big logo
Newsletter for September 18, 2008


A weekly sampling of news, analysis and opinion on economic issues of India, China and the U.S. Articles and opinion pieces are from a variety of sources and viewpoints and do not necessarily reflect those of ICA Institute. Access to some articles may require free registration to the site or may not be cited to the original source. Access archive.

In this issue
  • Check out our NEW look at www.icainstitute.org
  • Implications for the West: Around the World in Asian Days
  • Trendwatching? Newsletter Archive Now Available
  • Headlines
  • Energy
  • ICT
  • Agriculture
  • Industrial Resources | Manufacturing
  • Environment | Climate Change
  • Corporate Social Responsibility
  • Innovation
  • Health | Medicine
  • Logistics | Transportation
  • Education | Workforce Development
  • Newsletter staff

  • Check out our NEW look at www.icainstitute.org


    Yes, The ICA Institute newsletter and Chindia Biz Blog have gotten new looks and so has our website!

    Check out our exclusive and now more easily accessible resources at: www.icainstitute.org.

    You will also find more information tapping into our network of thought leaders and practitioners who are paying attention to the economic impact of the rise of India, China and emerging markets across the globe.

    Spread the word. Forward this e-mail to your colleagues, professors, students, clients and friends who need this vital resource.


    Implications for the West: Around the World in Asian Days
    Asian Days Logo


    Join us on September 22 for the first Webinar in our new series: Around the World in Asian Days

    As the economies of China and India become larger players on the global stage, what are the policy implications for the West? Both countries continue to increase military spending and both countries have active space exploration programs as well as nuclear weapons. How will this alter the geopolitical balance?

    As workforces and companies in both countries become more competent and more specialized, what are are the implications of certain skills disappearing from the West altogether. Could the West become hostage to China and India?

    Flows of capital and currency are changing. As China holds more and more Western bonds and as companies from India and China start to acquire assets in the West, is it even relevant to measure these countries by the growth of Foreign Direct Investment from the West? How will the rise of companies and entrepreneurs from China and India alter the way that we look at the world?

    The presenter, Gunjan Bagla, teaches an executive seminar at Caltech's International Business program and is the author of Doing Business in 21st Century India: How to Profit Today from Tomorrow's Most Exciting Market. (The book follows Ted Plafker's Doing Business In China). Bagla lives in California and travels to India and China on business frequently on behalf of his clients.

    The only cost is your long distance phone call to dial-in.

    Title: Around the World in Asian Days: Implications for the West
    Date: Monday, September 22, 2008
    Time: 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM EDT

    System Requirements
    PC-based attendees
    Required: Windows� 2000, XP Home, XP Pro, 2003 Server, Vista
    Macintosh�-based attendees
    Required: Mac OS� X 10.3.9 (Panther�) or newer

    Space is limited.
    Reserve your Webinar seat now at:
    https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/616245225


    Trendwatching? Newsletter Archive Now Available


    The ICA Institute is now able to offer a convenient archive of our free, weekly newsletter. We currently have issues dating back to December 2007 available.

    This archive contains issues of our free weekly sampling of news, analysis and opinion. Articles and opinion pieces are from a variety of sources and viewpoints and do not necessarily reflect those of ICA Institute. Access to some articles may require free registration to the site or may not be cited to the original source. Since our newsletter links directly to the news source, many links may no longer be active in this archive.

    Link to Newsletter Archive


    Headlines


    Banks in China and India will avoid crisis, analysts say (Bloomberg.com, Sep 18)
    Morgan Stanley, the second-biggest independent U.S. securities firm, may sell a larger stake to China Investment Corp. and is in talks about a possible merger with Wachovia Corp., a person familiar with the matter said. Morgan Stanley pared its loss on the New York Stock Exchange after the person said China's state-controlled fund may buy as much as 49 percent of the New York-based investment bank. The person declined to be identified because the talks aren't public and may end in no agreement.

    Financial Crisis Enters New Phase (The New York Times, Sep 17)
    Faltering confidence could have an infectious effect in Asia, whose savings has essentially bankrolled America for decades. "Asia, perhaps more than other markets, is a bit more volatile, a bit more based on sentiment," said Dan Parr, the head of Asia-Pacific for brandRapport, a consulting firm with an office in Hong Kong. "It doesn't take much for the man on the street to become very, very concerned." In early trading in Japan, the Nikkei index fell 3 percent.

    Euro stocks up, Asia's down as central banks act (AP, Sep 18)
    European stocks halted three days of losses in early afternoon trading Thursday, rising slightly after a concerted effort by central banks to pump billions more U.S. dollars into troubled money markets and limit the global financial crisis. Asian markets fell. Britain's FTSE-100 was up 1.6 percent after Lloyds TSB PLC's 12.2 billion-pound ($21.8 billion) deal to acquire struggling HBOS PLC, Britain's biggest mortgage lender, eased some concern among traders there.

    Short-term worries, long-term optimism for stocks in Asia (International Herald Tribune, Sep 18)
    The turmoil has broad implications for the global economy, and particularly for exports in Asia, which are still tied to the U.S. market. But the strength of emerging economies, particularly China, could help cushion Asia from the effects of a global slowdown. "The situation in Asia is not that bad," said David Cohen, director of Asian economic forecasting at Action Economics in Singapore. "China's economy could still grow by some 10 percent this year." He noted that Japanese exports to China surpassed its exports to the United States for the first time in the first half of this year.

    China, India resume Himalayan dance (Asia Times, Sep 19)
    After a year-long hiatus, border negotiations between India and China resume this week in Beijing. The latest round of talks, the 12th since special representatives were appointed in 2003 to hammer out a solution to the almost half-century-old dispute at a political level, will take place against a geopolitical tapestry of burgeoning complexity. On the one hand, booming bilateral trade, increasing people-to-people contact and a sustained exchange of high-level visits indicate a maturing of ties. India-China trade for the first six months of the year was worth US$29 billion, a 69% rise over the figure for the same time period in 2007.


    Energy


    Energy dominates EU-Central Asia talks (EU Business, Sep 18)
    The European Union wants to look at ways of tapping into Central Asia's vast energy reserves, an official said Thursday at the opening of a foreign ministers' meeting in Paris. French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, whose country holds the EU presidency, joined counterparts from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan for the first EU-Central Asia security forum. EU External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner said stengthening relations with Central Asia in the energy sector "was a top priority of the European Union".

    GE eyes energy and green opportunities in China (Trading Markets.com, Sep 17)
    China's fast energy industrial development along with increasing environmental issues has aroused GE attention. This poses not only grave challenges but also opportunities, especially in the areas of renewable energy, clean coal technology and environmental protection, said an official with GE. In fact, GE Energy China is becoming a strong regional unit of GE. It has set up branches in many Chinese cities and recruited a large number of engineers, procurement and service professionals.

    China's Sinosteel moves to compulsory acquisition of Midwest (The Australian, Sep 18)
    Sinosteel will compulsorily acquire takeover target Midwest and move to de-list it from the Australian exchange. The Chinese company's $6.38 a share offer for the emerging iron ore miner closed on Monday, taking it to a 98.52 per cent interest in Midwest. The acquisition, the first successful hostile Chinese takeover of an Australian company, became possible after Murchison metals, former Midwest deputy chairman David Law and US investor Philip Falcone agreed to the offer at the 11th hour.

    Call for clarity on China interest (The Australian, Sep 17)
    The Australian Government has been told it needs to be clearer on its view of Chinese interest in the booming resources sector or risk losing much needed investment to competing countries. Australia China Business Council's West Australian president Duncan Calder said Australia had wasted some opportunities on the back of China's rapid growth and he was concerned it would continue to do so. "Australia has benefited from the growth of China, but we are losing market share against our competitors who are taking the opportunity to develop mines and build infrastructure at a rate that we have not been able to match," he said.


    ICT


    World news: The Recession hits ICT (Hi-Tech Scotland, Sep 18)
    Brand Finance plc, the world's leading independent brand valuation consultancy, has revealed the impact of recession on the top 100 global and US brands with a significant drop in value across the technology sector. The updated report reveals that since Brand Finance's previous valuation the Microsoft brand has dropped 12 percent to US$39,358 million. Google's brand value also fell significantly by 12 percent. Cisco System was hardest hit dropping from two places in the brand values ranking and losing 15 percent off its brand value. Hewlett-Packard retained its number eight spot in the values ranking but fell 5 percent to US$32,427 million. Given the drop in value of technology brands, a fall of 1 percent for IBM, to US$37,948 million, represents a robust performance.

    Kenya: Internet Rollout Brings Software Boom (All Africa.com, Sep 18)
    Although most of Africa still lacks access to high-speed Internet, Kenya's once-neglected technology sector is booming, thanks in part to a growing group of some of the region's most talented software developers. With highly skilled tech professionals and improved infrastructure, outsourcing may soon become big business for Kenya. "In places like India and Eastern Europe... they're getting to a point where there aren't enough skills around to satisfy the increased demand," said Bell. "And East Africa is becoming very attractive to them." At least one outsourcing center, KenCall, has been operating since 2004 and business is growing; KenCall plans to employ 600 Kenyans by October.

    Indian IT majors cautious (The Hindu, Sep 17)
    With nearly half of their revenues coming from banking and financial services segments, India's top software exporters said on Tuesday they were closely monitoring the crisis spreading across financial markets all over the world. While Infosys and TCS, the country's two largest IT firms, said they did not comment on individual clients, the third largest IT firm, Wipro, said it was in dialogue with failed Lehman Brothers, although revenues from it were modest.


    Agriculture


    Brazil, Buoyed by Oil and Agriculture, Becomes a Global Power (US News & World Report, Sep 18)
    Doubts over whether Brazil really belonged in the group of big emerging economies known as the BRICs-Brazil, Russia, India, and China-have passed. "Brazil is now worthy of being called a BRIC," says Riordan Roett, a Brazil expert at Johns Hopkins University. "It's turned a corner."

    Focus on the World Organic Foods & Beverages Market (Market Watch, Sep 18)
    This report analyzes the worldwide markets for Organic Foods & Beverages in US$ Million.The major product segments analyzed are Organic Produce, Cereals and Baked Foods, Dairy Foods, Meat & Poultry, Organic Beverages (Non-Dairy), Processed Foods, and Others. The report provides separate comprehensive analytics for the US, Canada, Japan, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Rest of the World. Annual forecasts are provided for each region for the period of 2000 through 2015. A ten-years historic analysis is also provided for these markets with annual market analytics.

    WTO insists deal is possible (meat info.co.uk, Sep 18)
    The director-general of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) might call world leaders back to Geneva in a bid to salvage global trade discussions. Lamy insisted that ministers needed to come back to the table and work through their disagreements to save the work done so far in the Doha round. He added that a conclusion to the round would help ease the current food crisis. "A comprehensive WTO deal can help soften the impact of high prices by tackling the current systemic distortions in international agricultural trade that have stifled food production and investment in agriculture for years in many developing countries," he said.


    Industrial Resources | Manufacturing


    Indian Contract Manufacturing Market To Touch $2.46B (Pharmaceutical Online, September 18)
    Indian contract manufacturing market is expected to touch $2.46B by 2010 with a CAGR of 41.7 per cent from $869M in 2007, a report said.

    Olympics Boost China's Retailers, But Manufacturing Growth Dented (The Wall Street Journal, September 12)
    The Beijing Olympics gave a boost to retailers in China last month but hurt manufacturers and exporters, official figures issued Friday show. But analysts say the latest figures aren't solely a blip, since consumption will likely to stay strong even as an export slowdown hurts industry in coming months.

    India to help Nepal in expanding its manufacturing sector (Sindh Today, September 17)
    India has promised full support in expanding Nepal's manufacturing sector to boost its industry, it said here Wednesday. Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath told his Nepali counterpart Rajendra Mahato here Tuesday evening that the manufacturing sector could be the harbinger of Nepal's faster growth in trade and industry, a government statement said.


    Environment | Climate Change


    Australia, China, US in climate talks (The Australian, September 15)
    Australia has brought together the world's two major greenhouse gas polluters, China and the US, to search for common ground on cutting carbon emissions - including clean coal technologies - while protecting security of energy supplies. The top Chinese, US and Australian climate change negotiators will gather for two days this week in Washington at a political and business meeting organised by the Melbourne-based Global Foundation and Georgetown University.

    Nuclear deal to help India combat climate change: Vayalar Ravi (The Economic Times, September 17)
    India has conveyed to American businessmen that the approval of the landmark Indo-US civil nuclear deal will open new opportunities for them and contribute to energy security besides reducing global warming.


    Corporate Social Responsibility


    China's American Dairy Reinforces Its Commitment To High Product Quality (China CSR, September 18)
    China-based American Dairy, a producer and distributor of premium infant formula, milk powder and soybean, rice and walnut products, has announced its continued commitment to quality and safety first and continuance of strict operational improvements in light of the unfortunate events involving infant formula products in China.

    Chinese Banks Sign Agreement For Reconstruction Of Disaster Areas (China CSR, September 16)
    The Sichuan branches of the China Development Bank and the China Postal Savings Bank have signed a cooperation agreement on supporting the reconstruction work of disaster areas in Sichuan.


    Innovation


    China more wary of finance innovation, not hostile (Reuters, September 18)
    China should learn lessons from the U.S. subprime mortgage crisis but should not slam the brakes on financial reform and innovation, senior officials said on Thursday.


    Health | Medicine


    Apollo, IGNOU to offer 45 health-related courses in India (The Economic Times, September 18)
    Health service provider Apollo Group and Indira Gandhi National Open University on Thursday signed a memorandum of understanding to launch 45 medicine-related courses in four verticals from January next year.

    Death Toll Rises in China's Contaminated Milk Scandal (Voice of America, September 18)
    Chinese authorities say four infants have now died after drinking contaminated milk powder that has sickened more than 6,000 babies across the country.

    Third baby dies in China milk scandal (The Australian, Sep 18)
    Chinese authorities yesterday announced a rocketing toll of 6244 babies had been hospitalised after drinking tainted milk, while the scandal grew to implicate 22 companies including one which advertises its Australian connections. A third baby died after drinking the tainted milk, authorities said, while 158 were suffering severe renal failure. The Chinese company Ausmeadow claims to import all its products "from pure dairy sources from pollution-free meadows in Australia". It is now one of 22 companies whose powdered milk has been found to contain poisonous melamine. But the connections of the company, Ausmeadow, to Australia appear to have been severed two-and-a-half years ago.

    Bad vaccines risk encephalitis epidemic in India (The Associated Press, September 17)
    India's government sent thousands of ineffective vaccines to a northern Indian state, halting a planned immunization drive against a deadly outbreak of Japanese encephalitis that has killed more than 200 children since June, officials said Wednesday.


    Logistics | Transportation


    RIM looking at manufacturing and logistics operations in India (The Economic Times, September 18)
    Betting big on the Indian market, Nasdaq-listed smartphone maker Research In Motion (RIM)today said it is looking at starting manufacturing and logistics operations in the country apart from bringing in India-specific phones.

    UK ports major to woo Indian exporters (The Hindu Business Line, September 18)
    A leading UK port company in its efforts to woo Indian exporters will send its senior managers to Mumbai to establish rapport in the Indian shipping market.


    Education | Workforce Development

    China, U.S. launch undergraduate summer exchange program (China View, Sep 17)
    China and the United States will exchange 30 undergraduate students annually for three weeks of study, tour and cultural activities starting next year, according to China's Ministry of Education on Wednesday. The two countries signed a memorandum of understanding on the summer exchange program for undergraduates on Tuesday. It aimed at strengthening mutual trust and understanding between young people. The memorandum was based on the "Agreement on Educational Exchange and Cooperation" renewed by the two governments in 2006 and a result of the U.S.-China Education Dialogue held in April.

    Higher Education Leaders Recommend Global Learning Goals for Washington's Colleges & Universities (Market Watch, Sep 18)
    Leaders from six higher education institutions in conjunction with Global Washington ( www.globalwa.org) today recommended Global Learning Goals for Higher Education to the Washington State Higher Education Coordinating Board (HECB). This first in the nation, statewide initiative is intended to increase global knowledge and awareness among students in Washington's higher education institutions. Global Washington believes that adoption of these goals by the state's institutions of higher education will enhance students' understanding of global issues, position Washington State as a leader in global learning, and create a new generation of globally competent and competitive graduates from Washington institutions of higher learning.


    Newsletter staff


    International Contributors Editorial Board
    RJ Paulsick - Co-Editor
    Roxanne Russell - Co-Editor
    Geoff Hiscock - Australia
    Harsha Harjani - Hong Kong
    Dr. Nilay Yajnik - India
    Farhad Mirzaei - Iran
    Ajay Sharma - Netherlands
    Melissa Steinmetz - UK
    Dr. Daney Jackson - USA
    Dr. John R. McIntyre - USA
    Dr. Sudhanva Char - Academic Resources
    Shree Pandya - Engaging Youth
    Laurel Askue - Environment & Conservation
    Christopher Chan - Intellectual Property


    three flags

    The ICA Institute is a non-profit research institute working to foster research and dissemination of knowledge on the rise of China and India and their impact on global markets, global resources and geopolitics of the world. The ICA Institute's mission is to generate new perspectives on the role of market and resource driven economic development. ICA Institute fosters interaction and dialogue between academic scholars, industry leaders and policy makers on the impact of emerging economies in general and China and India in particular. Specifically, The ICA Institute is positioned to be a catalyst between faculty and students in International Business and industry leaders and managers.

    Learn more about the ICA institute
    Resources

    Chindia Biz Blog

    ICA Institute Publications

    GlobalAtlanta

    The Halle Institute for Global Learning

    The Global Sourcing Council

    AgGlobalVision




    Join our mailing list!
    phone: +1-404-321-5966
    Email Marketing by