Friday, January 14, 2005

Asian Development Bank reports on Asian Tsunami economic effects

by Brian Turner

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has reported on the expected after-effects of ths Asian Tsunami disaster, and reports that it predicts 2 million people will be thrown into poverty.
Because no major cities or manufacturing infrastructure was affected, economic growth is not expected to be significantly reduced in the general South-Asia area. However, the lowest economic [...]

Tuesday, January 11, 2005

Standard Charter moves on Korea First Bank

by Brian Turner

In the biggest take-over of the Korean financial sector, UK bank Standard Chartered will spend $3.3bn (£1.8bn) to buy Korea First Bank (KFB).
According to the BBC in UK bank seals South Korean deal Korea First Bank has:

- 3.3 million retail customers
- 6% of the country’s banking market
- 404 branches
- 2,100 ATMs
- 1.1 million credit cards [...]

Monday, January 3, 2005

Singapore shows strong economic growth

by Brian Turner

Singapore’s economy continued to grow well in 2004, reaching a strong 8.1% for the year.
Manufacturing was especially strong for the year, though overall growth slowed into the fourth quarter, suggesting lower economic growth for 2005 to between 3-5%.
Although GDP also grew 2.4%, it was below market predictations, disappointing analysts.
Overall, strong oil prices had a contracting [...]