Latest Asia Business News
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Current account posts $1.95bn deficit
KARACHI: Pakistan ran up a current account deficit of $1.952 billion in 11 months (July-May) of the current fiscal year due to heavy external debt repayments and sluggish growth in remittances' inflows, balance of payments figures issued by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) showed on Monday. The country's current account deficit stood at $3.92 billion during the same months of the last ...
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US shale benefits Asian market
LONDON: Even without a relaxation of the ban on US crude oil exports, the ripples of the shale revolution have already reached Asia.Nowhere is that more obvious than in changes it has forced in the official selling prices Saudi Arabia charges to its customers. More than half of Saudi Arabia's crude exports head to refineries in China and the rest of Asia. Not a single barrel of US shale oil ...
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LNG scam book to be launched
ISLAMABAD: "The proclaimed LNG scam - a treatise in perspective," written by G. A. Sabri, retired secretary petroleum and chairman of the Price Negotiation Committee, will be launched on June 19. In his book, Sabri gives a background of the LNG project and how the LNG dream did not come true. The LNG project was dealt by the Ministry of Ports and Shipping in 2004, before being ...
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Revised Trade Policy by end of July
KARACHI: Dissatisfied with the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) framed trade policy, the PML-N government has initiated seeking input of the business community for the new trade policy, an official said. Azam Muhammad, executive director general (Domestic Commerce), ministry of commerce and industry, said that the new trade policy will be announced by the end of July and would give sufficient focus ...
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Waste firm to be bought for $1.26bn
HONG KONG: Cheung Kong (Holdings) Ltd, controlled by Asia's richest man Li Ka-shing, said it will buy Dutch waste processing firm RAV Water Treatment I B.V. for 943.68 million euros ($1.26 billion), in an overseas expansion drive that has targeted infrastructure assets offering steady recurring income. Li's business empire, which spans property, telecoms, ports and retailing, has been ...
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Govt IPPs closer to deal on late payments
LAHORE: The government and independent power producers (IPPs) are likely to reach a give and take deal to overcome their current payments crisis. An IPP set up under the 2002 power policy is liable to pay liquidated damages to the government if it becomes unavailable for dispatch for any reason - even if its production is stopped because of delay or non-payment of its dues by the government. ...
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KCCI demands budget review
KARACHI: The Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry has asked the federal government to review the budget and repeal measures taken in it which are against trade and industry. The business community on Monday alleged that the Federal Board of Revenue had successfully implemented its past proposals by misguiding the finance minister on key issues. "It is a conspiracy against the present ...
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KSE sheds 325 points on correction
The Karachi Stock Exchange 100-Index on Monday underwent correction for a second consecutive session, shedding 325 points on profit-taking across the board, dealers said. Aqeel Karim Dhedhi, chairman of AKD Group said foreign selling was witnessed in the market during the working session last week, which triggered local selling as well."Local profit-taking is part of the cause of the ...
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Japanese PM Abes true test rising govt bond yields
TOKYO: Abenomics' massive monetary stimulus was supposed to depress long-term interest rates to spur economic activity, but the Japanese government bond market has other ideas. Banks, unable to make money on their Japanese government bonds (JGBs) anymore, have begun sloughing off their holdings, putting upward pressure on yields. Major banks sold off about 11 percent of their holdings in ...
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Karachi ports handle 276074 tons of cargo
The Karachi Port and Port Qasim handled a cargo volume of 276,074 tons in the last 24 hours, which included 187,050 tons of imports and 89,024 tons of exports, the two ports reported on Monday. Accordingly, the Karachi Port handled imports, including containerised cargo (91,329 tons), bulk cargo (6,169 tons), DAP (9,450 tons) and oil / liquid cargo (51,141 tons). It handled exports, including ...
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Cotton spot rate slashed
Karachi The Karachi Cotton Exchange (KCE) revised down its cotton spot (average) rate by Rs50 per maund (37.324 kilograms) to Rs6,400 per maund after the demand for the commodity continued to decline at the local markets, a dealer said on Monday. "The KCE declined its cotton spot rate in line with the downward trend at the local markets," a broker at the KCE said.No trade deals were ...
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Brent steady around $106
Brent crude futures steadied around $106 a barrel on Monday after hitting more than two-month highs in the previous session, as worries over bulging US inventories and soft global demand forecasts offset supply concerns tied to Middle East tensions. The oil market was also cautious ahead of a US Federal Reserve policy committee two-day meeting starting on Tuesday. Investors are eyeing whether ...
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Lafarge to build cities
KARACHI: Lafarge Pakistan, a subsidiary of Lafarge Group, France, launched Building Better Cities(TM), its new corporate positioning along with a new modernised logo at an event yesterday. This is an updated commitment to its communities and customers and will be reflected in all of its internal and external communications.As a major player in the cement industry in Pakistan, Lafarge's ...
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22000 books donated to IoBM
KARACHIl Asia Foundation donated approximately 22,000 books to the IoBM library recently. These books include 7,147 children's books and the rest cover subjects including business management, marketing, social sciences, IT, health management, environment and energy management, advertising and media. The IoBM library organized a book exhibition, in which representatives of Asia Foundation, ...
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Mango export to begin soon
MULTAN: The export of mangoes to different countries from Multan will commence at the arrival of tasty Chuansa in the local market after July 5, said Maj (Retd) Tariq, president of Mango Growers Association Multan.Talking to APP, he urged the government to facilitate mango growers in order to achieve bumper produce and maximum export of mangos. He said that production cost of mangoes increased ...
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UK bank agrees plan to raise $2.4bn
LONDON: The Co-operative Group said on Monday that it had agreed on a plan with Britain's financial regulator to plug a capital shortfall of 1.5 billion pounds ($2.4 billion) at its banking unit.Co-op said that it agreed to generate capital and provide stability for the Co-operative Bank. The plan would generate one billion pounds of new capital this year and 500 million pounds in 2014. ...
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Apple receives data sharing request
CUPERTINO, California: Apple received over the last six months between 4,000 and 5,000 requests for customer data from US law enforcement authorities relating to criminal investigations and national security matters, the company said on Monday.Microsoft and Facebook Inc published similar data last week after reaching a deal about disclosures with US national security authorities. "We have ...
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Nikkei in negative mode
(32 mins ago) Stocks in Tokyo opened 0.14 percent lower as the market waited the US central bank's policy meeting starting later in the day for clues on the future of its stimulus program. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index, which rose 2.7 percent the previous day, was down 17.97 points to 13,015.15 at the ...
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Nikkei rises on track for longest winning run since May 23 selloff
* Nikkei and Topix both up 0.6 pct * Sony rises after hedge fund ups stake, presses spin-off By Dominic Lau TOKYO, June 18 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei rose on Tuesday, heading for a third straight day of gains, which will mark its longest winning run since a sharp selloff on May 23, underpinned by hopes the Federal Reserve will reinforce its commitment to support the U.S. economy. Sony Corp ...
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RBI pauses hints at rate cut in July
MUMBAI: After three consecutive rate cuts in 2013, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) lived up to market expectations of a status-quo in its mid-quarter policy review on Monday, but raised hopes of a rate cut next month with milder statements on inflation. With no change in policy rates, bankers now forecast a dip in loan rates in the July-September quarter supported by a good monsoon. "While ...
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National roaming to get cheaper
the move will result in local calls getting more expensive as a majority of the mobile users will end up cross-subsidizing a small proportion of the user base that uses the roaming facility. Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) on Monday asked telecom companies to offer special vouchers for pre-paid customers, who use roaming facility, besides offering customized tariff plans to ...
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Govt set to ease single-brand norms
NEW DELHI: The government is set to issue fresh guidelines that will clearly stipulate that international chains entering India through the 'single-brand' retail window can use multiple trademarks to sell their goods. Existing guidelines allow products to be sold under "single brand only" and also stipulate that the same brand should be used in markets other than India. The ...
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Australia eyes Buddha and baccarat to lure Chinese tourists
By Jane Wardell SYDNEY, June 18 | Mon Jun 17, 2013 7:19pm EDT SYDNEY, June 18 (Reuters) - Australia's coastal Wyong region outside Sydney, a pretty stretch of pristine beaches and wildlife-filled wetlands, isn't high on the travel agenda of most Chinese tourists. But the local mayor and a Chinese businessman have big plans to change that - by building a A$500 million ($480 ...
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Stocks post gains Monday
U.S. markets posted gains Monday, as economic data looked positive in reports not considered particularly major newsmakers. Trading might prove muted for the first half of the week, as investors wait for the results of a two-day meeting of Open Market Committee at the ...
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Toyota to expand early childhood education centers
FRANKFORT - Toyota announced Monday that it is expanding its early childhood learning academies for parents and caregivers to 12 additional schools and will increase its corporate sponsorship to $1 million. Toyota Motor Manufacturing Kentucky in Georgetown and Toyota Motor Engineering and Manufacturing North America in Erlanger announced last year that they were donating more than $500,000 to ...
Taiwan Focus
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Taiwan investing in biotech sector
Taiwan’s economy has seen massive growth in the last few decades, but one industry has been in decline and a development project by the Academia Sinica is expected to reverse that decline, once environmental issues have been cleared up.
Taiwan is one of the Four Asian Tigers; this little island off the coast of mainland China has experienced rapid development in just a few decades and has become a major hub of manufacturing, high-tech industry, shipping and tourism. Read more
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