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Corrupt Nation Rankings Released

by on October 26, 2010

Transparency international released their 2010 Corruption Perception Index , which compiles data on public sector corruption and perceptions of corruption around the world. A three-way tie between Denmark, New Zealand and Singapore topped the list, while Somalia, Myanmar, Uzbekistan and Sudan were at the bottom. While some of the listings may seem obvious, others could surprise you. Check out the list below to see if your corruption perceptions match reality, and check out the full list here .

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Corrupt Nation Rankings Released

Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam Added to Human-Trafficking Watchlist by U.S.

by on June 14, 2010

By Daniel Ten Kate and Nicole Gaouette June 15 (Bloomberg) — Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam all regressed last year in their efforts to battle trafficking of men, women and children for labor or commercial sex, according to the U.S. State Department . The three Southeast Asian countries were placed on a watch list of middle-tier countries, placing them one level above the worst offenders such as North Korea, Myanmar and Saudi Arabia, the report said. Malaysia was upgraded from the worst ranking, while Cambodia and Pakistan were removed from the watch list. The department’s 10th annual report grades 175 nations on their efforts to fight this modern form of slavery. The U.S. is listed for the first time, placed among those countries that are doing their best to comply with the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, the American law against human trade. Singapore’s government showed an “inadequate response” to sex trafficking in the city-state with only two convictions last year, the report said. Thailand and Vietnam similarly made little progress in prosecuting trafficking offenders, it said. Malaysia moved out of the worst tier with increased criminal charges against offenders, the report said. Cambodian authorities made a “significant increase” in convictions over the past year, including a public official, and Pakistan boosted efforts to combat bonded labor, the U.S. said. The U.S. is a source as well as a transit and destination country for people forced into labor, debt bondage and prostitution, the report said. The work is predominantly in manufacturing, janitorial services, agriculture, hotel services, construction, nail salons, elder care, strip-club dancing and domestic servitude, the U.S. said. ‘Tears of Families’ “Behind these statistics on the pages are the struggles of real human beings, the tears of families who may never see their children, the despair and indignity of those suffering under the worst forms of exploitation,” Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said at a State Department event to mark the release of the report yesterday in Washington. The International Labor Organization estimated there were 12.3 million victims of forced labor, sex trafficking, debt bondage and recruitment of child soldiers worldwide in 2009. In the same year, there were 4,166 successful prosecutions for trafficking, the State Department report said. The U.S. report lists three tiers of nations. Among those in the bottom section — nations that don’t comply with the law and make no effort to do so — are Zimbabwe, Cuba, Mauritania and Sudan. Japan, Israel and Oman are listed in the middle tier — nations that don’t fully meet the law’s minimum standards yet are making “significant” efforts to do so. Oil-rich Qatar is listed in between the middle and lowest tier on a watch list of countries that don’t meet minimum standards and whose progress is less certain. More Prosecutions Needed The trafficking report calls for better law enforcement, improved laws and more prosecutions for trafficking. The report changes each year, and countries can move from tier one, where the U.S. and others are, to the bottom tier. This year, 22 countries were upgraded, including Djibouti, which moved from the second tier to the first, while 19 lost ground, such as the Dominican Republic, which slipped from tier two to tier three. Sixty-two countries on the list have never prosecuted trafficking, according to the report. “Most countries that deny the existence of victims of modern slavery within their borders are not looking, trying or living up to the mandates” of a United Nations protocol mandate against trafficking, the report said. To contact the reporter on this story: Daniel Ten Kate in Bangkok at dtenkate@bloomberg.net ; Nicole Gaouette in Washington at ngaouette@bloomberg.net .

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Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam Added to Human-Trafficking Watchlist by U.S.

Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam Added to Human-Trafficking Watchlist by U.S.

June 14, 2010

By Daniel Ten Kate and Nicole Gaouette June 15 (Bloomberg) — Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam all regressed last year in their efforts to battle trafficking of men, women and children for labor or commercial sex, according to the U.S. State Department . The three Southeast Asian countries were placed on a watch list of middle-tier countries, placing them one level above the worst offenders such as North Korea, Myanmar and Saudi Arabia, the report said. Malaysia was upgraded from the worst ranking, while Cambodia and Pakistan were removed from the watch list. The department’s 10th annual report grades 175 nations on their efforts to fight this modern form of slavery. The U.S. is listed for the first time, placed among those countries that are doing their best to comply with the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, the American law against human trade. Singapore’s government showed an “inadequate response” to sex trafficking in the city-state with only two convictions last year, the report said. Thailand and Vietnam similarly made little progress in prosecuting trafficking offenders, it said. Malaysia moved out of the worst tier with increased criminal charges against offenders, the report said. Cambodian authorities made a “significant increase” in convictions over the past year, including a public official, and Pakistan boosted efforts to combat bonded labor, the U.S. said. The U.S. is a source as well as a transit and destination country for people forced into labor, debt bondage and prostitution, the report said. The work is predominantly in manufacturing, janitorial services, agriculture, hotel services, construction, nail salons, elder care, strip-club dancing and domestic servitude, the U.S. said. ‘Tears of Families’ “Behind these statistics on the pages are the struggles of real human beings, the tears of families who may never see their children, the despair and indignity of those suffering under the worst forms of exploitation,” Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said at a State Department event to mark the release of the report yesterday in Washington. The International Labor Organization estimated there were 12.3 million victims of forced labor, sex trafficking, debt bondage and recruitment of child soldiers worldwide in 2009. In the same year, there were 4,166 successful prosecutions for trafficking, the State Department report said. The U.S. report lists three tiers of nations. Among those in the bottom section — nations that don’t comply with the law and make no effort to do so — are Zimbabwe, Cuba, Mauritania and Sudan. Japan, Israel and Oman are listed in the middle tier — nations that don’t fully meet the law’s minimum standards yet are making “significant” efforts to do so. Oil-rich Qatar is listed in between the middle and lowest tier on a watch list of countries that don’t meet minimum standards and whose progress is less certain. More Prosecutions Needed The trafficking report calls for better law enforcement, improved laws and more prosecutions for trafficking. The report changes each year, and countries can move from tier one, where the U.S. and others are, to the bottom tier. This year, 22 countries were upgraded, including Djibouti, which moved from the second tier to the first, while 19 lost ground, such as the Dominican Republic, which slipped from tier two to tier three. Sixty-two countries on the list have never prosecuted trafficking, according to the report. “Most countries that deny the existence of victims of modern slavery within their borders are not looking, trying or living up to the mandates” of a United Nations protocol mandate against trafficking, the report said. To contact the reporter on this story: Daniel Ten Kate in Bangkok at dtenkate@bloomberg.net ; Nicole Gaouette in Washington at ngaouette@bloomberg.net .

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Taiwan, China Say They Reach a Basic Agreement on Reducing Trade Tariffs

June 13, 2010

By Bloomberg News June 14 (Bloomberg) — China and Taiwan said they reached a basic agreement on tariff reductions in a third round of talks to boost economic and trade relations. “We are still working on details, but the basic agreement has been reached,” Tang Wei, head of Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau affairs at China’s Ministry of Commerce, said late yesterday after talks in Beijing with Huang Chih-peng , director- general of Taiwan’s Bureau of Foreign Trade. An agreement would lower tariffs on more than 200 items exported from China to Taiwan including car parts, petrochemicals and machinery, the officials said. The exact items have yet to be decided, and Tang said he hoped that Taiwan would export textiles and car parts to China. An accord would allow service providers to compete in the two markets, he said. Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou has been pushing for an accord to bolster export-dependent Taiwan’s economy after a Chinese trade agreement with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations began this year. Ma is also seeking better relations with the island’s biggest trading partner and No. 1 investment destination. Any accord “will boost market sentiment and confidence,” Tony Phoo , an economist at Standard Chartered Plc, said by phone in Taipei yesterday. Still, “the preferred-tariff treatment won’t happen at least for the next one to two years.” Cross-strait ties improved after President Ma took office in May 2008 and abandoned his predecessor’s pro-independence stance. Ma’s administration has said the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement, or ECFA, may be signed this month. ‘Milestone’ “Signing the ECFA is a route that Taiwan must take and it is a milestone,” Liu Bih-rong , a professor of political science at Soochow University in Taipei, said by phone. “It signifies how the relationship between the two sides has recovered and more importantly, it will pave the way for more free-trade agreements and benefits.” Taiwan and China agreed in December to boost cooperation in fishing, agriculture and industrial goods at the fourth cross- strait talks as relations reached their warmest in 60 years. In November, they signed three memoranda of understanding to ease access to each other’s banking, securities and insurance industries. “Taiwan has abundant capital, advanced production technology, rich enterprise-management experience and international sales channels,” China’s Tang said in the opening remarks. “On the other hand, the mainland has very rich resources and a lot of labor and huge potential markets.” Trade Jumps Trade between the mainland and Taiwan increased 68 percent in the first four months of 2010 compared with same period last year, and Taiwan investment rose 45 percent, China’s Tang said today. An agreement would be in “both parties’ interests, so we have better resource allocation and cooperation,” Tang said. An agreement with China is “vital to Taiwan’s economy,” Chiang Pin-kung , chairman of the Taipei-based Straits Exchange Foundation, said in February. An agreement would help to ensure Taiwan can compete with regional rivals and may prompt other nations to agree to similar accords with the island, Chiang said. North Korea and Taiwan are the only two economies in the region that haven’t signed trade agreements with China and Asean, which groups Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, the Philippines and Brunei. Taiwan has been unable to join the wave of bilateral and multilateral free-trade agreements in recent years because China regards the island as a rebellious province. Taiwan’s Democratic Progressive Party opposes the trade accord and on Dec. 20 rallied 100,000 people in Taichung city to protest Ma’s China policies. “Even if the opposition gains power in future, with such a framework it would be difficult for them to reverse the entire decision,” said Soochow University’s Liu. — Henry Sanderson in Beijing and Weiyi Lim in Taipei. Editors: Carey Sargent , Dick Schumacher . To contact Bloomberg News staff on this story: Henry Sanderson in Beijing at 86-10-6649-7548 or hsanderson@bloomberg.net

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Thai Troops Clash With Demonstrators in Bangkok, Leaving at Least 18 Dead

May 15, 2010

By Daniel Ten Kate and Supunnabul Suwannakij May 15 (Bloomberg) — At least 16 people were killed and more than 100 wounded as Thai troops battled anti-government demonstrators in a Bangkok commercial area to end a two-month street campaign for an immediate election. Security forces aiming to seal off a business district as large as New York’s Central Park fought protesters in at least three locations. Demonstrators set fires and launched explosives at troops, who shot bullets and tear gas in return, local television footage showed. “There could be attempts by people who have ill intentions to create instability,” government spokesman Panitan Wattanayagorn said in a nationally televised briefing. “We hope that in the next few days the situation will return to normal.” The government is seeking to force protesters to end rallies in central Bangkok that have spurred the country’s worst political violence in 18 years, claiming at least 46 lives since they began March 12. The protesters, drawn mostly from poor rural areas, say they are fighting for democracy. Former Thai leader Thaksin Shinawatra , whom many of the red-shirted protesters support, called on Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva to restart reconciliation talks. The Red Shirts have defied a state of emergency since April 7 and failed to disperse after Abhisit offered to cut his term short, prompting the military action. Protesters may assault buildings and train lines if troops use force, TNN television station reported, citing leader Jatuporn Prompan. The movement’s leaders are divided on whether to continue the demonstrations. Split Down Middle “It’s about a 50-50 split,” Kokaew Pikulthong, one of about two dozen protest leaders, said in an interview. “I myself prefer to stop.” Thailand’s SET Index rebounded after dropping as much as 1.4 percent earlier yesterday, closing 0.3 percent higher. The benchmark has risen 4.7 percent this year, compared with a 0.4 percent decline for the MSCI Asia-Pacific Index . Thailand’s economy has been hurt by the anti-government rallies, which will “significantly” reduce tourism in the coming months, Finance Minister Korn Chatikavanij said in an interview with Bloomberg Television yesterday. “We’ll be as patient as we can be,” he said. “The best thing that could possibly happen would be for the protesters to see that ongoing protests will lead to unnecessary loss of life and damage to the country.” TUI AG and Thomas Cook Group Plc , Europe’s two largest tour operators, have canceled all city trips to Bangkok from Germany through May 31, they said yesterday in e-mailed statements. Renegade General Shot Sixteen Thai civilians were killed in the fighting yesterday and overnight, according to a statement from Bangkok’s medical emergency unit. Another 141 people were injured, including three foreigners from Canada, Myanmar and Poland, the report said. Battles two days ago killed one person after a renegade general was shot. Major-General Khattiya Sawisdipol, who sided with the anti-government protesters, “can die any second,” Chaiwan Charoenchokethavee, head of Vajira hospital in Bangkok, told reporters yesterday. The general is one of nine demonstration leaders wanted on terrorism charges. About 500 “terrorists” with weapons are interspersed among the 5,000 protesters, army spokesman Sansern Kaewkamnerd told reporters, adding that troops seized grenade launchers and rifles from demonstrators. Soldiers used live bullets as a “last measure,” he said. The government is “ready and willing to defend its operations in a court of law,” spokesman Panitan said. Correspondent Wounded Nelson Rand, a correspondent with France 24 television network, was shot and wounded while covering the clashes. A cameraman for Thai-language Matichon newspaper was shot in the leg, it reported on its website. Authorities on May 13 extended an emergency decree to northern parts of the country to cover 17 of 76 provinces. “The government is clearly worried that whatever happens in central Bangkok will trigger a much broader pattern of unrest through areas that are very loyal to the Red Shirts,” said Michael Montesano , a visiting research fellow at Singapore’s Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. The U.S. Embassy in Bangkok was closed yesterday and authorities asked residents and businesses to vacate the area. Abhisit withdrew an offer to hold a Nov. 14 election when protesters failed to disperse by a May 12 deadline. The group attached new conditions to his offer, including criminal charges against Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban . Pro-Thaksin parties have won the past four elections on a platform of improved health care and cheap loans. Abhisit took power in a December 2008 parliamentary vote after a court disbanded the ruling party for election fraud. His Democrat party hasn’t won the most seats in a nationwide vote since 1992. To contact the reporter on this story: Daniel Ten Kate in Bangkok at dtenkate@bloomberg.net

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Vietnam Lures Intel, Samsung as Asean Group Woos Companies Away From China

April 7, 2010

By Daniel Ten Kate April 7 (Bloomberg) — Vietnam hosts Southeast Asian leaders this week as chair of their 10-nation bloc, shining a spotlight on the political and economic stability that prompted Intel Corp. and Toyota Motor Corp. to increase investments. The communist nation drew 13.5 percent of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations’ foreign direct investment pool in 2008, up from 4.4 percent two years earlier, according to the 10-member group. And its allure may be rising, judging from a December survey by the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai. Vietnam is a preferred destination for businesses looking to relocate from China, Asia’s biggest investment recipient, the report said. “A lot of companies from a strategic standpoint are looking at how to set up a production facility within Asean,” said James Lockett, a Hanoi-based lawyer with Baker & McKenzie LLP and a board member of the American Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam. “In a lot of product areas, Vietnam looks very, very attractive for people who are doing that.” Vietnam’s economy expanded 5.2 percent last year, the most in Asean, which has signed free-trade accords with China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand. The deals give companies access to those countries and the Asean member states of Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Asean is home to about 600 million people and its populations are among Asia’s youngest. Asean leaders meeting April 8-9 in Hanoi will issue a statement on climate change and define a “road map” to form an economic community modeled on the European Union by 2015. In March, Asean trade ministers said they would travel to the U.S. to promote the group as an economic hub. Obama Visit The region’s growing economic importance was underscored when President Barack Obama became the first U.S. leader to meet formally with the bloc in November. Santa Clara, California-based Intel, the world’s biggest chipmaker, is scheduled to open a $1 billion testing facility in Ho Chi Minh City this year that will employ about 4,000 people. Intel chose Vietnam because of its proximity to customers, reliable power and water supply and skilled workers, said Nick Jacobs , Intel’s regional spokesman. “Vietnam is a country which is very committed to education, and that gives us confidence we will continue to attract the talent we need for long-term success,” he said. Toyota produced 28,000 vehicles in Vietnam last year, up from 18,000 in 2007, spokesman Paul Nolasco said. The Toyota City, Japan-based company had 1,300 employees in Vietnam, more than double the number in 2005, he said. ‘Potential Growth’ “Toyota recognizes not only the potential growth of that market but the potential role the Vietnamese economy can make in broader Southeast Asia,” Nolasco said. Toyota produced more than 6 million vehicles globally in 2009. Suwon, South Korea-based Samsung Electronics Co., the world’s second-biggest maker of mobile phones, opened a $1 billion factory in Vietnam six months ago. Redmond, Washington- based Microsoft Corp. outsources digital animation and modeling for its computer games to Vietnam. While Vietnam’s one-party state and its jailing of more than a dozen democracy activists since October have drawn criticism from groups like Human Rights Watch, some regard it as a model of stability. They contrast it with Thailand, where demonstrators have shut airports and blocked streets in sometimes violent political protests. ‘Political Stability’ “There is a measure of political stability” in Vietnam, Rodolfo Severino , Asean’s former secretary-general, said by phone from Singapore. “If I were an investor I would bet my money on it.” The number of foreign companies in China with plans to relocate plants inland or outside the country because of rising costs doubled last year, according to a survey of 202 foreign manufacturers by the American chamber. The poll found 8 percent of respondents reported plans to relocate or expand outside of China compared with 28 percent considering moves to lower-cost areas in southwest or central China. In the short term, Vietnam’s inflation rate, among the world’s highest, caused the country to fall last year in the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report . Consumer prices rose 9.46 percent in March, the biggest gain in a year. Fitch Ratings placed Vietnam’s debt rating on a negative watch last month. Vietnam “has been making positive structural changes to increase its investment attractiveness,” Prakriti Sofat, a Singapore-based economist for Barclays Capital, wrote in a report last month. Rising Yuan Banks such as Goldman Sachs Group Inc. predict China will allow its currency to appreciate amid pressure from U.S. lawmakers, reducing its attractiveness to exporters. The yuan will rise to 6.66 per dollar by the end of September, New York- based Goldman said in an April 1 research note. While some CEOs in China have called for a stronger yuan, its rise would trim profit margins of exporters and push textile and furniture makers into bankruptcy, Zhang Wei , vice chairman of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade based in Beijing, said March 18. Vietnam’s dong has fallen 7 percent against the dollar in the past year. To contact the reporters on this story: Daniel Ten Kate in Bangkok at dtenkate@bloomberg.net

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Obama Trip May Alter U.S. Misperception of Asean, Economic Ministers Say

February 28, 2010

By Daniel Ten Kate March 1 (Bloomberg) — President Barack Obama needs to grasp Southeast Asia’s economic potential and help boost U.S. investment when he travels to Indonesia three weeks from now, economic ministers from the region said. “There’s still a lack of awareness in the U.S., a misperception that we have to address,” Indonesian Trade Minister Mari Pangestu said in an interview in Putrajaya, Malaysia, where envoys from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations met at the weekend. “We have to keep up the momentum” to expand cooperation, she said. Asean ministers plan to travel to the U.S. in May to meet with business executives. The association plans to showcase its position as an economic hub in competing for funds with China and India, the world’s fastest-growing economies. Obama, who became the first U.S. leader to meet with the 10-member bloc in November, is aiming to increase trade with Asia to help meet a January pledge to double exports in five years. Southeast Asia was the third-biggest market for U.S. goods in 2008 behind Canada and Mexico. The region is rich in coal, oil and precious metals as well as containing sea lanes vital to world trade. Asean aims to form an economic community modeled on the European Union, though without a common currency, by 2015. It has already signed free- trade accords with China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand. Economic Recovery “It’s important that Mr. Obama look more to the East,” Thai Deputy Commerce Minister Alongkorn Ponlaboot said in an interview. “There has been a power shift toward this region after the financial crisis, and I hope Obama will have a clear message for Asean when he visits.” Asia’s export-dependent economies are emerging from recession as global demand increases for the region’s computer chips, cars and commodities. In January, Detroit-based General Motors Co. received local funding to open a diesel-engine plant in Thailand, and Santa Clara, California-based Intel Corp. plans to start operations of a chip assembly and testing plant in Vietnam later this year. Asean leaders will aim to make the U.S. “understand why we have been able to succeed and why we will continue to undertake the policies that would ensure that this economic recovery is not just a coincidence,” Pangestu said. “We’ve actually moved further than you think and the opportunity is there.” Investment Programs Foreign direct investment from the U.S. into Asean from 2006 to 2008 amounted to $12.8 billion, or 6.9 percent of the bloc’s total, down from 17 percent from 1995 to 2001. The EU invested $42.1 billion into Asean from 2006 to 2008 while Japan put down $28.7 billion, statistics show . Economic disparity among Asean members has hindered the region’s ability to leverage its market of 584 million people. The region’s four largest economies — Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia — account for almost 80 percent of all foreign investment into Asean. The Philippines, Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam are the other members of the 10-nation group. “There is a lot of unutilized potential” for joint investments between Southeast Asian countries, Mustapa Mohamed , Malaysia’s minister of international trade and industry, said in an interview. “We are underperforming in intra-Asean trade, so that’s a priority this year.” Trade Initiative Southeast Asian countries are split on Obama’s top trade initiative, the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which he aims to turn into a platform for economic integration in the Asia-Pacific region. Vietnam, Singapore and Brunei will join New Zealand, Chile, Peru, Australia and the U.S. for talks on the TPP later this year. “The success of the TPP depends very much on the attitude and the viewpoint of the U.S.,” Vu Huy Hoang , Vietnam’s minister of industry and trade, told reporters. Malaysia and Indonesia are both reviewing the TPP and haven’t decided whether to join talks. Thailand prefers a free- trade deal between the U.S. and Asean as a bloc, Alongkorn said. “We have noted that investments from the U.S. have dropped,” Surin Pitsuwan , Asean’s secretary-general, told reporters yesterday after the meeting, which ran from Feb. 27 until today. “There is very keen interest in strengthening cooperation, but because of the differences and diversity among us we have not yet made a definite decision whether or not this is going to be a free-trade agreement.” China Trade Indonesia notified its partners in Asean earlier this year that it wants to revise the group’s free-trade agreement with China, which took force on Jan. 1 and scraps tariffs on about 90 percent of goods. Textiles, food and electronics companies have said they will suffer from the inflow of cheaper Chinese goods. China’s trade with Asean has jumped sixfold since 2000 to $193 billion in 2008. The country’s share of Southeast Asia’s total commerce increased to 11.3 percent from 4 percent in that time, whereas the U.S. portion fell to 10.6 percent from 15 percent, Asean statistics show. “We don’t worry so much about having to compete with the U.S. in the way some sectors worry about having to compete with China,” Indonesia’s Pangestu said. “From the Asean-U.S. perspective of increasing trade and investment, it’s more like, ‘Hey guys, the U.S. is back.’” To contact the reporter on this story: Daniel Ten Kate in Putrajaya, Malaysia, at dtenkate@bloomberg.net

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Football- Tajikistan wins over Myanmar in AFC

February 28, 2010

Football- Tajikistan wins over Myanmar in AFC

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Thai Police Deployed as Courts Mull Seizing $2.3 Billion Thaksin Fortune

February 25, 2010

By Daniel Ten Kate Feb. 26 (Bloomberg) — Thai police manned checkpoints near strategic locations in Bangkok as a court prepares to rule later today whether the government can seize about $2.32 billion from fugitive Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra ’s family. The verdict from nine Supreme Court judges will conclude a case that began after the army ousted Thaksin in 2006, sparking a power struggle that may shape how the country is governed. Rival camps disagree on how much authority appointed soldiers, judges and royal advisers should wield over elected politicians. Police added reinforcements around the court, Parliament and Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva ’s offices, the site of violent street protests from both sides in the past two years. The political turmoil has weighed on Thai stocks, which trade at 10.8 times 2010 earnings, the third-cheapest in Asia. “There are so many moving parts here that you’d have to be a very brave investor” to put money in Thailand at the moment, said Sriyan Pietersz , head of research for JPMorgan Chase & Co. in Bangkok. “Foreign investors will want to scope it out and see how the politics goes over the next couple of months.” So far this year, foreigners have been net sellers of $156 million of Thai stocks, the second-most in Asia after Taiwan, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Thailand’s SET Index has lagged benchmarks in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam in that time. Prosecutors are seeking to confiscate the 76.6 billion baht ($2.32 billion) that Thaksin’s children and relatives earned from the 2006 sale of holding company Shin Corp. to Temasek Holdings Pte, Singapore’s state-owned investment firm. Judges will start reading the verdict at 1:30 p.m. local time. More Protests Planned Since the coup, courts have disbanded parties linked to Thaksin that won the past two elections. The rulings have eroded confidence in the judicial system among Thaksin’s supporters, who say different standards are applied to opponents who seized the prime minister’s offices and the airports two years ago. Prosecutors have yet to bring those cases to trial. Anti-government protesters, who wear red shirts and support Thaksin, plan to rally in Bangkok starting from March 12 to push for a fresh election. Abhisit took power in December 2008 after a court dissolved the pro-Thaksin party that won a 2007 election, citing a clause in the constitution drafted after the coup. An election must be called by the end of next year. “Thaksin was very successful at reaching out to the poor in his first election,” Vikas Kawatra , head of institutional broking at Kim Eng Securities (Thailand) Pcl, the biggest brokerage by trading volume, wrote in a Feb. 24 report. “So this dispute is not likely to go away even if the red-shirts lose Thaksin because of an inability to fund supporters.” Advanced Info, Thaicom After Thaksin founded Shin Corp. in 1983, its units were awarded one of two mobile-phone concessions and an exclusive satellite franchise. The company controls Advanced Info Service Pcl , Thailand’s top mobile-phone operator, and satellite services monopoly Thaicom Pcl . Thaksin transferred his Shin stake to his children and relatives before taking office in 2001. Seven years earlier he disclosed that he was worth 60 billion baht — about $2.4 billion at the time. The Attorney-General says Thaksin concealed ownership of his stake in Shin during his five years as prime minister and used his position to increase the value of its holdings. He stands accused of changing Advanced Info’s royalty payments to the state-owned telecoms operator and approving a government loan to Myanmar, part of which was used to buy equipment from Thaicom. Thaksin denies all allegations, according to Noppadon Pattama , a former foreign minister who is part of his legal team. Thaksin plans to watch the verdict from Dubai, where he has lived most of the time since fleeing Thailand in 2008 to avoid a two-year jail sentence for corruption. Shin shares gained 121 percent from when Thaksin took office on Feb. 9, 2001, to when his family sold the company on Jan. 23, 2006, compared with a 128 percent gain in the benchmark SET index, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Siam Cement Pcl , Thailand’s fourth-biggest company, which is controlled by the monarchy’s investment arm, gained 717 percent in that time. To contact the reporter on this story: Daniel Ten Kate in Bangkok at dtenkate@bloomberg.net ; Shiyin Chen in Singapore at schen37@bloomberg.net

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Thai Police Deployed as Courts Mull Seizing $2.3 Billion Thaksin Fortune

February 25, 2010

By Daniel Ten Kate Feb. 26 (Bloomberg) — Thai police manned checkpoints near strategic locations in Bangkok as a court prepares to rule later today whether the government can seize about $2.32 billion from fugitive Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra ’s family. The verdict from nine Supreme Court judges will conclude a case that began after the army ousted Thaksin in 2006, sparking a power struggle that may shape how the country is governed. Rival camps disagree on how much authority appointed soldiers, judges and royal advisers should wield over elected politicians. Police added reinforcements around the court, Parliament and Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva ’s offices, the site of violent street protests from both sides in the past two years. The political turmoil has weighed on Thai stocks, which trade at 10.8 times 2010 earnings, the third-cheapest in Asia. “There are so many moving parts here that you’d have to be a very brave investor” to put money in Thailand at the moment, said Sriyan Pietersz , head of research for JPMorgan Chase & Co. in Bangkok. “Foreign investors will want to scope it out and see how the politics goes over the next couple of months.” So far this year, foreigners have been net sellers of $156 million of Thai stocks, the second-most in Asia after Taiwan, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Thailand’s SET Index has lagged benchmarks in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam in that time. Prosecutors are seeking to confiscate the 76.6 billion baht ($2.32 billion) that Thaksin’s children and relatives earned from the 2006 sale of holding company Shin Corp. to Temasek Holdings Pte, Singapore’s state-owned investment firm. Judges will start reading the verdict at 1:30 p.m. local time. More Protests Planned Since the coup, courts have disbanded parties linked to Thaksin that won the past two elections. The rulings have eroded confidence in the judicial system among Thaksin’s supporters, who say different standards are applied to opponents who seized the prime minister’s offices and the airports two years ago. Prosecutors have yet to bring those cases to trial. Anti-government protesters, who wear red shirts and support Thaksin, plan to rally in Bangkok starting from March 12 to push for a fresh election. Abhisit took power in December 2008 after a court dissolved the pro-Thaksin party that won a 2007 election, citing a clause in the constitution drafted after the coup. An election must be called by the end of next year. “Thaksin was very successful at reaching out to the poor in his first election,” Vikas Kawatra , head of institutional broking at Kim Eng Securities (Thailand) Pcl, the biggest brokerage by trading volume, wrote in a Feb. 24 report. “So this dispute is not likely to go away even if the red-shirts lose Thaksin because of an inability to fund supporters.” Advanced Info, Thaicom After Thaksin founded Shin Corp. in 1983, its units were awarded one of two mobile-phone concessions and an exclusive satellite franchise. The company controls Advanced Info Service Pcl , Thailand’s top mobile-phone operator, and satellite services monopoly Thaicom Pcl . Thaksin transferred his Shin stake to his children and relatives before taking office in 2001. Seven years earlier he disclosed that he was worth 60 billion baht — about $2.4 billion at the time. The Attorney-General says Thaksin concealed ownership of his stake in Shin during his five years as prime minister and used his position to increase the value of its holdings. He stands accused of changing Advanced Info’s royalty payments to the state-owned telecoms operator and approving a government loan to Myanmar, part of which was used to buy equipment from Thaicom. Thaksin denies all allegations, according to Noppadon Pattama , a former foreign minister who is part of his legal team. Thaksin plans to watch the verdict from Dubai, where he has lived most of the time since fleeing Thailand in 2008 to avoid a two-year jail sentence for corruption. Shin shares gained 121 percent from when Thaksin took office on Feb. 9, 2001, to when his family sold the company on Jan. 23, 2006, compared with a 128 percent gain in the benchmark SET index, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Siam Cement Pcl , Thailand’s fourth-biggest company, which is controlled by the monarchy’s investment arm, gained 717 percent in that time. To contact the reporter on this story: Daniel Ten Kate in Bangkok at dtenkate@bloomberg.net ; Shiyin Chen in Singapore at schen37@bloomberg.net

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Posco Will Pursue $30 Billion Overseas Expansion to Catch China’s Baosteel

January 10, 2010

By Sungwoo Park Jan. 11 (Bloomberg) — Posco , Asia’s most profitable steelmaker, is set to report the highest net income in six quarters as prices recover. Further growth depends on $30 billion in overseas expansion. Chief Executive Officer Chung Joon Yang last week added plans for a $7 billion plant in India’s Karnataka state to a $12 billion project in Orissa in the south Asian nation and a $6 billion Indonesian plant. Together with an investment in Vietnam, the South Korea-based company may leap from fifth-place to regain its spot as Asia’s largest steelmaker. Chung, 61, who took the helm in February, wants to regain ground lost to China’s Baosteel Group Corp. Three years of delay at the Orissa project and slowing domestic growth weighed on the stock, with Posco lagging behind ArcelorMittal, the world’s largest mill. “Posco has to show that it is a growing company,” said Kim Do Joon , a Seoul-based fund manager who helps manage $1.5 billion of assets including Posco shares at Hanwha Investment Trust Management Co. “They cannot expect a growth momentum from the local market.” Shares of Posco , which counts Warren Buffett ’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. as a stakeholder, gained 63 percent in Seoul trading last year. ArcelorMittal jumped 89 percent. China’s Baoshan Iron & Steel Co. and local rival Hyundai Steel Co. doubled. Profit at the Pohang-based company may almost double to 1.37 trillion won ($1.2 billion) in the three months ended Dec. 31, according to the median estimate of 23 analysts compiled by Bloomberg. It may be the largest quarterly gain in three years. Chung will announce results at 4 p.m. Seoul time on Jan. 14. Fresher Look “I’ll try to boost the future competitiveness of the company through investments and M&As,” Chung, a 35-year Posco veteran, said in February when he took over the job. He declined to be interviewed for this story on his first full-year earnings result as CEO. In the past year, Chung has acquired Asia Stainless Corp. in Vietnam, TaihanST Corp. in Korea, and is in talks to buy Thailand’s Thainox Stainless Pcl . He’s approved U.S. and Chinese expansion and is studying a bid for Daewoo International Corp. , which has a Myanmar gas project worth at least $4 billion. “Scale is pivotal for competitiveness,” Choi Doo Jin , a Posco spokesman, said in an interview. “We’re going into India and Indonesia with a main focus on resources and into Vietnam on markets.” Three-Prong Expansions Those expansions will add 28 million metric tons of capacity, or 85 percent of Posco’s 33.1 million tons crude steel output in 2008. The Orissa and Indonesian projects alone may add 60,000 won to Posco’s stock price, said Kim Gyung Jung , an analyst with Samsung Securities Co. Chung, who studied at the nation’s top Seoul National University, was head of Posco Engineering & Construction Co. when he was picked to be CEO. The metal engineer, who snowboards and plays the saxophone, has spent most of his career in production after joining Posco in 1975. Like Buffett, Chung is seeking to take advantage of the crisis to expand. Posco is the only steelmaker among the 10 biggest that didn’t report a loss in any quarter in the 12 months ended Sept. 30, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. “You have to invest when others don’t,” Samsung’s Kim said. “You can avoid competition and pre-occupy markets, leaving little room for latecomers.” ‘Aggressive Investments’ Steel demand may grow 9.2 percent this year as the global economy rebounds from the recession, the World Steel Association forecast in October. Posco will be able to maintain its risk profile during the course of “aggressive investments,” Standard & Poor’s said Dec. 14. It has 8 trillion won ($7 billion) in cash, near-cash items, short-term investments and receivables as of Sept. 30. Posco is pressing ahead in Orissa after winning government approval to acquire 88 percent of the land needed, spokeswoman Choi Youn Joung said Jan. 4. The project has been delayed since 2007 when construction was to start. It still needs approval from remaining villagers and a permit to mine iron ore, required to feed its steel plant. The delays won’t affect plans for the 6-million-ton plant in Karnataka that were revealed last week. Chung also has to progress Posco’s $5 billion investment in Vietnam, where the government in 2008 told the company to seek a new location for its plant. Right Thing “Targeting India, Vietnam and Indonesia is the right thing to do to prepare for the future as demand outlook for the emerging markets is quite good,” said Im Jeong Jae , a Seoul- based fund manager at Shinhan BNP Paribas Asset Management Co., which manages about $26 billion in assets including Posco shares. Southeast Asia is the world’s biggest net importing steel market with demand expected to grow 9.2 percent a year, according to Posco’s Research Institute. Posco dropped to sixth in global steelmaking in 2008, overtaken by Baosteel and Hebei Iron & Steel Group. China plans to create one or two producers the size of ArcelorMittal. The world’s largest steelmaker had 101.6 million tons of output in 2008, three times Posco’s production. “Bigger Chinese rivals may eventually threaten Posco’s edge in high-end products such as automotive steel,” said Chung Ji Yun , an analyst with HI Investment & Securities Co. in Seoul. To contact the reporter on this story: Sungwoo Park in Seoul at spark47@bloomberg.net .

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China Signals Resistance to Iran Sanctions, Seeks Further Nuclear Talks

December 22, 2009

By Bill Varner Dec. 22 (Bloomberg) — China signaled resistance to any U.S. and European push for tougher United Nations sanctions on Iran, saying talks aimed at preventing its development of nuclear weapons should be given a chance to succeed. “We ask for more time to be given and efforts to be made to see if we can reach some sort of breakthrough,” La Yifan, China’s envoy for Security Council and political affairs at the UN, said in an interview yesterday. “The door to diplomatic efforts is not completely slammed yet. Efforts should focus on trying to find a solution to the current impasse.” La’s stance reflects the difficulty the U.S., Britain, France and Germany will have in pursuing tougher UN sanctions on Iran next month. The Obama administration set a Dec. 31 deadline for progress on the diplomatic track, and France’s ambassador to the UN said earlier this month that there was no longer any reason to delay a push for sanctions. The U.S. and its European partners suspect Iran’s uranium enrichment work is part of the development of a nuclear weapons capability. China holds one of the five permanent seats on the 15- nation Security Council, along with the U.S., France, Britain and Russia. Those veto-wielding members and Germany, which have been trying to convince Iran to scale back its nuclear program, offered at an October meeting in Geneva to enrich uranium Iran needs for a reactor that makes medical isotopes. The Iranian government has never given a formal reply to the proposal, which the U.S. has portrayed as a confidence- building measure. Iran insists its enrichment program is only intended for civilian energy projects. ‘Hardest Sell’ “Clearly, China will be the hardest sell,” Cliff Kupchan , a senior analyst at Eurasia Group , a New York political-risk consulting firm, said in a telephone interview. “Their position is, rhetorically at least, more problematic than the Russian position, so the Chinese are going to face a real test because sanctions are moving.” China and Russia, while resisting most UN sanctions resolutions, have voted for three measures punishing Iran for ignoring demands that it stop enriching uranium. The resolutions have blocked financial transactions by Iran, imposed an embargo on arms sales and banned the travel of officials working on the nation’s nuclear and missile programs. “The gap between Russia and China is opening,” Kupchan said. “My instinct is that Russia will be the deal maker.” Iran Stance Cited La cited Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki’s statement last week that his government might agree to exchange enriched uranium for nuclear fuel rods outside its territory. He was responding to the proposal for Iran to send 1,200 kilograms of its low-enriched uranium to Russia and then France for processing into reactor fuel, to ensure it isn’t boosted to weapons grade. “We note the recent remarks by Iranian authorities of a kind of continued willingness to have an exchange,” La, 43, said. “With regard to the venue and also the modalities of such exchanges, those are the issues that a solution should be found through continued discussion.” European nations have proposed sanctions against Iran that would further hit its nuclear program and its financial system, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said yesterday. The list doesn’t impact Iran’s domestic fuel industry because that would hurt the population and be “counter-productive,” Kouchner told reporters in Paris. The U.S. House voted last week to support possible pressure on companies that sell gasoline to Iran. Iran depends on gasoline imports because of limited refining capacity at home. Obama Administration The U.S. administration favors a new push for sanctions, although it wants to give Iran until the end of the year to respond to offers to enrich uranium outside the country, according to Kouchner. “The Russians are on board and the Chinese will follow,” Kouchner said, though he criticized Chinese companies for signing commercial and industrial contracts with Iran. Asked about statements indicating that the West’s patience has run out, La called those remarks “unfortunate” and expressed hope that there will “not be a spiraling out of control” of the discussion. On Nov. 27, the UN International Atomic Energy Agency censured Iran for concealing an enrichment plant, with the U.S., Russia, China, France and the U.K. all voting for the motion. Sudan, Myanmar La praised the Obama administration’s overall commitment to diplomacy on the Iranian issue, as well as conflicts with North Korea, Sudan and Myanmar. “The Obama administration is taking the right approach” on North Korea, La said, adding that U.S. envoy Stephen Bosworth’s recent trip to North Korea was “highly useful.” The U.S. is working with China, Russia, Japan and South Korea to persuade North Korea to abandon its nuclear arms. North Korea has committed to resuming those so-called six-party talks. La said Obama’s efforts at engagement with Sudan, over the conflict in Darfur, and Myanmar’s military junta over its repression of political opponents and ethnic minorities, is producing results. Further Security Council involvement with either nation isn’t warranted at this time, he said. “If you compare the situation in Darfur today with that of two years ago you can see a significant improvement,” he said. “Let’s give them a fair chance to find a solution.” On Myanmar, the “signs are positive,” La said, that democratic elections may be held next year. To contact the reporter on this story: Bill Varner at the United Nations at wvarner@bloomberg.net

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Golden Triangle Warlords Swap Guns, Drugs for Tourist Trade: Travel Review

December 17, 2009

Review by William Mellor Dec. 17 (Bloomberg) — The jungle-swathed ridges of Southeast Asia’s Golden Triangle divide two worlds. On one side, in Thailand, well-heeled tourists savor the luxuries of Anantara and Four Seasons resorts. On the other, in Myanmar, mule caravans laden with opium, gemstones and jade still ply hidden mountain trails. Much remains concealed from even the most adventurous traveler in this opium-growing region where the borders of Myanmar, Thailand and Laos converge. Yet one secret it has given up is that of the so-called Lost Army, Chinese soldiers abandoned in 1949 by their leader Chiang Kai-shek who fled to Taiwan after being defeated by his Communist nemesis Mao Zedong on mainland China. Trapped in the southwestern Yunnan province, the troops of Chiang’s 93rd Division staged a fighting retreat into the adjoining Golden Triangle, from where they launched futile attempts to re-invade their Chinese homeland. Finally, the survivors struck a deal with the Thais: they were allowed to set up an autonomous mini-state in return for defending Thailand’s northern borders from local communist insurgents. The site they chose was a mountain top called Mae Salong , 15 kilometers from the Burmese border, where the slopes were carpeted with red-and-white opium poppies. General Lei Yutian, the last surviving commander of the Lost Army, reflects on the Golden Triangle’s transformation from drug fiefdom to tourist destination. Guns to Calculators “First we came with guns,” said Lei, 93, as he sipped tea in a manicured flower garden that was once the parade ground where he drilled a 20,000-strong private army. “Then we became farmers. Now we use calculators.” Those calculators have been busy of late counting the benefits of tourism as resort operators like Anantara build hotels to accommodate wealthy tourists venturing deeper into the mist-shrouded mountains of the triangle, a once-lawless frontier where the borders of Thailand, Myanmar and Laos converge. The 77-room Anantara offers spa treatments, Thai banquets and $400-a-night rooms with balconies overlooking the Mekong River at the exact spot where the three countries meet. Nearby, the Four Seasons hotel chain has created a five-star jungle encampment, each $2,000-a-night tent equipped with its own copper bathtub. Both resorts offer guests the chance to commune with a herd of elephants and train to become a mahout. Nearby, a Hall of Opium tells the colorful and violent story of the Golden triangle’s drug trade. “The attraction here is partly nature,” said Bodo Klingenberg, the Anantara’s German-born general manager as we dined al fresco beside a riverside rice paddy, watched by a white water buffalo and her doe-eyed calf. “But it’s also the mystique of the Golden Triangle.” China in Thailand The Lost Army’s then leader, General Duan Shiwen, became a drug warlord, according to Alfred W. McCoy’s 1972 book “The Politics of Heroin in Southeast Asia,” and recreated a piece of pre-revolutionary China inside Thailand — temples and houses with distinctive curved Chinese roofs, restaurants serving fine Yunnanese cuisine and a population that, despite intermarrying with local hill tribes and Thais, continued to speak Mandarin Chinese and various Yunnan dialects. Duan died in 1980. His successor, General Lei, denies any subsequent involvement in the drug trade, but kept up the Lost Army’s war against communist insurgents. As a reward, the Thais granted Lei and his men citizenship. Mae Salong was renamed Santikhiri, meaning Hill of Peace, although most still use the original name. The government built an all-weather road linking it with Chiang Rai, capital of Thailand’s northernmost province. The Lost Army had come in from the cold. Growing Tea Under Lei, the old soldiers and their descendants have taken up licit business activities. Chamroen Cheewinchalermchot, 52, son of a colonel, has embraced both tourism and tea-growing. He runs Mae Salong Villa, a clean, comfortable hostelry with $30-a-night rooms overlooking plantations producing high-grade oolong tea. The triangle has long been on the itinerary of backpackers and trekkers escaping Thailand’s steamy southern resorts for the cooler northern mountain air, especially during the dry season between October and the mid-April Thai New Year water festival, called Songkran. Now, travelers demanding luxury and accessibility as well as adventure are discovering they can find all these things by taking a one-hour flight from Bangkok to Chiang Rai. Once there, the Anantara and Four Seasons resorts, and tourist attractions such as Mae Salong can be reached inside 90 minutes by road. Long Tailed Boat I chose to arrive in more dramatic fashion. At Chiang Saen , a history-rich river port that was once the capital of an ancient kingdom, I boarded a hang yao, or sleek Thai-style long tailed boat, which aquaplaned up the Mekong, veering between the Thai and Lao sides to dodge sand banks, before depositing me at a jungle jetty. There, a lumbering elephant emerged from the undergrowth to provide transportation on the final leg to Anantara resort. Plodding through the silent teak forest, the Golden Triangle didn’t seem much different from when the Lost Army first sought refuge. Except that, back then, there weren’t spas or copper bath tubs to recline in at the end of the journey. And the warlords of those days carried guns, not calculators. Anantara Golden Triangle Resort. 229 Moo 1, Chiang Saen, Chiang Rai 57150, Thailand. Tel: +66-5378-4084. http://www.goldentriangle.anantara.com Four Seasons Tented Camp. P.O. Box 18, Chiang Saen, Chiang Rai 57150, Thailand. Tel: +66-53-652-189. http://www.fourseasons.com/goldentriangle ( William Mellor is a senior writer with Bloomberg Markets Magazine. Opinions expressed are his own.) To contact the writer on the story: William Mellor in Sydney at wmellor@bloomberg.net ;

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Obama Vows to Engage Asia, Staking U.S. Claim to Shaping Region’s Future

November 14, 2009

By Julianna Goldman and Edwin Chen Nov. 14 (Bloomberg) — President Barack Obama promised broader U.S. engagement with Asia and an expanded focus beyond the traditional economic powers such as Japan and China. “We look to rising powers with the view that in the 21st century, the national security and economic growth of one country need not come at the expense of another,” Obama said in an address to an audience of Japanese business and political leaders in Tokyo’s Suntory Hall. Setting out on his first trip to Asia as president, Obama is using today’s speech to outline his administration’s approach to the region, which includes greater engagement on economic and security issues. Obama called for unified efforts to block North Korea’s nuclear weapons development and stressed the importance of increasing U.S. exports to achieve greater balance with countries that sell far more goods to the U.S. than they buy from American companies. The world financial crisis will lead to a rebalancing for the U.S. economy, which will mean “saving more and spending less,” he said. Increasing exports will create millions of jobs in the U.S., Obama said. The U.S. will support “an ambitious and balanced” Doha trade agreement that will open markets, Obama said. He also vowed to work toward completing a trade agreement with South Korea and enter into discussions for a Pacific trade accord. Japan Alliance “Our efforts in the Asia Pacific will be rooted, in no small measure, through an enduring and revitalized alliance between the United States and Japan,” Obama said. “But while our commitment to this region begins in Japan, it doesn’t end there.” Noting he was born in Hawaii and lived in Indonesia as a child, Obama said the Pacific Rim has “helped shape my world view.” He said his administration will give greater attention to the region’s multilateral organizations, such as the Association of South East Asian Nations . Obama will become the first U.S. president to meet with all 10 members of the group, which includes Myanmar, a nation under U.S. economic sanctions. “I know that the United States has been disengaged from these organizations in recent years,” Obama said. “So let me be clear: those days have passed.” China’s Influence China’s growing economic and military influence in Asia doesn’t necessarily come at the expense of the U.S., Obama said. “In an inter-connected world, power does not need to be a zero-sum game, and nations need not fear the success of another,” he said. “Cultivating spheres of cooperation — not competing spheres of influence — will lead to progress in the Asia Pacific.” Obama lauded China’s role in the global recovery, saying the world’s third-largest economy played a “critical” part in helping mitigate the recession and jumpstart growth. The U.S. will continue to approach its relationship with China based on American interests and will pursue areas of “pragmatic cooperation,” he said. That includes emphasizing expanded human rights, he added. “The United States does not seek to contain China, nor does a deeper relationship with China mean a weakening of our bilateral alliances,” he said. That cooperation will be tested by Obama’s pledge to push for a global accord on cutting emissions linked to climate change. Obama yesterday with Japan’s Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama reaffirmed support for a target of cutting emissions by 80 percent by 2050 and today he said the world’s economies must strive for success at a United Nations climate conference in Copenhagen next month. “All nations must accept their responsibility,” he said. “Each of us must do what we can to grow our economies without endangering our planet, and we must do it together.” From Tokyo, Obama will travel to Singapore for meetings Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum before going on to China and South Korea. To contact the reporters on this story: Julianna Goldman in Tokyo at jgoldman6@bloomberg.net ; Edwin Chen in Tokyo at echen32@bloomberg.net

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Japan Promises $5.5 Billion Environmental Support to Mekong River States

November 7, 2009

By Sachiko Sakamaki Nov. 7 (Bloomberg) — Japan will join five Southeast Asian nations that share the Mekong River in a 10-year program to protect the region’s environment, as Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama seeks closer ties with Asia. Hatoyama and the leaders of Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar agreed to establish a new partnership today at the inaugural Japan-Mekong summit in Tokyo, as Japan’s leader pledged 500 billion yen ($5.5 billion) in aid over the next three years. The Southeast Asian leaders thanked Hatoyama for the aid pledge and financial assistance for Mekong reforestation and water management. Hatoyama is pushing for an “East Asian Community” modeled on the European Union, to eventually include a shared regional currency, as China increases investment and trade in the region. “The Mekong region holds the key to my East Asian Community idea,” Hatoyama said in Tokyo following two days of meetings. “I’ve proposed a ‘Green Mekong’ plan to help the region’s effort such as water management to address climate change, and the proposal was adopted.” Laotian Prime Minister Bouasone Bouphavanh expressed thanks for Japan’s pledge of aid and plan to invite 30,000 trainees to Japan over the next three years, and said more investment by Japanese firms in the Mekong region would be welcome. Hatoyama announced in September plans to increase aid for developing nations to address global warming, and Japan’s new target to cut greenhouse gases by 25 percent by 2020. Attendees included Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and his Cambodian counterpart Hun Sen , whose countries have recalled their respective ambassadors after Cambodia named fugitive ex-Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra an economic adviser. Also present were Myanmar Prime Minister Thein Sein and Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung . To contact the reporters on this story: Sachiko Sakamaki in Tokyo at Ssakamaki1@bloomberg.net ;

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Campbell Visits Myanmar in Highest-Level U.S. Diplomatic Visit Since 1995

November 2, 2009

By Daniel Ten Kate Nov. 3 (Bloomberg) — U.S. State Department official Kurt Campbell will become the most senior American emissary to visit Myanmar in 14 years today as the Obama administration aims to improve ties with the military junta. Campbell, the assistant secretary of state for East Asian affairs, will stay in the country formerly known as Burma overnight. He plans to meet senior government officials and detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi , State Department spokesman Robert Wood said Oct. 30. Campbell’s visit builds on Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s policy announced in September of engaging directly with Myanmar’s military leaders to press for democracy. The policy supplements sanctions first imposed on the regime in 1997 and renewed for one year by U.S. President Barack Obama in May. “The Americans are using whole new tactics,” said Aung Naing Oo , an independent political analyst in Chiang Mai, Thailand. “Both sides want to get the relationship back to normal, and the Americans understand they need to be patient.” It would be a serious mistake to ease sanctions “without meaningful progress on the ground on our core concerns,” Campbell told a Congressional hearing on Oct. 21. Those include the release of Suu Kyi and other political prisoners, an end to conflicts with ethnic groups and Myanmar’s “close military relationship with North Korea,” he said. House Detention Suu Kyi, the leader of the opposition National League for Democracy, has spent 13 years in detention since her party won the country’s last elections in 1990, a result the military rejected. The junta extended her house detention for 18 months in August after she was convicted of violating her house arrest, potentially excluding her from elections scheduled for next year. Senator Jim Webb became the first senior U.S. official to meet with junta leader Senior General Than Shwe when the Virginia Democrat visited Myanmar in August. He secured the release of John Yettaw , whose uninvited swim across a lake to Suu Kyi’s house last May prompted the charges against the Nobel laureate. Clinton expressed concern in July about reports that North Korea and Myanmar were cooperating on nuclear technology. The United Nations Security Council voted unanimously in June to adopt a U.S.-backed resolution to punish North Korea. Madeleine Albright traveled to Myanmar as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations in 1995. President Bill Clinton sent two envoys a year later. To contact the reporter on this story: Daniel Ten Kate in Bangkok at dtenkate@bloomberg.net

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Tsunami Warning System to Be Tested by Indian Ocean Nations After Quakes

October 13, 2009

By Ed Johnson and Jay Shankar Oct. 14 (Bloomberg) — A tsunami warning system set up in the wake of the Indian Ocean disaster in 2004 that left more than 220,000 people dead will be tested today by 18 countries taking part in a United Nations-backed drill. The exercise will try to simulate conditions almost five years ago when a magnitude-9.1 earthquake off northern Sumatra generated deadly waves that hit countries including Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India and Thailand, the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization said. Mock bulletins will be issued by the Japan Meteorological Agency in Tokyo and the Hawaii-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Center as the simulated tsunami spreads across the Indian Ocean, taking about 12 hours to travel from Indonesia to the coast of South Africa. The drill comes after a tsunami killed more than 100 people in Samoa last month, “providing a sober reminder that coastal communities everywhere need to be aware and prepared for such events,” Unesco said. In Sri Lanka, where about 30,000 people were killed in the 2004 disaster, authorities will evacuate 800 people from two coastal villages . “Our aim is to take the people to safe areas within 45 minutes,” Major General Gamini Hettiarachchi, director general of the nation’s Disaster Management Center, said in a phone interview from the capital, Colombo. “The exercise will tell us if we have to improve our shortcomings, gaps in the systems and also test last-minute dissemination of the warnings,” he said. Lack of Understanding Indonesian authorities said many coastal communities still don’t fully appreciate the danger of tsunamis even after more than 100,000 people were killed in Aceh province in 2004. “Not only is it still hard for them to accept directives,” said Idwan Suhardi, deputy minister at the Ministry of Research and Technology. “It is hard for them to understand the purpose.” Indonesia began a five-year project in 2005 to install a warning system throughout its more than 17,000 islands. Only 60 percent has been completed, Suhardi said. The time lag from an earthquake hitting to a tsunami alert being issued has been reduced from 30 minutes to five, he added. More than 800 people were killed and more than 240 are listed as missing after a 7.6-magnitude quake struck near the Indonesian city of Padang on Sept. 30. ‘Wake-up Call’ The death toll from last month’s earthquake is a “wake-up call to refresh our understanding that we must be prepared,” Suhardi said. Since the December 2004 quake and tsunami, countries such as Thailand, Malaysia and India have been installing detection buoys and setting up warning networks. The warning system being tested today consists of seismological stations and deep-sea sensors, linked to more than 20 information analysis centers capable of receiving and distributing tsunami advisories. Many coastal areas have been equipped with sirens or other alarms to warn of approaching waves. Bangladesh is still working to build its warning system and is installing four earthquake-monitoring stations, said Arjumand Habib, director of the Bangladesh Meteorological Department. All 35 coastal districts will take part in the drill to test the time it takes alerts from Tokyo and Hawaii to reach local authorities, Habib said. The government is testing the stations and “in the future we hope to have our own tsunami warning center,” she said. Other countries taking part in the drill are Australia, India, Kenya, Madagascar, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritius, Mozambique, Myanmar, Oman, Pakistan, Seychelles, Singapore, Tanzania and East Timor. A similar drill was held in October 2008 to test a warning system in the Pacific, according to the UN. To contact the reporters on this story: Ed Johnson in Sydney at ejohnson28@bloomberg.net ; Jay Shankar in Bangalore at jshankar1@bloomberg.net .

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China Will Boost Cooperation With Asean on Trade, Investments, Chen Says

August 14, 2009

By Shiyin Chen and Suttinee Yuvejwattana Aug. 15 (Bloomberg) — China wants to boost cooperation with members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to develop trade and increase investment, said Chinese Commerce Minister Chen Deming . China and the regional grouping are deepening ties as the global economic recession weighs on trade, Chen said, speaking at an Asean economic ministers meeting in Bangkok. They signed an agreement today in Bangkok that may boost two-way investment as much as 60 percent during the next two years, Thailand’s Commerce Minister Porntiva Nakasai told reporters. Chen spoke before the signing. China said in April it plans to create a $10 billion investment fund and offer $15 billion in credit to southeast Asian countries, extending its influence as the region attempts to weather the global financial crisis. Trade between China and the regional grouping fell 24 percent to $88 billion in the first half of the year, Chen said. China is the eighth-largest investor in Asean, with accumulated investments of $6.1 billion as of 2008, the regional grouping said in a statement today. Asean has invested a total of about $5.6 billion in China as of last year, the statement added. China companies may seek investments in the steel and agriculture industries within Southeast Asia, while Asean nations may invest in Chinese financial and retail companies, Chaiya Yimvilai, a spokesman for the Asean meeting, said today. Asean has said it wants the region to become a European Union-style economic community, without a common currency, by 2015. Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, the Philippines, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam make up the regional organization. Asean yesterday signed a free trade agreement with India, pledging to reduce tariffs for about 80 percent of goods between 2013 and 2016. A similar agreement with China is scheduled to take effect next year. To contact the reporter on this story: Shiyin Chen in Bangkok at schen37@bloomberg.net ; Suttinee Yuvejwattana in Bangkok at Suttinee1@bloomberg.net .

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Suu Kyi House Arrest in Myanmar Extended; U.S. Man Gets 7 Years Hard Labor

August 11, 2009

By Ed Johnson Aug. 11 (Bloomberg) — Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi was placed under house arrest for 18 months today after being found guilty of breaching a detention order, her U.S.- based attorney said. A court in the former capital, Yangon, sentenced the Nobel Peace Prize winner to 3 years in jail and hard labor and the military regime commuted the sentence, Jared Genser said by telephone after today’s verdict. “This was a pre-ordained conclusion,” Genser said from the U.S. “It is clearly arbitrary and in breach of international law.” Suu Kyi was accused of breaking her house arrest order by allowing American John Yettaw to stay for two days after he swam to her lakeside home in Yangon in May. Today’s ruling ensures she won’t be able to take part in elections scheduled for 2010. The verdict may invite a fresh wave of criticism against the country formerly known as Burma, which has been ruled by the military since 1962. Suu Kyi denied the charges and blamed the security breach on the regime. Yettaw was sentenced to 7 years hard labor and imprisonment, Agence France-Presse reported. Suu Kyi has spent more than 13 years in detention since her National League for Democracy won Myanmar’s last elections in 1990, a result rejected by the military. She has been under house arrest since 2003. The United Nations and leaders from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations , the U.S. and Europe have called for the Nobel Peace Prize winner’s release. To contact the reporter on this story: Ed Johnson in Sydney at ejohnson28@bloomberg.net .

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Magnitude-7.6 Quake Hits Andaman Islands Off India; Tsunami Warning Issued

August 10, 2009

By Mark Tannenbaum Aug. 11 (Bloomberg) — A magnitude-7.7 earthquake struck the Andaman Islands in the Indian Ocean today, the U.S. Geological Survey said. A tsunami warning is in effect for India, Myanmar, Indonesia, Thailand and Bangladesh, according to the U.S. Pacific Tsunami Warning Center. The quake struck at a depth of 16 kilometers and was centered 449 kilometers southwest of Yangon, Myanmar, the USGS said.

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