Asia Business and Trade

The better website to find lots of Asia businesses and tradings information. We provide information on business, trade, export, import especially in Asia area. You will find some valued articles as well as business information, new and ongoing trade policy developments, information on national and international trade-related legislation, links to international, regional and national sources of trade policy information and more!

Asia Commodity Exchanges

When you think of commodities in Asia what do you think of? Do you think of the Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM) and its Gold contract? Or do you think of the Greasy Wool futures of the Sydney Futures Exchange? Perhaps you may even think of Oman Crude Oil of the Dubai Mercantile Exchange (DME). Have you ever heard of the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) of India or The Agricultural Futures Exchange of Thailand (AFET) or how about the DaLian Commodity Exchange (DCE) in China?

Perhaps you may think that Bursa Malaysia trades only its benchmark Kuala Lumpur Composite Index (KLCI) and the country's equity issues but it's the home of the Crude Palm Oil future (FCPO). Malaysia is the worlds largest exporter of palm oil accounting for around 50% of the world production. Palm oil is used in margarine and shortening fats among others. In addition the palm oil fruit, the source of palm oil, also produces palm kernel oil a non-edible oil used in cosmetics. For every 10 units of palm oil there is 1 unit of palm kernel oil.

India has a long history of futures commodity trading. During the American Civil war (1861-1864) the British where buying cotton or the "white gold" from India to feed the looms in Lancashire and Manchester when they could no longer buy from the Americans. As early as 1875 the Bombay Cotton Exchange was established only 5 years after the Chicago Board of Trade.

Today, the National Commodity & Derivatives Exchange (NCDEX), Multi Commodity Exchange of India (MCX) and the National Multi Commodity Exchange (NMCE) comprise the bulk of commodity exchanges in India. There are 73 products offered by India's largest commodity exchange, the MCX, alone. Spices such as Cardamom or Jeera, Metals including Aluminum (Aluminium for some), Lead and Nickel. Rice, Maize and Soybeans are just some of the grains also available for trading. It is an impressive basket of goods.

The second commodity exchange, the National Commodity & Derivatives Exchange offers an equally broad product range such as Guar Seeds and Mustard oil but trades many of the same products as the MCX. These exchanges will undoubtedly consolidate in time which will increase liquidity, lower costs and improve price discovery.

Apart from TOCOM there is the Tokyo Grain Exchange (TGE). The TGE was founded October 1952 and offers futures and cash settled futures in its agricultural products Azuki Bean, Coffee (Robusta and Arabica), Corn, Raw Silk, Soybeans, Soybean Meal and Raw and Refined Sugar. The exchange currently has 134 member firms which is 30% more than TOCOM with just 102.

Electronic trading to the TGE is available from the comforts of your own home too. When electronic trading went live at the exchange October 1 2007 GL Trade was ready with its new SLE (Server Link to Exchange) via Fimat (Now part of Newedge).

There is also the Central Japan Commodity Exchange (CCOM) trading 10 products Gasoline, Kerosene, Gas Oil, Eggs, Ferrous Scrap, RSS3,TSR20, the Rubber Index, Aluminum and Nickel. In September 2007 CCOM rolled out the upgrade of its electronic trading system called "Trinity-X" and has 37 members. It also signed an MOU with the Shanghai Futures Exchange late last year.

The Agricultural Futures Exchange of Thailand trades "White Rice 5%" (5% means that a maximum of 5% of the rice can be broken) and "Natural Rubber Ribbed Smoked Sheet No.3" or RSS No.3 (the number 3 is the middle grading of the quality on a scale from 1 to 5 with 1 being the best as stipulated by the international Rubber Quality and Packing Conference).

Thailand is also the number one producer of rubber in the world. Further still they produce "Tapioca Chip" and "Tapioca Starch Premium Grade". Tapioca is produced from the cassava plant and Thailand is the number 3 producer in the world behind Brazil and Nigeria.

In China there is the DaLian Commodity Exchange (DCE) as previously mentioned and there is also the Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange (ZCE) trading in cotton, sugar, hard winter wheat and strong gluten wheat, PTA (Pure Terephthalic Acid) and rapeseed oil. The DCE trades Corn, 2 types of Soybeans, Soybean Meal, Soybean Oil, LLDPE (Linear Low Density Polyethylene) and RDB Palm Oil (Refined, Bleached and Doedorised). The Corn futures rank in the top 3 commodity futures in the world by volume and the Soymeal futures in the top 20.

There is also the Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) primarily specializing in metals namely Aluminum, Copper, Gold, Zinc, Rubber and Fuel Oil. The gold future was launched only on January 9, 2008; a 1kg contract just like the one on TOCOM. All we need now is a standard Yen/Renminbi currency future contract and we are ready to arbitrage. Incidentally, MCX gold in India is a 1kg contract too. Vendors?

As the world grows richer and consumption grows with it commodities in Asia can only flourish. Nations and her farmers will seek to hedge their crops and extra-exchange arbitrage trading of similar commodities will increase as regulation matures and trade continues to open. Prescient regulators, brokers, risk managers and ISVs stand to benefit.

Visit http://www.AsiaEtrading.com the electronic trading resource for Asia. Are you Connected?

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Stephen_Edge

The Economic Ascendancy of China - China as a Major Player in World Economics

China has experienced unparalleled economic growth within the last two decades. This growth has undoubtedly earned China the position of a major economic power in Asia. China ranks slightly behind Japan in economic power and marginally behind the United States in purchasing power. In world rankings, China is the sixth largest merchandising nation in the world, the twelfth largest exporter of commercial services, and the largest beneficiary of foreign direct investments. China's ascendancy has been furthered by its entry into the World Trade Organization in late 2001. Although there is some argument that the actual growth of China's economic status is not as high as the Chinese government presents, however there is little doubt that China has officially entered the global stage as a major economic player.

Many experts are so impressed by the exponential growth of China's economy in recent years that they have referred to the nation as "the worlds manufacturing center". Surely, as China has become a major exporter of world goods, this description, although exaggerated, is largely descriptive of China's position in the world economy. However, this growth has been questioned by some experts and has worried other Asian nations. China's growth within the Asian market itself has increased steadily in the last two decades; a phenomenon largely unequaled by any other nation in the world.

With other nations within Asia, as well as with nations outside of the geographic area, China's exports have far exceeded their imports. This growth has excited the investment sector and resulted in the inflow of global capital into the nation's economy. Although China's exports are still a relatively small portion of the Southeast Asian totals, most experts insist that China will be the areas largest exporter of goods within the decade. Experts have also noted a steady trade surplus with western nations such as the United States and the European Union that are likely to sustain and encourage China's economic growth.

Part of this economic growth has been fueled by China's attraction as a tourist destination. The past two decades has seen a rise in the influx of tourists as well as the increase in both inbound and outbound business travel. Just like the rise in China's economic growth, its tourism market has also experienced significant increases. Currently, China has the world's fastest growing tourism market with over two million visitors each year in recent years. And as the nation continues to grow in a business sense, more and more individuals will be traveling into and out of the nation. There has been some concern that China's growth as an exporter of consumer goods may render other exporters somewhat impotent in the global consumer goods market.

However, some experts argue that this will not occur because the increasing globalization of the world consumer goods market is likely to render other nations equally competitive in the production and exportation of such goods as communication technologies and electronics and that the production chain that exists throughout nations, especially in the case of Southeast Asia, will only be enhanced by the growth of such nations as China and their ascendancy as a world economic player. However, experts also predict that, especially in the areas of clothing and textiles, China's growth may result in increased competition in the Southeast Asian market that may render competing markets unable to keep up. Although this will surely keep market prices low, it will also give China a distinct advantage over its Southeast Asian neighbors and have an undesired effect on the wages and profit margins of industries in those other nations.

There is also some concern over the amount of funds that are flowing into China as opposed to the investments that are entering other Southeast Asian nations. China has a decidedly larger share of foreign investment funds than its neighbors. Especially in Southeast Asia, the competition for foreign investors is intense with almost half of these funds now going to China and the rest of the nations of the area realizing an almost 50% reduction in foreign investment funds. Many experts note that the majority of China's growth has been a result of the opening of China's markets to foreign investors. Although doing business in China remains difficult in some sense, the opening of the economy has been a boon not only to investors, but, obviously to China as well. Before China's economic rise, Japan was the only nation in Southeast Asia to be recognized as a major world economic player and they were also the recipient of the majority of foreign investment funds.

However, as can be imagined, Japan has suffered financially as a result of China's growth in that as foreign investors recognize China's economic potential, the bulk of foreign investments funds have shifted away from Japan and into China. Additionally, Japan has had to decide whether to invest some of their own funds into China's economic market and growth. Although they have been reluctant to invest in China's growth in the past, there may now be a growing trend toward Japanese investments in China with the planned relocation of several Japanese businesses. Some experts predict that China's growth will benefit its neighbors as China begins to invest in other Southeast Asian nations. In fact, China herself has asserted that her economic growth should not make the surrounding nations nervous but should instead be a welcomed part of the entire area's growth as China promises to share the wealth.

Although some individuals see China's explosive growth as a recent event, it has actually been a long time coming. Since China opened its economic and physical borders to investors in the early 1990's, the nation has been the beneficiary of much of the world's investors who were searching for new markets in which to invest. However, some experts predict that the general political instability of the region may well be the downfall of China's economic growth as these experts wonder how long such growth can be sustained especially to the disadvantage of the rest of the area. These same experts predict that the only way for other Southeast Asian nations to compete will be to develop similarly effective trade policies as has China. However, these nations, bogged down by internal political problems and poor leadership may not be able to keep up. China's rise in recent decades from a poor country with a stagnant economy has been noted as a huge success story.

China has been one of the few nations to realize steady economic growth even during periods of economic depression. Some analysts insist that this growth has put China behind only the United States as a total world power and some even assert that the next few years may indeed see China overtake the United States as a major world power in every respect, not just economically. Certainly, China's rise as a world player in economics as well as politics has opened communications between China and the U.S. as well as with the rest of the world. China is now the United States' second largest trading source and many U.S. investors have flooded China with U.S. investment funds. However, as some analysts predict that China will overtake the U.S. as the world's largest economy within the next decade, other analysts argue that, even if China continues to realize sustained economic growth, it does not have the political structure to overtake the U.S. as a world superpower.

Rebecca J. Stigall is a full-time freelance writer, author, and editor with a background in psychology, education, and sales. She has written extensively in the areas of self-help, relationships, psychology, health, business, finance, real estate, fitness, academics, and much more! Rebecca is a highly sought after ghostwriter with clients worldwide, and offers her services through her website at http://www.forewordcommunications.com/

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Rebecca_Stigall

International Trade Park to Redefine Jaipur Real Estate

Jaipur real estate will soon have a new milestone in the form of an international trade park, World Trade Park (WTP), to its credit. The project boasts of an eco-friendly office property with water and energy conservation techniques, automatic sensors for power saving, centrally air conditioned, wireless LAN and IT friendly environment.

The foundation stone for the World Trade Park, a business-cum-shopping centre was laid in 2005. Established by RF Properties and Trading Pvt Ltd, the park spreads over an area of 20,000 sq. yard. It has offices, a convention centre, retail outlets, exhibition halls, a five-star hotel, and a two-screen multiplex, trade lobbies, an art gallery and a computer-controlled parking for 1,100 vehicles.

The trading park is perceived as a nucleus of world trade in South Asia. It will provide Global Business amenities under one roof, further crafting Jaipur as the international trade capital of the country.

Project update

Commercial property market in Jaipur is being redefined with landmark constructions like the World Trade Park. The WTP is surrounded by posh shopping malls like The City Pulse, Crystal Mall, Crystal Palms and the Crystal Court. Other mega projects that are about to come up in Jaipur include, Mahindra World City project in collaboration with RIICO, which will be a multi-product Special Economic Zone. A film-city project worth Rs 1,900-crore on 1,000 acres in Jamdoli is also on the cards.

In March 2007, the State government, proposed a Science City in Jaipur to be developed with the International Convention Centre. A "Mini India" theme park on 50 acres sharing space with a golf course and a cricket academy is also there in the foresight.

Amid a number of forthcoming huge commercial projects the real estate in Jaipur is resolved to continue its vigorous upward trend. "With WTP playing a perfect escort in a new age world of trade and industry, it would help put Jaipur on the world map", property experts of Jaipur comment.

For more details on Jaipur Real Estate, log on to magicbricks.com

George Gonigal provides you the best and latest information on Jaipur Real Estate Builders , if you want to Buy Apartments in Jaipur. he suggest you log on to magicbricks.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=George_Gonigal

Trading - Online Trading India

Trading : Online Trading India, Internet Trading, Net Trading, e-TradingAccording to the World Bank, India was already the fourth largest economy in 2001 in terms of Purchasing Power Parity. With a consistently high GDP, and a buoyant and dynamic economy, India continues to outpace other economies in the region. According to the IMF, India has accounted for around a fifth of Asian growth and a tenth of world growth over the past two years.

Indian companies are making their mark globally with remarkable progress being made in IT, ITES, Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology and a host of other sectors. There is reason enough to believe that these sectors will source the stock markets as a prospective avenue to source capital for expansion plans.

India has a vibrant domestic credit market with an active corporate and government bond market, interest rate and credit derivative markets. More importantly, the interest rates in India are determined by the market.

The Bombay Stock Exchange, founded in the 1870s, is the oldest stockexchange in Asia. With 6,000 companies listed from every imaginable industry, investors have a plethora of options to participate in India's growth. Most FII'S have started investing heavily in the Indian stock markets and with most industries giving healthy returns on investments, indications are that the markets will continue to perform above expectations.

With over 20 million investors, India boasts of the third highest investor base in the world, unthinkable till a few years ago.

Trading, Online Trading India, Internet Trading, Net Trading, e-Trading

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http://www.kotaksecurities.com/home/index.html Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Tanya_Lobo

Option Trading Software - 12 Valid Reasons To Go In For Option Trading Software

Even in earlier days, most people looked upon the trading business as a lucrative one. The scene is no different today. As a matter of fact, the business is attracting more and more people all the time! Along with "people" growth, there has also been "technological" growth. The result is sophisticated softwares that provide help to the trader/investor in realizing his/her dream of generating huge revenues. The latest one to join the bandwagon is option trading software!

Below is a detailed commentary on the trading world, and how it has ultimately led to the development of option trading software--

(1) Looking at the history of the trading business, it has brought about so many changes. The business has expanded globally, giving rise to international trading markets and exchanges. For example, the New York Stock Exchange and the London Stock Exchange. The capital turnover is quite massive. And people are rushing to invest in stocks and bonds, hoping to get a share of the profits!

(2) All courses on economics focus on trade now-a-days; it has become so much a part of our lives! Actually, regional and international trade have become sources of wealth for developed countries like the United States. Looking at their progress, other developing countries (especially those from Asia) are also jumping into the fray.

(3) What Asian countries do is, export the products that they manufacture to other countries. The payment is made in dollars. These dollars are in turn used to import foreign products. Thus, the performance of the export trade decides the economies of the respective countries.

(4) More lucrative is the foreign currency exchange market, otherwise known as Forex! The capital in circulation daily is around $1.5 trillion, making it the cynosure of all eyes! Of course, there is commodities trading too, and some people are very interested in venturing into that arena also.

(5) What does one have to do in "trading"? Be like a sales agent. The investor/trader purchases what he/she wants, and then tries to sell it at a greater price. With more and more successful trades, the profits keep growing! Sometimes, the revenue generated in a single day itself is quite large!

(6) There is a certain term that the investor/trader needs to be familiar with, when venturing into the trading world--that is, options trading. There are particular "options" that are selected and that work better than others in the market. It is to this end that the option trading software was developed later on.

(7) What exactly are "options"?

They are actually contracts that afford "buyer rights". The investor/trader is free to buy or sell any amount that he wants to, of a particular security, which could be stocks/commodities. The price for buying, and the price for selling are already determined beforehand (depending on market trends). The purchase/sale has to take place within specified time limits only. The investor/trader is not bound by any obligations.

(8) Contrast option trading with futures trading. The buyer who goes in for futures trading is under an obligation to pay the ordered security at the price asked for. Also, the pre-determined date has to be adhered to. In the same way, the seller is under an obligation to deliver the ordered security on the particular date specified and stick to the price asked for.

(9) In option trading, as mentioned before, the buyer is not obliged to do something that he/she does not want to do. If he/she feels that the security is not going to yield any profits, he/she can allow the option to lapse. What is lost in the process? Only the initial payment made.

(10) The person who chooses to take up options trading would be well advised to also go for option trading software so that risks are minimized. The software can be a guide to some amount of profit, if not 100% profits.

(11) The price may seem too high--$400. In fact, many may feel it is an unwanted luxury, well worth staying away from. But for a neophyte in the trading world, option trading software promises to be an extremely useful tool. It helps in making the right decisions.

(12) Finally, how is option trading software valuable to the trader/investor?

To illustrate with an example, there may be a "call" (for selling) option or a "put" (for buying) option that the investor/trader is dealing with. Despite knowing the market movements, if the buyer pays too much for a particular commodity, he/she stands to lose. The reverse is the case with an under priced commodity. The risks are therefore lessened by the option trading software.

Abhishek has an uncanny insight into Trading! Visit his website http://www.Trading-Masters.com and download his FREE Trading Report and learn some amazing Trading tips and tricks for FREE. His tips would save you thousands and make you better at Trading! But hurry, only limited Free copies available.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Abhishek_Agarwal

Online Stock Trading Comparison Future Forex Trading

Your first edition books are investments. Even wine, art, culture, your fence and you computer are investments. But the thing with regular every day investments is that you don't always see them as investments and it is pretty hard to monitor long term investments like your home. Plus unless you are planning to buy some extra house, you won't be able to make a living off your home.

So the time has come for you to diversify your investments? Perhaps you have been thinking this for while, or perhaps you are completely new at this, either way you need to sit down and figure out what you want to have and what you want to do to get what you want. There are plenty of options to get you started. You can of course stick to online trading. Online stock trading is just like any other trading expect it is done online. When trading online you will generally have a broker. But instead of meeting your broker in their office, you will meet them online. You still need to research your broker and find out about their credentials and references, but it generally easier to do so online.

Before you get involved in online trading you should probably conduct an online stock comparison. Which basically means that you compare things you are interested in. So you can compare the online brokers. You can compare online stocks that you are interested in and you can compare different markets you are interested in.

Another way to start is to start trading in futures. Basically the word futures means trading in commodities or currency at a particular date in the future. You need to be fairly confident of the direction your chosen stock or forex will move. More specifically it means trading these commodities at a time in the future that you have already determined. So it is unlike committing to a commodity for a long time, rather you know how long you will have it and why you have it. Some popular versions of this are the Dow Jones.

You can also start out by working your way up through trading on the forex. Forex trading simply means trading in money or currency. So for instance you might buy some American dollars when America is doing badly and sell them to buy some Yen when Asia is doing well. Forex trading is generally a good place to start because it is easy to budget and organize when you know what you are working with and most people already have some idea about world currency.

Find out more and start learning about how to make a living with online trading today on.

Get your Momentum Stock Trading System and sign up for my free weekly online trading system newsletter here at: http://www.stressfreetrading.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Mark_Crisp

The Best Time To Trade The Forex Market

The one thing that marks a forex market is its dynamic nature. Here fortunes change in seconds and minutes. If taken positively, this feature also allows a trader to enter the market many times in a single day and garner some profit for himself.

Timing is one thing that would actually determine your success in the forex market and that is why it is essential to find the best time to trade the forex market, the best time with regards to activity, volume of trade etc.

There are some salient features of forex market and until and unless these are understood one cannot find out the best time to trade the forex market.

Forex markets work 24 hours. It starts from Sunday 5 pm EST through Friday 4 pm EST and rollovers at 5 pm EST. Forex trading starts from New Zealand and then is followed by Australia, Asia, the Middle East, Europe and America. The most prominent forex market is undoubtedly the US and the UK. They account for more than half of the total market transactions.

If it comes to major forex markets, London, New York and Tokyo would win hands down. Around 75% of market activities in the New York markets are witnessed in the morning hours while the European markets are still open. And if you want to know when the forex trading is the heaviest, well look for the time when the major markets overlap.

One thing must be evident from this discussion. There is never a cease down in the forex market. When its day for you, its night for someone else. Markets close somewhere and simultaneously, markets open somewhere else. That is what offers traders this tremendous opportunity to make some serious money.

Forex market is characterized by high liquidity and high flexibility and as such traders get the freedom to make choices as per their wishes. They are not bound by the whims of the markets.

So, when you try to determine the best time to trade the forex market this information would prove very useful. Trades have almost always the same relative frequency and until the forex market remains open, the probability of finding a trade whenever you look is almost the same. This is all about volume of trade. It is determined by the number of markets that are open and the number of times each of these markets overlap with each other.

Keeping in mind the forex volume is extremely essential. It is generally seen that the volume of transactions remains high all through the day but when does it peak? The answer is when the Asian markets with Australia and New Zealand, the European markets and the US markets open simultaneously. This is the best time to trade the forex market.

Let's have a look of the timings of some of these markets.

New York Market : 8 am – 4 pm EST

London Market : 2 am - 12 noon EST

Great Britain Market : 3 am – 11 am EST

Tokyo Market : 8 pm – 4 am EST

Australian Market : 7 pm – 3 pm EST

Just have a look at the above schedule carefully. What do you see? Yes, there are two times when two of the major markets overlap during the trading hours-between 2 am and 4 am EST (Asian/Europe) and between 8 am to 12 pm EST (European/N. American). This is the time you have to target to make profits, the best time to trade the forex markets.

Paul Bryan is a successful and experienced Forex trader and also the webmaster for http://www.investawise.com, bringing you all the latest Forex news, reviews and advice.

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A New Eurasian Trade Zone, Essential Rail Links From China

As energy jitters continue to rattle the global economy, regional alliances are being solidified to ensure that China will remain a viable and growing economy as oil depletion becomes a permanent fixture of our daily lives. As cheap trans-oceanic shipping of non-essential goods goes the way of the dinosaurs, these new partnerships will help realign global trade, and as a result, regional diplomacy.

This process has already begun. Consider, for example, the story of a peace deal between North and South Korea, which recently appeared on the front page of the China Daily news paper. "Korean Pact Seeks to End War" blares a headline proclaiming that the two Koreas want a permanent peace regime that will allow regular freight railway service along tracks crossing the Demilitarized Zone between them.

Global shipping by air and sea, just-in-time ordering and an endless supply of factory orders have been the bread-and-butter of the modern Chinese economy. It is precisely those systems that will bring this economic juggernaut to its knees if measures are not taken to assure access to a trade zone stretching from Western Europe to Vladivostok in Russia, Mongolia in the north, India in the west and all the way to Singapore at the edge of S.E Asia.

If you take a close look around our world and map out what is manufactured in which nation, you will find heavy industry in China, factories for daily use products spread from Vietnam through China to S. Korea, high-tech goods in Japan and Taiwan, raw materials and resources in all parts of Asia, including gas and oil exports from the Middle East, central Asia and Russia. The Eurasia zone is already connected by pipe, rail networks and a telecommunications hub in India, but today's connections are by no means complete. With construction of a few sections of rail, however, there can be a spider web of steel rail linking it all, despite different rail track standards - some narrower gauge, some wider -creating logistical problems.

Currently, a large concentration of the world's energy resources, raw materials, factories, communication and production centers are in the Asia zone. Outsourcing factory production from the West has been a blessing for this region. Factories of every conceivable type are in China and the Information Technology revolution where an optic fiber world is now connected to India's cheap labor and English-speaking skills.

With the groundwork laid, let's take a trip along the new Silk Road, beginning with the rail links that will allow a newly aligned Eurasian trading bloc to emerge. In this zone, China will be the economic powerhouse.

Peace in Korea: The new China-brokered Korean peace initiative to end the Korean War will open rail links through North Korea to the sea port of Pusan, the closest jump off point to Japan. For comparison, sea delivery from Pusan is just half-a-day by sea, but three days from Shanghai. All production in the N.E. section of China will use this route. Japan is extremely vulnerable to shipping disruptions as most of what is consumed in daily life or manufactured using energy is delivered by ship to that nation.

The Vietnam Connection: Rail networks are extensive throughout the Mekong Region, but a small 250-kilometre section of rail will be needed from Ho Chi Minh City to link Phnom Penh, and within Cambodia an 80-kilometre line constructed from Sisophon to Aranyaprathet, Thailand. When these sections are complete, the links in Thailand will access the rest of S.E. Asia all the way to Singapore. Presently there is a great deal of outsourcing from China to Vietnamese factories that produce labour-intensive 100% handmade items. Again you can see the economic mutual benefit trump card being used to China's advantage to secure land passage.

Myanmar: The old capital Rangoon is no longer used as a governmental seat, but a new city called Naypyitaw has been constructed 400 kilometres to the north to take its place. The move north puts the new capital more or less in a line with rail connections out of Yunnan Province in China, and onto Aizawi in India's N.E state of Mizoram and a second line could easily be installed to link up at Imphal in the N.E. state of Manipur, accessing all of India. China is giving lip service to the UN censure of the Burmese regime over the slaughter of protesters, including monks. Don't expect them to push strongly for change in Burma until they know which side will triumph. Right now, China has just what it wants; Western sanctions on Burma leaving the country open for exploitation by Chinese business, with the possibility of new Chinese controlled transit routes to ocean ports along that coast, and rail links to India.

Foreign direct investment will continue to pour in as China's central location makes it the transit hub of the new Eurasian trade bloc for those businesses that want ready rail access to the Koreas, Japan, India and S.E. Asia. Gas and oil pipelines will follow the same model, but instead will be a conglomeration of Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan that will link to the far west Chinese province of Xinjiang. From now to 2010, the Chinese government plans to complete an additional 19,800 kilometres of new tracks and upgrade 15,000 kilometers of existing routes, most if it in the western provinces of Yunnan, Xinjiang and Sichuan. Additionally, a second natural gas pipeline from the Xinjiang region to Shanghai is now beginning construction and will be 4,200 kilometres in length.

Sea-borne cargo will become more regional, but with navies from other countries patrolling coastal waters, land delivery routes by rail are essential. This puts China in an advantageous position to have both land and sea links with Europe, Russia and the Middle-East, if their plans come to fruition.

Trade routes from Europe to China were established over a thousand years ago using camels and fortified positions against hostile threats to commerce. Along the modern Silk Road, transport locomotives will chug along burning coal or heavy-sulfur fuels. This will allow a realignment of trade in Eurasia as we pass into a post-peak oil reality that will re-define civilization.

David DuByne is from the United States and is presently living and teaching Business English in Chongqing, China. He and webmaster Marc Hastenteufel are translating http://www.daveseslbiofuel.com , an English teaching web site devoted to bio-fuel and oil depletion, for those studying English around the planet into Mandarin Chinese. Robert Rapier, an expert on cellulose ethanol, gas-to-liquids (GTL), and butanol production, also provides technical assistance for content throughout daveseslbiofuel in the renewables and conservation section.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=David_DuByne

Virtual Trading - Raking In The Cash From MMORPGs

Playing video games for a living is the fantasy of thousands of gamers across the wold, but in this internet age it is fantasy no longer. From the lowly Chinese workshop to high-tech offices of internet entrepreneurs, virtual money has become a hot commodity. Whilst some disregard it as a fad amongst the technorati, others recognize the potential of this very viable business model. Employing thousands of workers across Asia is necessary to satisfy the growing demand from Western gamers.

Real-Money Trading is rarely discussed by the international press and so it remains an unknown property to the majority of the world's population. Despite this the industry is well known in the communities of World of Warcraft, Final Fantasy XI (FFXI), EVE Online and EverQuest 2. The most notable occurrence is in the World of Warcraft where gamers compete through numerous dungeons, quests and scenarios in order to acquire piles of the game's currency. Some indulge in improving their character in the game, but others go further, employing the help of friends, family and other gamers to help them build huge fortunes in real life.

Legality of this practice is a tricky one, but it is clear that many gamers and executives alike disapprove. Purist gamers object that the practice of real-for-virtual exchange harms the economy of the game and violates the spirit of gameplay by introducing monetary influence. Some also accuse RMT companies of overloading games with workers, which serves to dilute the population of real gamers and negatively affect the game as a whole. Legally, real-money trading breaks no laws and has led to no convictions within the Western world, but pressure for government intervention grows each day.

Even though some take issue with the ethics or principles of the practices, virtual trading is here to stay. The bottom line for many is that there is money to be made, and the industry is continuing to grow. The orientation of this virtual marketplace continues to change, and will no doubt bring further surprises in future.

Formulated by http://www.MOGS.com - online retailer of FF11 Gil Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Bert_Mitchel

Understanding SPAN Margin Will Help You to Trade More With Less Money

Standardized Portfolio Analysis of Risk (SPAN) was developed in 1988 by the Chicago Mercantile Exchange to enhance the margin efficiency of futures and options on futures in the same portfolio. SPAN calculates the likely loss of each position with 16 scenarios of volatility and price change to determine margin across the total portfolio arriving at a one-day risk (or worst-case scenario) for a trader's account.

The key strength of SPAN is that it takes into account the entire portfolio and not just the last trade when establishing margin requirements. It has been widely adopted at many other exchanges including those in Asia.

First of all margin in the futures market is not the same as margin for buying stocks. Futures margin is a performance bond that earns interest in your account while stock margin is money you borrow from your broker to pay for a stock (you pay interest for the loan to your broker). When you buy options outright you really only have to put up the premium to carry the position and no further margin is required. SPAN margining really focuses on the option writing and permits different futures and options months to offset one another.

SPAN uses a standard option pricing model to determine how a contract will perform over the 16 previously mentioned scenarios. Option pricing models typically require five inputs:

* Price of the Underlying Instrument

* Risk-free Interest Rate

* Strike Price

* Time to Expiration

* Volatility

In the pricing model the strike price is known and the risk-free rate isn't important. SPAN then takes the last three inputs, time, volatility and price of the underlying and performs the following 16 scenarios to arrive at a loss or gain value over each option and future.

Scenario 1 Futures unchanged Up

Scenario 2 Futures unchanged Down

Scenario 3 Futures up 1/3 range Up

Scenario 4 Futures up 1/3 range Down

Scenario 5 Futures down 1/3 range Up

Scenario 6 Futures down 1/3 range Down

Scenario 7 Futures up 2/3 range Up

Scenario 8 Futures up 2/3 range Down

Scenario 9 Futures down 2/3 range Up

Scenario 10 Futures down 2/3 range Down

Scenario 11 Futures up 3/3 range Up

Scenario 12 Futures up 3/3 range Down

Scenario 13 Futures down 3/3 range Up

Scenario 14 Futures down 3/3 range Down

Scenario 15 Futures up extreme move Unchanged

Scenario 16 Futures down extreme move Unchanged

Volatility is decided by the Exchange and the price range covers the maintenance margin also set by the Exchange.

Let's take a look at how SPAN handles calls and puts in writing strategies. Let's suppose you enter into a put credit spread on the Japan Government Bond future (JGB) with a delta of 0.10. The SPAN system will arrive at an initial margin requirement of say 20,000 Yen. Remember that SPAN assesses the total portfolio risk so if you add a call credit spread with an offsetting delta of -0.10 SPAN no further margin will be required. Without SPAN you would be required to post a margin for each position. As you can see this allows you to use less money to carry more positions and generate commissions for your broker.

Another consideration of SPAN are deep out-of-the-money (OTM) options which could be more risky to the portfolio than the scanning range covers. SPAN arrives at a Short Option Minimum to mitigate this risk. Each contract is assigned a Short Option Minimum Charge by the Exchange. All short options, are totaled and multiplied by the appropriate short option charge resulting in the Short Option Minimum. The Short Option Minimum isn't directly added to the portfolio risk but represents an absolute minimum or floor margin for the portfolio. The greater of the Short Option Minimum or the margin calculated under SPAN becomes the portfolio's margin.

SPAN treats all contracts months the same so a December future will have the same margin requirement as a June future. Unfortunately, contracts don't necessarily move by the same amount. SPAN adds Intermonth Spread Charge to account for this. SPAN also allows option contracts to be included in the Intermonth Spread Charge by creating a futures equivalent position from the options delta. Thus a more accurate Intermonth Spread Charge is realized.

Finally, SPAN also allows for increased margin for contracts in their last month before delivery. As contracts are more likely to be exercised more money will be required.

If you trade options understanding SPAN really isn't that difficult and is rather intuitive.

Visit http://www.AsiaEtrading.com the electronic trading resource for Asia. Are you Connected? Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Stephen_Edge

My Favorite Ways to Invest in Asia

Meanwhile, Asian economies show no sign of slowing down. And that’s why I advocate paying attention both to the companies that are based there and the American companies that are doing business there ... the right way. More on that in a moment.

First, I want to tell you about ...

Three Asian Industries That
Look Absolutely Unstoppable!

As an investor, you get to put your money to work in practically any kind of business imaginable. So, here’s an important question: What kind of businesses in Asia look poised to grow? My answers ...

Construction: You need look no further than China to understand why this industry has such great prospects. The country is throwing up giant skyscrapers ... paving new roads ... and building new power plants.

Maybe you think it’s too late to get in? Well, if anything, I think activity will pick up — not slow down — as the 2008 Olympics approach. We still have another year or two left in this cycle, and that’s plenty of time for some of these stocks to double.

Cargo and Containers: One trip to Wal-Mart will prove that China has become the world’s manufacturing center. Today, just about everything on store shelves was made in China (or some other Asian country).

But it’s hard to consistently figure out who will make the next hot product. That’s why I like companies involved in transporting goods from factory floors to store shelves.

Investors have tons of choices here. They can buy shares of companies that run China’s toll roads. They can put their money into railroad companies. And they can also consider port operators, since almost every item eventually boards a ship.

Of course, I do like some manufacturers and retailers. Particularly the ones that cater to ...

Chuppies: Asia is all about consumption. Every time I visit, I’m bowled over by the sheer volume of shopping going on. I’m not talking about people buying crappy t-shirts, either.

Instead, Chinese yuppies (I call them “Chuppies”) are greedily snapping up cell phones ... staying at lavish hotels ... gambling at casinos ... and sporting expensive jewelry.

At this point, you might be thinking that U.S. companies should be making a killing off of this new market. Well, some are. But others are coming up short. Here’s why ...

Some American Companies Just
Don’t Get Asian Markets

Take restaurants — like their U.S. counterparts, Asians love dining out. However, many U.S. restaurants have found it difficult to operate in places like China.

One major problem is adapting a menu to the very localized Asian taste buds. Heck, you won’t find pigeon, duck tongue, or dog on a Burger King menu in the U.S., will you?

It’s also hard to adapt to a completely different culture in other ways. Advertisements that would be harmless in America can tick off the entire population of another country. For example, Nike ran a TV spot that showed NBA superstar LeBron James playing and defeating a computer-generated Kung-Fu master. People were so insulted that the Chinese government banned the ad.

And I haven’t even gotten to the business environment, which can be downright cut-throat! Look at what happened to Best Buy when it tried to open its first Chinese store:

The company was going to take over a prime Beijing commercial space that was vacated by Ikea ... until Gome, a Chinese retailer, heard about it. To add insult to injury, Gome leased the place for $2.5 million a year even though Best Buy had been offering four times as much. Preferential treatment for a local firm? You be the judge.

My point is that succeeding in Asia is a lot more complicated than opening an office or hanging up a shingle. As an investor, you can’t assume that every company with a strategy for China will succeed. And you’ve got to be especially careful when you’re getting your stake in Asia through your U.S. holdings.

Don’t worry, though ...

There Are Five Easy
Ways to Invest in Asia

I want to make something clear — I’m not suggesting that you abandon all of your U.S. holdings, even the ones with absolutely zero exposure to Asia.

However, I do think it’s foolish to have your portfolio entirely invested in any one country, especially if it’s the slow-growing U.S. There’s no excuse for that nowadays. Not when you have so many ways to invest abroad. Here are just five of the ways to invest in Asia:

First, you can buy a mutual fund that’s focused on either one or more Asian countries. Three I like are U.S. Global’s China Region Opportunity (USCOX), Fidelity’s China Region (FHKCX), and T. Rowe Price’s New Asia (PRASX).

Second, consider exchange-traded funds. These investments give you a diversified stake in specific regions, they’re easily bought and sold, and they generally carry lower fees than mutual funds.

Third, you can buy shares of Asian companies that trade on American exchanges. Many come in the form of American Depositary Receipts (ADRs), which are U.S.-listed stocks that trade exactly like their foreign-listed counterparts.

Fourth, if your broker has a foreign trading desk, you can buy shares of Asian companies that are listed on foreign exchanges. This isn’t nearly as hard as many people think. A lot of the most attractive Chinese companies are listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, but some can also be found on exchanges in Singapore, London, Shenzhen, and Shanghai.

Fifth, there are some American companies that are getting it right overseas. You’ve got to choose carefully, but U.S. firms with strong presences in Asia are one last familiar way for you to get a stake in economies that are absolutely trouncing the paltry growth happening on American soil.

Best wishes,

Tony

P.S. If you want someone to help you find the best Asian investments, consider subscribing to my Asia Stock Alert service.

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Tony Sagami

Tony Sagami, the owner and founder of Harvest Advisors, an investment research and money management company, has been managing money for more than 20 years and is one of the early pioneers in the application of technical and quantitative analysis to mutual funds and stocks. Prior to establishing his own firm, Mr. Sagami was managing director at W.E. Donoghue & Co, serving additionally as the Director of Investment. During his successful career, he also held the position of account executive at Merrill Lynch. Mr. Sagami has been frequently quoted as an expert and is appreciated for his frank, consumer-friendly views. He has appeared in publications such as The Wall Street Journal, Barron’s, Kiplinger’s, Smart Money, Business Week, New York Times, Washington Post, Investors Business Daily, Bloomberg, Financial Planning Times, Mutual Funds Magazine, Chicago Tribune, LA Times, and many others. Mr. Sagami holds a degree in economics from the University of Washington.

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