Asia-Pacific

STARS OF CHINA Over the past decade, China’s government has been working on an ambitious plan to improve the health, transparency and effectiveness of its country’s sprawling banking system. Weighed down with bad loans, mired in bureaucracy and often plagued ...

INDIA     Satyam: Facing disaster When Satyam Computers’ founder, chairman & CEO Ramalinga Raju revealed the depth of the accounting fraud he had perpetuated for more than a decade, investors were left with more questions than answers, particularly about ...

CHINA       Bank of China: Foreign investors cashing in stakes   China will offer tax cuts and subsidies to spur its steel and automotive industries, the country’s State Council announced on January 14. The government will limit expansion ...

ASIA-PACIFIC     Asia looks to cash in on its emerging Islamic financial center status. The Asia-Pacific region already accounts for 60% of the world’s Islamic banking assets and could be a center of growth for the shariah-compliant finance industry ...

  Policymakers in Taiwan are pulling out all the stops in their response to the global economic slump.     Taiwan's president Ma Ying-jeou: Promoting better relations with China.   Taiwan is an economic success story. The island, despite political ...

UNILEVER CLEANS UP ACT OVER PALM OIL     Unilever Indonesia recently opened a factory for skin-care products in Cikarang, West Java. The factory joins seven others operated by Unilever in the country, where Lever Brothers opened a soap factory ...

China     Treasury secretary Paulson and Chinese president Hu vow to fight protectionism. China has increased export tax rebates and depreciated the value of the yuan relative to the US dollar in recent weeks, prompting fears that protectionist pressures ...

INDIA     Building hope: One of the few brights spots in the Indian economy, real estate still attracts investors. Leading Indian manufacturers have dismissed the Indian government’s $4 billion stimulus package as insufficient. The Federation of Indian Chambers of ...

CHINA AND INDIA As the global economy continues to struggle, many are hoping China and India will save the world from a synchronized dive into recession.     Growth industry: India's call center business is flourishing. As the United States ...

INDIA     Boom from bust: State Bank of India is taking on more staff as business builds strongly. India’s job market appears to have escaped unscathed in the global wave of retrenchment. There were concerns that the outsourcing industry ...

JAPAN     Japanese PM Taro Aso lends a hand in economic recovery. Japanese prime minister Taro Aso may have had his 15 minutes of fame at the Group of 20 summit meeting in Washington last month. With the United ...

TREASURY MANAGEMENT: ASIA Facing a unique set of challenges, treasurers in Asia-Pacific are focusing on improving liquidity management.     Newton: Organizations placing investment want to know exactly where it is being invested. It is a tough time for corporates ...

CHINA     Chinese authorities in infrastructure spending spree to stimulate economy. China will spend 4 trillion yuan ($586 billion) over the next two years on infrastructure and social welfare projects, the country’s State Council announced on November 9. Policymakers ...

ASIA Asia’s emerging markets could not avoid the fallout from the credit crunch, but they stand a good chance of emerging stronger than ever as the dust settles.   The 21st century has been good to most emerging economies so ...

CHINA     Keeping busy: China's policymakers are moving fast to maintain domestic economic activity as global growth ebbs. Following years of double-digit growth in its gross domestic product, China’s economic growth came in at a weaker-than-expected 9% in the ...

CHINA       China's exporters are feeling the effects of a global economic slowdown. China’s central bank released three surveys—of banks, consumers and companies—in late September reflecting falling confidence in the country’s economy. According to the survey of companies, ...

INDIA       Kingfisher Airlines joins forces with Jet Airways in an effort to cut costs as losses force unprecedented cooperation. Steep losses are forcing a flurry of consolidation in India’s airline industry. With combined losses this year alone ...

INDIA       Nano, no? Protests in West Bengal may derail Tata's plans to build the world's cheapest car. According to a survey by consultant KPMG, India’s companies are among the world’s most aggressive in buying companies based in ...

  AZERBAIJAN       Azerbaijan's pro-business president, Ilham Aliyev. The regulatory reform movement that has been thriving in Central and Eastern Europe in recent years is spreading eastward into Central Asia, with Azerbaijan taking the title of the world’s ...

CHINA     Slowdown: Automakers are seeing sales growth tail off in China. China’s consumer price index (CPI) grew by only 4.9% in August, its mildest pace in more than a year, and export growth slowed to 21%, according to ...