CHINDIA ALERT: You'll be living in their world, very soon

02/09/2013

No decision in India on shutting petrol pumps at night: Moily

The Hindu: “Amidst a storm over proposal to shut petrol pumps during night to taper fuel demand, Oil Minister M. Veerappa Moily on Monday said the government had not made any such proposal and the idea had come from public.

“No decision has been taken to keep petrol pumps dry during any part of the day,” Oil Minister M. Veerappa Moily said on Monday. File photo

“It is not our idea. It is an idea which is coming from public and others. No decision has been taken to keep petrol pumps dry during any part of the day,” he told reporters.

His Ministry plans to launch a massive fuel conservation drive from September 16 to cut fuel demand by 3 per cent and save an estimated Rs. 16,000 crore or $2.5 billion in Forex outgo.

“We are toying with the ideas (on conserving fuel) that have come to us. That doesn’t mean we have accepted them or are enforcing shutdowns,” he said.

Mr. Moily said before the planned launch of September 16 campaign, several proposals to save cut fuel consumptions have come to the government and as per usual practice are being mulled over by his ministry.

“It is incorrect to say that any decision on shutting petrol pumps has been taken,” he added.”

via No decision on shutting petrol pumps at night: Moily – The Hindu.

Posted in austerity, Economics, frugality, India alert | Leave a Comment »

Tags: cars, Fuel, fuel consumptions, Gasoline, petrol pumps

02/09/2013

IAF inducts its biggest transport aircraft C-17 Globemaster III

Times of India: “Giving a major thrust to IAF‘s capability to swiftly move troops and tanks to battle fronts, defence minister A K Antony on Monday formally inducted its biggest 70-tonne C-17 heavy-lift transport aircraft into service at the Hindon Air Base.

Thirteen C-17 Globemaster III aircraft fly over the Blue Ridge Mountains in Virginia during low level tactical training Dec. 20, 2005. These C-17 planes are assigned to the 437th and 315th Airlift Wings at Charleston Air Force Base, S.C. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The plane’s induction is a giant stride for the force and it will perform tactical and non-traditional operations also, he said.

The C-17 Globemaster III aircraft has been procured from the US under a deal expected to be over Rs 20,000 crore. A symbolic key of the plane was presented by the Minister to the unit’s commanding officer to mark its induction.

Speaking on the occasion, IAF chief NAK Browne said the plane will be operated from the advanced landing grounds in the northeastern states as well as from high altitude bases in north and Andaman and Nicobar Islands.”

via IAF inducts its biggest transport aircraft C-17 Globemaster III – The Times of India.

Posted in Defence, GeoPolitics, India alert, Military, Politics | Leave a Comment »

Tags: Aircraft, airlift wings, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, aviation, Boeing C-17 Globemaster III, c 17 globemaster, India, Indian Air Force, K Antony, Military transport aircraft, transportation

01/09/2013

Jiang Jiemin: China corruption probe into top official

There are increasing signs that this time, anti-corruption is being taken very seriously by the Party and government.

BBC: “Chinese authorities have announced a corruption investigation into Jiang Jiemin, the head of the commission that oversees state-owned companies.

The supervision ministry said Mr Jiang was suspected of a “serious violation of discipline”. He has not publicly commented on the allegations.

The term is used to refer to corruption by managers of state companies.

President Xi Jinping has vowed to eradicate corruption in China, warning that it threatens the Communist Party.

Recent months have seen several high-profile corruption cases against high-ranking officials, including disgraced senior party official Bo Xilai, who was put on trial for bribery, embezzlement and abuse of power in August.

The verdict in his case is expected “at a date to be decided”. Mr Bo denies all charges.

Until March Mr Jiang was head of the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), which has faced a number of corruption allegations.

Last week it was announced that another four CNPC executives were under investigation for corruption.

Earlier in August the general manager of state-owned phone company China Mobile Ltd was detained in the southern province of Guangdong. He too is being investigated for discipline violations.

Internet users are also increasingly pursuing those perceived as having done wrong through online exposes and campaigns.

But in recent weeks there have been signs that this has worried the authorities, with a number of journalists arrested for “rumour-mongering” and a high-profile blogger arrested.”

via BBC News – Jiang Jiemin: China corruption probe into top official.

Tags: Bo Xilai, China, China Mobile, China National Petroleum Corporation, CNPC, communist party of china, corruption allegations, corruption in china, corruption investigation, Jiang Jiemin, national petroleum corporation, Xi JinPing

30/08/2013

China’s Rich Want Their Say on Policy Reform

BusinessWeek: “Pan Shiyi is a real estate tycoon whose company Soho China has built some of the most fashionable developments in the country. Pan has a political side, too, which he expresses in a blog followed by 16 million Chinese. After Pan posted a call for increased transparency on how authorities monitor pollution, the governments of Beijing and 73 other cities started releasing more daily pollution data. He was also invited to tour the offices of the environmental protection agency for Beijing after a heated online exchange with its spokesman.

He Di co-founded the Boyuan Foundation

Such an episode would have been unthinkable in China 10 years ago, given the tight censorship. But China now has an emerging business class that wants to influence the debate on pollution, economic reform, U.S.-China relations, and broader political change. Some, such as Pan and Lee Kai-Fu, ex-head of Google China (GOOG), use the Internet to spread their views. Others, including the founders of the Boyuan Foundation, take an institutional approach to reform and seek ways to engage the government. Most of these executive-activists back what’s known in China as universal values—the rule of law, free markets, and freedom of speech, assembly, and religion.

Lee’s two microblogs have more than 66 million followers, an audience nearly as big as the Communist Party’s membership. In between notes on his family, Lee points out cases of corruption and censorship and advocates greater freedom of expression. In the past half year, the government imposed a temporary gag on his social media activities after he criticized the state’s backing of a search engine run by the People’s Daily. (Lee is back blogging.) An army colonel has accused Lee of being an American spy.”

via China’s Rich Want Their Say on Policy Reform – Businessweek.

Posted in China alert, Economics, Good news, Politics, Reform | Leave a Comment »

Tags: american spy, army colonel, Beijing, China, freedom of expression, pollution data, real estate tycoon, SOHO China

30/08/2013

To a Chinese Scrap-Metal Hunter, America’s Trash Is Treasure

BusinessWeek: “Just before 8 a.m., Johnson Zeng eases his rented Chevrolet into a space in front of Cash’s Scrap Metal & Iron in St. Louis. He’s in the market to buy scrap metal he can ship to China, and this is the first stop of the day in the middle of a two-and-a-half-week road trip to regular suppliers that started in Albuquerque and will end in Spartanburg, S.C. But that, Zeng says, is nothing. “My last trip with Homer,” he recalls, referring to Homer Lai, the scrap importer in China’s Guangdong Province who provides him with most of his business, “we drove 9,600 miles in 26 days.”

To a Chinese Scrap-Metal Hunter, America's Trash Is Treasure

The result? Millions of pounds of metal worth millions of dollars left the U.S. for China.

Zeng is one Chinese trader, in one rental car, traveling across the U.S. in search of scrap metal. By his estimate, there are at least 100 other Chinese traders like him driving from scrap yard to scrap yard, right now, in search of what Americans won’t or can’t be bothered to recycle. His favorite product: wires, cables, and other kinds of copper.”

via To a Chinese Scrap-Metal Hunter, America’s Trash Is Treasure – Businessweek.

Posted in China alert, Economics, recycling | Leave a Comment »

Tags: China, Recycling, Scrap, United States, Wrecking yard

30/08/2013

European Nations Woo Chinese Home Buyers With Visas

BusinessWeek: “Southern Europe’s cash-strapped governments are wooing wealthy home buyers from overseas by offering so-called golden visas to purchasers of high-end properties. Portugal, Greece, and Cyprus are offering temporary-residency permits to foreign investors, and Spain is about to kick off its program. The main targets are wealthy Chinese, who have been snapping up properties from Vancouver to London as Beijing tightens controls on real estate speculation on the mainland. Luis Hortelão, a broker with Re/Max in Lisbon, says his Chinese clients “know exactly what they want: a modern property to rent out during their absence and a visa to travel in Europe.”

Limassol, Cyprus

In Portugal buyers must pay a minimum of €500,000 ($670,000) for a property to be eligible for a five-year residency permit. A total of 102 visas has been granted since the program began last year, according to the Portuguese Immigration and Borders Service, mostly to Chinese buyers. Edmund Zhao, a real estate developer from Hangzhou in eastern China, expects to receive his permit any day now after paying €700,000 for an apartment in the resort town of Cascais. Zhao must spend at least seven days in Portugal during the first year and 14 days every two years thereafter. His visa will also let him travel freely through the Schengen Area, made up of 26 European countries that have abolished immigration controls at their borders. “I want to move there with my wife and parents as soon as possible,” says Zhao, 38, who wants to send his future children to European schools.

Searches for Portuguese properties on Juwai.com, a Chinese real estate website aimed at international home buyers, rose more than threefold from January through April, says Andrew Taylor, its co-chief executive officer. Home prices in Portugal are less expensive than in some parts of China; €300,000 buys a 2,000-square-foot villa facing the sea, according to Wang Ning, a manager in the international property department at SouFun Holdings (SFUN), owner of China’s biggest real estate website. That amount buys a 730-square-foot apartment in central Shanghai.”

via European Nations Woo Chinese Home Buyers With Visas – Businessweek.

Posted in austerity, China alert, Economics, emigration | Leave a Comment »

Tags: Beijing, China, chinese clients, Cyprus, immigration controls, Lisbon, London, Portugal, portuguese immigration, real estate speculation, Schengen Area

30/08/2013

Pricey dollar puts South Africa, Australia on Indian tourists’ maps

Reuters: “When Aparupa Ganguly visited South Africa in 2007, the country’s topography and wildlife made such an impression on the communications professional that she couldn’t wait to come back. Ganguly got her wish six years later – thanks to a stable rand.

Foreign-bound Indian travellers such as Ganguly are realizing that holidaying in countries such as South Africa and Australia offers value for money as their currencies have been largely stable in recent weeks and haven’t appreciated as much against the rupee, when compared to the dollar or the euro.

Data shows the South African rand and the Australian dollar have gained around 10 percent since May, compared to a near 30 percent surge in the U.S. dollar which hit a record high above 68 per rupee on Wednesday.

Ganguly, who accompanied her husband on a business trip to South Africa this month, bought the rand at about 6.2 per rupee and travelled across the Garden Route, a scenic tourist area on the country’s south-eastern coast.

“If the rand would have really gone up, I wouldn’t have accompanied him,” said the 35-year-old who spent around 230,000 rupees ($3,380) on her trip this month.”

via India Insight.

Posted in Affluence, Economics, India alert, Tourism | Leave a Comment »

Tags: Australia, economic factors, Garden Route, India, indian travellers, Rupee, South Africa, South African rand, tourist area

30/08/2013

Daimler’s Mercedes-Benz sees double-digit growth in China market

Reuters: “Daimler AG‘s Mercedes-Benz expects to see growth of up to 15 percent in China’s luxury car segment this year, a senior executive said, and is trying to grab a bigger share of that market by expanding into the inland-west and smaller cities.

The company plans to open 75 new dealer outlets this year, nearly half in third- and fourth-tier cities, said China sales head Nicholas Speeks, as part of a broader turnaround plan to reverse its recent struggles in the world’s biggest auto market.

“We are a little bit lagging behind our principal competitors in terms of outlets opening,” Speeks told reporters at a news briefing to outline the German brand’s strategy at the Chengdu auto show on Friday.

“In the past we have been concentrating on Beijing, Shanghai (and other major markets along China’s coast). We recognize one of our shortcomings is the fact that we need to expand our dealer network.”

The network expansion is a key component of Daimler’s (DAIGn.DE) strategic plan to invest 2 billion euros ($2.67 billion) in China over the next two years.

It aims to boost sales of Mercedes-Benz cars by a third to more than 300,000 cars a year by 2015, from this year’s forecast sales of 230,000 cars.

If achieved, the target would make China Mercedes-Benz’s biggest market globally. Currently, China is the brand’s No. 3 market behind Germany and the United States.

Speeks said China’s economy remained “fairly healthy”, despite a slowdown in growth.

China’s overall car market was expected to grow about 10 percent, year-on-year, this year, he said. “I think the premium car market will exceed that. It will be solid double-digit growth this year.”

Asked to define that, he said: “13-15 percent growth – somewhere in that ball park.””

via Daimler’s Mercedes-Benz sees double-digit growth in China market | Reuters.

Posted in Affluence, China alert, Economics, luxury brand | Leave a Comment »

Tags: Beijing, car segment, Chengdu, China, Daimler, Daimler AG, dealer outlets, double digit growth, Germany, mercedes benz cars, Mercedes-Benz, turnaround plan

29/08/2013

China-India joint anti-terrorism training planned

Xinhua: “China and India will launch joint anti-terrorism training between the two armies within 2013 in southwest China, a spokesman announced on Thursday.

The training, set in Chengdu, capital city of Sichuan Province, has been arranged in accordance with the two armies’ annual military exchange plan, Ministry of National Defence spokesman Yang Yujun said at a news briefing.

The joint training is aimed at increasing mutual trust and pragmatic cooperation and preserving regional peace and stability, Yang said.

Experts from both sides have had two rounds of consultations on the date, assignment and scale of the forces to be involved in the training, he said. “The two defence ministries are keeping in touch on details of the training.”

Yang also slammed comments at the briefing that attempted to provoke tensions between China and India, saying, “It is groundless and shows a lack of good will to use weapons equipment as a pretext to drive a wedge between China and India.”

His remarks were in response to comments alleging India’s first indigenously built aircraft carrier obviously targets China and ignites the fiercest arms race the world has ever seen in Asia.

“China and India are partners and close neighbors. Getting along well with each other and achieving co-development is in the fundamental interests of the two peoples,” the spokesman said.”

via China-India joint anti-terrorism training planned – Xinhua | English.news.cn.

Posted in China alert, Chindia Alert, Good news, India alert, Politics, terrorism | Leave a Comment »

Tags: China, Counter-terrorism, India

CHINDIA ALERT: You'll be living in their world, very soon