Category: Policies

China, Protectionism and India’s Vitamin C Shortage

Posted by: Bruce Einhorn on September 16

Don’t catch a cold in India. The Economic Times reports on a sudden shortage of vitamin C in the country. “Due to curbs on raw material imports from China, drug…

Who’s the Protectionist in China-U.S. Trade Dispute?

Posted by: Bruce Einhorn on September 14

The Chinese government is trying to have it both ways in its current trade spat with the U.S. Following the news on Friday that the Obama Administration will impose new…

Hyundai Seen Benefiting from Korea-India Trade Deal

Posted by: Moon Ihlwan on August 07

South Korea and India on August 7 signed an agreement, giving Korean companies better access to India’s 1.2 billion consumers and opening Korea’s job markets for Indian engineers and other…

Expect India Politicians to Capitalize on H-1B Visa News

Posted by: Bruce Einhorn on April 24

Indians already worried about a growing anti-outsourcing movement in the U.S. have another problem on their hands. Two U.S. senators are re-introducing a bill, originally proposed two years ago, to…

Korean Policymakers Still Don’t Get It

Posted by: Moon Ihlwan on March 05

It’s hard to understand why the South Korean won is the worst performing major currency if you listen to the country’s policymakers explaining about the current economic predicament. Finance Minister…

Should Japan Spend Public Funds To Prop Up Stocks?

Posted by: Kenji Hall on March 03

Tokyo stocks are down this morning, hovering again near a 26-year low. So it’s no surprise that the Japanese politicians are wringing their hands and considering the prospect of a…

China Threatens Trade Showdown with India

Posted by: Bruce Einhorn on February 04

Economic ties between China and India are showing the strain of the global crisis. Late last month, New Delhi imposed a six-month ban on the import of Chinese-made toys, in…

South Korea’s Surprise Rate Cut

Posted by: Moon Ihlwan on December 11

Taking the market by surprise, the Bank of Korea on Dec. 11 slashed its base rate to a record low 3% from 4%. The cut, which is much deeper than…

More Currency Conflict ahead for U.S. and China

Posted by: Bruce Einhorn on December 03

Maybe Hank Paulson, the Bush Administration’s Old China Hand and friend of Beijing, won’t get such a warm reception on his final trip to China as treasury secretary. Paulson is…

North Korea: Brinkmanship Yet Again?

Posted by: Moon Ihlwan on November 13

You wouldn’t think an impoverished country facing a chronic food shortage will close its borders to the most important donor nation that has helped meet the shortfall for years. But…

Understanding Asia’s WTO Stance

Posted by: Bruce Einhorn on July 30

My colleague in Mexico City, Geri Smith, writes regarding the collapse of trade talks in Geneva: In the end, it’s so ironic that at a time of high worldwide food…

Embarrassing Arrests Mar China’s Ivory Win

Posted by: Bruce Einhorn on July 16

Yesterday the Chinese government won a big victory over environmentalists, with the UN giving China permission to become one of two countries engaged in the legal trade of ivory. (Japan’s…

India’s IT industry and Marie Antoinette

Posted by: Manjeet Kripalani on July 07

In the spring of 2007, when the Indian rupee was appreciating smartly against the US dollar - it had hit Rs. 39 to $1, and there was talk of it…

China’s Growing Role in Korean Peninsula

Posted by: Moon Ihlwan on July 03

If there’s one country on the planet that could sway policies of reclusive North Korea, it should be China. After all it is Pyongyang’s only remaining ally that provides the…

New Food Safety Regs in China

Posted by: Bruce Einhorn on June 06

With all that’s happened in China this year – the winter storms, the Tibet unrest, and the tragedy in Sichuan – the uproar about Chinese food safety seems far in…

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…

Bangalore’s new airport: help or hindrance?

Posted by: Manjeet Kripalani 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: Moon Ihlwan 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…

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…

Samsung Probe Underlines Lax Rule of Law

Posted by: Moon Ihlwan on April 21

In announcing findings of a sweeping probe into Samsung Group, South Korea’s legal elite again displayed its tendency to leniently punish white-collar crimes. And as long as foul plays conducted…

When in Japan…Eat Whale

Posted by: Kenji Hall on April 15

Whaling, like money, is just one of those things you don’t bring up in polite company. It can start as a civil chat but, because of the passions on both…

India and the global food crisis

Posted by: Manjeet Kripalani on April 14

The food crisis is upon us all. You and I have seen it creep up in the last month, when prices of basic vegetables went from Rs. 25 to Rs….

India and the global food crisis

Posted by: Manjeet Kripalani on April 14

The food crisis is upon us all. You and I have seen it creep up in the last month, when prices of basic vegetables went from Rs. 25 to Rs….

Don’t Mess With Japan

Posted by: Kenji Hall on March 25

Carry your own chopsticks. Carry your groceries in cotton eco-bags. Use public transportation. Ride a bicycle. Recycle. They can’t be crammed into a catchy slogan, like the one Texas had…

Korea’s Emphasis on Growth Drives Currency Lower

Posted by: Moon Ihlwan on March 21

Recent movements in South Korea’s foreign exchange market underline how government policymakers could influence the extent of a currency’s fluctuation. As Finance Minister Kang Man Soo and other top economic…

Lesson in Korea from Research Fakes

Posted by: Moon Ihlwan on March 05

A probe into another research faking scandal holds a lesson for South Korea: Pressuring to produce quick results is no longer a recipe to make Korea a truly advanced nation….

Lee Needs to Do More for Korea’s Upgrade

Posted by: Moon Ihlwan 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…

Business As Usual in Korea

Posted by: Moon Ihlwan on January 03

It is business as usual in South Korea where white collar crimes are often regarded as less serious offences, particularly when they involve chieftains of the chaebol (or sprawling conglomerates)….