Asia This Day:Obama in Southeast Asia;Woodside Petroleum

President Barack Obama has arrived in Southeast Asia.He visited Myanmar today,Monday,the first sitting US president to do so.Later,he will attend the ASEAN summit in Phnom Penh,Cambodia.The President is expected to seek trade opportunities in the region;the ASEAN leaders will be discussing territorial disputes with China in the South China Sea,as well as human rights,at the summit.
The President went to Myanmar,formerly known as Burma,to encourage the country's transition to democracy from military dictatorship.He will also be the first sitting US president to visit Cambodia.
Australia's Woodside Petroleum is also working in Myanmar.CEO Peter J. Coleman said we see Mynamar as holding a lot of promise for the future.We expect to be drilling maybe sometime around 2014.
Woodside Petroleum is Australia's largest dedicated oil and gas firm.It is a world leader in liquified natural gas production.Mr.Coleman,who has a BEng and an MBA,had served 27 years with Exxon Mobil before assuming his current leadership role.
The IEA says world energy demand will increase by one third by 2035.
The MSCI Asia Pacific index rose 1.15% in early Monday trading,and Asian currencies were up on optimism the US will avoid going over the fiscal cliff.
Woodside Petroleum Ltd(ASX:WPL)

Asia This Day

Some Asian markets are closed today,Monday.Australia and New Zealand are observing Anzac Day,and Hong Kong is marking Easter Monday.Of those which are open,the Nikkei was up 0.48,while the Korean Kospi rose 0.30 and the Singapore MSCI futures were virtually flat,edging up 0.05.
Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard was working on the holiday,visiting Korea in search of a trade deal.She said the partnership between the two countries was full of promise and potential.She also toured the Demilitarized Zone between North and South Korea.
Tension flared on the border between Thailand and Cambodia.Ten soldiers have been killed since Friday in the territorial dispute,which started three years ago over ownership of several temples in the area.
A number of earnings reports will be issued this week.Big Chinese banks,tech companies,REITs,Panasonic,Canon and Honda are among those reporting in China and Japan.
The Hong Kong morning dawned clear at 79 degrees F.The humidity was 61% and winds were W at 4 mph.
Canon(CAJ),Honda Motor(HMC),Panasonic(PC),iShares FTSE Xinhua China 25 Index (FXI)