Thursday, May 26, 2005

Japan’s Liberal Democrats propose post office privatisation

by Brian Turner

A plan to privatize Japan’s post office, the world’s largest financial institution, began debate Thursday in the nation’s parliament.
Prime minister Junichiro Koizumi has threatened to dissolve parliament if the bill doesn’t pass, but opponents of the plan boycotted the start of debate in protest.
The prime minister believes that the plant to [...]

Monday, May 23, 2005

Japan combats dango

by Brian Turner

Japan’s Fair Trade Commission has been investigating, and has now filed charges against, eight Japanese companies suspected of engaging in bid-rigging in 2003 and 2004.
The charges have to do with the companies’ participation in a scheme to fix bids so that bridge-building contracts would be shared among those companies and denied to other [...]

Tuesday, May 17, 2005

China to allow foreign investors into primary stocks and debt markets

by Brian Turner

A report in the China Securities Journal indicates that the nation will raise the amount of money foreign investors will be permitted to invest in China’s primary markets. Already this year, China has given its permission for 26 foreign entities invest a total of $4 billion in over 1,300 Chinese companies, treasuries, and corporate [...]

Wednesday, May 11, 2005

Japanese equities down on poor reports

by Brian Turner

Investors in Japan reacted negatively to several reports that were released after the markets closed on Tuesday to send the market down on Wednesday.
The biggest loser was toiletries and textiles maker Kanebo, which has been suffering the fallout of an accounting scandal. On reports that the Tokyo Stock Exchange will likely delist it, Kanebo [...]

Tuesday, May 10, 2005

South Korea Bank advises against foreign investment in Korean banks

by Brian Turner

A report from the Institute for Monetary and Economic Research, a think-tank sponsored by the Bank of Korea, South Korea’s central bank, has found that private equity funds have done little for the nation’s banking sector even as they have contributed to the country’s financial stability.
Due to this finding, the Institute has advised [...]

Monday, May 9, 2005

Mixed news on Asian markets

by Brian Turner

The Asian markets saw mixed fortunes on Monday.
The Kospi index in Seoul was down 0.6 percent, to 935.2, mostly over concerns that North Korea would carry out threatened nuclear testing.
Additionally, Hyundai Motors was fell 0.9 percent to Won52,500 and Kia Motors declined by 1.5 percent to Won12,750.
The Taiex [...]

Wednesday, May 4, 2005

KEB executive was secretly filmed in bank deal information gathering operation

by Brian Turner

Cameras and listening devices were found last month hidden in the walls of Korea Exchange Bank’s chief executive’s office.
The cameras and microphones, along with a computer to transmit the results of the surveillance, were discovered while the office was being redecorated for the new president and chief executive of the bank.
It [...]

Monday, May 2, 2005

China readies for billion-dollar state equity sale

by Brian Turner

China has approved the sale of state holdings in certain select companies.
The program is a trial that will include a small number of companies, according to the China Securities Regulatory Commission. This is the third try at resolving the problem of the sale of state holdings in Chinese companies, after unsuccessful attempts [...]