Search Results for: Australia

BY KEITH NUTHALL

A GROUP of 28 governments from the Asia-Pacific region has adopted advice on the criminalisation of bribery drafted by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation & Development (OECD) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

Couched as a ‘Thematic Review on Criminalisation of Bribery’ this detailed set of guidelines was adopted in September by the ADB/OECD Anti-Corruption Initiative for Asia and the Pacific, meeting in Kuala Lumpur.…

BY JULIAN RYALL

THE IMMEDIATE priority for the company that has evolved from the merger of Japan’s Nippon Oil Corporation and Nippon Mining Holdings is achieving stability. But even while efforts to achieve that aim are ongoing, JX Holdings Inc. is drawing up plans to acquire new energy assets.…

BY KENCHO WANGDI

THE HIMALAYAN Kingdom of Bhutan recently passed its most rigorous Tobacco Control Bill yet in what some commentators say is a desperate attempt to salvage the country’s image as a tobacco-free nation. The first bill, endorsed in 2004, failed.…

BY JOHN PAGNI

MAINLY known as a flagship paper and telecommunications outpost, the Nordic country of Finland is poised for an unprecedented metals mining boom, its government is claiming. Employment and economy ministers Mauri Pekkarinen said on August 8 at Haapranta at the official opening of Tapojärvi Oy’s new plant for handling stainless steel slag: "Finland will become a major European miner within the next 10 years with mine output growing tenfold based on demand for metals and rare earths allied to increasing production technology efficiencies.…

Kencho Wangdi

The Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan is renowned for its untouched mountainous beauty. It is also known for its political innovation: it tobacco sales ban and use of ‘gross national happiness country’ as a yardstick for development. But it may soon become known as a higher education hub of Asia, if current plans go well.…

BY MARK ROWE

ION-EXCHANGE reactions and water-soluble polymers are among the new generation of "green" paints that are being introduced to protect the marine environment in Asia. The International Maritime Organisation’s (IMO) international convention on the control of harmful anti-fouling systems on ships came into force in September 2008 and IMO is continuing to urge all its members to ratify this convention.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

SUGAR has been at the centre of continuing concern about fraud draining European Union (EU) budgets of duty revenue. The latest operational report from EU anti-fraud unit OLAF (which reviewed 2009) recalled how fraudsters made millions of Euros from exporting 3,400 tonnes of sugar from the EU to neighbouring non-member state Croatia via the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad.…

BY ALYSHAH HASHAM

THE RECESSION has had a significant effect in driving packaging companies and departments to lower costs through using more efficient technology, requiring less energy, maintenance and idling time. Drives and controls have been a critical element of this process.…

BY WANG FANGQING

AS a country famous for mass production of textiles and garments, China has been, maybe surprisingly, importing more and more expensive fabrics from overseas. For example, China purchased 155,000 tonnes of wool from January to May 2010, up 15.2% year-on-year, with Australia, New Zealand and South Africa being the top three suppliers.…

BY MARK ROWE

IS the recession’s worst over for the jet fuel aviation industry? Passenger traffic during this late spring and summer has risen sharply compared with flights year-on-year, giving hope to an industry that Giovanni Bisignani, director general of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), described last year as "structurally sick".…