Asia markets rally as Greek debt deal agreed

Hong Kong (AFP) - Asian markets rose Monday as European leaders said they had agreed a debt deal to keep Greece in the eurozone, while Shanghai advanced for a third straight session after witnessing fierce recent volatility.

Asia most attractive market, Gazprom says

YUZHNO-SAKHALINSK, Russia, Sept. 24 (UPI) -- Asia is the most attractive market for energy companies, the deputy chairman of Russian energy company Gazprom said at an Eastern investment conference.

Asia shares slip as China manufacturing data weighs

Hong Kong (AFP) - Asian markets mostly fell Thursday, with downbeat Chinese manufacturing data dragging down Hong Kong and Shanghai as concerns grew about the pace of recovery in the world's second-largest economy.

Asian shares mixed, China data provides lift

Asian markets were mixed Friday following a Wall Street sell-off, as oil prices hit a nine-month high on concerns about the growing crisis in Iraq but Hong Kong and Shanghai reversed morning losses following upbeat Chinese data.

Philippines growth beats forecast as it defies trend

The Philippines has posted better-than-forecast economic growth, fuelled by its services sector and higher consumer and government spending.

ASIA MARKETS: China Stocks Stage Strong Bounce, Lead Asia Gains

HONG KONG (MarketWatch) -- Asian markets rebounded Tuesday as a higher finish on Wall Street attracted buyers a day after most regional equities suffered a sell-off, with Japanese stocks extending gains on hopes for further monetary easing under a new central bank chief.

North Korea nuclear test: Asian stock markets mixed

Asian markets have had a mixed reaction to the nuclear test carried out by North Korea, its third since 2006. South Korea's Kospi index dipped 0.3%.

HK economy grows 1.3 in 3Q, govt trims forecast

HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong trimmed its growth forecast for the year on Friday as the weak global economy weighed heavily on the trade-dependent Asian financial center, mirroring a similar move by regional rival Singapore.

Asia stocks fall on US earnings disappointment

BANGKOK (AP) — Most Asian stock markets fell Friday following disappointing U.S. corporate earnings and uncertain progress from a European summit convened to hash out solutions to the region's debt crisis.

Asian markets fall, Tokyo hit by weak data

Asian markets fell on Friday as a weak set of Japanese economic figures sent Tokyo diving, while dealers looked ahead to a speech by Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke later in the day.

Asia CFOs Look Closer to Home for Growth

HONG KONG--(BUSINESS WIRE)--CFOs in Asia, excluding those in Japan, are positive about the regional economy but cautious on their view of the world economy.

Asian shares up on recovery hopes amid positive US data

Asian markets have risen on hopes of a recovery in the US after the world's biggest economy reported better-than-expected jobs data.

Asian shares up after Greece vote U-turn

Asian markets rose Friday as Greece scrapped plans for a national vote on last week's eurozone rescue package, which had drawn condemnation and shocked world markets.

Lessons From Li Ning's China Stumble

The ongoing turmoil at Li Ning, China’s leading sporting-goods company, holds important lessons for Chinese as well as foreign companies about how to win in the country’s rapidly growing and constantly changing market.

PayPal plans China expansion

Beijing, China (FT.com) -- PayPal, the world's largest online payment platform, is planning an expansion in China, a move that could strengthen its parent Ebay in the expanding e-commerce market.

Through a co-operation agreement with the government of Chongqing, China's largest municipality, PayPal plans to offer a range of services -- including, for the first time, a foreign exchange settlement solution -- to Chinese entrepreneurs selling to consumers overseas.

China's online payment market had a transaction volume of Rmb725.5bn in the first nine months of this year and is expected to hit Rmb1,000bn ($151bn) for the whole year, according to Analysys, a Beijing-based internet research firm.

Chinese authorities have set a ceiling for individuals to convert foreign currency into local currency of $50,000 a year. PayPal said this regulation hindered small businesses and entrepreneurs from building a cross-border e-commerce business, and its payment platform would help small merchants get quick access to an export licence, which allows a higher conversion ceiling.

"The Chongqing government will be working with the relevant local authorities, like the Safe Administration of Foreign Exchange, to get the necessary regulatory approvals," said Dickson Seow of PayPal Asia Pacific.

The service has begun testing, and PayPal hopes to offer it to merchants all over China in the second half of 2011.

If successful, the platform should attract small Chinese vendors, the main customer base of Alibaba, the world's largest online marketplace for trade between companies, which had proved the nemesis for Ebay on its first foray into the Chinese market. The country has the world's largest online population with 440m users.

Ebay initially entered China with an auction site closely resembling its international service. After losing most of its market share to Taobao, the unlisted affiliate of Alibaba Group which dominates China's consumer-to-consumer e-commerce market, the US group changed strategy in 2006 and offered a platform for cross-border online trade.

Over the past year, Alibaba and Ebay have worked on opportunities for co-operation. However, AliExpress, a site launched by Alibaba this year that allows small online transactions between merchants and customers overseas, again put Alibaba in competition with Ebay's business in China.

Alibaba also has its own online payment service, Alipay, which dominates the Chinese market.

The Chongqing government's partnership with PayPal is an attempt to attract services linked to China's booming e-commerce industry to set up in the city. Hangzhou, the city where Alibaba's headquarters is located, has already succeeded in attracting services such as logistics, boosting the local economy and creating service sector jobs.

PayPal and Chongqing said that, in additional to the foreign currency settlement platform, they would set up five international e-commerce centres providing services such as training and verification to merchants.

The alliance comes as China prepares to regulate its third-party payment services more clearly. Providers of such payment platforms are required to apply for a licence by September next year, according to the central bank.

Source: CNN

http://edition.cnn.com

Japan cuts view on exports as Asia slows, yen rises

By Kaori Kaneko

TOKYO, Dec 22 (Reuters) - Japan's government cut its view on exports and business sentiment on Wednesday due to a slowdown in Asia's economic recovery and a persistently strong yen.

But the government kept its overall view of the economy unchanged in its economic report for December, saying the economy is at a standstill and in a difficult situation with a high jobless rate.

In its monthly report for October, the government lowered its overall economic assessment for the first time since February 2009.

Many economists are forecasting that Japan's economy will contract in the fourth quarter of this year as the expiry of government stimulus measures hits factory output. The economy is likely to resume expansion next year as exports and domestic demand slowly recover, economists say.

"Exports are decreasing moderately," the government said in its monthly economic report, downgrading its view on exports for the first time in two months due to slowing shipments of electronic parts to Asia.

In the previous monthly report, the government said exports had been weakening.

Data showed Japan's export growth picked up in November for the first time in nine months due partly to the yen's pullback from 15-year highs, but analysts said signs of softening demand overseas clouded the outlook.

DRAFT BUDGET

The government is set to present a draft budget on Friday for the next fiscal year starting in April, the first budget compiled from scratch by the Democratic Party-led government since it ousted the long-ruling Liberal Democrats in August 2009 and a test of the government's ability to maintain fiscal discipline.

Should the overall economy deteriorate more than the government is expecting, policymakers may have little leeway for pump-priming given a large fiscal debt burden.

In its report for December, the government also downgraded its view on business sentiment for the first time since April 2009, saying it was showing "signs of caution".

Previously, it said firms' judgment on business conditions was improving but cautious views were spreading.

The government left unchanged its views that industrial production has been decreasing recently and that private consumption is picking up but showing some weakness.

"Some weakness is seen in factory output and private consumption due to a slowdown in Asian demand and the end of the government subsidies for purchases of fuel-efficient cars," said Fumihira Nishizaki, director for macroeconomic analysis at the Cabinet Office.

"On the other hand, income is solid and overseas economies as a whole are in a moderate recovery. Once a hit to consumption runs its course and if overseas economies continues their recovery, Japan's production is expected to recover."

In the monthly report, the government said the economy was expected to pick up on the back of improvement in overseas economies and the effects of various policy measures, although some weakness was expected for a while.

The government also retained its caution about spillover from a possible slowdown in overseas economies and fluctuations in the currency and stock markets.

The government also repeated that it would work with the Bank of Japan to beat deflation as a top priority.

Source: www.reuters.com

China raises bank reserve requirements

Beijing (FT) -- China has again raised the amount of reserves that commercial banks must keep with the central bank after the economy recorded another large trade surplus last month and exports and imports both grew strongly.

The central bank's move on Friday to lift reserve requirements for commercial banks by 50 basis points marked the sixth time this year that it has used this policy tool to drain liquidity from the financial system in an effort to slow the economy.

The latest tightening move came after trade figures heightened concerns that the economy could be at risk of overheating.

Exports grew by 34.9 per cent in November over the same month the year before, much more quickly than forecast and potentially a sign of increasing demand from developed economies. In October, exports rose 22.9 per cent.

Imports to China were also well ahead of forecasts, increasing by 37.7 per cent over the year before, compared with a rate of increase of 25.3 per cent in October.

The trade surplus was $22.9bn in November, down from the $27.15bn registered in October, but ahead of forecasts and still one of the biggest recorded.

The strong surge in exports and large surplus come amid continued international pressure for China to appreciate its currency more quickly, especially as the renminbi has actually been getting weaker against a basket of its main trading partners' currencies in recent weeks, economists said.

Brian Jackson at RBC Capital Markets in Hong Kong said: "It is increasingly difficult to argue that China's export sector cannot tolerate some currency appreciation, a move which would also help Beijing get price pressures under control.

"The strength of domestic demand also suggests that rate hikes are needed to keep China's economy on an even keel."

Last week, China's State Council formally changed the description of monetary policy from "moderately loose" to "prudent" over the next year. Interest rates have been increased once already and there had been widespread speculation that rates would be raised again on Friday. Inflation in October jumped to 4.4 per cent, well above the government's 3 per cent target.

However, some economists believe that the Chinese authorities have been too slow to tighten policy and control inflation, which could be made worse by the surprising strength in exports.

"Note that exceedingly strong exports growth amid an already overheated domestic economy is not good news as it adds to the overheating pressures which will require the government to take even more stringent measures to bring down inflation," said Yu Song and Helen Qiao at Goldman Sachs.

However, house price inflation, a major worry earlier in the year, continues to fall as a result of a flurry of government policies aimed at cooling the market. Prices rose 7.7 per cent in November in the 70 cities monitored by the government statistics bureau, down from 8.6 per cent in October.

Source: CNN
www.cnn.com

Report: Chinese company 'hijacked' U.S. web traffic

Washingtom (CNN) -- Internet traffic from several U.S. government agency sites was briefly diverted through servers in China in April, congressional investigators reported Wednesday.

For 18 minutes, about 15 percent of all web traffic was redirected through China, including traffic to and from the sites of the U.S. Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, the office of the Secretary of Defense, the Senate and NASA, according to a report delivered to Congress by the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission.

Investigators say the web traffic was diverted by China Telecom, a state-owned enterprise.

They do not know whether the diversion was intentional, whether the government of China played any role, or whether any sensitive data was compromised.

The report says that the irregular routing could have allowed the surveillance of users or sites, the disruption or diversion of communications and the compromising of supposedly secure encrypted sessions.

Cyber warfare, corporate espionage

Pentagon spokeswoman Lt. Col. April Cunningham said the Defense Department "is concerned about any Internet traffic being intentionally rerouted outside of the usual operations." But, she said, "the security of Department of Defense information is not affected by misdirection of internet traffic." The Pentagon had no information to confirm whether the incident occurred, she said.

The Pentagon is in the process of establishing procedures "to address any potential current and future vulnerability," Cunningham told CNN.

Larry Wortzel, a member of the commission, said that given access to a stream of military traffic for 18 minutes, it might be possible "with really good computers" to get "a little information."

But another risk, he said, was that it could create an opening for spyware infiltration. "If you were a pretty knowledgeable intelligence service, you would get the internet addresses of everybody that communicated. And then you could essentially engineer a fake e-mail," he said, "and if someone opened an attachment, you would then insert a virus into the whole system."

The report alleges that the diversion was caused when China Telecom briefly offered a false electronic notification to internet traffic on the web, causing some traffic to mistakenly conclude that the quickest way to reach its destination was to travel through the company's servers in China.

A spokesman for the Chinese embassy in Washington rejected the claim.

"The commission's specious and unwarranted allegations against China and its enterprises are irresponsible," said Wang Baodong. "China will never do anything to harm other countries' national security, either in real or virtual worlds."

He also pointed out that China Telecom, in a statement to Reuters, has denied any hijacking of internet traffic.

Source: CNN
www.cnn.com

APEC leaders to work toward free trade area

Yokohama, Japan (CNN) -- World leaders at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit on Sunday pledged to work toward a free trade area in the Asia-Pacific region.

"We reaffirm our unwavering commitment to achieving free and open trade and investment in the region," the leaders said in a joint statement at the end of their two-day summit in Yokohama, Japan.

The summit brought together 21 leaders from countries around the Pacific Rim.

But the group acknowledged challenges in the global economy and the environment.

"The Asia-Pacific regional economy is recovering from the recent economic and financial crisis, but uncertainty still remains," the leaders said. "We also face heightened challenges with regard to the protection of our environment and natural resources, including the necessity to jointly address climate change."

The summit also included the first formal talks between the Japanese prime minister Naoto Kan and the Chinese president Hu Jintao since a territorial dispute in September strained relations between the two.

This weekend marks the end of Obama's 10-day trip to Asia aimed at opening "new markets for American products in this fast-growing part of the world," according to his weekly address. He headed back to the United States on Sunday.

At the summit, Obama added, "In the 21st century, there is no need to view trade, commerce or economic growth as zero-sum games, where one country always has to prosper at the expense of another. If we work together and act together, strengthening our economic ties can be a win-win for all of our nations."

Obama has also pushed the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which is seen as a building block in trying to create a free-trade area in the Pacific Rim. The TPP would cut import tariffs for several countries.

The United States is scheduled to host next year's APEC summit in Hawaii.

Source: CNN
www.cnn.com

China trade: The 'Dalai Lama Effect'

Beijing, China (CNN) -- Countries whose top leadership meet with the [b]Dalai Lama[/b], Tibet's exiled spiritual leader, lose on average 8.1 percent in exports to China in the two years following the meeting, according to a recent study.

Called the "[b]Dalai Lama Effect[/b]," the study by the University of Gottingen in Germany found the negative impact on exports began when President Hu Jintao took office in 2002.

The study is the first empirical analysis demonstrating the economic consequence of such meetings. Machinery and transportation equipment exports suffered the most consistent negative impact, following meetings with the 14th Dalai Lama, according to study authors [b]Andreas Fuchs[/b] and [b]Nils-Hendrik Klann[/b].

"We wanted to find out the impact of the rising role of China in the world ... to find out what we should expect of China's role in the world in the coming years," researcher Fuchs told CNN. "It is clear that politics has played a huge role in China's commercial relationships."

China says it opposes politicizing trade and economic ties. However, prior to each of the [b]Dalai Lama[/b]'s meetings with leaders, the Chinese government often openly threatens that such meetings will lead to damaged trade relations with China.

Dalai Lama considers retiring
Dalai on Nobel Laureate Xiaobo
Dalai: I am spokesman for Tibetans
Dalai Lama on science, spirituality
RELATED TOPICS

* Dalai Lama
* China
* Economic Issues

Using data from the United Nations, Fuchs and Klann tracked exports from 159 countries doing trade with China from 1991 to 2008. They discovered that exports to China decreased only after the Dalai Lama met with heads of state, such as presidents, prime ministers, kings, queens and the Pope.

The Dalai Lama's meetings with heads of state -- including U.S. presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama, German chancellor Angela Merkel and French president Nicolas Sarkozy -- have been a consistent source of diplomatic tension with China.

No negative impact was found after meetings of the Dalai Lama with lower-ranking officials, the study said.

Dalai Lama talks of retirement

In response to the study findings, Tenzin Taklha, joint secretary for the Dalai Lama in Dharamsala, told CNN: "His Holiness has no intention of causing any inconvenience to the host country he visits."

Taklha added, "It is unfortunate that the Chinese government views everything His Holiness does through a political angle."

China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs declined to comment.

The "Dalai Lama Effect" is not permanent, according to the study. The negative impact on exports disappeared on average two years after each meeting takes place.

"China has an interest in having its commercial relationships restored. On the other hand, they have interest to really show their anger about a Dalai Lama reception or meeting," Fuchs said.

My Take: Why the Dalai Lama became a global icon

The study went on to say, "China's political leadership may be willing to bear the economic and political costs that arise from diverting trade away from the Dalai Lama-receiving countries if such 'punishment' increases the likelihood of its political survival."

The implications of decreased exports to China could hurt the Chinese economy. "Blocking trade endangers Chinese economic growth, both from a immediate short-term perspective, and longer-term perspective as trade partners seek to diversify away from a potentially-aggressive China," said Alistair Thornton, China Analyst at IHS Global Insight, a macroeconomic research firm.

Moreover, the government may not be responsible for the negative impact on exports in the aftermath of meetings with the Dalai Lama.

"The possibility remains that Chinese companies are taking it upon themselves to curb trade links, rather that it being a direct order from the highest levels," Thornton said. "As machinery tools are strongly linked to trade missions, and the government controls the trade missions, the government would appear to be in control here. But it could be less that the government has ordered a freeze on imports, rather than removed one easy way for companies to strike deals for those imports."

More than 95 percent of the Dalai Lama's visits to foreign countries are non-political in nature, says the Dalai Lama's joint secretary, but his meetings have long been the subject of intense debate in Beijing.

When the Dalai Lama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989, China threatened to sever economic ties with Norway if Norwegian leadership attended the ceremony.

In February of this year, U.S. President Barack Obama met with the Dalai Lama in Washington despite warnings from Beijing. Following the meeting, Chinese Vice-Foreign Minister Cui Tiankai summoned the U.S. ambassador to express China's discontent.

"The U.S. act grossly interfered in China's internal affairs, gravely hurt the Chinese people's national sentiments and seriously damaged the Sino-U.S. ties," said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu in a statement in February.

The long term impact of the "Dalai Lama Effect" is uncertain.

"Chinese trade relations are not free of political biases ... the country seems to exploit trade ties as a foreign policy tool," Fuchs and Klann wrote. "[However] such an economic punishment mechanism will only prevail as long as the expected political gains from stabilizing the regime outweigh the losses from trade diversion."

Source: CNN
www.cnn.com