Asia-Pacific

  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 ...

ECONOMIC UPDATE / CHINA As the dust settles after the Olympic games, China is facing a less certain economic future.     Relentless progress: Construction work in Beijing's booming central business district. China opened the 29th Olympic games on August ...

COMPANY TO WATCH: INFOSYS TECHNOLOGIES/INDIA Infosys Technologies, India’s second-largest IT services provider, announced a $755 million cash deal to buy UK-based Axon, which advises companies on installing business software created by SAP of Germany. If the transaction is completed, it ...

CHINA’S AUTO MARKET REMAINS IN FAST LANE COMPANY TO WATCH     China’s love affair with the automobile shows no sign of cooling. The world’s most populous country is also the fastest-growing new-car market, with sales increasing at a rate ...

China opened the 29th Olympic Summer Games in Beijing on August 8 with a ceremony incorporating 15,000 performers and 29,000 fireworks shells and attended by US president George Bush, French president Nicolas Sarkozy and other world leaders. China spent a ...