In brief - social and economic developments in Asia

Business Asia, August 30, 1999

* Singapore -- Deputy Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong says Singapore is considering whether to issue its first new life insurance licences in 13 years. Lee, chairman of financial industry regulator, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), said the closed-door policy had stifled development of domestic firms and put at risk Singapore's progress in becoming a world-class financial centre. Singapore, the biggest insurance market by premium volume in South East Asia, shut the doors on its life insurance market in 1986 to prevent unhealthy competition in its small market.

* Kuala Lumpur -- Asia faces an explosion in diabetes cases that will weigh heavily on the region's finances, especially in China and India, the president of the world's leading diabetes care company claims. Mads Ovlisen, chief executive officer of Danish bio-technology group Novo Nordisk, said the number of people with diabetes was expected to double by 2115 to between 215 million and 220 million -- mostly in China and India. That poses a major problem for regional governments while offering business opportunities for Novo Nordisk, he said. "If we don't get something done with this, these countries will have a huge problem -- a social problem in terms of cost, but also a personal problem in terms of people who will live with a disease that they cannot properly control," he said. Diabetes is a potentially fatal pituitary disorder that leads to excessive thirst and urination. Lack of the hormone insulin, produced in the pancreas, can prevent a diabetes sufferer's cells from absorbing sugar from the blood.

* New Delhi - India's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led coalition vowed to bolster defence funding as it urged voters to give a decisive mandate for its alliance in elections starting next month. The ruling alliance, riding a crest of patriotism after hundreds of infiltrators were pushed out of northern Kashmir under a combination of military and international pressure, pledged to end a neglect of the military if it was returned to power. "The security of the nation is our paramount duty. In fulfillment of this sacred duty we will ensure that the neglect of defence preparedness by the previous governments during the last decade shall be corrected," the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) said in its election manifesto. - Bloomberg

* Seoul - South Korea will raise taxes on inheritances and donations in an effort to minimise the wealth and power that founding families of industrial conglomerates can pass on to their children. "We will block the chaebol's management rights from being handed down from generation to generation through irregular inheritance and donation," the Finance and Economy Ministry said in a statement. The changes are among a series of tax revisions President Kim Due Jung promised as the government seeks to build political support from the middle class. - Bloomberg

* Mumbai - The Securities and Exchange Board of India, the country's stock market regulator, has eased rules to make it more attractive for software companies to list their shares on local exchanges. Software companies can now sell as little as 10 per cent of their shares to investors through an initial public offer. Previously, software companies were required to sell at least 25 per cent of their shares in an initial share sale. India wants to make it easier for software companies to list on Indian stock markets rather than the Nasdaq in the US. - Bloomberg

Nintendo Australia's national head office premises at Scoresby, Victoria, has recently started operations. Nintendo, one of Japan's most successful corporations, is recognised as one of the world's leading software-based entertainment companies with annual sales of more than A$7 billion. It is the first building to open at the new Scoresby Industry Park on Stud Road. Nintendo Australia's move from its previous offices at Mulgrave was necessitated by the company's astronomical growth.