China plans $5.9 bln industrial zone for aviation

Asian Defense News: BEIJING, Jan 28 (Reuters) - An ambitious 40 billion yuan ($5.9 billion) industrial zone for aircraft parts is being planned in South China to produce up to a quarter of the supply for big Chinese planes, a provincial official said on Thursday.
Jiangxi province has begun seeking investors, including foreign firms, for the 25 square-kilometre zone with an eye toward breaking ground in two years, Yao Mugen, director of the provincial Development and Reform Commission, told Reuters.
The province will draw on talent from an aviation research institute and two universities plus interest among three local aircraft manufacturers, Yao said.
Output could equal 25 percent of all parts made in China for large Chinese aircraft, he said.
"Jiangxi is now designing a big national aircraft production base drawing on the province's infrastructure and advantages to develop the aviation parts industry," Yao said in an interview.
The 40 billion yuan would cover the zone's infrastructure and equipment for manufacturers, he said.
The province is talking to aircraft manufacturing giant Boeing about an investment in the zone, Yao said. Boeing (BA.N) already makes 747-8 commercial airliner parts in Jiangxi, the company's China spokesman Wang Yukui said.
China, like other countries, is keenly interested in aviation in part because of the large impact airplane exports can have on a nation's balance of trade. [ID:nHKG104281]
Beijing has declared its goal to manufacture large passenger jets with more than 150 seats and freighters capable of handling more than 100 tonnes of cargo, with the explicit aim of taking on Boeing and Airbus (EAD.PA).

(Reporting by Ralph Jennings; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)

Taiwan companies push e-book readers but lack Chinese-language content

Asian Defense News: TAIPEI, Taiwan - Taiwan leads the world in development of readers for the fast-growing electronic book market, but when it comes to satisfying the e-appetites of the island's highly literate population, it seems distinctly pre-digital.
The problem: A gaping lack of appealing Chinese-language content.
At this week's 18th annual Taipei Book Exhibition, cutting-edge gadgets offered by Taiwanese tech companies were loaded with little beyond translations of classical Western literature and well-known Chinese standards like The Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Compelling material to entice contemporary-minded readers was conspicuously absent.
And while buyers of devices like the nReader K60 — made by Taiwanese PC maker BenQ — are given the opportunity to purchase additional material from affiliated Web sites, the selection is limited and best sellers are almost nowhere to be found.
The problem arises partly because publishers are uncertain what impact e-books may have on their revenues, said Albert Hsu, a manager in the e-Publishing Service Platform Department of Taiwan computer maker Acer Inc.
"One major problem is that publishers are worried that if they sell books in their electronic format, it could hurt the sale of paper copies," Hsu said.
Hsu added that publishers are also concerned the content could be more easily shared — and sales suffer — if books are published in electronic format.
One company trying to buck the dull content trend is Yuan-Liou Publishing Co., a Taipei-based firm cooperating with e-book reader developer Koobe Inc. to produce an e-reader that will feature the works of a renowned writer of Chinese martial art novels.
Yuan-Liou assistant marketing supervisor Ophelia Chen said her company's reader will come with all 36 books by Hong Kong-based Louis Cha — better known as Jin Yong — in their electronic format.

By DEBBY WU , Associated Press Last update: January 28, 2010 - 4:07 AM

China bans dog and cat meat

Asian Defense News: China has decided to ban consumption of dog and cat meat in the country through a new law which seeks a fine of $730 and up to 15-day detention for offenders.
A proposed draft of China's first law on animal welfare, being prepared by a panel of legal experts, has provision of a fine of up to 5,000 yuan ($730) and up to 15 days' detention for the guilty.
Those found guilty of selling the meat can be fined anywhere between 10,000 yuan to 500,000 yuan, China Daily reported quoting Beijing-based Mirror Evening News.
'There are still many difficulties to overcome before (legislators) include the article against consumption of dog and cat meat into the draft law,' Chang Jiwen, head of the legal panel was quoted as saying.'
I hope the problem can be solved as soon as possible, although it will be solved sooner or later,' he said.
Chang said the prohibition, however, would not affect the lives of common Chinese a lot as very few people eat dog or cat meat in the country.
He said the proposed draft, which focuses on preventing animal mistreatment, protects six categories of animals -- those on farms, in laboratories, pets, working animals, animals for entertainment purposes, and wild animals.
The proposed draft will be submitted to relevant government departments in April.
China National News Wednesday 27th January, 2010

Malaysia likely emerged from recession: think-tank

Asian Defense News: KUALA LUMPUR (AFP) - – Malaysia's economy likely emerged from recession in the fourth quarter of 2009 and will post 3.7 percent growth in 2010 as the global economy recovers, a leading think-tank said Tuesday.
Southeast Asia's third-largest economy suffered three consecutive quarters of contraction in 2009 and the government forecasts it will shrink 3.0 percent over the year before rebounding to modest growth of 2.0-3.0 percent in 2010.
"The technical recession is likely to end in the fourth quarter 2009," the Malaysian Institute of Economic Research (MIER) said in a report.
"This is supported by effects of the larger public infrastructural expenditure, manufacturing turnaround, improved services trade, and higher domestic spending," the influential think-tank said.
The MIER maintained its forecast for Malaysia's export-dependent economy to contract by 3.3 percent in 2009, before growing at 3.7 percent this year and 5.0 percent in 2011.
"From 2010 onwards, we expect the economy to be on a normal track," MIER chief Zakariah Abdul Rashid told reporters, saying the services sector "will be a pillar of strength" against a stodgy manufacturing sector.
"However, the road ahead will be a bumpy one so we have to be cautious," he said, citing downside risks such as weak business and consumer sentiments, as well as volatile commodities prices that may impede a faster recovery.
Malaysia has announced two stimulus packages. The second package unveiled in March last year was billed as containing some 60 billion ringgit (17.7 billion dollars) in measures to pump-prime the economy.
The government in its 2010 annual budget slashed operating expenditure by 13.7 percent to 138.3 billion ringgit (40.7 billion dollars), to reduce the fiscal deficit from 7.4 percent in 2009 to 5.6 percent this year.

*AFP - Wednesday, January 27

PM Lee maps out 3 priorities for govt: economy, population, politics

Asian Defense News ~ SINGAPORE: Economy, population and politics are the key areas the Singapore government has marked as major priorities going forward, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.
Speaking at the Singapore Perspectives Conference on Monday, he said they are not one—off projects but are continuing challenges for a long time to come.
Home, Heart, Horizon — the theme of the annual Singapore Perspectives Conference went to the very heart of the issues that the prime minister wanted to discuss.
Picking up on the issue of productivity, Mr Lee said economic policy is not just about achieving the highest GDP figure but also ensuring the quality of growth.
He added: "Becoming more productive is not just a matter of working harder but also means restructuring, and change and flux, uncertainties, experiments, discontinuities.
"There will be good years when we should go faster and there will be other years which are tough where we will do more poorly. But overall, if you take over the next decade, I think five per cent will be a stretch. So MTI is now studying what is a realistic long—term growth target will be.
"Workers cannot expect to be carried along by a generally rising tide. They too have to be psychologically prepared to adopt and to change and to make the effort to upgrade themselves not just once, but again and again, continually throughout their working lives."
So Singapore’s economic policies must foster this transition, something the Economic Strategies Committee will address in its report next week. Mr Lee said the government will respond to the committee’s report in the Budget on February 22.
Mr Lee also added that a key attribute to sustaining economic growth is the importance of rejuvenating the population and also attract the best talent. He stressed that the best economic policies in Singapore will not bring about growth if the population starts to decline.
He said: "I am not sure what is the right measure to cause more babies to be born. After the mountain has moved we are waiting for the mouse to come out.
"The Korean government department has recently decided that they will have one early day off, turn off the lights, you go home and hope you have more time with family and babies to come. We have not yet tried that. I’m not sure we can overcome that."
Last year, there were 170 fewer babies born, compared with 2008. This would mean that the country’s total fertility rate would have gone down further and he added that this was perhaps because of the economic troubles.
Mr Lee noted that this was a grave trend and if unchecked, Singapore will face not just an ageing but a shrinking population. So besides more pro—family incentives, there is a continuous need to top up the population through immigration, in a calibrated way.
Finally, underpinning Singapore’s ability to tackle its challenges is having a good political system, which Mr Lee said still depends on having the right people in charge. He said leadership renewal will be a major issue at the next general election.
He said: "There is a mini general election fever in town. The general election is due sometime within the next two years but it is not imminent."
Mr Lee is confident that by the next general election, the People’s Action Party will field a team with the next generation leadership in place to assure the country’s future. — CNA/vm

*Channel NewsAsia - Tuesday, January 26

India ranked 84th in corruption index

Asian Defense News: India continues to be widely perceived as a highly corrupt nation, with Transparency International's corruption perception index (CPI) 2009 ranking the country at 84 out of the 180 surveyed. There is no significant difference from India's earlier standing at the 85th position last year.
India's integrity score, a major component of the survey, stands at 3.4 out of the highest score of 10, which indicates that the country has a long way to go as far as eradicating corruption is concerned. However, the good news is that India's integrity score is the second-highest one among all south Asian countries. Bhutan, with a score of 5, fared the best in the integrity parameter among all south Asian countries.
The top three countries with the highest CPI score and rank are New Zealand, followed by Denmark and Sweden. A country with a higher score is considered to be less corrupt.
India's rank has been calculated by collecting data from 13 sources. All sources measure the overall extent of corruption by gauging the frequency and size of bribes in public and political sectors. The survey does not take into consideration corruption in private sector enterprises.
India was ranked 72nd in 2007. However, the cash-for-vote scandal in 2008 brought the country down to the 85th position in the same year. The perception of corruption among politicians and public service officers still persist and has continued to affect India's rankings in the index in 2009.
"It is a commonly perceived notion that politicians are spending too much on elections and that corruption prevails. India's performance for this year is not a flattering one and one can only draw comfort from the fact that it has not fared worse than last year," Transparency International India Chairman R H Tahliani said.
Out of the various departments analysed, India's police department fares the worst in terms of corruption, while school education was the sector where least corruption prevails. The most corrupt state is Bihar, followed by Jammu and Kashmir and Madhya Pradesh.

Posted On: 26-Jan-2010 08:17:27 By: Ch. Narendra

India and Nigeria discuss cooperation in Hydrocarbon Sector

Asian Defense News: The Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Murli Deora met Henry Odein Ajumogobia, Minister of State of Petroleum Resources during his visit to Nigeria and held discussions on various issues. Dr. Emannual Egbogah, Special Advisor to the President on Petroleum matters was present. Mr Deora was scheduled to have meetings with Dr. Rilwanu Lukman, Minister of Petroleum in Nigeria; however, because of bereavement in the family of Minister of Petroleum, that meeting could not take place.
The Minister was accompanied by Ministry officials and CEOs of ONGC, IOC, GAIL and Oil India Ltd.
On the Nigerian side, senior Ministry officials and Top Management of National Nigerian Petroleum Corporation were present.
During the meeting, the following major issues were discussed:
1. ONGC(Videsh )Ltd through a JV that is OMEL is operating in two exploration blocks namely OPL 279 and OPL 285 which are deep water blocks. It was informed in the meeting to the Nigerians that the exploration is on track and that Govt of India has recently approved OVLs share of investments of USD 359 million. It was also informed that one well has been spudded. OVL sought assistance in resolution of issues relating to repayments in respect of another block. It was informed that the Steering Committee meeting would take place in about two days time to settle outstanding issues.
2. GAIL India Ltd along with its consortium members has been shortlisted as one of the fifteen companies for having qualified in the participation of an ambitious USD 30 billion National Gas Master Development Plan and its implementation. GAILs interest in participation in this huge development plan was reiterated and GAILs strengths and expertise were highlighted to the Nigerian side. GAIL expressed its interest in setting up of petrochemical plants, LPG plants and LPG transportation pipelines in which they have very strong technical and managerial expertise. As Nigeria is embarking on its development of natural gas resources which are currently under utilised, this offer was received with a great deal of interest.
3. Currently India imports about 10% of its crude oil requirement from Nigeria. The interest to procure more crude from Nigeria was reciprocated. Indian Oil Corporation offered to assist in the refinery upgradation, improving operations of refineries by imparting training to the technical personnel, providing consultancy etc. The Nigerian side said that it is a priority area for them and would look forward to cooperation in this sector.
4. Another area of interest of the Indian companies is in LNG liquefaction plants. As Nigeria is planning to have new plants, both IOC and GAIL have expressed interest in participation in such projects.
5. Oil India Limited which is a consortium partner in a block gave an account of its activities and sought assistance in finding a suitable Nigerian partner company to fill in the gap created by exit of one of its partners.
6. The Minister of State mentioned about the new Petroleum Bill which would bring in reforms in the sector. He said that it would bring in a situation of exploration companies to also orient towards bringing about socio-economic developments in the region where they operate.
Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas expressed the hope that more Indian companies would get opportunities to invest in Nigeria when the new bill becomes an Act. He also mentioned about OVL’s activities. OVL has set up the first Geological and Geo-physical Centre in Nigeria. Special Advisor to the President highlighted the need for providing a stake to the communities. He appreciated the model of Indian companies in this regard.
*Posted On: 26-Jan-2010 06:54:41 By: Ch. Narendra