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

Singapore - Semicon machinery spending set to fall Source: Business Times, 05 May 2008 Spending on new machinery by semiconductor companies in South-east Asia (SEA) is expected to decline by around 11% in 2008 due to the recent push outs and delays in fab projects in Singapore, according to the semiconductor industry association SEMI. Globally, spending on new equipment is expected to decline by 15-20% in 2008. Despite this decline, the organisation has noted positive signs of operational confidence in Singapore and other regional countries in SEA. New equipment spending declined by about 17% in SEA in 2007 to US$3.1 billion from US$3.7 billion in 2006. However, it is noted that even though equipment spending declined overall in 2007 for SEA, new fab capacity increased by 17% in the region. A majority of SEA's fab capacity is in Singapore, as evident by the presence of companies such as Chartered, Tech Semiconductor, IM Flash and Numonyx. Taiwan - Machine tool exports likely to rise 15% in 2008 Source: Asia Pulse, 05 May 2008 The volume of Taiwan's machine tool exports is expected to increase 15-20% in 2008 as market demand remains brisk. The volume of machinery exported by Taiwan amounted to US$15.4 billion in 2007, up 7% over 2006, while machinery imports dropped 1.2% to US$18.4 billion. Of all the types of machinery exported by Taiwan in 2007, machine tools accounted for the largest sum at US$3.5 billion, representing growth of 17.1% from 2006. China and Hong Kong were Taiwan's largest machine tool consumers in 2007, with exports to the area increasing 14.8% from 2006 to reach US$1.28 billion and accounting for 36.9% of Taiwan's total exports. Taiwan is one of the few machinery producers and exporters in the sub-tropical region, and the value of machine tool exports by Taiwan ranked the fourth highest worldwide in 2007, behind only Germany, Japan and Italy. India - Air cargo players demand exclusive freight stations Source: The Economic Times, 05 May 2008 The Indian air cargo industry has demanded that the government build air freight stations on the lines of the container freight stations at seven major ports in India. The industry also wants the government to provide for a designated area around major international airports which will be used exclusively for cargo operations. The move could enable industry, especially exporters and importers, to cut transaction cost and save time spent on freight movement. The air cargo industry has sought land near the international airports at Mumbai, Kolkata, Delhi and Bangalore to set up air freight stations. Such a move would require an additional investment of a few billion rupees (over US$100 million). However, with Indian freight traffic expected to grow at more than 20% per annum, the need for agent bonded terminals is growing significantly.     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.