India Provides US$100 Million Credit Line to Vietnam for Military Hardware
Jul. 29 – The Indian Government has provided Vietnam with a US$100 million credit line for the purchase of four patrol vessels. The credit line was granted in light of the Vietnamese Government inviting India to explore for oil in the Phu Khanh basin in the South China Sea, which Vietnam considers its territory. China, […]
United States-India Trade Relations
Trade between India and the United States has seen exponential growth over the past several decades following reform in India designed to attract international investment. Following such growth, trade relations between the two countries have increasingly become a major focus for both countries’ leaders.
China’s Skyscraper Ambitions
Jul. 25 – The seemingly never ending desire for the Chinese to obtain ‘face’ appears to be reaching literally ludicrous heights with the news that Chinese property developer Zhang Yu has announced plans to build a 202 story “Sky City” in Changsha, Hunan Province. Breaking ground earlier this month on the site, Zhang has claimed […]
Singapore Seeks to Expand Its RMB Market
Jul. 22 – Singapore is now planning to market itself as a fast-growing hub for offshore RMB exchange after it recently started dealing in the Chinese currency this past May. The Chinese government also just recently cleared the Singapore branch of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China for such transactions. Prior to such approval, RMB […]
Malaysia Facing TPP Opposition
Jul. 19 – Malaysia, currently hosting the on-going negotiations concerning the much-lauded Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement, is facing internal difficulties as some of its largest businesses resist membership to the TPP. The TPP is a ten nation Asia-Pac trade bloc that includes the United States, Mexico, Peru, Chile, Australia, New Zealand, Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore and […]
Merrill Lynch Study: CFOs Bullish on Southeast Asia
Jul. 18 – A survey of over 600 top CFOs across 12 markets throughout Asia by U.S.-based investment institute Bank of America Merrill Lynch has highlighted high levels of confidence in the Asian economies, which is, surprisingly, far higher than current confidence in China and the United States. The survey concluded that 71 percent of […]
Comparison: Minimum Wages in China and India
As the population demographics are now shifting to a younger workforce in India from China, minimum wage comparisons, while not exact, provide some clues about the nature of costs associated within the labor pools of each.
FDI and Infrastructure Development in the Philippines
By Nathan Barlow Jul. 11 – A report released last month by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) highlighted the Philippines lagging FDI, receiving only US$2.8 billion in 2012. Of the ASEAN six majors (which refers to the six largest economies in ASEAN: Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines and Vietnam) Philippines […]
Vietnam and Indonesia Enter Strategic Partnership, Sign MoUs
Jul. 9 – Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang and a delegation of high-level officials visited Indonesia last month in a diplomatic trip to strengthen economic and political ties between the two countries. During the meeting, Vietnam signed the following Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) on bilateral trade and energy investment with Indonesian president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono […]
New Issue of Asia Briefing: An Introduction to Tax Treaties Throughout Asia
In this issue of Asia Briefing Magazine, we look at the various types of trade and tax treaties that exist between Asian nations. These include bilateral investment treaties and also the meatier double tax treaties and free trade agreements that directly affect businesses operating in Asia.