• 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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  • East Asia

    Pedestrians walk in Tokyo as 0.2 percent economic growth reported

    Pedestrians walk on the crosswalk in Tokyo, Japan, on March 8, 2013. The Japanese economy expanded at an annualized rate of 0.2 percent in the three months through December in inflation-adjusted terms, up from preliminary data, the government data showed Friday. <Xinhua/Kenichiro Seki>

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  • East Asia

    Asia leaps toward regional economic unity

    Asia plans to take a great leap forward in regional economic integration during the next decade, as the United Nations continues to intensify the promotion of South-South cooperation among member states. According to a recent report by the Inter Press Service, the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the…

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  • Double-digit growth continues for home appliances market in SE Asia

    The rising affluence of consumers is stimulating sales of major domestic appliances in Southeast Asia. According to the survey conducted last December by GFK Asia based in Singapore, the consumer market in the sector worth of the washers, air-conditioners, refrigerators and microwave ovens has grown by a healthy 13 percent…

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