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 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. In the news this week  l 15-Feb-08 High stakes in Australian credit card game

The Australian credit card market has become very competitive. The number of credit card products on offer in Australia has grown five times over the last three years and there are now over 250 credit card products available. The competition has led to product differentiation. Macquarie Group is targeting the top end with associated rewards and benefits while Citibank, HSBC and BankWest are competing in the low-cost market segment. Rivalry in the low-cost market segment has led to Citibank acquiring Suncorp's credit card portfolio, a deal which will put Citibank closer to reaching its goal of being a major player in Australia's A$30 billion (US$27 billion) credit card market. Other international lenders such as HSBC and American Express have also been moving into the Australian market, as smaller credit card players offload their assets to concentrate on core businesses. 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 India - BASF Indian arm to start Kolkata plant Japan - Japanese paint makers target emerging markets Singapore - Lanxess Selects Singapore for Butyl Rubber Project

Consumer & retail India - Government may consider FDI in specific retail sectors Malaysia - Retail sales damper Thailand - Unilever launches new Breeze

Financial services Australia - Citibank's expansion is on the cards Australia - Plastic loses its lustre as cost of living climbs Vietnam - Morgan Stanley eyes Vietnam venture

Industrial & logistics Asia - DHL starts to increase Asian network capacity Japan - Japan Post, Lawson form wide-ranging business tieup Singapore - Port of Singapore picks up 49% in ABG terminal

Information & communication technology   China - Software industry records 20% rise in revenue India - Computer services exports may gain 28% in 2007-08 Malaysia - Juniper joins Ethernet switches fray

Life science Australia - Strides takes majority stake in Genepharm India - Pharma industry seeks R&D tax benefit from budget Thailand - Lion Corp to make over-the-counter drugs in Thailand

Media & leisure India - Soros buys 3% stake in Reliance Entertainment Korea - Web TV to offer online game services Korea - Foreign online games to hit Korea

Previous issues

Handset players struggle in China despite booming market [6-Feb-08] Malaysia losing out in the FDI race? [1-Feb-08] The push towards convergence gains momentum in Korea [25-Jan-08] Japanese transport companies expand in China [18-Jan-08] China shows strong potential for pharma outsourcing [11-Jan-08] Epoxy producers in Japan strengthen setup to meet surging demand [14-Dec-07]

Visit our website to sign up for free intelligence on Asian markets.

Best regards, The Market Monitoring Team Fusion Consulting http://www.fusionc.com/marketupdate.htm