Latin America & Asia in focus

China Launches Venezuela’s Resource Monitoring Satellite

[Source] : Ooska News

BEIJING (Space Flight Now) — China launched Venezuela’s second satellite on Saturday, delivering the spacecraft into a 400-mile-high orbit to monitor the country’s territory, survey crops and natural resources, and aid Venezuela.

Click here to read the complete article

Wine: Chilean winemakers set sights on China

[Source] : The Financial Times

By Adam Thomson

It is a bright, spring morning in Chile’s Maipo Valley and at the sprawling vineyard of Cousiño Macul, one of Chile’s smaller wine producers, a tour guide asks visitors to guess what its newest export market is. “China,” he tells the astonished group.

Sales abroad have more than quadrupled since 2000, reaching a record 700m litres with a value of $1.7bn last year. Those figures have helped turn the country in to the world’s fifth-largest wine exporter.

Click here to read the complete article

Japan, Colombia to Launch Free Trade Talks

[Source] : The Journal of Commerce

Hisane Masaki, Special Correspondent | Sep 26, 2012 1:01PM GMT
The Journal of Commerce Online – News Story

Colombia’s FTA partners include the U.S. and Canada

Japan and Colombia have agreed to launch formal negotiations on a free trade agreement (FTA) aimed at eliminating import tariffs on most products traded between the two countries.

The agreement came when Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda and Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos met in New York on Tuesday, the Japanese government said on Wednesday.  The two leaders are in New York to attend the United Nations General Assembly.

Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) said that Japan and Colombia have yet to discuss a specific schedule for the FTA negotiations.

Click here to read the complete article

Bajaj Auto eyeing Brazil and ASEAN nations to expand its Kawasaki venture

[Source] : Cartrade.com

Banking on its successful tie-up with Japanese partner Kawasaki in Philippines, Bajaj Auto is looking ahead to introduce the business model in Brazil and other ASEAN countries. The regulating authorities of both the auto companies have approved the proposed venture in the third week of September 2012.

In Philippines, together Bajaj and Kawasaki kicked off their operations in 2004 and have grabbed a market share of 45 per cent till now. The Managing Director of Bajaj Auto, quoted, “Between the developed and developing markets, there are these smaller markets where our bikes are extremely relevant. We believe Bajaj and Kawasaki have reached a right (business) model in the Philippines.”

The model introduced in Philippines will be now showcased in Indonesia by mid 2013. Under this programme, Bajaj designs and develop motorcycles in the Indian Territory and then delivers them to Kawasaki, which further configures them according to the local regulations. The motorcycles are then introduced in the markets under the moniker of Kawasaki-Bajaj.

Click here to read the complete article

US Media: China Before “Hard Landing Of Epic Proportions”

A special thanks to Wandering China for sharing this video with me.

This report from New Tang Dynasty TV is worth checking out. That it is funded by the Falungong is one thing, but the are pretty good at teasing out China’s domestic problems by asking Chinese academics based in the US.

China and Japan buy up Western Assets

Two articles caught my attention yesterday from the WSJ’s Asia edition. If you’re a subscriber I highly suggest giving them a quick read. Whether it’s China – socialism with Chinese characteristics, or Japan – arguably one of the most “socialist” countries in the world within a capitalist system… They both saved for rainy days and outbound acquisitions of Western companies have grown in the past 1-2 years.

China Buys Up Spain’s Assets – WSJ

A debt-laden Spanish construction firm became the latest European company to unload assets onto eager Chinese buyers, as Europe’s debt woes force firms to look to China for cash.

State Grid Corp., China’s government controlled power-grid operator, said Tuesday it would buy high-voltage electricity transmission assets in Brazil from Spain’s Actividades de Construccion y Servicios SA for 1.86 billion reais ($938.2 million), including debt. The deal is State Grid’s second investment in Brazil and its fourth major investment overseas, and is the most recent in a string of deals in which a European company has looked to exit an investment amid financial troubles facing the region.

Click here to read the complete article from the WSJ’s website

Cash-Rich Japanese Firms Go on Global Buying Spree – WSJ

Flush with cash and bolstered by a strong currency, Japanese companies are in the midst of the biggest boom in overseas investment the country has ever seen.

On Tuesday, Japanese trading house Marubeni Corp. 8002.TO 0.00% said it agreed to buy U.S. grain handler Gavilon Group LLC in a deal that could be worth as much as $5.6 billion, including $2 billion in assumed debt. That would make the Gavilon purchase the biggest foreign acquisition for a Japanese company this year and the seventh-biggest globally, according to deal tracker Dealogic.

Click here to read the complete article from the WSJ’s website

Peru and NE Asia related headlines from the past 2 days

Humala finaliza gira en Asia y viene de vuelta a Perú de La Republica

Viaje lo llevó a Japón y Corea del Sur.

El presidente de la República, Ollanta Humala, concluyó hoy su gira oficial por el continente asiático y se encuentra viajando de retorno a Perú.

El jefe de Estado y su comitiva despegaron en el avión presidencial peruano hoy desde Yeosu (Corea del Sur), confirmó a la agencia, la delegación de Perú en la Expo 2012.

Allí, el mandatario inauguró a primera hora el pabellón peruano, que definió como “un espacio de reflexión y de respeto al mar y al agua en general” en sintonía con el tema central de la Expo, que es la conservación global de los océanos y los recursos marinos.

Durante los cinco días de su gira, la primera que realiza por Asia desde su nombramiento, Humala ha mantenido reuniones con el presidente surcoreano, Lee Myung-bak, y con el primer ministro nipón Yoshihiko Noda, en los que se ha reforzado la cooperación mutua en varias materias.

García Belaunde: “El futuro del Perú pasa por el Asia Pacífico” de El Comercio

El ex canciller sostuvo que apostar por mercados como Japón y Corea del Sur es clave ante la crisis económica europea

El futuro del Perú y del mundo pasa hoy por la zona Asia Pacífico, y el Gobierno hace bien en profundizar su presencia en esa importante área económica para buscar nuevos mercados y mayores inversiones, opinó hoy el excanciller José Antonio García Belaunde.

En un contexto de crisis internacional que afecta a la zona europea, sostuvo apostar por importantes mercados asiáticos como Japón y Corea del Sur es clave para asegurar la continuidad del crecimiento económico del país.

Perú y Corea pueden ser el puente que una Latinoamérica y Asia de Andina.com

Seúl, may. 11 (ANDINA). Perú y Corea del Sur pueden convertirse en el puente que una a Latinoamérica y Asia, mediante el establecimiento de rutas aerocomerciales de carga y de pasajeros entre Lima y Seúl, estimó hoy el presidente Ollanta Humala.

Señaló que promover esa ruta ha sido uno de los objetivos de su visita de Estado a Seúl.

“Dentro de mi preocupación, como gobierno, está promover, invitar y conversar con empresas coreanas para cubrir una línea comercial de transporte de pasajeros y de carga, que permita crear ese puente que debe haber entre Asia y Latinoamérica, a través de Perú y de Corea”, declaró a periodistas.

Ese sería un negocio rentable, añadió durante su exposición ante empresarios coreanos sobre el potencial de inversiones que existe en Perú.

Está previsto actualmente el ingreso de la aerolínea Korean Air a Perú, inicialmente por carga, y su eventual ampliación al transporte de pasajeros incrementará el flujo turístico al país andino, según la Cámara Nacional de Turismo (Canatur).

Peruvian President visits Asia for trade cooperation – CCTV

Click here to watch the video direct from CCTV English

ASEAN region works. Asian Nations to double crisis fund to $240 billion

ASEAN (The Association of Southeast Asian Nations) countries and their major trading partners China, Japan and South Korea agreed Thursday to double a regional financial crisis fund to $240 billion.
…

Incredible.

A region of the world full of small and large countries with unique and distinct cultures & systems of governance were able to come together as a “region,” and negotiate with economic & political powers such as China, Japan and South Korea… AND COME TO AN AGREEMENT. .

Part of this petition to is get people to realize the Americas (from Canada down to Argentina), should be more than capable of creating the foundations of acting together as a region, and spreading prosperity from our plentiful lands and resources.

Sign this petition, because you can’t leave a country like Cuba out of dialogue & exchange in the Americas for archaic reasons dating to the cold war. It’s not fair when we see success elsewhere in ASEAN between countries of very mixed backgrounds…

Click here to more about this development from CNBC

The 21st century’s most important trade network – The Asia-Pacific triangle

Having followed, written about and participated in the growth of China – Latin America’s exchange over the past 10 years, I must say it is refreshing to see the increasing awareness around the globe of the growth of Asia-Pacific cooperation.  Every week news media around the world publish news and analysis pertaining not only to China – Latin America, but increasingly about the geopolitical triangle of the greater Asia-Pacific region.

Aljazeera added to the wealth today by publishing the transcript of a interview they conducted with former Peruvian Ambassador to China, and current Ambassador to the US - Harold Forsyth.  In the interview Aljazeera reporter Eddie Walshe discusses with Ambassador Forsyth his perspective on the growing importance of Asia-Pacific cooperation and more particularly, how Peru fits into the Asia-Pacific triangle of the Greater Asia region (with a special emphasis on China), North America and South America.

As someone who personally believes the growth of trade and exchange between nations of the Asia Pacific and the Americas (North & South) will be the most important network of exchange this century, I highly recommend giving it a read.

Click here to access Peru’s place in the triangle of Asia-Pacific security, published by Aljazeera

What people around the world define as the Asia-Pacific region varies widely, for your author (me) I consider it to include all nations, cultures and territories on both sides of the Pacific Ocean.  This means “Oceania,” despite being a region in itself must naturally be included.  It also tends to include India, because although India is usually not considered a “Pacific” nation, it is a major geopolitical power in this equation.

Within the Asia-Pacific region there is however a level of exchange and interaction which is far more significant when looking at the greater region as a whole — and that, in my opinion is the triangular interaction of North East Asia (China, South Korea, Japan), North America, and South America.  Of course, one could argue discounting Russia, India, Australia and the nations of SE Asia and leaves many players out of the equation. I only do so because their links to the America’s are relatively small when compared with China, South Korea and Japan.

Why is this triangular network so important you ask?  Let’s quickly review some facts which come to mind pertaining to a few specific categories — Economic output & International Trade, Commodity production/ consumption (energy, metals and agriculture), and geopolitical security

• The Asia-Pacific region includes the world’s three largest economies — The United States, China (PRC), and Japan.
• These three economies make up a large portion of global economic output, commodity consumption/production, and trade.
• In terms of commodity consumption & production you find within this triangle (to name a few):
• Top 5 iron ore producers – Brazil, China, Australia, India and Russia
• Top 4 iron ore consumers – China, Russia, Japan and South Korea
• A few of the top energy producers, Russia (#1), the US, China, Venezuela and ever more significant levels of energy production coming from Brazil and Canada
• The top 5 oil consumers – United States, China, Japan, Russia, and India
• The Top 5 copper producers – Chile, Peru, the US, China, Australia
• 3/5 of the top copper consumers – China, India & the US
• Major sources of precious metal production (Gold & Silver) Russia, China, Australia, Peru, Chile & the US
• Major sources of precious metal demand – China, & the US
• Major centers of global food production – Russia, the US and South America as a whole
• Major centers of food consumption – China, India, & the US
• Finally, the Asia-Pacific region includes many of the 21st century’s most potentially volatile geopolitical security issues. To name a few:
• US-China relations
• NE Asia which includes everything from
• The balance of power between China, Japan, and Korea (and Russia) … and ultimately how the US factors into this region
• The Korean Peninsula and all the related issues from re-unification of North & South Korea to proliferation of arms by North Korea
• The South China Seas
• The quagmire of complex inter-country relations in SE Asia
• Taiwan
• ETC

James Baker III: China’s Rise No Threat

HOUSTON, March 24, 2011 — Former US Secretary of State James Baker III under President Ronald Reagan receives an award from the Asia Society and argues in his speech that American fear-mongering about China is “dangerously wrong” at Asia Society Texas Center’s 2011 Tiger Ball. (12 min., 24 sec.)

Also special thanks to http://wanderingchina.wordpress.com/ for first bringing this video to my attention.

China Doubles Korea Bond Holdings as Asia Switches From Dollar Reserves

Bloomberg Video:  Brookings’s Lieberthal Interview on China’s Economy

Kenneth Lieberthal, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institute, a Washington policy group, talks about the outlook for China’s economy and the mainland’s holdings of U.S. Treasuries. China cut its holdings of Treasury notes and bonds by the most ever, raising speculation the plunge in U.S. yields that sent two-year rates to a record low has made government securities too expensive for some investors. Lieberthal talks with Bloomberg’s Rishaad Salamat from Washington. (Source: Bloomberg)

Click here to watch the interview at Bloomberg.com