A recent rally in Korean stocks is prompting a number of after-hours block trades of shares

Oct 23, 2013

South Korean Share Rally Prompts Stake Sales

By Kanga Kong

A recent rally in Korean stocks is prompting a number of after-hours block trades of shares. Just a day after France’s BNP Paribas SAraised $192.4 million by selling 1% of Seoul-based Shinhan Financial Group055550.SE -2.96% in block trades, Korea Exchange Bank sold a 2.9% holding in its parent Hana Financial Group086790.SE -2.78% to raise $321 million, while Industrial Bank of Korea024110.SE -0.40% offloaded all of its 3.4% stake in Shinsegae Co.004170.SE -3.16%for $82 million, both late Tuesday, according to people familiar with the companies’ plans. Read more of this post

James Packer’s Sri Lanka casino faces delay

James Packer’s Sri Lanka casino faces delay

October 23, 2013 – 4:21PM

Colin Kruger

James Packer’s plans to build a $400 million casino resort in Sri Lanka face further delays after opposition by religious leaders and politicians in Sri Lanka forced the government to alter tax concessions granted to Crown Resort’s consortium. The changes will delay the passage of legislation granting tax concessions to the project. The legislation was originally scheduled to go before parliament this week. Read more of this post

One of South Korea’s biggest gaming firms Paradise Co is building a $1.7 billion casino resort in the coastal city of Incheon to lure the rising number of Chinese gamblers flocking to the country

Paradise seeks Chinese punters with $1.7 bln Korea resort

7:01am EDT

* Paradise Co teams up with Sega Sammy for $1.7 bln South Korea casino resort

* Resort will be one of biggest in South Korea

* South Korea attracting interest of major casino operators

* Chinese tourist numbers on the rise; casino operators attract punters

HONG KONG/SEOUL, Oct 22 (Reuters) – One of South Korea’s biggest gaming firms Paradise Co Ltd is building a $1.7 billion casino resort in the coastal city of Incheon to lure the rising number of Chinese gamblers flocking to the country. Paradise, one of two companies that dominate Korea’s foreigner-only casino market, said on Tuesday it was teaming up with Japanese gaming firm Sega Sammy Holdings Inc for the project, which is scheduled to be completed in 2017 and will be located minutes away from Seoul’s international airport. Read more of this post

Rift between India’s business leaders and its government widens

October 22, 2013 2:08 pm

Rift between India’s business leaders and its government widens

By James Crabtree

Targeting of billionaire Kumar Birla in coal rights probe provokes angry reaction

Pity the titans of corporate India. Just a few years ago, the country’s leading industrialists were lauded at home and admired abroad as custodians of one of the emerging world’s most impressive growth stories. Now they stand becalmed by an economic slowdown and beset by anti-corruption investigations. Their frustration with India’s lacklustre government is clear. Many wait quietly for the saviour they hope will arrive after next year’s elections: opposition leader Narendra Modi. Read more of this post

Chinese consumers favour overseas brands in many sectors, eroding Beijing’s attempts to boost domestic profits

October 22, 2013 8:41 pm

China: Foreign values

By Paul J Davies

Consumers favour overseas brands in many sectors, eroding Beijing’s attempts to boost domestic profits

The menswear floor of the New World Department Store in central Chengdu, a city of 14m in western China, offers the kind of fast fashion you might expect to see in any second-tier city in the US or Europe. The signage on the concessions is in English but it displays unfamiliar brand names. “I’m David” sells urban casual wear, “Scofield” is meant to have a British feel, while “Mind Bridge” and “Gather Jewels” are both preppy Ivy League style. They may look the part, but these clothes struggle to compete with Uniqlo, Zara and H&M, all of which have their own stores nearby. Brands such as these illustrate the problems and opportunities facing China as it attempts to jump-start the consumer spending that will rebalance its economy away from heavy investment in factories and property. Read more of this post

Brazil must embrace change to flourish; 74% of GDP growth over the past decade was due to the increase in the number of people working and only about 26% was attributable to productivity gains

October 22, 2013 10:03 pm

Brazil must embrace change to flourish

By Joseph Leahy

The Technological Park of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro could hardly be better located, given its purpose. Set on an island in Guanabara Bay, the giant natural harbour that forms the setting for Brazil’s second-largest city, the centre has a prime vantage point looking out over the ocean and the country’s huge oil discoveries that lie beneath. These deepwater fields, called pre-salt because they are buried under a layer of sodium chloride that is up to 2km thick, are helping drive a wave of innovation in the energy sector. Read more of this post

Indonesia’s mining industry will collapse if the government moves ahead with a planned ban on the export of raw minerals, the country’s chamber of commerce has warned

October 22, 2013 5:53 pm

Indonesia mining at risk over export ban

By Ben Bland in Jakarta

Indonesia’s mining industry will collapse if the government moves ahead with a planned ban on the export of raw minerals, the country’s chamber of commerce has warned. The southeast Asian nation, which is facing strong economic headwinds, is the biggest exporter of coal for power stations, nickel ore and tin, and a leading shipper of bauxite and copper. But on January 1 it is set to implement a law prohibiting the export of unprocessed metals as part of a drive to refine the ores and potentially generate higher margins. Read more of this post

Struggling Newspapers Sell Off Old Headquarters

October 22, 2013

Struggling Newspapers Sell Off Old Headquarters

By TERRY PRISTIN

They were once major symbols of civic pride and influence, often situated in the heart of the city, and nearly equal in stature to nearby city halls, courthouses and other major public buildings. But increasingly, many of the buildings that served as newspaper headquarters in cities around the country are being put on the market, as a struggling industry searches desperately for ways to increase revenue. Read more of this post

China’s Banks Must Compete to Survive; The explosion of debt and shadow banking may threaten the stability of China’s banking system, if it stays as is

China’s Banks Must Compete to Survive

The explosion of debt and shadow banking may threaten the stability of China’s banking system, if it stays as is.

YUKON HUANG AND CANYON BOSLERYukon Huang

Oct. 22, 2013 1:27 p.m. ET

The news leading up to China’s Third Plenum next month seems to suggest that the country is heading toward a financial cliff. The common perception is that China’s mismanaged banks are saddled with unprecedented credit driven by irresponsible local borrowing and incomprehensible shadow banking products. Over-capacity in manufacturing suggests that high investment rates cannot produce the returns needed to service these new debts. Read more of this post

China’s ‘Mr. Market’ Urges Political Reform; Country’s Most Famous Economist Says Next Wave of Change Needs to Target Political System

China’s ‘Mr. Market’ Urges Political Reform

Country’s Most Famous Economist Says Next Wave of Change Needs to Target Political System

ANDREW BROWNE

Oct. 22, 2013 10:31 a.m. ET

The Chinese leadership appears to have launched a battle against press freedom, civil rights and judicial independence. But China’s most famous economist, Wu Jinglian, believes that China needs more – rather than less — political reforms. The WSJ’s Andrew Browne explains why press freedom is crucial to a better economy. BEIJING—Ever since Deng Xiaoping launched his first overhauls in 1978, free-market reforms in China have come in great waves, usually in response to a crisis. Read more of this post

Yazkuza Bosses Whacked by Regulators Freezing AmEx Cards; “It’s becoming inconvenient to be a yakuza”

Yazkuza Mobsters Whacked by Regulators Freezing AmExs

The yakuza, Japan’s organized-crime syndicates that have reaped billions from activities ranging from extortion to human trafficking, are finding their ranks decimated by authorities employing methods similar to those used to jail Al Capone: going after their money. Japan’s Financial Services Agency delivered the latest blow, last month ordering Mizuho Financial Group Inc. (8411) to improve compliance and then demanding that top executives report by Oct. 28 what they knew and when about a consumer-credit affiliate found making loans to crime groups. Read more of this post

Coutts Cutting Japan Stocks on Concern About Abe’s Third Arrow

Coutts Cutting Japan Stocks on Concern About Abe’s Third Arrow

Coutts & Co., the wealth management unit of Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc, is cutting holdings of Japanese shares on concern Prime Minister Shinzo Abe won’t pass the structural reforms needed to boost the economy. Coutts shifted from overweight to neutral on the best-performing developed-market equities on signs Abe will squander the early decisiveness of Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda, said Gary Dugan, chief investment officer for Asia and the Middle East. With a sales-tax increase approaching in April, Abe is failing to deliver on reform measures that would ease the burden of the levy, Dugan said. Read more of this post

Hong Kong’s Missing Workers Signal Danger for Aging City

Hong Kong’s Missing Workers Signal Danger for Aging City

Hong Kong restaurant owner Hudson Chang says he can’t lower the bar much further for hiring staff. He warns his employees repeatedly about sending messages on their iPhones during work hours. He pleads with them to be more pleasant to customers. Still, he can’t afford to fire anyone: He can’t be sure of finding a replacement. “We don’t really have much choice,” said Chang, 39, owner of a venue called Indonesian Restaurant 1968 on the outskirts of the central business district. “I’m just looking for people with basic manners. You don’t even need specific qualifications. You just have to be mobile and know how to smile.” Read more of this post

Li Ka-shing’s Hong Kong Sales Signal Peak as European Growth Beckons

Li’s Hong Kong Sales Signal Peak as European Growth Beckons

Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing made his fortune over a half-century of well-timed bets on everything from property to power generation. His latest deals suggest he’s wagering the city’s era of fast growth may be drawing to an end. Asia’s richest man may raise as much as $18 billion selling stakes in his retail unit and Hong Kong’s second-largest power supplier. The moves, announced in the past month, would free up money for Li to buy more assets in Europe, where his companies including Hutchison Whampoa Ltd. (13) have spent $14.5 billion on acquisitions the past three years, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Read more of this post