EIU Country Analysis

FROM THE ECONOMIST INTELLIGENCE UNIT Overview Dr Reddy#;s Laboratories, a leading Indian pharmaceuticals concern, is one of the latest companies to benefit from big pharma#;s growing interest in generic drugs and emerging markets. The company takes its name

FROM THE ECONOMIST INTELLIGENCE UNIT Overview The Chemical, Industrial and Pharmaceutical Laboratories, which came to be known as Cipla, was founded in #### by Khwaja Abdul Hamied, a doctor of chemistry, and quickly became a leading player in the Indian

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [Nikkei English News (Japan)] Eisai Co. (####) is considering acquiring a maker of generic drugs as a way to strengthen its position in emerging economies, President Haruo Naito said in an interview with The Nikkei. Speaking Friday

FROM THE ECONOMIST INTELLIGENCE UNIT Porsche engineered a major coup when it acquired control of Volkswagen, but the situation is spiralling rapidly downhill. When tiny Porsche acquired a ##% stake in the sprawling Volkswagen Group in early ####, it was

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [Marketwatch] Elpida Memory Inc. will receive ## billion yen ($### million), the government said Tuesday, much of it as part of Japan#;s new recapitalization program for struggling non-financial companies. Japan#;s Ministry of Economy, Trade

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [Asia Pulse Businesswire] The South Korean government said Monday that it will offer tax breaks to buyers of three types of hybrid cars, including two Japanese models, as part of its plan to boost sales of energy

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [Nation (Thailand)] Development activity in the Bangkok retail real-estate market has gradually recovered after a quiet first quarter. While it remains questionable whether the Thai economy has bottomed out, continued development activity and a determination to

FROM THE ECONOMIST INTELLIGENCE UNIT Revised national accounts data published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show that the UK economy contracted by #.#% in the first quarter of #### (compared with the previous three-month period), the

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [Daily Telegraph (UK)] The Reuben Brothers are in exclusive talks to acquire Premium Bars & Restaurants, the operator of the Prohibition and Living Room chains, for around £##m. Talks could see the business undergo a pre-pack administration

FROM THE ECONOMIST INTELLIGENCE UNIT (Forecast closing date: June ##th ####) Colombia is the fourth-largest car producer in Latin America, behind Mexico, Brazil and Argentina, but is also a net importer. The automotive industry accounts for #% of GDP

FROM THE ECONOMIST INTELLIGENCE UNIT The following is an extract from our full Automotive Report for this country The market for passenger vehicles has traditionally been dominated by three locally-based companies that import completely knocked down (CKD) material for

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [AFP World News (English)] Oil prices rose above ## dollars on Tuesday after gaining in recent days from tensions in African crude producer Nigeria, analysts said. New York#;s main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in

FROM THE ECONOMIST INTELLIGENCE UNIT The following is an extract from our full Consumer Goods and Retail Report for this country Total consumer expenditure on food, beverages and tobacco was estimated to have been US$#.#bn in ####, which

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [Scotsman, The (Scotland)] Russian president Dmitry Medvedev went to the capital of Azerbaijan, Baku, along with the chief of Russia#;s state-run natural gas monopoly, Gazprom, to oversee the deal#;s signing. Gazprom chief Alexei Miller

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 The following is an extract from our full Consumer Goods and Retail Report for this country The value of total exports reached US$##.#bn in ####, boosted by soaring prices for Colombia#;s commodity

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [Toronto Star, The (Ontario, Canada)] Apple Inc. co-founder and CEO Steve Jobs is back at his office a few days a week after getting a new liver. Jobs, ##, will work from home on days he

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [Independent (UK)] The US private equity firm Blackstone has raised EUR#.#bn (£#.#bn) for a fund to invest in property throughout Europe, as it anticipates the sector#;s recovery. The Blackstone Real Estate Partners Europe III

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [JIJI (Japan)] Japan#;s retail sales in May fell #.# pct from a year before to ##,### billion yen, marking the ninth straight month of decline, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said Monday

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [Daily Telegraph (UK)] CANDOVER Investments shares jumped sharply after the private equity group said it had ended takeover talks with potential suitors and reassured investors that recent disposals and cost cutting meant crucial debt covenants would be

FROM THE ECONOMIST INTELLIGENCE UNIT The following is an extract from our full Financial Services Report for this country A number of investment banks offer asset-management services, and in recent years a growing number of investment funds have been

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [Vietnam News Briefs] The state-owned Vietnam Coal and Mining Industries Group (Vinacomin), on June ##, signed a contract with the Laotian government to produce coal in Luang Namtha province of neighboring Laos, the Vietnam News Agency

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [AllAfrica.com] An agreement to build a gas pipeline from Nigeria across the Sahara Desert to Algeria will be signed next week in Abuja, Algerian Energy and Mines Minister Chakib Khelil said on Monday. Vanguard gathered that

FROM THE ECONOMIST INTELLIGENCE UNIT The following is an extract from our full Financial Services Report for this country Bahrain is a centre for offshore banking, although since #### the offshore banks have been redefined as "wholesale banks" and can

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [Associated Press] Most U.S. states have child abuse laws allowing religious exemptions for parents who shun medicine for their sick children, but recent cases have raised the thorny legal issues for parents following less-recognized faiths

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [Independent Television News Limited (UK)] Crooked financier Bernard Madoff has been sentenced to ### years in prison for swindling investors out of billions of dollars. The ##-year-old American admitted masterminding a massive "Ponzi" pyramid scheme

FROM THE ECONOMIST Will the Obama administration#;s reforms of the financial system hurt retailers and manufacturers with lending arms? THE talk had become so fevered that on June ##nd Jeffrey Immelt, General Electric#;s embattled boss, sent out a

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [Nikkei English News (Japan)] General Motors Corp. (GMGMQ) announced it will end its ##-year manufacturing joint venture with Toyota Motor Corp. (TM) in Fremont, Calif., dealing the Japanese auto maker another blow as it struggles to

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [Daily Telegraph (UK)] INSURANCE group Pearl is to be listed in London later this year after the completion of a reverse takeover by Cayman Islands-based Liberty Acquisition Holdings. Liberty, a E-SDLQblank cheque" company set up

FROM THE ECONOMIST INTELLIGENCE UNIT The following is an extract from our full Consumer Goods and Retail Report for this country Trade is highly important to the local economy and essentially allows the country to exchange its wealth of hydrocarbon

FROM THE ECONOMIST A row with China points to fraying tempers DESPITE the periodic sighting of green shoots elsewhere in the economy, the landscape of global trade remains resolutely bare. The World Bank said on June ##nd that world-trade

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [Hong Kong Standard (China)] Beijing has warned mainland banks against using wealth management funds to directly invest in secondary markets of A shares, managed funds and pre-IPO companies, to avoid potential bubbles, mainland papers have reported

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [Associated Press] A pair of Tucson brothers aim to render police scanners obsolete. Parker and Marshall Minardo, owners of a software company called EdgeRift, created a $# iPhone application called Emergency Radio that gives users access to

Industry Report Automotive 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 DIALOG NEWSEDGE [Associated Press] Citing better-than-expected sales and traffic at dealerships, Ford Motor Co. said Monday it plans to increase third-quarter production by ##,### units - marking the automaker#;s second production hike in recent weeks

FROM THE ECONOMIST INTELLIGENCE UNIT Mexico#;s central bank cut its rates once more in June, to #.##%, to boost the flagging economy. Stocks were pushed higher after a sharp drop around mid-month, and the peso continues to

FROM THE ECONOMIST INTELLIGENCE UNIT The winning international oil consortiums in Iraq#;s debut oil licensing round are named this week, temporarily deflecting attention from the accelerating asset grab in the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) oil patch, though risks there

FROM THE ECONOMIST INTELLIGENCE UNIT The following is an extract from our full Financial Services Report for this country As in most of the Middle East, the insurance sector remains underdeveloped, but has been growing from a low base in

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [New York Times] Graciela Ocana, Argentina#;s health minister, resigned Monday amid a fast-spreading outbreak of swine flu that has killed ## people in the country, government officials said. Speculation had grown in recent weeks that

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [Scotland on Sunday] A CONSUMER watchdog has published a report accusing energy suppliers of overcharging customers an average of GBP ## a year by not fully passing on cuts in wholesale energy costs. However, energy companies say

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [Sunday Telegraph (UK)] HEDGE funds are raising a war chest to bankroll a battle against planned European red tape that they say will strangle their businesses and cost the UK economy billions of pounds a year. The

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [The East African/All Africa Global Media via COMTEX] [Editorial] Despite adopting the appropriate nationalistic posture about the future of Uganda#;s oil programme and the apparent satisfaction by donors with key aspects of the national oil

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [Associated Press] Japanese chip maker Elpida Memory Inc. said Tuesday it will receive ## billion yen ($### million) in government emergency aid, set up to help struggling companies ride out the global slump. Elpida, the only Japanese

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE (Daily Times Pakistan) India#;s main opposition party, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), on Monday asked the government not to succumb to pressure from the developed world and change its stand on agriculture subsidies ahead of trade

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [Taiwan Economic News] Taiwan#;s new-car sales in June are expected to see a clear rebound, immune to falling stock market and climbing unemployment in the month Statistics compiled by Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC

FROM THE ECONOMIST INTELLIGENCE UNIT While most operators will look forward to consolidation, competition watchdogs have reason to worry. Depending on your sympathies, the disappearance of one of the UK#;s five mobile-phone operators would either be a travesty

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [Nikkei English News (Japan)] Elpida Memory Inc. (####.TO) said Tuesday that it plans to raise about $#.## billion, or Y### billion, by hitting up the Japanese government, its Taiwanese chip-making partner and banks for

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [New York Times] The Supreme Court paved the way on Monday for states to enforce fair-lending laws and other consumer protection measures against the nation#;s biggest banks, striking down a rule that limited such powers

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [Nikkei English News (Japan)] General Motors Corp.#;s decision to dissolve a tie-up with Toyota Motor Corp. (####) over a California joint venture could force Japan#;s leading automaker to drastically revise its North American operations

FROM THE ECONOMIST INTELLIGENCE UNIT The following is an extract from our full Consumer Goods and Retail Report for this country The UAE imports most consumer goods, carrying out little domestic production. After strong growth in sales of consumer products

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [South China Morning Post] Lianhua will acquire a ##.# per cent stake in Hualian from Bailian for ###.# million yuan, while subsidiary Lianhua Supermarket Development will take the remaining #.# per cent for #

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [Asia Pulse Businesswire] Vietnam earned US$# billion from apparel exports in the first half of the year, #.# per cent down on the same period last year, the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association reported. The

FROM EUROPEAN VOICE Commission clears merger between two leading UK broadband providers. By Jim Brunsden The European Commission today approved the merger of two leading providers of broadband services in the UK. The Commission said the merger of Carphone Warehouse

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [Emirates] In a bid to boost liquidity in the banking sector and stimulate lending, a new law that extends a federal government guarantee to bonds issued by local banks is in the offing, according to UAE Central

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [Sunday Business Post (Ireland)] The ownership of Eircom looks set to change hands for the fifth time in ten years. An indicative offer from a consortium linked to Singapore Technologies Telemedia (STT) and with the backing of

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [Associated Press] A unit of drugmaker Johnson & Johnson says a federal jury has returned a $#.## billion verdict against Abbott Laboratories in a patent infringement suit over the companies#; rheumatoid arthritis drugs. Abbott#;s best-selling

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [Zacks.com] Medtronic, Inc. (MDT) recently announced two global clinical trials to study medical device interventions for stroke. These trials are: CRYSTAL AF (Study of Continuous Cardiac Monitoring to Assess Atrial Fibrillation After Cryptogenic Stroke) and SISTERS

FROM THE ECONOMIST INTELLIGENCE UNIT Financial services report: Overview Bahrain is the banking hub of the Gulf, with the region#;s highest concentration of financial institutions and a rapidly growing Islamic banking sector. The financial sector is a more important

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [South China Morning Post] HSBC Holdings chairman Stephen Green has defended the size of the group#;s global banking operation and further expansion plans against growing calls in Britain for "too big to fail" financial institutions to

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [Associated Press] Comcast Corp. will become the first major cable TV operator to roll out wireless broadband outside of Wi-Fi hotspots as it launches the service in Portland, Ore., on Tuesday, with at least three other

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [Irish Times (Ireland)] Record levels of compliance with the workplace smoking ban were much trumpeted last week, following the publication of the Office of Tobacco Control#;s (OTC) annual report for ####. However, not everyone is complying

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [Irish Times (Ireland)] Online retailer Amazon#;s Irish operations last year recorded a ## per cent increase in turnover to ## million, with its main company increasing its pretax profits by ## per cent. According to filings

A card-payment processor makes Brazil#;s largest-ever initial public offering. VisaNet, Brazil#;s largest card payment processor, has become the new star of Brazil#;s recovering capital markets. Shares of the Brazilian affiliate of the US-based credit

FROM THE ECONOMIST INTELLIGENCE UNIT (Forecast closing date: June #st ####) The UAE has a relatively small population, estimated at #.#m in ####, but a high GDP per capita, which was estimated to be US$##,### in ####

FROM THE ECONOMIST INTELLIGENCE UNIT Overview A newcomer among the top global automakers, Hyundai Motor Co. was established in #### as part of a leading diversified family-owned South Korean chaebol, or industrial conglomerate. It didn#;t begin exporting cars

FROM THE ECONOMIST INTELLIGENCE UNIT The following is an extract from our full Consumer Goods and Retail Report for this country The UAE market for consumer goods is highly developed and predominantly based around large shopping malls. The retail sector

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [Independent (UK)] The recession and slowdown has finally caught up with Asos after the online fashion retailer#;s meteoric sales growth nearly halved for the quarter to ## June. But the e-tailer still posted massive growth

FROM THE ECONOMIST INTELLIGENCE UNIT Turkey#;s GDP plummeted by ##.#% year on year in the first quarter of ####, more than double the #.#% contraction of the previous quarter and steeper than in any quarter during the

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [Gulf News (United Arab Emirates)] State-owned Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) has told customers in information released by the Emirates News Agency (WAM) that it will cut their allocations by ## per cent from August

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [South China Morning Post] China Mobile is offering free handsets to subscribers of its #G service in Beijing in its latest effort to fend off competition and retain users. Under the plan, its GoTone users in Beijing

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [Financial Express (India)] The government has backtracked from its earlier plan to export coal as stock of the mineral has dwindled following suspension of production in the lone operational Barapukuria coalmine for the last two weeks, officials

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [Associated Press] Music and books retailer HMV Group PLC said Tuesday that its full-year profit fell by half compared to a year ago, when the bottom line was fattened by the sale of operations in Japan

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [New Straits Time (Malaysia)] ABOUT ## per cent of the government#;s revenue is derived from Petronas. Which makes it imperative that we read between the lines every time Petronas presents its annual financial results. Strains are

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [Sunday Business Post (Ireland)] eBay#;s dispute with the founders of its Skype Internet phone division could delay a Skype initial public offering (IPO) and lower the amount raised. Skype, which lets users place calls online, told

FROM THE ECONOMIST INTELLIGENCE UNIT The following is an extract from our full Automotive Report for this country The market for auto parts in Colombia is currently estimated at around US$#bn. The locally-based auto parts industry houses local

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [ADP Spain News] Spanish pharmaceutical company Faes Farma (MCE:FAE) has reached an agreement for the sale of its antihistamine product Bilastine with Greek sector player Vianex, Faes said on Monday. Faes Farma and Italian pharmaceutical company

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [ABC Premium News (Australia)] Department store operator David Jones has substantially raised its profit estimates for this financial year. In a sign that stimulus payments have boosted retail spending, the department store chain raised its profit guidance

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [Asia Pulse Businesswire] Coca-Cola Co, the world#;s largest beverage maker, will focus on organic growth for its juice business in China and on its own juice brand, Minute Maid, a top executive said Wednesday. The

FROM THE ECONOMIST Protecting China#;s innocents from smut, violence and the Dalai Lama THE internet is full of stuff of which China#;s government disapproves. Yet there are ###m Chinese internet-users. Keeping the two apart has embroiled the

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [Marketwatch] Carlyle Group has raised $#.## billion for a new fund that will target investments in Asian companies, tapping demand from pension funds and financial institutions keen to gain exposure to growth in China and India

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [International Herald Tribune] Making trade more free could lead to a rise in carbon dioxide emissions as a result of greater economic activity. But more trade could also help to curtail climate change by increasing the availability

FROM THE ECONOMIST Better than billed, but British teeth are still causing trouble A DODGY accent and startling false teeth were all that was needed to turn Canadian actor Mike Myers into the British super-spy Austin Powers. In "The

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [Nikkei English News (Japan)] Toyota (TM) is talking with the U.K. government about manufacturing a hybrid vehicle, La Tribune reported, without citing sources. A decision is expected to be made as early as this summer on

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [Guardian (UK)] Complex financial instruments at the heart of the credit crunch will be subjected to tougher regulation under plans to be released by the Treasury next week. Despite increasingly outspoken criticism of the current regulatory framework

FROM THE ECONOMIST Magnetic microspheres could have a range of colourful applications A FEW years ago Yadong Yin was experimenting with tiny beads that changed colour when a magnetic field was applied to them. This was interesting but, as the

FROM THE ECONOMIST INTELLIGENCE UNIT The following is an extract from our full Automotive Report for this country Commercial vehicle sales grew quickly in ####-##, in line with booming economic growth (there is a close correlation between GDP and

FROM THE ECONOMIST INTELLIGENCE UNIT The following is an extract from our full Consumer Goods and Retail Report for this country Columbia has a well developed clothing and textiles industry, which accounts for around #% of GDP, with productions for

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [Associated Press] More than ### countries met Monday to consider whether to ban the sale of tobacco on the Internet as part of an effort to crack down on the multibillion dollar market in contraband cigarettes. As

FROM THE ECONOMIST Central counterparties may not be all they are cracked up to be. CENTRAL counterparties (CCPs) have been part of the financial plumbing in exchange-traded markets since at least ####, when the Board of Trade Clearing Corporation

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [The Fly on the Wall - Live News Feed] According to the Financial Times, Bank of America Merrill Lynch#;s (MER) is expanding its Asia-Pacific unit, and is bullish because sentiment surrounding the unit has "turned a

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [Economic Times (India)] HSBC has reported a net profit of Rs #,### crore from its Indian operations in FY##, an increase of #% from Rs #,### crore in the corresponding period last year. Although the

Industry Report Financial services Bahrain 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 DIALOG NEWSEDGE [Xinhua News Agency (China)] Brazil#;s Health Ministry announced on Monday that the country has registered a total of ### confirmed A/H#N# flu cases instead of the previously announced ###. The confusion was due to some

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [AFP World News (English)] French pharmaceutical group Sanofi-Aventis said on Tuesday it was restructuring its research and development facilities in France, closing four sites and transferring their activities to bigger centres. The group said it would

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [Associated Press] Shares in Vodafone Group PLC rose Monday after the Financial Times reported that the cell-phone giant is interested in buying T-Mobile UK, the British unit of Deutsche Telekom. Vodafone spokeswoman Libby Pritchard said

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [AllAfrica.com] THE East African Community (EAC) has approved $#.##m (sh##.#b) to support various projects and programmes for the financial year ####/##. "The upscaling of support to the EAC from $###,### during ####

FROM THE ECONOMIST INTELLIGENCE UNIT The following is an extract from our full Financial Services Report for this country Bahrain is the banking hub of the Gulf, with the region#;s highest concentration of financial institutions and a rapidly growing

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [AFP World News (English)] A ##-year-old Moroccan woman has died at a Madrid hospital, becoming Spain#;s first swine flu fatality, the Gregorio Maranon hospital announced Tuesday. The woman, who suffered from asthma, died at

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [Canadian Press DataFile] World oil demand is likely to grow by an average of #.# per cent annually over the ####-#### period, the International Energy Agency forecast Monday, revising its mid-term expectations downward amid

FROM DIALOG NEWSEDGE [JIJI (Japan)] Bank of Japan Governor Masaaki Shirakawa, in a speech at a recent international meeting, expressed concerns that excessive regulations on financial institutions could help destabilize the economy. At an annual meeting of the Bank for