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Middle East Interactions: Around the World in Asian Days |
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Join us for a Webinar on November 11
**NOW Available in VoIP and over the
phone!**
The "Middle East" has long been an area of
vital importance and a bridge between Europe,
Asia and Africa. Connected by historical
trade routes (Silk Route), the Middle East
was part of the exchange of goods and
services as well as knowledge: cultural;
religious; and scientific. What is the impact
of the "rise" of India and China in this
region of the world in today's global
economy? How is the Middle East capitalizing
on the momentum created by India and China?
How are Asian interactions in the Middle East
different from U.S. interactions? Are there
similarities in how these areas of the world
conduct business? What lessons can we learn
from this historically vital region of the
world that can impact the success of our
business ventures?
Dr. Sangeeta Gupta is a partner in Gupta
Consulting Group, a full service consulting
and training organization specializing in
global leadership, diversity and
cross-cultural strategy and training. Dr.
Gupta is a specialist in non-western history
and cultures and has a deep expertise in
India and Southeast Asia. She advises her
clients on how to work effectively across
cultural borders, regardless of where they
are doing business.
Dr. Gupta received her Ph.D. from UCLA and is
a senior faculty member in Chapman
University's Leadership Services Program. She
is author or editor of several books
including A Quick Guide to Cultural
Competency, part of the Quick Guide Business
Series for the busy professional (link to
www.guptaconsulting.com/resources) and
Emerging Voices: South Asian American Women
Redefine Self, Family, and Community. Dr.
Gupta lives in Southern California, and is a
frequent speaker at conferences and seminars.
No cost for VoIP.
Title: Middle East Interactions:
Around the World
in Asian
Days
Date:Tuesday, November 11, 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/615975817
7
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Save the Date |
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Innovation
for Sustainable Energy: A Challenge for all
Nations
April 2-3, 2009
Atlanta, GA
A unique international conference to discuss
innovative solutions and provide insightful
understanding for sustainable energy in the
21st century. The issue is a challenge for
all nations and a right of future
generations!
An assembly of the world's leading energy
experts and thought-leaders will take a 360o
view of the issues involved:
* Natural energy resources and the race
to acquire them by nations, especially the
emerging economies
* Pragmatic roadmaps to achieve long-term
sustainability
* Transition from the existing
traditional toxic power generation assets
* Challenges and viability of clean power
* Smarter transmission and distribution
* Regulatory and policy barriers
* New consumer awareness towards energy
consumption
Gain a comprehensive view of the energy
problem and innovative sustainable solutions.
Save April 2-3, 2009 on your calendar
for this important event: Details of Speakers
and Sponsorship Opportunities will be
announced shortly.
Attendance by
invitation only.
To inquire:
[email protected]
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IJEB Call for Papers |
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IJEB INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON INDIAN
ECONOMIC AND BUSINESS ISSUES
December 18-22, 2009
New Delhi, India
To be Invited Speakers: Dr. Subramanian
Swamy, Ex- Union Minister of Commerce,
Government of India and Harvard Professor of
Economics, Dr. Narendra Jadhav, Vice
Chancellor, University of Pune; Dr. Narayana
Murthy, Mentor, Infosys India and many other
eminent scholars, academicians, business
leaders and researchers. Invited speakers
will address Luncheons and Dinners meetings
on the India specific topics.
Paper & abstract submissions:
Deadline: June 1, 2009 even if early
submission are encouraged. Blind review and
acceptance letters out to primary author:
June 1, 2009 or earlier if possible. Full
paper submission deadline: October 1, 2009.
Electronic submissions may be emailed to
[email protected]. All paper submissions
should follow guidelines listed on the
journal website http://www.ijeb.com/InstructionsForAuthors.htm
. Selected papers will be published in
the refereed conference proceedings which
will be available to all participants at the
conference.
Please send papers and registration fees to:
Dr. Kishore G. Kulkarni.
Editor, Indian Journal of Economics and
Business, (visit www.ijeb.com),
Campus Box 77, P. O. Box 173362
Metropolitan State College of Denver
Denver, CO 80217-3362, USA.
Tel: 303-556-2675. Fax: 303-556-3966
Local arrangements in New Delhi: are handled
by Serials Publications, New Delhi. Please
contact Mr. Vijay Kumar at
[email protected], if you have special
needs call New Delhi number: (011) 2324
5225. Group trips to Tajmahal (in Agra) can
be arranged if notified in advance.
Participants are expected to make their own
travel and health insurance arrangements.
Conference Registration fee: US $350.00. It
includes cost of all lunches and receptions
on December 19, 20th and 21st December, 2009.
Fees submitted before June 1, 2009 get free
2009 subscription to IJEB. Registration fee
after June 1, 2009 to July 31, 2009 is
$400.00 and after July 31, 2009 it is
$450.00. Make checks payable to "IJEB".
Registration fees for participants from India
are substantially lower, but are consistent
with Indian standards. Please contact
Serials Publications for registration from
Indian addresses. Please refer to
www.ijeb.com for further announcements.
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Headlines |
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Britain urges China, Gulf states to help
global bailout fund (AFP, Oct 28)
Britain pressed countries like China and
oil-rich Gulf states Tuesday to contribute to
a proposed new IMF fund to help poorer
governments threatened by "contagion" from
the global financial crisis.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown said the
International Monetary Fund's current
250-billion-dollar bail-out fund was not
enough, calling for it to be extended rapidly
to help countries in need.
Proposing a new IMF funding arrangement, he
said it "would draw on the resources of those
countries with substantial reserves, in order
to bolster the resources available to those
countries in need of (IMF) support."
Brown is due to travel to the Gulf at the
weekend and is expected to raise his
proposals with leaders there.
"It's the countries that have got substantial
reserves, the oil-rich countries and others
who are going to be the biggest contributors
to this fund," he said, adding: "China also
has very substantial reserves."
China wrestles its moment of opportunity
(Asia Times, Oct 29) The massive bailout
of Western financial institutions is remaking
the international financial order, spurring
debate in China about what adjustments and
financial instruments need to be on the table
for Beijing to address domestic challenges
and the international financial crisis.
These calls come amid the announcement by the
National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) that the
growth rate of China's gross domestic product
in the third quarter of 2008 slowed to 9%,
its slowest rate in five years, prompting
concern from Chinese economists about whether
the Chinese economy will experience a hard or
soft landing.
'Firms to cut 25 percent jobs in next 10
days' (SiliconIndia, Oct 30)
Indicating further pressure on employees,
trade body Associated Chambers of Commerce
and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) foresees
that more Indian companies would come up with
lay off of nearly 25 percent workforce in the
next 10 days to curb the ongoing financial
crisis. As companies struggle to meet their
target revenue they are forced to take lay
off measures to contain costs. ASSOCHAM
conceives that the job cuts would mainly
across the steel, cement, construction, real
estate, aviation, IT-enabled services and
financial service sectors. "As a matter of
fact, most of the corporates had desired to
start lay-offs in a phased manner much before
Diwali of 2008. But these were advised to
defer their restructuring after Diwali on
humane ground reasons," said Chamber
President Sajjan Jindal.
India inflation eases to 10.68 percent
(International Herald Tribune, Oct 30)
Falling commodities prices continued to cool
India's inflation, which has been running
near 13-year highs, the Ministry of Commerce
said Thursday.
The wholesale price index - India's
most-watched inflation measure - dipped to
10.68 percent for the week ended Oct. 18,
down from 11.07 percent for the prior week.
The cost of rubber, cotton, furnace oil, and
diesel fell.
Though inflation has been moderating since
August, it remains high by historical
standards. This time last year, it was just
3.11 percent.
Business groups have been pushing India's
central bank to cut interest rates further to
stimulate economic growth, but the Reserve
Bank of India says inflation remains a real
concern in determining monetary policy.
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Energy |
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Trans-India to buy 80% in Solar
Semiconductor (The Economic Times, Oct
28) US-based Trans-India Acquisition
Corporation (TIL) has signed a definitive
agreement to acquire over 80% stake in Solar
Semiconductor,
a city-based solar photovoltaic modules
maker. The deal is a reverse-merger agreement
and valued at around $375 mn.
It will be done through share-swap and the
merger agreement is expected to get
regulatory approvals by February next year.
"The merger to will help us access the
capital market as TIL is an American Stock
Exchange-listed company. It will also help us
get an additional cash reserve of $92 mn,"
said Solar Semiconductor president Hari
Surapaneni.
China Energy Self-supply Rate Hits 90%
(TradingMarkets.com, Oct 30)
China produced energy of 2.35 billion tons of
coal equivalent in 2007, surging 280% from
1978, representing an annual growth rate of
4.7%, showed a report by the National Bureau
of Statistics (NBS).
In the year, the country produced raw coal of
2.526 billion tons, ranking first around the
world, with its output swelling 310% from
1978; its power generation installed capacity
reached 718,000MW, bulging 1160% from 1978,
representing an annual growth rate of 9.1%;
its generated electricity was 3.2816 trillion
KWH, rocketing 1180% from 1978, with the
growth hitting 9.2% each year.
Russia to sign energy cooperation memorandum
with China: deputy PM (Tehran Times, Oct
28) "A memorandum, drafted to tackle
problems in the oil sector, says that a
working group will be formed, to be led by
Energy Minister Sergei Shmatko on the Russian
side and by the head of the State Energy
Department on the Chinese side, Sechin said.
The Russian-Chinese energy dialogue has been
developing "in the right direction," he said.
Joint ventures have been set up in China and
Russia. The state pipeline operator Transneft
(RTS: TRNF) has drafted a plan to lay a
branch of the East Siberia - Pacific Ocean
oil pipeline (ESPO) to China, he also said.
India wakes up to the potential of solar
energy (The Economic Times, Oct 30)
Here comes the sun, sang the Beatles in the
70's. Four decades later the solar industry
is poised for inflexion as cost of
traditional energy rises and technology
improvements make the once uneconomical solar
option the inevitable choice.
To put things in perspective, the installed
solar photovoltaic (SPV) capacity across the
globe has gone up by about 11 times in the
last 10 years, has shown an annual growth of
about 45% during each of the last five years
and is expected to be at least 20 times
today's installed capacity by 2020.
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ICT |
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West 'behind' in technology take-up (BCS,
Oct 29)
Small firms in emerging nations are ahead of
those in the west when it comes to utilising
new technology, according to a study.
Research by Microsoft found that more than
two thirds (67 per cent) of Chinese small
businesses were interacting with customers
using social networking, while the figure was
only 26 per cent for the UK.
Some 57 per cent in China were using the
technology for business promotion, compared
to just 57 per cent in the UK.
Indians
see Jamaica as US ICT gateway (The
Jamaica Observer, Oct 21)
Jamaica's Information Communication
Technology (ICT) sector might soon receive a
major boost from Indian investors who are
visiting the island to assess the feasibility
of projects including the establishment of a
technology park and an offshore call centre.
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Agriculture |
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Melamine Is Discovered in More Eggs From
China (The New York Times, Oct 29)
Hong Kong officials say that for the second
time in a week they have found a batch of
eggs imported from China containing high
levels of melamine, the same industrial
chemical that has been blamed for
contaminating China's milk supplies.
The announcement, which came late Tuesday
from the territory's food safety agency, is
adding to growing concerns that melamine
contamination may be more widespread in
China's food supplies than previously thought.
Export restrictions on agri goods harmful for
the world (Business Standard, Oct 30)
Growing food demand may force countries to
impose export restrictions on agricultural
produce to facilitate supplies to domestic
consumers, which would have harmful
repercussions on the rest of the world, a
report said.
"In short run exporters in restricting
countries might curb supplies through
hoarding and greater reliance on futures
contracts and in the long run they might
decide to shift to other crops," a latest
report of the Consumer Unity & Trust Society
(CUTS) said.
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Industrial Resources | Manufacturing |
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Optimism
Runs High for Electronics Manufacturing
(Tech-On, October 21)
Infrastructure problems abound, but as far
as electronics manufacturing in India is
concerned, the story has just begun,
according to industry experts. India's
electronic equipment consumption is expected
to reach US$126 billion by 2010 and US$363
billion by 2015, growing at a CAGR of 29.8%.
Production, however, is expected to reach
only US$150 billion.
China
finds new mineral resources nationwide
(Xinhua, October 23)
Chinese geologists have discovered 1,202
mineral fields, which could greatly reduce
the country's dependence on imported
minerals, nationwide since the start of 2006,
the Ministry of Land and Resources
announced on Thursday. "Reserves of
badly needed minerals have been largely
expanded, including iron, copper and
bauxite, among others," said a ministry
statement.
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Environment | Climate Change |
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"Project
India as a victim of climate change (The
Hindu, October 22)
The eminent need to make it clear that
India is a victim of climate change rather
than perpetrator and the country should
demand a reduction in emissions from the
rich world has been highlighted by a
parliamentary committee.
Danish
PM says 5 elements needed for new global
climate change agreement (October 24)
Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen
said here on Thursday that five crucial
elements would be needed for a new climate
change agreement expected to be reached at
the Copenhagen conference next year. The
first would be a long-term vision for
reducing global greenhouse gas emissions by
50 percent in 2050 from the 1990 baseline,
Rasmussen said at the first Chinese-Danish
Climate Change Conference that opened here on
Thursday.
Indian,
Japanese industries to fight climate
change (The Times of India, October 23)
Indian and Japanese industries have
formulated a joint action plan for low carbon
economic growth in both countries even as
debates around climate change mitigation
strategies and role of businesses rage
globally.
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Corporate Social Responsibility |
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Whither
went ethics? (The Times of India, October
21)
The decision by the Tata Group to relocate
the Nano plant in Sanand is of concern to
liberal Gujaratis. The logic of business is
to be competitive and profitable; as such,
the move makes sense. The company was right
to choose the business-friendly state and get
down to the task of making the revolutionary
Nano car, which promises to put India on the
global map of the auto industry.
Xiangtan
Steel Releases First CSR Report (China
CSR, October 20)
The Xiangtan Iron and Steel Group has
released its first corporate social
responsibility report marking its 50th
anniversary. The report elaborated what
Xiangtan Steel has done in economic
responsibility, social responsibility and
environmental responsibility in the past 50
years, and unveiled important information
about these responsibilities in 2000-2007.
Edelweiss,
Kubera Partners tie up for unique CSR
initiative (Money Control, October 22)
Kubera Partners, US based private equity
firm and Edelweiss Capital, one of India's
leading financial services firms, have come
together to launch a unique Corporate Social
Responsibility (CSR) initiative:
Kubera--Edelweiss Social Innovation Honours
(KESIH). EdelGive Foundation, the
not-for-profit subsidiary of Edelweiss is
managing the entire process of the
initiative.
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Health | Medicine |
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UN
urges China to revamp food safety after milk
crisis (AFP, October 22)
China must modernise its food safety
system, the United Nations said Wednesday,
arguing an outdated and disjointed approach
may have worsened a crisis over contaminated
milk that killed four babies.
Tele-medicine
could solve India's health care woes: UN
official (The Economic Times, October
22)
With the growing cost of health care
becoming a major headache for governments
across the world, tele-medicine could provide
a solution to India and other countries
grappling with the problem. Listing the
advantages of tele-medicine, Alice Lee, the
chief of the UN programme on space
applications said that developed countries
too were now relying on tele-medicine.
China's
Health Care: A Return to Planned Economy
System? (The Economic Observer, October
23)
A health care system reform draft plan
aimed at providing universal medical
coverage for all Chinese citizens at
reasonable prices has been labelled as
"a return to plan economy
mechanism" by some critics.
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Logistics | Transportation |
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GE
Transport, BHEL in joint venture (Sify
India, October 22)
GE Transportation, a unit of the US-based
General Electric Company, has formed a joint
venture with Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd to
bid for the manufacture of 1,000
fuel-efficient, environment-friendly
locomotives requisitioned by the Indian
Railways.
Grand
China Logistics to Buy SYMS Ships
(Trading Markets, October 20)
Grand China Logistics Holdings Co., Ltd., a
subsidiary of Hainan Airlines Group, will
buy five container vessels from Shandong
Province Yantai International Marine
Shipping Company (SYMS), instead of an
overall acquisition of the latter, revealed
Jia Hongxiang, president of the former.
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Newsletter staff |
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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
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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
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