2point6billion.com discusses investment news and events from the emerging markets of Asia - including India, China and the ASEAN countries. It is produced by the Asian foreign direct business advisors at Dezan Shira & Associates from their offices across emerging Asia.
India the new retail darling as China loses some luster
By Chris Devonshire-Ellis and Cindy Tse, Dezan Shira & Associates
Feb. 2 – As big-name retailers like Best Buy and Home Depot exited China last year, India has just liberalized its single brand retail to permit 100 percent foreign investment. A comparison of India and China’s retail markets reveals some lessons for retailers in both markets. The key points? Second and third-tier cities. Continue reading
Op/Ed Commentary: Chris Devonshire-Ellis
Feb. 1 – I don’t have a mobile phone. For many years I did, and religiously bought the latest designs – always the top end of the brands on offer: the Sony Ericsson and all the iPhones up until the iPhone 4. Then I stopped. It wasn’t planned, but yet again I had lost or had stolen a relatively expensive device – being the first to own the latest often comes with a US$1,000 price tag. I had my iPhone pickpocketed in Hong Kong about 10 months ago, and bought an iPhone 4 as a replacement. So far, so good. And then, so bad. Continue reading
252-page complimentary PDF on latest India investment data available for download
Jan. 31 – A report issued by Ernst & Young at the World Economic Forum in Davos says that foreign direct investment in India is set to swell in the coming years as investors look beyond perennial issues such as a lack of transparency, poor infrastructure and government policy paralysis in their search for growth.
“The fundamentals that make India attractive to investors remain intact,” Farokh T. Balsara, head of markets at Ernst & Young India, wrote in the report released on Sunday. “However, our respondents continue to cite inadequate infrastructure and a lack of governance and transparency as major obstacles to investment.” Continue reading
Jan. 26 – Houston-based ConocoPhillips and the China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) have reached a financial settlement agreement with China’s Ministry of Agriculture to compensate for the damage caused by the June 2011 Bohai Bay oil leaks.
Under the agreement, RMB1 billion (nearly US$160 million) will be paid as compensation to settle public and private claims of potentially affected fishermen in relevant Bohai Bay communities, according to a January 24 press release issued by ConocoPhillips. Continue reading
A look at foreign investment access to the Indian market as relates to several key sectors
By Ankit Shrivastava
Jan. 25 – India has recently liberalized foreign investment regulations in many of its key sectors, opening up commodity exchanges, credit information services and aircraft maintenance operations. The foreign investment limit in public sector unit refineries has been raised from 26 percent to 49 percent and an additional sweetener is that the mandatory disinvestment clause within five years has been done away with. Continue reading
Jan. 18 – U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner visited major Asian oil importers China and Japan last week, attempting to gain support for U.S. sanctions on Iran in response to its suspected nuclear weapons program.
On his two-day trip in Beijing, Geithner urged top Chinese authorities to sharply reduce imports of Iranian crude oil, and he informed China of a new U.S. sanction policy that would be imposed on countries which refuse to join U.S. efforts to curb Iran’s oil revenues. Continue reading
Global brands must look to Asia for growth as Hermes begins selling saris to India
Op-Ed Commentary: Chris Devonshire-Ellis
Jan. 16 – The British Chancellor, George Osborne, has arrived in Hong Kong for a three-day tour of Asia and will be suggesting that Britain’s businesses look beyond the battered Eurozone economy and seek trade partnerships in the Far East. He will also visit other parts of China and Japan as forecasters warn that the UK economy has already slipped into recession.
“The problem of high indebtedness in Western economies means these are challenging times for the world economy,” Osborne was quoted as saying in The Observer Sunday newspaper. “But as we look to this difficult year ahead, I want to focus on reasons to be optimistic for the future. A richer, stronger Asia is an opportunity for the world, not a threat.” Continue reading
2point6billion.com is a commentary and news forum specifically dedicated to the impact trade, development, investment, politics, and the emerging markets of Asia are having on the global business community.
Dezan Shira & Associates provide a range of services for companies looking to undertake foreign direct investment into Asia, These include corporate establishment, accounting, tax, payroll, audit and due diligence. To learn more about the firm, please contact one of our specialists at china@dezshira.com, download our corporate brochure or visit at us www.dezshira.com
