Autos/All

March 12, 2010

Autos/All

In Japan, the end of auto eroticism

Toyota's fall from grace is echoed by the disillusionment Japanese consumers increasingly show towards auto ownership, while management's handling of the company's multi-million vehicle recalls adds to concern that the world will no long consider "quality" and "Japan" to be synonymous.

- Christopher Johnson (Feb 22, '10)

India uneasy over Sri Lanka's slide

India is concerned that the arrest in Sri Lanka of losing presidential candidate General Sarath Fonseka signals a slide towards authoritarian rule. New Delhi had quietly wanted President Mahinda Rajapaksa to win a second term; it is now unhappy with what it wished for.

- Sudha Ramachandran (Feb 16, '10)

Singapore rolls the dice

This weekend's opening of the US$4.6 billion Resorts World Sentosa and its all-important casino adds a new dimension to gambling in Singapore. The government's firm hand and tough regulations mean the resort and yet-to-be-opened rival Marina Bay Sands will have to outperform the world's most profitable casinos to earn decent returns.

- Muhammad Cohen (Feb 11, '10)

China's automakers get a turbo boost

Changes in Chinese government procurement rules are set to give a turbo-charged boost to Chery Automobile, BYD and other local makers of small cars, already enjoying a boom as China runs away from the United States as the world's biggest car market.

- Olivia Chung (Jan 13, '10)

SUN WUKONG

Hainan tries (once more) to get rich

China's tropical island of Hainan, one of the country's poorest provinces, is to become an international tourist destination, by government edict, with visitors lured by fine beaches, duty-free shopping and maybe even gambling. Concern in Macau and Hong Kong at the new competition may be misplaced - Hainan has a history of thwarting plans to make it rich.

- Wu Zhong (Jan 08, '10)

Singapore's big gamble begins

The Lion City's first multi-billion dollar casino resort welcomes visitors this weekend. The gaming floors won't open for weeks - or months - but the chips are down already when it comes to profits.

- Muhammad Cohen (Dec 17, '09)

China coughs, India sneezes

A pollution crackdown on Chinese factories has limited access by Indian consumers and producers to Vitamin C supplements and their key raw materials. New Delhi has done its own bit to maximize damage by maintaining price curbs and imposing anti-dumping tariffs on those imports still available.

- Priyanka Bhardwaj (Dec 10, '09)

China's sleepy Hengqin wakes up

A relatively undeveloped corner of the Pearl River Delta immediately west of Macau is being lined up for an extensive makeover. Hengqin island, part of the mainland city of Zhuhai, is to be transformed into a resort paradise featuring golf courses and theme parks. In the process, Macau and Hong Kong will be more intimately integrated into the mainland delta, tricky legal relationships permitting.

- Kent Ewing (Nov 05, '09)

Speaking Freely

Vietnam protests Chinese naval acts

Vietnam has brought to notice a tragic incident of the Chinese Navy's maltreatment of 200 Vietnamese fishermen on the disputed Paracel Island in October 2009. The details of the bare survival of the hapless Vietnamese fishermen from stormy weather and their subsequent waylaying by Chinese naval troops raise questions about piracy and unresolved territorial conflicts.

- Anonymous (Nov 03, '09)

Bali vacations from global recession

In the face of global economic woes and collapsing tourism markets, Indonesia's top holiday destination is notching up record arrival numbers.

- Muhammad Cohen (Oct 15, '09)

Harley-Davidson joins India market

Harley-Davidson motorcycles recently took to the roads in New Delhi, as the US company entered the world's second-biggest two-wheeler market two years after a mangoes-for-machines trade agreement with the Indian government.

- Raja Murthy (Sep 14, '09)

US throws down aluminum gauntlet

The United States government's decision not to allow General Motors to sell its European automobile division to a Russian combination that included interests of oligarch Oleg Deripaska is a powerful, definitive, and public message.

- John Helmer (Sep 10, '09)

Laos power plant misses jumbo payout

A proposed highly polluting lignite mine and power station in northwestern Laos would feed power to Thailand while threatening to kill local tourism and the elephants that are an important attraction. Yet it is the jumbos, if properly husbanded, that could be more lucrative than the mine, with the income staying in Laos.

- Beaumont Smith (Sep 08, '09)

CHAN AKYA

Clunkers for cash

The parallels between the bailouts of General Motors and the general US consumer are striking. Leaving the main problem unaddressed and granting special competitive privileges to a select few, the bailouts will end up distorting the automotive industry as well as the general economy.

- Chan Akya (Aug 07, '09)

China's fishing fleet sets challenge to US

The expansion of China's fishing fleet far beyond its depleted home waters raises foreign policy, international security and environmental issues that cannot be neglected by United States policymakers, while also offering opportunities for closer cooperation between the two countries.

- Lyle Goldstein (Aug 06, '09)

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In Japan, the end of auto eroticism

India uneasy over Sri Lanka's slide

Singapore rolls the dice

China's automakers get a turbo boost

SUN WUKONG

Hainan tries (once more) to get rich

Singapore's big gamble begins

China coughs, India sneezes

China's sleepy Hengqin wakes up

Speaking Freely

Vietnam protests Chinese naval acts

Bali vacations from global recession

Harley-Davidson joins India market

US throws down aluminum gauntlet

Laos power plant misses jumbo payout

CHAN AKYA

Clunkers for cash

China's fishing fleet sets challenge to US

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