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?,        China's personal care, cosmetics and toiletries industry   Product innovation in China's personal care sector is buoyant, but safety concerns  and regulations may become a barrier. Find out what's happening in the industry  and where the trends are heading. In collaboration with the PCHi exhibition.     Request free copy. In the news this week  l 14-Mar-08 Foreign game makers accelerate Asian drive

French video games maker Ubisoft Entertainment is looking for a partner in China to help it enter the country's booming online gaming market. According to the Game Committee of the Publishers Association of China, the number of online gamers in China rose 23% to 40.2 million as of December 2007, with sales revenue growing 61.5% to RMB10.6 billion (US$1.5 billion). It is estimated that by 2012, the number of people playing online games in China will reach 84.6 million and sales revenue will reach RMB26.2 billion (US$3.7 billion). Market analysts put the Internet gaming market in Asia at US$2.3 billion, with growth expected to reach US$4 billion by 2010. China, together with Japan and Korea, will continue to be a major market in the region, but Southeast Asian countries such as Vietnam presents a new opportunity for game makers. With a population of more than 80 million, 65% of whom are young, Vietnam can well be a huge market for the online gaming industry. US video game publisher Electronic Arts will soon launch the FIFA Online 2 for Southeast Asia, scheduled for release in the third quarter in Vietnam, Singapore, and Thailand. 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 China - Akzo Nobel starts building China plant China - Freudenberg builds lubricant plant in Shanghai India - Petrochem sector may face slowdown in investment

Consumer & retail Korea - E-commerce growth soars 24.9% in 2007 Singapore - P&G's perfume oils plant will cater to Asian tastes Thailand - Air Products expands into Thailand

Financial services Asia - Takaful movement advances in Asia Indonesia - Single-presence policy to drive consolidation Taiwan - Credit card transaction amount up 2.4% in 2007

Industrial & logistics India - India auto part makers in China rush Japan - Honda plans new minicar plant Thailand - SUS makes long-term investment plan for Thailand

Information & communication technology   Asia - Managed security market to grow 20.4% in 2008 China - Domestic handset growth tapers off Taiwan - Acer beats Dell for second spot in notebook shipments

Life science India - Pharma companies face pricing pressure Singapore - GSK opens US$83 million R&D pilot plant Thailand - Compulsory licensing of cancer drugs may save millions

Media & leisure Asia - Electronic Arts eyes Asian growth China - Digital TV user base increases by 92.4% in 2007 Singapore - MDA awards first niche TV licence to VeeV

Previous issues

Asian players withdraw from fiercely competitive Chinese handset market [7-Mar-08] India to exploit nutraceuticals [29-Feb-08] India sets sight on becoming a global MRO hub [22-Feb-08] High stakes in Australian credit card game [15-Feb-08] Handset players struggle in China despite booming market [6-Feb-08] Malaysia losing out in the FDI race? [1-Feb-08]

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