Company News

In newly-signed decision 14/2011/QDTTg, Vietnam’s government will limit its holdings of 50 percent of the charter capital of power production companies that are bigger than 500 megawatts.

Vietnam’s Finance Ministry plans to cut import duties to 15 percent in April. Currently, the tariff on refined sugar is 40 percent, while raw sugar is taxed at 25 percent.

The Chinese medical organization market is becoming sweeter for foreign investors, especially those from Hong Kong and Macau, thanks to easier market access being allowed by the government.

Although happy to see its rapid economic growth, China is growing increasingly concerned over the heavy pollution it is generating at the same time. A recently released document that calls for stronger quality control in the exploitation and smelting of heavy metals is a sign that China is paying more attention to encouraging an environmentally-friendly economic development model.

A recent survey by global human resource consulting and outsourcing company Aon Hewitt shows that India’s 11.7 percent salary rise in 2010 has outpaced all the other Asia Pacific countries and this high increase rate is going to continue over the next few years.

Finance Minister Pranab Kumar Mukherjee presented the Union Budget for 2011/12 this past Monday. The budget focuses on finding a balance between controlling inflation and maintaining economic growth. Good news for foreign investors comes in the form of no drastic changes in taxation rates, no negative indications, and no major reform agenda.

Vietnam’s finance and real estate regulatory frameworks are set to undergo changes in the coming months, according to the Ministry of Finance.

The Financial Secretary of Hong Kong John Tsang presented the 2011-12 government budget on February 23, 2010, in which he proposed to increase the allowance for maintaining dependent parents/grandparents by 20 per cent.

The double tax agreement (DTA) signed between China and Nepal in 2001 came into force on December 31, 2010, after the two countries completed their respective domestic legal procedures, China’s State Administration of Taxation announced (SAT Announcement [2011] No. 11) on January 30. The DTA and its protocol apply to the income received in the tax years starting January 1, 2011.

Seeing a recovering gross domestic product growth rate of 8.9 percent in the third quarter (September to December) of fiscal 2010, and a surging inflation rate of 12.1 percent last year, India is considering rolling back the fiscal stimulus in order to reduce the government’s financial deficit and curb inflation.