Asia Pacific

Chinese carmakers are seeking to step into the gaps left by U.S. companies in Europe — but while acquisitions may give them access to badly-needed technical know-how, global brands and exposure to new markets, the question is whether they have learnt from past failures, a Reuters commentary found. With China now the world’s largest car market, it’s no surprise that Chinese carmakers — which have few if any really solid brands within their home market — want to start making more of a mark. In theory, foreign acquisitions offer a quick way to do so.

Telecom Corp. Of New Zealand Ltd. said Thursday that structural separation isn't being considered even though the debate about its separation has been reopened by a government decision to proceed with a 1.5 billion New Zealand dollar ($1.07 billion) national broadband network, Dow Jones reported. Earlier Thursday, Telecom Chief Executive Paul Reynolds told Radio New Zealand the government decision raised questions about Telecom's operational separation into three parts last year, forced on it by the government as part of tough regulations introduced in May 2006. Mr.

OPI Pacific Finance Limited, a finance company that still owes $257 million to small investors, has been placed in receivership by its trustee, The New Zealand Herald reported. Perpetual Trust, acting for OPI's debenture holders and unsecured noteholders has appointed Colin McCloy and Maurice Noone of PricewaterhouseCoopers as receivers. OPI has been in a moratorium since May last year. OPI's secured debenture holders have so far been repaid 22.17 cents in each dollar they were owed, while the unsecured note holders have not got anything.

The World Bank yesterday issued its clearest warning to date that development efforts in poorer nations will be derailed without a huge increase in funding for climate change mitigation and adaptation efforts, The Guardian reported. The Bank's annual World Development Report warns that even if the G8 group of industrialised nations achieves its target of limiting global warming to two degrees above pre-industrial levels, the increase in global average temperatures will still result in shrinking levels of GDP for many African and Asian countries.

China unexpectedly ratcheted up pressure on the United States in a widening trade dispute on Sunday evening, taking steps toward imposing tariffs on American exports of automotive products and chicken meat in retaliation for President Obama’s decision late Friday to levy tariffs on tires, The New York Times reported.

President Mohamed Nasheed told delegates of the World Bank he inherited a nation “on the verge of bankruptcy” at a management retreat this morning, Minivan News reported. Speaking at the World Bank Maldives Country Management Retreat, the president said the previous government hiked up wages for civil servants as a means of patronage and commercial loans were taken for infrastructure projects with the intention of winning votes. “The fiscal irresponsibility of our predecessors has left a big black hole in our treasury,” he said.

There are signs in the Northern Mariana islands to declare the national pension fund bankrupt, a move that would put an abrupt stop to fortnightly payments to retirees, Radio Australia reported. The Retirement Association has angrily opposed the idea, calling on the government to cut back spending on what it sees as "bloated" agencies to ensure pension payments aren't jeopardised. It's a sorry turn-around for the fund, which five years ago was worth close to half a billion US dollars, but is now down to $US140 million. It's having to draw on its assets to meet pension payments.

By helping a Swedish sportscar maker in its bid for Saab, Beijing Automotive Industry Holding Co. may have found another way to get what it wanted in its failed bid for Opel: access to the same advanced GM technology that drives cars from both Opel and Saab, The Wall Street Journal reported. Turned down once by GM, which owns both Opel and Saab, Beijing Auto has struck a deal to take a minority stake in Koenigsegg Group AB and help Koenigsegg close the funding gap it needed to buy Saab.

Japan Airlines Corp., the recipient of three government bailouts since 2001, will find out soon if the rules have changed, Bloomberg reported. The Democratic Party of Japan, which takes power Sept. 16, pledged to cut what incoming Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama called “wasteful” government spending. Japan Air, with 235 billion yen ($2.6 billion) in loans from a state-owned bank, likely will seek more aid after it submits a mid-term business plan by Sept. 30, according to analysts.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao vowed to continue his government's aggressive stimulus efforts, saying the world's third-largest economy faces persistent problems and uncertainties from the global recession despite an upturn in growth, The Wall Street Journal reported. Speaking to business leaders and others at a World Economic Forum meeting, Mr. Wen said "the pickup in China's economy remains unstable, unconsolidated and imbalanced," pointing to uncertainties that continue to cloud the global economic outlook.