Typhoon Megi forces cancellation of Hong Kong-Vietnam yacht race

Flooding, typhoon hit tour operators

HCMC – The organizer of an international yacht race from Hong Kong to Vietnam has shelved the competition scheduled to take place on Wednesday.

The Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club said the VinaCapital Hong Kong to Vietnam Race had been canceled due to the approaching super typhoon Megi, which has battered the Philippines on its course to the East Sea.

The organizer said it regarded safety as the first priority for all its events, particularly for its international Category 1 Offshore events. It would be unthinkable to send the boats to stormy high seas, it said in a statement.

However, the organizer said that competitors and the club are fully supportive of running the race in the middle of next October. The date is expected to be set soon to allow international competitors to plan their racing calendars.

Vu Duy Vu, deputy director of the race’s local partner Saigontourist Travel Service Co., has confirmed the cancellation.

“We completed all preparatory activities for the race but we had to cancel it for safety reasons,” he told the Daily on Tuesday.

Earlier, the central Government had allowed Saigontourist Holding Company, the parent company of Saigontourist Travel Service Co., to combine with the foreign partner to organize the 656km race from Wednesday to next Wednesday.

The event has been taking place every two years since 2004.

* In related news, local travel firms said they have stopped selling tours to Quang Binh Province known for the World Heritage-listed Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park which is home to the longest underground rivers and the largest caverns, as the severe flooding in the central region is still unpredictable.

“We have stopped selling tours to Quang Binh since last week. Tours to other destinations in the central region like Danang and Hue are still selling as normal but fewer tourists are purchasing such tours,” Tran Quoc Bao, head of the domestic department of Saigontourist Travel Company, told the Daily on Tuesday.

Tour operators said that the hardest hit provinces, including Quang Binh, Ha Tinh and Nghe An, are not favorite tourist destinations like others nearby such as Danang, Hue, and Hoi An, so flooding has left little impact.

However, tour operators are concerned about the bad impact of the new super typhoon Megi, which might prompt tourists to cancel all tours to the region.

Fiditourist already feels the impact, as the company on Tuesday received a request from a big group of tourists for cancellation of a tour of the coastal city of Nha Trang.

“The tourists’ final decision has yet to come but we will lose more if the tour is cancelled because Vietnam Airlines is asking for full charges of the cancellation,” said Nguyen Ngoc An, head of the domestic department of Fiditourist.

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Asian markets slip as Bernanke fails to lift sentiment

Photo: Reuters

HONG KONG - Asian stocks fell Monday as traders were underwhelmed by the US Federal Reserve's strongest indication yet that it will inject cash into the economy.

The dollar edged down towards last week's 15-year low on the expected US pump-priming measures, while dealers also looked ahead to a meeting of G20 finance ministers to be held in South Korea at the weekend.

Hong Kong lost 1.21 percent, or 288.25 points, to end at 23,469.38 and Sydney ended down 0.79 percent, or 37.1 points, at 4,651.9.

Tokyo closed 1.76 points lower at 9,498.49 and Seoul slipped 1.41 percent, or 26.87 points, to 1,875.42.

Shanghai gave up 0.54 percent, or 15.93 points, to finish at 2,955.23.

Markets got an anemic lead from Wall Street, where the Dow edged down 0.29 percent on Friday despite Fed chairman Ben Bernanke saying the central bank was ready to take steps to boost the economy.

Bernanke said the current inflation rate was too low and raised the specter of deflation, which would send prices and wages spiraling downwards and force firms to the wall. Unemployment is already sky-high in the United States, with one in 10 people out of work.

"The risk of deflation is higher than desirable," he said.

The Fed was "prepared to provide additional accommodation if needed to support the economic recovery and to return inflation over time to levels consistent with our mandate".

Bernanke's comments raised already elevated expectations that the Fed is ready to pump billions into the financial system, in what is known as quantitative easing, effectively printing money.

However, IG Markets strategist Ben Potter said: "US leads were fairly mixed in terms of economic data and Bernanke didn't shed too much light."

"He sounded a bit cautious, so the market's thinking perhaps he will do any quantitative easing in smaller chunks," he told Dow Jones Newswires.

The dollar edged down in Tokyo trade. It was quoted at 81.15 yen, slipping from 81.44 yen in New York late Friday and heading towards last week's 15-year-low of 80.88 yen.

The Australian dollar was sitting at 98.33 US cents in European trade after it reached parity for the first time last week.

Profit-taking saw the Aussie dip back Monday after it peaked at $1.003 late Friday, the first time it has reached US parity since it was floated in December 1983.

The euro bought $1.3883 in Tokyo afternoon trade, down from $1.3973 dollars in New York late Friday. The European single currency briefly shot up to $1.4159, its highest since January 26, in New York.

The yen's gains have been capped by Japanese authorities' threats to intervene in the currency markets for a second time in just over a month.

Tokyo stepped into the markets for the first time in six years on September 15, selling the yen in a bid to shore up the country's key export sector.

"The dollar is drawing buy-backs against the euro and Australian dollar," said Tsunemasa Tsukada, chief manager at the currency sales desk of Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking.

"I believe the longer-term trend is a weak dollar but some adjustment moves (on the dollar's recent plunge) are going on," Tsukada said.

The possibility of intervention comes amid growing fears of a currency war in which nations weaken their units to bolster their exporters and in turn give a much-needed boost to their economies.

The International Monetary Fund was holding a meeting with central bank officials from around the world to discuss the issue and try to plot a course for sustainable global recovery.

The meeting, hosted by the People's Bank of China in Shanghai, comes ahead of this week's Group of 20 meeting in South Korea, where currency reform is expected to dominate talks.

On oil markets New York's main contract, light sweet crude for November delivery eased 51 cents to $80.74 a barrel and Brent North Sea crude for December was 60 cents lower at $81.85 a barrel.

Gold closed at $1,356.00-$1,357.00 an ounce in Hong Kong, down from Friday's close of $1,378.50-$1,379.50.

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Asian markets slip as Bernanke fails to lift sentiment

Photo: Reuters

HONG KONG - Asian stocks fell Monday as traders were underwhelmed by the US Federal Reserve's strongest indication yet that it will inject cash into the economy.

The dollar edged down towards last week's 15-year low on the expected US pump-priming measures, while dealers also looked ahead to a meeting of G20 finance ministers to be held in South Korea at the weekend.

Hong Kong lost 1.21 percent, or 288.25 points, to end at 23,469.38 and Sydney ended down 0.79 percent, or 37.1 points, at 4,651.9.

Tokyo closed 1.76 points lower at 9,498.49 and Seoul slipped 1.41 percent, or 26.87 points, to 1,875.42.

Shanghai gave up 0.54 percent, or 15.93 points, to finish at 2,955.23.

Markets got an anemic lead from Wall Street, where the Dow edged down 0.29 percent on Friday despite Fed chairman Ben Bernanke saying the central bank was ready to take steps to boost the economy.

Bernanke said the current inflation rate was too low and raised the specter of deflation, which would send prices and wages spiraling downwards and force firms to the wall. Unemployment is already sky-high in the United States, with one in 10 people out of work.

"The risk of deflation is higher than desirable," he said.

The Fed was "prepared to provide additional accommodation if needed to support the economic recovery and to return inflation over time to levels consistent with our mandate".

Bernanke's comments raised already elevated expectations that the Fed is ready to pump billions into the financial system, in what is known as quantitative easing, effectively printing money.

However, IG Markets strategist Ben Potter said: "US leads were fairly mixed in terms of economic data and Bernanke didn't shed too much light."

"He sounded a bit cautious, so the market's thinking perhaps he will do any quantitative easing in smaller chunks," he told Dow Jones Newswires.

The dollar edged down in Tokyo trade. It was quoted at 81.15 yen, slipping from 81.44 yen in New York late Friday and heading towards last week's 15-year-low of 80.88 yen.

The Australian dollar was sitting at 98.33 US cents in European trade after it reached parity for the first time last week.

Profit-taking saw the Aussie dip back Monday after it peaked at $1.003 late Friday, the first time it has reached US parity since it was floated in December 1983.

The euro bought $1.3883 in Tokyo afternoon trade, down from $1.3973 dollars in New York late Friday. The European single currency briefly shot up to $1.4159, its highest since January 26, in New York.

The yen's gains have been capped by Japanese authorities' threats to intervene in the currency markets for a second time in just over a month.

Tokyo stepped into the markets for the first time in six years on September 15, selling the yen in a bid to shore up the country's key export sector.

"The dollar is drawing buy-backs against the euro and Australian dollar," said Tsunemasa Tsukada, chief manager at the currency sales desk of Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking.

"I believe the longer-term trend is a weak dollar but some adjustment moves (on the dollar's recent plunge) are going on," Tsukada said.

The possibility of intervention comes amid growing fears of a currency war in which nations weaken their units to bolster their exporters and in turn give a much-needed boost to their economies.

The International Monetary Fund was holding a meeting with central bank officials from around the world to discuss the issue and try to plot a course for sustainable global recovery.

The meeting, hosted by the People's Bank of China in Shanghai, comes ahead of this week's Group of 20 meeting in South Korea, where currency reform is expected to dominate talks.

On oil markets New York's main contract, light sweet crude for November delivery eased 51 cents to $80.74 a barrel and Brent North Sea crude for December was 60 cents lower at $81.85 a barrel.

Gold closed at $1,356.00-$1,357.00 an ounce in Hong Kong, down from Friday's close of $1,378.50-$1,379.50.

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HK chief moves to curb Chinese property investors

HONG KONG - Hong Kong's leader outlined new steps Wednesday to cool the world's hottest real estate market, including a halt to automatic residency for wealthy Chinese buyers, depressing property shares.

Chief Executive Donald Tsang said he was responding to "public concern" about a residential housing shortage and sky-rocketing prices, at a rowdy legislative assembly session in which one legislator was escorted from the chamber.

Residential property prices have risen 20 percent in the last year, he noted.

"Housing is currently the greatest concern of our people," said Tsang. "Over the past few years, private housing supply has been relatively low. We should address the fundamentals by increasing land supply in response to market demand."

Among measures he unveiled was a temporary amendment to the territory's Capital Investment Scheme, which is intended to encourage investment in the territory.

The amendment will prevent investors from gaining residency in Hong Kong through property purchases from October 14, Tsang said.

Investors from the mainland have long been lured by the prospect of residency in Hong Kong, a financial centre and gateway to China that is run under a different legal system and boasts higher living standards.

The announcement sent share prices in property developers plunging: SHK Properties was down 3.6 percent, New World Development lost 3.5 percent and Sino Land was down 2.6 percent.

To help ease the housing shortage, Tsang also announced plans to build residential property on the city's old airport, Kai Tak, which was closed down in favor of a new more spacious sight away from residential areas in 1998.

On Tuesday angry protesters interrupted an auction of an upmarket residential site in the Kowloon area that fetched 1.63 billion Hong Kong dollars (US$210 million).

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Danang to welcome more chartered flights

HCMC – The central city of Danang in the next four months will welcome several chartered flights bringing in travelers from Asian destinations namely Hong Kong, Taiwan and South Korea, a local tour operator said.

Cao Tri Dung, director of Vitours in Danang as a key local partner catering to such flights told the Daily that the first chartered flight from Hong Kong to Danang would start on November 11. During three months, visitors from this market will come in on every Wednesday and Saturday.

Similarly, frequent chartered flights will also come from Taiwan and South Korea. Dung said tourists from Taipei would fly to Danang every five days from December 26 for a period of three months, while travelers from Korea’s Seoul would come from January 1.

“In the high season, the city will receive around 1,000 passengers per week from the end of December to January. Our company will cater to half of the total,” Dung said.

Along with the inbound tours, the company is preparing for outbound tours to take local tourists to travel to Hong Kong, Taiwan and South Korea on these flights.

“We expect the outbound tour prices will be lower than normal because partners are focusing on inbound travelers and have booked all of planes’ inbound seats,” Dung said, hinting that outbound seats would be vacant.

Danang is receiving Chinese tourists two times per week on chartered flights.

The tour operator said more visitors are coming to the city because Danang is a new destination offering affordable prices to tourists. However, Danang is able to attract visitors from short-haul destinations in Asia only, he said.

“The city needs to get more connected via more international air routes to woo travelers especially people from long-haul markets like Europe. The chartered flight is the good start for the development,” Dung noted.

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AIG flags $2 bln pre-tax profit for AIA in 2010

Photo: Reuters

HONG KONG - AIA Group Ltd, the Asian life insurance business of American International Group Inc, will likely have a pre-tax operating profit of at least US$2 billion for the fiscal year ending on Nov. 30, 2010, AIG said on Saturday.

"We believe that, in the absence of unforeseen circumstances, and, on the bases and assumptions set forth below, our consolidated operating profit for the fiscal year ending 30 November 2010 is unlikely to be less than $2 billion," the statement said.

The bailed-out U.S. insurer plans to list AIA in Hong Kong and the initial public offering could raise about $15 billion, which would make it the biggest-ever insurance IPO and a record offering in Hong Kong.

The profit forecast comes ahead of pre-marketing of the IPO which kicks off on Monday to gauge demand for the offer. The roadshows will begin on Oct. 6, while the listing is scheduled for Oct. 29.

AIA's planned IPO comes after AIG tried unsuccessfully to sell its Asian business earlier this year to Britain's Prudential Plc for $35.5 billion. The British insurer had asked AIG to cut the price to $30.4 billion, but it was turned down, leading to the termination of the agreement.

Hong Kong-based AIA had about $1.84 billion in pretax operating profit in 2009, Prudential said in a March filing.

AIG, which is nearly 80 percent owned by the US government, is disposing of assets to repay taxpayers who committed $182.3 billion to prop up the insurer during the financial crisis.

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AIG flags $2 bln pre-tax profit for AIA in 2010

Photo: Reuters

HONG KONG - AIA Group Ltd, the Asian life insurance business of American International Group Inc, will likely have a pre-tax operating profit of at least US$2 billion for the fiscal year ending on Nov. 30, 2010, AIG said on Saturday.

"We believe that, in the absence of unforeseen circumstances, and, on the bases and assumptions set forth below, our consolidated operating profit for the fiscal year ending 30 November 2010 is unlikely to be less than $2 billion," the statement said.

The bailed-out U.S. insurer plans to list AIA in Hong Kong and the initial public offering could raise about $15 billion, which would make it the biggest-ever insurance IPO and a record offering in Hong Kong.

The profit forecast comes ahead of pre-marketing of the IPO which kicks off on Monday to gauge demand for the offer. The roadshows will begin on Oct. 6, while the listing is scheduled for Oct. 29.

AIA's planned IPO comes after AIG tried unsuccessfully to sell its Asian business earlier this year to Britain's Prudential Plc for $35.5 billion. The British insurer had asked AIG to cut the price to $30.4 billion, but it was turned down, leading to the termination of the agreement.

Hong Kong-based AIA had about $1.84 billion in pretax operating profit in 2009, Prudential said in a March filing.

AIG, which is nearly 80 percent owned by the US government, is disposing of assets to repay taxpayers who committed $182.3 billion to prop up the insurer during the financial crisis.

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VietnamPlas, Linkage exhibitions open in city

Visitors view a machine at the show - Photo: Ngoc Chau

HCMC - The 10th Vietnam International Plastics, Packaging, Printing and Food-tech Industry Exhibition, or VietnamPlas 2010, opened on Wednesday at the Saigon Exhibition and Convention Center in HCMC’s District 7.

The exhibition is attended by some 225 professional exhibitors from host Vietnam, China, Germany, India, Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, the Netherlands, Taiwan and Vietnam among others.

On show are advanced, high-tech machinery and equipment such as plastic injection molding machines, plastic woven bag machines, turn-key equipment of mold and die manufacturing plant, and other equipment related to packaging, printing, and food processing.

Meanwhile, Linkage Vietnam is concurrently held with VietnamPlas 2010 with the participation of 130 exhibitors from 12 countries and territories.

Linkage Vietnam focuses on metalworking, industrial automation, energy and electricity, and environmental protection.

The organizers of the two events under one roof are Vietnam’s Vinexad, Vietnam Plastics Association, Vietnam Rubber Association, Taiwan’s Chan Chao International Co., Ltd, and two Hong Kong partners.

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AIG wins approval for Asian unit IPO: report

Photo: Reuters

HONG KONG - Troubled US insurer AIG has won approval for a Hong Kong share sale of its Asian unit, AIA, worth up to US$15 billion, in what could be the world's second-biggest stock offering this year.

Hong Kong's stock exchange gave the offering a green light on Tuesday with AIA expected to list on October 29, Dow Jones Newswires reported citing an unnamed source.

AIG, which owes billions of dollars in US government bailouts, was forced to look again at the option of publicly floating AIA in Hong Kong after the collapse in June of Prudential's $35.5 billion takeover bid.

The US insurer may sell off as much as half of its Asian unit with an investor roadshow to start on October 6 and the shares to be priced on October 21, Dow Jones said.

A spokesman for Hong Kong's bourse declined to confirm the reports.

AIA is also hoping to sign an agreement next week with so-called cornerstone investors -- generally institutional buyers -- who could pick up as much as one-fifth of the offering, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday.

Chinese insurance companies and some of China's largest banks are said to be looking at both taking stakes and financing others, according to the Financial Times.

In July, Hong Kong's South China Morning Post newspaper reported that at least four consortia made up of private Chinese investors had approached AIG about buying its Asian business.

Sovereign wealth funds had also expressed an interest in AIA, including Singapore's GIC and Temasek, as well as funds in Abu Dhabi, Kuwait and Qatar, the Financial Times said.

Agricultural Bank of China claimed the world's biggest IPO in August when it confirmed it had raised $22.1 billion, after its shares debuted in Hong Kong in July.

The monster sale beat the previous world record set by the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, which raised $21.9 billion in 2006.

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New sale looms for AIG Taiwan unit as bid collapses

Photo: Reuters

TAIPEI - AIG is sure of at least one bidder for its Taiwan Nan Shan Life unit should it put it back on the market, with Chinatrust Financial reaffirming its interest on Tuesday after the original buyers pulled out.

China Strategic and Hong Kong fund Primus Financial, the original buyer group, formally ended their US$2.2 billion bid on Monday after Taiwan's regulators had blocked it at the end of August.

AIG is widely expected to put Nan Shan, Taiwan's No.3 insurer by market share with T$1.5 trillion ($47 billion) in assets, back on sale as it seeks to repay US government funds following its bailout during the global financial crisis.

"We want to, and need to know what AIG's next move will be," Chinatrust President Daniel Wu told Reuters. "We would bid for Nan Shan by ourselves ... via either selling shares or bonds."

AIG's Taipei-based media relations company said on Tuesday that the insurer was "evaluating its options with respect to its ownership of Nan Shan".

China Strategic's chief executive, Raymond Or, told Reuters that it was too early to say whether it would consider bidding again, but said he would have to assess whether a fresh bid would have any chance of success.

"If there is no chance, then there is no point in spending time and money," Or said. "Currently I would think it is better for China Strategic to move on."

Primus Financial declined to comment.

Shares of China Strategic dropped over 8 percent in morning trading and trimmed their losses to end 4.8 percent down at HK$0.295 while the Hang Seng Index was nearly flat.

Last month Taiwan regulators blocked the bid from China Strategic, a battery maker, and Primus, saying the two did not have experience in the insurance industry and lacked the ability to raise capital for future operations.

The buyers did not take the option of appealing the ruling, which lawyers said would have been unlikely to succeed.

Failed sale

The sale was the second failed attempt in Asia by AIG to sell assets to repay billions of US taxpayer dollars used to bail out the company. In May, the $35.5 billion sale of its American International Assurance (AIA) unit to Britain's Prudential Plc fell through.

The US insurer now plans to list AIA in Hong Kong on Oct. 29 in a $15 billion float, the biggest ever in Hong Kong and also the biggest ever insurance float.

It was not likely to take that option for Nan Shan, analysts said.

"It would be in AIG's best interest to launch another bid," said an analyst at an European-based securities house. "An IPO of Nan Shan would simply take too much time and get too complicated."

In addition to Chinatrust, Fubon Financial Holding has expressed interest in buying Nan Shan.

Cathay Financial may also be interested, analysts have said.

A source with direct knowledge of the sale process told Reuters earlier this month that regulators were unlikely to take issue with bids from Fubon or Cathay, either alone or with partners such as private equity companies.

But they would be wary of a Chinatrust bid, because the firm, Taiwan's biggest credit card issuer, is heavily leveraged.

All three were losing bidders in the original sale of Nan Shan last October.

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China Strategic ends AIG Taiwan unit buy, shares slump

Photo: Reuters

TAIPEI - Shares in China Strategic Holdings Ltd fell more than 6 percent on Tuesday after the battery maker said it had formally ended a US$2.2 billion bid to buy insurer American International Group Inc's Taiwan unit after regulators rejected the deal.

Hong Kong-listed China Strategic said in a statement late on Monday that it and partner Primus Financial Holdings had agreed with AIG to terminate the deal to buy Nan Shan Life effective Monday.

Last month, Taiwan's regulators blocked the bid for Nan Shan from China Strategic and Hong Kong investment fund Primus, saying the two did not have experience in the insurance industry and lacked the ability to raise capital for future operations.

The buyers had the option of appealing, but China Strategic said earlier this month that AIG was leaning towards a new sale.

AIG's Taipei-based media relations company said on Tuesday that the insurer was "evaluating its options with respect to its ownership of Nan Shan".

Primus Financial declined to comment.

China Strategic shares were 6.5 percent lower at HK$0.29 while the Hang Seng Index was up 0.3 percent.

It was the second failed attempt in Asia by AIG to sell assets to repay billions of US taxpayer dollars used to bail out the company. In May, the $35.5 billion sale of its American International Assurance unit to Britain's Prudential Plc fell through.

AIG plans to list AIA in Hong Kong on Oct. 29 in a $15 billion float, the biggest ever in Hong Kong and also the biggest ever insurance float.

Analysts say AIG is likely to put Nan Shan back on the market, although an IPO is an outside possibility.

Taiwan banks Fubon Financial Holding Co Ltd and Chinatrust Financial Holding Co Ltd have expressed interest in buying Nan Shan, while analysts have said Cathay Financial Holding Co Ltd may also be interested.

A source with direct knowledge of the sale process told Reuters earlier this month that regulators were unlikely to take issue with bids from Fubon or Cathay, either alone or with partners such as private equity companies, but they would be wary of a Chinatrust bid, because the firm, Taiwan's biggest credit card issuer, is heavily leveraged.

All three were losing bidders in the original sale of Nan Shan last October.

Nan Shan is Taiwan's No.3 life insurer by market share. Its policyholders make up almost a sixth of the island's population.

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Hong Kong joins NY, London as top finance center

HONG KONG - Hong Kong has joined London and New York among the world's top financial centers, with other Asian cities including Shanghai and Seoul also moving up the ranks, a survey said Monday.

Hong Kong was third behind New York and first-placed London in the Global Financial Centers Index, which ranks 75 financial hubs based on surveys of professionals and criteria including business environment, market access and infrastructure.

"There remains no significant difference between London and New York (in the ratings). Respondents continue to believe that these centers work together for mutual benefit," according to the twice-annual report produced by London-based think tank Z/Yen Group.

"Hong Kong has joined London and New York as a genuinely global financial center. Singapore may well join this trio soon."

Singapore placed fourth in the top 10 followed by Tokyo, Shanghai, Chicago, Zurich, Geneva and Sydney.

"The top four centers control a large proportion of financial transactions (over 70 percent of equity trading)...(and) are likely to remain powerful financial centers for the foreseeable future," the report said.

Asia "continues to exhibit enhanced competitiveness" with Shanghai breaking into the top 10 and Seoul cracking the top 25, the report said.

Respondents said the five finance centers "likely to become more significant in the next few years" are the southern Chinese industrial city of Shenzhen, Shanghai, Singapore, Seoul, and Beijing.

Offshore finance centers such as the Cayman Islands and Malta and debt-laden Dubai had lost ground since the global financial crisis, the report said.

The survey polled 1,876 finance industry professionals.

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Asia defies global newspaper meltdown

Photo: AFP

HONG KONG - Asian newspapers are defying the global print media meltdown while their counterparts in the West spill red ink and lay off staff in droves as readers flock to online news.

Print advertising -- the lifeblood of a newspaper's revenue base -- has plunged 47 percent in the hard-hit North American market since 2005, while the outlook for Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) remains tepid, says a new study by global consultancy Pricewaterhouse Coopers.

However, Asia's newspaper advertising is expected to rise 3.1 percent annually through 2014 to US$27.3 billion, according to PwC's "Global Entertainment and Media Outlook 2010-2014."

The trend toward online news has been slower in Asia where newspapers remain popular, including Japan which has the world's highest newspaper readership.

"In Asia Pacific and Latin America...newspaper readership has held up and is increasing, which accounts for their stronger performance in recent years and faster growth rates compared with North America and EMEA in the next five years," the report said.

Spending in Asia's newspaper sector will rise at 2.3 percent annually through 2014, it added.

In Hong Kong, the city's myriad Chinese and English-language newspapers wage a daily battle for readers in one of the world's most saturated newspaper markets.

Leading tabloid Apple Daily boosts its coverage with fanciful animated depictions of gruesome and violent news stories, and employs an army of young reporters who will stop at little to get the story.

"It is cut-throat competition," says Cheng Ming-yan, Apple's chief editor, adding, "We're not conservative -- we have very aggressive reporting."

Number-one selling Oriental Daily News (ODN) once sued its bitter rival Apple over claims that its reporters tricked ODN colleagues into divulging exclusive stories.

"It is pretty intense -- Hong Kong has always been a newspaper town," said Steve Shellum, executive editor of the English-language daily The Standard.

Newspapers reach almost 80 percent of adults in Hong Kong, a city of seven million, and its two biggest-selling papers each claim a daily readership above 1.2 million, according to "World Press Trends 2010" produced by newspaper association WAN-IFRA.

"Chinese people are eager to get information from newspapers because, traditionally, that was the way their mother and father spent their leisure time," said Cheng at Apple Daily.

But circulation at Hong Kong's paid dailies has still been dropping as free newspapers muscle in on their turf.

Apple not only plans to continue using cartoon animations in its print edition, it is also moving to video with sometimes questionable depictions of news -- all in a bid to attract the next generation.

"It's very important and will become more important. Young people have grown up with cartoons -- they want the image," Cheng said.

Apple's computer-generated video of Tiger Woods' now ex-wife running after his car swinging a golf club -- after hearing of the golf legend's infidelities -- was an Internet sensation, and seems unlikely to be a one-hit wonder.

"Our new business is to focus on live animation news," Cheng said.

That swing to online and video news will ultimately spell doom for newspapers even in the Asian market, said Chan Yuen-ying, director of the University of Hong Kong's journalism school.

"(The decline) is hitting Asia slower and media owners still have some time, but the door is closing," Chan said.

"I don't think there is reason to be optimistic."

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• Curbing tech piracy can stimulate Asian economies: report

Asian shares sluggish on US nervousness, Japan woes

TOKYO - Asian stock markets were sluggish on Friday following a lackluster session on Wall Street and mixed economic data from Japan.

Tokyo's Nikkei index was down 0.87 percent, or 77.38 points, at 8.829.1 in the morning, Sydney's S&P/ASX 200 was down 0.20 percent at lunch, while Hong Kong and Shanghai were both flat in early trade, at 20,600.49 and 2,601.70 respectively.

Analysts said markets were reacting in large part to a tumble on Thursday on Wall Street, where traders were bracing for a sharp revision of US economic growth later on Friday and a speech by US Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke.

"Investors are growing increasingly concerned about the US economy and there are repercussions in the Japanese market," Naoki Fujiwara, fund manager at Shinkin Asset Management, told Dow Jones Newswires.

In New York the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average closed below the sensitive 10,000 level for the first time in nearly two months, dropping 0.74 percent to 9,985.81. The broader S&P 500 index fell 0.77 percent and the Nasdaq 1.07 percent.

Compounding pessimism in Japan, data showed that deflation remained stubbornly entrenched in July, with the core consumer price index falling 1.1 percent from a year earlier, its 17th straight month of decline.

The consumer price data are likely to heighten doubts about the durability of Japan's recovery, which has come under pressure from the effects of a strong yen, feeding into tensions in the governing Democratic Party of Japan, where a leadership contest is under way.

In one bright spot, Japan's unemployment rate edged lower to 5.2 percent in July, its first fall in six months and a 0.1 percentage point drop from June.

Chinese stocks were dragged down by financial shares after disappointing results earlier in the week from insurance giant China Life, which was down 1.79 percent in early Hong Kong trade, adding to a fall on Thursday.

Bank of China was down 1.39 percent in Hong Kong after also disappointing with its first-half results.

Also contributing to Shanghai's limp start were comments Thursday by the head of the National Development and Reform Commission, Zhang Ping, reiterating that housing prices in some cities remained too high, suggesting no let up in measures to cool the market. No new steps were announced, however.

The dollar was range-bound against other currencies, fetching 84.34 yen in Tokyo morning trade, hardly changed from New York late Thursday.

The euro fell to $1.2693 from $1.2720 in New York and to 107.07 yen from 107.35 yen.

Oil prices dipped below $73 as concerns about weak US economic data pervaded crude markets, analysts said.

New York's main contract, light sweet crude for October delivery, fell 37 cents to $72.99 per barrel. Brent North Sea crude for delivery in October shed 33 cents to $74.69.

Gold opened at $1,235.80-$1,236.80 an ounce, down from Thursday's closing price of $1,241.50-$1,242.50.

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Indonesia is Asia copyright pirate center: survey

A sales assistant arranges compact discs at a stall in a Jakarta mall.

Photo: AFP

Indonesia has the worst record when it comes to protecting intellectual property rights (IPR) in Asia and Singapore the best, a survey of expatriate business people showed Wednesday.

"Indonesia seems to have lost its momentum for cracking down on IPR abuses and making the system more compliant with international standards," Hong Kong-based Political and Economic Risk Consultancy (PERC) said.

Indonesia "has passed new laws that should improve protection of intellectual property, but those rules are not enforced effectively at all, and piracy levels in Indonesia remain among the highest in the world."

Indonesia was given the worst score of 8.5 out of a maximum 10 points compared to 11 other Asian economies in the PERC survey of 1,285 expatriate managers conducted between June and mid-August. Zero is the best possible score.

More advanced economies fared better, with Singapore heading the list with 1.5, followed by Japan (2.1), Hong Kong (2.8), Taiwan (3.8) and South Korea (4.1).

At the other end of the scale, Vietnam was second worst at 8.4, China scored 7.9, the Philippines 6.84, India 6.5, Thailand 6.17 and Malaysia 5.8.

The rankings largely reflect studies by the global software industry, which is alarmed by the easy availability of pirated movies and software in Asian cities despite governments' pledges to crack down.

"Of the emerging Asian countries, Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines are all poorly rated not only for their low level of IPR protection but also for such criteria as physical infrastructure, bureaucratic inefficiency and labor limitations," PERC said.

China also came under strong scrutiny because of the sheer size of its economy and the presence of large companies "capable of using pirated technology to compete in foreign markets," said PERC.

"Countries like Vietnam, the Philippines and Indonesia do not have this same ability to inflict global damage through IPR piracy as Chinese companies do."

While China has made strides in clamping down on IPR infringement, its goal of securing transfers of foreign know-how to Chinese firms, using access to its huge market as leverage, remains problematic, it said.

"So far many of the world’s largest multinationals have been convinced that it is worth the risk of transferring key technology to China in order to develop business there," PERC said.

"This policy is not illegal, but it could become a growing source of friction.... The more China consolidates its position as a global economic power, the more other governments will be willing to take off the gloves and fight to protect their interests."

Indonesia is Asia copyright pirate center: survey

A sales assistant arranges compact discs at a stall in a Jakarta mall.

Photo: AFP

Indonesia has the worst record when it comes to protecting intellectual property rights (IPR) in Asia and Singapore the best, a survey of expatriate business people showed Wednesday.

"Indonesia seems to have lost its momentum for cracking down on IPR abuses and making the system more compliant with international standards," Hong Kong-based Political and Economic Risk Consultancy (PERC) said.

Indonesia "has passed new laws that should improve protection of intellectual property, but those rules are not enforced effectively at all, and piracy levels in Indonesia remain among the highest in the world."

Indonesia was given the worst score of 8.5 out of a maximum 10 points compared to 11 other Asian economies in the PERC survey of 1,285 expatriate managers conducted between June and mid-August. Zero is the best possible score.

More advanced economies fared better, with Singapore heading the list with 1.5, followed by Japan (2.1), Hong Kong (2.8), Taiwan (3.8) and South Korea (4.1).

At the other end of the scale, Vietnam was second worst at 8.4, China scored 7.9, the Philippines 6.84, India 6.5, Thailand 6.17 and Malaysia 5.8.

The rankings largely reflect studies by the global software industry, which is alarmed by the easy availability of pirated movies and software in Asian cities despite governments' pledges to crack down.

"Of the emerging Asian countries, Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines are all poorly rated not only for their low level of IPR protection but also for such criteria as physical infrastructure, bureaucratic inefficiency and labor limitations," PERC said.

China also came under strong scrutiny because of the sheer size of its economy and the presence of large companies "capable of using pirated technology to compete in foreign markets," said PERC.

"Countries like Vietnam, the Philippines and Indonesia do not have this same ability to inflict global damage through IPR piracy as Chinese companies do."

While China has made strides in clamping down on IPR infringement, its goal of securing transfers of foreign know-how to Chinese firms, using access to its huge market as leverage, remains problematic, it said.

"So far many of the world’s largest multinationals have been convinced that it is worth the risk of transferring key technology to China in order to develop business there," PERC said.

"This policy is not illegal, but it could become a growing source of friction.... The more China consolidates its position as a global economic power, the more other governments will be willing to take off the gloves and fight to protect their interests."

Hong Kong fund supports VN healthcare projects

Hong Kong’s Sun Wah Fund (SWF) has pledged to donate one million USD for healthcare, education and art projects in Vietnam.

A signing ceremony for the projects was held in Hanoi on August 23.
Signatories were the SWF, the Ministry of Health and Hanoi University.

Of the sum, 700,000 USD will be allocated for
healthcare projects, especially community healthcare, and the remaining
300,000 USD will be used for education and art projects which aim to
improve foreign language skills for teachers in remote areas, grant
scholarships to Vietnamese students in China, build primary schools in
mountainous areas and hold training courses for disabled children.

Dr Jonathan Choi, General Director of the SWF said this was the second
time that the fund has supported social projects in Vietnam, expressing
his pleasure that the funding brings effective outcomes for society.

Established in 1957, SWF has over 100 member companies
in Hong Kong, Macao, Southeast Asia, Canada, Europe, the US and
Australia, focusing on food, real estate, financial services,
infrastructure, technology and media./.

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