Business Asia articles from February 2001

Business Asia archives from February 2001

CRUNCH TIME FOR ARROYO.(Philippines President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2001... IT SEEMS new Philippines President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's political honeymoon is already over. Less than a month since Arroyo was swept into power on the back of massive public demonstrations against then-President Joseph Estrada, local...

HOTEL AWARDS TO LAUNCH IN HONG KONG.
February 1, 2001... ASIA'S LEADING hotel awards, Business Asia's 2001 Best Business Hotels in Asia Awards, will be officially launched at the JW Marriott Hotel, Hong Kong, on February 15. As in previous years, Business Asia and Bloomberg will host the...

India's earthquake tragedy.
February 1, 2001... THE TRAGIC earthquake in India's eastern state of Gujarat on January 26 is estimated to have caused US$4.4 billion ($79.69 billion) in damage. To help tide the provincial government over financially during the crisis, in which 20,000 were...

ASIA FACT FILE.(annual forecast real growth rate)(Brief Article)(Illustration)(Statistical Data Included)
February 1, 2001... Market monitor This month we take a look at the Gross Domestic Product Real Growth Rates for 1999, 2000 and compare with the annual forecast for 2001 in the Asia-Pacific region. ACTUAL ANNUAL FORECAST REAL GROWTH RATE COUNTRY ...

WORD OF MOUTH.
February 1, 2001... "I'd imagine an extremely low price was being forced on them. Interest in this sector globally has faded." -- YVONNE LEUNG, MANAGER OF A TECHNOLOGY-ORIENTED FUND AT TOWRY LAW (ASIA) LTD, ON TAIWAN CHUNGHWA TELECOM'S DELAY OF ITS $2.8...

STOP PRESS.(Gloria Arroyo, Abdurrahman Wahid)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
February 1, 2001... * WINNERS She may have taken the top job, but the biggest question on everyone's lips is whether new Philippines President Gloria Arroyo can bring about the genuine changes necessary for a country plagued with social and economic problems....

go figure.(various statistics)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
February 1, 2001... FOLLOWING ARE SOME SIGNIFICANT NUMBERS OR STATISTICS RELATING TO ASIA-PACIFIC NATIONS The number of bids submitted by private telecom firms in India for fixed line licenses. 208 The number of directly elected seats won by the Thai Rak...

Australia's regional HQ Plan.
February 1, 2001... Australlia hasn't always been the lucky country when it comes to attracting new Asia-Pacific headquarters of multinational companies. But that trend is steadily being reversed. NADIA CAMERON looks at Australia's efforts at becoming a regional...

GAMES BOOST FOR VICTORIA.(Infogrames to open Melbourne headquarters)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2001... FRENCH COMPUTER games company Infogrames is the latest multinational company to establish its Asia-Pacific regional headquarters on Australian shores, with plans to open its new publishing and development headquarters in Melbourne over the next...

Singapore ups the ante.
February 1, 2001... SINGAPORE IS positioning itself aggressively as the IT and T centre in Asia in a new push to woo international hi-tech companies. To back up its new positioning strategy, the island's newly created Infocomm Development Authority Department...

BT LOOKSMART TURNS TO NSW.(regional office located in Sydney)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2001... ACCORDING TO BT Looksmart, choosing Sydney as a launchpad for the company's international roll-out seemed right from the beginning. "As a new company, speed in setting up the operation was vital," BT Looksmart's senior vice president Asia...

GE'S RIGHT TIME ZONE.(General Electric Medical Systems)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2001... GENERAL ELECTRIC (GE) Medical Systems will establish its Asia-Pacific regional headquarters in Queensland, selecting Brisbane as the location for its remote diagnostics call centre. The Asia-Pacific operation, only the fourth of its type in...

Building bridges.
February 1, 2001... Asia/Australia organisations have long touted their importance in building relations between Australia and our Asian neighbours. But just how effective are they? SINGAPORE AUSTRALIA Business Council's (SABC) President Philip Forrest has a...

Unleashing the ports potential.
February 1, 2001... The world's ports are riding a privatisation wave, and Australian companies can hitch a ride if they play their cards right THE TREND for ports privatisation will continue to gain momentum around the world, resulting in dozens of lucrative...

IN BRIEF.
February 1, 2001... Canberra -- The use of waterfront cranes to load and unload ship containers has climbed to near a government benchmark. The Australian Bureau of Transport Economics showed the Australian five-port average crane rate rose to 24.9 lifts-an-hour...

Sydney Ports trade growth slows in 2001.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
February 1, 2001... AFTER THREE years of double-digit volume growth, Sydney Ports Corporation (SPC) will experience more modest increases in 2001 as the world economic situation tightens, SPC senior manager trade development Phil Rosser says. After a hectic...

BRISBANE'S SEAFOOD SUCCESS.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
February 1, 2001... PORT OF Brisbane Corporation (PBC) has added another name to its growing list of corporate tenants, with Global Seafoods moving to PBC's new Cairncross Estate at Colmslie. The move to a new 3900 square metre purpose-built complex, located...

FPA unveils new ship unloader.(Fremantle Port Authority)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2001... FREMANTLE PORT Authority's (FPA) new $11 million continuous ship unloader for its Bulk Cargo Jetty at Kwinana is expected to be ready for use in late April. The primary user of the bulk unloader will be Anaconda Nickel Ltd, which imports...

WHITAKER TO ADDRESS TOC.(TOC Asia 2001 Conference in Hong Kong )(Brief Article)
February 1, 2001... MELBOURNE PORT Corporation (MPC) chief executive Dr Chris Whitaker will address the TOC Asia 2001 Conference in Hong Kong on February 21. TOC Asia 2001 is the world's premier event for ports and terminals. Both a major international...

DISCONNECT DEMOCRACY.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2001... POLITICAL YEAR 2001 has started with a busy round of elections (Portugal, Thailand) and Presidential Inaugurations (Philippines, USA) to mention some, but is democracy truly alive and well? At the true start of the new century and...

2001 trade outlook.(Federal Trade Minister Mark Vaile and Shadow Trade Minister Peter Cook )(Statistical Data Included)
February 1, 2001... Vaile & Cook go head-to-head What will 2001 have in store for Australia's trade position and the country's thousands of exporters? Federal Trade Minister Mark Vaile and Shadow Trade Minister Peter Cook outline their views in this Overseas...

Vietnam set to open its doors.(bilateral trade agreement )(Brief Article)
February 1, 2001... The ratification of the US-Vietnam bilateral trade agreement is expected to be passed next month by both the US Congress and Vietnam's National Assembly. ANDREW HILTON(*) reviews this historic agreement. CONCLUDING OVER four years of...

CHANGE IS THE ONLY CONSTANT.(Asian labor force, international employee recruitment)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2001... In the last 10 years, Asia has worked hard to make itself more attractive to Western professionals. CLIFF STONEMAN(*) examines the changes. THERE HAS been as much change and development in the Asian region in the past decade as there was...