Regional News

Getting the Best of Both Worlds: China and Israel Join Hands

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China-Israel InvestmentsSince China has the cash and Israel has the techno-know-how, Shanghai-born investor Jay Young saw an opportunity. She began seeking out high-tech opportunities in Israel for Chinese investors to make everyone a winner. Educated in China and the West, Young has worked extensively in the fields of pension funds and investing in the Chinese government market. She is now moving into the Israeli economy.

Young is helping those Chinese high net worth individuals (the country today ranks number four in the world) make some great Israeli investments. Israelis don’t have to worry about the Chinese stealing their ideas though; they simply want to jump on the bandwagon from investing with them. The Chinese simply don’t want to waste the time and resources it takes to constantly update and develop technology, especially if Israelis are already doing it so well. In this way, Young has hit the nail on the head; Israel can continue working on R&D without worrying about the finances while China can sit back and give it the necessary funds, ensuring a generous outcome for both partners.

Areas where the two countries are joining forces today are renewable energy (water purification and desert farming) and advancements in production technology, health and education.

Smith Electric Vehicles Close to Hong Kong Deal

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Smith Electric Vehicles owned by Tanfield Group is believed to be in advanced discussions with the Hong Kong government to provide the municipality with electric minibuses. It is known that Hong Kong has been actively pursuing electric vehicles for the city’s fleet.

Hong Kong suffers from intense air quality issues, so it is hoped that the mini-buses from Smith Electric Vehicles (if the deal goes through), will help to increase the air quality in the city. This latest deal comes after a series of previous deals between Smith Electric Vehicles and the Hong Kong Government, where the city bought 15 Smith all-electric vehicles in the past 18 months.

Smith Electric Vehicles has recently merged with its US partner on January 1 in a £9.74m deal.

The Smith Electric Vehicles division was bought by its US partner Smith Electric Vehicles US, which is represented by the investment bank in which the North-East firm held a 49 per cent stake. The Smith Electric Vehicles US named Wynston Hill Captial as its lead investment banker last year.  Corey Singman and Bruce Shalett are the Investment Bankers for Wynston Hill Capital in connection to Smith Electric Vehicles US.  The deal has still allowed Tanfield to hold the same percentage within the new, enlarged company.

Maruti Suzuki Sales Increase 14.74 percent at 109,743 Units

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India’s automobile major Maruti Suzuki, the Indian  clocked a 14.74 percent rise in its sales that measured at 109,743 vehicles in January as opposed to 95,649 units during the like period of 2010.

9,321 units of these sales are exports, Maruti Suzuki said in a statement.

Maruti Suzuki’s A2 compact cars such as Alto, Wagon-R, Estilo, Swift, A-Star and Ritz witnessed a rise in sales of 23.8  percent equalling 72,479 cars as opposed to the same period in 2010 that witnessed the selling of 58,540 units.

The A3 sedan type cars also witnessed parallel trends in growth. These cars include the SX4 and Dzire which rose 32.6 percent. These cars’ sales equalled 11,930 unitsopposed to 8,995 units in December 2010.

Singapore’s Budget Stretches Its Wings

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Tharman ShanmugaratnamSingapore’s Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam assured that his country’s soon to be released budget has “something good for Singapore.” As of yesterday he insisted that the budget “is likely to benefit more than just low-income groups.”

Shanmugaratnam made it clear that Singapore’s government is “not just focused on one group of Singaporeans.” He insisted that the government aims to include all sectors in Singapore into consideration when it deliberates its annual budgets.

Pointing out “that inflation has risen across the region, most obviously in China, India and Indonesia,” he insisted that Singapore’s inflation has been slower to rise because of its strong currency ratings.

Tharman Shanmugaratnam added: “It’s uncomfortable for many people and we know that, and we’ll make sure we help families where we can.”

Biomass Joint Project

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biofuelJapanese and Vietnamese research teams are cooperating on a joint project to develop a clean and renewable natural resource from biomass.

The project, named “Sustainable Integration of Local Agriculture and Biomass Industries,” started in October 2009 and is to last for five years. It will be worked on primarily by researchers from the University of Tokyo (UT) and the Ho chi Min City University of Technology (HCMUT).

According to Dr Phan Dinh, the projects’ goal is to develop methods to produce biofuels, in particular ethanol, from biomass, which is essentially agricultural waste. This project is jointly funded by the Japanese and Vietnamese governments.

Bears Take Over Indian Equities Due To Fear Of More Rate Hikes.

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Bombay-Stock-Exchange1Indian stocks fell due to rising inflation and higher interest rates, causing the market to be bearish.

The Sensex, of the Bombay Exchange, finished the week down 3.22 percent at 18,395.97

The National Stock Exchanges’ 50-scrip S&P CNX Nifty closed 3.23 % down at 5,696.5 points last week.

Five stocks gained on the Sensex during the last week: ONGC, up 0.1% to Rs.1,135.60, SBI, up 3. % to Rs.2,618.55; Tata Steel , up 0.7% to Rs.635.90, NTPC, up 1.2% to Rs.191.80; and Reliance Infra, up 0.9% to Rs.724.20;

The 30-scrip benchmark stocks that lost the most were DLF, down 12.2 % to Rs.223.10; M&M, down 8 % to Rs.696.85; Hindustan Unilever, down 9.5 % to Rs.272.45 and Hero Honda, down 7.1 % to Rs.1,657.45.

Mitsubishi develops LNG Joint Venture

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lngJapan’s largest investment house, Mitsubishi Corp., plan to invest in a liquefied natural gas (LNG) project valued at $2.8 billion through an Indonesian joint venture.

The investment will produce 2 million tons of LNG per year, starting in 2014. This project will bolster a decline in Indonesian LNG exports. Mitsubishi and Indonesia will share the expensive resource development costs.

Mitsubishi will have a 45 % stake in project. The joint venture will bring in another partner, Kogas, Korea Gas Corp, the largest purchaser of LNG, which will receive a 15 % stake. The name of the joint venture will be Donggi-Senoro LNG.

Donggi-Senoro project leader at Medco E&P in Indonesia, Lukman Mahfoedz, said that “The total investment includes infrastructure and land acquisition.”

Global Sources Says That Rising Chinese Prices Drive Away Buyers

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chinese-pricesGlobal Sources conducted a survey of 385 business buyers. According to the survey, a majority of purchasers pay prices that are too high for Chinese products. Chinese exports are losing their competitive edge against lower-cost countries, especially for low-price goods.

Sixty-eight percent of those answering the survey said that the yuan’s appreciation has changed their sourcing strategy regarding Chinese goods.

One-third of respondents predict that the yuan to will rise to 6.5 to the U.S. dollar during the next half year.

In response to the rising yuan, 54 percent said that they will import from less expensive countries such as Vietnam and India. However, buyers will still purchase from China for goods that have short delivery schedules or detailed specifications.

Global Sources’ President of Corporate Affairs, Craig Pepples said that “Given the changing price point of China products, China exporters must work harder to market themselves and justify higher prices in terms of service, product quality or production volume.”

Inflation Linked Bonds Are The Hit In Asia

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The head of Fidelity’s institutional business in Hong Kong, Carlo Venes, said that international inflation-linked bonds are becoming more sought after by professional investors in Asia. They want to protect themselves against inflation and to balance their portfolios with non-dollar based investments.

Some analysts predict that Western central banks are following monetary policies which are too risky. Other analysts predict that deflation will follow the International financial crisis.

Verns explained that “The dispersion of views on inflation is huge.” “You have the camp that believes still that the western world will be in a Japan scenario for a decade. You also have the view that with all the printing of money, and all the central bank support, there is risk that, all the money that now sits on corporate balance sheets in cash, will accelerate the risk of inflation picking up.”

China’s inflation went up to a 25-month high of 5.1% in last November.

First Branch of Chinese Bank Established In France

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The first French branch of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) was opened in Paris this Tuesday.

Industrial-and-Commercial-Bank-of-ChinaAt the inauguration, French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde and ICBC President Jiang Jianqing mutually pressed a button to symbolically launch the Chinese bank’s new subsidiary.

Lagarde said “France is very glad to welcome the biggest bank of the world, ICBC.”

Jiang said that the tremendous potential of mutual business transactions between France and China, which was over 40 billion U.S.D last year, stimulated companies to increase their mutual investments.

On Monday, the ICBC announced the establishments of five subsidiaries in Europe: in Madrid, Milan, Amsterdam, Brussels and Paris.
The ICBC global services are have operations in 28 regions and countries including 203 branches around the world.