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Nov. 12 – The Commonwealth Business Forum (CBF) begins today in Colombo, Sri Lanka, and will last until the 14th of November. The Forum is titled “Partnering for Wealth Creation and Social Development: The Commonwealth, Indian Ocean and SAARC.” The CBF is co-organized by the Commonwealth Business Council (CBC) and the government of Sri Lanka. […]

Nov. 11 – Many first and second tier suppliers, including small to medium-size enterprises, are prioritizing their investments into Vietnam, acting on the business potential that it holds for companies involved in a larger supply chain providing goods and services to manufacturing hubs in Asia. It is thus increasingly important to understand the taxes which […]

Nov. 8 – Vietnam’s Deputy Prime Minister Vu Van Ninh has concluded his four day visit to Singapore to discuss economic and strategic co-operation between the two countries. During his visit, Deputy PM Ninh expressed his desire for Singapore to assist Vietnam with long-term economic planning, and converting Phu Quoc Island into a special economic […]

Nov. 7 – The Philippines’ Bureau of Immigration is responsible for processing and issuing visa requests in the country. For foreigners seeking employment in the Philippines, there are three eligible non-immigrant visa types. These are: 9(A): Short-term business visit 9(G): Pre-arranged employment 9(D): Foreign treaty trader or foreign investor For individuals planning to visit the […]

Nov. 6 – Singapore’s economy has shown modest growth in the third quarter of 2013. As Asian’s most trade-dependent nation, however, this does not necessarily signify recovery – in September, Singapore’s non-oil domestic exports slipped 7.3 percent compared to the same time last year. Looking forward, however, positive growth in the G3 economies (Europe, Japan […]

Nov. 6 – On Joe Biden’s second trip to Asia as vice president of the United States of America, he will be visiting Japan, China and the Republic of Korea. The trip will take place in the first week of December and looks to be the U.S. administration’s effort to push its “Asia pivot” back […]

Nov. 1 – Wal-Mart announced plans this month to rebalance its portfolio of retail stores in Asia following poorer-than-expected results among its Indian locations. The retailer, which entered the Indian market through a joint venture with Bharti Enterprises, has decided to suspend its operations in the country due to restrictive government regulations, which required the […]

Oct. 30 – Singapore and Hong Kong have ranked first and second in the World Bank’s “Doing Business 2014” report. These Asian financial centers have retained the highest rankings for the past eight years due to regulations that facilitate the “ease of doing business” for small and medium-size enterprises. The World Bank report analyzes regulatory […]

Oct. 30 – This week, consulting firm Ernst & Young (EY) released its latest bi-annual mergers and acquisitions (M&A) report, which cited China as one of the world’s top five destinations for M&A activity alongside India, Brazil, the United States and Canada. The report also further provided an optimistic outlook for China and India, with […]

By Eunice Ku Oct. 29 – When a foreign company decides to try and sell to the Chinese market, there are several options – working through an agency or distributor, or registering a representative office (RO). Whereas an agent or distributor may have limited loyalty or little interest in end-user satisfaction, an RO is an […]