Taiwan

http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/200903/24/P200903240266.htm

CE's speech at luncheon of Credit Suisse "Asian Investment Conference" (English only) (1) (with photos/video)
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Commentary by William Pesek

Oct. 3 (Bloomberg) -- Few questions confound economists more: What might tip China into the meltdown that so many have feared for so many years?

Possibilities include overheating, social instability, corruption, pollution, debt crises, war over Taiwan and a post- Olympics growth swoon. It's a perfectly rational expectation. No rapidly industrializing nation has ever avoided some kind of crisis, least of all upstarts in Asia.

I told you it was coming......

Taiwan's Fubon Financial will acquire 55 per cent of International Bank of Asia (IBA) from Bahrain-based Arab Banking Corp for $2.37 billion, marking the third local bank acquisition in just over a month.

Fubon, Taiwan's second-largest financial services company, will pay Arab Banking $3.68 per share - or 1.16 times book value.

Koo Po-shan's business is in full swing. The flat screen on the desk of the sales manager at ADI, a Taipei-based monitor company, displays graphs everybody loves to see: orders from Europe have risen strongly.

By Frank W Moore, IDDS Research Analyst
INTRODUCTION

In the past decade China's growing military capability hasattracted a great deal of attention, but details about the currentand likely near-future state of China's military power have beenin short supply. While it is true that China is modernizing itsforces and increasing defense spending, the prospective improvementsin overall military capability need to be set against the verylow-technology starting point of China's armed forces.