12 Korean conglomerates’ cross-share holdings valued at near $83bn

12 conglomerates’ cross-share holdings valued at near $83bn

2013.09.09 14:41:44

South Korea’s conglomerates held their affiliate shares worth nearly 90 trillion won ($82.7 billion) in the form of cross-share holdings. 12 conglomerates formed cross-share holding loops as of late June, and the conglomerates’ 76 affiliates made 117 cross-share holding loops, said local corporate information provider Chaebul.com Monday. The conglomerates’ stakes in the form of cross-share holdings were valued at 86.7 trillion won. Nine subsidiaries of the nation’s top conglomerate Samsung Group, including Everland, Samsung Electronics and Samsung Life Insurance, had 16 cross-share holding loops. Their combined stocks in cross-share holdings came to 39.4 trillion won, the largest among the 12 conglomerates. Hyundai Motor Group’s four affiliates created two cross-share holding loops, with a total value of 28.0 trillion won. Lotte Group established a complex web of cross-share holdings, as its 15 subsidiaries have formed 51 cross-share holding loops. It was the largest number of loops among the 12 conglomerates, with a combined value of 6.8 trillion won. Hyundai Heavy Industries Group and Daelim Group established one loop of cross-share holdings among three subsidiaries respectively. The former cross-share holdings stood at 4.4 trillion won in value, and the latter at 963.1 billion won. Youngpoong Group had 10 cross-share holding loops totaling 3.0 trillion won, while Tongyang Group had 17 loops.

World Gaining Faith in Japan as Topix Index Gets Cheaper

World Gaining Faith in Japan as Topix Index Gets Cheaper

Japanese shares are getting cheaper faster than any developed market as global investors regain faith in the world’s third-largest economy, with valuations declining even as the benchmark Topix index rallies. The price-earnings ratio for the nation’s companies dropped to 14.3 times estimated profits from 17.1 at the start of 2013 because the Topix’s 34 percent surge, the biggest among 24 developed countries tracked by Bloomberg, has failed to keep up with analyst forecasts for 60 percent income growth. Nowhere have valuations contracted faster than in Japan. Multiples have increased in the U.S., France and the U.K. Read more of this post

Yudhoyono Reopens Possibility of Capital Other Than Jakarta

Yudhoyono Reopens Possibility of Capital Other Than Jakarta

By Arientha Primanita on 5:02 pm September 8, 2013.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said his administration has continued to consider the possibility of moving Indonesia’s center of government to a city less densely populated and problem-prone than Jakarta. “We had made a small team to think about the moving of our capital city,” he said at a press conference in St. Petersburg, Russia on Saturday, according to his official website. “In this case, the center of economy, trade and others would stay in Jakarta, but we would move the government center to another place.” Read more of this post

Jokowi’s rising star puts Megawati in the shade

Jokowi’s rising star puts Megawati in the shade

Monday, September 9, 2013 – 09:00

The Jakarta Post/Asia News Network

JAKARTA – The cult of personality surrounding Ms Megawati Sukarnoputri and making her the most powerful figure in the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) is gradually fading with the rise of populist Jakarta Governor Joko “Jokowi” Widodo. For decades, PDI-P members saw Ms Megawati as the political heir of the country’s first president, Sukarno, her father. Read more of this post

Indonesia Top Destination for Thrifty Tourists: Visa

Indonesia Top Destination for Thrifty Tourists: Visa

By Dion Bisara on 10:25 am September 6, 2013.
Indonesia remains the Asia Pacific region’s top destination for budget-conscious tourists, according to a survey by credit card company Visa. The survey, titled Global Travel Intentions Study 2013, released on Thursday, showed that travelers to Indonesia spend an average $1,634 per trip, less than the worldwide average travel budget of $2,390 per trip. The study surveyed 12,631 travelers from 25 countries in the Asia Pacific, Europe, Africa and the Middle East between November and December last year. Read more of this post

High logistics costs impede higher economic growth for Indonesia: World Bank; “The costs of logistics across Indonesia account for some 24 percent of GDP”

High logistics costs impede higher economic growth for Indonesia: WB

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Business | Fri, September 06 2013, 2:43 PM

High logistics costs are a serious impediment to higher economic growth for Indonesia, says a report released on Friday by Bandung’s Institute of Technology in West Java, in partnership with the World Bank. “The costs of logistics across Indonesia account for some 24 percent of GDP (Gross Domestic Product), higher than in neighboring countries. Cutting costs and improving the quality of logistics and transport systems would vastly improve Indonesia’s access to international markets and increase trade,” a senior trade specialist at the World Bank, Henry Sandee, said in an official release. Read more of this post

Cost of oranges betrays lack of zest in Indonesia’s economy

Cost of oranges betrays lack of zest in Indonesia’s economy

5:25pm EDT

By Rieka Rahadiana and Jonathan Thatcher

JAKARTA (Reuters) – Indonesia’s government is confident that a slide in economic growth, exacerbated by recent capital flight from emerging markets, is a hiccup that will soon pass. The price of oranges in a Jakarta market gives a clue why that faith looks misplaced. Domestic demand should certainly get a healthy boost next year from spending during parliamentary and presidential elections. But that masks problems with the basic drivers of growth that some doubt will get more than cursory attention until a new government has to confront them in late 2014. Read more of this post