A brilliant story by William Pesek can be read over at Bloomberg. This post is on the dull side, meaning you have to be into economics / politics otherwise risk being bored to death…
William makes some very well written comments including:
“Malaysia should start by fixing a key weakness: a four- decade-old affirmative-action program favoring the [...]
KARACHI: The foreign investment has witnessed 37 percent decrease during 11 months of the current fiscal year.Pakistan received a total foreign investment of 3.94 billion dollars during July 2007 to May 2008 which was 6.28 billion dollars last year in the period under review, according to State Bank of Pakistan.Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) stood at [...]
Foreign direct investment (FDI) in the northern province of Ha Tay has already exceeded the yearly target of over US$1 billion, according to the Ha Tay’s People’s Committee.
In the first five months of the year, the province attracted 17 foreign-invested projects, leading to a 33% increase in the number of projects over last year, according to Nguyen Huy Tuong, vice chairman of the provincial
130 projects capitalized at US$ 7.498 billion have been licensed in May, bringing the total number of projects in the first five months to 324 with total investment of US$ 14.724 billion, according to statistics of the Foreign Investment Department (Ministry of Planning and Investment).
The figure is 2.6 times higher...
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“On a recent trip to Europe, Buffett made stops in Germany, Switzerland, Spain and Italy. But his first priority was to meet with leaders of the German mittelstand.” — Martin Hutchinson
by Martin Hutchinson
Baltimore – (TFN): Investors have been watching Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK.A, BRK.B) Chairman Warren Buffett’s moves for years to [...]
“Banks all over the world have spent much of the few years bingeing on cheap money, but Iceland’s taken the whole thing to quite an extreme. Its big players – the likes of Landsbanki and Kaupthing – have been on an extraordinary borrowing spree, sucking in vast quantities of cash to fund lending and acquisitions [...]
“Why U.S. automakers can’t import smartly designed, well-made little cars that get 50 miles per gallon into the United States is absolutely beyond my comprehension. Particularly because they already make those cars.” — Keith Fitz-Gerald
Blogger’s note: Keith Fitz-Gerald is leading an investment tour through China right now. And through the magic of [...]
“That’s a huge amount of money. It’s so large that it’s tough to get a handle on just how much money it is. Let’s just say that if a company with a market capitalization of £12bn was added to the FTSE 100 this morning, it’d slot in somewhere around [...]
Licences granted to five foreign-invested projects worth US$1.4bil in the southern province of Dong Nai last Friday lifted foreign direct investment investment in the province over the past 20 years to a whopping $13.5bil, according to the provincial planning and investment department.
Department Director Bo Ngoc Thu said that so far this year, the province had attracted $1.8bil in investment,
The southern province of Dong Nai on April 25 granted licenses to five foreign-invested projects with a combined capital of 1.45 billion USD.
The figure helped bring the total foreign investment licenses in the province to 1.8 billion USD so far this year, a six-fold increase over the same period last year and 20% more than the yearly plan.
The April 25-licensed projects include two projects to
“This place is one big construction site. You cannot turn around without finding scaffolding, piles of materials, construction equipment and the like [no matter where you look] here.” — Keith Fitz-Gerald
by Mike Caggeso
Baltimore – (TFN): When Asia expert Keith Fitz-Gerald first returned to this country a week ago, he was [...]
“Mr. King has attached enough conditions to these loans to make the risk to the taxpayer much smaller than it might have been. He’s also helped to make life easier for banks with genuine liquidity problems. Problems with actual solvency are quite another matter however.” — John [...]
“When the United States, the leading importer of Latin American goods, struggled through a recession in 2002, six of Latin America’s most prominent currencies dropped by 20% or more. But the story for 2008 has been very different.” — Jason Simpkins
by Jason Simpkins
Baltimore – (TFN): Concerns about the U.S. economic slowdown [...]
“Africa is malnourished, politically impotent, overrun with disease, and teeming with warlords, so it’s no surprise the typical life expectancy is 20%-30% below the global average. Despite such a daunting outlook, Africa will be the most hotly contested battleground for the two of the world’s most influential powers over [...]
“Parabolic rises in food and energy prices have China’s inflation rate at a 12-year high. This underlines the currency’s importance for Beijing in curbing inflation and discouraging marginally priced exports.” — Sally Limantour
by Sally Limantour
Baltimore – (TFN): China’s currency, the renminbi (RMB), has risen over 4% this year. This [...]
“Every now and then, however, an election brings a change that is truly significant, either politically or economically. In Korea, this election has brought significant positive economic change.” — Martin Hutchinson
by Martin Hutchinson
Baltimore – (TFN): Amid all the gloom investors are feeling right now, South Korea has produced some sunny [...]
“With an economy that’s advancing at an average annual clip of better than 11%, $1.7 trillion in currency reserves, and an emerging middle class that will soon be the world’s largest, China represents the future to globally focused investors and businesses alike. But there’s always been a concern about just how [...]
“If there is one emblem of Dubai’s fast growth, it’s the Burj, whose completed height of 2,684 feet is a symbol of the emirate’s transformation into the Middle East’s financial and tourism hub.” — Mike Caggeso
by Mike Caggeso, Money Morning
Baltimore – (TFN): When flocks of tourists gaze from the top [...]
The slump in the dollar has not yet affected foreign investment in Israeli real estate. Diaspora Jews, especially from the US, UK, and France are continuing to buy apartments either as residences or for investment.The Bank of Israel reports that foreign residents bought $93 million worth of real estate in February 2008, compared with $167 million in January. The central bank notes the monthly drop in investment, but also notes the lower number of business days in February.
Of 1,445 foreign-invested projects licenced in 2007, 823 invest in industry. These projects have total registered capital of US$8.06 billion, accounting for 57% of the total number of foreign-invested projects and 45.2% of total registered capital.
Fast and stable
According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT), foreign-invested industrial projects, thanks to modern technology and
"Because of falling prices, (the Kuwait sovereign fund) has become increasingly interested in making investments in European and U.S. financial-services and real-estate companies." -- William Patalone
Blogger's Note: William Patalone of Investor's Daily Edge has a scoop on the Visa IPO. It seems Kuwait's sovereign fund would like to own part of on of America's most successful companies, and it's looking to buy stock in next week's IPO… Read more »
"In March of 2005, Cuban President Fidel Castro announced he would decrease the value of the Cuban peso 7% in a single day. In other words, Fidel Castro was debasing his country's currency -- on… Read more »
As the US economy continues on its downward trend, the financial gurus at Taipan Publishing Group have developed 11 investment strategies that could not only help you come out on top for 2008, but could literally alter your standard of ...
The investment environment in Vietnam continued to be improved. In particular, 2007 was the second year since the Investment Law and Corporate Law have been promulgated with more transparent regulations. Though these laws still need to be perfected, they have helped revitalise investment and trading activities, encouraging localities in promoting investment, simplifying investment procedures and supporting investors to carry out their projects after being licensed.
The State Administration for Industry and Commerce (SAIC) has launched a survey on foreign investment in China's real estate sector, sparking fears of further government control to bring down the soaring housing prices. The Shanghai Securities News reported that the survey was planned last November after the Ministry of Construction held another research meeting.
Indonesia's drive to increase foreign investment in ports, power plants and bridges may be strangled by red tape.A year after 10 projects worth $4.5 billion were offered to private companies, not one has started because the government has been unable to publish bidding rules. Southeast Asia's biggest economy has a target of $22 billion in infrastructure spending annually through 2011.``We are getting increasingly frustrated,'' said James Thomas, vice president of engineering at OneEnergy Group, a venture between Mitsubishi Corp. and Hong Kong's CLP Holdings Ltd. that wants to bid for a $1.2 billion coal-fired power plant. ``It doesn't engender a lot of confidence in Indonesia.''Indonesia News Blog: http://indosnesos.blogspot.com
China's economic planning agency has issued restrictions on foreign investment in real estate and other industries, part of a range of measures aimed at righting imbalances in the economy.A lengthy list of revised rules that take effect Dec. 1 imposes bans on foreign investment in some businesses such as golf courses, gambling, genetically modified crops, traditional teas, film production and weapons manufacturing, according to a document seen Thursday on the Web site of the National Development and Reform Commission.
A lengthy list of revised rules that take effect Dec. 1 imposes bans on foreign investment in some businesses such as golf courses, gambling, genetically modified crops, traditional teas, film production and weapons manufacturing, according to a document seen Thursday on the Web site of the National Development and Reform Commission.
Foreign direct investment in China rose almost 11 percent in January-September over the year before to $47.2 billion, the reports said. Of that total, foreign investment in property development accounted for $5.7 billion.
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/071108/china_foreign_investment.html
Attempts to amend the Foreign Business Act this year have led to foreign investment in the Thai real estate market plunging, says Lars Lang, a partner of Thai Estate Scandinavian Company, a niche developer. Scandinavians in recent years have been active investors in Thai property, but lately the big players have become very hesitant about large-scale commitments, says Mr Lang. Individual Scandinavians are still buying but are shying away from anything costing more than seven to eight million baht.
The Bank of Israel said that the extensive purchase of apartments by foreign residents was a direct continuation of the trend that began with the end of the second intifada in mid-2003, and that the trend was growing stronger. Foreign investment in israel real estate has totaled $4.71 billion since the beginning of 2003 and $5.3 billion since the beginning of 2000.
On Monday, the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange jointly released a circular to further strengthen and regulate the supervising process of foreign-invested real estate, aimed at curbing excessive property speculation by foreign capital.
Mumbai: India's hot property sector should draw in more overseas inflows this year and help to achieve a 2007-08 target for total foreign direct investment (FDI) of $30 billion, a senior government official said yesterday.
In 2004, the total foreign direct investment (FDI) in the United States (U.S.) stood at $1.5 trillion, equivalent to $2.7 trillion in today's market value which represents approximately 10% of the total current market value of all publicly traded companies in U.S.Geographic BreakdownEuropean companies made up 65-70% of direct investment in the U.S., with United Kingdom (UK) leading the way. 1/3rd of the total investment from Europe came from UK, with $250 billion invested in 2004. UK, Germany, Netherlands and France were the top four investors in U.S. in that particular order.Asian and the Pacific firms had the next highest level of investment in the U.S., at approximately $219 billion in 2004. Japan accounted for 75% of the investment. Chinese & Indian investments in 2004 were minimal. However that is bound to change with a number of acquistions by Chinese and Indian firms.Canada finished in the third spot.Direct investment from Latin American investors totals $86 billion. The bigge
