Asia-Pacific

Philippines just starting fight to shed bad past

15 Aug 2012

In the 1950s, the country had Asia’s highest per capita income outside Japan. Those days are gone, but growth is strong, the peso is rising, and an investment-grade rating is within reach. President Aquino needs to break the hold of oligarchs. “Sin taxes” will provide a test.

Focus Media insider buyout gives investors relief

14 Aug 2012

Some of the people who brought the Chinese advertising firm public now want to take it private. Focus has suffered from a short seller’s allegation, but the suggested value of $3.5 billion doesn’t look like a steal. Worriers about Chinese accounting should take some comfort.

Occupy movement withers in unequal Hong Kong

14 Aug 2012

After a 10-month sit-in, a rag-bag of Occupy sympathisers face eviction from HSBC’s HQ. Their protest never gained traction - despite the region’s yawning wealth gap and HSBC providing free wifi. It’s not just that Occupy was disorganised: inequality alone doesn’t ensure unrest.

Freer fuel price could start Indian chain reaction

14 Aug 2012

The country’s clever new finance chief, Palaniappan Chidambaram, needs a sharp idea to cut the fiscal deficit. Deregulating fuel prices would help in many ways, including a lower subsidies bill, more valuable state-run firms, more efficient resource allocation and eventually more investment.

Asia’s slowdown may heighten tension over isles

14 Aug 2012

A Korean soccer player may have lost an Olympic bronze amid his country’s spat with Japan over mid-sea islands. Asian politicians’ interest in aquatic outposts reflects a desire to look patriotic, and an economic slowdown increases the acrimony over disputed rocks and reefs.

China mistakes foreign law firms for Party poopers

13 Aug 2012

They’re dealmakers, not threats to communist rule. Yet China’s wary leaders won’t license them. That’s no way to lure overseas investment. Change must wait until a tense murder case and political transition passes. But economic preeminence won’t come without global lawyers’ help.

Public investors lose in Mongol mining battle

10 Aug 2012

The nomad state seems set on sinking Chinese state firm Chalco’s bid for coal miner SouthGobi. Wild as Mongolia is, a compromise is conceivable. All sides could come away with something, except for investors who bought SouthGobi shares when they were double their current value.

Li & Fung finds dreams don’t always come true

10 Aug 2012

The ambitious Hong Kong listed trading and logistics company sells at an elevated multiple, based on promises of rapid growth from a confident chief executive. The shares dropped 20 percent after a disappointing first half. They still look expensive for this cyclical business.

India begins the post-Mukherjee clear-up

9 Aug 2012

The former Indian finance minister’s reign was stained by economic meddling and political favouritism. Now he is gone, and some of his excesses are being reversed. An enemy has been pardoned and a friend has not received a plum job. This could be the beginning of a better era.

Heineken should call Thai bluff for Tiger beer

8 Aug 2012

A Thai mogul has pipped the Dutch brewer’s S$50 a share bid for Asia Pacific Breweries with a higher offer, but only for a minority stake. Heineken shouldn’t bite. It loses little even if its bid fails. It may just end up with a debt-laden partner it can buy out cheaply later.

New Esprit CEO won’t end geographic confusion

8 Aug 2012

The struggling Hong Kong-listed retailer surged after it poached an executive from Spain’s more successful Inditex. Esprit’s Asian headquarters is a poor fit with the business’s European focus. The Eurasian firm needs to find a new brand identity and sharpen its geographic focus.

Indian telcos need a regulatory boost to grow

8 Aug 2012

Bharti Airtel, the market leader, has reported a 10th straight decline in quarterly profit. Overcrowding is forcing prices to rock bottom, and uncertain regulation is preventing consolidation. More data usage will be a boon. Healthier telcos will make a healthier economy too.

StanChart sanction crisis poses cultural questions

7 Aug 2012

The bank strongly rejected a U.S. regulator’s claim it hid $250 bln of payments for Iranian clients. But communications quoted in the probe suggest an arrogant, dissembling culture. With StanChart’s top team little changed since then, the burden of proof lies with the bank.

Japan Inc’s earnings tell worrisome global story

7 Aug 2012

Yes, operating profits at the country’s four biggest manufacturers - Toyota, Nissan, Honda and Hitachi - quintupled in the latest quarter as U.S. and in Japanese growth overwhelmed weaker economies in Europe and China. But the post-tsunami rebound is unlikely to last.

Merger boost looks short-lived for China’s Youku

7 Aug 2012

Revenues at the leader in the Chinese internet video market almost doubled in the last quarter, but losses widened even more. The planned merger with smaller rival Tudou should help lower costs, but deep-pocketed diversified players are catching up. The pair looks vulnerable.

‘Peak’ resource nationalism could get messy

6 Aug 2012

Miners see a silver lining in the fading super-cycle: it lets them be pickier about working with grabby governments. But existing projects will always be vulnerable to expropriation. And populist pandering doesn’t necessarily wax and wane in lock-step with commodity prices.

Strong third Indian party could be game-changer

6 Aug 2012

Anti-corruption campaigner Anna Hazare is developing a political party. His cobbled-together group doesn’t look credible, but a well structured force could be kingmakers – and would be a constructive alternative to the regional parties which have paralysed Indian coalitions.

BYD caught in two Chinese economic traps

6 Aug 2012

Warren Buffett bought into the automaker, but insiders are now selling amid falling profits. BYD expanded too fast after Beijing’s 2009 stimulus. The downturn is hurting its mostly low-end customers. Besides, a fatal tragedy has reinforced the Chinese love of foreign brands.

Heineken’s $6 bln deal should trigger aftershocks

3 Aug 2012

The Dutch brewer is paying a hefty 17 times EBITDA to take control of Asia Pacific Breweries from partner F&N. Heineken had little choice, as it couldn’t let APB slip through its fingers. This sets up F&N’s next act - the dismemberment of the rest of the conglomerate.

Investors may be happy to ride on renovated JAL

3 Aug 2012

The airline’s plans to raise roughly $8.5 bln in an IPO may seem a heavy lift amid weak markets and a perennially limping industry. But big funds will likely clamor for seats on a flight fueled by a mix of government largesse and one of Japan’s most promising turnaround stories.