Category: South Asia

NEW DELHI, March 4, 2010 (AFP) – The European Union expects to clinch a free trade pact with India by October, the EU’s trade chief said Thursday, as the 27-member trading bloc pushes to secure new markets across Asia. “The deal should be done by the next summit between the EU and India in October,” […]

DHAKA, March 4, 2010 (AFP) – A Dhaka-based Facebook stocks tipster with over 10,000 followers has been arrested on charges of illegally manipulating Bangladesh’s overheated stock exchange, police said Thursday. Mahbub Sarwar, 26, a prolific blogger who provided online stock tips through the popular social networking site, will be charged with market manipulation, Mohammad Sohel, […]

NEW DELHI, March 3, 2010 (AFP) – Japanese auto maker Nissan is in talks with India’s Ashok Leyland to develop a small car for the fast-growing Indian market, a report said Wednesday. The Business Standard newspaper quoted Nissan chief executive Carlos Ghosn as saying the group was looking for a new low-cost alliance in India […]

NEW DELHI, March 3, 2010 (AFP) – Indian telecoms tycoon Sunil Bharti Mittal may be known for his Midas touch, but investors are questioning if his multi-billion-dollar bid to gain a foothold in Africa is a step too far. Mittal, chairman of Bharti Airtel, has seen shares of India’s biggest mobile firm tumble since he […]

Mar 03, 2010 (LBO) – Reducing visa restrictions and non-tariff barriers, and improving customs procedures are among a host of steps South Asian countries can take to boost private sector-led growth, the Asian Development Bank said. The report also highlights the need for South Asia to remove barriers to intra-regional investment, and to promote cross […]

NEW DELHI, February 26, 2010 (AFP) – India’s economic growth slowed sharply in the final quarter of 2009 to 6. 0 percent year on year, hit by lower farm output after the weakest monsoon in 37 years, data showed Friday. The figure for the October-December period, the third quarter of India’s fiscal year, compared with […]

Maruti, majority owned by Japan’s Suzuki Motor Corp, said it launched the recall last November to fix the fault. The A-Star cars are being recalled both locally and internationally, mainly in Europe, as a “proactive” step, the company said in a statement. “We decided to check all vehicles from the lot, around 100,000 units including […]

MUMBAI, February 23, 2010 (AFP) – India’s biggest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India announced Tuesday it has recalled 100,000 of its best-selling A-Star hatchback cars due to a fuel leakage problem. “No problem has been reported by customers. ” The recall covers those A-Stars made between November 2008 and August 2009. The company, the leader in […]

DHAKA, February 21, 2010 (AFP) – In a run-down office in downtown Dhaka, excited investor Mizanur Rahman has just spent his life savings of 3,000 dollars on shares despite knowing nothing about market fundamentals. Everyone in this unofficial trading room, one of hundreds across the country, is glued to a screen showing share price movements […]

NEW DELHI, February 19, 2010 (AFP) – France’s Carrefour, the world’s second largest retailer, said Friday it plans to enter India’s vast retail market in 2010 following years of delays. “Carrefour will develop its activities in India with the start of cash-and-carry activities in 2010,” the company said in a statement emailed to AFP. Cash-and-carry […]

DHAKA, February 20, 2010 (AFP) – Energy-hungry Bangladesh has signed a 1. 7-billion-dollar deal with India to build two coal-fired power plants in the country’s south to ease a huge electricity shortage, an official said Saturday. The deal highlights Dhaka’s improving ties with New Delhi under its new secular government led by Sheikh Hasina’s Awami […]

NEW DELHI, February 17, 2010 (AFP) – Indian telecom tycoon Sunil Bharti Mittal is hoping to make it third time lucky as he seeks to gain a presence in Africa, one of the world’s least developed mobile phone markets. After two failed attempts to tie up with South African flagship MTN, the founder-chairman of cellular […]