Toyota launches small car Liva

Japanese carmaker Toyota  launched the petrol variant of its much anticipated small car Liva in India, priced between Rs 3.99 lakh and Rs 5.99 lakh.

The auto major has also invested Rs 3,200 crore to set up its second manufacturing facility in Bangalore.

"The company, which is present in India through a joint venture with the Kirloskar Group, has invested Rs 3,200 crore to set up its second manufacturing facility in Bangalore with an initial installed capacity of 70,000 units per annum.

"With Liva we will now be a complete manufacturer in India, offering a full range of products including the luxury SUV Prado... Liva is a very useful stylish and dynamic car," Toyota Kirloskar Motor Managing Director Hiroshi Nakagawa told reporters.

The company had last year launched Etios, the sedan version of Liva in the country.

"We will increase the production of the second plant from 70,000 units to 1,20,000 units to shorten the waiting period for Etios and meet future demand of Liva," Nakagawa said

Huawei Introduces New MediaPad Tablet

Technologies Co., China’s largest phone-network equipment maker, introduced its second line of tablet computers in eight months, as the company expands its push into consumer markets.

Huawei’s new MediaPad tablet with 7-inch screen will run Google Inc.’s Android Honeycomb 3.2 operating system, Victor Xu, chief marketing officer of the company’s device business unit, said at a press conference.

Chief Executive Officer Ren Zhengfei is broadening offerings of devices such as smartphones and tablet computers to maintain sales growth amid slower demand for its traditional phone-network gear. The thrust into consumer markets, along with a drive to expand business-computing services, aims to triple annual sales to about $100 billion in the next five to 10 years, Shenzhen-based Huawei said in April.

Apple Inc.’s iPad currently dominates the global tablet market. Competition from new entrants will cut Apple’s share of the market for the device to about 50 percent next year, from almost 100 percent when the Cupertino, California-based company began selling the iPad a year ago, IHS ISuppli said in April.

Huawei had introduced the 7-inch Ideos S7 running the Android system at a Beijing trade show in October. Huawei’s S7 tablet and an updated S7 Slim announced in February are already on sale in Europe and Asia.

The MediaPad will be sold globally and will have more than six hours of battery life, according to the statement. The device comes pre-installed with software to operate the social networking sites of Facebook Inc. and Twitter Inc., it said.

China, Russia Vow to Quadruple Trade This Decade

A $1 trillion gas deal of the century was to be signed  in St. Petersburg, Russia.Chinese President Hu Jintao, on a visit this day to St. Petersburg said that China and Russia set a goal of increasing trade fourfold during this decade.

As Russian President Dmitry Medvedev nodded approvingly, Hu told an international gathering of corporate executives that the two leaders have set a goal of $200 billion in bilateral trade by 2020.

Medvedev also spoke glowingly of the growing economic partnership between the two neighbors.

Last year, China displaced Germany as Russia’s largest trading partner. Twenty years after borders opened following the collapse of the Soviet Union, 3 million people from China and Russia now visit each other’s country each year.

Setting a bold trade goal served to distract attention from their failure to sign a massive gas deal. For one month, the leaders' aides had been predicting that Hu would sign the deal during his visit to Russia.

Asia analyst Bobo Lo said, “I was pretty surprised that they didn’t come up with some kind of face-saving gas agreement in time for Hu Jintao’s visit.”

In the deal, China would buy as much as $1 trillion worth of Siberian gas from Russia over the next 30 years, starting in 2015. The amount of gas would be equal to almost half the gas that Russia currently sells every year to Europe.

In a last-minute sales effort on Thursday night, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, often considered Russia’s top negotiator, took the Chinese president on a personal tour of Gazprom, the Russian state gas company.

Talks started 10 years ago. The sticking point remains price.

China is developing shale gas at home, is buying pipeline gas from Turkmenistan and is importing liquefied natural gas from Australia.

Russia knows that Chinese gas consumption may grow to match all of Europe’s consumption by 2035. China will have no choice, the Russians say, but to turn to Siberia.

On the standoff, Lo said, "Both the Russians and the Chinese believe they are in a strong negotiating position.”

China already has announced plans to increase coal imports from Russia and to double its oil imports from Russia.

Russia’s excitement over the China’s leader's visit reflects reversed roles of the two neighboring giants.

Fifty years ago, Russia was the top foreign aid donor to China. Now, China’s economy is five times the size of Russia’s. In a recent survey by Price Waterhouse Coopers, Russian business leaders listed China as their number-one growth area. For Chinese business leaders, Russia did not figure among the top 10.

The conference goal was for Medvedev to tell the world that Russia is open for business. Addressing a hall filled with 1,000 international participants, he declared, "We are not building state capitalism.”

He went on to say, “My choice is different. Private entrepreneurship and private investors should reign in the Russian economy.”

Medvedev cited liberalizing steps - speeding up the selling of state companies, cutting bureaucratic demands for visas and construction permits, and joining the World Trade Organization by the end of this year.

Markets, he said, are like parachutes - they only work when they are open.

This liberalizing rhetoric was music to the ears of his business audience. But Russia has presidential elections in March.

When the next economic forum rolls around, this time next year, no one knows who will be sitting in the Kremlin as president of Russia.

Investors in Dubai urged to register online

Investors can skip the queues and avoid processesing fees at Dubai government departments by registering online to get approval to start a business or renew their licences.

The DED launched two new e-service initiatives Wednesday allowing business owners and investors, who have a UAE visit or residence visa, to get tentative government approval to start a business in Dubai or renew an existing licence online — from anywhere in the world.

Applicants seeking initial approval to start a business can upload the necessary documents and pay business fees by credit card or through select banks on the DED website.
The initiatives come as part of a DED plan to move away from physical transactions at their offices to offering all services online, said Mohammad Shael, chief executive of the Business Registration and Licensing Sector at DED.

"We are now in transition. We will stop the manual processes when online services are perfected 100 per cent and people are used to it. The target [for this move] depends on the number of licences processed online."

The e-services will result in some cost savings for the government in the long run, he said. Assuming nine per cent growth in the next five years, this would require doubling the registration capacity and opening different branches.
"In ten years we would need an army of registers. That's what we don't want to do," he said, adding that human capital should be moved from registering people to interacting with investors and selling Dubai as an investment destination.

Using e-services, applicants can avoid the Dh560 per transaction charged at the DED offices.

There are no processesing fees for the online services and no surcharges for paying by credit card, Shael added.

The DED has also partnered with three business centres and Al Tamimi and Company law firm to provide business registration and licensing services during non-working hours. The DED closes at 2.30pm and the business centres would operate until 9pm, he said. About 95 per cent of DED services are available onlineAsked if the practice of auditing the documents submitted online after granting initial approvals would increase the risk of fraudulent companies setting up, he said: "Since the DED started in 1992, statistics say 85 to 87 per cent of businessmen who set up in Dubai are genuine. Only a small percentage are fraudlent, we can't punish the majority for the minority... the risk won't stop us from enhancing our electronic services," he told Gulf News.

The number of new companies that set up in Dubai reached 5,684 from January to May this year, according to Mohammad Shael, chief executive of the Business Registration and Licensing Sector.

There has been a reduction in real estate-related activity but a parallel increase in retail, food and beverages, luxury goods, electronics and services sectors, he said.
The number of new licences is expected to rise five to eight per cent this year on the back of falling rentsi, he added. But 2010 alone saw a growth of 18 per cent in new companies coming here.

There are currently 190,000 companies in Dubai registered with DED, excluding those in the free zones, he said.

All business tenancy contracts must be attested by RERA starting July 1, according to the DED.

"This is to save the rights of both parties, the tenants and the business owner," said Shael.

This covers only business contracts and not residential, he said.

Malaysian firm to Invest in Energy Sector

Malaysian investors and businessmen have vast opportunities for investment in Pakistan's energy sector given a massive gap between demand and supply with power shortage reaching 7000MW at peak hours in the current summer, said Pakistan’s High Commissioner in Malaysia Masood Khalid.
He was addressing a ceremony here in Malaysia upon an agreement reached between Malaysia's Tenaga Nasional Bhd's (TNB) unit TNB Repair and Maintenance Sdn Bhd (TNB Remaco) and Pakistan's Laraib Energy, an offshoot of HUB Power Company, the ceremony held here in Malaysia.
"Our system is falling short of meeting the demand which comes as a good opportunity to overseas investors, especially those from Malaysia, to come and invest aggressively in this sector to help meet growing energy needs of Pakistan," the high commissioner said.
Under the agreement, TNB Remaco will provide services worth $14.1m (RM43m) for the operation and maintenance of 84MW New Bong Escape Hydroelectric Power Complex being built at a cost of $235 million on the Jhelum River in Azad Jammu and Kashmir.
The services would be provided for an initial period of five years with an option of extending it for another seven years. The 15-month mobilisation period for the project is likely to commence in August this year.

China Food Costs Push Inflation to 5.5% in May

China's inflation rebounded in May to its highest level in nearly three years, pushed up by stubbornly high food prices, even as interest rate hikes and other controls are cooling the overheated economy.

The National Statistics bureau said Tuesday that consumer prices rose 5.5 percent over a year earlier, driven by an 11.7 percent jump in food costs. That was up from April's 5.3 percent rate and exceeded March's 32-month high of 5.4 percent.

The figure was in line with economists' forecasts, but well above the government's 4 percent target for the year.

The government reported Monday that bank lending fell in May, indicating that repeated interest rate hikes and increases to reserve requirements may finally be reining in the excess lending that has helped drive prices higher.

But food prices have remained high, as drought and other weather disasters have decimated crops in wide parts of the country. Rising consumer demand is outstripping food supplies, while a bank lending boom spurred by Beijing's response to the 2008 global crisis has further inflated demand for key commodities.

Mindful of inflation's role in eroding the economic gains that underpin their claim to power, China's communist leaders have declared taming prices a top priority.

Violent protests have become frequent in recent years but the past few weeks have been particularly turbulent, with bombings and street demonstrations from Inner Mongolia in the north all the way to Guangdong in the south.

Though the triggers for the events varied, most have been driven by resentment over social inequality, abuse of power and suppression of legitimate grievances. Surging prices for food and other basic necessities have added to those frustrations.

While seeking to impose social "harmony" and cracking down on dissent, the leadership has sought to steer economic growth from the sizzling 9.7 percent rate in the first quarter to a more sustainable level.

Beijing has hiked interest rates four times since October and ordered companies to hold down prices. So far, inflationary pressures have offset those efforts, but economists say the pace of increases has slowed and they expect prices to moderate in coming months.

May's price increase was the fastest since July 2008, when inflation clocked in at 6.3 percent. It peaked at 8.7 percent in February 2008 but fell back under the shock to export demand from the global crisis.

Food prices are heavily weighted in China's calculation of its consumer price index and as supplies rebound during the summer months, that pressure should ease, economists say.

"Barring any further shocks to food supply, headline inflation should drop to beneath 3.5 percent by the end of 2011," Mark Williams, senior China economist at Capital Economics, said in a report Monday.

Iran keen to invest in Halal products

A business council will be formed between the businessmen communities of Pakistan and Iran to strengthen bilateral trade activities. Beside energy sector, Iran was keen to invest in the Halal meat sector in Pakistan.
These views were expressed by Iranian Ambassador to Pakistan Mashallah Shakery while at a meeting with the Rawalpindi Chamber of Commerce and Industry delegation led by acting President Mian Ateeq at his office here on Monday.
RCCI Vice President Dr Shumail Daud, Jamshed Malik, Adil Jan Arkin and Younis Dar were also included in the delegation.
Mashallah Shakery said that Iran was eager to promote bilateral trade with Pakistan and to establish direct relations between the business communities of both sides. Pakistan-Iran Business Council, he said, will be formed soon. He said that Iran was fully aware of the energy needs of his brother country and has already offered providing of electricity on cheaper rates. Ambassador said that Iran has almost completed his due work on Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline project and now its Pakistan turn to complete the remaining work of the project. He stressed that Iran want to enhance the trade relations with Pakistan on priority basis.
Speaking on the occasion, RCCI acting President Mian Ateeq said that RCCI always focused to enhance the trade activities among the neighbouring countries.
He said that beside the mega projects both the countries must work to promote the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to further promote the bilateral relations.

Saudi Arabia offers Asian refiners more oil

Top oil exporter Saudi Arabia has offered more crude to Asian refiners in July, evidence that it is taking steps to unilaterally increase supplies after OPEC talks collapsed earlier this week. India's Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals has bought about 600,000 barrels of extra oil for July from the kingdom, two sources with direct knowledge of the matter said.

Two or three Asian buyers are keen on more oil and will finalise any additional volumes in coming days, a separate refiner source said.

The additional offers come after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries failed to take a decision on raising output on Wednesday, reviving fears of supply shortages should demand soar later this year. Adding to indications that the Saudis are prepared to go it alone, a Saudi newspaper on Friday said the world's top exporter would lift output in July to 10 million bpd from 8.8 million bpd in May.
Crude futures fell on Friday on the news of extra Saudi supply, paring earlier gains after Brent rose to a five-week high of $120 a barrel. Asia, led by China, is driving the global increase in oil consumption, and higher Saudi supply would benefit refiners in the region.

In Europe, refiners have kept one fifth of capacity idle due to weak demand in recent months. Trading sources said on Friday Saudi supplies to the continent would remain flat in July, because clients have not asked for extra barrels.

Oil prices have approached 2-1/2 year highs in recent weeks in part due to concerns of supply disruption from the Middle East and North Africa amid rising demand from emerging nations such as China and India. The Paris-based International Energy Agency (IEA) expects Asia to burn 900,000 barrels per day (bpd) more oil in 2011 than 2010, over 70% of the 1.29 million bpd global demand growth forecast for the year.

Still, many Asian refiners already have what they need for July, industry sources with direct knowledge of negotiations said on Friday, and have declined Saudi Arabia's offer of additional supplies.

"They are asking if anybody has an interest in additional volumes," a source at a north Asian refiner said. "They have not asked us for a while." At least two Asian term buyers said Saudi Arabia would supply them with full contracted volumes of crude oil in July, steady from June.

There were no adjustments in allocated volumes of heavy and light crude grades, the sources said, adding that the move was "in line with expectations". Saudi Arabia made no changes to the operational tolerance in the supply allocations, the sources added, meaning buyers have the option of asking for cargoes to be loaded with up to 10% more or less crude than contracted.

OPEC estimates show an implied market requirement of about 2 million barrels per day more of oil for the third quarter and 1.5 million bpd for the fourth quarter of this year, and Saudi Arabia would be keen to keep its share in fast growing markets.

Major companies in India are unhappy with government

Three quarters of major companies in India are unhappy with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's government, saying that a governance crisis ranging from corruption scams to policy limbo will hit economic growth and their investment plans.

The survey of 75 leading companies by the Economic Times newspaper and Federation of Indian Industry and Chambers of Commerce (FICCI) is the latest sign of corporate unease with the Congress party-led government in a country where grievances from companies are rarely aired in public.

The survey, published on Monday, said 80% of companies believed that decision-making by the government had slowed and 72% feared investment plans would be hit.

"The prevailing negative sentiment among domestic investors will have a bearing on the perception of foreign investors," the Economic Times quoted Harsh Mariwala, president of FICCI, as saying.

A separate survey by the Economic Times and Synovate of 43 leading company executive, also published on Monday, showed 63% believed that the governance crisis would likely hit India's growth.

A sense of paralysis in the government - focused on a telecoms scandal that may have cost up to USD 39 billion in lost revenue - has led to growing unease amid companies.

That scandal has seen the jailing of one minister and several other executives. It has shaken India's business elite with billionaires Anil Ambani and Prashant Ruia both questioned by police, something unheard of in India in recent times.

Parliament has been virtually shut down during the last three sessions, with the main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) paralysing government attempts at legislative business. Few reform bills have been passed, including one to make it easier for industry to acquire land.

In January, a group of 14 public figures from industrialists to former central bank governors warned in an open letter that corruption and bad governance threatened India's growth story.

Sino-Forest Drags Down Chinese Stocks in Canada

The 75 percent decline in Sino- Forest Corp., the timber company targeted by short seller Carson Block, has dragged other Chinese companies trading in Canada to the biggest monthly decline in almost three years.

An index of Canadian shares of China-focused companies, excluding Sino-Forest, sank 13 percent this month, four times more than the decline in the Standard & Poor’s/TSX Composite Index. Companies as diverse as Silvercorp Metals Inc. (SVM), Asia Bio- Chem Group Corp. and GLG Life Tech Corp. (GLG), an artificial- sweetener maker, have plunged at least 19 percent since Block said Sino-Forest manipulated financial data.

“People got very emotional and started to dump everything related to China,” said Rui Feng, chairman and chief executive officer of Silvercorp, which mines in Henan Province.

Sino-Forest, which produces forest products, has tumbled since June 1, the day before Block’s Muddy Waters LLC said its stated timber holdings don’t match Chinese city records. The company has denied the assertions and published documents it says back up its financial disclosures. Sino-Forest, based in Hong Kong and Mississauga, Ontario, is scheduled to release first-quarter results tomorrow.

The index of 50 other Chinese companies trading in Canada, based on a list provided by TMX Group Inc., has plunged nine times as much as the Shanghai Stock Exchange Composite Index since June 1. TMX, owner of the Toronto Stock Exchange, defined Chinese companies as those with most of their operations and management in China, according to Carolyn Quick, a TMX spokeswoman. Most of the companies listed in Canada after 2005.

Unilever Plans Fivefold Boost to China Business

Unilever, the world’s second-biggest consumer goods company, plans to increase its business in China to as much as five times the current level, Asia chief Harish Manwani said.

“Our business has been growing steadily about 18 percent to 19 percent per annum,” said Manwani, president of Unilever’s Asia, Africa, and Eastern and Central Europe operations told Bloomberg TV in Jakarta at the World Economic Forum on East Asia. “Our commitment in China is to build a business four- or fivefold” what it is now, he said, without giving a target date.

The maker of Dove soap and Magnum ice cream has raised prices as costs for commodities such as crude oil gain. Unilever last month said it accepted a decision by Chinese authorities to fine it 2 million yuan (309,000) for telling media about plans to raise prices. The economy of the world’s most-populous nation may grow 9.5 percent this year, more than triple the U.S. pace, according to economist estimates compiled by Bloomberg.

More than 55 percent of Unilever’s business now comes from emerging markets, Manwani said. “Asia, emerging Asia, is a very important part of it. I’m very excited about business prospects in Asia.”

Unilever derived 40 percent of its 44.3 billion euros in revenue last year from Asia and Africa, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The Americas contributed 33 percent and Europe 27 percent.

Web domain a real business opportunity

All businesses should pay attention to the host of web domains about to go on sale, writes Emma Barnett. At first glance the topic of internet domain names might not appear to be the most important issue for business to worry about. However, as digital becomes an increasingly important part of individual’s and companies’ identities, it is often how people direct others to the work they do.

On June 20 the Internet Corporation of Assigned Names and Numbers (stick with me here), the non-profit group which controls the internet domain name system, is holding an event in Singapore to announce its final guidelines on a new host of web addresses which will allow companies to purchase URLs ending in their brand name. For instance the clothing company Gap could buy the ending ‘.gap’ instead of ‘www.gap.com’.

The issue of buying a relevant web address has become one of frustration for both individuals and companies alike, which, coming later to the web party than the early adopters, have found that they can not buy the web URL of choice. It has often already been taken by someone else – who they then have to pay exorbitant amounts of cash to in order to reclaim themselves online. Such ‘cyber squatters’ will regularly not give up their internet spot and cannot be easily contacted.

This is why ICANN’s proposals, to essentially open up a new online market-place, where new address are available for those brands and individual who have lost their identity online in the first and second wave of the web, could be significant.

For instance, the fact that even the mighty Apple does not own iPad.com but could now potentially own all websites ending in .Apple, should its submission be successful, is something the technology titan will surely at least want to consider.

Japan's economy shrinks more than forecast

Japan's economy contracted more than economists estimated in the first quarter, underscoring the damage the March 11 earthquake and tsunami inflicted on capital spending and factory production.

Gross domestic product shrank at an annualized 3.5 per cent rate in the three months ended March 31, the Cabinet Office said today in Tokyo, compared with the 3 per cent median forecast of 23 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. The government initially estimated a contraction of 3.7 per cent last month.

Toyota and Nissan, which posted sales declines in May, are working to restore operations after the disaster caused a shortage of parts and power, pushing the economy into a recession. Analysts including Yoshimasa Maruyama say the report doesn't alter predictions that the economy will gain momentum later this year as companies boost output and government reconstruction projects get underway.
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“The supply chain disruptions have been easing at a faster pace than we expected, and it looks like companies will be investing in repairs relatively quickly,” said Maruyama, an economist at Itochu Corp. in Tokyo. “The second quarter contraction will be milder -- probably about half the pace of the first quarter. Once reconstruction spending kicks in in the third quarter, we'll see a V-shaped rebound.”

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/business/world-business/japans-economy-shrinks-more-than-forecast-20110609-1fu8l.html#ixzz1OmG9E2cC

UK To Remain 'Heart Of Mini Production'

The UK is to remain the home of the Mini after BMW confirmed it was preparing its British factories to produce a new generation of the cars.
The move will help safeguard more than 5,000 jobs and will support a "major swathe of British manufacturing", according to the Business Secretary.

BMW is to invest £500m in new production facilities at the Mini assembly base in Oxford, the pressings plant in Swindon and its engine plant at Hams Hall near Birmingham.

The upgrades were proof the UK would "remain the heart of Mini production", the car group's chairman Norbert Reithofer said.BMW's new Mini coupe is to be launched later this year, followed by the Mini Roadster in 2012.

Both these and future models are to be produced in Oxford, where more than two million Minis have been built since 2001 - three-quarters of them for export.

Speaking on Sky News, the Business Secretary Vince Cable said the Mini was "one of the great British success stories" - and one that wasn't lessened by the fact it was controlled by a German company.

"They operate in Britain and use British workers and British technology," he said.

"The fact that the ultimate ownership does not reside with British companies is not relevant."
UK To Remain 'Heart Of Mini Production'

    The UK is to remain the home of the Mini after BMW confirmed it was preparing its British factories to produce a new generation of the cars.

The move will help safeguard more than 5,000 jobs and will support a "major swathe of British manufacturing", according to the Business Secretary.

BMW is to invest £500m in new production facilities at the Mini assembly base in Oxford, the pressings plant in Swindon and its engine plant at Hams Hall near Birmingham.

The upgrades were proof the UK would "remain the heart of Mini production", the car group's chairman Norbert Reithofer said.

David Cameron in Mini outside Downing Street

The Prime Minister was keen to promote the deal as an example of UK success

BMW's new Mini coupe is to be launched later this year, followed by the Mini Roadster in 2012.

Both these and future models are to be produced in Oxford, where more than two million Minis have been built since 2001 - three-quarters of them for export.

Speaking on Sky News, the Business Secretary Vince Cable said the Mini was "one of the great British success stories" - and one that wasn't lessened by the fact it was controlled by a German company.

"They operate in Britain and use British workers and British technology," he said.

"The fact that the ultimate ownership does not reside with British companies is not relevant."

Minis on a car transporter in Cowley, Oxford

Minis produced at the plant in Cowley, Oxford, are exported to 90 countries

The Prime Minister David Cameron said BMW's announcement was a "tremendous vote of confidence" in the workforce and was helping to rebalance the UK economy.

He will today meet the board of directors of the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA) in Downing Street.

Yesterday Nissan said it was investing £192 million to build the next version of its Qashqai model in Britain, securing some 6,000 jobs.

T-Mobile USA Offers $200 Credit To Lure Business Customers

T-Mobile USA, hoping to stem the loss of its most-valuable customers, began offering a $200 credit to business customers looking to switch to its service.

New customers who sign up will get a $10 credit for 20 months after the line has been active for 90 days. The credit was quietly offered starting last week.

The move is a response to Sprint Nextel Corp.'s (S) own efforts to poach customers away from its rival carriers. Last month, it began offering a $125 credit to new smartphone customers and $175 to business customers.

Sprint specifically targeted T-Mobile with its incentive, and a T-Mobile spokesman said its new offer is designed to win customers back.

T-Mobile, a unit of Deutsche Telekom AG (DTE.XE, DTEGY), is attempting to keep a business-as-usual outlook as it looks to be snapped up by AT&T Inc. (T) in a proposed deal that is making its way through the approval process. In the meantime, the carrier has suffered from heavy customers losses--particularly from lucrative consumers who are dropping their long-term service contracts.

Carriers have previously offered such incentives to switch, typically tied to specific handsets or to third-party retailers. These programs are designed to spark quick customer growth and are seen as a better alternative to permanent price cuts. Sprint's move to offer a blanket credit is more rare, but has now been followed by T-Mobile.

The offer will likely cut into near-term earnings and increase T-Mobile's subscriber-acquisition costs. But the carrier hopes it can realize a stronger long-term benefit from the converted customer.

Canada’s economy will see 3.2% growth this year

Canada's economy will grow by 3.2 per cent this year, helped by high commodity prices and a continued recovery in the United States, according to the latest outlook from RBC Economics.

It expects gross domestic product will grow at a respectable 3.1 per cent pace in 2012.

“Strong demand for commodities and a revival in U.S. demand for autos will drive healthy gains in exports — at an average of nine per cent per annum for the next two years,” RBC chief economist Craig Wright said in a report released Thursday.

International Ceramic City strengthens UAE's business ties with China

International Ceramic City (ICC), one of the UAE's latest upcoming developments set to become a strategic trading hub specialising in ceramic building materials, recently hosted a visit by the Consul General of China, His Excellency Zhan Jing Bao, and a high profile delegation from China in Dubai. Consul General Zhan's visit included an exclusive site tour of the ICC project followed by a meeting hosted by H.E Mohammed Rashid bin Ghader Al Ketbi, Chairman of Al Rashid Investments (ARI), a major player in real estate investments and development.

Senior officials, including the Managing Director of ARI, Mr. Ramesh Tolani and CEO of ICC, Mr. Naseer Ahmed, received the Chinese delegates that included Yujun Bao, Research Fellow of the National Advisory Board, All China Private Enterprise Federation; Xiao Qiang, Chairman of the Development & Research Center for Small & Medium Businesses; Zhang Yua, Chairman of the China Alliance for Low Carbon Action; Xian Wu, Deputy Director of the Chinese International Economic Co-operation Association, Ministry of Commerce, People's Republic of China; Wan Jun, Chairman of UAE - China Chamber of Commerce and Stephen Wong, Regional Director of the Hong Kong Trade Development Council.

The visit and discussions reflected the strong and continuously growing economic ties between China and Dubai in which ICC plans to play a significant role once the development formally opens for business in November this year.

"We are honoured by HE Consul General Zhan's visit and pleased to have had the opportunity to discuss with him the current progress of our development project at ICC," Naseer Ahmed, CEO of ICC said. "China is not only a key market for ICC, due to its growing quality manufacturers, but also a highly valued trading partner for Dubai and the UAE, and visits like this help to strengthen our ties."

Following the site tour, a dinner was organized for the visiting VIP delegation at H.E Mohammed Rashid bin Ghader Al Ketbi's private Majlis at which Mr. Yujun Bao of the National Advisory Board expressed his appreciation of ICC: "The ICC development is a great opportunity for Chinese Manufacturers to promote the Chinese ceramics industry and to break away from the perception of cheap and low quality goods to higher quality branded products that are internationally recognized. Our goal is to change the perception of Chinese products and brands. This project further strengthens the existing business ties between China and the UAE."

The visit is the latest in a series of strategic interactions between ICC and leading international ceramics manufacturers designed to further develop ICC as an international destination which offers a one stop shop for manufacturers and buyers around the globe. ICC was also one of the leading sponsors of the Middle East Fortune Forum, a Sino-Arab business cooperation forum between Chinese businessmen in the Middle East and Chinese entrepreneurs aiming to bridge the gap between the Middle East and Chinese enterprises.

German plan for Greek bailout would enlist private investors

Putting Germany at odds with the European Central Bank and the French government, Berlin has proposed extending the maturities on Greek bonds by seven years, insisting that private investors must share in the cost of any fresh financial aid to Greece.

The German finance minister, Wolfgang Schauble, in a letter to his European counterparts as well as to the International Monetary Fund, the ECB, and the European Commission, which will meet June 20 to discuss aid, wrote: “Any additional financial support for Greece has to involve a fair burden sharing between taxpayers and private investors and has to help foster the Greek debt sustainability.’’

Schauble added that any deal to support Greece at the meeting would have to “lead to a quantified and substantial contribution of bondholders to the support effort’’ and would “best be reached through a bond swap leading to a prolongation of the outstanding Greek sovereign bonds by seven years.’’ The letter was dated Monday and released yesterday.

Richard McGuire, a strategist at Rabobank in London, said the letter highlighted a division among the core members of the euro zone as well as with the central bank. As a result, he said, there is “the clear risk a Greek deal could well hit a snag.’’ That risk was underscored yesterday by a report from the IMF, the European Union, and the ECB monitoring Greece’s progress at meeting its goals for receiving a $160 billion bailout.

The report said that Greece could not receive the next installment this month until a plan to meet the country’s financing needs for 2012 is worked out, Bloomberg News reported from Berlin. Greece’s financing costs remain “prohibitive,’’ the report said, making it impossible for Greece to return to markets next year as planned under the three-year rescue program.

Germany’s latest position on extending debt maturities will probably gain support from countries like Finland and the Netherlands, which have taken a tough line on any new aid to Greece, seeking to win over skeptical public opinion at home.

The plan is likely to run into opposition from several other eurozone governments, however, and frustrate the ECB, which has been positioning itself against moves to require private bondholders to book some losses on their holdings, in part because of the hefty holdings of Greek debt that the ECB itself is carrying.

While France has consistently stood against private-sector involvement in the bailout of Greece, Germany’s position has fluctuated. Previously, Berlin proposed a milder plan to stretch out Greece’s debt at the expense, in part, of existing bondholders but backed away after the ECB vehemently objected.

China Auto Sales 2nd Month of Decline

China's auto sales fell in May compared with a year earlier, as buyers wary of traffic quotas and rising fuel prices shunned showrooms, according to industry data released Thursday.

The China Association of Automobile Manufacturers reported that sales of passenger cars, including sedans, multipurpose and sport utility vehicles, slipped to 1.04 million vehicles, compared to 1.14 million in May 2010.

Sales also fell from the month before, when the world's largest auto market contracted for the first time in two years.

It reported that sales of all vehicles, including heavy trucks and buses, dropped 3 percent to 1.38 million vehicles — less than forecast by some analysts but still a far cry from the double-digit growth seen during most of the past decade.
The government announced a "Cash for Clunkers" incentive scheme to pay 11,000 yuan-18,000 yuan ($1,700-$2,800) for old farm vehicles, city buses and heavy trucks headed for the scrap heap.

An earlier program introduced to fight a downturn during the global crisis helped spur sales in 2009, as China overtook the U.S. to become the world's biggest market for new vehicles. The subsidies were meant to encourage mostly rural dwellers to trade in old cars and trucks for fuel efficient new vehicles, and it sparked a boom in sales of small passenger vans favored by farm and business owners.

The end of that program last year, combined with traffic curbs in big cities and rising fuel prices, appears to have taken the gloss off of what has remained one of the few bright spots in the global industry.

All the same, sales remain relatively robust and many analysts view the cooling of the market as a return to a more sustainable pace of growth.

"The decline is what I forecast," said Zhang Xin, an analyst at Guotai Jun'an Securities in Beijing. "Since the market is already at a high level it is impossible for it to keep rising," he said.

Zhang noted that many car buyers had rushed to take advantage of last year's incentives, soaking up much potential demand.

Despite the current lull in growth, many working in the industry remain bullish over the market's outlook.

A recent report by the consultancy AlixPartners found most executives in the China car industry were expecting growth to average 12 percent to 15 percent a year through 2016.

"If not the heady heights of 2009, those are still very healthy numbers," Ivo Naumann, head of AlixPartners' Shanghai office, said in the report.

Though car ownership has become relatively common among affluent Chinese city dwellers, it is still a rarity in the rural areas. As incomes rise, demand for cars will, too, the study forecast.

Amway to launch new beauty and health products

Direct selling FMCG company, Amway India , plans to add new products to further strengthen its cosmetics and nutrition & wellness portfolios to maintain dominance in the direct selling FMCG market. The company, with an annual turnover of around Rs 1800 crore, enjoys over 40% market share in direct selling. Companies like Oriflame, Avon and Tupperware are the other prominent players in this business space.

Amway vice president (north) Bhuvan Kapur told ET that the company would add 8 more products in these product categories in this fiscal year. "Our core competency lies in beauty in health segment which contribute 50% in the total turnover. We will be launching four new products each in cosmetics and nutrition and wellness segments in 2011-12. With this reinforcement, we expect these two segments to contribute 65-70% in the total targeted revenue of Rs 2500 crore in this fiscal," he said. The company currently offers 127 products with 29 products in nutrition and wellness segment and 41 products in cosmetics segment.

The company is also planning to set up a new manufacturing facility in the country. It already has seven third-party contract manufacturers in the country. "Our existing facilities will not be able to cater to the growing demand and our projected targets for coming years. This time we may go for a company owned facility as we already have spent 13 years in the country with a robust top line growth of over 30%. However, final decision will be taken after the feasibility study which is under process," he said. India is the seventh biggest market for Amway with China leading the table. It contributes $ 0.4 billion of the global revenue of $ 9.2 billion.

"We expect to enter the top 5 bracket in next two years. We are growing in India at 35% per annum as against the market growth rate of 22%," Kapur said. The company has invested more than Rs 151 crore in India with 135 offices and 55 city warehouses across the country.

KCCI for enhanced trade with Hong Kong

Karachi Chamber of Commerce & Industry (KCCI) President Muhammad Saeed Shafiq has stressed upon the need to strengthen trade and commercial ties with Hong Kong. He said that possibilities of joint ventures exist between two countries in fisheries, ports and shipping, container terminal operations and trading opportunities in cotton, yarn, textile sectors.
While sharing his views with the President of PHBF Khawaja Raffat Zaheer, he underscored the need of mutual cooperation and exchange of trade information between KCCI and PHBF.
He said that Pakistan suffered colossal losses in the war against terror and need of hour is that to invite international investment to generate employment especially for youth.
He informed that KCCI had also planned to encourage youth for self-employment and entrepreneurship. He also extended invitation to the Pak-Hong Kong Business Forum and its members to participate in the KCCI’s “My-Karachi, Oasis of Harmony Exhibition 2011”.
Khawaja Raffat Zaheer, President of Pakistan Hong Kong Business Forum (PHBF) informed the President-KCCI about the business forum which was established in 2004 being recognised by SECP.
He informed that the aim of Pak-Hong Kong Business Forum was to promote, develop and encourage business and friendly relations between the business and industrial communities of two countries and to stimulate investment from Hong Kong to Pakistan through extensive interaction.
He highlighted that Pakistan and Hong Kong have been enjoying historically excellent relations; however the interaction in economic sphere is not commensurate with its immense potential. President-PHBF said that Pak-Hong Kong trade relations can be exponentially advanced through joint ventures and investment cooperation.
M Iqbal Mangrani, former Vice President of The Pakistan Hong Kong Business Forum said that PHBF was working on multi-pronged strategy to increase bilateral trade and investment and acts as a focal point of contact.
He said that PHBF is playing a proactive role in establishing contacts between businessmen of both countries, however, for optimum results, the forum was underway to broaden portfolio of its members and likewise, he added that they seek cooperation and support of KCCI.
President-KCCI assured the President-PHBF best support possible to enhance Pakistan-Hong Kong bilateral trade. It was also agreed that both organisations will share their respective website links and relevant information will be disseminated to their members.

French business groups invited for OGDCL shareholding

Ghous Bux Khan Mahar Federal Minister for Privatisation has invited French business groups to participate in the upcoming monetising of up to 10% of GoP shareholding in OGDCL through exchangeable bonds. The minister extended this invitation to the French Ambassador to Pakistan Daniel Jouanneau in a meeting on Wednesday.

The minister said that the OGDCL transaction was backed by sovereign guarantee by the government of Pakistan while there also existed huge potential for French companies to participate in the privatisation process of power generation, distribution companies and other entities.

He underlined the need for exchange of business groups’ delegations of both the countries for a better understanding of investment opportunities in both the green and brown fields sectors and to bring in new French business groups for participating in oil & gas, transport, financial and other sectors. “The real potential for doing business in Pakistan could only be projected through interaction with the French groups,” he added.

The French envoy to Pakistan Daniel Jouanneau informed the minister that the French companies including TOTAL, Hyperstar and Sanofi (medicine manufacturers) already working in Pakistan have developed plans to reinvest in Pakistan, which was an encouraging signal and added that the recent visit of democratically elected Prime Minister of Pakistan Yusuf Raza Gilani to France was well received and has ushered a new era of bilateral relations to promote Pakistan in French business community, which would generate business activity between the private sectors of both the countries and further strengthen the economic bonds.

The envoy further said that French business groups were keen to participate in Pakistan’s energy, water and agriculture sectors while the Pakistan-France Business Council was progressing satisfactorily and he invited the minister for participation in a seminar being organised in Railways. Shahid Hussain Raja Secretary Privatisation and other senior officials were also present in the meeting.

FWBL & Pakistan Institute of Tourism & Hotel Management join hands

The First Women Bank Limited (FWBL) and Pakistan Institute of Tourism and Hotel Management (PITHM) have entered into an agreement to enhance women’s entrepreneurial capacity.  This was stated by the spokesperson of the FWBL here on Thursday. She said that the FWBL is in the process of initiating and implementing training courses for women’s capacity building and skill development.

This is the part of achieving its goal which empowerment of the Women in various economic sectors so as to help make them a visible and productive part of the country’s economy.
Mrs. Shafqat Sultana President First Women Bank Limited, Dilawer Ali Mangi, Secretary Tourism Government of Sindh, signed the document.
The signing ceremony was attended by Ms. Shawana Yamin Company Secretary, Ms. Shaheen Zamir Head of Marketing FWBL, Ms. Shagufta Alizai, Senior Technical consultant FWBL, M. Shaukat Ali Deputy Director Incharge and Mansoor Iqbal Siddiqui, Senior Instructor at the PITHM, it was further stated.