Tag: Asia

  • Russia’s East Compass and the shadow of Kim Jong-un

    Russia’s East Compass and the shadow of Kim Jong-un

    eastern economic forum

    On September 10-13, Russian Vladivostok hosted the Eastern Economic Forum -for the eighth time. This year, the international component of the EEF has come to the fore: Business in Southeast Asia is showing an active interest in any projects and is ready to participate not only in dialogue.

    Main focus: new economy, trade and logistics

    Politicians, businessmen and journalists from 50 countries came to Russky Island this week. According to the tradition, the Forum started on September,10 with the “Falcon Day,” during which the authorities announce the agenda of a global program for the conservation of gyrfalcon population.

    The next day was devoted to the main business program of the Eastern Economic Forum started. One of its key events was a series of sessions entitled “International cooperation in a changed world.” Here Russian business discussed the peculiarities and potential of building relations with colleagues from Southeast Asia. The dialogue between the countries has taken a very serious turn in the recent years: this year, China strengthened its position in Russian market for passenger cars, cell phones and televisions. In general, the volume of trade with China alone jumped by 40% in the first half of 2023. And the total investments of this country in Russia, according to the Ministry of Economic Development, as of May, amounted to $165 billion.

    Among the main goals of the Forum was to establish contacts with Eastern partners within specific projects, so the forum became a platform for a dialogue with China and Asian countries.

    Much attention was paid to increasing trade turnover with Asian countries and creating favorable conditions for this, including expanding logistics routes, modernizing existing corridors for the movement of goods and creating new ones.

    New old friends

    Some foreign and Russian sources reported on a possible visit to Russia by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, who was supposed to meet with V. Putin and discuss issues of cooperation in the military sphere. But the main purpose of his visit is negotiations with Vladimir Putin on arms supplies. In return, North Korea wants to receive modern technologies for the development of a nuclear submarine fleet.

    However, the visit of the North Korean leader was not confirmed.

  • Expats Love Turkey, Asia, and Switzerland – HSBC Survey

    Expats Love Turkey, Asia, and Switzerland – HSBC Survey

    tom BurroughesTom Burroughes
    Group Editor
    31 October 2013

    Half of the most popular destinations for expatriate citizens living abroad are in Asia when ranked for quality of life, ease of setting up and integrating with local society, according to an HSBC survey.

    Thailand ranks first, with China , Singapore , India and Taiwan making up third, sixth, seventh and eighth place respectively, according to the sixth HSBC Expat Explorer report covering 7,000 expats from almost 100 nations.

    The other five nations in this ranking are Bahrain , Cayman Islands, Australia , Spain and Brazil , the HSBC report showed.

    Other parts of the HSBC research shed light on where expats value the most desirable economies in which to work and the most attractive destinations in which to educate children – vital issues when making the big decision to move abroad. The data may be valuable for wealth managers seeking to calculate desirable places to establish booking centres for new business, for example.

    The survey revealed that expats across Asia were more likely to enjoy a better social life. More than a third (35 per cent) of expats based in the region say they agree they have a more active social life since relocating, compared with the global average of only 26 per cent, it said.

    Switzerland, China and Qatar , meanwhile, rank highly on the “expat economics” test, which ranks factors such as earning potential, disposable income and satisfactions with economic outlook. Expats in these destinations are more likely to notice an improvement in their financial status upon moving as well as being satisfied with the present state of the economy in their host country, the report said.

    Others on the top-ten for “expat economics” are Thailand , Cayman Islands, Indonesia , Germany , Oman , Singapore and Turkey .

    For expat parents, European destinations have been ranked as attractive locations to bring up children abroad. Four European countries rank within the top 10 places for the Expat Explorer Raising Children Abroad league table, including Germany (1st), France (3rd), Belgium (6th) and Spain (9th). Germany , France and Spain in particular, offer expat parents a desirable mix of cost-efficient and high quality childcare.

    The top three professions for expats are education, banking, insurance and financial services, construction, manufacturing and utilities.

  • Turkey and Russia Conclude Energy Deals

    Turkey and Russia Conclude Energy Deals

    a1Published: August 6, 2009

    ISTANBUL — Russia and Turkey concluded energy agreements on Thursday that will support Turkey’s drive to become a regional hub for fuel transshipments while helping Moscow maintain its monopoly on natural gas shipments from Asia to Europe.

    Turkey granted the Russian natural gas giant Gazprom use of its territorial waters in the Black Sea, under which the company wants to route its so-called South Stream pipeline to gas markets in Eastern and Southern Europe.

    In return, a Russian oil pipeline operator agreed to join a consortium to build a pipeline across the Anatolian Peninsula, from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean, and Gazprom affirmed a commitment to expand an existing Black Sea gas pipeline for possible transshipment across Turkey to Cyprus or Israel.

    Energy companies in both countries agreed to a joint venture to build conventional electric power plants, and the Interfax news agency in Russia reported that Prime MinisterVladimir V. Putin offered to reopen talks on Russian assistance to Turkey in building nuclear power reactors.

    The agreements were signed in Ankara, the Turkish capital, in meetings between Mr. Putin and his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Italy’s prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi, who has joined Mr. Putin on several energy projects, attended the ceremony. The Italian company Eni broke ground on the trans-Anatolian oil pipeline this year.

    While the offer of specific pipeline deals and nuclear cooperation represented a new tactic by Mr. Putin, the wider struggle for dominance of the Eurasian pipelines is a long-running chess match in which he has often excelled.

    As he has in the past, Mr. Putin traveled to Turkey with his basket of tempting strategic and economic benefits immediately after a similar mission by his opponents. A month ago, European governments signed an agreement in Turkey to support the Western-backed Nabucco pipeline, which would compete directly with the South Stream project.

    By skirting Russian territory, the Nabucco pipeline would undercut Moscow’s monopoly on European natural gas shipments and the pricing power and political clout that come with it. That may explain why Nabucco, which cannot go forward without Turkey’s support, has encountered a variety of obstacles thrown up by the Russian government, including efforts to deny it vital gas supplies in the East and a customer base in the West.

    Turkey and other countries in the path of Nabucco have been eager players in this geopolitical drama, entertaining offers from both sides. Turkish authorities have even tried, without much success, to leverage the pipeline negotiations to further Turkey’s bid to join the European Union, while keeping options with Russia open, too.

    “These countries are more than happy to sign agreements with both parties,” Ana Jelenkovic, an analyst at Eurasia Group, a political risk consultancy, said in a telephone interview from London. “There’s no political benefit to shutting out or ceasing energy relations with Russia.”

    Under the deal Mr. Putin obtained Thursday, Gazprom will be allowed to proceed with seismic and environmental tests in Turkey’s exclusive economic zone, necessary preliminary steps for laying the South Stream pipe, Prime Minister Erdogan said at a news conference.

    After the meeting, Mr. Putin said, “We agreed on every issue.”

    The trans-Anatolian oil pipeline also marginally improves Russia’s position in the region. The pipeline is one of two so-called Bosporus bypass systems circumventing the straits between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean, which are operating at capacity in tanker traffic.

    The preferred Western route is the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, which allows companies to ship Caspian Basin crude oil to the West without crossing Russian territory; the pipeline instead crosses the former Soviet republic of Georgia and avoids the crowded straits by cutting across Turkey to the Mediterranean.

    Russia prefers northbound pipelines out of the Caspian region that terminate at tanker terminals on the Black Sea. The success of this plan depends, in turn, on creating additional capacity in the Bosporus bypass routes. Russia is backing two such pipelines.

    Mr. Putin’s offer to move ahead with a Russian-built nuclear power plant in Turkey suggests a sweetening of the overall Russian offer on energy deals with Turkey, while both Western and Russian proposals are on the table.

    The nuclear aspect of the deal drew protests. About a dozen Greenpeace protesters were surrounded by at least 200 armored police officers in central Ankara on Thursday.

    Andrew E. Kramer contributed reporting from Moscow.

    The New York Times