Archives: February 2008

The Indian budget highlight: a $15 billion charity give-away

Posted by: Manjeet Krpalani on February 29

Indian finance minister Mr. Chidambaram today presented his last budget to the Indian parliament. Next year, 2009, is an election year in India, and the ruling Congress coalition is desperate...

A New Indian Challenge to Big Pharma

Posted by: Bruce Einhorn on February 29

Just when Thailand shows signs of backing down in its confrontation with global drugmakers, Big Pharma may be facing an even bigger Asian challenge, this time in India. The Thais...

No winner as Japan and China play the blame game

Posted by: Ian Rowley on February 29

When news broke that gyoza dumplings imported from China by Japan Tobacco's food arm contained dangerous levels of a pesticide, hospitalizing ten people, the authorities from both countries initially made...

Hong Kong's Democrats Love Obama

Posted by: Bruce Einhorn on February 28

As an American living in Hong Kong, I miss out on one of the most exciting parts of being a U.S. citizen – going to a polling place on Election...

Sharp and Sony Tie Up in LCDs for Flat TVs

Posted by: Kenji Hall on February 26

Consolidation it wasn’t. But on Feb. 26 when Sony (SNE) said it would pick up part of the $3.5-billion tab for Sharp’s planned TV-panel plant, two of the world’s biggest...

Lee Needs to Do More for Korea’s Upgrade

Posted by: Ihlwan Moon on February 25

Lee Myung Bak, a business icon of South Korea's growth-at-all-costs era in the 1970s and '80s, took office as the country's new president on Feb. 25, vowing to lift the...

The importance of Asia for Japan's automakers

Posted by: Ian Rowley on February 25

Can Japan's automakers withstand a slowdown or worse in the U.S. Japan and Western Europe? You bet they can. Hot on the heels of healthy quarterly results for the three...

Huawei's 3Com Deal Flops

Posted by: Bruce Einhorn on February 21

This isn’t exactly a shocker: Huawei has suffered a major setback* in its bid to buy a stake in 3Com. The Chinese telecom-equipment company has been trying for months to...

An Open Olympics?

Posted by: Dexter Roberts on February 21

More grim news suggesting that Beijing is far from fully behind the idea of an open Olympics came earlier this week on February 19th. That was the day that lands...

Is Filipino President Arroyo at risk?

Posted by: Frederik Balfour on February 20

As I started reading last week in the New York Times that the Philippines was on high alert against a planned assassination attack against President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, my blood...

Japan's electronic toilets in two-thirds of homes

Posted by: Ian Rowley on February 19

It's taken a generation, but according to data from Japan's Cabinet Office, a remarkable 65% of Japanese homes now include toilets with electronic bidets. That's up from 14% in 1992...

More investigations into Chinese cadavers

Posted by: Bruce Einhorn on February 18

I once interviewed a Western entrepreneur doing business in China who had hoped to get into the business of helping people from the U.S., Japan and other countries in need...

Reliance and Cap Gemini. Huh?

Posted by: Manjeet Krpalani on February 17

The latest rumour about Reliance Communications bidding for Cap Gemini has people scratching their heads. Reliance Communications, headed by Anil Ambani, does media and telecom. Cap Gemini does software and...

Why Spielberg doesn't care about annoying Beijing

Posted by: Bruce Einhorn on February 14

Steven Spielberg has quit as artistic director for the opening night show at the Beijing Olympics. (More in this BW story.) This is a major PR blow to the Chinese....

The next step for India's IT companies

Posted by: Manjeet Krpalani on February 13

Nasscom’s annual conference held in Bombay has become a must-go event for people in the business. Over the years, it has attracted not just people in the tech business in...

Want a Cell-phone Doubling as a TiVo?

Posted by: Ihlwan Moon on February 12

Mobile TV's growing acceptance in Asia and elsewhere is bound to prompt tech-oriented companies to introduce services designed to improve television viewing on the go. Already, consumer electronics companies have...

Reliance Power IPO listing

Posted by: Manjeet Krpalani on February 11

The Bombay Stock Exchange was so bedecked, it almost looked like it was hosting a wedding. Instead, it was the listing of the initial public offering of Reliance Power, a...

‘The Story is Not Over Yet’

Posted by: Bruce Einhorn on February 11

That’s the conclusion of a team of commodities analysts from Lehman Bros. who have just come out with a report on the economic impact of China’s big freeze. While many...

A reprieve for China's online video operators

Posted by: Bruce Einhorn on February 06

So much for that scare. Chinese regulators spooked the country’s would-be YouTubes last month with new rules that, on their face, seemed to require government ownership for any company showing...

China Frees Reporter "Spy"

Posted by: Frederik Balfour on February 05

The release of Hong Kong journalist Ching Cheong from Chinese prison today [Feb. 5] is wonderful news for him and his family [and his newspaper, the Singapore Straits Times.]...

Microsoft's Yahoo bid sends Softbank's stock into orbit

Posted by: Ian Rowley on February 03

Japan's retail investors didn't waste too much time mulling over the likely impact of Microsoft's huge $44.6 billion bid for Yahoo. In Monday morning trading in Tokyo, stock in Softbank,...

China's crisis

Posted by: Bruce Einhorn on February 01

Plenty of readers are angry at me for my story about the potential for social unrest in Chinese cities slammed by the weather-induced transportation chaos. According to some, I’m an...