Vietnam Property Market Struggles

September 12, 2013, 7:02 AM

Vietnam Property Market Struggles

By Nguyen Pham Muoi

HANOI — Vietnam’s property market is sluggish, reflecting a rise in inventory because of slow sales of newly built apartments Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and other big cities. That is the conclusion of  former Deputy Minister Dang Hung Vo of National Resources and Environment, the office responsible for land management in the country. The sluggishness coincides with some financial help from the government for low-income and other buyers to try to stimulate the market. But, property specialists say, the government incentives are too small to make a difference. And other problems – such as Vietnam’s traffic jams, high taxes, and governmental policies that discourage foreign investors – have meant that foreign buyers haven’t been rushing in to pick up property at discount prices. Read more of this post

SocGen said to explore sale of Asia private bank for $600 million (or valuation of 3.8-4.6% of its $13-16 billion AUM vs valuation of 1% of AUM for fund managers

SocGen said to explore sale of Asia private bank

12:53am EDT

By Saeed Azhar and Denny Thomas

SINGAPORE/HONG KONG (Reuters) – Societe Generale, France’s No. 2 listed bank, is exploring the sale of its Asia private banking arm, people familiar with the matter told Reuters, seeking to exit a market where small managers are getting hit by rising costs and competition. The Singapore-based division could fetch around $600 million, the people familiar said, though the actual sale price has yet to be determined and may exceed that figure. The sources declined to be identified as the discussions are confidential. Read more of this post

Southeast Asia is becoming China’s version of Florida for retirees

Southeast Asia is becoming China’s version of Florida for retirees

By Gwynn Guilford @sinoceros September 11, 2013

Since last year in China, people have been retiring faster new workers are entering the workforce. Fourteen percent of the population is now at least 60 years old, and at this pace, China’s total population will start to decline in 2030. And now even some of those retirees are contributing to population loss, increasingly spending their twilight years in Thailand, Malaysia and the Philippines, according to a recent report in China’s state-run Global Times (GT). Thailand is already a big favorite among Chinese people; it was China’s fourth most-popular tourist destination in 2012, while Malaysia and the Philippines came in at #10 and #20, respectively. Read more of this post

Chinese Lenders Contribute 1/3 of Global Banking Profits: Ma Weihua

Chinese Lenders Contribute 1/3 of Global Banking Profits: Ma Weihua

09-11 16:54 Caijing

Chinese banks contributed 95.5 percent of indirect financing a decade ago, and the proportion fell to around 60 percent at the end of June.

Chinese banks are among the most profitable in the world, said Ma Weihua, Chairman of Wing Lung Bank Limited on the sidelines of the Davos Forum in Dalian. China is home to 100 of the world’s 1000 biggest banks last year, contributing one third of global profits in the banking sector, according to Ma, who was also former governor of China Merchants Bank. He warned at the same time, though, with new challenges ahead, Chinese banks should “have a sense of crisis” and be ready to embrace reforms. Financial markets excluding banks have developed quickly, he said. The bond market is booming, for example, second only to banks in size. Money has been flowing out of the banks through the financial system, making its way towards wealth management products, which amount to several trillions yuan, and trust loans at nearly 10 trillion yuan, as well as private capital market, which is reportedly worth 4-5 trillion yuan, according to Ma. The challenge of so called financial “disintermediation” is even more severe, Ma said, noting third-part payments. The number of companies with a third-part payment licenses has risen to over 100 in a market worth 2 trillion yuan, eroding the position of banks as a platform for payment, he said. Banks contributed 95.5 percent of indirect financing a decade ago, and the proportion fell to around 60 percent at the end of June.

Chinese insulin maker Gan & Lee investigating allegations it paid 800 million yuan in bribes

China drug firm Gan & Lee investigating allegations it paid 800 million yuan in bribes

Wednesday, 11 September, 2013, 6:50pm

Reuters in Shanghai

Sales representative claims bribes were to raise sales ahead of planned initial public offering

Chinese insulin maker Gan & Lee Pharmaceuticals said on Wednesday it was investigating allegations published in a newspaper that it spent around 800 million yuan (US$130.72 million) to bribe doctors to promote the firm’s drugs over five years. A sales representative for the privately held company, identified by the pseudonym Wu Dejiang, told China’s 21st Century Business Herald the bribes were aimed at raising sales ahead of a planned initial public offering in Shanghai. Read more of this post

Why Dollarama still won’t accept credit cards in its stores

Why Dollarama still won’t accept credit cards in its stores

Hollie Shaw | 13/09/11 | Last Updated: 13/09/11 3:17 PM ET
TORONTO – Dollarama executives are not convinced they should allow customers to shop with credit cards at Canada’s biggest dollar store chain. The company, which introduced debit cards as a payment option in 2008, has run pilot tests of credit card shopping through some of its point of sale terminals, but chief executive Larry Rossy said Wednesday he is not sold on accepting the debt-funded plastic. Read more of this post

Shah Rukh Khan to open India’s first Kidzania theme park

SRK-Backed KidZania India Opens First Theme Park

by Deepak Ajwani | Sep 11, 2013

Education and entertainment combine to make KidZania a novel theme park. It also helps that it’s being backed by Shah Rukh Khan

A few years ago, an NRI businessman and a Bollywood superstar, both still unknown to each other, had a common wish. They wanted to set up a children’s theme park. One strategically wanted his family’s business empire—focussed on manufacturing thus far—to enter the consumer space; and the other’s excitement stemmed from his children’s fascination for such entertainment, as well as his own love for kids. Fate brought the two together. Read more of this post

HK property tycoons scramble to meet targets as cooling measures bite

HK property tycoons scramble to meet targets as cooling measures bite

Wed, Sep 11 2013

By Yimou Lee

HONG KONG, Sept 12 (Reuters) – Hong Kong’s powerful property developers are locked in a price war as measures to cool one of the world’s most expensive real estate markets force them to impose steep discounts to hit sales targets, with many turning to mainland China to fill the gap. Developers such as Cheung Kong (Holdings) Ltd, controlled by Asia’s richest man Li Ka-shing, are even throwing in free car park spaces – which can be worth $100,000 or more in densely populated Hong Kong – to lure buyers at a time when quarterly transactions are at their lowest level since 1996. Read more of this post

Romantic Germany risks economic decline as green dream spoils; Germany is committing slow economic suicide. It has staked its future on heavy industry and manufacturing, yet has no energy policy to back this up

Romantic Germany risks economic decline as green dream spoils

Germany is committing slow economic suicide. It has staked its future on heavy industry and manufacturing, yet has no energy policy to back this up.

Germany’s nuclear power plants. Their closure will cut off a fifth of the country’s total power Photo: Reuters

By Ambrose Evans-Pritchard

7:35PM BST 11 Sep 2013

Instead, the country has a ruinously expensive green dream, priced at €700bn (£590bn) from now until the late 2030s by environment minister Peter Altmaier if costs are slashed – and €1 trillion if they are not. The Germans are surely the most romantic nation on earth. Read more of this post

Fracking Moves U.S. Crude Output to Highest Level Since 1989; “The state of Texas is now producing more oil than the country of Iran.”

Fracking Moves U.S. Crude Output to Highest Level Since 1989

U.S. oil production jumped last week to the highest level since May 1989, cutting consumption of foreign fuel and putting the U.S. closer to energy independence.

Drilling techniques including hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, pushed crude output up by 124,000 barrels, or 1.6 percent, to 7.745 million barrels a day in the seven days ended Sept. 6, the Energy Information Administration said today. Read more of this post

Indonesian Govt Calls on Business Leaders’ ‘Sense of Patriotism’ to Save the Economy

Govt Calls on Business Leaders’ ‘Sense of Patriotism’ to Save the Economy

By Tito Summa Siahaan on 9:22 pm September 11, 2013.
The government is showing signs of desperation in its attempt to improve the country’s worsening economic situation, calling for business “patriotism” in dealing with the country’s weakening currency and persistent current account deficit. Finance Minister Chatib Basri, Trade Minister Gita Wirjawan, and Industry Minister MS Hidayat, met with more than 140 business leaders including Franky Widjaja, chairman of Sinar Mas Group, Sofjan Wanandi, chairman of the Indonesian Employers Association (Apindo), and Suryo Bambang Sulisto, chairman of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin), in Jakarta on Wednesday. Read more of this post

Indonesia’s woes are ASEAN’s problems

Indonesia’s woes are ASEAN’s problems

Some fear that Indonesia is heading for a crisis. Growth in the second quarter dropped below 6 per cent. Deficits in both the current account and trade widened markedly. The rupiah fell some 10 per cent last month to its lowest level against the US dollar in four years.

BY SIMON TAY –

5 HOURS 41 MIN AGO

Some fear that Indonesia is heading for a crisis. Growth in the second quarter dropped below 6 per cent. Deficits in both the current account and trade widened markedly. The rupiah fell some 10 per cent last month to its lowest level against the US dollar in four years. Read more of this post

Despite Joko Widodo’s Popularity, Megawati Will Likely Run Herself

Despite Joko Widodo’s Popularity, Megawati Will Likely Run Herself

By Aleksius Jemadu on 9:57 am September 12, 2013.
While other political parties have declared names for their presidential candidates, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle chooses to wait and see. During its National Meeting last week in Jakarta, chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri, asked members of her party to be patient and wait until the result of the 2014 legislative elections is known. She probably wanted to emphasize the importance of winning the legislative elections first, before formulating accurate strategies to go after the top executive job. Read more of this post

Will shell-shocked Japanese head to Busan?

2013-09-11 16:53

Will shell-shocked Japanese head to Busan?

By Kim Young-jin, Baek Byung-yeul
BUSAN – Not long after the earthquake and tsunami of March 2011 devastated Japan’s eastern coast, local media speculated that jitters could prompt Japanese to flock to Korea’s second-largest metropolis.
While the southeastern port city ㅡ close enough to Japan’s Fukuoka to reach by ferry ㅡ has not seen such a boom, plans are underway to capitalize on a growing number of Japanese wanting to stay overseas for extended periods. Read more of this post

South Korea’s conglomerates are turning their attention to “skills” that prove effective on the ground from “qualifications” such as GPA, prestige of universities, as criteria for recruitment

30 conglomerates shift focus from “qualifications” to “skills” for recruitment

Lee Han-na, Seo Dong-chul, Jang Jae-woong

South Korea’s conglomerates are turning their attention to “skills” that prove effective on the ground from “qualifications” such as GPA, prestige of universities, as criteria for recruitment.  Top 30 conglomerates have already radically transformed their recruitment systems. Lotte Group, Daewoo E&C, Woori Bank, CJ Foodville, SeAH Steel, Hanwha S&C, LS Networks, KT Skylife, SKC Solmics, NHN and Orion have initiated such innovative transition in recruitment, said the Ministry of Employment and Labor (MOEL) and Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry Wednesday. The transition is a phenomenon found in not only top 10 conglomerates but also mid-sized conglomerates across the industries, including manufacturing, service, IT and finance and construction. In these circumstances, other large companies are showing signs of putting the skill-based approach on the forefront. Samsung Group has eliminated the step of screening out candidates by assessing their resumes and other paper applications during the recruitment process. Hyundai Motor Group has taken to streets to look for prospective employees. The MOEL plans to require 210 corporations to adopt “key job competency assessment model” by next year to help them properly evaluate candidates’ job performance capacity. The model is expected to become the standard “manual” for facilitating skill-based recruitment to take root. “Meister” high schools, which were established to foster students’ working-level competency needed on the ground, have grown in line with this trend. 2,630 companies have signed academic-industrial partnerships with 35 meister high schools nationwide as of late June, according to the Ministry of Education.

With Japan’s help, an ex-soldier leads Yangon from backwater to megacity

With Japan’s help, an ex-soldier leads Yangon from backwater to megacity

Tue, Sep 10 2013

By Andrew R.C. Marshall

YANGON (Reuters) – Every evening, long after Yangon’s office workers have squeezed onto packed buses for grueling commutes to the suburbs, a single room remains lit up on the top floor of City Hall. Inside sits Toe Aung, a former army major who almost by accident bears one of the biggest responsibilities in reform-era Myanmar: planning Yangon’s unstoppable transformation from a regional backwater into Southeast Asia’s next megacity. As deputy head of urban planning, a department which didn’t exist until he set it up in 2011, Toe Aung’s task is unenviable. With its power shortages, floods, traffic jams, pollution and slums, Yangon is a moldering testament to nearly half a century of economic stagnation under military dictatorship.

Read more of this post

Short-Selling Bans Tested in U.K. Turf War Over EU Powers

Short-Selling Bans Tested in U.K. Turf War Over EU Powers

The U.K.’s bid to overturn a European Union agency’s power to ban short selling faces a test tomorrow when an EU judge gives his view on part of Britain’s turf war with the bloc’s financial regulators. An adviser to the EU Court of Justice will issue a non-binding opinion on whether the European Securities and Markets Authority’s decision-making ability goes beyond limits allowed under the bloc’s treaties. Read more of this post

Fund managers ‘will be replaced by computers’; Standard Life Investments, the global investment manager, has proposed that there will soon be no need for fund managers

Fund managers ‘will be replaced by computers’

Standard Life Investments, the global investment manager, has proposed that there will soon be no need for fund managers. Man has to deal with ‘fear and greed, intellectual constraint and fatigue’, whereas a machine is ‘agnostic, tireless’ and has ‘no bias’ in decision making, says Standard Life Photo: Alamy

By Gabrielle Putter

6:37PM BST 11 Sep 2013

In a report published this month by the investment firm, they argue that long-term strategy fund managers could soon be replaced by machines. “Using artificial intelligence applications have enhanced our understanding and analysis of financial market behaviour, adding to the range of predictive tools,” the investment firm says. While the firm is aware that, traditionally, “investment approaches generally contain both qualitative and quantitative elements”, which means that “in broad terms human thinking may be better suited to the qualitative side while computers are used to varying extents to add value to quantitative inputs”. This looks like it could change. Read more of this post

Wenzhou, China’s “City of Entrepreneurs”, facing unprecedented financial challenges; “Many entrepreneurs in Wenzhou are now counting their business career in terms of hours”

Wenzhou facing unprecedented financial challenges

Staff Reporter

2013-09-11

A series of issues including the collapse of the realty market and a disruption in the loan guarantee chain has pushed many enterprises in Wenzhou in eastern China’s Zhejiang province to the brink of bankruptcy. “Many entrepreneurs in Wenzhou are now counting their business career in terms of hours,” remarked Chen Dongqing, owner of a local home appliances retailer. In the city’s Leqing district, 15 mutual guarantee institutions, each consisting of 10 or even scores of enterprises, are reportedly on the verge of collapse due to the dire financial straits of their members. Read more of this post

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said the foundations of a growth rebound aren’t solid while cautioning that stimulus won’t help resolve deep-rooted issues in the world’s second-largest economy

Li Says China Rebound Not Yet on Solid Foundation

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said the foundations of a growth rebound aren’t solid while cautioning that stimulus won’t help resolve deep-rooted issues in the world’s second-largest economy. “The foundation of an economic recovery is not solid yet with many uncertain factors,” Li said in a speech today at the World Economic Forum in Dalian, China. The nation is taking steps to stabilize growth and can achieve the main economic targets this year, Li said. Read more of this post

The Complete History Of The Financial Crisis In One Chart

CHART OF THE DAY: The Complete History Of The Financial Crisis In One Chart

SAM RO 58 MINUTES AGO 947

Five years ago, the The U.S. economy got slammed by the financial crisis. “In the span of a few weeks, many of our nation’s largest financial institutions failed or were forced to merge to avoid insolvency,” wrote the Treasury Department’s Anthony Reyes. “Capital markets — essential for helping families and businesses meet their everyday financing needs — were freezing up, dramatically reducing the availability of credit, such as student, auto, and small business loans.” The Treasury Department just published a presentation looking back at the financial crisis and the progress since then. It included this annotated chart of the S&P 500 and consumer sentiment during the period.

Groupon India Onion Deal So Popular It Crashes Site

Groupon India Onion Deal So Popular It Crashes Site

The Huffington Post  |  By Amanda Scherker Posted: 09/10/2013 12:09 pm EDT  |  Updated: 09/11/2013 8:09 am EDT

Groupon India is offering an unusual deal on cheap onions, and the sale has turned out to be as chaotic as designer-label Black Friday shopping. The weeklong bargain began Sept. 5, and offers 1 kilogram of onions at 9 rupees (about $0.14) for 3,000 buyers each day. The signature whimsical Groupon ad reads thus:

People haven’t experienced onions in a long, long time. That sweet, pungent aroma of onions being sautéed to a nice golden brown before being added to your mum’s signature curry is no longer familiar. This much-coveted, much-written-about, much-craved-for vegetable is now almost as expensive as caviar, diamonds and Donald Trump’s wig! Men are scrambling to the market to pick the perfect onion ring to please their ladies.

Groupon had no idea how right that ad was. It took only 44 minutes to sell the first 3,000 kilograms of onions, and the sudden traffic spike subsequently crashed Groupon’s Indian site, according to Al Jazeera America. Read more of this post

Greece May Need Two More Aid Packages Says ECB’s Coene

September 11, 2013, 3:40 a.m. ET

Greece May Need Two More Aid Packages Says ECB’s Coene

Comments Add to Rhetoric Building the Case for More Aid to Greece

LAURENCE NORMAN

BRUSSELS—Greece’s official lenders could need to step in twice more to help the country as it very slowly recovers from its economic crisis, Luc Coene, the president of Belgium’s National Bank, said in a radio interview Wednesday morning. Asked whether Greece’s euro zone partners will need to prepare a third aid package for Greece, Mr. Coene, who is also a European Central Bank Governing Council member, said there will need to be at least one more package of support. Read more of this post

End of cheap money hits Asian groups; Few companies have hedges against strengthening dollar

Asian groups struggle with end of cheap money

By Henny Sender

Few companies have hedges against strengthening dollar

Hong Kong-based hedge fund Senrigan Capital is suing Thailand’s Charoen Pokphand Group over the compensation it says it is owed as a shareholder inSiam Makro, a Thai retailer that CP is acquiring. The dispute revolves around the appropriate exchange rate between the baht and the dollar. If the investors prevail, it could raise CP’s transaction costs by millions of dollars. The dispute is one of many complications materialising across the region as the dollar strengthens dramatically against emerging market currencies – a surge that few companies in Asia anticipated and fewer still had hedged themselves against. Read more of this post

China Shadow Banking Returns as Growth Rebound Adds Risks; new credit almost doubled in August from the previous month

China Shadow Banking Returns as Growth Rebound Adds Risks

China’s broadest measure of new credit almost doubled in August from the previous month in a sign leaders are committed to meeting economic goals even at the cost of adding financial risks. Aggregate financing was 1.57 trillion yuan ($257 billion), the People’s Bank of China said in Beijing yesterday, topping the 950 billion yuan median estimate of 10 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News. New yuan loans from banks accounted for about 45 percent of the total, down from July’s 87 percent, as non-traditional credit played a bigger role. Read more of this post

Investors are worried about another cash crunch in China this month following June’s unprecedented crisis, as the end of the quarter and two public holidays approach.

Sep 11, 2013

Investors Wary of Another China Cash Crunch

SHEN HONG

Investors are worried about another cash crunch in China this month following June’s unprecedented crisis, as the end of the quarter and two public holidays approach.

But analysts say Beijing has enough financial resources and the resolve to avoid another credit crisis, though borrowing costs will almost certainly rise over the next two weeks due to banks’ need to meet capital requirements and consumers’ demand for cash to pay for holidays. Read more of this post