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Japan rewrites ground rules for offshore infrastructure funding
ATI Magazine - April/May 2013 issue
AS EUROPEAN banks withdraw, Japan is taking a leading role in encouraging Asian and Australian banks to take up the slack. The Japan Bank for International Co-operation (JBIC) is prepared to offer funding guarantees for these banks, says CEO Hiroshi Watanabe, and significantly, only 30 per cent of loans will now be tied to Japanese suppliers . . .AS EUROPEAN banks withdraw, Japan is taking a leading role in encouraging Asian and Australian banks to take up the slack. The Japan Bank for International Co-operation (JBIC) is prepared to offer funding guarantees for these banks, says CEO Hiroshi Watanabe, and significantly, only 30 per cent of loans will now be tied to Japanese suppliers . . .
LIVING WITH ASIA: 'Australia needs a new Colombo Plan'
ATI Magazine April/May 2013 issue
THE Australian Government’s Asian Century White Paper is a decade overdue, says Trevor Rowe, one of a small group of genuinely influential Australian executives with deep links into the region. Rowe, now Executive Chairman of Rothschild Australia, says the aspirational objectives of the White Paper are laudable, but he finds it disappointing that it fails to discuss how Australians can engage more meaningfully with Asia. If Australia is going to be other than Asia’s ‘quarry’, he says, it needs to develop its comparative advantages – and an understanding and respect of Asian culture . . .
FIVE CHALLENGES FOR INDIA IN 2013
ATI Magazine February/March 2013 issue
INDIAN authorities must grasp the opportunity of reform in the good times, rather than waiting any longer . . .
NEW DELHI — After a disappointing 2012, India heads for an uncertain 2013. Here are five key challenges we recommend the
Indian economic authorities should focus on.
A NEW KIND OF DIVIDE IN ASIA
ATI Magazine February/March 2013 issue
GEOPOLITICAL tension in Northeast Asia is being compared to the relative stability of Southeast Asia as China and Japan up the ante in the South China Sea . . . .
A People’s Happiness Fund for Korea?
ATI Magazine February/March 2013
AS the first female leader of South Korea, Park Guen-hye will push for more social welfare, including safety nets for the poor – but her real challenge may be in leading what is widely seen as a male chauvinistic society, wedged as she is between two new macho conservative leaders – Shinzo Abe in Japan and Xi Jinping in China . . .
South-South trade on the move
ATI Magazine February/March 2013
DEVELOPING countries, driven by China, are increasingly important trade partners for high income countries. But it is south-south trade – trade between countries situated south of the equator – that has shown most growth over the past decade . . .
Africa leads campaign for top job at the WTO
ATI Magazine February/March 2013 issue
INDONESIA’s former Trade Minister, Mari Pangestu, is one of nine candidates bidding to become Director-General of the World Trade Organisation. But observers believe the job is likely to go to an African, Latin American or Caribbean country . . .
Designer drugs for the doctors to Asia’s poor - Polio, TB, tropical disease give way to diabetes, stroke, road trauma . . .
ATI Magizine February/March 2013 issue
THE new medical challenges for Asia include heart attack, stroke, diabetes and road trauma, something recognised almost 15 years ago by a group of leading Australian specialists who are now leading the way in developing low-cost drugs and medical devices that are affordable to the poor . . .
WHAT IS THE PRESIDENT THINKING?
WHERE NOW FOR CHINA? A long-awaited blueprint on redistribution of income is expected shortly, there will be further stimulus to maintain modest growth, and continuing focus on internationalisation of the RMB. But one leading analyst warns: ‘Expect conflicting interests and inconsistency’. China’s finance sector, along with aviation, appear to be the areas singled out as the two pillars of future growth. But President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang will face challenges from entrenched interests – in business, in the provincial power structures, and from the princelings . . .