Bamboo Innovator

“The worsening financial health of public firms has become a major national concern. We must address their heavy debts”; Korean govt urged 12 heavily-indebted public firms to sell all their “unnecessary” assets. For example, the housing developer pays an interest of some 12 billion won ($11.4 million) every day for its debts totaling 142 trillion won. Its debt ratio stands at 466 percent

2013-12-31 16:01

Public firms to sell non-core assets

By Na Jeong-ju
The government urged 12 heavily-indebted public firms Tuesday to sell all their “unnecessary” assets and lower their debt levels.
The targeted firms include Korea Land & Housing Corp., Korea Gas Corp. and Korea Electric Power Corp. The combined debts held by the 12 firms soared from 187 trillion won to 412 trillion won ($393 billion) under the previous Lee Myung-bak administration. Read more of this post

Japan is no longer a backwater for investors

December 30, 2013 7:53 am

Japan is no longer a backwater for investors

By Trevor Greetham

Authorities are saying the right things and doing most of them

At Fidelity our multi asset funds have been overweight Japan all year and we are happy to maintain that going into 2014. The authorities are saying the right things and doing most of them. While there is a new found sense of confidence in policy circles, there is enough scepticism among domestic institutions, economists and the media to make you feel the story is not overdone. Read more of this post

Traders squeezed as Indian farmers turn stockpile gamblers

Updated: Tuesday December 31, 2013 MYT 3:13:15 PM

Traders squeezed as Indian farmers turn stockpile gamblers

PIWDAI: Farmers such as 68-year-old Ghanshyam Gokale are quietly shaking up agricultural commodity trading in India, forcing the likes of top soybean processor Ruchi Soya to shift its business model away from futures contracts and towards the “spot” market. Read more of this post

Singh’s $160 Billion Logjam Saps Lanco Earnings: Corporate India

Singh’s $160 Billion Logjam Saps Lanco Earnings: Corporate India

Indian projects valued at more than $160 billion remain stalled a year after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh set up a panel to accelerate investments, sapping earnings at companies such as Lanco Infratech Ltd. (LANCI) Read more of this post

Roads Displacing Oxen Spur Rural India in Boost to Singh

Asphalt to Vodafone Transform Rural India as Ox-Cart Era Fades

For three decades, Indian rice farmer Lahu Bhiwa loaded his grain onto an ox cart and sold it to families in his village, earning about 2,000 rupees ($32) a month. His life changed in 2010, when bulldozers cleared a new road that has helped triple his income. Read more of this post

India’s Anti-Graft Hero Offers Too Much Personal Transparency

India’s Anti-Graft Hero Offers Too Much Personal Transparency

By Agence France-Presse on 3:00 pm December 30, 2013.

In this photograph taken on Dec. 22, 2013, India’s Aam Aadmi Party (Common Man’s Party) leader Arvind Kejriwal, center, is greeted by supporters as he arrives at a public meeting in New Delhi. (AFP Photo/Sajjad Hussain)

New Delhi. India’s anti-corruption activist Arvind Kejriwal swept to power last month on a promise of greater transparency and he began office Monday true to his word – admitting that Delhi belly had spoiled his first day. Read more of this post

Has the Indian Art Market Hit an Inflection Point? Some Indian artists already have a global market. Now, India is ready to develop as a global hub for art

Has the Indian Art Market Hit an Inflection Point?

by Steven P Murphy | Dec 31, 2013

Some Indian artists already have a global market. Now, India is ready to develop as a global hub for art

Wherever I travel, I find that the interest and audiences for art continue to grow, and with that we see new collectors engaging in the art market at all price levels. This is equally true in India, a country with such rich artistic heritage. Spending time with our team in Mumbai and meeting clients over the last few days, I am more certain than ever that the time is right for us to be holding our inaugural auction. Read more of this post

Apollo’s failed deal for Cooper sows doubt on future Indian M&A

Apollo’s failed deal for Cooper sows doubt on future Indian M&A

4:25am EST

By Sumeet Chatterjee

MUMBAI (Reuters) – The ambition from Indian mid-sized companies for large debt-fueled acquisitions abroad was dealt a major setback after the unraveling of a $2.5 billion bid by India’s Apollo Tyres Ltd (APLO.NS: Quote, Profile,Research, Stock Buzz) to buy Cooper Tire & Rubber Co (CTB.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz). Read more of this post

American-Style Start-Ups Take Root in India

DECEMBER 30, 2013, 8:43 PM

American-Style Start-Ups Take Root in India

By SEI CHONG

MUMBAI, India — India has built a reputation as a notoriously tough place to do business, one that has stymied even giants like Walmart. And unlike Silicon Valley, where a decent idea can attract funding, investors in India are much more reluctant to risk their money on start-ups. Read more of this post

Construction costs of a new HK-Shenzhen border control point have escalated by a staggering 52 percent to HK$24.8 billion

Crossing costs soar
Eddie Luk
Tuesday, December 31, 2013
Construction costs of a new border control point have escalated by a staggering 52 percent to HK$24.8 billion. The government is seeking Legislative Council approval for an extra HK$8.55 billion – from an original cost estimate of HK$16.2 billion – for the new Liantang-Heung Yuen Wai crossing between Hong Kong and Shenzhen. Read more of this post

The Shale Oil Party Is Ending, Phibro’s Andy Hall Warns

The Shale Oil Party Is Ending, Phibro’s Andy Hall Warns

Tyler Durden on 12/29/2013 20:27 -0500

Phibro’s (currently Astenback Capital Management) Andy Hall knows a thing or two about the oil market – and even if he doesn’t (and it was all luck), his views are sufficiently respected to influence the industrial groupthink. Which is why for anyone interested in where one of the foremost oil market movers sees oil supply over the next decade, here are his full thoughts from his latest letter to Astenback investors. Of particular note: Hall’s warning to all the shale oil optimists: “According to the DOE data, for Bakken and Eagle Ford the legacy well decline rate has been running at either side of 6.5 per cent per month… Production from new wells has been running at about 90,000 bpd per month per field meaning net growth in production is 25,000 bpd per month. It will become smaller as output grows and that’s why ceteris paribus growth in output for both fields will continue to slow over the coming years. When all the easily drillable sites are exhausted – at the latest sometime shortly after 2020 – production from these two fields will decline.” Read more of this post

Food Processors Address Frozen Produce’s Image Problem

Food Processors Address Frozen Produce’s Image Problem

SARAH NASSAUER

Dec. 30, 2013 6:56 p.m. ET

Frozen food makers are launching an image campaign to rehab attitudes about the healthiness of frozen vegetables, Sarah Nassauer reports on Lunch Break. Photo: Green Giant. Read more of this post

As Coffee Prices Decline, Investors Brace for More

As Coffee Prices Decline, Investors Brace for More

LESLIE JOSEPHS

Dec. 30, 2013 7:25 p.m. ET

Coffee prices have tumbled 20% this year, capping the biggest two-year plunge in a decade and highlighting commodity markets’ struggle with a supply deluge. Read more of this post

‘China Valley’ industrial park to be created in Saemangeum by 2020; The park will be used mainly to produce fresh and processed foods, such as fresh and powdered milk, for exports to China

‘China Valley’ to be created in Saemangeum

Jung Seok-woo

2013.12.31 12:22:19

South Korea and China have agreed to cooperate in building an industrial park in Saemangeum, tentatively named “Saemangeum China Valley” by 2020, Seoul officials said Monday.  Read more of this post

The ASX’s winners and losers for 2013

The ASX’s winners and losers for 2013

December 31, 2013 – 5:18PM

Sally Rose

In a year when big department store chiefs, including Myer’s Bernie Brookes and Gerry Harvey of Harvey Norman, bemoaned the onslaught of competition from offshore online retailers, a cluster of smaller, nimbler, retailers outperformed. Read more of this post

Rupiah to Rupee Lead Worst Year for Asian Currencies Since 2008

Rupiah to Rupee Lead Worst Year for Asian Currencies Since 2008

Asian currencies headed for their worst year since the 2008 global financial crisis as overseas investors fled emerging markets in anticipation of the Federal Reserve’s decision to taper its record stimulus. Read more of this post

Four Trends to Watch in Asia in 2014

Four Trends to Watch in Asia in 2014

As we head into 2014, one thing is clear about the outlook for Asia: No one really has a clue what’s in store for this increasingly eclectic, cacophonous and unpredictable region. Read more of this post

Vietnam set to approve bigger foreign stakes in listed companies

Updated: Tuesday December 31, 2013 MYT 1:17:09 PM

Vietnam set to approve bigger foreign stakes in listed companies

HANOI: Vietnam’s prime minister is expected within days to approve an amended law allowing foreigners to own up to 60% of shares in some listed firms, the latest incremental move towards easing tight state controls on the economy. Read more of this post

Singapore Leads Pack as Cities Prepare for an Influx of Fliers; Singapore is unusually forward-looking in its expansion, but passenger demand is forcing airports from Beijing to Seoul to grow

December 30, 2013

Singapore Leads Pack as Cities Prepare for an Influx of Fliers

By BETTINA WASSENER

SINGAPORE — Travelers passing through the gigantic Changi International Airport here rarely have to wait long for bags or boarding. Unlike many other airports in this fast-growing region, Singapore’s airport can handle far more than the 53 million travelers that embarked and departed there this year. Read more of this post

Little India riot: The dog that did not bark

Little India riot: The dog that did not bark

In the aftermath of the Little India riot, the focus and dominant narrative, unsurprisingly, have been on law and order issues.

BY EUGENE KB TAN –

4 HOURS 31 MIN AGO

In the aftermath of the Little India riot, the focus and dominant narrative, unsurprisingly, have been on law and order issues. The Government’s narrative is that the riot was a “one-off” spontaneous mayhem; the proximate cause being the inebriated state of some foreign workers reacting angrily and violently to a fatal accident involving one of their own. Read more of this post

Malaysia to Cut Entertainment Spending as Budget Curbs Widen

Malaysia to Cut Entertainment Spending as Budget Curbs Widen

Malaysia will reduce the entertainment budgets of ministers and freeze applications to renovate government offices as Prime Minister Najib Razak widens efforts to cut public spending. Read more of this post

Three big macro questions for 2014; China’s excess credit growth remains the most worrying trend

Three big macro questions for 2014

December 30, 2013 2:10 pmby Gavyn Davies

As we enter 2014, the five-year bull market in developed market equities remains in full swing. Recently, I argued that equities now look overvalued, but not egregiously so, and that the future of the bull market could depend on when the level of global GDP started to bump up against supply side constraints, forcing a genuine tightening in global monetary conditions. Read more of this post

Winners of 2013: Boring Investors; Buying and Holding U.S. Stocks Paid Off Big This Year

Winners of 2013: Boring Investors

Buying and Holding U.S. Stocks Paid Off Big This Year

TOMI KILGORE and TOM LAURICELLA

Dec. 30, 2013 8:17 p.m. ET

In the best year for U.S. stocks since 1995, the smart way to play the markets has been to follow the dumb money. So-called dumb-money strategies, which involve buying and holding a plain-vanilla portfolio of U.S. stocks, did much better than the more complex approaches employed by hedge funds and other professional investors. Read more of this post