Search Results for: Malaysia

BY DOMINIQUE PATTON

DEMAND for halal cosmetics worldwide is on the rise, driven not only by more affluent Muslim consumers but also growing interest in high quality, safe products.

Sales of all kinds of halal-certified goods have surged in recent years alongside higher purchasing power in Muslim countries.…

BY PAUL COCHRANE

IRAN has been under international financial and other trading scrutiny since the Islamic revolution 30 years ago, with sanctions by the United States tightened under the Clinton administration through the Iran-Libya Sanctions Act. And since Iran’s decision to embark on a nuclear programme, US sanctions have intensified, but in the face of such restrictions Iranian banks and individuals are increasingly using joint venture banks in the Middle East and South America to bypass scrutiny.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

IT has long been outmoded and inaccurate to split the world into two camps: industrialised developed economies, and largely agricultural developing countries. The growth of the 1990s and the current decade means there is a wide range of social and economic sophistication and wealth amongst the poorer of these two old-fashioned categories.…

BY MUNZA MUSHTAQ

As Sri Lanka’s military makes its final thrust against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), the country’s government is trying hard to ensure the safety of its only international airport and its passengers, because of an enduring risk of attack from the separatist group.…

BY WILL ROBERTSON

THE INDONESIAN government is facing legal action over its failure to sign and ratify the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). But the treaty is still unlikely to be formally adopted in this smokers’ haven because of political reasons, tobacco industry observers have told World Tobacco.…

BY PAUL COCHRANE

THE SULTANATE of Oman has earmarked billions of dollars to build six new airports and expand its existing international airports of Muscat and Salalah.

This Arabian country of 3 million people has the least developed aviation sector of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member states and this dramatic increase in capacity forms part of a diversification strategy away from energy – which accounts for an estimated 75% of government revenues.…

BY KARRYN MILLER

AUSTRALIA, as with the bulk of westernised nations, has classified butter as a staple food rather than a luxury item. Sales of the dairy spread have long reflected this and Aussie butter has enjoyed steady demand both locally and abroad.…

BY PAUL COCHRANE

THE MIDDLE East and North Africa region (that economists like to award the acronym ‘MENA’) consumes 6% of the global vegetable oil market and sucks in 15% of global imports, with strong growth across the board on the back of rising per capita GDP and a burgeoning population.…

BY PAUL COCHRANE

BANGLADESH’S fledgling anti money laundering and counter terrorist financing regime faces an uphill struggle, with the country ranked as one of the most corrupt on earth and money laundering equivalent to 13% of the country’s GDP. Furthermore, Abul Barkat, Professor of Economics at Dhaka University told the Money Laundering Bulletin, an estimated US$7 billion flows into Bangladesh through illegal alternative remittance systems, and there is an ‘economy within an economy’ generating some US$300 million in profits every year for Islamist political parties linked to fundamentalist and terrorist activities.…

BY SAEED AKHTAR BALOCH

PAKISTAN’s automobile industry, contributing 2.8 % to the country’s GDP by financial year (FY) 2006-7, has grown impressively this decade. But the sector’s growth may turn negative this year because of high inflation, especially rising steel prices, political uncertainty and overall economic recession in Pakistan and elsewhere.…