Posts Tagged ‘Hong Kong’
Written by admin on 05 January 2012
Beijing/Hong Kong, Jan 5 (IANS) Outbound direct investment (ODI) for 2011-15 is expected to register double-digit annual growth to reach $560 billion, matching China’s foreign direct investment (FDI).
The government will accelerate promoting ‘overseas investment’ during the 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-15) period, the statement, posted on the website of the commerce ministry, said.
The scale of accumulative ODI from 2011 to 2015 will reach the level of the nation’s FDI, China Daily Thursday quoted the statement as saying.
‘The annual growth rate (from 2011 to 2015) for the nation’s ODI on average will remain around 17 percent, and the accumulative volume in the five years is expected to reach $560 billion, equivalent to that of China’s FDI during the same period,’ it said.
China will promote investment in the service sector, including finance, architecture, tourism, education and telecoms.
The FDI outlook is less promising. From 2011 to 2015, China’s annual FDI is expected to reach, on average, $120 billion, with improved quality and diversification, the statement said.
During 11 months of 2011, China’s FDI surged by 13 percent year-on-year to $103.8 billion, close to the level of 2010. The figure for the whole year is expected to range from $110 to $120 billion, experts predicted.
Tags: Beijing, China, Hong Kong
Posted in Asia | No Comments »
Written by admin on 16 December 2011
Helsinki, Dec 16 (IANS) Finland’s central bank governor warned Thursday Finland could slip back into recession next year.
The country’s economic situation deteriorated significantly due to the eurozone sovereign debt crisis, governor of the Bank of Finland Erkki Liikanen said in an interview with the Finnish Broadcasting Company.
The bank Thursday lowered its forecast for the country’s economic growth in 2012 to 0.4 percent from the earlier prediction of 2.6 percent. It also slashed its growth forecast for 2013 to 1.8 percent from 2.4 percent, reported Xinhua.
This latest forecast was based on the current situation and may have to be revised further downward if problems in the eurozone take a turn for the worse, said Liikanen, who is also a member of the governing council of the European Central Bank.
In that case, the country’s exports could drop by 6 percent and would send the Finnish national economy several percentage points into the red, he said.
The central bank urged the Finnish government to substantially cut public spending, as consumption and investments were expected to fall below previous estimates.
Tags: Helsinki, Hong Kong
Posted in Asia | No Comments »
Written by admin on 15 December 2011
Hong Kong, Dec 15 (IANS) Hong Kong drivers who leave their vehicle engine idling for over three minutes will be penalised, authorities said.
An ordinance on idling engines came into force in Hong Kong Thursday, said the city’s Environmental Protection Department.
The ordinance prohibits drivers from leaving their vehicle engines idling for more than three minutes in any 60-minute period. Drivers that do so will get a penalty notice and will be liable to a 320 HK dollars (about $40) fine, reported Xinhua.
The law will be enforced all year round on all roads, including private roads and car parks.
The ordinance aims at reducing the impact on environment that idling engines cause.
There are exemptions including instances during which a vehicle is stationary because of traffic conditions or because a passenger is boarding or alighting from the vehicle.
Tags: Hong Kong
Posted in Asia | No Comments »
Written by admin on 04 December 2011
Hong Kong, Dec 4 (IANS) World number two Rory McIlroy finally laid his hands on the UBS Hong Kong Open trophy Sunday, closing with a spectacular five-under-par 65 which included a dramatic closing birdie from the bunker for a two-stroke victory.
The 22-year-old from Northern Ireland started the final round three shots back on a sun-kissed day at the Hong Kong Golf Club but tied for the lead at the turn with two birdies before edging ahead of a packed leaderboard with further birdies on 12, 15 and 18.
Frenchman Gregory Havret, playing alongside McIlroy, settled for second place with also a 65 while Sweden’s Peter Hason took third place after a 70. Asia’s top finisher was Thailand’s Pariya Junhasavasdikul, who shared fourth position with last year’s champion Ian Poulter of England and Scotsman Richie Ramsay, four behind the winner.
It was also a memorable day for Juvic Pagunsan when he made history by becoming the first Filipino to win the Asian Tour’s Order of Merit crown with a 10th place finish which gave him an unassailable lead on the rankings with one event, the Thailand Golf Championship, remaining.
After two runner-up finishes and a sixth place in Hong Kong in the past three years, reigning U.S. Open champion McIlroy, finally achieved his dream of winning theHong Kong Open after an extraordinary final round charge to end the week on 12-under-par 268 and win $458,330.
When he spectacularly holed out from the greenside bunker at the demanding 18th hole, McIlroy broke into a frenzied celebration with his caddie JP Fitzgerald.
‘It does mean a lot. I wanted to win this tournament so badly since that play-off in 2008, but finally, to get this trophy in my hands, is very special. It meant a lot to go out there today, knowing that I had to play well to keep myself in The Race to Dubai, probably to keep myself in second place in the World Rankings. There was a lot to play for and to produce the sort of golf that I did today was very pleasing,’ said McIlroy, who kept his hopes alive in becoming Europe’s number one.
He strode up the 18th with a one-shot lead but found the greenside trap with his approach. But McIlroy hit an exquisite bunker shot out which found the bottom of the cup and the sent fans wild. ‘I just hit a perfect bunker shot, and once it landed on the green, it never looked anywhere else and I think you could see how much that meant to me. I think that is the most excited I have maybe ever been on a golf course. It was just incredible to see the ball drop and realise that I had finally won this tournament,’ said McIlroy.
A 12-hour sleep and a five kilometer run in the gym in the morning revitalized McIlroy after he had looked completely out of sort in the second and third rounds. With a spring back in his step, the supremely talented Northern Irishman came out fighting with a purpose.
Havret, who also finished second behind McIlroy at the U.S. Open, said an opening bogey proved costly although he fought back with four birdies and one eagle. ‘The only mistake is probably the first hole where I three-putted. Nothing of absolute beauty because I didn’t win. I had a chance going into the last one behind him but I obviously made a bad drive, and that was for me very hard to make par, but Rory did and managed to make an efficient shot. He seems to like this hole quite a lot, and, yeah, his shot (birdie) was absolutely amazing,’ said Havret.
Final scores
268 – Rory Mcllroy (NIR) 64-69-70-65.
270 – Gregory Havret(FRA) 70-69-66-65.
271 – Peter Hanson (SWE) 68-68-65-70.
272 – Richie Ramsay (SCO) 68-66-72-66, Ian Poulter (ENG) 71-68-67-66, Pariya Junhasawasdikul (THA) 70-65-67-70.
273 – Kiradech Aphibarnrat(THA) 68-69-70-66, Y.E. Yang (KOR) 68-69-65-71, Alvaro Quiros (ESP) 64-69-67-73.
274 – Juvic Pagunsan (PHI) 68-70-68-68.
275 – Miguel Angel Jimenez (ESP) 65-70-72-68, Jose Manuel Lara (ESP) 70-70-67-68, Robert-Jan Derksen (NED) 72-68-66-69, Marcu Fraser (AUS) 67-69-69-70.
Tags: Hong Kong
Posted in Asia | No Comments »
Written by admin on 30 November 2011
Hong Kong, Nov 30 (IANS) At least nine people were killed and more than 30 others injured Wednesday in a fire that lasted over seven hours in a Hong Kong market area.
The blaze started around 4.40 a.m. at stalls on Fa Yuen Street in Mong Kok area on the Kowloon Peninsula. The fire continued to rage well past noon even as it was tackled by 12 fire-fighting teams.
The injured include a one-year-old infant. Six people were in critical situation, Xinhua reported.
Mong Kok is one of the most densely populated areas in Hong Kong known to tourists for traditional markets and small shops.
The cause of the blaze was still unknown, but the possibility of arson could not be ruled out, said a police spokeswoman.
Huge economic losses were feared for shops at the site as they were stocking up for the upcoming holiday season.
Tags: Hong Kong
Posted in Asia | No Comments »
Written by admin on 30 November 2011
Hong Kong, Nov 30 (IANS) In the pursuit of lower maintenance costs of news gathering and infrastructure, media groups will eventually work with stringers and outsource news production to the public, the chief of Russia’s state news agency RIA Novosti said at a global meet here.
‘The quest for a wider audience and cost effectiveness will drive decentralisation and innovative delivery platforms for future media. The time of the big newsrooms is coming to an end,’ said RIA Novosti chief editor Svetlana Mironyuk at a conference of the Global Editor Network in Syangan, Hong Kong.
The network is a professional organisation uniting top media managers from all over the world.
Mironyuk offered as an example RIA Novosti’s YouReporter.Ru news portal, whose content is generated by non-professional contributors.
The agency also has a RAPINFO project, aimed at the teenage audience, in which news is presented by rap musicians.
These changes have resulted in a 16-fold growth of RIA Novosti’s audience over the past five years, Mironyuk said.
Going after the audience requires perpetual editorial changes, she said.
It needs regular professional training for reporters and editors and a rapid expansion into social networks. She also mentioned development of more advanced multimedia platforms in order to increase penetration among the audience.
Tags: Hong Kong
Posted in Asia | No Comments »
