AsiaPulse News articles from December 2008

AsiaPulse News archives from December 2008

AUSTRALIAN BOND MARKET OPENS WEAKER - DEC 1, 2008.
December 1, 2008... SYDNEY, Dec 1 Asia Pulse - The Australian bond market opened weaker after the strongest weekly rally on Wall Street since 1974 dampened demand for debt assets. Local bonds are expected to trade within a tight range on Monday as investors...

FOREX - AUSTRALIAN DOLLAR OPENS WEAKER - DEC 1, 2008.
December 1, 2008... SYDNEY, Dec 1 Asia Pulse - The Australian dollar opened weaker as the biggest drop in European inflation on record boosted the US currency. At 0700 AEDT, the Australian dollar was trading at .6531/38, down from Friday's close of...

INSURANCE AUSTRALIA GROUP INCREASES STAKE IN MALAYSIAN JV.
December 1, 2008... SYDNEY, Dec 1 Asia Pulse - The Insurance Australia Group Ltd (ASX:IAG) has expanded its footprint in Asia, increasing its interest in its joint venture with Malaysian insurer AmAssurance to 49 per cent. IAG, which had held a 30 per cent...

SOUTH KOREAN PARLIAMENT INCREASES 2009 BUDGET.
December 1, 2008... SEOUL, Dec 1 Asia Pulse - Next year's national budget has been increased by roughly 10 trillion won (US$6.8 billion) by parliamentary committees amid calls by both the ruling and opposition parties for sound fiscal spending, legislative sources...

SOUTH KOREA'S ADVERTISING MARKET FORECAST TO DELINE.
December 1, 2008... SEOUL, Dec 1 Asia Pulse - South Korea's advertising market is expected to shrink this year as companies cut back on promoting their products amid the economic slump, an industry association said Sunday. The country's advertising market is...

SOUTH KOREAN EXPORTS SET TO GAIN OVER 10PCT IN 2009.
December 1, 2008... SEOUL, Dec 1 Asia Pulse - South Korea's exports are expected to grow 10.3 per cent in 2009, largely due to a steady increase in shipments of machinery and steel products, a report showed Sunday. According to a report by the Korea...

SOUTH KOREA SET TO TRIPLE AID TO DEVELOPING NATIONS BY 2015.
December 1, 2008... DOHA/KUWAIT CITY, Dec 1 Asia Pulse - South Korean Prime Minister Han Seung-soo said Saturday that his government planned to triple its official development assistance, or ODA, designed to promote the socioeconomic advancement of developing...

SOUTH KOREAN CONGLOMERATES SUSTAIN HUGE FOREX LOSSES.
December 1, 2008... SEOUL, Dec 1 Asia Pulse - South Korea's top 30 business conglomerates have suffered over 10 trillion won (US$6.8 billion) in foreign currency-related losses in the first three quarters of the year, while their deficits are only expected to grow...

ECONOMISTS WARN KOREAN ECONOMY FACES RECESSION.
December 1, 2008... SEOUL, Dec 1 Asia Pulse - South Korea's economy is feared to be heading for its first recession in a decade next year as domestic and overseas sales are set to face further declines, experts said Sunday. The South Korean economy grew 0.6...

SOUTH KOREA, CHINA, JAPAN TO DISCUSS GREEN COOPERATION.
December 1, 2008... SEOUL, Dec 1 Asia Pulse - Environmental ministers from South Korea, Japan and China will meet this week for their annual talks aimed at increasing cooperation on environmental issues, the Ministry of Environment said Sunday. The three-way...

SOUTH KOREA TO SPEED UP CORPORATE RESTRUCTURING.
December 1, 2008... SEOUL, Dec 1 Asia Pulse - South Korea's financial regulator said Saturday it plans to speed up efforts to restructure troubled companies as the nation's economy is widely expected to head toward its first recession in a decade. "There is a...

SOUTH KOREA, EU TO HOLD FRESH ROUND OF TRADE TALKS.
December 1, 2008... SEOUL, Dec 1 Asia Pulse - Trade negotiators from South Korea and the European Union plan to hold a new round of talks next month, with the aim of forging a free trade agreement, a Seoul official said Saturday. The two sides launched the...

U.S. BEEF SALES IN SOUTH KOREA TOP 200 TONS IN 4 DAYS.
December 1, 2008... SEOUL, Dec 1 Asia Pulse - Cuts of imported U.S. beef have been selling like hotcakes since hitting shelves at major South Korean discount outlets, with sales reaching over 200 tons in just four days, industry sources said Sunday. The...

AUSTRALIAN NEWSPAPER HIGHLIGHTS - DEC 1, 2008.
December 1, 2008... SYDNEY, Dec 1 Asia Pulse - Highlights of today's newspapers: THE AUSTRALIAN - Danish architect Joern Utzon dies. Kevin Rudd will identify the nation's poorest-performing schools and flood them with $1.1 billion over the next five...

INDIA'S RELIANCE INDUSTRIES SIGNS AGREEMENT WITH 3 POWER COS.
December 1, 2008... JAIPUR, Dec 1 Asia Pulse - Mukesh Ambani led Reliance Industries (RIL) (BSE:500325) has entered into an agreement to sell solar energy to three three power companies of Rajasthan - Jaipur Discom, Ajmer Discom and Jodhpur Discom. RIL is...

STOCKS - AUSTRALIAN SHARES OPEN LOWER - DEC 1, 2008.
December 1, 2008... SYDNEY, Dec 1 Asia Pulse - The Australian sharemarket has opened one per cent lower despite a rally on Wall Street and expectations the Reserve Bank of Australia will cut interest rates this week. At 1015 AEDT, the benchmark S&P/ASX200...

MUMBAI TERROR ATTACK IMPACT: BANKERS SEEK BEEFED UP SECURITY.
December 1, 2008... NEW DELHI, Dec 1 Asia Pulse - In the wake of the deadly terrorist attack in Mumbai the financial capital of India banks feel that security needs to be beefed up at select branches to deal with any emergency. "We will beef up security in our...

FOREX - RINGGIT CLOSES WEAKER AGAINST US DOLLAR - NOV 28, 2008.
December 1, 2008... KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 28 Asia Pulse - The ringgit ended at 3.6210 6260 against the U.S. dollar on Friday, weaker than 3.6170/6220 at the close on Thursday. ASIA PULSE 01-12 1047

OVER US$815 MLN LOSS INCURRED DURING MUMBAI TERROR ATTACKS.
December 1, 2008... MUMBAI, Dec 1 Asia Pulse - The 60-hour terror ordeal that struck Mumbai on Wednesday night caused a blow of nearly Rs 4,000 crore (US$815 million) to the financial capital of the country, industry experts said on Saturday. "It is an...

AUSTRALIA'S FUTURIS CORP DOWNGRADES PROFIT GUIDANCE.(Financial report)
December 1, 2008... SYDNEY, Dec 1 Asia Pulse - Agribusiness Futuris Corp Ltd (ASX:FCL) has downgraded its profit guidance as it anticipates tough market conditions for the rest of fiscal 2009. Futuris says underlying profit after tax in fiscal 2009 now is...

SOUTH KOREA NEEDS TO MAINTAIN LOW INTEREST RATES: REGULATOR.
December 1, 2008... SEOUL, Dec 1 Asia Pulse - South Korea's financial regulator said Saturday the country needs to maintain low interest rates to help local companies withstand the global financial crisis. "It's important to let interest rates remain low to...

TAIWAN'S TOP FINANCIAL REGULATOR RESIGNS.
December 1, 2008... TAIPEI, Dec 1 Asia Pulse - The country's top financial regulator has resigned over what he called his inability to properly respond to the global financial crisis, with Sean Chen, the chairman of SinoPac Financial Holdings (TAIEX:2890), who is...

FOREX - US DOLLAR OPENS FIRMER AGAINST WON - DEC 1, 2008.
December 1, 2008... SEOUL, Dec 1 Asia Pulse - The U.S. dollar on Monday opened at 1,470.0 won, up from 1,469.0 at the close on Friday. (Yonhap) 01-12 1106

LESS THAN 1,000 S KOREANS ALLOWED TO STAY IN KAESONG COMPLEX.
December 1, 2008... SEOUL, Dec 1 Asia Pulse - Pyongyang has decided to allow fewer than 1,000 South Koreans to work at a joint industrial enclave in North Korea starting Monday, sources said, far below the level wanted by Seoul. The North informed the South's...

STOCKS - TOKYO SHARES OPEN LOWER - DEC 1, 2008.
December 1, 2008... TOKYO, Dec 1 Asia Pulse - Japan's Nikkei stock index opened 0.56 per cent lower on Monday, with the benchmark index falling 47.91 points to 8,464.36 in early trade. ASIA PULSE 01-12 1109

VIETNAMESE FISH EXPORTER, MOSCOW SIGN FOOD SUPPLY ACCORD.
December 1, 2008... HCM CITY, Dec 1 Asia Pulse - The Nam Viet Corporation (Navico) and the Moscow City Food Resources Department signed a memorandum of understanding regarding food and foodstuff supply in Ho Chi Minh City on November 28. Under the terms of...

HYDRO-POWER PROJECT KICKS OFF IN CENTRAL VIETNAMESE PROVINCE.
December 1, 2008... QUANG NAM, Dec 1 Asia Pulse - The Vietnam Urban and Industrial Zone Investment and Development Corporation (IDICO) started construction of the Dak Mi 4C hydro-electric power plant in central Quang Nam province's Phuoc Son district on November...

PETROVIETNAM, CA MAU POWER PLANTS INK SERVICES CONTRACT.
December 1, 2008... HANOI, Dec 1 Asia Pulse - A maintenance contract worth over 10.4 trillion VND (US$613.6 million) for Ca Mau power plants I and II was signed by the Ca Mau PetroVietnam Power Company and the PetroVietnam Power Services Company in Hanoi on...

VIETNAM'S HAI PHONG KICK-STARTS INTL TRADING CENTRE.
December 1, 2008... HAI PHONG, Dec 1 Asia Pulse - Construction of an international trading centre, with first phase investment totalling US$26 million, began in the northern port city of Hai Phong on November 28. The 120,000 sq.m centre, hosted by the...

WTO IMPACTS ON VIETNAM'S WOOD, FISHERY INDUSTRIES EXAMINED.
December 1, 2008... HCM CITY, Dec 1 Asia Pulse - The effects of its two-year WTO membership on the Vietnamese wooden products, handicraft and fishery industries were the major topics of a seminar held in Ho Chi Minh City on November 28. Participants presented...

SOUTH KOREA MULLS EXTENDING SHORT SELLING BAN.
December 1, 2008... SEOUL, Dec 1 Asia Pulse - South Korea's financial watchdog is considering banning short stock selling longer than expected as the local market remains volatile despite stabilization measures, officials said Sunday. In September, the...

TAIWAN LAWMAKERS CRITICIZE UNPROFITABLE STATE COS OVER BONUSES.
December 1, 2008... TAIPEI, Dec 1 Asia Pulse - Lawmakers from both the ruling and opposition parties on Friday criticized unprofitable state-run companies for planning to give handsome year-end bonuses to their employees -- an issue they said has upset the public....

SOUTH KOREAN NEWSPAPER HIGHLIGHTS - DEC 1, 2008.
December 1, 2008... SEOUL, Dec 1 Asia Pulse Highlights of today's newspapers: KOREAN-LANGUAGE DAILIES: - Colleges get more autonomy in selecting students (Kyunghyang Shinmun) - Parliament puts public life on back burner (Kookmin Daily) -...

INDIA'S APOLLO TO SPEND US$285 MLN ON HOSPITAL, CLINIC GROWTH.
December 1, 2008... NEW DELHI, Dec 1 Asia Pulse - Indian medical care provider Apollo Health and Lifestyle plans to invest around Rs 1,400 crore (US$285 million) in the next three to four years on expanding its presence across the country with its different...

68% OF TAIWAN'S FIRMS INTERESTED IN JOB CREATION PROGRAM: SURVEY.
December 1, 2008... TAIPEI, Dec 1 Asia Pulse - Sixty-eight per cent of businesses are interested in joining the government's "get to work" job creation program, according to the results of a survey released Saturday by an online employment broker. This group...

INDIAN ECONOMY TO GROW CLOSE TO 8% BY 2008-09 END: CHADHA.
December 1, 2008... CHANDIGARH, Dec 1 Asia Pulse - India would achieve close to 8 per cent growth by the end of the current fiscal despite the global downturn adversely impacting certain sectors of the domestic industry, Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council...

AUSTRALIA'S MANUFACTURING ACTIVITY FALLS FOR 6TH MONTH IN A ROW.
December 1, 2008... SYDNEY, Dec 1 Asia Pulse - Australian manufacturing activity declined for a sixth straight month in November, as firms scaled back activity in response to weakening consumer and business confidence, a survey shows. The Australian Industry...

SRI LANKA FIRM WANTS TO BE SPECIALIST BRAND BUILDER.
December 1, 2008... COLOMBO, Dec 1 Asia Pulse - A new advertising firm, which wants to specialize in brand building, will start in January 2009 targeting companies in Sri Lanka and Dubai, its promoters said. The agency named '4word' will be an outsourced...

AUSTRALIAN ACCOUNTING SOFTWARE CO MYOB IN TAKEOVER TALKS.
December 1, 2008... SYDNEY, Dec 1 Asia Pulse - Accounting software company MYOB Ltd (ASX:MYO) says it is in discussions with "a range of parties" about possible takeover bids, as it urges shareholders to reject a takeover bid from Manhattan Software Bidco as...

DIALOG PAY TV WINS SRI LANKAN MARKETING AWARDS.
December 1, 2008... COLOMBO, Dec 1 Asia Pulse - Dialog TV, a pay tv unit of the celco Dialog Telekom said it had received medals at a marketing award scheme organized by the Sri Lanka Institute of Marketing. It had won silver medals for 'Turnaround Brand Of...

HONG KONG NEWSPAPER HIGHLIGHTS - DEC 1, 2008.
December 1, 2008... HONG KONG, Dec 1 Asia Pulse - Highlights of today's newspapers: SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST: - Private equity giant Kohlberg Kravis Roberts planned to invest about US$300 million in a greenfield dairy business on the mainland, market...

VALUE OF VIETNAM'S EXPORTS ON THE SLIDE AS GLOBAL PRICES FALL.
December 1, 2008... HANOI, Dec 1 Asia Pulse - Fallout from the global financial crisis and the knock-on effect of recession affecting many countries has had a negative impact on Vietnamese exports, with export values continually declining since September. ...

STOCKS - SEOUL SHARES OPEN LOWER - DEC 1, 2008.
December 1, 2008... SEOUL, Dec. 1 Asia Pulse - South Korean stocks opened lower Monday as institutions dumped steel, tech and other large caps, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) slumped 10.74 points, or 1 per cent, to...

COA PROMOTES TAIWAN ORANGES IN DONGSHAN, TAINAN COUNTY.
December 1, 2008... TAIPEI, Dec 1 Asia Pulse - Taiwwan's Council of Agriculture (COA) held an activity at the Dongshan Farmers' Association in Tainan County Saturday to promote Taiwan oranges, with Vice President Vincent Siew's wife, Susan Chu, taking part in the...

DISTILLERIES BOOSTS SRI LANKA'S SHARE TRADING VOLUMES.
December 1, 2008... COLOMBO, Dec 1 Asia Pulse - Sri Lankan share prices ended slightly firmer Friday, with volumes pushed higher by large trades in Distilleries Company but concerns over company earnings still weighing on the market, brokers said. The All...

OSTRICH FARMING GROWING RAPIDLY IN VIETNAM.
December 1, 2008... HCM CITY, Dec 1 Asia Pulse - Ostrich farming is developing rapidly in Vietnam, the Department of Animal Husbandry has said. There are 12,000 breeding ostriches on 56 farms situated in 40 provinces and cities. In the central region...

SRI LANKAN COURT REMOVES PETROLEUM MINISTER OVER HEDGING DEALS.
December 1, 2008... COLOMBO Dec 1 Asia Pulse - Sri Lanka's Supreme Court removed the island's petroleum minister and suspended payments - which the court said could amount to US$700 million over nine months - to four banks on hedging deals with a state-run oil...

INDIAN FIRMS RESCHEDULE MEETINGS, ISSUES DUE TO MUMBAI ATTACK.
December 1, 2008... MUMBAI, Dec 1 Asia Pulse - As corporate India picks up threads to resume business in the country's financial capital which is nursing its wounds from the terror attack, several corporates were forced to postpone their board meetings,...

VIETNAM'S FIRST REFINERY GETS CRUDE FOR TEST RUN.
December 1, 2008... QUANG NGAI, Dec 1 Asia Pulse - The Dung Quat oil refinery in Vietnam's central Quang Ngai province on November 30 received the first 80,000 MT of crude oil that will service its test-runs. Present at the event, Vice Chairman of the National...

SRI LANKAN TELECOM PROFITS FALL 31-PCT IN SEPT QUARTER.(Financial report)
December 1, 2008... COLOMBO, Dec 1 Asia Pulse - Profits of Sri Lankan Telecom (SLT) group, the island's largest fixed access carrier, fell 31 per cent to 1,235 million rupees (US$11.4 million) with revenues growing 4 per cent to 11,691 million in the quarter ended...

CENTRAL VIETNAMESE REGION TO LURE 100,000 THAI, LAO VISITORS.
December 1, 2008... DA NANG, Dec 1 Asia Pulse - Vietnam's central region is expected to receive about 100,000 visitors from Thailand and Laos this year. This target is feasible thanks to a direct air route Da Nang city to Bangkok and a land route along the...

INDIAN CORPORATES CALL FOR TOUGH ACTION AGAINST TERRORISM.
December 1, 2008... MUMBAI, Dec 1 Asia Pulse - Indian corporates on Saturday exuded confidence that business will be back to normal from Monday and heaved a sigh of relief as the 60-hour terror horror got over Saturday morning. While urging Prime Minister...

VIETNAM'S AN GIANG PROVINCE PRODUCES JAPANESE RICE.
December 1, 2008... AN GIANG, Dec 1 Asia Pulse - Farmers in Vietnam's southern An Giang province have signed contracts with the Angimex-Kitoku Joint Venture Company for sale of all rice on 1,300 ha grown with Japanese rice varieties in this winter-spring crop. ...

SRI LANKA'S NDB NET PROFITS UP 18 PCT IN SEPT QUARTER.(Financial report)
December 1, 2008... COLOMBO, Dec 1 Asia Pulse - Sri Lanka's National Development Bank's net profits for the September 2008 quarter rose 18 per cent to 351 million rupees (US$3.3 million), interim accounts showed, while revenues climbed 20 per cent to 3,169 million...

S. KOREA'S LEE VOWS ALL-OUT EFFORT TO EASE YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT.
December 1, 2008... SEOUL, Dec 1 Asia Pulse - President Lee Myung-bak said Monday that his government will send upwards of 160,000 young South Koreans abroad for occupational training and volunteer services over the next five years as part of his effort to ease...

VIETNAM TO INVEST IN CLIMATE CHANGE-PROOF IRRIGATION.
December 1, 2008... HANOI, Dec 1 Asia Pulse - The Vietnamese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) has estimated a budget of 1 trillion VND (US$59 million) up to 2010 to develop an irrigation system adaptable to global climate change. MARD said...

HO CHI MINH CITY TESTS NEW WIMAX HIGH-SPEED INTERNET NETWORK.
December 1, 2008... HO CHI MINH CITY, Dec 1 Asia Pulse - Motorola has deployed a WiMAX trial network for the Vietnam Datacommunications Company (VDC), the largest internet service provider (ISP) in Vietnam. WiMAX allows more people faster access to internet...

SRI LANKA'S HATTON NATIONAL BANK SEPT NET UP 6 PCT.
December 1, 2008... COLOMBO, Dec 1 Asia Pulse - Sri Lanka's Hatton National Bank group profits were up 6 per cent to 807.3 million rupees with revenues up 16 per cent to 9,665.3 million rupees (US$89 million) in the 9-months to September, accounts filed with the...

SRI LANKA'S NOVEMBER INFLATION FALLS TO 16.3 PCT.
December 1, 2008... COLOMBO, Dec 1 Asia Pulse - Consumer inflation in Sri Lanka's capital Colombo fell to 16.3 per cent in November from 20.2 per cent in October, while prices fell by an absolute 0.7 per cent in the 28 days of the month, the government's...

ELCOTEQ BEIJING HONORED FOR SUPPORTING BEIJING 2008 OLYMPICS.
December 1, 2008... (Full text of statement. Contact details below.) Elcoteq Beijing Honored for Supporting Beijing 2008 Olympics MEDIA RELEASE PR32788 HONG KONG, Dec .1/PRNewswire-Asia-AsiaNet/ -- (Logo:...

SRI LANKAN TEA PRICES FALL SHARPLY.
December 1, 2008... COLOMBO, Dec 1 Asia Pulse - Sri Lankan tea prices at the Colombo auction fell sharply this week with large quantities unsold indicating the crisis caused by the sudden collapse in demand last month was continuing. Brokers said that prices...

S. KOREAN EXPORTS PLUNGE 18.3 PCT IN NOVEMBER.
December 1, 2008... SEOUL, Dec 1 Asia Pulse - South Korean exports nosedived 18.3 per cent from a year earlier to US$29.26 billion in November due to a global economic downturn, a government report showed Monday. The country's imports also dropped 14.6 per...

S. KOREA TO TRIPLE AID TO DEVELOPING NATIONS BY 2015.
December 1, 2008... DOHA, Dec 1 Asia Pulse - South Korean Prime Minister Han Seung-soo said Saturday that his government plans to triple its official development assistance, or ODA, designed to promote the socioeconomic advancement of developing nations, by 2015....

Macquarie Infrastructure Group sells stake in toll road.
December 1, 2008... SYDNEY, Dec 1 Asia Pulse - Toll road owner Macquarie Infrastructure Group (ASX:MIG) has sold its entire stake in Sydney's Westlink M7 toll road to Western Sydney Road Group (WSRG) for $A805 million ($US525.95 million). MIG will reap net...

VIETNAM'S PM SETS HUGE TARGET FOR NATIONAL COAL SUPPLIER.
December 1, 2008... HANOI, Dec 1 Asia Pulse - Vietnam's coal industry has been instructed to undertake numerous tasks by Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung in order for Quang Ninh province to tap its rich potential amidst the global economic crisis. The...

TOO EARLY TO ESTIMATE COST OF DAMAGES: MUMBAI HOTELS.
December 1, 2008... MUMBAI, Dec 1 Asia Pulse - Bearing the brunt of terrorist attacks, the managements of Oberoi and Taj Hotels on Saturday refused to estimate the cost of damages saying it was too early for them to think about it. "Questions like how much...

NORTH KOREA TO BLOCK ENTRY OF SOUTH KOREAN NEWSPAPERS, MAGAZINES.
December 1, 2008... SEOUL, Dec 1 Asia Pulse - North Korea will block all South Korean publications from entering the country starting this week, a government source said Sunday. In the past, the North permitted 20 newspapers from nine publishers to be brought...

VIETNAMESE BUSINESSES RECEIVE GOLDEN BRAND AWARDS.
December 1, 2008... HANOI, Dec 1 Asia Pulse - As many as 102 outstanding Vietnamese businesses received the Golden Brand Awards for their good performance and prestige in the market at an awarding ceremony held in Hanoi on Nov. 29. The award recipients...

NEW TAXES IN VIETNAM DELIVER BODY-BLOW TO NINE-SEATER CARS.
December 1, 2008... HANOI, Dec 1 Asia Pulse - The newly-approved Law on Special Consumption Tax, revised, will deprive cars with between 6 and 9 seats of their current tax rate of 30 per cent, increasing production costs by 9,000 USD for each vehicle. The new...

INVESTORS RACE TO BUY UP SHARES IN ANTICIPATION OF DIVIDEND PAYOUTS.
December 1, 2008... HANOI, Dec 1 Asia Pulse - Investors are racing to buy more shares in order to participate in year-end dividend payouts, with stocks of some companies showing a rise in trading volume even when the rest of the Vietnamese market is seeing a...

OVER 90% OF FUNDS FOR TAIWAN'S PUBLIC CONSTRUCTION ALLOCATED.
December 1, 2008... TAIPEI, Dec 1 Asia Pulse - A total of 92.11 per cent of Taiwan's budget for the Project for the Promotion of Public Construction for 2008 had been allocated as of the end of October, the Public Construction Commission under the Executive Yuan...

PROGRESSIVE GROUPS STAGE PROTEST AGAINST STH KOREAN SECURITY LAW.
December 1, 2008... SEOUL, Dec 1 Asia Pulse - Progressive civic groups staged a protest in downtown Seoul on Sunday calling for the abolishment of the 60-year-old National Security Law. The 500 demonstrators said the anti-communist law is anachronistic and...

ASIANET DAILY SUMMARY - DEC 1, 2008.
December 1, 2008... AsiaNet Daily Summary - Press Releases for Monday Dec 1, 2008 SYDNEY, Dec 1 /AsiaNet/ -- MIURA AGREEMENT... MATSUYAMA, Japan - Miura Co., Ltd. signed two technical cooperation agreements regarding energy saving and environmental...

FOREX - RINGGIT OPENS WEAKER AGAINST US DOLLAR - DEC 1, 2008.
December 1, 2008... KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 1 Asia Pulse - The ringgit opened at 3.6255/6285 against the U.S. dollar on Monday, weaker than 3.6210/6260 at the close on Friday. ASIA PULSE 01-12 1254

THAI NEWSPAPER HIGHLIGHTS - DEC 1, 2008.
December 1, 2008... BANGKOK, Dec 1 Asia Pulse - Highlights of today's newspapers: BANGKOK POST: - Thailand's expanding role as an industrial exporter, particularly of automobiles and electronic goods, has brought prosperity to hundreds of thousands of...

STOCKS - MALAYSIAN SHARES LOWER IN EARLY TRADE - DEC 1, 2008.
December 1, 2008... KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 1 Asia Pulse - The Malaysian sharemarket was down 1.25 per cent in early trade, with the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange Composite Index falling 10.8 points at 855.34 at 10:04 a.m. ASIA PULSE 01-12 1307

STOCKS - SINGAPORE SHARES DOWN IN EARLY TRADE - DEC 1, 2008.
December 1, 2008... SINGAPORE, Dec 1 Asia Pulse - Singapore shares were lower in early trade, with the Straits Times Index down 36.26 points at 1,696.31 at 10:06 a.m. ASIA PULSE 01-12 1309

S. KOREAN EXPORTS PLUNGE 18.3 PCT IN NOVEMBER.
December 1, 2008... SEOUL, Dec. 1 (Yonhap) -- South Korean exports nosedived 18.3 per cent from a year earlier to US$29.26 billion in November due to a global recession, a government report showed Monday, dealing a blow to the export-driven economy. The...

INDIA'S STAINLESS STEEL IMPORTERS OPPOSE ALLOY IMPORT CUTS.
December 1, 2008... NEW DELHI, Dec 1 Asia Pulse - Stainless steel importers have urged the government not to restrict overseas shipments of the alloy to India, saying it would hit the consuming sector, which buys the "superior-quality" commodity from abroad. ...

S. KOREA'S TOP TWO AIRLINES TO SLASH FUEL SURCHARGES.
December 1, 2008... SEOUL, Dec. 1 Asia Pulse - South Korea's top two carriers said Monday that they will sharply lower fuel surcharges for international routes next month to reflect a tumble in jet fuel prices. Korean Air Lines Co. (KSE:003490), the larger of...

TAIWAN NEWSPAPER HIGHLIGHTS - DEC 1 2008.
December 1, 2008... TAIPEI, Dec 1 Asia Pulse - Highlights of today's newspapers: CHINA POST: - President Ma Ying-jeou said yesterday that Taiwan's imminent accession into the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA) under the World Trade Organization (WTO)...

INDIA'S TV18 TO ACQUIRE US$31 MLN WARRANTS OF IBN18 TO UP STAKE.
December 1, 2008... MUMBAI, Dec 1 Asia Pulse - Media conglomerate Television Eighteen on Friday said it will acquire warrants worth Rs 153 crore (US$31.1 million) of IBN18 Broadcast, thereby increasing its stake in the company to 21 per cent upon conversion into...

DUBAI FILM FESTIVAL CHAIRMAN SUED FOR LIBEL IN UK.
December 1, 2008... (Full text of statement. Contact details below.) MEDIA RELEASE PR32807 Dubai Film Festival Chairman Sued for Libel in UK LONDON, Nov. 30 /CNW-AsiaNet/ -- Dubai Holding's TECOM and other top executive named as co-defendants ...

S KOREAN LENDERS, FIRMS TO FACE MASSIVE BOND REDEMPTION EARLY 2009.
December 1, 2008... SEOUL, Dec 1 Asia Pulse - Cash-strapped South Korean banks and companies have to redeem or refinance a huge number of bonds that mature early next year amid the deepening economic slump and lingering credit crunch, industry sources said Sunday....