In Asia the Villagers Are Transforming the Cities

Urban Villagers Are Asia’s New Force

Last week in an upmarket part of Delhi, where apartments sell for millions of dollars, I came across a household where both the poorly paid staff and the owner had voted for Arvind Kejriwal, the former engineer-turned-politician, who is now the new chief minister of the Delhi capital region — India’s most urbanized state. This was not an unusual sample by any means. The urban poor toiling at the lowest levels of Delhi’s economy preferred Kejriwal, as did the affluent class that longs for a technocratic government and a smoother integration into the global economy. Read more of this post

810 S. Korea firms file for receivership last year

810 S. Korea firms file for receivership last year

2014.01.13 18:09:58

Kim Hyo-hye, Shin Soo-hyun

A host of South Korean companies have resorted to the court after failing to tackle financial woes amid the sputtering economy. The number of companies, which filed for the corporate revival process that equates to court receivership or composition in the past, stood at 810 last year, the highest since the 1998 Asian financial crisis.
The combined assets of all the troubled corporations under management of the court bankruptcy divisions topped 30 trillion won, on a par with assets of the country’s 10 biggest conglomerates.  Read more of this post

“When capital is coming out, I challenge you, Hong Kong is not ready for that. We are racing against the clock,” says Charles Li, chief executive of the territory’s bourse

Jan 13, 2014

Hong Kong Needs to Lift its Game, Says Li

ENDA CURRAN

 Hong Kong needs to deepen its capital markets beyond equities and target growth in areas including fixed income, currencies and commodities if the city is to retain its status as a leading financial center, according to Charles Li, chief executive of the territory’s bourse. Read more of this post

Hong Kong Said to Evaluate Safeguard From Market Plunges

Hong Kong Said to Evaluate Safeguard From Market Plunges

Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing Ltd. is studying whether the world’s fourth-largest stock market needs circuit breakers to prevent trading errors from causing large declines or surges in prices, according to a person familiar with the matter. Read more of this post

Japanese Firms Look to Hong Kong Listings

Japanese Firms Look to Hong Kong Listings

YVONNE LEE

Updated Jan. 13, 2014 12:24 p.m. ET

Japanese companies, led by the operator of Uniqlo, the clothing retailer, are heading to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange even as some foreign companies have shelved planned listings in the city in recent years. Read more of this post

Hong Kong faces threat from Guangzhou port

January 15, 2014 7:11 am

Hong Kong faces threat from Guangzhou port

By Demetri Sevastopulo in Nansha

Tens of thousands of litres of Admiral Vodka, a Lithuanian brand, lie in large blue vats in a warehouse in the southern Chinese port of Nansha waiting to be bottled for shipment to consumers in southeast Asia. Read more of this post

A great Indian deleveraging is needed to put things right; Country’s conglomerates hobbled by heavy debt cargo

January 14, 2014 5:54 am

A great Indian deleveraging is needed to put things right

By James Crabtree

Country’s conglomerates hobbled by heavy debt cargo

Mumbai’s spiffy new international terminal boasts soaring interiors, modern facilities and even a 3km “art wall” – made partly from cow dung. The $2bn project has raised hopes among weary travellers, fed up with India’s often-grim airports, but it also embodies a conundrum: the crisis facing the country’s heavily indebted industrial conglomerates. Read more of this post

Fed-Fueled Inflation May Cost India’s Congress, Aiyar Says

Fed-Fueled Inflation May Cost India’s Congress, Aiyar Says

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s ruling party would lose a national election if it were held today because of voter anger over the highest inflation in Asia, a former member of his cabinet said. Read more of this post

India Is Facing An Epidemic Of Fake CVs From Desperate Job Seekers

India Is Facing An Epidemic Of Fake CVs From Desperate Job Seekers

ABHAYA SRIVASTAVA, AGENCE FRANCE PRESSE
JAN. 13, 2014, 7:18 AM 6,470 21

A supervisor gives instructions to send the last batch of pending telegrams inside the dispatch section of the Central Telegraph Office in Mumbai July 16, 2013. Managers of an IT company in New Delhi were puzzled as they sifted through a pile of CVs — as many as 30 job seekers claimed to have worked previously for the same employer. Read more of this post

India’s First Ministry for Cows

January 14, 2014, 3:07 PM

India’s First Ministry for Cows

Top of Form

By Atish Patel and Saptarishi Dutta

Even in a country where the cow is revered, a government ministry dedicated to the protection of the animal is a first.

Rajasthan’s right-wing Hindu administration is set to establish a government department for the preservation and protection of cows and to start research institutions, or cow science universities, focused on the rearing and health of the animal. Read more of this post

Indian consumers tighten their belts to cope with rising prices

January 14, 2014 4:56 am

Indian consumers tighten their belts to cope with rising prices

By Amy Kazmin in New Delhi

At Shri Ambico Medicos, a tiny family-owned pharmacy in New Delhi’s Khanna Market, India’s economic malaise is reflected in declining sales of men’s deodorant and facial creams. Read more of this post

Red Tape Snarls Projects in India

Red Tape Snarls Projects in India

By NEHA THIRANI BAGRIJAN. 14, 2014

MUMBAI, India — The Mumbai Trans Harbor Link, a 14-mile series of pillars supporting an eight-lane highway and a rail line, was supposed to be an artery relieving pressure on India’s financial capital, while feeding a new city and fresh growth. Read more of this post

Rise of ‘Common Man’ in India Threatens Stability of Government Coalition

Rise of ‘Common Man’ in India Threatens Stability of Government Coalition

The sudden popularity of India’s anti-graft Aam Aadmi Party is prompting concern at companies such as Maruti Suzuki India (MSIL) Ltd. that this year’s general election will fail to create a stable government. Read more of this post

The Rise of ColorBar; Samir Modi started ColorBar with the intention of building a homegrown beauty cosmetic brand. A decade later, he has a 5 percent share of the Rs 2,500 crore pie, and is growing

The Rise of ColorBar

by Prince Mathews Thomas | Jan 15, 2014

Samir Modi started ColorBar with the intention of building a homegrown beauty cosmetic brand. A decade later, he has a 5 percent share of the Rs 2,500 crore pie, and is growing

With three women in his life, wife Shivani and two daughters Jayati and Vedika, Samir Modi can claim to have a fair understanding of the, well, fairer sex. While that may have contributed to this decision, it was hardly the only reason that prompted the son of industrialist KK Modi, founder of the $2 billion Modi Enterprises, to venture into the beauty cosmetics business in 2004.  Read more of this post

An Economic Shadow Over a Political Year

An Economic Shadow Over a Political Year

By Shoeb K. Zainuddin on 9:07 am January 13, 2014.
It was early Sunday morning, the sky gray after a night of heavy rain. The air was damp but that did not affect the mood of the thousands of Jakartans who were out on Jalan Sudirman, cycling, walking and jogging. Most Sundays, the capital’s busy thoroughfare is transformed into a sea of humanity as the early risers enjoy the car-free roads. Read more of this post

Blue Bird taxis flying high with $2bn IPO valuation

January 15, 2014 1:49 am

Blue Bird taxis flying high with $2bn IPO valuation

By Ben Bland in Jakarta

In the sprawling city of 12m that is Jakarta – heavy on traffic, low on decent public transport – everyone from local office workers to international investors relies on Blue Bird taxis to get around. Read more of this post

Jakarta to Offer Free Bus Tours of Capital’s Historic Sites; “We thank God that Jakarta will finally have city tour buses,” tourism head Arie Budhiman

Jakarta to Offer Free Bus Tours of Capital’s Historic Sites

By Lenny Tristia Tambun on 2:06 pm January 14, 2014.

The Jakarta Tourism Agency welcomed the arrival of five double-decker tour buses Monday night as the capital, long listed as a sight best left unseen on a visit to Indonesia, began an aggressive push to double the number of foreign tourists visiting the city. Read more of this post

Can Japan ditch ‘out-of-Asia’ notion?

2014-01-14 16:16

Can Japan ditch ‘out-of-Asia’ notion?

By Chung Min-uck
Can Japan overcome its “go-out-of-Asia” notion and be friendly with the neighbors?
“Once the wind of Western civilization blows toward the East every blade of grass and tree in the East follows what the Western wind brings. We do not have time to wait for the enlightenment of our neighbors (Korea and China)… I will deny those bad Asian friends from my heart.” Read more of this post

Suntory Billionaire Taps Jim Beam as Family Business Goes Global

Suntory Billionaire Taps Jim Beam as Family Business Goes Global

Nobutada Saji’s grandfather made Suntory Holdings Ltd. a household name in Japan. The grandson this week took a step toward transforming the family business into a global beverage giant. Suntory’s Jan. 13 announcement that it agreed to buy U.S. distiller Beam (BEAM) Inc. for $16 billion caps a series of overseas acquisitions under Saji, a U.S.-educated billionaire who sports a trademark silver-flecked mustache. Acquiring the maker of Jim Beam bourbon will turn the closely held Suntory into the world’s third-largest maker of premium spirits, according to the company. Read more of this post

810 S. Korea firms file for receivership last year

810 S. Korea firms file for receivership last year

Kim Hyo-hye, Shin Soo-hyun

2014.01.13 18:09:58

A host of South Korean companies have resorted to the court after failing to tackle financial woes amid the sputtering economy. The number of companies, which filed for the corporate revival process that equates to court receivership or composition in the past, stood at 810 last year, the highest since the 1998 Asian financial crisis.
The combined assets of all the troubled corporations under management of the court bankruptcy divisions topped 30 trillion won, on a par with assets of the country’s 10 biggest conglomerates.  Read more of this post

KDI: S. Korea would follow footsteps of Japan without restructuring

KDI: S. Korea would follow footsteps of Japan without restructuring

Chun Beom-joo, Lee Hyun-jung

2014.01.15 17:43:19

South Korea’s economy would remain trapped in anemic growth without across-the-board corporate restructuring, said a public think tank Korea Development Institute (KDI). This is a wake-up call that as one out of three conglomerates cannot even repay interest with their earnings, a failure to execute pre-emptive restructuring could aggravate corporate profitability further, propelling all of them to collapse.  Read more of this post

Korea exposed to ‘Samsung risks’

2014-01-13 18:32

Korea exposed to ‘Samsung risks’

By Kim Rahn
Samsung and Hyundai groups have been the main engine for Korea’s growth over the decades but the two are now emerging as potential risks with economic dependence on the duo growing at an alarming pace. Read more of this post

Korea has long held the nickname “Republic of Chaebol,” but a recent report on economic concentration supports this satirical moniker with hard facts and figures

2014-01-14 17:18

Widening economic gap

Korea has long held the nickname “Republic of Chaebol,” but a recent report on economic concentration supports this satirical moniker with hard facts and figures.
In the report, CEO Score, a local corporate consultant, said the combined sale of the nation’s two largest family-controlled conglomerates ― Samsung and Hyundai ― is equivalent to 35 percent of the nation’s gross domestic product. The aggregate market value of their affiliates also account for 37 percent of all companies listed on the local bourses.   Read more of this post

Korea’s Jeju Island’s Battle of Museums Isn’t Exactly a Culture War; Tourist Spots Dedicated to Teddy Bears, Sex, Chocolate, More Set Off Resort Squabble

Korea’s Jeju Island’s Battle of Museums Isn’t Exactly a Culture War

Tourist Spots Dedicated to Teddy Bears, Sex, Chocolate, More Set Off Resort Squabble

ALEX FRANGOS

Updated Jan. 14, 2014 10:46 p.m. ET

JEJU, South Korea—On picturesque Jeju island, visitors can hike through tangerine orchards to a dormant volcano, watch women dive for shellfish or, if it strikes their fancy, take in the World Eros Museum. Read more of this post

Samsung Group said that it will reduce its dependence on aptitude tests to choose new hires, admitting that its own custom-made test has cost job applicants a lot of money spent on cram schools

Samsung tries a fresh approach for new recruits

Its own aptitude test and other ‘specs’ will be given less weight

Jan 16,2014

Samsung Group said yesterday that it will reduce its dependence on aptitude tests to choose new hires, admitting that its own custom-made test has cost job applicants a lot of money spent on cram schools. Read more of this post

South Korea Private-Equity Firms Start to Target Midsize, Distressed Companies

South Korea Private-Equity Firms Start to Target Midsize, Distressed Companies

KANGA KONG

Jan. 14, 2014 5:13 a.m. ET

South Korea’s private-equity industry is growing, with newer entrants focusing on areas that haven’t received much attention in the past, particularly acquisitions of midsize companies as well as distressed assets. Read more of this post

Top Samsung Analyst Predicts Stock Wipeout Will Deepen

Top Samsung Analyst Predicts Stock Wipeout Will Deepen

The slump in Samsung Electronics Co. (005930) that wiped out $28 billion of market value in six weeks will deepen as Apple Inc. (AAPL) and Chinese rivals take market share in handsets, according to the stock’s most-accurate forecaster. Read more of this post

Thailand moves towards the brink; Opposition to Yingluck must step back from violence

January 13, 2014 7:21 pm

Thailand moves towards the brink

Opposition to Yingluck must step back from violence

The world has in recent years become accustomed to the outbreak of mass public demonstrations against autocrats and elites. The Middle East has had the Arab uprisings in Egypt, Syria and Tunisia. Russia has witnessed repeated street demonstrations against the rule of President Vladimir Putin. At the end of last year, thousands of protesters in Kiev called for Ukraine’s authoritarian president, Viktor Yanukovich, to step down. Read more of this post

Thai Protesters Turn Focus to Stock Exchange

Thai Protesters Turn Focus to Stock Exchange

Antigovernment Activists Seek to Escalate Efforts After Clogging Central Bangkok

JAMES HOOKWAY

Updated Jan. 13, 2014 9:28 a.m. ET

BANGKOK—After turning central Bangkok into a flag-waving sea of protest Monday, antigovernment activists now say they are preparing to take their campaign to the next level by seizing Thailand’s stock exchange. Read more of this post