Archives: May 2008

Sharon Stone desperately needs a new scriptwriter

Posted by: Frederik Balfour on May 29

I'd hate to have the job of PR flak at Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy. I just don't see any way the French luxury giant will be able to put a...

Cathay Pacific Dumps Paper Tickets

Posted by: Bruce Einhorn on May 29

A (qualified) hurray for Cathay Pacific. The Hong Kong airline has just announced it's getting rid of old-fashioned paper tickets and going 100% electronic for passengers in almost all countries....

The Japanese Military and China's Earthquake

Posted by: Bruce Einhorn on May 28

Here's a headline I never thought I would see. "China seeks Japanese military help after quake," reports Reuters. The agency writes that the Chinese government is inviting the Japanese military...

India a New Favorite for Private Equity

Posted by: Bruce Einhorn on May 28

For as long as I can remember, China has attracted most of the foreign direct investment in Asia, with everybody else fighting over the scraps. An item from India’s Economic...

Will LG Morph into a Truly Global Company?

Posted by: Ihlwan Moon on May 27

If things pan out as Chief Executive Officer Nam Yong envisions, LG Electronics will emerge as the first truly global company belonging to the chaebol, South Korea’s family-controlled conglomerates. Sure,...

Chinese Bloggers Pillory Property Tycoon

Posted by: Frederik Balfour on May 27

I am deeply puzzled by all the vitriol directed at Vanke chairman Wang Shi. Wang has been pilloried by Chinese bloggers and in the official media for not digging deep...

Lenovo's Disappointing/Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Posted by: Bruce Einhorn on May 22

Lenovo once figured it could leverage its PC strength in China and diversify into handsets. That worked about as well as Dell’s attempt to sell LCD televisions. (Have you seen...

"practice a frugal lifestyle to support the reconstruction"

Posted by: Dexter Roberts on May 22

Even as Chinese officials put out the plea for help, including by donating tents, in a massive effort to house an estimated five million people left without homes in the...

Little quake impact for China's insurers

Posted by: Bruce Einhorn on May 21

With Sichuan still staggering from the earthquake and China in a three-day period of mourning, people of course are focusing on the human side of the disaster. That said, business...

Ma's Message to China's Leaders

Posted by: Bruce Einhorn on May 20

A lot of Taiwanese are counting on Ma Ying-jeou, who took office today as Taiwan’s president, to boost economic ties with China. But Ma knows that the vast majority of...

Is the U.S. Toyota's new export hub?

Posted by: Ian Rowley on May 20

After years of building U.S. factories to build Toyotas for American customers, reports in Japan today say the giant automaker will soon export vehicles from the U.S. to the Middle...

Anwar Ibrahim in India

Posted by: Manjeet Krpalani on May 16

Anwar Ibrahim, the former deputy prime ministser and finance minister of Malaysia, was in Bombay today. It's his second visit to India in six months. He is friends with Dr....

Fewer cars on Japan's roads

Posted by: Ian Rowley on May 16

Given that Japan's car market has been shrinking for years, reaching a 25-year low in 2007 million, execs at Japan's car makers must be reasonably pleased that sales in 2008...

Why Bhutan Matters to India and China

Posted by: Bruce Einhorn on May 16

For a tiny country that has very little contact with the rest of the world, Bhutan seems to be in the news a lot these days. Today India's prime minister,...

Bangalore's new airport: help or hindrance?

Posted by: Manjeet Krpalani on May 15

On May 23, Bangalore's new international airport will be open for business. It'll be swish and modern, for sure. Built by a consortium that also built the Zurich airport, plus...

Could Korean Leader Learn from Controversies over U.S. Beef Imports?

Posted by: Ihlwan Moon on May 15

At first blush, a delay in South Korea’s resumption of U.S. beef imports in the face of vociferous public protests may appear yet another instance of emotional nationalism in the...

Jaipur bombings: no purpose served

Posted by: Manjeet Krpalani on May 14

Seven explosions, six locations, 80 dead, at least 150 injured in terrorist attacks in Jaipur yesterdy. All for what? The people who died weren't high profile, weren't Western tourists, weren't...

In TVs, Sony is Attuned to Market Shift

Posted by: Kenji Hall on May 14

The prospect of a global economic downturn should make Sony nervous. After all, you can’t expect consumers to be out shopping for giant flat-screen TVs and other pricey consumer electronics...

EDS's sale: a lost opportunity for India tech

Posted by: Manjeet Krpalani on May 14

So EDS finally gave itself over to the best suitor. Congratulations, Maseltov, Mubarak. On May 13 Hewlett Packard, the large and thriving tech global major, bought EDS for $12.6 billion....

Earthquake aftermath

Posted by: Bruce Einhorn on May 14

The Wall Street Journal’s editorial page is not the place you usually find praise for the Chinese government. But the paper’s Asian edition today has kind words about Beijing’s handling...

Kenwood, Victor of Japan (JVC) to Merge

Posted by: Kenji Hall on May 12

More merger news from Japan. This time, it's two mid-sized consumer electronics companies, Kenwood and Victor of Japan (maker of the JVC brand), that are joining forces to improve their...

Townships vs. Naxalism: which India will win?

Posted by: Manjeet Krpalani on May 09

About 11 years ago, a dynamic and thoughtful scion of a major Indian industrialial house, told me this. He worried, he said, about the divide in India. He worried that...

Huawei rumors

Posted by: Bruce Einhorn on May 09

Lots of speculation flying around that Huawei is looking to sell a stake in its handset, router and data-card businesses to a foreign investor. The Journal first reported this on...

Japan stocks bounce back

Posted by: Ian Rowley on May 07

It's not quite time for investors in Japan to start popping champagne corks, but the benchmark Nikkei 225 is the best performing among big Asian economies in the last month....

Don't bet on Burma's disaster prompting political reform

Posted by: Frederik Balfour on May 07

For decades the military junta of Myanmar has spurned much of the international community, deliberately pursuing an isolationist policy that is second only to North Korea’s. But in the wake...

Is China to Blame for India's Cyber Problems?

Posted by: Bruce Einhorn on May 06

The U.S. isn’t the only country victimized by cyber espionage that is blaming China. Something similar seems to be happening in India, too. American military and intelligence officials, as several...

Youtube, Burma and Hollywood

Posted by: Frederik Balfour on May 05

Last Friday when Mia Farrow spoke at the Foreign Correspondent’s Club here in Hong Kong she was asked by the Consul General of Saudi Arabia why she had not taken...

Beijing's audience

Posted by: Bruce Einhorn on May 02

The backlash against the backlash has begun. For weeks now, we've been reading about Chinese officials, Chinese students overseas, ordinary Chinese at home, furious about the coverage of Tibet and...