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Mar. 22 – The role of Pakistani President Asif Ali Ardari has been further diminished with the stripping of power to declare emergency rule in the event of “grave internal disturbance or external aggression.”
Under the current Pakistani constitution, that right resides with the president. However, a new clause being inserted removes this and hands it to a resolution of the provincial assembly. While more democratic, it does create possible delays of up to ten days in dealing with the very same situation that prompted the right in the first place – a grave emergency.
 Mar. 22 – Freida Pinto, the star of the Oscar-winning Indian film “Slumdog Millionaire,” is set to be the new James Bond love interest opposite Daniel Craig.
The new film will be set in Afghanistan and is to be directed by Sam Mendes. Pinto is currently shooting Woody Allen’s star studded film “You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger.”
The only Chinese actress to play a Bond Girl was Tsai Chin in 1967’s “You Only Live Twice,” where she only appeared in a pre-title sequence in which James Bond’s assassination is staged. The Malaysian-Chinese actress Michelle Yeoh played the part of Wai Lin in “Tomorrow Never Dies,” which was one of several Bond movies partially shot in Hong Kong. Pinto will be the first Indian to play the role.
Details of all the James Bond girls can be found here.
 Mar. 22 – Indian TV is artfully interspersed with every available second cutting to advertisements, and as creative agencies well know, the quickest way to a consumer’s heart is through humor, especially when it’s combined with identifiable characters that mimic the best and worst of human traits.
Welcome then to the highly popular world of the Zoozoos – an entire series of adverts dreamed up by Vodafone’s creative team to market the many different applications of their mobile products. Each application has a specific advert or situational comedy that applies to it. » Read rest of the article
 Mar. 22 – The Indian Premier League for cricket has gone from strength to strength, culminating in yesterday’s winning bid of US$370 million to buy into the franchise with the creation of a new team from Pune.
The Sahara Group, a travel and aviation businesses, obtained the Pune deal, which will see the city just two hours south of Mumbai join the league next year. A second team franchise was also purchased yesterday by the Rendezvous consortium, winning a US$320 million bid to provide a team from Kochin, in India’s southern Kerala State.
To compare, the contentious takeover of Manchester United by the American Glazer family was a deal worth four times the amount paid for the Pune franchise, at US$1.4 billion. However, the Sahara group will also have to fund the creation of a team, brand identity, and get the new Pune club off the ground from scratch, possibly doubling the initial franchise investment. » Read rest of the article
 Mar. 22 – In an effort to supply the growing domestic demand for oil, state-owned Indian Oil and Oil India have jointly placed a roughly US$600 million takeover bid for U.K.-based Gulfsands Petroleum.
Gulfsands Petroleum, which produces 14,000 to 17,000 barrels of oil per day from their holdings in Syria and the Gulf of Mexico, has rejected the unsolicited takeover offer, but remains receptive to other offers.
“The board is unanimously of the view that the proposal is wholly inadequate and materially undervalues the company,” Gulfsands said in a statement. “The rejection does not mean that the transaction has fallen through. They can raise the offer, which they should, but the two companies are yet to put their heads together on the issue.” » Read rest of the article
 Mar. 19 – 2point6billion.com has just produced a detailed comparison of Chinese and Indian investment structures for the foreign investor interested in the two countries.
Written by Chris Devonshire-Ellis, the founding partner of Dezan Shira & Associates and publisher of the Asia Briefing group of regional business titles, this report details the procedural, operational and tax differences between Chinese and Indian representative, liaison, branch and project offices, as well as permanent establishments such as wholly foreign-owned enterprises, trading companies and private limited companies.
The report, which is available for free download on the Asia Briefing Bookstore, also details essays on the future direction of the Chinese and Indian markets, local demographics and bilateral trade figures. » Read rest of the article
Op/Ed Commentary: Chris Devonshire-Ellis
 Mar. 19 – There are unconfirmed reports that Google will exit the China market by April. If it is true, then this may have positive implications for a variety of regional industries and academic institutions. It may also prove in time to be a monumental error by the Chinese government in terms of promoting and developing its academia, intellectual, research and development facilities.
State-controlled internet in China that bars access to sites it deems harmful will almost certainly hinder online research and communication with academics in a number of fields, especially within new technologies in pharmaceuticals, biotechnology and physics. Unless the Chinese government can be very precise with regards to the maintenance of its firewall, it is likely to result in disillusionment among Chinese specialists who find their ability to access overseas data impaired. With a huge population, China’s intelligentsia are a vital component of projecting the country forward in new disciplines and sciences. The best are not going to be content to sit behind a closed security screen. » Read rest of the article
Mar. 19 – James Rickards, the former general counsel of hedge fund Long Term Capital Management, gave a gloomy verdict of the Chinese economy at the Asset Allocation Asia Summit in Hong Kong this week, but it remains to be seen whether his outlook is the right one.
“China is in the midst of the greatest bubble in history,” Rickards said, further commenting that the Chinese central bank’s balance sheet resembles that of a hedge fund buying dollars and short-selling the yuan, China’s national currency. “As I see it, it is the greatest bubble in history with the most massive misallocation of wealth. It is a bubble waiting to burst.” » Read rest of the article
Mar. 19 – Asked in an interview with the Economic Times where he would invest in right now, Peter Redward, head of emerging Asia research for Barclays Capital said he would go with India in a straight choice between India and China.
“China has some concerns surrounding the monetary policy tightening that’s going on there right now and also concerns about balance sheets and the potential risks in the banking system from the rapid credit. Until that’s resolved, China is probably going to struggle a little bit,” Redward said. » Read rest of the article
 Mar. 19 – Frequent discussions between the governments of India and the United States continue to be productive as the two countries work towards achieving better economic and political ties.
India’s Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma recently came back from a three-day trip to Washington where he participated in talks with leading U.S. trade officials, including U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk.
Discussions between Mr. Sharma and Mr. Kirk focused on trade and investment between the two countries, highlighted by the signing of the “Framework for Cooperation on Trade and Investment” by both officials on Wednesday. » Read rest of the article
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