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.
Feb. 3 – To celebrate India’s Republic Day, nearly all 50 crew members of Finnair Flight 21 from Helsinki to New Delhi on January 26 entertained passengers with an impromptu Bollywood-style dance performance.
Dressed in traditional Indian attire, the crew members danced and lip-synced to the song Deewangi Deewangi from the 2007 Bollywood film Om Shanti Om.
The video can be seen here: Continue reading
Indian Premier League Soccer Kicks Off On February 25
Feb. 1 – Following the massive success of the Indian Premier League Cricket, the same formula – where provincial teams can bid at auction for foreign players and coaches – has just been repeated in the inaugural Indian Premier League Soccer (PLS). Famous and well-established stars such as Argentinian international Hernán Crespo, Italy’s 2006 World Cup-winning captain Fabio Cannavaro, Robert Pires, Jay-Jay Okocha and former Liverpool striker Robbie Fowler were all auctioned for prices ranging from US$840,000 for Crespo to US$500,000 for Fowler. Continue reading
Jan. 6 – Twelve Indian diamond traders returned home to India around 2 a.m. on Friday morning after spending nearly two years in China fighting smuggling charges.
“We are happy that 12 diamond traders held in China returned to India late last night. We are making all efforts to bring back the remaining traders,” Gems & Jewelry Export Promotion Council Chairman Rajiv Jain told the Press Trust of India. Continue reading
Jan. 4 – The Indian Embassy in Beijing issued a statement on Tuesday warning Indian businessmen to stay away from China’s eastern trade hub Yiwu, a city in Zhejiang Province well-known for its massive small commodities trade, Indian media reported.
“Indian traders and businessmen are hereby cautioned not to do business with Yiwu in Zhejiang Province,” the statement read. The strong warning came just one day after India said one of its diplomats was “manhandled” and temporarily lost consciousness at a court hearing on December 31 in the city. Continue reading
By Julia Gu
Dec. 27 – Following identical moves adopted by other major cities including Beijing, Guangzhou, Tianjin and Shenzhen, Shanghai is going to require users of Weibo, a twitter-like microblogging service, to register under their real names starting Monday, state media reported.
Authorities explained that the new rules aim to protect web users’ interests and improve credibility of the websites as well as to “foster a healthy Internet culture.” According to the report, netizens may use their screen names for tweeting, but for registration real names would be required. The guidelines will include both private and corporate users. Continue reading
In China, you generally get what you pay for
Op-Ed Commentary: Chris Devonshire-Ellis
Personal butler, the new St. Regis Shenzhen
Dec. 12 – Twenty years ago, when I had just begun my China business, I had to supplement the firm’s income with a job teaching English for the local TV station in Shenzhen. As filming took part in the evening, I often stayed at a very Chinese, 1-star hotel whose name forgets me now. However, I do recall the dirty, cigarette-burned carpet, the incessant aroma of stale tobacco smoke, flimsy furniture and the rat. The rat would appear from the toilet bowl at night, having navigated the U-bend, and would wake me up with a pungent stench and furtive scratching noises. He was huge, and attempts to permanently drive him off were never that successful. As part of a long forgotten Chinese-English TV series, I once stayed in this place – complete with almost inedible food, surly staff and a breakfast that consisted of stale bread and a boiled egg – for two weeks. I was regularly questioned by PSB police officers as to why I was there. That’s not good service by any stretch of the imagination. However, this was 20 years ago. Continue reading
Dec. 7 – China’s General Ma Xiaotian, deputy chief of the People’s Liberation Army General Staff, will be leading a delegation to meet with Indian Defense Secretary Shashikant Sharma on December 9, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hong Lei confirmed at a press conference on Monday.
“The two sides will hold in-depth talks about the regional situation as well as bilateral defense exchanges and cooperation,” Hong said. He noted that China attached great importance to the 15th round of Sino-India boundary talks, but didn’t reveal any further information. Continue reading
2point6billion.com provides news, commentary and analysis on business, culture and politics throughout China and India. The stories are contributed by the business experts at Dezan Shira & Associates, who have offices throughout south east Asia.
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
