Category: World

WASHINGTON, June 25, 2007 (AFP) – The US Securities and Exchange Commission watchdog has added a link to its website listing dozens of mostly foreign companies it said Monday had disclosed interests in “countries known to sponsor terrorism.” The list of international companies includes Australian, British, German, French and Japanese groups including HSBC Holdings, Unilever […]

SHANGHAI, June 26, 2007 (AFP) – China’s flagship shipping firm, COSCO Holding, jumped 83 percent on its trading debut in Shanghai Tuesday after raising net proceeds of 14.88 billion yuan (1.96 billion dollars). COSCO shares opened at 15.52 yuan on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, in line with broker estimates, against its initial public offering (IPO) […]

SINGAPORE, June 25, 2007 (AFP) – From China to Singapore, Asia must nurture a culture of innovation if the region is to emerge as a formidable global player, the World Economic Forum (WEF) on East Asia was told Monday. With the Cold War over, nations around the world are now in a race for knowledge, […]

SINGAPORE, June 25, 2007 (AFP) – Poverty and education must remain on Asia’s agenda even as it forges ahead with high economic growth and focusses on tackling climate change, delegates to a regional economic forum heard Monday… While Asia is on a much stronger footing than it was during the economic crisis of a decade […]

MUMBAI, June 24, 2007 (AFP) – Trading a motorcycle for a car in India has long been too expensive for many, but manufacturers plan to offer models at 3,000 dollars or less to attract new buyers, analysts say.The push by Nissan Renault, Tata Motors and Global Automobiles — a subsidiary of the Kolkata-based Xenitis group […]

HANOI, June 24, 2007 (AFP) – Vietnam has made two more arrests after fishermen dragged up seafloor fibre-optic cables, threatening to sever the country’s global telecommunication links, a news report said Sunday.Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has warned that the cable theft “directly affects Vietnam’s socio-economic development, national security and the country’s prestige in the […]

LONDON, June 23, 2007 (AFP) – The London Stock Exchange confirmed Saturday it was buying Milan’s Borsa Italiana for 1.6 billion euros (2.15 billion dollars) in shares, bolstering the LSE amid takeovers of European stock markets by US rivals. The industry’s globalisation has been accelerated by a move towards electronic trading platforms and away from […]

BEIJING, June 22, 2007 (AFP) – A rise in the value of China’s currency will not in itself be enough to narrow the nation’s yawning trade surplus, a senior central bank official was quoted as saying in state media Friday.The licence scheme, know as qualified domestic institutional investors (QDII), has so far been restricted to […]

NEW YORK, June 21, 2007 (AFP) – The University of Massachusetts on Thursday rebuked Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, who was awarded an honorary degree by the university in 1986.The university board cited in a statement Mugabe’s award of an honorary degree by the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 1986 “for his actions as a ‘humane […]

LONDON, June 22, 2007 (AFP) – Zimbabwe’s government is “committing regime change on itself” with its failing economic policy which has sapped faith in the regime from the population, the US ambassador to Harare said in an interview published Friday. Mugabe however blames the woes on targeted sanctions imposed on himself and members of his […]

BANGALORE, India, June 21, 2007 (AFP) – Western companies exhibit a worrying lack of awareness about emerging markets like India that are reshaping global business, according to a British Telecom survey released here Thursday.“The increasing trend towards globalisation has a wider effect on such firms who must look to developing economies to enhance sales, diversify […]

WASHINGTON, June 19, 2007 (AFP) – The International Monetary Fund has launched a new surveillance system on exchange-rate policies aimed at preventing a country from jeopardizing the health of the global economy.The IMF said the major reform updates a 30-year-old program and targets currency manipulation that could destabilize trade and private capital flows. However, IMF […]