The Weekly News Update is a weekly roundup of business news from around the Asia-Pacific region, covering Fusion Consulting's core industry practices: chemicals, consumer & retail, financial services, industrial & logistics, information & communication technology, life science and media & leisure. If you have colleagues or friends who may be interested in subscribing, please forward this email to them and copy knowledge@fusionc.com.     China's water and wastewater treatment sector   Huge demand exists in China for clean water with ample opportunities for  investors, water companies or water technology suppliers in the municipal and  industrial water supply and wastewater treatment market. Market-oriented  regulatory changes have lowered pricing risk, and opened up the sector.    Find out what the needs, solutions and opportunities are.

Industrial & logistics

China - Machinery industry continues to grow rapidly in 2007 Source: China Industry Daily News, 06 May 2008 The China Machinery Industry Federation recently announced that the growth rate of the Chinese machinery industry's total output value exceeded 20% for the fifth consecutive year in 2007, with the profits rising by RMB150 billion (US$21.5 billion) over 2006. The industry has more than 60,326 above-scale enterprises, while although the top-100 enterprises account for only 0.2% of the total number, their total business income and profits make up 15.6% and 18% of the industry's total respectively. In addition, the number of large enterprises with main business income above RMB10 billion (US$1.4 billion) rose from 12 in 2003 to 42 in 2007. Hong Kong - Cargo volume may drop 5% after Three Links Source: NewsTrak Daily, 08 May 2008 The Hong Kong Logistics Association (HKLA) forecasts Hong Kong's total volume of cargo handled will drop 5% each year, equivalent to 1.2 million TEUs and 200,000 tons of air freight, when the cross-Strait Three Links measures of direct postal, transportation and trade are carried out. There will be room for Hong Kong to cut port handling charges as the current fee doubles that of Singapore. It is also believed that it will be possible for Shenzhen to surpass Hong Kong in cargo handling volume in two years and the SAR will fall to the world's fourth place in terms of that. Hence, HKLA urges the Hong Kong government to offer tax incentives for small and medium transportation companies and to build Container Terminal 10 and the Lantau Logistics Park to add logistics space and to stem the loss of transportation business. China - Vehicle sales post slow rise as demand curbed Source: Shanghai Daily, 13 May 2008 China's vehicle sales rose 14% in April, the slowest pace in almost two years, as a combination of inflation and a slumping stock market curbed demand for passenger cars. Sales of passenger cars and commercial vehicles rose to 922,600 in April. Vehicle sales grew at a rate of 21% in the first three months of 2008. General Motors Corp, Toyota Motor Corp and other overseas car makers are banking on China and other emerging markets to offset slower demand in the United States. GM, the biggest overseas auto maker in China, will boost annual sales in the country by about half over the next three years to 500,000 vehicles. Toyota, the world's No. 2 car maker, aims to raise China sales 36% to 640,000 vehicles in the year ending March 2009.     View an example of our experience in this industry. Back to list of articles.  Visit our website to sign up for free intelligence on Asian markets.

This Weekly News Update is a free newsletter, providing a round-up of the week's Asia-Pacific news from our core industry practices. If you have colleagues or friends who may be interested in subscribing, please forward this email to them and copy knowledge@fusionc.com.

Fusion Consulting is a business intelligence consultancy providing clear strategic advice on Asia-Pacific markets. With offices in Shanghai, Singapore and Hong Kong and 400 industry consultants in 16 countries, we conduct custom research and consulting to help companies understand their markets, compete more effectively and grow into new areas of opportunity. Email more@fusionc.com or visit www.fusionc.com for more information.