China will surpass US to become leading superpower - global survey finds it will or already has surpassed the US
People the world over tend to believe that China will surpass the US to become the world's leading superpower, China News Service said, citing a global survey.
Conducted by the Pew Research Center, the survey of 48,643 respondents older than 18 in 44 countries found that 49 percent agree that China will eventually replace or has replaced the US as the world's leading superpower, while 34 percent disagree.
This view is shared across all regions surveyed, especially among European countries. Across the seven European Union nations polled, 60 percent think China will or already has replaced the US.
In general, global views of China are positive. China's growing economy is considered a good thing by most countries, though China's increasing prosperity is considered a threat in some, one of which is the US.
China's image in the US has deteriorated, with 35 percent expressing a positive view, down from half in 2011, the report said.
Meanwhile, the rising power of China is generating anxiety among its neighbors. More than half of respondents in 11 Asian countries surveyed worry that territorial disputes will lead to conflict with China, including 93 percent of Filipinos, 85 percent of Japanese, 84 percent of Vietnamese and 83 percent of South Koreans.
Two-thirds of Americans and 62 percent of Chinese also say they are concerned.
Respondents in Japan, the Philippines and Vietnam see China as their top security threat, while the US is seen as the top security threat in three Asian nations: China, Pakistan and Malaysia.
Across the globe, young people tend to have more positive attitudes toward China than older respondents. In 23 countries, people aged 18 to 29 give China higher ratings than those 50 and older. In the UK, Mexico, the US and France, the gap between older and younger respondents is 20 percentage points.
Despite relatively smooth development of its relations
with the other four BRICS nations, China cannot afford to ignore or
underestimate corresponding challenges.
Photo taken on July 17, 2014 shows the debris at the crash site of a passenger plane near the village of Grabovo, Ukraine. A Malaysian flight crashed Thursday in eastern Ukraine near the Russian border, with all the 280 passengers and 15 crew members on board reportedly having been killed. (Xinhua/RIA Novosti)
MOSCOW, July 17 (Xinhua) -- A Malaysian flight crashed Thursday in
eastern Ukraine near the Russian border, with all the 283 passengers and
15 crew members on board reportedly having been killed.
A Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777, which was flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, started descending 50 kilometers before entering Russian airspace, and was subsequently found burning on the ground on Ukrainian territory," Interfax news agency quoted an aviation source as saying.
The plane disappeared from radar at an altitude of 10,000 meters and then crashed near the city of Shakhtarsk in Ukraine's Donetsk region, it said, citing Ukrainian law enforcement authorities.
An advisor to Ukrainian Interior Minister Anton Herashchenko wrote on his Facebook that "280 passengers and 15 crew members have been killed."
A Xinhua reporter was stopped by local militias some 5 km from the crash site, and was asked to wait for permission to move closer. Witnesses said they heard loud explosions and saw human remains and identity documents scattering around.
The Chinese Embassy authorities in Kiev maintained close contact with Ukrainian partners, and were verifying information on any potential Chinese casualties, an official told Xinhua.
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said the plane could have been shot down, but the Ukrainian Armed Forces had nothing to do with it. Prime Minister Arseny Yatsenyuk said the government has formed a special investigative commission for the incident.
The Ukrainian Prosecutor General's Office said law enforcement authorities could not access the crash site for investigation, as it is controlled by the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR).
Russian President Vladimir Putin Thursday informed U.S. President Barack Obama via telephone of the plane crash, and "had a detailed discussion on the acute crisis in Ukraine," the Kremlin press service said in a statement.
Putin said both of the conflicting sides have to cease fire immediately, and Russia had taken measures to resume consultations of the contact group "with participation of representatives of southeastern Ukraine."
The president has also offered his "deep condolences" to Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak over the deadly incident.
The cause of the crash was yet to be determined, but Kiev and eastern separatists have traded accusations over the responsibility. Kiev authorities said the militias shot down the plane with a Buk air defense system.
Meanwhile, Andrei Purgin, first deputy prime minister of the DPR, said they "simply do not have such air defense systems, our MANPADs have a firing range of only 3,000 to 4,000 meters," Interfax reported.
Purgin said they will give the plane's flight recorders to Moscow for testing.
"Of course, we most likely will give them to the Interstate Aviation Committee (IAC), to Moscow. High-level experts, who will be able to determine exactly the reason of the catastrophe, work there," he said.
The crash came on the same day the DPR separatists claimed they had shot down two Ukrainian warplanes, an An-26 transport jet and a SU-25 fighter, which Kiev laid the blame on Russia.
Malaysia Airlines said in a statement it had received notification from the Ukrainian air traffic control that it had lost contact with flight MH17 at 1415 GMT, some 30 km from the Tamak waypoint, approximately 50 km from the Russia-Ukraine border.
The Boeing 777 had left Amsterdam at 12:15 p.m. local time and was expected to arrive in Kuala Lumpur at 6:10 a.m. (2210 GMT) on Friday, the airline said.
Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said Friday on his twitter account that he was "shocked by reports that a Malaysian Airline plane crashed," adding that they have launched an immediate investigation.
Meanwhile, Malaysian Deputy Foreign Minister Hamzah Zainuddin said that his ministry was working closely with the Russian and Ukraine governments on the tragic incident.
"We are working closely with both governments to get information," he said, adding, "currently we have some of the information, only waiting to be verified." - Xinhua
PETALING JAYA: A Malaysia Airlines plane flying from Amsterdam to
Kuala Lumpur has crashed in the Ukraine-Russia border, and Ukraine’s
president said the jet may have been shot down.
Reports said the Boeing 777-200ER carrying 280 passengers and 15 crew
is believed to have been shot down near the village of Grabovo in the
rebellion-wracked region of Donetsk.
MAS said it lost contact with the aircraft at 1415GMT (10.15pm Malaysian time).
Flight MH17 left Amsterdam’s Schipol Airport at 12.15pm local time
(6.15pm, Malaysian time) and had been scheduled to arrive in Kuala
Lumpur at 6.10am today.
Interfax-Ukraine news agency quoting unnamed security sources said
teams from the emergency services were trying to reach the scene.
However, it has not been determined who is responsible for the act and
whether it was intentional or accidental.
Crash site: Smoke rising at the site where MH17 is said to have crashed in the donetsk region in ukraine.
The fate of the passengers and crew has yet to be verified, but
reports have quoted the Ukraine Interior Ministry as saying there were
no survivors.
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said in a statement in his
website that the Ukraine armed forces did not fire at any targets in the
sky.
The country’s Prime Minister Areseny Yatseniuk has ordered an investigation into what he said was an "airplane catastrophe".
However, Anton Gerashenko, an adviser to the Ukraine interior
minister, said on his Facebook page the plane was flying at an altitude
of 10,000m when it was hit by a missile fired from a Buk launcher. The
Buk missile system can fire missiles up to an altitude of 22,000m.
Rebel leaders have also denied involvement, telling Russian news
agencies that they were not responsible for shooting down the plane and
pledged to allow "international experts" access to the crash site.
The pro-Russian rebels, who are fighting central Kiev authorities, claimed the plane had been shot down by a Ukrainian jet.
"Witnesses saw the plane being attacked by a battle plane of the
Ukrainian forces," the government of the self-proclaimed Lugansk
People’s Republic said in a statement. "After that, the passenger plane
split into two in the air."
MAS said on its Twitter feed that it "has lost contact of MH17 from
Amsterdam. The last known position was over Ukrainian airspace. More
details to follow."
The region where the plane went down has seen severe fighting between
Ukrainian forces and pro-Russia separatist rebels in recent days.
On Wednesday evening, a Ukrainian fighter jet was shot down by an
air-to-air missile from a Russian plane, Ukrainian authorities said
yesterday.
Earlier this week, Ukraine said a military transport plane was shot down on Monday by a missile fired from Russian territory.
This is the second tragedy involving MAS in four months, when a
Beijing-bound airliner – also a Boeing 777-200ER – with 239 people on
board went missing an hour after it took off from Kuala Lumpur
International Airport on March 8. The search for Flight MH370 – in the
southern Indian Ocean – is still ongoing. - The Star/Asia News Network Related post: Malaysia's flight MH370 mistakes reflect Malaysia's stagnant politics ...
Chinese President Xi Jinping has delivered a keynote speech, mapping out the direction for cooperati...
New bank underscores BRICS unity
The BRICS New Development Bank was established Tuesday with an initial capital of $50 billion shared equally by the five BRICS countries. The Contingent Reserve Arrangement was also launched with an initial fund of $100 billion. The development bank's headquarters will be in Shanghai. Its first president will be from India, the first chair of the board of directors from Brazil and the first chair of the board of governors from Russia. The bank will have an African regional branch in South Africa.
The idea of a BRICS bank was first mooted by India. The five countries reached a consensus at last year's BRICS summit and the bank has been launched this year. The fast pace and its implications have created waves in the West. This landmark event shows that BRICS countries have turned from a forum to an entity and may signal a new beginning for global strategic trends.
The five emerging powers from four continents have formed a financial group. Prior to that, the world's financial power was held firmly by Americans and Europeans.
Without exception, Western opinions have all been centered on the deep-rooted discrepancies among the five BRICS nations. They didn't expect that the wishes and ability of the five countries to overcome these discrepancies were so strong.
Has the world's financial pattern changed? We cannot say this yet, but the old pattern in which the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund dominated the field will face competition from now on.
The BRICS bank not only forms a new financing channel, but also will display the democracy and equality that the old financial pattern lacks most.
Western opinions have tried to drive a wedge among BRICS countries and have speculated about China's hegemonic ambition to dominate the institution. The successful launch of the bank has dealt a heavy blow to them.
Western elites have expressed opinions on emerging countries with a biased mentality, which makes their views detached from reality.
That Shanghai is chosen to site the bank headquarters is good news. Shanghai is becoming a new geographic and financial center in the 21st century. It unites the development momentum of the whole of China and is a major international metropolis in the Western Pacific. It is bound to be an outstanding host city.
On the other hand, the opening of the BRICS bank will provide a new driving force for Shanghai.
China's reform and opening-up in the past 30 years have created huge potentials for this city, while the stage where it can display its strength is relatively small. The BRICS bank is a timely opportunity which will broaden the scope of Shanghai and boost its influence.
China is the most outstanding country among all the emerging powers. The launch of the BRICS bank with Shanghai as its headquarters is a testament to China's national strength, diplomatic capabilities and strategic position. The confidence of all the emerging countries will be boosted. The five nations used to be earthen BRICS, and with the development bank, they will truly become gold BRICS.
Source:Global Times Published: 2014-7-17
BRICS Agree on $50 Billion Bank With Something for Everyone;
Photographer: Nelson Almeida/AFP/Getty Images
Leaders of the five BRICS nations agreed on the structure of a $50 billion development bank by granting China its headquarters and India its first rotating presidency. Brazil, Russia and South Africa were also granted posts or units in the new bank.
The leaders also formalized the creation of a $100 billion currency exchange reserve, which member states can tap in case of balance of payment crises, according to a statement issued at a summit in Fortaleza, Brazil.
Both initiatives, which require legislative approval, are designed to provide an alternative to financing from the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank,
where BRICS countries have been seeking more say. The measures coincide
with a slowing of economic growth in the five countries to about 5.4
percent this year from 10.7 percent in 2007, according to economists
surveyed by Bloomberg.
“The BRICS are gaining political weight and demonstrating their role in the international arena,” Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff said after a signing ceremony.
Until
the eve of the summit, India and South Africa had vied with China to
host the headquarters of the bank, dubbed the New Development Bank. The
administration of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave in after it was reminded that his country’s previous administration had agreed to Shanghai as the bank’s headquarter, according to an Indian official, who requested not to be named because the talks were not public.
Shared Out
Russia’s
Finance Minister Anton Siluanov told reporters that the BRICS decided
in favor of Shanghai because the city offers better infrastructure,
opportunities to capture private funding, and is home to more investors
than the competitors.
Each member country got something out of
the deal. The first chairperson of the Board of Governors will be from
Russia, while the first chairperson of the Board of Directors will be
Brazilian. South Africa will establish an African regional center for
the bank, which may not get off the ground for another two years,
according to Carlos Cozendey, secretary for international affairs at
Brazil’s Finance Ministry.
Unlike the IMF and World Bank, which
are managed by Europeans and Americans, the BRICS bank “is quite
democratic,” Brazilian Finance Minister Guido Mantega told reporters.
Each
member country has the right to withdraw different amounts from the
joint currency reserves, according to a statement from Brazil’s central
bank. China can withdraw half the amount it earmarks or $20.5 billion.
Brazil, Russia, and India may withdraw the same amount they commit or
$18 billion, while South Africa can tap $10 billion, twice its
contribution.
“It’s a type of insurance policy, speculators
looking for weaker countries without backup, will run because those
countries will have sufficient solidity to face a currency problem,”
said Mantega.
Aiding Development
The BRICS have evolved from the original term coined in 2001 by then Goldman Sachs Group Inc. economist Jim O’Neill to describe the growing weight of the largest emerging markets in the global economy. In 2011, South Africa joined to give the BRICS a broader geographic representation.
Even
with slowing economic growth in BRICS countries, there are still plenty
of opportunities for business, and the newly-created development bank
will help those opportunities become reality, said Jorge Gerdau
Johannpeter, chairman of Brazilian steelmaker Gerdau SA.
“The bigger the financing possibilities, the bigger the chances of implementing projects,” Gerdau told reporters at the summit.
The
biggest winner among the BRICS and its newly created bank may be South
Africa, as it stands to gain financial expertise, investment and trade,
said Colin Coleman, the Johannesburg-based head of Goldman Sachs Group
Inc. in sub-Saharan Africa, who attended the BRICS Business Council meeting.
Greatest Benefit
“Arguably
we have the greatest amount to benefit because we’re partnering
diplomatically and otherwise with some of the world’s most important
emerging-market economies,” Coleman said in a phone interview.
While BRICS trade ministers in a joint communique yesterday said that member countries stood by the World Trade Organization’s
Bali agreement, Brazil’s Trade Minister Mauro Borges said he understood
India had certain concerns about its implementation and that the BRICS
countries didn’t intend to forge a common stance on the issue.
BRICS share of world exports rose to 16 percent in 2011, from 8 percent in 2001.
Russia
also proposed at the summit in the northeastern coastal city of
Fortaleza the creation of an Infrastructure Fund during the summit, Kirill Dmitriev,
chief executive officer of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, told
reporters today. The fund could start up as early as next year, he said
.- By Raymond Colitt, Unni Krishnan and Arnaldo Galvao Bloomberg
In tandem: Public Bank, Hong Leong Bank and Maybank are among banks which have confirmed that they have either adjusted or will be adjusting to the new rates.
A number of banks raise their base lending rates (BLR) and base financing rates (BFR) in tandem with Bank Negara’s announcement to raise the overnight policy rate (OPR) by 25 basis points (bps) from 3% to 3.25% effective yesterday, today and tomorrow.
As a result, the BLR and BFR has adjusted to 6.85% from 6.6% per annum previously.
The banks that have confirmed that the new rates effective from 16 July 2014 include Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank), Hong Leong Bank Bhd (HLBB), CIMB Group Holdings Bhd, Public Bank Bhd, Alliance Financial Group Bhd and OCBC Malaysia, HSBC Bank Malaysia; effective 17 July 2014 include Citibank, Standard Chartered Bank; effective 18 July 2014: UOB
It is understood that some banks may announce the interest rate revision on a different date, as they are still considering the quantum of the deposit rates, which will impact their earnings eventually.
Bank Simpanan Nasional senior vice-president and head of distribution Akhsan Zaini told StarBiz: “ We are still studying the impact of the rate hike on our bank before we announce the adjustment next week, tentatively.”
He also said the bank had yet to decide on how much it would adjust for its deposit rates
CIMB Research expects the rate hike to enhance banks’ earnings by 1% to 2%, as their net interest margins (NIM) widen.
Maybank Investment Bank Research, on the other hand, anticipates NIM growth to be short-lived due to price competition.
The research unit had said in an earlier report: “Our forecasts already assume a 50-bps rate hike in 2014, and as a result, we are looking at a marginal four-bps aggregate NIM improvement in 2015 versus a seven-bps contraction in 2014.”
Some banks have also announced the revision of their deposit rates, but the quantum varies from one lender to another as well as the deposit tenure.
Among others, Maybank’s deposit rates will be revised upwards by up to 15 bps.
HLBB and Hong Leong Islamic Bank Bhd (HLISB) will increase their fixed-deposit and Term Deposit-I rates by up to 25 bps.
Following the revision, HLBB and HLISB’s new deposit rates for one, six and 12 months would be 3.05%, 3.2% and 3.3%, respectively.
Hong Leong Banking Group’s managing director Tan Kong Khoon said the group would continue to work closely with its customers to address their financing and savings needs. Meanwhile, OCBC Bank (M) Bhd and OCBC Al-Amin Bank Bhd will be increasing their fixed-deposit and General Investment Account-i rates respectively by up to 20 bps, depending on tenures effective July 21.
In a statement, Maybank said: “The last revision in Maybank’s BLR and Maybank Islamic’s BFR was on May 11, 2011 when they were revised from 6.3% to 6.6% per annum.”
OCBC Bank’s mortgage lending rate, the alternative to using BLR for home loans, will also increase, to 5.7% compared with 5.45% previously.
JP Morgan Research noted that it was cautious on banks, as the combination of rate hikes and subsidy rationalisation would test the credit risk management of Malaysia’s consumer-led loan growth in the past five years.
It preferred liquid banks and upgraded HLBB and Maybank to “overweight” from “neutral”.
Tracking device: Asia Insight employee Steven Li conducting a survey near Bugis Junction. He is using a tablet which has mobile data collection software, allowing his employers to track his work patterns. - The Straits Times / Asia News Network
BIG bosses are watching. Firms are keeping a closer eye on their employees’ punctuality and efficiency – thanks, or no thanks, to technology.
Larger companies are investing in advanced software in mobile devices that can detect location – and record the time taken to complete tasks.
And smaller firms have found that run-of-the-mill but inexpensive instant messaging apps can also be used to monitor workers.
Employees of local property valuation firm GSK Global, for example, when out at meetings are told to send a picture of the venue to their departments’ WhatsApp group chat within 15 minutes of the designated time. Those who are consistently late will get their bonuses docked.
Bosses say they are not spying on their staff. Rather, they want to improve efficiency.
GSK Global boss Eric Tan said: “I want my staff to be punctual so they can be done with work earlier and go home by 8pm.”
Market research consultancy Asia Insight chief executive Pearly Tan agrees.
Her firm engaged local tech start-up Epsilon Mobile earlier this year to develop mobile data collection software that records the time employees take to interview people and complete surveys, among other things.
It costs “a few hundred thousand” but Tan said it was worth it. The software helps the company spot patterns in the way the surveyors work, and also intervenes to reduce errors and boost productivity.
Her firm plans to use the software, which is enabled with Global Positioning System (GPS), to detect its employees’ location.
Epsilon Mobile boss William Vo said besides market researchers, organisations such as voluntary welfare groups and chain restaurants had also shown interest in his data collection software.
Similarly, tech company FPT Asia Pacific provides a few fast-moving consumer goods firms with GPS-enabled data collection software to monitor roving sales staff.
While most surveillance technology now focuses on tracking location and time, firms may soon be able to use it to monitor their workers’ interactions with customers.
Local tech company FXMedia is in talks with some retailer groups to roll out a visitor analysis system in stores. The software detects the number of customers and consumers’ emotions using webcams.
However, bosses admit there are some drawbacks to using workplace surveillance technology; workers face extra stress and loss of privacy. — The Straits Times / Asia News Network
