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WB ECONOMIST PREDICTS NO POST-OLYMPIC RECESSION FOR CHINA
BEIJING - China, with its large economic size, will not face recession after the Olympic Games, the World Bank's new chief economist Justin Yifu Lin said on Sunday.
Some Olympics hosts experienced post-Olympic decline because investment dropped. China, however, would not have such problem with a much larger economic volume, said Lin, who was also the World Bank's newly appointed senior vice president.
CHINA'S MONTHLY CPI REBOUNDS TO 8.5%
BEIJING - China's consumer price index (CPI),the main gauge of inflation, rose 8.5 per cent year on year in April, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Monday.
The figure, compared with 8.3 per cent in March and a nearly 12-year-high of 8.7 per cent in February, was broadly in line with most forecasts.
CHINA'S MONTHLY TRADE SURPLUS HITS $US16.68 BLN IN APRIL
BEIJING - China's trade surplus stood at US$16.68 billion in April, the General Administration of Customs said on Monday.
The figure was down about 1 per cent from the same month last year, but up from US$13.4 billion in March, and US$8.6 billion in February.
TIGHT MONETARY POLICY SET TO CONTINUE IN CHINA: VICE-PREMIER
BEIJING - High inflation and fixed-asset investment growth are China's biggest economic concerns, prompting authorities to persist with a tight monetary policy, Vice-Premier Wang Qishan said on Friday.
In an address to the Lujiazui Forum in Shanghai, Wang also said the government would take specific measures, including prudent fiscal policies and strengthened and refined macroeconomic controls, to curb an overheated economy and inflation.
INDIANS IS GETTING WORKED UP OVER CHINESE INFLUENCE IN NEPAL
NEW DELHI - The Nepali Embassy on Barakhamba Road is perhaps the oldest legation in the Indian capital, and its age is beginning to show. The lawn, the porch and the drive-way bear the look of bygone eras. Inside, the spiral staircase, cavernous corridors and frayed carpets carry an imperial ambience.
Business is slack at the mission. Visiting Nepalis still queue up at the gate during afternoon to obtain recommendations for railway reservations, but other than that there is very little activity even during office hours to show that this is Nepal's most important diplomatic mission.
S KOREA TO OFFER LOAN GUARANTEE TO UP PRIVATE-SECTOR INVESTMENT
SEOUL - The South Korean government said Monday it will offer a loan guarantee for companies that seek to borrow money from the private sector to complete state-led construction projects.
The move is intended to boost private-sector investment in government-led projects for building roads, bridges and other infrastructure, according to the Ministry of Strategy and Finance. It will also help stave off any unnecessary delays in construction due to lack of money as companies would not have to wait for state approval of a larger budget than the one initially assigned.
MINIMUM PAY MAY RISE TO 5,000 AFGHANIS: FINANCE MINISTER
KABUL - The international community can pay 32,500 afghanis (US$675.11) a month to high ranking officials, but can not pay more than 5,000 to lower level staff.
Anwarul Haq Ahadi, finance minister, summoned to the lower house about the salary of government staff said the ministry can not increase the salary of low grade staff more than 5,000 afghanis. He said the revenue of the government was not enough and international community was also not ready to increase the amount.
ABU DHABI GDP PROJECTED TO HIT US$300 BILLION BY 2025: REPORT
ABU DHABI - With steady growth of non oil sector, Abu Dhabi GDP will hit US$300 billion by 2025. Non oil sector is predicted to touch 60 per cent of Abu Dhabi GDP, while oil sector is projected to reach 40 per cent of GDP, according to the weekly report released by Department of Planning and Economy (DPE).
"The Abu Dhabi emirate is faring steadily and forcefully into future under master strategic plans and guidelines aiming at a radical transformation in the local economic structure", it added.
INEQUITY IS THE HALLMARK OF THE BOOMING INDIAN ECONOMY
NEW DELHI - A few days in the Indian capital gives one a peek into India's political and economic trajectory.
Nepal's constitution makers could learn from India's mistakes to carve out institutions that are not only procedurally democratic, but also substantively accountable. Now that the Maoists have told us they were fighting for a bourgeois economic revolution, they should ensure the capitalist growth they envisage, unlike the Indian model, is inclusive of the poor from the outset.
SOUTH KOREAN PARTIES TO WRANGLE OVER US FTA AT HEARING TUESDAY
SEOUL - South Korea's rival political parties are expected to bicker over a free trade deal with Washington in a parliamentary hearing Tuesday, as public support for the agreement appears to be waning amid a growing uproar over a controversial deal to resume imports of American beef.
President Lee Myung-bak's conservative party has been striving to ratify the Seoul-Washington free trade agreement (FTA) within the term of the current legislature, which expires on May 28, to give impetus to the economic initiatives of the new government launched in February. But opposition parties have been rejecting the ruling party's move, using public objection to the resumption of U.S. beef imports, scheduled for Thursday, to prevent an early ratification of the FTA.
THAI FOREIGN MINISTER MEETS JAPANESE COUNTERPART
TOKYO - Thai Foreign Minister Noppadon Pattama on Friday met Japanese Minister for Foreign Affairs Masahiko Koumura at Iikura House in Tokyo, with Minister Noppadon thanking his Japanese counterpart for inviting him to officially visit Japan, the first for a Thai foreign minister during the past 10 years.
Foreign Minister Koumura, meanwhile, congratulated Thailand upon its return to democracy and expressed hope that Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej would be able to pay an official visit to Japan soon.
SOUTH KOREAN ECONOMY FORECAST TO GROW 4.8 PCT IN 2008
SEOUL - South Korea's economy is expected to grow 4.8 per cent in 2008, a state-run think tank said Monday, revising its previous forecast of 5 per cent growth as higher crude and raw material costs as well as sluggish domestic consumption continue to weigh on Asia's fourth-largest economy.
"The economy seemed to have ended its expansion trend late last year and is now moving into a slowdown phase, though it is taking place at a steady pace," the Korea Development Institute said.
MOUNTING INFLATIONARY WOES THREATEN GLOBAL ECONOMIC STABILITY
TOKYO - Rising oil and food prices are placing enormous inflationary pressure on a number of countries, a factor that could exacerbate social instability in developing nations and cripple global economic growth.
In the United States and other nations, monetary authorities have loosened their policies in response to slowing economic conditions. But instead of sparking economic improvements, the added liquidity has spurred a heavy flow of speculative money into natural resources and pushed up prices.
MALAYSIAN GOVT MUST TACKLE INFLATION, FOOD CRISIS: PM
KUALA LUMPUR - Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi Sunday cautioned that the government could fall if it fails to tackle the food crisis and inflation which are also being faced by many other countries now.
The Prime Minister said the government was aware of the situation and had made immediate allocations worth billions of ringgit to ensure that Malaysians were not burdened by these problems.
MALAYSIAN GOVT URGED TO STRIKE BALANCE BETWEEN AGRI AND INDUSTRY
SHAH ALAM (Malaysia) - The government should strike a balance between promoting industries for job creation and agriculture to address food shortage, said former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
"Balance the two, as in everything, there must be a balance. Even during my time, we did not disregard agriculture entirely but our emphasis was on industries and creating jobs and keeping up with the modern trend," he told reporters after delivering his thoughts at a forum in conjunction with the 25th anniversary of the Look East Policy organised by the Look East Policy Society Alumni, here Sunday.
VIETNAMESE MINISTRY DELAYS PRICE RISE OF ESSENTIAL COMMODITIES
HANOI - In a move to avoid making life difficult for the average Vietnamese citizen, a scheduled price increase in ten essential commodities will be put off, according to an official from the Finance Ministry's Price Management Department.
The commodities initially slated for a price rise in June included oil and gas, electricity, coal, safe water, bus, train and plane tickets, cement, iron and steel, and education and hospital fees, Department Head Nguyen Tien Thoa told Vietnam News Agency on May 9.
MALAYSIA WANTS ASEAN CHARTER TO BE A SUCCESS
PUTRAJAYA - Malaysia wants to ensure that the Asean Charter, which gives the group a legal identity and turn it into a more effective and cohesive organisation, becomes a success, said Foreign Minister Dr Rais Yatim.
"We would like to prioritise matters pertaining to relations with Asean countries firstly, for example with Indonesia, Singapore, Brunei and the other seven nations of Asean to ensure the success of the Charter," he told Bernama recently.
MALAYSIAN GOVT TO SPEND US$14.1 BLN ON SUBSIDIES THIS YEAR: PM
PUTRAJAYA - The government will spend RM45 billion (US$14.1 billion) on subsidies this year to soften the impact of rising prices of goods and fuel in the international market, Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said Saturday.
The sum is RM5 billion more than this year's allocation for national development, he said.
BANGLADESH BANK TO RATIONALISE FOREX RULES TO ATTRACT FDI: GOV
DHAKA - Bangladesh Bank (BB) would rationalise foreign exchange rules and regulations to attract foreign direct investment and foreign portfolio investment in the country.
"We are taking steps in rationalising the foreign exchange transactions," Governor Dr Salehuddin Ahmed told the monthly luncheon meeting of Foreign Investors' Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) at Hotel Sonargaon on Sunday.
HOME LOANS INCREASINGLY OUT OF REACH FOR AUSTRALIAN BUYERS
CANBERRA - The expense of a new mortgage is deterring Australians from taking the plunge into home ownership with the number of loans taken out in March the lowest since August 2005.
The number of owner-occupier loans secured in March fell by a seasonally-adjusted 6.1 per cent cent compared to February to 59,371, Australian Bureau of Statistics data shows.
BANGLADESH'S FY09 BUDGET ESTIMATES 17% REVENUE GROWTH
DHAKA - Revenue earnings have been estimated to grow by 17 per cent next fiscal year compared to the target of the outgoing fiscal year as authorities prepare the budget for 2008-09.
The revenue estimate was based on the nominal GDP estimate of 6.5 per cent and inflation at 9 per cent during the next fiscal year, Finance and Planning Adviser Dr Mirza Azizul Islam told reporters at the Planning Ministry Sunday.
IRAN AIMS TO ATTRACT MORE FDI WITH PRIVATIZATION RULING
TEHRAN - The free and economic zones (FEZ) advisor of Iran's President held talks with the head of the German Investment Group MRK here on Saturday, highlighting that one of Iran's major policies is to attract foreign investment.
"Iran's free trade and special economic zones have proper potentials for foreign investors," Mahmoud Salahi said, noting that, "all foreign investors are welcome in the FEZs."
BANGLADESH GOVT OFFICIAL SAYS VISIT TO OMAN REWARDING
DHAKA - - Foreign Adviser Dr Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury has described his visit to Oman as "extremely rewarding and fruitful".
"I believe this short visit which was nevertheless packed with events have brought our two Muslims countries yet closer together," he said to the media Sunday morning prior to his departure for Dhaka from Mascat, capital in Oman, said a press release from Bangladesh mission in Muscat Sunday.
NEW GOV'T OF TAIWAN TO KEEP WATER PRICES AS IS FOR 08
TAIPEI - Incoming Taiwanese Economic Affairs Minister, Yiin Chii-ming said Sunday the new government will deal with fuel and electricity pricing issues first while keeping water prices intact for the rest of this year.
Speaking in an interview with the Central Nes Agency, Yiin said gasoline and diesel prices may be adjusted on a monthly basis from June, but natural gas prices may be adjusted in terms of an incremental adjustment mechanism.
NORTH KOREA, VIETNAM AGREE TO PROMOTE TRADE, INVESTMENT
HANOI - North Korea and Vietnam have signed an agreement to boost trade and investment, as well as exchanges in culture and sports, Vietnam's official news agency reported Friday.
The agreement was made during talks that day between Vietnamese Deputy Foreign Minister Vu Dung and his North Korean counterpart, Kim Yong-il, the Vietnam News Agency said.
SOUTH KOREA, EU SET TO HOLD FREE TRADE TALKS
SEOUL - South Korea and the European Union (EU) will sit down at the negotiating table in Brussels this week in an effort to add momentum to their slow-moving free trade talks, officials here said Sunday.
Negotiators from both sides will hold the seventh round of negotiations on a free trade agreement (FTA) Monday through Thursday to iron out differences in such tricky issues as tariff concessions, they said.
KOREAN OPPOSITION VOWS TO BLOCK FTA UNLESS BEEF DEAL RE-WORKED
SEOUL - South Korean opposition parties vowed Sunday to refuse to endorse a free trade deal between Seoul and Washington unless a recent beef deal between the two sides is reworked to address fears of mad cow disease.
The effort, led by the United Democratic Party (UDP) and other minor parties, is expected to last until late May when the current parliament's four-year term expires.
AUSTRALIAN GOVT TO HAND DOWN ANNUAL BUDGET MAY 13
SYDNEY - Tuesday's federal budget will be one step in jump-starting Australia's productivity levels and transforming its global competitiveness, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd says.
A comprehensive review of Australia's tax system will be unveiled with the Rudd government's first budget on Tuesday, with other measures to include lifting the threshold for the Medicare levy surcharge and raising the tax on luxury cars.
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