EIU Country Analysis

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [Business Wire] GE Capital Global Banking announced today that it has increased its ownership stake in BAC-Credomatic GECF Inc. (BAC-Credomatic), from ##.##% to ##%, as contemplated in the original agreements signed by the parties

FROM THE ECONOMIST INTELLIGENCE UNIT The following is an extract from our full Financial Services Report for this country Colombia#;s financial system is composed of credit institutions and non-credit institutions. Credit institutions include commercial banks, leasing companies, companias

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [Marketwatch] Retail stocks rose Friday after consumer spending saw its biggest increase since January and consumer sentiment also rose more than expected. Foot Locker Inc. shares rose after the athletic-shoe retailer named J.C. Penney Co

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [Right Vision News (Pakistan)] Citigroup suffered a fresh setback when Japan#;s financial regulator banned it from selling retail financial products for a month after finding the US group had failed to take sufficient measures to prevent

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [Daily Telegraph (UK)] RUSSIA has been forced into an embarrassing climbdown on resource nationalism, as the credit crunch has left it unable to invest in the development of its assets. In a surprise move, Russian prime minister

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [Times of India] In the seven years since privatisation, Delhi has added a measly ###-### MW power to its kitty - not a single unit of which has been by the discoms [distribution companies] who were supposed

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [Marketwatch] Vodafone Group may bid for T-Mobile U.K. in a deal that would create a new leader in the U.K. mobile-phone market and seal its long-expected consolidation, several media outlets reported Monday

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [South China Morning Post] Chinese car and vehicle component makers are expected to speed up acquiring global technologies as the quickest route to expanding their operating scale, market watchers say. "I think more activity will be seen

FROM THE ECONOMIST INTELLIGENCE UNIT A Prague court has cancelled the lawsuit of investment bank Nomura (Japan) against Ceskoslovenska Obchodni Banka (CSOB). Nomura launched the lawsuit in February #### demanding Kc##.#bn (US$#.##bn at current exchange rates) from

FROM THE ECONOMIST The search is on for the ideal book about the financial crisis. Chasing Alpha: How Reckless Growth and Unchecked Ambition Ruined the City#;s Golden Decade. By Philip Augar. The Bodley Head; ### pages; £##. Fool#;s

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [New York Times] Palm may be slow to beef up the digital offerings in its mobile application store, but one thing is for certain -- owners of its new Pre smartphone are hungry for applications. On Wednesday, the

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [BNamericas (English)] The efficiency and transparency with which Costa Rica#;s fledgling telecoms regulator Sutel granted the first six licenses to ISPs to compete against telecoms incumbent ICE sends out a very positive signal to potential investors

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [Mint] Drugmaker Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Ltd, after posting a net loss in the quarter ended ## March, is counting on drugs that are entering the last stage of global human trials to revive its fortunes and bolster investor

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [Associated Press] Homeless teenagers at a central Colorado shelter are feeling the effect of the U.S. government#;s economic stimulus package. It#;s the feeling of a dentist#;s drill. The ## runaway youths living at

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [Nikkei English News (Japan)] Panasonic Corp. (####) and Sanyo Electric Co. (####) said Monday that they will announce the timetable for Panasonic#;s tender offer for Sanyo Electric by the end of August, rather than by the

FROM THE ECONOMIST INTELLIGENCE UNIT The central bank has more room to ease interest rates. The Economist Intelligence Unit#;s latest forecast for Brazil sees a further easing of interest rates by the central bank. Domestic demand has been extremely

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [South China Morning Post] Heightened competition in Indonesia#;s mobile communications market, where a government spectrum auction is expected to increase the number of operators to ## this year, could overload the country#;s infrastructure and ruin

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [New York Times] A new method of attacking cancer cells, developed by researchers in Australia, has proved surprisingly effective in animal tests. The method is intended to sidestep two major drawbacks of standard chemotherapy: the treatment#;s

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [Nikkei English News (Japan)] If August looks like May, $## a barrel crude oil may have had its day in the sun. Gasoline demand - which accounts for half of U.S. consumption of petroleum products - is stalling

Industry Report Financial services Colombia June #### Economist Intelligence Unit ## Red Lion Square London WC#R #HQ United Kingdom Economist Intelligence Unit The Economist Intelligence Unit is a specialist publisher serving companies establishing and managing operations across national borders. For

FROM THE ECONOMIST INTELLIGENCE UNIT Having completed a series of major upstream oilfield developments, bringing capacity up to ##.#m barrels/day (b/d), Saudi Aramco is turning its attention to the refining sector. In a clear indication of confidence

FROM THE ECONOMIST INTELLIGENCE UNIT The following is an extract from our full Telecoms and Technology Report for this country Colombia has one of the best telecoms facilities in the Andean region, and has achieved high average IT capabilities in

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [ADP Spain News] Spain#;s retail sales at constant prices went down by #.#% year-on-year in May, data of the statistics office INE showed today. In calendar adjusted terms, the index lost #.#

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [Nikkei English News (Japan)] Nissan Motor Co. (####), which has fallen far behind Toyota Motor Corp. (####) and Honda Motor Co. (####) in hybrids, is aiming to leapfrog these rivals in the green segment by making an

FROM THE ECONOMIST INTELLIGENCE UNIT The following is an extract from our full Financial Services Report for this country Asset managers in Colombia include Sociedades Fiduciarias (trust companies), Fondos de Pensiones y Cesantias (AFPs, pension and severance funds), insurance companies

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [Independent Television News Limited (UK)] A deal to end a bitter dispute which sparked wildcat strikes across the country has been agreed after lengthy talks. The agreement thrashed out between union leaders and employers of contract staff

FROM THE ECONOMIST INTELLIGENCE UNIT President Cristina Fernandez#;s Peronist ruling party suffered a major defeat, losing its legislative majority, in the nationwide June ##th congressional elections. Argentineans have clearly voted against Ms Fernandez and her husband, Nestor Kirchner, the

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [Daily Telegraph (UK)] THE Government will lend Northern Rock billions more of taxpayer#;s money than previously disclosed under plans to restructure the nationalised mortgage lender. In documents to the European Commission, the Government also warned it

FROM THE ECONOMIST INTELLIGENCE UNIT The repercussions of a poor coffee harvest in Colombia are being felt by roasters and consumers alike. It is prized among discerning coffee drinkers for its intensely aromatic taste, but Colombian coffee has fallen out

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [ADP Ukraine News] A merger of Russian mobile operator VimpelCom (RTD:VIMP) and Ukrainian Kyivstar, could end the costly disputes between their owners, Norway#;s telecom major Telenor ASA (OSL:TEL) and Russian conglomerate Alfa Group, according

FROM THE ECONOMIST INTELLIGENCE UNIT The following is an extract from our full Telecoms and Technology Report for this country Internet use is growing rapidly, but remains low compared with other Latin American countries. The expansion of broadband is expected

FROM THE ECONOMIST INTELLIGENCE UNIT Chevron, a "supermajor" oil company based in San Francisco, California, said that its subsidiary, Saudi Arabian Chevron (SAC), has successfully carried out the final phase of its "steamflood" project at the Wafra oilfield, a heavy

FROM EUROPEAN VOICE Largest mobile-phone makers accept European Commission demand for common chargers. By Simon Taylor Ten of the world#;s biggest mobile phone today responded to pressure from the European Commission by announcing that they will bring out

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [AFP World News (English)] Indonesia is planning to ask all people arriving from swine flu-affected countries to wear face masks for at least three days, the health minister said Monday. The presence of the A(H#N#

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [MarketWatch Bullets] Microsoft Corp. MSFT plans to sell its digital advertising agency Razorfish and has appointed Morgan Stanley to find a buyer, the Financial Times reported Monday. The report named French marketing company Publicis Groupe SA FR

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [Associated Press] IBM Corp. won#;t be able to block its former mergers and acquisitions chief from working at rival Dell Inc. while a lawsuit against the executive works its way through the courts. A federal judge

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [Belapan via BBC Monitoring International Reports] The Russian government has confirmed its readiness to consider lending #bn dollars to Belarus for the construction of a nuclear power plant, Deputy Prime Minister Uladzimir Syamashka said at a joint

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [Nikkei English News (Japan)] Japan#;s retail sales fell #.#% in May from a year earlier, the government said Monday, highlighting the extent to which consumers are curbing expenses as bleak employment and income conditions persist

FROM THE ECONOMIST INTELLIGENCE UNIT Qatar advances as a Gulf financial hub by selling a stake to NYSE Euronext. NYSE Euronext#;s acquisition of a stake alongside the state in the Doha Securities Market, now the Qatar Exchange, fits the

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [Associated Press] Fiat won#;t improve its offer for Opel but remains interested in taking over the European unit of General Motors Corp., the Italian carmaker#;s CEO said Friday. Sergio Marchionne told reporters that a tentative

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [Asia Pulse Businesswire] Vietnam has slid from first to sixth position in the A.T. Kearneys #### Global Retail Development Index (GRDI), which ranks ## emerging markets in term of the investment attractiveness. Vietnam fell six places

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [Asia In Focus] Japanese drug company EISAI CO. (TSE:####) on Friday set up a U.K. location that will handle everything from R&D to production and sales. Costing ## billion yen (US$###.# million

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [ADP Nordic News] Swedish truck and bus maker Scania AB (STO:SCV B) said yesterday it has sold ## ethanol-powered articulated buses to local bus operator Busslink i Sverige AB for an undisclosed sum. Busslink works

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [New York Times] ABOUT three months ago, Gianfranco Lanci flew into San Francisco International Airport, got off the plane and made his way to the passport control stations. As he pulled out his documents, the passport agent

FROM THE ECONOMIST INTELLIGENCE UNIT The latest contraction reflected falls in both residential and non- residential activity. Residential construction work undertaken stood at a seven-year low in the first quarter and was ##% lower than in the third quarter

Industry Report Telecoms and technology Colombia June #### Economist Intelligence Unit ## Red Lion Square London WC#R #HQ United Kingdom Economist Intelligence Unit The Economist Intelligence Unit is a specialist publisher serving companies establishing and managing operations across national borders

FROM THE ECONOMIST INTELLIGENCE UNIT Colombia#;s president is lobbying US mayors to back a free-trade deal. Alvaro Uribe recently asked the mayors to encourage US legislators to ratify the trade agreement, and reminded them of the long-standing

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [Associated Press] After a ##-year wait, the world#;s only nuclear power plant kept dormant by the population finally started to produce energy on Thursday. The grey giant in Zwentendorf in Austria houses #,### solar

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [Nikkei English News (Japan)] Teikoku Piston Ring Co. (####) plans to expand a plant in China during the current year to meet growing demand there. Once the expansion is completed, the plant, located in Anhui Province, is

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [Hindu (English) (India)] Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Wednesday prodded the public sector banks (PSBs) to pare their lending rates further and provide cheaper credit to industry and consumers to spur economic growth. At his first

FROM THE ECONOMIST Depression may be linked to how willing someone is to give up his goals CLINICAL depression is a serious ailment, but almost everyone gets mildly depressed from time to time. Randolph Nesse, a psychologist and researcher in

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [Dpa English] The Amazon Kindle, the e-book device which has taken the United States by storm, will not be offered in Germany because of excessive wireless network fees, according to a news report Sunday. The launch

FROM THE ECONOMIST INTELLIGENCE UNIT Gross revenue from general insurance premiums rose by #.#% year on year to Lv###m (US$###.#m) in January-April ####, according to the non-bank financial supervision agency#;s data, up from #

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [Associated Press] Belgian insurer Fortis Holding said Friday that it would appeal a Dutch court order to pay EUR### million to a former financing unit now owned by the Dutch government. It said it was ordered to

FROM THE ECONOMIST After an abrupt about-face, an agency frets about its footprint IF ANYONE suggested the World Bank did not take global warming seriously, its bosses would bristle: only last October, they would point out, the institution issued

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [Gulf News (United Arab Emirates)] Oman last Friday reported a sharp increase in crude oil exports during the first four months of this year, reinforcing a trend in rising production after years of declining output. Exports of

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [Times of India] A billion smart cards for a billion population. It throws up a multi-billion dollar business opportunity for domestic technology players. The eco-system required to support the citizen ID card programme, proposed by

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [Business Recorder (Pakistan)] Taiwan is encouraging its food exporters to tap the Muslim world#;s huge market for halal food, but the response has been lukewarm so far as companies do not yet see a profit in

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [New Zealand Herald, The] Christchurch retailer Smiths City Group yesterday reported a ##.# per cent slide in annual profit and cut its final dividend to #c a share from #c last year. The profit after tax

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [ADP Germany News] Bayer Schering Pharma, part of German chemical and pharmaceutical group Bayer AG (ETR:BAY) has signed an exclusive license agreement with US healthcare company Celera Corporation (Nasdaq:CRA). The deal provides Bayer Schering Pharma

FROM THE ECONOMIST INTELLIGENCE UNIT According to the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand (REINZ), house sales in May were largely flat, with #,### homes sold. However, compared with March, when #,### homes were sold, sales were down

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [Daily Telegraph (UK)] Private equity firm Permira has approached Just Retirement with a bid valuing the specialist life insurer business at £###m. Just Retirement floated on the Aim market in #### at ###p. The shares closed yesterday

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [Associated Press] Japan#;s domestic motor vehicle production in May plunged ##.# percent from a year earlier to ###,### units, the sharpest fall for the month and the eighth straight monthly drop, an industry body

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [Associated Press] General Motors Corp. has agreed to take on responsibility for future product liability claims, removing what could have been a sizable roadblock on the automaker#;s path to a quick sale of its assets and

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [Associated Press] Wireless equipment firm Nokia Siemens Networks has received a EUR### million loan from the European Investment Bank to develop its network technologies, the company said Monday. The joint venture between Nokia Corp. and Siemens AG

FROM THE ECONOMIST After a long period of inactivity, China#;s equity market reopens. IT IS like a downpour after a drought. In #### and early ####, hundreds of Chinese companies worked feverishly with accountants and bankers to prepare for

FROM THE ECONOMIST INTELLIGENCE UNIT Food giant Nestle (Switzerland) is looking to increase local sales by ##% year on year to HRN#bn (US$###m) in ####. Nestle#;s sales in Ukraine last year rose by ##% year on year to

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [Associated Press] Shares of Daiwa Securities Group Inc., Japan#;s second-biggest securities company, plunged more than ## percent Monday after the company announced plans to raise about ### billion yen ($#.# billion) in a public

FROM THE ECONOMIST INTELLIGENCE UNIT The following is an extract from our full Financial Services Report for this country Cultural factors, low savings rates, lack of long-term financing, high costs of services, and other barriers to the entrance of

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [Slovak Spectator (Slovakia)] THE REGIONAL electricity distributor Vychodoslovenska Energetika (VSE) is considering construction of a solar power plant. The company is actively seeking options to erect or acquire power-generating sources. As the region of Medzibrozie enjoys

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [Nikkei English News (Japan)] The climate-change bill that cleared the U.S. House on Friday would double to $## billion a previously authorized loan program to help auto makers retool their factories to produce advanced-technology

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [Irish Independent (Ireland)] Anglo Irish Bank#;s plans to follow the country#;s two top banks in buying back some of its risky bonds at sharply reduced prices are on hold until after the European Commission approves

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [Asia In Focus] Cash-strapped Indian retailer SUBHIKSHA has said that almost all its lenders and shareholders are working together to revive the company and it is on its way to completing the ongoing corporate debt restructuring

FROM THE ECONOMIST INTELLIGENCE UNIT New investments and deregulation are needed if Greece is to improve its broadband standing. Judging by the shoddy state of its communications infrastructure, the home of Socrates, Plato and Aristotle has little regard for today

FROM THE ECONOMIST INTELLIGENCE UNIT The following is an extract from our full Financial Services Report for this country The Bolsa de Valores de Colombia (BVC, the Colombia Securities Exchange), is the country#;s sole securities exchange since July ####

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [Asia In Focus] South Korea#;s state debt-clearer KOREA ASSET MANAGEMENT CORP. (KAMCO), said Monday it will purchase ###.# billion won (US$###.# million) worth of troubled bank loans to help bolster their financial

FROM THE ECONOMIST New rules designed to make money funds safer do not go far enough. BRUCE BENT, a money-market-fund pioneer, liked to say the industry should aim to bore you into a sound night#;s sleep. That

FROM THE ECONOMIST INTELLIGENCE UNIT The following is an extract from our full Telecoms and Technology Report for this country PC penetration has been rising steadily in the ####s, but there was a significant increase in sales in the first

FROM THE ECONOMIST INTELLIGENCE UNIT The following is an extract from our full Energy Report for this country According to a UK-based energy firm, BP, at end-#### Vietnam#;s proven oil reserves stood at #.#bn barrels and

FROM THE ECONOMIST INTELLIGENCE UNIT The Senate has ratified an intergovernmental agreement signed on June ##th with the UAE to open an Islamic bank in September, pending the award of the permit. The bank will have branches in Almaty and

FROM THE ECONOMIST INTELLIGENCE UNIT Financial services report: Overview Cultural factors, low savings rates, lack of long-term financing, high costs of services, and other barriers to the entrance of customers will keep the size of Colombia#;s financial services

FROM THE ECONOMIST INTELLIGENCE UNIT The following is an extract from our full Telecoms and Technology Report for this country IT services and packaged software sales totalled a combined #.#% of GDP in #### and sales are expected to

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [Daily Telegraph (UK)] Gazprom Neft, the oil arm of Russian state-controlled group Gazprom, has increased its stake in Aim-listed Sibir Energy by the acquisition of a ##pc stake in Bennfield. Bennfield is the biggest shareholder

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [Daily Telegraph (UK)] THE British team behind the launch of a euro###m (£###m) investment fund for renewable energy has turned to Eastern Europe because of regulatory barriers to green energy projects in the UK. The new fund

FROM THE ECONOMIST INTELLIGENCE UNIT The following is an extract from our full Energy Report for this country In #### Vietnam had recoverable reserves of ###m tonnes of coal, all of which consisted of anthracite and bituminous. According to a

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [New York Times] UBS, the Swiss banking company, said Friday that it had raised $#.# billion to shore up its balance sheet as European regulators presented a mixed picture of the health of the banking sector

FROM THE ECONOMIST INTELLIGENCE UNIT General Motors (US) has temporarily suspended for at least three months all car production in Venezuela with the closure of an assembly plant in the central Carabobo state. GM is the country#;s largest automaker

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [Marketwatch] China plans to increase its strategic crude-oil reserves by ###% to ### million barrels over the next five years, according to a report Monday. As part of the plan, it will begin building a second

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [Oregonian (Portland, OR)] A state program that subsidizes green energy projects got trimmed Friday when lawmakers gave final approval to a bill that reduces tax credits for Oregon wind farms. Gov. Ted Kulongoski hasn#;t decided on

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [Economic Times (India)] JP Morgan, BNP Paribas, HSBC and Barclays are in talks with Bharti Airtel to fund part of the $# bn needed by the Indian telco to complete its $##-billion merger with MTN, Africa

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [Sun (Yuma, AZ)] Passage late Friday by the state House of legislation meant to entice renewable energy firms to locate or expand their operations in Arizona "is thrilling," said Yuma#;s leading economic developer. "This is fantastic

FROM THE ECONOMIST INTELLIGENCE UNIT The following is an extract from our full Financial Services Report for this country The Banco de la Republica (Banrep, the central bank) is the highest authority supervising monetary and exchange policy in Colombia. After

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [Vietnam News Agency] The non-life insurance industry in Vietnam is expected to rise at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of nearly ## percent between #### and ####, said the Research and Consultancy Outsourcing Services (RNCOS

FROM THE ECONOMIST INTELLIGENCE UNIT The following is an extract from our full Energy Report for this country Vietnam#;s power-generation, transmission and distribution sector is controlled by a state-owned firm, Electricity of Vietnam (EVN). Foreign and private

FROM THE ECONOMIST INTELLIGENCE UNIT Calls are mounting for Europe#;s pharma policy to be set according to medical, not commercial, needs. Are drug-makers simply companies, and companies important to the general European economy at that? Or are they

FROM THE ECONOMIST INTELLIGENCE UNIT Romania#;s telecoms regulator ANCOM is rethinking its allocation of WiMax licences. ANCOM may change the frequency band allocated to WiMax licences from #.#GHz to #.#GHz (the band width used by the government

FROM THE ECONOMIST INTELLIGENCE UNIT The following is an extract from our full Financial Services Report for this country The penetration of the Colombian insurance sector is shallow, with total premiums per head (in US-dollar terms) in #### of

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [Asia In Focus] Vietnam#;s exports to the US in the first fourth months of this year were valued at US$#.## billion, a year-on-year increase of three per cent, according to the US

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [Banking Newslink (UK)] DNB Nord, the JV between DnB NOR and Norddeutsche Landesbank is to end its joint operations in Denmark and Finland with the banks managing the customers gained in those two countries directly. DNB Nord

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [ABC Premium News (Australia)] The Government will step up pressure on pharmacies to be more transparent about their medicine purchases as it looks to rein in the cost of the sector#;s multi-billion dollar funding arrangement