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 20-Mar-08 India's chemical sector benefits from China's cut in export rebates

India may now have an edge over China in chemical manufacturing as the Chinese government has withdrawn the 17% VAT refund on chemical export from July 2007. The Chinese commands over 70% of the global US$2.4 trillion chemical industry. But the cancellation of rebates on export taxes has rendered the Chinese chemical manufacturing units uncompetitive in the global market. As a sign of things to come, World Bank affiliate International Finance Corporation announced it will pick up 25% equity stake in Ahmedabad-based Meghmani Finechem's upcoming chlor-alkali project, going beyond its normal investment of 20% stake in any project. Zhejiang Lonsen Group Stock Company of China has also entered into a joint venture with Ahmedabad-based Kiri Dyes and Chemicals Limited to set up a unit at Vadodara in Gujarat for the production of reactive dyes. More than US$6.4 billion is expected to be invested in India's chemical processing industry in 2008. 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 - IFC becomes strategic investor in Meghmani Finchem India - Kiri Dyes enters joint venture with Zhejiang Lonsen Korea - S-Oil establishes venture with Total

Consumer & retail China - E-commerce gaining a foothold in the mainland India - Beer market to froth with MNC brands India - Retail boom rolls into the suburbs

Financial services Asia - Private banking industry booming China - Limits on rural banks to ease Thailand - Thais using more plastic

Industrial & logistics India - Merrill pumps in US$74 million into logistics JV Korea - Rising materials costs wear away at carmakers' profits Singapore - China Huaneng snaps up Tuas Power

Information & communication technology   China - Sharp eyes China's cell phone market India - Mobile users to reach 500 million by 2010 Korea - Samsung eyes built-in appliances market

Life science China - US drug makers stick by China India - Pharma market valued at US$7 billion in 2006-07 Japan - Welcia Kanto to integrate business with Takada Pharmacy

Media & leisure China - Online game market hit US$1.8 billion in 2007 China - China has world's biggest internet population India - Telecom firms face uphill climb in IPTV

Previous issues

Foreign game makers accelerate Asian drive [14-Mar-08] 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]

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