that the world's second largest economy is not in immediate danger of recession or stagflation. But the Tokyo stock market was not reassured and the Nikkei 225 average plummeted 349.02 points or 2.7 per cent to 12,816.02 after the BOJ downgraded its official view of short-term prospects for the economy.

 

Transitional office sites seek niche as market cools

Sentiment in the Singapore office investment market is worsening, but Urban Redevelopment Authority yesterday rolled out another 15-year leasehold transitional office site as scheduled, this time in the pubbing district of Mohamed Sultan Road.

 

Business & Industry

 

More land, buildings for foreign schools

THE government wants more foreign schools in Singapore to provide places for children of the growing number of expatriates moving here to work.

 

Contribution rates for Mendaki fund to be revised

REVISED contribution rates could help the Mosque Building and Mendaki Fund (MBMF) secure an additional $2.9 million a year to support more programmes in the Muslim-Malay community.

 

BANGKOK POST, Thailand

 

Front page

 

No new updates

 

Business & Industry

 

No new updates

 

JAKARTA POST, Indonesia

 

Front page

 

Suicide attack at Algerian police academy kills 43

In Algeria's deadliest terrorist attack since the 1990s, a suicide bomber rammed a car full of explosives into a line of applicants waiting to register at a police academy, killing at least 43 people and injuring 45, officials said.

 

Business & Industry

 

No new updates

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Author: Staff Reporter
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