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Banking / Investment in Asia

  • Crimea: Circumventing Trade Sanctions Via Novorossiysk

    ARMENIA, 2017/07/08 Despite trade sanctions, Crimea is maintaining connections to international markets. Crimean traders are performing some logistical gymnastics to skirt sanctions, in particular transiting goods through the Russian port of Novorossiysk. On paper, of course, Crimea is experiencing a severe trade crisis. Official statistics indicate that Crimea’s import volume in 2016 shrank by a full third compared to the 2015 level, a drop of $33.6 million. Exports fell by $31.8 million, a 40-% decline from 2015. The city of Sevastopol, which is not formally part of the Republic of Crimea, reported a 12.6 % fall in its imports and 66.8 % fall in its exports in the same period, with volumes shrinking to $33.4 million and $5.9 million, respectively.
  • Does India get the credit it deserves?

    INDIA, 2017/07/02
  • Saving face on the Korean Peninsula

    CHINA, 2017/05/07 Kim Jong-un sees nuclear capability as almost his sole source of regime security and he is not going to give it up, no matter how strong the pressure. He is not stupid. All he has to do is to look at the history of Iraq and Libya, where neither dictator had nuclear weapons. So if the United States insists on de-nuclearisation of the peninsula, presumably that would require regime change, and regime change is unlikely without the use of force. War in the area would be hugely destabilising and potentially disastrous. No one in their right mind should want that. China is right to urge negotiations, but what is to be negotiated? Kim is not going to negotiate away his own security by giving up his nuclear capability. But if China exerts sufficient pressure, he may acknowledge to stop testing.
  • Chinese ambassador to Angola calls for better investment climate

    CHINA, 2017/01/23 The government of Angola should seek to strengthen the investment climate in the country and improve it in order to attract additional foreign companies, the Chinese ambassador to Angola said on Thursday in Menongue. At the end of a short visit to Kuando Kubango, Cui Aimin, who did not provide figures, said that China will invest in the province in the areas of agriculture, hotels, tourism and construction of infrastructure.
  • Solving China’s savings situation

    CHINA, 2016/11/24 For China, the world financial crisis marked the turning point from an export-oriented to a domestic request-driven economy. In late 2008 and early 2009, China’s exports fell by additional than 20 %, alerting Chinese policymakers to the unreliability of increase depending purely on exports. This transition to domestic request-driven increase is still going, and its success, to a large extent, will depend on the consumption and saving decisions of China’s households.
  • Asian bank appoints Nigeria's Okonjo-Iweala to advisory panel

    AFRICA, 2016/10/29 Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) has appointed a former Nigerian Minister of Finance, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as a member of the international advisory panel. AIIB Senior Communication Officer, Song Liyan in a statement made available to newsmen on Friday, announced that Okonjo-Iweala would join 10 other key persons on the panel. “The Panel provides impartial, objective and independent advice to the President, allowing the Bank to benefit from the international experience and expertise of panel members,” he said.
  • Mauritius rides wave of Asian investment in Africa

    MAURITIUS, 2016/09/29 Its arrival was the new addition to what the finance ministry describes as an “significant number” of Asian national-owned enterprises using Mauritius as a launch pad to Africa. At the same time as the Bank of China secured a Mauritian banking license in March, it was hailed as proof of the island’s potential as a staging post for Africa. Antony Withers, chief executive of the Mauritius Commercial Bank, says the move was the majority tangible sign from presently on of Mauritius’s ability to become a centre for Chinese investment . “Mauritius has a wonderful opportunity to act as a conduit to spur the increase of the African continent,” he adds.
  • Canada to offer more opportunities to Chinese investors

    CHINA, 2016/09/04 Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in Beijing on Tuesday that Canada welcomes Chinese investment and he would try his best to offer additional opportunities to Chinese enterprises. He made these remarks while talking with additional than 70 Chinese entrepreneurs at the China Entrepreneur Club Leaders Forum organized by the China Entrepreneur Club. This is his initial stop of his China visit from Aug 30 to Sept 6. He says that as the world's second major economy, China plays a central role in driving world economic increase. The strengthening relationship with China is beneficial for both sides. Canada, as a country that is willing to support the development of enterprises, is very willing to cooperate with Chinese enterprises and support their development.
  • Canada applies to join China-backed AIIB, latest U.S. ally to apply

    CHINA, 2016/09/04 Canada will apply to join the China-backed Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, or AIIB, Canadian and bank officials said on Wednesday, making it the new ally of the United States to join the new international development bank. The multilateral institution, seen as a rival to the Western-dominated World Bank and Asian Development Bank, was initially opposed by the United States but attracted a lot of U.S. allies inclunding Britain, Germany, Australia and South Korea as founding members. Japan and the United States are the majority prominent nations not represented in the bank.
  • Sharia banks struggling to grow

    INDONESIA, 2016/07/24 At the same time as it comes to financial management, religious views no longer seem to matter for most Indonesians, who choose lenders that can accommodate their daily needs and provide the highest investment returns. Despite its status as the world’s major Muslim-majority country, Indonesians still favor conventional banks over those that adhere to Islamic principles. The market share of Islamic banks in the country has remained below 5 % over recent years despite the existence of sharia banking in the country since the early 1990s.