Latest Asia Pacific News
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New plant doubles Fords engine capacity in China
Global car manufacturing giant Ford Motor Company has more than doubled its engine production capacity in China with a new plant in the southwestern Chongqing Municipality that went into operation on Wednesday.The new engine plant run by Changan Ford Mazda Automobile Co., Ltd. (CFMA), Ford's China joint venture, has an annual production capacity of 400,000 units, said Alan Mulally, Ford ...
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Philippines to probe embassy staff linked to sexual abuses
Philippine Foreign affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario said Wednesday the department will investigate allegations that some embassy staff in the Middle East are sexually abusing distressed overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).Del Rosario ordered the accused embassy staff to return to Manila to face the investigations. He also asked the heads of the diplomatic posts in Kuwait, Syria and Jordan to ...
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Why Doesnt Snowden Tell Us North Koreas Game Plan
Computer whiz Edward Snowden's revelations of the NSA's broadbrush program for sweeping up internet and phone messages by the millions raises a perplexing question: If the NSA and CIA and others know so much, why do we have so much trouble seeing through North Korea? Take North Korea's offer to talk to the U.S. after spurning talks with South Korea. The excitement generated by ...
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Why David Herro still likes Japan
The noted contrarian investor and long-time manager of the Oakmark International Fund explains why he's still bullish even as the country's stock rally stalls ...
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North Korea hits out at handful of human scum who claimed that Kim Jong-un gave out copies of Adolf Hitlers Mein Kampf to officials on his birthday
North Korea has hit out at 'scum' defectors after they published a report that its leader, Kim Jong-un, gave out copies of Adolf Hitler's memoir Mein Kampf to officials on his ...
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Japan posts wider trade deficits
(25 mins ago) Japan extended a string of trade deficits last month as the country's import costs rose on the weak yen. Data released by the Finance Ministry showed the deficit expanded 9.5 percent from a year earlier to nearly 994 billion yen. Exports rose 10 percent to 5.7 trillion yen on higher shipments to the United States and China. Exports to recession-hit Europe remained weak, ...
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HSBC cuts China growth view for 2013 2014
MADRID (MarketWatch) -- HSBC on Wednesday cut its growth forecasts for China, citing faster reform moves that could hurt growth, along with weaker-than-expected data flows. Qu Hongbin, chief economist for China at HSBC, said their 2013 and 2014 gross domestic product views now stand at 7.4%, versus prior forecasts of 8.2% and 8.4%, respectively. Consensus is calling for China growth of 7.8% in ...
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Africa Japan Boosts Financial Support for African Development
WASHINGTON, DC -- In June, Japan made a five-year commitment of $32 billion dollars in public and private funding to Africa. It will be used in areas prioritized as necessary for growth by the Fifth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (or TICAD). Japan's new pledge is nearly four times larger than its last commitment to the group. The plan of action is ambitious. ...
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China looks to Iceland for oil opportunity
China and Iceland could become natural partners in the energy sector though it is too early to make any predictions about the benefits, an analyst said. A source at China Petroleum & Chemical Corp., known also as Sinopec, told China Daily on condition of anonymity talks were under way with the Icelandic government over oil exploration off the country's northeast coast. China Daily ...
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Interview The change of climate in China-EU economic and trade ties
Due to the impact of the global financial crisis, in the first half of 2009, Sino-EU trade dropped by 22.8 percent compared with the previous year. At the China-EU Business Summit held in Nanjing on November 30, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao noted that both sides should promote trade and investment liberalization and facilitation. On December 1, the EU's Treaty of Lisbon went on effect, giving ...
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Interview China-US economic ties and the SED mechanism
The recently concluded second round of China-U.S. Strategic and Economic Dialogue (S&ED) was widely considered a success. It enhanced strategic mutual trust and smoothed communications between the two countries, providing a basis for talks on more substantial issues. The second round of the S&ED eased previous tensions between the two sides and created a favorable environment for ...
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Chinas economy on track for gradual slowdown in H2 as govt reiterates policy stance
China's economy is expected to head toward a gradual slowdown in the second half of this year, as the central government has stated that it will retain its current mix of tightened economic policies.Top officials from the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee agreed at a Friday meeting that the country will stick to its proactive fiscal policies in the second half of this year, with ...
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China appeals to WTO against U.S. duties on Chinese diamond saw blades
The Ministry of Commerce on Friday announced that the country has made an appeal to the World Trade Organization (WTO) to conduct a review of the zeroing measure used by the United States in slapping anti-dumping duties on diamond saw blades from China.According to a statement on the ministry's website, the country has made the request following its previous complaint to the WTO in February ...
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China to continue improvement of investment environment official
China will continue to facilitate foreign investment and enhance the protection of intellectual property rights in efforts to improve the investment environment, a senior official said Wednesday. "Improving investment environment and protecting the legal rights of foreign investors are not only the government's promises but also what the government is doing," Yu Jianhua, assistant ...
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IFC to continue investments in China
International Finance Corp (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group which focuses on the development of the private sector in emerging markets, plans to invest more than $500 million in China during its next fiscal year. The funds will be mainly used to support private enterprise in western China in the fields of renewable energy, rural finance and agribusiness, according to Karin Finkelston, the ...
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High radioactivity levels detected in groundwater at Fukushima nuke plant
Very high radioactivity levels were detected in groundwater from an observation well at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, said the plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) Wednesday. The level of strontium 90 in the water sampled on May 24 stood at 1,000 becquerels per liter, about 30 times as high as the maximum allowable standard, while the tritium level was at 500,000 ...
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Chinas investment does not match status as Australias top trade partner
China's investment in Australia does not match her status as the nation's largest trade partner, said Duan Jielong, China's Consul-General in Sydney on Tuesday. In a speech to Australia China Business Council (ACBC), Duan said as more and more Chinese companies come to Australia to invest, there seems to be some concerns about Chinese investment being too much and growing too ...
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Chinas FDI looks ready to set new record
Foreign direct investment (FDI) in China looks like it's heading toward a new record and could exceed $106 billion this year, a senior Ministry of Commerce official said, underscoring global investors' confidence in the world's second-largest economy. From January to June, the nation's FDI surged by 18.4 percent year-on-year to $60.9 billion, according to the commerce ...
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4 Pakistani civilians injured in cross-border firing from India
At least four Pakistani civilians were injured in a cross-border firing from the Indian side in the disputed Kashmir region on Wednesday, reported local Urdu TV channel Geo. Another local TV channel Dunya said that one Pakistani woman got killed in the firing. According to the local media reports, the firing incident took place at the Battal Sector along the Line of Control between Pakistan ...
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4 drown 40 missing in boat capsizal in eastern India
At least four persons drowned and more than 40 are missing after a boat capsized in the Ganga River in the eastern Indian state of West Bengal's Malda district on Friday, reported local media. The Press Trust of India quoted local officials as saying a boat carrying about 60 passengers capsized. Boat capsizals take place in Indian frequently due to overcrowding, water torrent and bad boat ...
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Chinas H1 logistical expenses up 18.5 year-on-year
China's expenditures on logistical services totaled 3.7 trillion yuan (around 570 billion U.S. dollars) in the first half of 2011, an increase of 18.5 percent year-on-year, statistics showed. The spending accounted for 18 percent of the country's gross domestic product (GDP), the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing and the China Logistics Information Center said in a report ...
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Chinas yuan hits record high of 6.4470 against USD Tuesday
The Chinese currency Renminbi, or the yuan, gained 33 basis points to 6.4470 per U.S. dollar on Tuesday, the highest since China started the exchange rate reform six years ago, according to the China Foreign Exchange Trading system. In China's foreign exchange spot market, the yuan is allowed to rise or fall by 0.5 percent from the central parity rate each trading day. The central parity ...
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Expert Chinas 130 national languages still thriving
China's 130 national languages have still been inherited and continue to develop among 1.3 billion people despite the impact of globalization and regional economic development, said a linguist from an authoritative dialect research agency on July 10, 2011.According to statistics, there are more than 6,000 languages in the world, of which more than 2,500 languages are in an extremely ...
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Chinas industrial profits up 28.7 pct in H1
Profits for China's industrial businesses rose 28.7 percent year-on-year to 2.41 trillion yuan (374 billion U.S. dollars) in the first half of this year, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) announced Wednesday. The NBS figures showed that combined revenues for the country's industrial firms rose by 29.7 percent from a year earlier to reach 38.86 trillion yuan from January to June. ...
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China announces enforcement regulations for amended personal income tax law
The State Council, or China's cabinet, on Wednesday announced new regulations designed to facilitate the enforcement of the country's new individual income tax law, which features an increased monthly tax exemption threshold.Premier Wen Jiabao signed a State Council order to approve the creation of the regulations, which are set to take effect on Sept. 1, 2011.The National ...
South Korea Focus
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South Korea's tool for northern diplomacy
A 66 square kilometre industrial complex just over the border is an important part of reconciliatory efforts between South Korea and the North. It is important to the economy as well, but its diplomatic significance runs far deeper.
The Kaesong Industrial Complex is the only industrial special administrative region that still exists as a joint agreement between North and South Korea. Following the sinking of the ROKS Cheonan, relations between the two countries deteriorated significantly, with South Korea accusing the North of the attack and the North subsequently denying involvement. Read more
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