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A periodic sampling of news, analysis and opinion on economic issues of India, China and the USA
In This Issue
Headlines
Capital Markets
Environment | Climate
Work Force
Opinions
Newsletter
Archives
About Us
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.

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Events & Announcements
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The Kumarajiva Expedition
(ChindiaBiz | Mar 30)
The Kumarajiva Expedition welcomes sponsorship, encouragement and support from those who share its goals. Particularly welcome would be assistance which will facilitate members in the following:
(i) free entry to all major cultural relic sites in Xinjiang, and viewing of original sites and artifacts (rather than replicas);
(ii) free photography therein;
(iii) free access to reserved areas such as the Loulan mummies;
(iv) access to media and TV.

Energy, Environment, and Development
(India-US World Affairs Institute | Apr 20)
Energy, Environment, and Development Washington D.C. April 20, 2010 In his keynote address, Nobel Laureate Tom Schelling will offer policy recommendations for both developing and developed nations to deal with the climate-change issue, while meeting their energy needs as well as the development needs of large developing countries such as India. Professor Schelling provides a model and a roadmap for developed countries to help the developing countries control their carbon emissions and meet their energy and development needs, thereby helping themselves and the world on the climate-change front.
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From Our Publications
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Emerging Markets - Need for a Taxonomy
(JEKEM (Vol1 No.1)
The main objective of this brief note is to delineate the relatively new concept of "emerging markets" and outline its ramifications. In order to enable the subject area to sort itself out, there is a pressing need for a taxonomy of emerging markets, demarcating the peripheries that would help specialization in this important area. This paper also attempts to identify significant contributions already made to this new topic. Further research endeavor would enable the stringing together of such a not very homogeneous set of inputs into a coherent emerging market theme that is also epistemologically sound.
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Quotes of the Issue
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ICA Institute and NEU Center for Emerging MarketsBecause when you mix all of these energetic, high-aspiring people (legal immigrants; Asians in particular) with a democratic system and free markets, magic happens.
(New York Times | Mar 20)
-Thomas Friedman

ICA Institute and NEU Center for Emerging MarketsWhile much of the rest of the world did it...and then over-did it...India hasn't done it yet...This is a country where the getting has just begun.
(Christian Science Monitor | Mar 20)
-Bill Bonner


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Headlines
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Hollywood & Bollywood Team Up to Fight Piracy See full article from DailyFinance
(Daily Finance | Mar 19)
The problem in India is not unlike the premium film content piracy issue in China, but the motivation for solving the problem (or not solving it) is entirely different. China doesn't have a large film industry of its own. Piracy in China effects U.S. companies, but doesn't cannibalize the work of local content firms.

Latin America's unproductive economies
(The Economist | Mar 15)
...much of Latin America has performed poorly over the past two generations. The gap in income per head between the region and developed countries has widened since 1960, while many east Asian countries that were poorer have leapfrogged ahead. The root cause has been Latin America's slow-or even negative-growth in productivity...

China May Resume Yuan Float, Avoid Sharp Revaluation
(Bloomberg | Mar 26)
China may allow the yuan to trade more freely against the dollar, while avoiding an abrupt revaluation that would wreck its exports, according to Fan Gang, an adviser to the country's central bank.

Russian Fund Inflows Beat Out BRIC Peers
([email protected] | Mar 23)
...stability rather than economic advantage is the main concern driving monetary policy in China. Beijing officials plan to loosen exchange controls, but in the same cautious manner that marked the gradual liberalization of the currency, which has been traded only a short time. Many specifically blame the U.S. trade deficit with China on manipulation of the yuan by the Chinese.

(Chinese) Universities face bankruptcy
(China Daily | Mar 27)
A number of Chinese universities with some of the world's largest student enrollments are facing bankruptcy in the next decade due to dwindling applications, the head of a major institution has said. There were 10.2 million students registered to sit for the college entrance exam last year, 400,000 less than in 2008, according to the Ministry of Education. Universities facing financial crises might have to shut within five years...

India falls short of China's Olympic glory
(Financial Times | Mar 26)
India bid for the Commonwealth Games hoping to showcase the country's emergence as a rising economic powerhouse, much as the Olympic Games were seen as a coming out party for China. But the combined effort of mass remodelling of ageing sports facilities, widespread improvement of roads and frenzied construction of athletes' hostels has transformed India's capital city into a giant, dusty and chaotic building site, prompting protracted grumbling by its residents.

China to be displaced by India as factory of the world
(Tech Eye | Mar 30)
...in India the population was getting younger, while in China, Taiwan and in the developed countries, people were getting older. China was suffering because of the party policy that families could only have one child - a policy that had been in place for over 20 years.

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Capital Markets
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Brazil signals hike in benchmark interest rate
(The Daily Caller | Mar 25)
The Brazilian Central Bank signaled Thursday that a hike in the nation's benchmark interest rate is likely in the next month to stem inflation. The governmental statistics agency IBGE says the number of unemployed remained "steady" at 1.7 million - down 1.1 percent compared to February of last year.

India's Central Bank Hikes Interest Rates
(Investing Daily | Mar 25)
And as the Indian market recovered relatively quickly after Lehman Brothers declared bankruptcy, local corporations were able to access international capital markets--capital favored growth-oriented investments. That being said, the RBI will likely hike rates further to restrain excess borrowing by corporations. The balancing act will be to avoid hampering the recovery, while making sure that credit is priced appropriately.

India: Interest rate on savings bank a/c on daily basis from Apr 1
(New Kerala | Mar 30)
Subbarao in his annual policy statement on April 21 last year proposed that the interest rates be calculated on a daily basis following ''satisfactory level'' of computerisation of commercial bank branches. Several banks had suggested that interest on savings bank accounts may be calculated either on the minimum balances in the deposit accounts during the period from the first to the last day of each calendar month or on a daily product basis.

AGF emerging market team bets beyond BRICs
(Reuters | Mar 19)
The lead manager of the AGF Emerging Markets Fund, which beat its benchmark by more than 6 percent in 2009, is heavily invested in three of the four BRIC nations, Brazil, India and China, but excludes Russia, instead favoring countries such as South Africa, Mexico, Turkey or Indonesia.

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Environment | Climate Change
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China Leads Major Countries With $34.6 Billion Invested in Clean Technology
(New York Times | Mar 25)
China for the first time now leads the United States and all other major countries in green energy markets. Its private investments of $34.6 billion over the past five years are almost double America's. Advocates of U.S. climate change legislation say the foreign buildup is a sign that America is falling behind in a global clean energy race.

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Information Technology
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Google's Tangled Chinese Web
(WSJ | Mar 24)
BEIJING-Google Inc.'s plan to keep some of its China business while avoiding censorship is looking increasingly complicated as more Chinese partners turn away from the U.S. Internet giant and it becomes apparent that some remaining operations will continue to be censored.

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Transportation
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Geely Chairman Travels to Sweden to Seal Volvo Deal
(WSJ | Mar 26)
The chairman of China's Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co. traveled to Sweden Friday to finalize his company's acquisition of Ford Motor Co.'s Volvo car unit, a landmark deal for China's burgeoning car industry that also poses serious challenges for Geely.

China's fastrack to the high speed era
(China Daily | Mar 17)
Apart from the already in service trains and the 500km/h one, two high speed train manufactories in the country, China CNR Corporation Limited and China South Locomotive & Rolling Stock Corporation Limited, are both developing a new train with the maximum speed of up to 380km/h for the 1,318km-long on building Beijing-Shanghai High Speed Railway.

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Education & Work Force Development
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INDIA: Foreign universities - a reality check
(University World News | Mar 21)
With the recent approval of the foreign universities bill by the cabinet, many people interested in Indian higher education are riding a wave of optimism and expecting that there will be a number of highly reputed institutions like Harvard and Yale establishing campuses in India. On the other hand, some people believe this will open the floodgates for poor quality institutions to enter India and take unfair advantage of students.

Foreign university campuses to help India save $7.5 billion outflow
(Economic Times | Mar 21)
Allowing foreign universities to set up their campuses in India will help the country save up to $7.5 billion (about Rs 34,500 crore) foreign exchange annually that students spend on studying abroad, industry body Assocham said.

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Opinions
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Will India benefit from the West's standoff with China?
(Hindu Business Line | Mar 30)
However, till now at least, China's political and legal system seems to have played a negligible part in determining investor sentiment. "China remains the preferred location because of cheap labour supply and proximity to the large domestic population, yes there are blips along the road but not a change in the fundamental sense," argues Mr Nigel Rendell, senior strategist at London-based RBC Capital Markets.

Stop Blaming China
(The Week | Mar 30)
Americans are ever eager to complain about their problems dealing with China. But the source of most of these troubles is much closer to home.

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Sincerely,
ICA Institute

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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.
International Contributors Editorial Board
Prashant Das - Co-Editor | Anitha Vadavatha - Co-Editor | Ruchir Agrawal - Mumbai | Dexin Zhou -China | Christopher Chan - Intellectual Property - Hong Kong | Dr. Sudhanva Char - Academic Resources | |  Harsha Harjani - Hong Kong | Asha Hemrajani - Singapore | Geoff Hiscock - Australia | Shree Pandya - Engaging Youth | Xun Sun - USA | Dr. Nilay Yajnik - India |  Dr. Xiao Yu - USA