‘Intrapreneurship’: new growth engine

Updated : 2014-05-11 15:51

‘Intrapreneurship’: new growth engine

Chris Khang
Companies are constantly looking for new ways to stimulate growth and create new opportunities. Large companies especially cannot compete in the new business environment by resorting to their old ways and formulae for success. They are exploring to examine their management strategies and corporate cultures in order to find ways of developing a spirit of “intrapreneurship.” Read more of this post

Cross-border M&A must for Korean firms

Cross-border M&A must for Korean firms

By Steven Jeong
With globalization, we are continuously moving toward a smaller world with greater cross-border business opportunities. According to PwC corporate finance practice, cross-border merger and acquisition (M&A) accounted for approximately 35 percent of all transactions globally in 2013. Though cross-border deals dropped in value close to 11 percent in 2013 compared to 2012, quarter to quarter deals is a rising trend, registering the fourth quarterly increase to $255.3 billion, as we speak. Read more of this post

The economic fallout from the sinking of the ferry Sewol seems more serious and far-reaching than was initially thought

Updated : 2014-05-11 16:04

Fallout from disaster

The economic fallout from the sinking of the ferry Sewol seems more serious and far-reaching than was initially thought.
According to a report submitted by the finance ministry to a meeting chaired by President Park Geun-hye Friday, sales at department stores dropped 1.9 percent in April. At large discount stores, the performance was even worse with sales dipping 9.8 percent. Read more of this post

Rogue trader: most illicit deals unnoticed; Less than 5 percent of unauthorized financial trading cases may be getting reported, said Toshihide Iguchi, whose trading losses led to the 1995 shutdown of Daiwa Bank’s U.S. operations

‘I’m no criminal,’ says man who cost Daiwa $1 billion

Rogue trader: most illicit deals unnoticed

BLOOMBERG

MAY 7, 2014

Toshihide Iguchi, a former trader at Daiwa Bank Ltd., is interviewed in Hong Kong on April 29. | BLOOMBERG Read more of this post

Lee’s health may affect Samsung

Updated : 2014-05-11 19:05

Lee’s health may affect Samsung

By Kim Tae-jong
The health problem of Lee Kun-hee, the head of Samsung Group, has emerged as a major stumbling block to the group’s move to realign businesses for organizational reform and power transfer. Read more of this post

S. Korea’s economy and the elderly

S. Korea’s economy and the elderly

Declining workforce, graying of society severely burdens welfare programs

BY MINORU MATSUTANI

STAFF WRITER

MAY 11, 2014

The South Korean economy has shown positive signs recently, but prospects may not be so bright due to the increasing costs of handling an aging society, five South Korean think tank researchers met at a recent symposium in Tokyo to discuss issues facing South Korea. Read more of this post

Industry 4.0: Germany rethinks manufacturing

Industry 4.0: Germany rethinks manufacturing

BY JOCHEN LEGEWIE

MAY 10, 2014

Last month, the chief executive officer of one of the country’s largest manufacturers spoke in a closed-door meeting to a group of Japanese executives on his company’s global strategy. Remarkably, he spend 20 percent of his time praising German companies, from traditional heavyweights such as Siemens and Thyssen- Krupp to young up-and-comers such as SAP and Infineon. Read more of this post

More than 100 billionaires living in Britain; Britain has more billionaires than any other country, as the number based in the UK has tripled in the last ten years

More than 100 billionaires living in Britain

Britain has more billionaires than any other country, as the number based in the UK has tripled in the last ten years

By Agencies

7:29PM BST 10 May 2014

The number of billionaires living in Britain has risen to more than 100 for the first time, a study has found. Read more of this post

SEC probing brokerages over handling of retail orders

Published: Wednesday May 7, 2014 MYT 8:31:00 AM
Updated: Wednesday May 7, 2014 MYT 8:34:14 AM

SEC probing brokerages over handling of retail orders

NEW YORK: The Securities and Exchange Commission has sent out subpoenas and demands for records to brokerage companies as part of a probe into how retail customers’ orders are routed, executed and filled, according to several people familiar with the matter. Read more of this post

The long arms of the law: Across Asia, judges are having too much say in politics

The long arms of the law: Across Asia, judges are having too much say in politics

May 10th 2014 | From the print edition

AFTER nearly three years, Yingluck Shinawatra’s stint as prime minister of Thailand drew this week to its inevitable close. The end came not with the bang of a people-power revolution that at one point seemed likely to unseat her; nor with the muted rumble of tanks in a coup like the one that toppled her brother Thaksin from the same job in 2006; still less with the raucous clamour of a contested election, though one had been called for July 20th. Rather, it petered out in the whimper of a court order. Not for the first time the Thai judiciary has intervened to solve a problem that a broken political system could not fix. And not for the first time its intervention was to the Shinawatras’ detriment. Read more of this post

Thailand’s politics: Out of luck; A court ousts Yingluck Shinawatra, pushing the country further towards political breakdown

Thailand’s politics: Out of luck; A court ousts Yingluck Shinawatra, pushing the country further towards political breakdown

May 10th 2014 | BANGKOK | From the print edition

AFTER 1,000 days in power, Yingluck Shinawatra’s time as prime minister came to an abrupt end on May 7th at the hands of the country’s Constitutional Court. Its judges ruled that she had abused her office and had to step down, together with nine of her cabinet ministers. And so the court succeeded where months of street protests had failed in ousting the leader of the Pheu Thai party and younger sister of Thaksin Shinawatra, a former prime minister removed in a military coup in 2006 whose shadow still falls over Thailand. The court’s decision only widens divisions in the country’s politics. Divining a peaceful way out of the present crisis is not easy. Read more of this post

A century of capital structure: The leveraging of corporate America

A century of capital structure: The leveraging of corporate America

John R. Graham, Mark T. Leary, Michael R. Roberts, 6 May 2014

During the recent financial crisis, not much attention has been paid to the indebtedness of non-financial corporations, as little is known about what drives their financing. This column looks at financial policies of non-financial corporations over the last century. It shows evidence that a primary factor affecting the amount of corporate borrowing is the amount of borrowing by the government. Government borrowing crowds out the ability of the corporate sector to borrow. Thus, policymakers should be cautious in altering government policies in an attempt to reduce corporate debt usage. Read more of this post

Blame the media, China property edition

Blame the media, China property edition

David Keohane | May 07 11:07 | 7 comments | Share

The bank that brought “adaptive pricing” to the China property euphemism table just two weeks ago is getting quite a bit blunter.

We’ll spare you more charts today, but here’s a chunk or two from Citi’s Oscar Choi and Marco Sze who have been forced into a shower of scare quotes by weaker than expected April data (emphasis in original): Read more of this post

The China over-invoicing export distortion is back (sort of)

The China over-invoicing export distortion is back (sort of)

Izabella Kaminska | May 08 07:04 | 2 comments | Share

Let’s face it. Chinese national statistics are to some degree always treated with a pinch of salt by analysts and economists alike.

That said, there’a s big difference between massaging subjective inputs in statistical methodologies and failing to adjust for misleading economic activity driven by actual economic behaviour. Read more of this post

Malaysia’s SC probes five firms for unlicensed contracts dealing

Updated: Thursday May 8, 2014 MYT 7:57:32 AM

SC probes five firms for unlicensed contracts dealing

“To assist SC’s investigation, relevant documents and IT equipment were seized. Statements were also recorded from the staff of the companies and other persons present during the raids,” the SC said. None of the companies or its representatives were licensed by SC to solicit for monies nor to deal in futures contracts. “The public is strongly advised not to deal with any unlicensed persons in connection with dealing in futures contracts and to contact SC should they have information about such dealings,” the regulator added. Read more of this post

Everything is rigged, art edition

Everything is rigged, art edition

Izabella Kaminska | May 08 16:23 | 4 comments | Share

John Gapper has an excellent column on Thursday about art auctions, focusing on the degree to which they are fixed or obfuscated by insiders and long-standing established practices. Read more of this post

Li Ka-shing’s withdrawal from China related to new leadership

Li Ka-shing’s withdrawal from China related to new leadership

Staff Reporter

2014-05-10

Recently, a lot of new property projects in China have offered discounts, with some in Beijing having cut prices dramatically in order to find buyers. Read more of this post

Water woes intensify in China due to rapid urbanization

Water woes intensify in China due to rapid urbanization

Staff Reporter

2014-05-11

Water shortages in China have been exacerbated due to rapid urbanization and industrialization, with many new cities facing water crises. Read more of this post

China’s shadow banking system a threatening US$4.3tn

China’s shadow banking system a threatening US$4.3tn

Staff Reporter

2014-05-11

The size of China’s shadow banking system is around 27 trillion yuan (US$4.3 trillion), only around one fifth of the banking sector’s assets, said a Chinese official. The low proportion does not mean the system’s risks should be underestimated; the underground sector still has the power to drag down the traditional banking sector and the real economy, reports our Chinese-language sister newspaper Want Daily. Read more of this post