Monday, December 3, 2012

Asia This Day:Sharp Unloads Plants;Vietnam Worried About China

Japanese electronics titan Sharp is proceeding with restructuring plans.The company had said it was facing a material possibility of liquidation,with a record four year loss.Three of its TV factories were finally sold to Apple outsourcer FoxConn,the Sankei newspaper quoted sources as saying.
The assembly plants in China,Malaysia and Mexico went for approximately 667 million dollars.Sharp had sought approval for the sale from its banks on September 26.The company is also shedding 10,000 jobs as part of its survival strategy.
Vietnam's Deputy Foreign Minister Pham Quang Vinh said that economic force should not be applied to settle China's teritorial disputes with its Southeast Asian neighbours.There has been talk within ASEAN that,in accordance with international law,the normal process of commerce and economic relations would be better than using trade sanctions.
Vietnam plans to meet with other Southeast Asian nations to discuss how to resolve territorial disputes with China,which has threatened to intercept their ships in the South China Sea.
Asian markets were up in Monday morning trading,hitting a seven-month high on good manufacturing and service sector reports out of China,which suggest that the five-year plan growth rate of 7% will be exceeded.New factory orders continued to pick up.
India's manufacturing hit a five-month high,according to its Purchasing Managers Index.Oil prices were also up to a nearly two-year high on the Chinese data.China consumes 11% of the world's oil supply.
The MSCI Asia Pacific index rose 0.44%.


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