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China & India, 40% of the world's population



Asian Billionaires on the Rise (Mar 12)
Mar. 12 – While 2009 may have been a tough year for the average citizen of the world, it was undeniably an amazing year for Asia’s billionaires who, according to the latest Forbes rich list, more than doubled their net worth. The continent’s billionaires boasted a combined wealth of US$729 billion last year, up from 2008’s [...]


India and China to Finance New Infrastructure in Sri Lanka (Mar 12)
Mar. 12 – The governments of India and China plan to loan more than US$400 million to develop infrastructure on the South Asian island of Sri Lanka in separate deals inked over the past week. Sri Lanka’s government signed a US$290 million deal with China to construct the Mattala Airport and upgrade the Sri Lankan Railway [...]


India Manufacturing Up 17.9% in January (Mar 12)
Mar. 12 – India’s industrial production grew by a robust 16.7 percent in January compared to just one percent in the same month a year ago, led by strong performance from the manufacturing sector. That sector, which has around 80 percent weight in the Index of Industrial Production –a measure of factory output in the country [...]


Southeast Asian Nations Question Benefits of China-ASEAN FTA (Mar 11)
Mar. 11 – The China-ASEAN Free Trade Area officially went into effect January 1st this year and has been heralded in China as a “great opportunity” and a “win-win regional co-op,” but a few experiences since the accord’s original signing in 2002 have left  Southeast Asian countries a bit skeptical. The agreement links up 7,000 duty-free [...]


Putin Touches Down in New Delhi (Mar 11)
Mar. 11 – Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin arrives in New Delhi today with an ambitious agenda scheduled for his two-day trip – expecting to authorize as many as 14 agreements worth more than US$10 billion. The agreements will largely focus on defensive deals, including the completion of the Russian-made aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov and 29 [...]


Ford’s Figo Hits India’s Small Car Market (Mar 10)
Mar. 10 – Ford India officially launched its first made-for-India model in New Delhi yesterday, hoping to target the small car market which accounts for 70 percent of the country’s automobile sales. The Figo, priced aggressively at US$7690, is set to compete against already established models like Hyundai’s i10, General Motor’s Beat, Chevrolet’s Spark, Volkswagen AG’s [...]


China and India on Board with Copenhagen Accord (Mar 10)
By Christian Fleming Mar. 10 – Top environmental and climate negotiators for China and India instructed the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) on Tuesday to include them amongst the nearly 200 countries listed at the top of the Copenhagen Accord. The accord, a three-page nonbinding statement, was the only thing to come out of [...]


Trade Value on Asian Exchanges Overtakes Europe (Mar 9)
Mar. 9 – The value of trading on stock exchanges in Asia has overtaken that of Europe for the first time, according to recent data released for 2009. According to the World Federation of Exchanges, about US$18.6 trillion was traded on the 16 Asian bourses that are members of the WFE, while Europe’s 26 members achieved [...]


China Leases Rajin Port from North Korea (Mar 9)
Mar. 9 – China has gained a directly controlled foothold in the Sea of Japan for the first time in over a century as North Korea has agreed to lease its Rajin Port for the next ten years. The port, which is on North Korea’s east coast next to the city of Rason, gives China easier [...]


Private Equity Funds View China & India as 2nd and 3rd Favored Destinations (Mar 9)
Mar. 9 – China and India are ranked among the top three investment destinations for private equity (PE) firms in the world, according to a report by consulting firm Bain & Company. The United States topped the list despite being among the worst hit by the Global Financial Crisis. In contrast, China and India recovered sharply [...]