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Southeast Asia e-tailer Lazada raises $100M in funding
(Credit: Lazada) Lazada, an online retail sales business focusing on Southeast Asia, announced Wednesday it has raised another $100 million from investors apparently confident of the region's growth potential. The e-commerce site, which bills itself as the "Amazon of Southeast Asia," was launched in early 2012 by Germany's Rocket Internet, which specializes in ...
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Myanmar welcomes ILO decision to lift restrictions
International Labor Organization to lift all remaining restrictions on the formerly isolated nation will help accelerate trade and foreign investment. The UN agency initially imposed restrictions - which recommended its 185 member nations limit relations - just over a decade ago because of the military regime's use of forced labor. The decision on Wednesday cited progress by President Thein ...
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Mandela International Day launched
Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory (NMCM) on Wednesday launched the Mandela International Day, even as the anti-apartheid icon spent his 12th day in hospital for a recurring lung problem. Wednesday's event marked the official launch of programmes to celebrate Mandela's 95th birthday July 18, Xinhua reported. July 18 was endorsed in 2009 by the UN General Assembly as Nelson Mandela ...
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Thick haze sweeps through Singapore
Smoke from forest fires in Indonesia has choked Singapore, prompting authorities here to take precautionary measures following the worsening pollution level in the ...
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Singapore haze at worst yet Malaysia schools shut
SINGAPORE (AP) -- Singapore urged people to remain indoors amid unprecedented levels of air pollution Thursday as a smoky haze wrought by forest fires in neighboring Indonesia worsened dramatically. Nearby Malaysia closed 200 schools and banned open burning in some ...
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China astronaut teaches lesson from space
Crew members of Shenzhou-10 (back L-R) Wang Yaping, Nie Haisheng and Zhang Xiaoguang attend a press conference in Jiuquan, northwest China’s Gansu province on June 10, 2013. China is to send its second woman astronaut into orbit on its longest mission yet, space officials said on June 10, as the country works towards building a space station. AFP PHOTO BEIJING – A Chinese astronaut ...
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Royal prank call Australian station tries to halt probe
Australian radio station involved in the controversial royal prank call that led to the suicide of an Indian-origin nurse at a UK hospital is reportedly trying to block investigation into its conduct. Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) said Sydney radio station 2Day FM has applied to the Federal Court for an order to stop ACMA from continuing its investigation into the ...
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The Asian stock markets plunged in line with the US markets
The appetite for risk remained subdued in the Far East after imploding late Wednesday, when the Federal Reserve maintained its bond-buying program, but Chairman Ben Bernanke hinted that the FOMC plans to moderate purchases later this year. The foreign currencies remain under pressure after tanking. The Asian stock markets plunged in line with the US markets. The short-term outlook for the ...
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US spying foiled attack in India during CWGThe Obama administration has claimed that more than 50 potential terrorist plots have been busted worldwide since 911 including in India thanks to US surveillance.
In Berlin, Obama revealed hat he came to office "with a healthy skepticism about how our various programs were structured," and maintained that he has been "able to do is examine and scrub how our intelligence services are ...
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$A does little to deter Asian travellers
A growing influx of travellers from Asia are flying into Sydney, with Chinese and Singaporean visitor numbers surging during May. The Australian dollar still held above parity with the greenback until last month, but this did little to deter overseas visitors, with international air travel volumes taking off by 5.9 per cent. Meanwhile, Chinese visitor numbers surged by 29.4 per cent in May ...
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Asian stocks down as Fed sees slower bond buys
A visitor is seen at Tokyo Stock Exchange during a morning trading in Tokyo Monday, June 17, 2013. Asian stocks edged up Monday amid hopes that the U.S. Federal Reserve will put off plans to wind down its stimulus program. Tokyo's Nikkei 225, the regional heavyweight, jumped 2.2 percent to 12,960.81, extending Friday's 2.4 percent ...
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Asian firms need to understand politics to succeed experts
Asian companies will have to reinvent their business strategies and develop long-term plans in order to be able to take the advantage of the surge in the region's economy, experts have said. In addition to the improvement of marketing strategies, companies should also understand the highly dynamic local political situation in the region to achieve success. Takumi Shibata, ...
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Asia Markets Asia stocks take double hit from Fed China data
HONG KONG (MarketWatch) -- Asian stocks fell Thursday as data showed Chinese manufacturing activity deteriorating further in June, adding to the selling pressure after the Federal Reserve signaled it may wind down its bond purchases if the U.S. economy continued to ...
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Asian Markets Trade Sharply Lower
markets are mostly trading sharply lower on Thursday, tracking cues from Wall Street where stocks tumbled overnight after the U.S. Federal Reserve hinted at winding up its stimulus program by mid-2014.The Australian stock market is trading sharply lower with investors pressing heavy sales almost across the board.Financial, mining, energy, industrial, consumer discretionary and property trusts ...
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China jails 11 for extremist crimes in Muslim west
BEIJING -- China says it has sentenced 11 people for inciting religious extremism and related crimes in the northwestern Muslim region of Xinjiang.The sentences handed down Wednesday come shortly before the July 5 anniversary of the bloodiest recent ethnic rioting in the region four years ago.The Justice Ministry's official newspaper Legal Daily said Thursday that Aihetaimu Heli was given ...
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Top Asian companies more optimistic but sentiment in Thailand sags
Asia's top companies have become more optimistic about their business outlook with the retail and shipping industries rebounding sharply in the second quarter of this year, according to the latest Thomson Reuters/Insead Asia Business Sentiment Survey. Thailand's sentiment index dropped to an all-time low of 42 from 60 in the survey. The Asia Business Sentiment Index climbed 6 points ...
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India Second Asian Nation To Get Google Store
Android bites a MacBook. Tastes like chicken. Not to be outdone by smartphone rival Apple, Google has taken to create their own stores and will have a foot in one of the biggest mobile markets in the world -- India -when it partners with Singapore-based Spice Global to open Android Nation in New Delhi's Select Citywalk Mall later this ...
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REPEAT-GLOBAL MARKETS-Asian stocks tumble on weak China PMI Fed policy plan
Wed Jun 19, 2013 11:03pm EDT * MSCI Asia ex-Japan slides 2.8 pct to 9-month low * U.S. Treasury yields hit 15-mth high, underpin dollar * China "flash" PMI hit 9-month lows * Asian credit market spreads widen 23 points By Chikako Mogi TOKYO, June 20 (Reuters) - Asian shares tumbled to nine-month lows on Thursday as slowing Chinese manufacturing activity exacerbated sentiment already ...
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One killed 5 injured in helicopter crash in Nepal
police official said the helicopter belonging to local Fishtail Air crashed on Wednesday evening near Muchu village. That's about 400 kilometers (250 miles) north west of the capital, Katmandu. The injured were flown by a rescue helicopter to the nearest town for treatment. It was not clear why the helicopter crashed, but it had been raining in the area for the past few days and visibility ...
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Syria opposition vows to fight on to topple president Bashar al-Assad
United Nations to investigate the alleged use of chemical weapons by Assad's forces in rebel-held areas, and said it "reserves the right to use all means at its disposal" to topple Assad. "The Assad regime has continuously killed civilians using ballistic missiles, chemical weapons and warplanes. It is the only source of terrorism ...
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Asia Roundup Mostly down ahead of US Fed decision
Asian markets were mostly lower yesterday, Wednesday June 19 2013 with focus on the US Federal Reserve’s policy meeting later in the trading day, but Tokyo enjoyed another rally as data showed a surge in exports thanks to a weaker yen. Wall Street again provided a healthy cue, with investors betting the Fed will stop short of reeling in its ';quantitative easing'; bond-buying ...
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Lamphier Canada needs economic pipeline to Asia
Protesters against Enbridge's proposed Northern Gateway pipeline gather outside the joint review final argument hearings in Terrace on Monday. The joint review panel on the project sits through June ...
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Rockets Lazada gets $100 million in bid to be Southeast Asias Amazon
(Reuters) - Lazada, the Southeast Asian online retail company founded by Germany's Rocket Internet Gmbh, has secured another $100 million from investors in its bid to lift the region from its status as an e-commerce ...
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Pilgrims stranded by floods in India deaths could rise
June 19, 2013: People gather to look at submerged buses and trucks in the rising Yamuna River as they stand on a flyover in New Delhi, India. Indias prime minister said Wednesday that the death toll from flooding this week in the northern state of Uttrakhand had surpassed 100 and could rise ...
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Protesters out again in Brazilian citiesScattered street demonstrations popped up around Brazil Wednesday as protesters continued their collective cry against the low-quality public services they receive in exchange for high taxes and rising prices.
SAO PAULO: Scattered street demonstrations popped up around Brazil Wednesday as protesters continued their collective cry against the low-quality public services they receive in exchange for high taxes and rising prices. In one of several protests, about 200 people blocked ...
South East Asia Digest
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Southeast Asia's growing prominence in world trade
Southeast Asia has been, for many centuries, a major part of world trade and the recent recession has not hampered this position as the region is recovering much faster than many more developed countries.
Southeast Asia, although geographically large, covering an area of around 5 million square miles, is comparatively small economically in relation to the number of people that inhabit the area. The Southeast Asian region is home to over 500 million people and yet the region’s GDP is just US$1.5 trillion, or around US$2,500 per person annually. Read more
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