Thursday 29 December 2011

The way of the dragon

Greater China will be looking to draw on all the symbolism of the mythical creature in 2012 as it confronts transition and a world in a state of flux

Global economic crisis hits China’s exporters

As orders have tailed off, the cost of raw materials and labour have surged, with workers striking to demand higher pay.

China property market in crisis

Beijing’s pricking of the real estate bubble is resulting in a price war among developers desperate to survive, fuelling severe domestic and global repercussions

Wall Street jobs no longer an Ivy dream amid turmoil

America's 'best and brightest' are veering away from finance careers as investment banking goes bust

Asia may feel like world's ending next year

Here are eight risks that may get in Asia's way:

Wednesday 28 December 2011

China needs new policy course as capital tide turns

China’s economy has surfed for years on a crest of hefty capital inflows, but the tide that brought gains in money supply is turning as global growth slows.

China real-estate prices must fall further: AgBank

Government adjustments to housing prices should aim for an up-to-25% downward revision, according to a report by Agricultural Bank of China, one of China’s big four state banks.

We won’t fall like USSR, Beijing vows

Articles mark 20th anniversary of Soviet collapse by pledging that China will adhere to its stability-based growth model, despite mounting challenges

China’s eyes in the sky ‘go public’

Beijing makes its home-grown Beidou satellite navigation system available for civilian use, posing a challenge to American dominance in the field

Mengniu shares sink after new scandal

China Mengniu Dairy lost one-fifth of its value on Wednesday after its shares plunged 26 per cent to their lowest level in more than two years after the nation’s biggest dairy company was hit by a tainted milk scandal over the Christmas holiday.

Carriers out to catch fake pilots if they can

Expanding mainland airlines seeking more staff are on alert for foreigners with fake credentials

Time Malaysia’s Proton took leave of Lotus

With state divesting itself of national carmaker, unprofitable British unit appears likely to be sold

Tuesday 27 December 2011

China's other drug trade

The profits are on a par with that for illegal drugs, and the risks of getting caught far lower: no wonder the mainland's fake-medicines industry is growing, and that legal businesses are increasingly involved

China emerges as new job frontier for West’s youth

Hundreds of US, European interns are flocking to Asia for experience as work dwindles at home

Law to hit visitors working illegally

Legislators discuss fines, deportation for foreigners entering, working or staying on mainland illegally; draft law would also offer residency for role models

China official says Wukan protest shows rights demands on rise

The senior Chinese official who helped defuse a standoff with protesting villagers has told officials to get used to citizens who are increasingly assertive about their rights and likened erring local governments to red apples with rotten cores.

‘Arab Spring’ movement goes viral worldwide

All it took was a match from a 26-year-old Tunisian vegetable seller, Mohamed Bouazizi, in the city of Sidi Bouzid to start the fire of revolution sweeping through many parts of the Arab world.

Hard landing in China? Not in 2012: analysts

Politics is the main reason - it’ll be a year leading up to a power transfer in early 2013

Monday 26 December 2011

A Village in Revolt Could Be a Harbinger for China

“What happened in Wukan is nothing new. It’s all across the country,” said Liu Yawei, an expert on local administration who is the director of the China program at the Carter Center in Atlanta.

Sunday 25 December 2011

Hong Kong remembers 'Black Christmas' of 1941

Christmas is a day of sombre remembrance for veterans of the second world war battle of Hong Kong, which fell to the Japanese on this day 70 years ago after 18 days of desperate fighting.