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Mar. 8 – The General Statistical Office (GSO) announced that total revenues from retail trade and services throughout the first two months of 2013 were estimated at a total of VND422.2 trillion (US$20.59 billion) – 10.9 percent year-on-year gain. In addition, HSBC recently released a report that predicted Vietnam’s GDP to continue to grow in […]

By Sondre Solstad Mar. 7 – Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (Walmart) has announced a “Zero-Tolerance Policy” on unauthorized sub-contracting, affecting all suppliers of Walmart stores and subsidiaries in the United States, United Kingdom and Canada. Effective from March 1, the Zero Tolerance Policy for subcontracting replaces the multinational retail giant’s former three-strike-rule, and indicates that Wal-Mart […]

By Alex Tangkilisan Mar. 7 – In the fourth and final part of our ASEAN-India Free Trade Area analysis, we will examine trade trends and statistics from India to Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia. Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia account for three of ASEAN’s six major economies known as the ASEAN six majors (the other three being […]

Mar. 4 – The Minister for Finance delivered Singapore’s yearly budget to the Singapore Parliament last week. The main focus of the budget was to continue the process of restructuring Singapore’s economy by increasing the productivity of its workforce, reducing Singapore’s dependence on its foreign workforce and providing incentives to encourage local businesses to be […]

In this issue of Asia Briefing Magazine, we discuss why China is no longer the only solution for export-driven businesses, and how the evolution of trade in Asia is determining that locations such as Vietnam and India represent competitive alternatives.

Mar. 1 – The Singaporean Government recently released its 2013 budget in which it revealed new measures totaling SG$5.9 billion aimed at helping businesses, facilitating investment and spurring further growth. Corporate income tax was a targeted issue, with the Government announcing that it would provide a 30 percent tax rebate on tax assessments during 2013-2015. […]

In this issue of China Briefing, we focus on the minutiae of trading with China – regardless of whether your business has a presence in the country or not.

Feb. 28 – The invention of the internet created an accelerated growth route for countries and companies, transforming the world into a place in which digital connections are just as important as human connections. Despite the internet originating in North America, it has grown into a worldwide phenomenon, rapidly expanding internationally. Thanks to the growing […]

Feb. 28 – The cultural and work ethic differences between China and democratic Asia have been bought into sharp focus with the jailing in Singapore of four Chinese bus drivers and the deportation of a further 29. The incident occurred after the drivers, hired from a mainland agency, decided to go on strike after learning […]

Feb. 27 – The Chinese state news agency Xinhua has reported that Chinese troops have been undergoing intensive training near Yunnan’s border with Myanmar as fighting intensifies between Myanmar’s Government forces and the Kachin separatists. Some military shells have already landed in West Yunnan, leading China to step up its surveillance of the deteriorating situation. […]