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.

Dear ?NAME?,      Offshore Services & Equipment   Offshore exploration continues to breach new frontiers, driven by new finds,  technology and surging energy demand in China and other growth economies.  Opportunities abound for equipment and services vendors able to meet the sector's  exacting demands. Find out where the opportunities lie.  In the news this week  l 7-Dec-07 Foreign firms buy into Taiwan's banking sector

Citigroup has completed its acquisition of Taiwanese lender Bank of Overseas Chinese while Standard Chartered has finalised its acquisition of Hsinchu Bank. Foreign banks are entering into Taiwan's banking sector, the fourth-biggest banking market in Asia, to gain access to high net worth individuals. Taiwan is Asia's No.3 wealth management market behind China and Japan, and the number of rich people in Taiwan has grown by 12.1% to 66,000 in 2006. Foreign banks are also entering Taiwan in the hope of capturing a bigger market share in China by dealing with China-based Taiwanese businessmen. Taiwan's investment in China in the first 10 months of 2007 amounted to US$7.7 billion, representing an increase of 30% over the same period in 2006, and exceeding the US$7.6 billion invested in China for the entire year 2006 - creating substantial opportunities for foreign banks in Taiwan. Click here to view this week's articles for all industries.    What you don't know can hurt you  Receive all the key news on your markets, industry and competitors each  week, with alerts for important breaking news, and avoid information  overload with human filtering. Find out more about our Market Monitoring   Service and web-based Intelligence Plaza system by emailing   marketing@fusionc.com.

Chemical Japan - Daiichi Sankyo to sell chemical units Malaysia - Air products aims to pump up market share Vietnam - Joint venture builds polypropylene factory

Consumer & retail Asia - Kraft acquires Danone Biscuits China - Galeries Lafayette to develop stores in China India - Italian cosmetic brand Patricia Milton launched in India

Financial services Asia - Asia booms for investment banks China - Tie-ups for private banking eyed Taiwan - Citibank acquires BOOC

Industrial & logistics Asia - UPS sees Asia unaffected by softer US China - Bumpier ride for China air freight India - UPS, AFL form strategic alliance

Information & communication technology   Asia - Strong Asia demand drives chip sales Singapore - New nanotech facility set up Taiwan - Chunghwa Telecom to sell stake in Siemens JV

Life science Asia - Pfizer targets Asian countries for outsourcing India - Eli Lilly joins forces with Indian companies Japan - AstraZeneca to invest US$91 million for FY08 clinical trials

Media & leisure India - Govt to review FDI norms in broadcast Japan - Pay-TV enters mainstream in Japan Korea - Macquarie, MBK buy out Korea cable operator

Previous issues

Eyes on booming Asian luxury goods market [30-Nov-07] Korean petrochemical industry remains bullish [23-Nov-07] Korea braces for integration of its financial markets [16-Nov-07] Japan's beer makers seek diversification [26-Oct-07] Indian telecom operators and broadcasters fight it out in IPTV space [19-Oct-07] Low cos PCs take off, but fully-fledged PCs unflustered [12-Oct-07]

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Best regards, The Intelligence Desk Team Fusion Consulting