India to erase insurance barriers

Business Asia, July 5, 1999

* New Delhi -- Indian Industry Minister Mr Sikander Bakht has pledged to push for India's insurance markets to be further opened, saying current proposals are too limited. Mr Bakht said a government proposal in March to allow foreigners and expatriate Indians to own up to 26 per cent of Indian insurance companies was "only a beginning". India's insurance industry, which is worth about US$8 billion, is currently controlled by two state monopolies. -- Bloomberg

* Beijing -- China has suspended the import of animals, meat and dairy products from Belgium, the Netherlands, France and Germany because of contamination by the cancer causing agent dioxin. An emergency circular, jointly released by departments for foreign trade, health, customs, environmental protection and quarantine, calls for the suspension of the import of livestock, poultry, fish, fodder, meat, eggs and dairy products from 'those countries. -- Asia Pulse

* Hong Kong -- Hong Kong people may be able to celebrate the new millennium a day early, with the government considering caving in to bank pressure to make December 31 a holiday. The Hong Kong Association of Banks said it needed the extra day to back up client records and make other preparations for possible computer crashes caused when computer dates flip to 2000 from 1999. The government has moved to reassure the public that their money will not disappear on the stroke of midnight. -- Bloomberg

* Tokyo -- KDD Corp and nine other Asian telecommunications companies are to construct a pan-Asian undersea fibre optic network. The consortium, which includes Japan Telecom, NTT Worldwide Network and Chinese and Australian carriers, signed an agreement last month. The group will also seek the participation of US and European companies. -- Asia Pulse

* Beijing -- China is slowing reform of state-owned enterprises to stem rising unemployment, the Financial Times has reported. Unemployment and job security are blamed for weak consumer demand, price wars and deflation. The government has recently ordered the closure of "ownership transfer centres" in which state enterprises were auctioned or sold through private agreements, the paper said. -- Bloomberg

* Jakarta -- The government has authorised Indonesian embassies in Japan, South Korea and Hong Kong to issue initial investment licences to attract foreign investors to Indonesia. A spokesman at the Investment Coordinating Agency (BKPM) said his office has cooperated with the Foreign Affairs Ministry and Indonesian representatives office to prepare a standard operation procedure for delegating the licensing authority. -- Asia Pulse

Rogaine sees heady growth

* Tokyo -- The manufacturer of the Japanese version of the Rogaine brand hair-loss treatment is experiencing far greater results than expected. Not for hair, but for sales. Taisho Pharmaceutical said it had sold 850,000 bottles of the treatment, known locally as Riup, since its launch early last month. The company said it would boost production by 50 per cent to meet demand, even though it already has three shifts working 24 hours a day, seven days a week, even on holidays. Riup is the first over-the-counter hair-loss treatment approved in Japan that contains minoxidil -- the active ingredient in Rogaine. -- Reuters