Today was the inauguration ceremony replete with myriad ministers and mandarins from central and regional government. This initiative is supported at the highest levels in China with SOEs as shareholders, the support of the Beijing Gold Exchange and SAFE (State Administration of Foreign Exchange). PAGE are buying into the concept that leverage has its limits and that leasing must also be carefully monitored…The biggest bombshell however, is the offer of Rmb contracts for international investors, agreed by SAFE. The international part of the Exchange’s business is expected to be available by Q4…

This blogger strongly encourages readers to click on the hyperlinks noted above to read this insightful article in detail.

Issues related to business and capital movement in the jurisdictions which comprise the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN: Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, and Vietnam) have been of increasing interest to those who monitor international trade and geopolitics. Meanwhile, many in the business community would appear to be anticipating how the ramifications of further business in China will impact Greater Asia and the global economy. Hopefully, these developments will be beneficial for all concerned.

In news pertaining to American immigration, it recently came to this blogger’s attention that the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) is apparently trying to encourage further use of the T visa. To quote directly from the Daily Journal website, DailyJournal.net:

PHILADELPHIA — Federal immigration officials are working with authorities in Philadelphia and other cities around the U.S. to try to increase the use of a special visa to help victims of human trafficking, a visa that has been underutilized since its creation nearly a decade ago. At issue is the nonimmigrant “T visa,” which U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services officials say is an underutilized tool that can be used to help victims of human trafficking who have been brought into the country — using deception in many cases — and then used as sex slaves or forced into other types of involuntary servitude. There is a 5,000 yearly cap on the visa, which allows eligible victims and family members to stay in the country up to four years. But fewer than 5,000 have been approved in total since it was instated in 2002…

The administration of this web log asks that readers click upon the relevant hyperlinks above to read this article in detail.

Unfortunately, the scourge of human trafficking has yet to be fully eradicated in either an international or national context. Hopefully, USCIS can effect some change to this situation through astute use of the T visa noted above. Meanwhile, as noted previously on this blog, there are other agencies of the United States government taking proactive measures to decrease incidents of human trafficking. Hopefully these efforts results in tangible benefits for all people since the issue of human trafficking is something which effects everyone.

For information pertaining to legal services in Southeast Asia please see: Legal.

China alters foreign cargo law. China will ban foreign companies, organizations and individuals from irregular-scheduled cargo sea transportation from Jan 1 next year, the Ministry of Transport said in a statement on its Web site on Wednesday.

The administration of this blog encourages readers to click upon the relevant hyperlinks noted above to gain further insight and up to date business news pertaining to China as well as Taiwan.

This news could have implications not only for businesses headquartered in Taiwan, but also for businesses in the United States of America and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) as well. When countries change rules regarding cargo shipments there could be dramatic ramifications economically, financially, and geopolitically. Hopefully the news above will not have an adverse impact upon actors conducting trade at this time or in the future.

In somewhat related news it was noted that a there may be a Chinese Deputy Managing Director at the International Monetary Fund (IMF). To further enlighten this audience it may be prudent to quote directly from the official website of the China Post, ChinaPost.com.tw:

WASHINGTON — China is close to clinching a top-level post at the International Monetary Fund, IMF sources said on Wednesday after the Fund’s new chief pledged to give more power to emerging economies. They said Min Zhu, a Chinese national who was a special adviser to former IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn, was expected to fill a new deputy managing director post to be created by the Fund’s new chief, Christine Lagarde. “Min Zhu is expected to be named to deputy managing director,” an IMF board member told Reuters. The appointment, which would give China one of the top five management jobs at the Fund, would first need the approval of the 24-member IMF board of member countries…

This blogger asks readers to click upon the relevant hyperlinks noted above to learn more on this unfolding situation.

Matters pertaining to the IMF are generally considered newsworthy for the business community around the globe as policymakers at that institution can have an impact upon the international economy. Although it remains to be seen whether Min Zhu will ultimately be named to the aforementioned position these developments are certainly noteworthy. Frequent readers of this blog may have taken notice of the fact that in a previous posting on this blog the possibility of a non-Western Deputy Director was discussed even though at that time it was less certain where the prospective Deputy Director would hail from. Since the United States and virtually all of the ASEAN nations currently maintain some sort of trade relationship with China these developments may prove important from multiple perspectives.

For information related to conducting business in the USA please see: US Company Registration.

For information pertaining to legal services in Southeast Asia please see: Legal.

SHANGHAI May 5 (Reuters) – The IMF should consider including currencies of the BRICS countries and other emerging economies when it next reviews its Special Drawing Right (SDR) system by 2015, the head of China’s foreign exchange authority said in remarks published on Thursday.

Yi Gang, who is also a deputy governor of the People’s Bank of China (PBOC), called on the International Monetary Fund to kick off a research of a “shadow SDR” this year, the semi-official China Business News reported.

The administration of this blog strongly encourages readers to click upon the hyperlinks above to read this story in detail as doing so would likely add perspective on an insightful article.

Clearly issues related to the relationship of currencies of developing countries, rising economies, and those of developed countries are being considered of increasing importance to policymakers the world over. This is especially true in the context of East Asia while Southeast Asian nations seem to have different issues to ponder regarding currency.  As the constituent economies and jurisdictions comprising the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) continue to thrive economically, the question of a single currency seems to persistently manifest itself at the foreground of analysis pertaining to the long term outlook for the ASEAN region. To quote directly from the website of The Jakarta Post, TheJakartaPost.com:

Indonesia and its neighbors in the ASEAN region have been weighing the possibility of having a single currency such as the euro for years.

Some ASEAN representatives and economic ministers believed that the implementation of a single currency in ASEAN could take the economic community in the region to the next level, as it would enhance economic development in the area and forge stronger ties among ASEAN countries.

But currently, Europe’s crisis is a lesson to learn for Indonesia and ASEAN on the risks and to realize that the potential economic losses if the single currency policy fails is indeed massive.

The administration again encourages readers to click on the hyperlinks above to read this intriguing story in detail.

It would appear as though recent developments in Europe have been a cause of concern for those analyzing the issues associated with a single ASEAN currency, as they probably should be since the decision to implement a single currency for multiple jurisdictions is a serious undertaking that would likely require a great deal of logistical as well as financial investment. While exploring The Jakarta Post website this blogger also came upon an interesting letter posted on that site. To quote directly from the posting Letter: On ASEAN Currency at TheJakartaPost.com:

I hardly see a future for a single ASEAN currency. What is lacking in ASEAN is unity. ASEAN is mainly focused on an economic agenda while the European Union (EU) has adopted extensive and expensive integration programs not only on an economic scale but also on a social, cultural and demographic platform.

Again, readers are strongly encouraged to click upon the hyperlink above to read this letter in detail. Some could argue that one of the strengths of the ASEAN community in her current form arises from the fact that there is not a single currency since some could argue that it would be extremely difficult to integrate the, sometimes radically, different economies of the ASEAN region via currency unification. Therefore, this reasoning posits, the creation of a relatively unified market platform in combination with multiple currencies operates as a sort of “best of both worlds” scenario under the current prevailing circumstances. That stated, anything further than simple analysis of the current factual circumstances pertaining to this issue would arguably be an exercise in mere speculation.

It is this blogger’s personal opinion that the issues above are likely to be debated for some time to come while it is hoped that business in China, business in ASEAN, business in Thailand, and business in the United States of America will continue to show growth in coming years.

For related information please see: US Company Registration or Thailand Company Registration.