Business Asia articles from December 1999

Business Asia archives from December 1999

A year to remember for Chinese leader.
December 13, 1999... Chinese leader Jiang Zemin moved nearer to joining Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping among China's Communist Party greats when his portrait was carried alongside theirs for the first time in a recent Chinese national day celebration. The...

Fresh format for Business Asia in 2000.(Brief Article)
December 13, 1999... Just as the 21st Century will usher in significant changes across Asia, Business Asia will pursue a significant new path in the new millennium. From June 2000, the magazine will convert from its fortnightly format to a monthly magazine --...

Banks seek buffer against new crises.
December 13, 1999... Asian countries have undergone sufficient financial reforms to underpin growth in the new millennium, but more changes are yet to come as governments seek to protect themselves from the huge financial risks of further crises, a new report has...

News: In brief.(Brief Article)
December 13, 1999... * Jakarta -- The Asian Development Bank has agreed to provide technical assistance worth US$1 million to the Indonesian government to eradicate corruption in fiscal 2000-2001. The technical assistance, to be disbursed from March next year,...

ASIA FACT FILE.(Brief Article)
December 13, 1999... Literacy pursuits In this week's Fact File, we look at literacy rates for males and females in the Asia-Pacific region. All figure are from 1998. AUSTRALIA Female 100 Male 100 CHINA Female 73...

Chan puts Sydney on notice.(Brief Article)
December 13, 1999... Hong Kong chief secretary Anson Chan has thrown out a challenge to Australia in the race to become a finance hub of the Asia-Pacific region, declaring the special administrative region aims to build its stock market into one of the top five in...

Asia braces for impact of Exxon, Mobil link.
December 13, 1999... Asia's oil sector is preparing itself for the impact of Exxon's multi-billion dollar merger with Mobil, analysts and industry sources say. The United States government this month approved Exxon Corp's US$82 billion purchase of its rival...

Way open for trade bloc.(Brief Article)
December 13, 1999... East Asia's vision for a common market and unified currency is perhaps half a century away, but a weekend summit which discussed the issue signals the potential emergence of a powerful new bloc, analysts say. China, Japan, South Korea and...

UMNO takes stock after election tremor.(Brief Article)
December 13, 1999... Malaysia's ruling coalition this month took a sober look at elections which extended Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamed's 18-year rule but strengthened Islamic fundamentalists in the Malay heartland. Mahathir's 14-party Barisan Nasional (BN)...

E-crime risks grow in region.
December 13, 1999... In the Internet industry, risk is unlimited. For example, the range of activities that can be considered as "computer misuse" has been expanding in Singapore and Australia. Incidences of employee fraud, false accounting, insider...

Chinese overhaul university logistics.
December 13, 1999... Beijing has started to reform logistics services in its universities, aiming to set up a market-oriented service network in three years that will satisfy the needs of the higher education institutes in the capital city. The reform aims to...

DHL plans new cut-off.(Brief Article)
December 13, 1999... Logistics giant DHL is planning earlier cut-offs for deliveries to Asia. The express freight company DHL is preparing to offer Australian shippers improved next-day delivery. The company says that following three weeks of trials, it...

Warning: Don't snub logistics.(Brief Article)
December 13, 1999... Companies wanting a slice of the ballooning electronic commerce market cannot ignore logistics, according to industry giant United Parcel Service. Ross McCullogh, UPS e-commerce vice-president, told the Internet World Asia@Hong Kong '99...

Asia, US economies spur air cargo growth.(Brief Article)
December 13, 1999... Buoyant Asian economies and an unstoppable United States economy may be boosting the air cargo market more than Y2K-related orders for new computer equipment, industry players say. An expected one-off bonanza from equipment orders linked to...

Logistics in Asia: In brief.(Brief Article)
December 13, 1999... * Singapore -- Riding on Asia's economic recovery, Singapore will see improved logistics investments this year compared with 1998, an Economic Development Board (EDB) official says. "Last year, it (logistics) was under pressure. It will be a...

Hierarchical work force doesn't stack up.(Brief Article)
December 13, 1999... A need to stay competitive is forcing Japanese companies to abandon rigid management and work structures, a leading management consultant says. Proteus Solutions' managing director Tricia Sneddon said Japanese companies "have to change"...

Pipers Brook claims top honour.(Brief Article)
December 13, 1999... Tasmanian winery Pipers Brook Vineyard has beaten out bigger rivals to be named the 1999 DHL Australian Exporter of the Year at this year's Australian Export Awards. Pipers Brook also won the Commonwealth Bank Small to Medium Manufacturer...

A who's who of exporters.(Brief Article)
December 13, 1999... Following are profiles of the 1999 Australian Export Award winners. DHL Australian Exporter of the Year/ Commonwealth Bank SME Manufacturer Award Pipers Brook Vineyard Ltd is Tasmania's largest wine producer and a leading exporter of...

Manila expats to cut deficit.
December 13, 1999... The Philippines, famous for exporting its workers to all corners of the globe, has come up with a new way to tap into their earning power -- it's selling them bonds. With the 3 million Filipinos who work abroad as nurses, construction...

Wescobee has sweet trade win in region.(Brief Article)
December 13, 1999... Wescobee Honey has had many export triumphs with its quality certified products, but possibly the sweetest of these has been its success in China. The company broke into the Chinese market in 1995 with the sale of more than A$41,000 of its...

Japanese banks pick up the pace.
December 13, 1999... Asia's banking sector still faces major hurdles in 2000. Citigroup chairman SANDY WEILL comments on some likely trends and explains his bank's strategy for Japan and Australia Q: Asia has rebounded strongly from its financial crisis, but do...

Health, IT services on common ground.
December 13, 1999... Asia's health systems are in for fine-tuning in 2000. DAVID BURTON(*) comments Health and information technologies are expected to be strong performers within Asia in 2000 and beyond. The recent Asian economic downfall has provided...

Japan heads on-line to shop for books.
December 13, 1999... Like most Japanese salarymen, Tatsuya Ueno likes nothing better than forgetting a long day at work by browsing at his favourite bookstore. What makes the 33-year-old computer company employee different is that he sneaks a peek at the...

Korean construction to pick up in 2000.(Brief Article)
December 13, 1999... * Seoul - South Korea's domestic construction market is expected to grow 1.5 per cent next year to a total value of 78.6 trillion won (US$67.8 billion), the Construction and Economy Research Institute of Korea said. New construction contracts...

China opens coal market.(Brief Article)
December 13, 1999... Australia's coal exporters will benefit from moves by China to liberalise its coal sector, a new ABARE report has found. The report, "Supplying Coal to South East China: Impacts of China's Market Liberalisation", found China could import...

Is Mr Yen the right man for the IMF?(Brief Article)
December 13, 1999... Japan's former vice-minister for finance Eisuke Sakakibara, dubbed Mr Yen, has been touted as a candidate to become the next chief of the IMF. David DeRosa(*) has some reservations Somebody please wake me up. I must be having a nightmare...

ASIAWATCH.(Brief Article)
December 13, 1999... Latest news from the region * China China foreign investment inflows are likely to fall about US$10 billion this year as companies divert funds to many of the country's Asian neighbours, Premier Zhu Rongji said. * Hong Kong ...

A political minefield.(Statistical Data Included)(Brief Article)
December 13, 1999... Asia's fragile economic recovery is further complicated by the region's delicate political conundrum Much of the regional drama of the past couple of years has focussed on the Asian economic crisis, the immediate political consequence of...

Well ahead of the pack.(Australia's economic condition)(Brief Article)
December 13, 1999... Buoyed by a strong finance sector and the Olympic Games, Australia enters the new millennium full of running Australia can enter the new millennium with feelings of optimism and excitement. Not only will Australia be one of the first...

GO FIGURE.(Asia-Pacific nation statistics)
December 13, 1999... Following are some significant numbers or statistics relating to Asia-Pacific nations. 7.2 Percentage wage inflation in Singapore (1997) - putting it well below Bulgaria's 910 per cent. 1,394,000,000 China's projected population for...

Selling WTO a tough job.(Brief Article)
December 13, 1999... China's entry into the WTO Is not good news for everyone: namely millions of workers In inefficient industries First, the good news: China's long-awaited entry into the World Trade Organisation (WTO) is but a formality. But while the...

50th anniversary ushes in change.(China's anniversary)
December 13, 1999... China has received increasing public attention since the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Peoples' Republic. This is an industrious nation -- shifting with incredible speed from an agrarian economy to a complex modern economy,...

Mighty mouse will roar.(Hong Kong economic condition)
December 13, 1999... China is finally poised to Join the World Trade Organisation. And the winner Is... Hong Kong Mickey and Minnie Mouse may be heading for Hong Kong courtesy of a deal with Walt Disney, but it seems everyone else is on a fast track to China....

Keep an eye on ...(Asian business leaders)(Brief Article)
December 13, 1999... Eisuke Sakakibara, Japan (Keio University, Salomon Smith Barney) "Mr Yen" has been touted ill Japan as the next head of the International Monetary Fund. Sakakibara controlled Japan's currency markets before leaving his post in July....

The good, bad and the ugly.(Asia's banking industry)(Brief Article)
December 13, 1999... How banks rise to the challenge will hold the key to the new millennium in Asia The Y2K phenomenon is upon us, and banking systems in many parts of Asia are suspect. However, it is unlikely that resolving Y2K mishaps will be the worst...

BJP `blitzkrieg' under way.(Brief Article)
December 13, 1999... A semblance of political stability has returned to India -- and Prime Minister Vajpayee is determined to swing the changes Armed with a clear mandate, the newly re-elected Bharatiya Janata Party-led coalition government is getting ready to...

Age-old problem as population matures.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
December 13, 1999... Japan, China and India will soon face massive economic pressures from their ageing population bases as the number of people aged over 65 skyrockets. An Asian Development Review report titled "Asia's Demographic Transition" suggests the...

Troubled road ahead.(Indonesia politics)(Brief Article)
December 13, 1999... Indonesia's new leaders have a mandate to impose change -- but the past will continue to haunt them Investor sentiment towards Indonesia has improved since Abdurrahman Wahid's election as president, but there are many obstacles to overcome...

Room for improvement.(Asia's real estate market.)(Brief Article)
December 13, 1999... The glut in empty office space will continue to haunt Asia's real estate markets next year. But it's not all bad news Singapore shapes up as one of the brighter spots for the region's property sector in 2000, while other Asian markets could...

'99 report card: Can do better.(politics in the Philippines)
December 13, 1999... The Philippines has failed to get the Jump on Its crisis-stricken neighbours The Philippines will enter the new century with question marks over the quality of its performance in 1999. At best, it has been a moderate performer,...

A message for Tokyo: Just do it.(Japan's economic condition)(Brief Article)
December 13, 1999... There comes a time when one can procrastinate no longer. For Japan, that time is now Dare we say it, but the long-awaited overhaul of Japan's finance sector seems to be occurring. The '90s are generally regarded as having been a lost...

The Mahathir malaise.(Malaysia economic condition.)(Brief Article)
December 13, 1999... Despite some signs of economic recovery, not everyone is sure Malaysia's underlying economic problems have been addressed Malaysia is likely to begin the new century with many of the problems that plagued it in the final years of the old....

Asian tigers the target of IT gurus.(Asia's economic condition.)(Brief Article)
December 13, 1999... E-commerce Is THE big news In global markets -- and the West sees potentially huge profits In Asian markets The world will turn to Asia in search of dot com investments in 2000 as regional Internet use rises and Western markets become...

As good as it gets.(Singapore's economy.)(Brief Article)
December 13, 1999... True to Its conservative nature, Singapore Is not taking Its tigerish status for granted The worst is over for Singapore. But, as Deputy Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong admits, much work still needs to be done to shore up the city-state's...

Daewoo stalls, but Korea's back on track.(Brief Article)
December 13, 1999... When Kim Woo Choong recently sought government financial aid to bail out his ailing conglomerate -- Korea's second largest -- the request was made more in expectation than hope. After all, the Daewoo chairman and founder had been getting...

Earthquake blues fade.(Taiwan's economic outlook.)(Brief Article)
December 13, 1999... Behind every dark cloud is a silver lining -- a saying which is all too true in Taiwan's case. Fears of further fallout from September's huge earthquake in Taiwan have been dispelled, with exports and imports each surging more than 30 per...

Thais put on a brave front.(Thailand economic condition.)
December 13, 1999... For those wanting to know what Thailand's economic environment will be like in 2000, the government's Board of Investments (BOI) has simplified the outlook into a four-picture weather pattern. If 1997 was a stormy year, 1998 just showers...

No cause for hope in Hanoi.(Vietnam's economic condition.)(Brief Article)
December 13, 1999... Attempts to be positive about Vietnam are stymied by the bare, unpalatable facts One would like to be optimistic about Vietnam's economic future. In the early 1990s when foreign investment in Vietnam started to gain momentum there was...