Economy & Trade

Dec. 13 – The Japan-ASEAN summit takes place today in Tokyo, with China – who is not attending – likely to be playing the role of the bogeyman at the meetings. China is involved with serious diplomatic and political tensions with both Japan and several ASEAN members, with the Philippines, Japan and Vietnam in particular very […]

The latest round of Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations have concluded in Singapore this week with no deal in sight. Delegates, however, estimated that if everything goes smoothly at future talks, there may be a TPP deal by April of next year.

Dec. 12 – China’s Ministry of Finance and the State Administration of Taxation jointly issued the “Circular on Corporate Income Tax Policies for Outbound Investment with Non-monetary Assets and Other Asset Restructuring Transactions by Enterprises in the China (Shanghai) Free Trade Zone (Caishui [2013] No. 91, hereinafter referred to as ‘Circular’)” on November 15, which […]

Dec. 10 – WikiLeaks released two new Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) documents last night that detail deep divisions and disagreements between negotiating states. The release of the two leaked documents comes as talks in Singapore intended to finalize TPP negotiations enter their fourth day. One document, containing excerpts from internal government commentary on the state of […]

On Saturday, the World Trade Organization (WTO) successfully reached an agreement on streamlining customs procedures that is expected to boost global economic output by as much as US$1 trillion and create more than 21 million jobs worldwide.

Nov. 28 – Vietnam and China have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) that will create four new economic zones along the Vietnam-China border by 2020. Requiring US$2 million for planning and development and US$200 million for infrastructure construction, the MoU for the project was signed yesterday by Vietnam’s Industry of Trade and China’s Ministry […]

Nov. 27 – Malaysia and India signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) yesterday that will strengthen intergovernmental cooperation in a number of key areas. Malaysia’s newest MoU with India is part of a larger effort by the country to strengthen its strategic and economic ties with regional neighbors. Last month, China and Malaysia elevated their […]

By Shawn Greene Nov. 26 – Navigating foreign investment in India can be daunting. The World Bank’s Doing Business 2014 report ranks India among the most difficult countries in which to start a business – 179th out of 189 countries analyzed. As such, foreign firms are highly recommended to hire a professional services firm to […]

Nov. 26 – Vietnam’s Party General Secretary Trong led a four-day visit to India last week, which included a series of high-level meetings with government officials aimed at boosting cooperation between the two countries. During Trong’s meeting with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in New Delhi, both leaders pledged that they would strive to increase […]

Nov. 20 – Taiwan has signed a free trade pact with Singapore this month following three years of economic dialogues aimed at boosting cooperation between the two governments. The Agreement between Singapore and the Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu on Economic Partnership (ASTEP) will reduce the tariff on goods traded between […]