Latest Posts
Can Nestle succeed where Coke failed? – Shaun Rein
Nestle’s anticipated mega deal brings back the US$ 2.4 bn deal by Coke, rejected in 2009 by the Ministry of Commerce for fears the new company would dominate the market. While Nestle’s deal is huge, it has not Coke’s problems, tells Shaun Rein in Fortune.Read More →
Why Gap is failing in China – Shaun Rein
Fashion retailer Gap did not gain much traction in its first year in China, writes business analyst Shaun Rein in CNBC. To survive, it needs to adjust its brand image. China defines ‘middle class’ different from the US.Read More →
China can deal with sky-high debts – Victor Shih
China’s debts could be as high as 150% of its GDP, higher than that of the US and Greece, says political analyst Victor Shih in Aljazeera. But is should reform its inefficient economy to deal with that debt. Read More →
Taiwan AF focuses on indiginous fighters – Wendell Minnick
Taiwan’s air force received on June 30 the first six upgraded F-CK-1 A/B Indigenous Defense Fighters (IDF) in a ceremony presided over by President Ma Ying-jeou at the state-run Aerospace Industrial Development Corp. (AIDC), writes Wendell Minnick in Defense News. Read More →
China relaxes procurement rules on innovation – Shaun Rein
China’s regulators have been scrapping preferential treatment of local firm to win procurement contracts from the government, originally meant to strengthen indigenous innovation. “It is a sign the government is listening to the needs of foreign companies,” says Shaun Rein in the China Daily.Read More →
Baidu goes semantic in box search – Kaiser Kuo
China’s leading search engine Baidu is leapfrogging from Google and Bing by adding more semantics into their box search, making it much smarter, explains their spokesperson Kaiser Kuo to Penn-Olson. “Getting relevant results is even more important for mobile.” Read More →
Japan adds spy bases to watch China – Wendell Minnick
Japan is building signals intelligence (SIGINT) stations along the Ryukyu Island chain to monitor Chinese naval and maritime activities, writes defense expert Wendell Minnick on his weblog.Read More →
China’s local debts still higher than officially estimated – Victor Shih
China’s financial institutions have been releasing assessments on the total of debts local governments have, writes Victor Shih in a guest blog at the Financial Times. But they are not yet close to the real debts of 15 to 20 trillion Renminbi.Read More →
Again no F-16’s for Taiwan – Wendell Minnick
The US have again blocked a US$ 8.7 bn Taiwanese order for F-16’s, writes Wendell Minnick in Defense News. The move to please China, might cost the US up to annual 16,000 jobs, according to Lockheed Martin.Read More →
Inflation is _not_ under control – Shaun Rein
China’s premier Wen Jiabao, Jim O’Neill, Chairman of Goldman Sachs’ Asset Management, argued this, and an analyst at Royal Bank of Canada says inflation is under control, but our Shaun Rein begs to differ, in CNBC. Read More →
Disclosure government debts ‘step forward’ – Victor Shih
The warning by China’s National Audit Bureau local debts are a risk for the country, is a step forward, says political and financial analyst Victor Shih to the New York Times. Until Monday those local debts were kept under wraps. But it is only the beginning of a solution.Read More →
Buying Prada suits, not shares – Shaun Rein
Prada is not doing as well as Gucci and Louis Vuitton in branding themselves, and Shaun Rein tells at CNBC why he would buy their suits, but not their shares. China might be skipping import taxes on luxury goods for stimulate sales, so having a decent retail operation in China is crucial.Read More →