Asia-Pacific

SOUTH KOREA     Chung: Convicted but free to go. Chung Mong-koo, chairman of Hyundai Motor, is too important to South Korea’s economy to go to jail, despite being convicted of embezzlement and breach of trust, an appeals court ruled ...

COMPANY TO WATCH: LARSEN & TOUBRO/INDIA Engineering and construction conglomerate Larsen & Toubro, one of India’s largest listed companies, has evolved into a multinational corporation with offices in 30 countries, a growing order book in the Middle East, and manufacturing ...

CHINA     On the rise: China's rule changes have boosted Hong Kong's markets. China has further relaxed constraints on the investment industry, saying it will, for the first time, allow private citizens to invest individually in the Hong Kong ...

ANALYSIS / INFRASTRUCTURE FUNDING Many Asian countries desperately need to upgrade their infrastructure while cash-rich private equity funds are scouring the region for long-term investments. Is this a match made in heaven?   Nag: We can only meet a small ...

COUNTRY REPORT / PHILIPPINES     Schleimer: The Clean Air Act could be used to regulate greenhouse gases With the May general election safely behind it, the Philippine government hopes to use the next three years of relative political quietude ...

INDIA     Organized retail is growing in India. India’s economic growth continues apace. For the April-June 2007 quarter, which is the first for the Indian fiscal year, GDP growth was 9.3%—up marginally from the previous quarter’s growth, which came ...

CHINA       Feeling the squeeze: Chinas shoppers face swiftly growing prices. China’s central bank increased reserve requirements for the seventh time this year in September in a losing battle to control the growth in bank credit. Outstanding loans ...

China     Cost concerns: Rising food prices are fueling inflation. Investors anxious about overheating in the Chinese market had more cause for concern this month as China’s National Bureau of Statistics revealed that consumer prices rose by 5.6%, year ...

JAPAN     Toyota: Top holding in new ETF.   Tokyo-based Daiwa Asset Management will create an exchange-traded fund based on the newly formed FTSE Shariah Japan 100 index. The ETF, which will be listed on the Singapore Exchange in ...

India     On track: Delhis new subway trains. The metro railway authority in New Delhi placed a record order for 340 subway coaches with Bombardier Transportation, Montreal-based Bombardier’s Indian subsidiary. Worth $590 million, the order is the largest ever ...

Company to watch: china boqi environmental solutions technology / china     Based in Beijing, one of the world’s most polluted cities, China Boqi Environmental Solutions Technology has plenty of work to do. “Environmental protection is a big task as ...

China     China will further open its financial sector following the second Strategic Economic Dialogue in Washington, DC, in May. As a result of the meeting, China will ease restrictions on foreign securities firms, allow foreign banks to issue ...

Company to watch: china mobile/china     Hong Kong-based China Mobile is the largest mobile telecom services provider in China, with more than 300 million subscribers and a market share of 67.5%. In June the company placed a $1 billion ...

Country Report / Malaysia   With the South Johor development region opening up and the banking market on the verge of full liberalization, Malaysia presents growing opportunities for investment.     Malaysia's capital, Kuala Lumpur After decades of being wary ...

Global equity/drs     China-based manufacturers of products that convert the sun’s rays to electricity are raising growing sums of money on Wall Street to expand their production facilities to meet expanding demand for alternative energy in the face of ...

India     Up, up and away: Air India's fundraising spree finances expansion of its fleet Air India, which is owned by the Indian government and is also the largest Indian air carrier, has begun the process to raise $1.5 ...

INDIA     Winds of change: The Indian rupee rises against the dollar The Indian rupee gained nearly 7% over a nine-week period culminating in the second week of May in a nine-year high against the US dollar on increasing ...

CHINA     Kiani Kertas pulp mill in Indonesia Bankrolled by an injection of capital from the Chinese government, which enabled them to write off non-performing loans (NPLs), as well as fresh investment from foreign stakeholders, China’s leading commercial banks ...

CHINA     Eureka: New oil and gas deposits in China China’s stock market is again breaking records, with the Shanghai Composite Index surging past the 4,000-point milestone for the first time on May 9. Stock fluctuations early this year ...