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West Asia
Iranian boycott of pistachio praised as a way to leave more nuts for exporting
In this Sunday, March 31, 2013 photo, an Iranian shopkeeper sells pistachios, at his shop in western Tehran, Iran. Pistachios are Iran’s top non-oil export and provide work for hundreds of thousands of people. Still, Iranian authorities are backing the boycott. They laud it as a way to decrease domestic…
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East Asia
China expands influence in Africa on the back of Xi Jinping’s trip
China is set to enhance its fast expanding political influence in Africa by taking a pro-active role in mediating disputes in the resource-rich continent as new Chinese PresidentXi Jinping returned home from a high-profile African tour. While Xi has committed billions of dollars in assistance on his tour to Tanzania,…
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East Asia
A growing number of Africans live in Chinese cities with booming economic ties between the two sides
African residents buy fruits at a grocery in Xiaobeilu, a commercial area in Guangzhou, capital of south China’s Guangdong Province, March 21, 2013. With the Chinese economy expanding fast over the past decades, African immigrants, previously unseen in China, have streamed into prosperous cities of Guangzhou, Beijing, Shanghai and even…
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East Asia
S. Korea ranked top investor in Cambodia
South Korea stood out as the largest foreign investor in Cambodia in 2013. Korea replaced the UK as the number one investor with $287 million injected, 12.5 per cent of the total foreign direct investment, The Phnom Penh Post reported by quoting data from the Council for the Development of…
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South East Asia
Myanmar abolishes surrogate foreign currency
Myanmar has announced the abolition of its US dollar proxy currency for foreigners. The Central Bank of Myanmar announced an initial period of 90 days for exchanging abolished Foreign Exchange Certificate (FEC) with foreign currencies or local currency Kyat starting on April 1. FEC, which has been put into circulation…
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South Asia
How India’s billionaires get rich
*Editor’s note: India has been infamous for its economic and social disparities. It is one of the world’s most unequal countries even though more people have been brought out of poverty than at any other time. This column from The Business Times explains how India’s billionaires get rich and compares their status…
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Company is a second home in Korean corporate culture
For most Korean companies, their corporate cultures have surely helped them grow and expand globally in a very short time. As foreigners interested or working in Korea, some of the traditional cultural traits common among Korean companies include: For most big companies in Korea the founders have already shaped the…
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East Asia
Fears and hopes loom surrounding ‘Abenomics’
Japan’s newly branded ‘Abenomics’ produces contradictory outlooks on its impact and the nation’s economic future. Abenomics, a buzzword Japan these days not only in Japan but also in global economic arena, refers to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s aggressive reflationary fiscal and monetary policies. The equity market has been boosted by…
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East Asia
Israeli ambassador tells of the creative economy’s driving force
As Korea sets its sails to make a “creative economy,” which will create new jobs through the development of science, technology and IT, it looks to the start-up nation of Israel as a model. Israel has a population of 7.8 million and an area of approximately 20,700 square kilometers, about…
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‘Well-being’ as buzzword in Korean marketing
How well do you understand Korean consumers? In the little insight below, I will summarize some points to help stakeholders understand the Korean consumers better. They may be very simple, but are indispensable for your success in the very complex and delicate market situation in Korea. Koreans are found to…
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