In The News

Strict CO2 Limits Will Send Work Abroad

David Gow August 20, 2003
Strictly enforcing a new emissions policy could cause a mass exodus of jobs and energy business from Britain. The German-owned energy company Innogy – one of the country's largest energy suppliers – is concerned that the United Kingdom will apply the EU's new carbon emissions trading scheme more stringently than other member states. The new scheme caps the amount of carbon dioxide...

Indian Companies Are Adding Western Flavor

Saritha Rai August 19, 2003
American corporations are increasingly sending service-oriented, knowledge-intensive jobs to India. The new employees are well-educated, English-speaking, and fully prepared to answer any technical question an American customer might ask. Just don't expect them to know how to sip wine at a business party or the appropriate way to greet an American colleague. Such subtle, Western, cultural...

MTV Goes to Asia

Kenny Santana August 12, 2003
MTV and American pop music have invaded Asia. Still, local music is flourishing. Though Britney Spears and the show "Punk'd" regularly appear on Asian television screens, locally themed shows currently comprise up to 80 percent of MTV Asia's programming. MTV's strategy has always been to tailor its programming to local tastes, says Jakarta-based writer Kenny Santana....

Jakarta Blast May Deter New Investors

John Burton August 7, 2003
Before this week's bombing of the Marriott Hotel in Jakarta, Indonesia's economy had been steadily recovering from the 1997 Asian financial crisis, and foreign investors have been arriving in droves. Singaporean companies in particular have been attracted to the country because of increased political stability and a lack of ties to the US economy. The Indonesian government has courted...

Thailand Seeks Taiwanese Investors

Joyce Huang August 6, 2003
Proud of its economic recovery from 1997's Asian financial crisis and an impressive growth rate, Thailand is trying to attract Taiwanese investors. Taiwan is already the third largest foreign investor in Thailand, following only Japan and the US, but the kingdom hopes to increase the island's foreign direct investment by as much as 15 to 20 percent in a variety of sectors, ranging from...

Warning to Megawati, message to U.S.

Derwin Pereira August 6, 2003
The terrorist group, Jemaah Islamiah, targeted the Jakarta branch of the American owned Marriot Hotel in their attack yesterday as a joint warning to the United States and Indonesia, says this article in Singapore's Straits Times. By targeting American interests on Indonesian soil, the group sent a powerful message to both countries that the network remained strong and that there would be...

German Companies Look to Iraq

Aaron Kirchfeld August 1, 2003
Germany's efforts to rebuild its once extensive trade relationship with Iraq face many obstacles, not the least of which is residual tensions with the US from the Iraq War. The US and Britain remain reluctant to contract with companies from countries that did not support the coalition. At the same time, the German companies that are receiving contracts remain reluctant to discuss their...