Recordings from the Tap into Chindia Global Virtual Seminar Series are now available at the ICA Institute Store.

A great set of resources for you, your colleagues and students- recordings from this series offer important insight on business topics in India and China from top thought leaders and practitioners. These CDs will automatically play the audio and screen presentations from the original webinars on your computer.

Available now:

Dr. Jagdish Sheth's
Rise of Chindia: The Next Largest Consumer Markets
Rise of Chindia: Q&A Session

Dr. Camille Schuster's
Adapting Business Practices for India & China

Suresh Sharma's
Strategic Sourcing in India, China & America

Each webinar recording is only $20 toward our ongoing non-profit efforts.

More recordings from the series will be available soon!

IMF says China and India not immune (Malaysia Sun, Apr 13)
The International Monetary Fund has warned overseas exporters that despite resilient growth, India, China and other emerging economies will not be insulated from the serious world economic slowdown.

China, India M&A seen as risky but fruitful -report (Reuters, Apr 14)
Multinationals see China, India and Southeast Asia as the most attractive destinations for merger and acquisition activity over the next 18 months, Marsh & McLennan Companies Inc said in a report on Monday.

India Pledges African Investment (Democrat, Apr 15)
India PM Manmohan Singh says the country will invest heavily in development projects in Africa to bolster economies ties. He was speaking in the Indian capital, Delhi, at the first summit aimed at strengthening trade and diplomatic ties between India and Africa.

Opinion
India finally makes inroads into Africa (The Nation, Apr 15)
It was a move that many believe has come too late, but for Indian policy-makers it was a matter of better late than never. India is now eying Africa with a new vision and programs. The first summit last week between India and 12 other African states in New Delhi marked the beginning of the world's largest democracy's foreign-policy shift towards Africa. This will impact on cooperation with China, which has already been active on the continent.

Musharraf lobbies Beijing to build Iran-Pakistan-China oil and gas pipelines (International Herald Tribune, Apr 14)
Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf said Monday he is lobbying Beijing to build oil and gas pipelines linking his country with China's west as the two longtime allies expand commercial ties. China is sharply increasing oil and gas imports to fuel its booming economy, and Musharraf said he hoped it would see Pakistan as an "energy and trade corridor" to the Middle East.

China, Qatar sign deal on natural gas (UPI, Apr 14)
China's CNOOC and PetroChina signed a deal with Qatargas Operating Co. Under the deal, the two largest owners of liquefied natural gas terminals in China will buy a combined 5 million tons of LNG a year from Qatargas, China Daily reported. The deal is reportedly the first of its kind between the two countries.


U.N. approves thousandth Kyoto clean energy project (Reuters, Apr 14)
The United Nations approved the one thousandth clean energy project under a program run under its Kyoto Protocol global warming pact, the U.N.'s climate change secretariat said on Monday.

Opinion
India learns its oil lessons (Asia Times, Apr 15)
India's quest for energy security received a boost last week with its oil diplomacy paying off to varying degrees on more than one continent. In South America, India signed a deal allowing it to participate in a joint venture to drill oil and gas in Venezuela, while in Central Asia, the door was pried open for Indian companies to invest in projects in Turkmenistan. In the same period, New Delhi's wooing of Africa's oil-rich nations moved into top gear as it played host to the first India-Africa summit.


Biofuels Pay At The Pump (Cattle Network, Apr 14)
Recently, Merrill Lynch commodity strategist Francisco Blanch said gasoline prices would be 15 percent higher if biofuel production wasn't  increasing.  That's good to know, especially in light of news last week  from the U.S. Department on Energy that gas prices could peak at  close to $4 a gallon this year.

India Outsources Outsourcing (Business Today, Apr 14)
With worldwide technology spending expected to approach $2 trillion in the next few years, India's IT titans are building nests outside their borders and Egypt is a prime destination


Ministerial forum on rural connectivity underway in India (CTO, Apr 10)
A four-day conference aimed at rural connectivity in Asia opens in India on Tuesday 15th of April. The event, dubbed Connecting Rural Communities Asia Forum 2008, is organised by the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation (CTO) and hosted by the Government of India. Bringing high level Telecom and ICT industry players together the summit seeks to discuss effective and cutting-edge strategies on finding solutions for sustainable inclusive ICT connectivity in the region.


China Goes 'Upmarket' (Circuits Assembly, Apr 10)
I've been coming to China since early 2000, and every trip here reveals something new. On the outside, for example, where I was once something of an oddity - while walking the Bund, Chinese nationals would approach to touch my hair - Westerners are everywhere today. Indeed, English signage is so rampant, I joked with local friends that while they may end up with all our manufacturing, they'll also end up with our language. (They don't think that's very funny.)

Analysis

Emerging Economies Shine with IT (egov monitor, Apr 14)
For the past seven years the World Economic Forum and INSEAD have been computing the Networked Readiness Index, a holistic measure of the capability of an economy to benefit from advances in ICT. Irene Mia explores the latest index findings.

Inflation escalates in India as food prices continue global rise (The Times, Apr 11)
Inflation in India is rising at its fastest rate in more than three years as global commodity prices rise, and prompting fears of a tighter monetary policy that could endanger the country's economic renaissance.

Brazil: China is priority market for agricultural exports, Ministry of Agriculture says (Macau Hub, Apr 14)
China was considered to be a priority market for Brazilian agricultural exports in a study carried out by the Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture (MAPA), published Monday in Brasilia. MAPA aimed to set priorities and encourage a new policy of international promotion of Brazilian agricultural products.

Govt plans strategy to set up agri zones (Business Standard, Apr 15)
The government is formulating a national-level strategy to support state governments in setting up agro-climatic zones in the country, a senior official said. The Centre had conducted a study, identifying the requirements for these zones, Deputy Commissioner (Machinery and Technology) in the Department of Agriculture and Cooperation A N Meshram said here at a Ficci seminar.

Analysis
What to do about credit and food (BBC, Apr 14)
The international financial crisis has cast a deep shadow over the proceedings, but there is no sense of panic. The IMF's view is that the wider economic effects of the crisis will mean a mild recession in the US and rather slower growth in the rest of the world.

Why has the Global Food Crisis reached Emergency Proportions? (mi2g, Apr 14)
The mounting global food crisis pushed aside fears of a protracted recession and systemic risk in the financial sector to become the top priority for the world's economic leaders gathered in Washington, DC. Ministers representing 185 countries agreed over the weekend that soaring food prices threaten global calamity and pledged to co-operate on a solution to save the world's poorest people from starvation. However, that solution remains elusive.

Indian forging industry seeks 25% duty on iron ore exports (Steel Guru, April 14)
BS reported that the Association of Indian Forging Industry has urged the government to either stop iron ore exports from the country or levy 25% duty on them and to set up a regulator to control steel prices. Mr Vidhyashankar president of AIFI said that steel prices in India have shot up 33% in the last eight weeks.

Inflation changing the pace of China (The News Journal, April 13)
The recent sharp rise in China's inflation rate sent a fresh wave of concern through the country's manufacturing community, because even before that, the costs of running a factory in China had been steadily increasing. The consumer price index jumped 8.7 percent in February, year on year, the biggest increase in almost 12 years. Speaking at the closing session of the National People's Congress, Premier Wen Jiabao called inflation the country's most serious problem, and admitted that the target rate of 4.8 percent for 2008 would be difficult to meet.

Russia's Sitronics to set up manufacturing in China (ESM, April 14)
In effort to cut operational costs, Russia's Sitronics announced plans to establish a joint venture in China with ZTE Telecom. Sergei Aslanyan, Sitronics' new CEO appointed in October, said the company would set up a plant for mobile phones and telecom equipment in China in the next eight months and be ready for production within a year, according to local reports.

China Focus: China takes responsible attitude to climate change and environmental protection (Xinhua, April 13)
China is taking a responsible attitude towards climate change and some measures taken by the country are even more pro-active than some developed countries, Richard Yorke, HSBC China chief executive officer, told Xinhua at the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) in the country's southern Hainan Province. The Shanghai-based banker said there was a clear-cut regulation that air-conditioning units in the city should be set no lower than 26 degrees Celsius in summer, adding that China's banking industry watchdog was launching a "green credit" program.

India to follow China's green lead (Xinhua, April 14)
Picking up China's lead on global warming last year, India plans to announce its national policy framework on climate change in June, said the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Chairman Rajendra Pachauri. "It's very encouraging progress to be made by another major developing country following China's similar efforts last year," Pachauri told China Daily during an interview at 2008 Boao Forum for Asia (BFA), which wound up yesterday.

Australia funds China clean coal (The Australian, April 14)
Australia is now investing $63 million in developing clean-coal technology in China, our biggest coal buyer, as Kevin Rudd seeks to emphasise the need for developing ways to use the resource and still cut greenhouse gas emissions. The Prime Minister, while declaring that his 17-day world trip was to pursue ways of combating the effects of climate change and pursue a new global agreement after the expiration of the Kyoto Protocol in 2012, dramatically increased his focus on clean-coal technology and on spreading the technology to developing countries.

Programme for dealing with climate change to begin (The Hindustan Times, April 13)
A programme to train personnel to develop future strategies and to deal with the upcoming threats due to climate change in India has been initiated by an international non-profit organisation in collaboration with the British High Commission. Leadership for Environment and Development (LEAD), an organisation with a rapidly growing network of 1,700 personnel in 80 different countries across the world, would along with the British High Commission train the persons coming from various section of the society.

Companies urged to foot social costs (China Daily, April 14)
Developing nations have remained manufacturing hubs for developed countries for more than three decades. But people in these fast-growing developing countries continue to suffer from environmental woes, lack of resources and low pay. Should the foreign enterprises, which contract out manufacturing jobs to the developing Asian nations, fulfill their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) across borders?

China online advertising company seeks corporate social responsibility (Live-PR, April 14)
China online digital marketing company CultureFish Media and its corporate social responsibility concern, the China Dreamblogue, whose mission is to travel China for charity and understanding, will be hosting an event the world famous Mission Hills resort in Shenzhen on May 23. The event, titled The One in a Million Dream Bash, will feature a day long sequence of events and activities all leading to raising money for charity concerns including the purchase of a new prosthesis for one of the Dreamblogue's disadvantaged, highly able interns, and to raise money for the Library Project, a charity concern organized by Thomas Stader that builds libraries for disadvantaged children around China.

CSR guideline spurs sustainable development (China Daily, April 14)
The guidelines for CSR (corporate social responsibility) were released earlier this month, which urge industrial corporations and related institutions to shoulder social responsibilities to obtain sustainable development. The guidelines are issued by 11 national industrial federations and associations, including the CFIE (China Federation of Industrial Economics), a group of federations and associations engaged in iron, steel, oil, chemicals, light industry, textiles, building materials, non-ferrous metals, electric power and mining industries.

India to Lead the World in Energy Innovation - Emerging Economy Report by CKS (Business Wire India, April 14)
According to the Emerging Economy Report released by the Center for Knowledge Societies (CKS), India is the most energy efficient country among leading Emerging Economies, including Brazil, China and South Africa.

Fourth India Innovation Summit 2008 (GSIA, April 9)
The Theme for the Fourth India Innovation Summit 2008 is "Innovation in the 21st Century". To capitalize on the emerging opportunities and address challenges, organizations and governments need to leverage emerging technologies and collaborate with stakeholder communities across geographies to co-create value. Sustainable growth is possible only when innovations are integrated with ethical business practices and care for the environment. The conference will present many insightful case studies that have addressed these issues.

Ramadoss: India needs urgent health attention (MeriNews, April 14)
There is an urgent need to study the ill effects of mobile towers and increasing cell phone use on the human brain, said Dr Anbumani Ramadoss, minister for Health and Family Welfare, government of India, while inaugurating the first National Health Writers and Communicators Convention organised by Via Media and Communications at ASSOCHAM House. There were over 100 health writers from India and the SAARC countries.

US Health Insurers Tap into China (Insurance News Net, April 14)
WPMI, which was jointly launched by four health insurers from the United States, on April 10, 2008 announced the establishment of its first commercial entity in China, signaling that the US health insurers are marching into the Chinese market. The new company, which is named as Kangzhong (Shanghai) Enterprise Consulting Service Company, is a third party administrator (TPA) for WPMI's health insurance business in China. It will provide medical management services for Chinese insurers' medical insurance plans.

Yash Birla to enter domestic health & wellness market (The Economic Times, April 14)
The Rs 3,000-crore Yash Birla group has decided to enter the domestic health and wellness market through a new company, Birla Wellness. In the initial phase, the group would invest Rs 300 crore in the new segment. The group has already formed a j oint venture with leading hospital group Apollo Hospitals to enter the hospital segment while it's close to picking up a controlling stake in Kerala Ayurvedic Health Spa, a leading ayurvedic therapy firm in south India. Birla Wellness would also form a joint venture with a leading Singapore-based health and wellness firm to bring high-end health and wellness products and programmes to the Indian market, sources close to development said.

Trend: Manufacturing co-develops with logistics sector (China Economic Net, April 9)
Not long ago, the cooperation between Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (Group) (SAIC) and Anji-TNT Automotive Logistics Co., Ltd. began to evolve in depth and Anji-TNT's service competence covered SAIC's core businesses including the supply of parts, the assembly of complete motor vehicles, and the distribution of complete motor vehicles. Examples do not come singly but in pairs. Not long ago, Baosteel Group Corporation (Baosteel) signed three long-term contracts of transportation with China Ocean Shipping Companies Group (COSCO Group) and COSCO Group became the largest cooperation partner of Baosteel's 300,000-ton vessels in the world.

Publisher: L. Roxanne Russell
Editor of Academic Resources: Dr. S.V. Char
Co-Editor: Abhijit Agrawal
Co-Editor: RJ Paulsick