Asia-Pacific

MILESTONES: BURMA   By Thomas Clouse   Suu kyi: Free at last Burma held its first election in two decades in early November. The winners of the election will take control of the government from the military, which has ruled ...

ROUNDUP   By Aaron Chaze   The other black gold: Coal India sparks investor frenzy Coal India, the world's largest coal mining company and one of the Indian government's mega disinvestments, became the largest IPO ever in India and one ...

MILESTONES: AZERBAIJAN   By Justin Keay   Baku: Enjoying the fruits of Azerbaijan's mineral wealth Azerbaijan's parliamentary elections in early November ended in controversy, with critics claiming the opposition parties were prevented from being able to properly challenge Yeni Azerbaijan, ...

ROUNDUP   By Thomas Clouse   Liu: China was furious over his Nobel Prize China's trade surplus fell to a five month low of $16.9 billion in September. Down almost 16% from August the figure reflected slower year-on-year growth rates ...

China's trade deficit with the US rose to another record in August, fanning the brush fires that have broken out in the currency markets. Currency issues dominated talks at the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank ...

MILESTONES: TAIWAN   By Thomas Clouse   On the rise: Taipei prices Taiwan's export orders hit a record high of $34.9 billion in August, up 23.3% year on year, according to the Ministry of Economic Affairs, with orders for IT ...

ROUNDUP   By Aaron Chaze   Mining a rich seam: Coal India lines up India’s largest IPO India's financial markets regulator, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), says it will soon allow the auction of Indian government bonds ...

ANNUAL REPORT: GENTLY DOES IT.   By Thomas Clouse   China's rapid recovery after the global financial crisis may yet foreshadow a hard landing as the government struggles to rein in the perennially red-hot real estate market.     Real ...

NEWSMAKERS: JAPAN   By Thomas Clouse   Ozawa: Failed to unseat Japan’s prime minister Japanese prime minister Naoto Kan retained leadership of his political party and the country after political powerbroker Ichiro Ozawa unsuccessfully challenged him for his position in ...

REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT   By Denise Bedell   Corporates are demanding increasingly sophisticated cash and trade solutions within Asia. Those banks that want to stay competitive must step up their game.   Asia is a key growth area for transaction banking ...

Investor: DR News   By Gordon Platt   Shandong Luoxin Pharmacy Stock Company has become the first China-based firm to trade American depositary receipts (ADRs) on the over-the-counter market’s premier platform, OTCQX International. Based in Linyi City in the eastern ...

South Korea   By Thomas Clouse   Lee Seongtae: Kept a steady hand on tiller during crisis Few economies have proven as resilient over the past 18 months as that of South Korea. In the wake of Lehman Brothers' collapse, ...

EM REGIONAL BANKING FOCUS: ASIA   By Michael Shari   A consistent focus on traditional-style banking has enabled Asia's financial giants to emerge from the recent crisis in fine fettle.   On any given day at Shanghai Pudong International Airport, ...

Roundup   By Thomas Clouse   Old properties gain new protection from land appropriation China's central bank in February raised the required proportion of deposits banks must hold in reserve for the second time this year. China is taking steps ...

ROUNDUP   By Aaron Chaze   With its fifth rate rise of the year India's central bank, the Reserve Bank of India, launched another attack on inflation last month. The bank upped its key rate to 6.0% from 5.75% in ...

MILESTONES: GLOBAL By Anita Hawser   Hong Kong: One of the world’s top-three finance centers London and New York can rest easy. Despite the Dodd-Frank Act and other regulatory measures that threaten to split up banks, curb bankers' bonuses and ...

EMERGING MARKETS INVESTOR: NEWS   By Gordon Platt   India's equity market indices have gained more than 80% since early 2009, but the market lacks depth and breadth, with a high concentration of trading in a few top companies, according ...

Roundup   By Aaron Chaze   On the move: Car sales jumped significantly in India Auto sales in India increased sharply over the past year, with the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers claiming sales have jumped by 50% since January ...

ROUNDUP   By Thomas Clouse   The real deal: Insurers now have the chance to invest China's most recent economic figures show policymakers' efforts to reign in the property market without derailing the country's economic recovery are achieving mixed results. ...

ANALYSIS — ASIA'S EXPORTERS   By Thomas Clouse   Asia’s exporters are all benefiting as China’s manufacturers begin to move up the value chain.   The Asian economic miracle is hardly a new story, but every once in a while, ...