Asia Focus

This week has been all about the markets starting to factor in the prospect of a global recession, it's not just the banking crisis in the northern hemisphere, which has been driving a lot of volatility in the markets in the past year or so but now the prospect is very real of a global downturn. Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd says he's more concerned about the stability of Australia's banks than its competitiveness. The Commonwealth Bank has launched a bid to buy Bankwest, while Westpac is trying to takeover St George Bank. Australia's opposition says the global economic crisis is an opportunity for the big banks, and will reduce competition in the market.

In this days India's parliament has begun debate ahead of a vote of confidence in Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's government. The vote is due on Tuesday and according to experts the outcome is too close to call. The Indian government will collapse and early elections will be called if Prime Minister Singh's government loses the vote. Prime Minister Singh stirred up anger among his left-wing and communist allies by pushing ahead a nuclear accord with the United States, which his government insists is essential to meet the energy needs of India's fast-growing economy.

Last Thursday the Chinese Labor Ministry confirm will transfer more than $9.1 billion in company pension plans to selected fund managers by the end of this year. China's market for enterprise annuities, as the plans are known, is expected to grow by 30 billion to 50 billion yuan, or $3.9 billion to $6.5 billion, in 2007.

According with labor authorities China's company pensions market was valued at about 90 billion yuan at the end of last year, of which 20 billion yuan has already been transferred to fund managers. All company pension plans rolled out in the future will be handled by fund professionals.

China allows 37 firms to handle these funds. Of these, four are joint-venture fund houses, according to a KPMG-Reuters research report. These include Harvest Fund Management, 19.5 percent owned by Deutsche Bank, and China Merchants Fund Management, in which ING holds 30 percent. The government will also gradually expand the scope for insurers to invest directly in stocks, confirm the responsible of the insurance regulator, China Insurance Regulatory Commission.

China is allowing pension funds and insurers greater access to stocks to help boost returns as it dismantles the nation's cradle-to-grave welfare system. The benchmark CSI 300 Index gained 121 percent last year.

Preparations are under way to lift a ceiling that limits insurers' direct investment in the stock market to 5 percent of assets, and progress will be made according to the needs of insurance firms. China also bans investments by insurance firms in stocks that have more than doubled in the previous 12 months. There are no current plans to remove this restriction.

Written: by LuisB

About 1.24 million Chinese college graduates have failed to land jobs that require their qualifications upon graduation this year, the county's top labour official said.

A total of 4.13 million students graduated from higher education institutions this year, 750,000 more than last year, as the country enters its ninth year of expanding college enrolment.

Tian Chengping, minister of labour and social security, said on Thursday (Nov 23) he estimates about 70 per cent of college graduates have been employed since graduation, according to the China Youth Daily.

He said the central government has set up an inter-ministerial joint team, including the Ministry of Education, to help address employment problems.

Meanwhile, the Labour and Social Security Ministry has established a mechanism to provide guidance and training for unemployed graduates, the minister said.

Only 22 per cent of China's new jobs last year were for college graduates, estimates a ministry study of 114 urban labour markets.

Tian said the country should create more jobs in the process of economic development and urged college graduates to work in grassroots units and undeveloped areas where they are most needed.

China's official registered unemployment rate stood at 4.1 per cent in the first nine months of 2006.

The demand for college graduates was down 22 per cent in 24 provinces and 15 major cities from last year, said a report issued by the Ministry of Personnel in March.

A survey showed 52.14 per cent of bachelor degree holders considered lack of experience as the biggest obstacle in finding work.

Colleges and universities should organize internships to prepare students for employment, said Lin Zeyan, a researcher with the Development Research Centre of the State Council at a forum this month.

The country needs to develop its service sector and promote small and medium-sized enterprises to create more jobs, said Mo Rong, deputy chief of the Labour Science Research Institute.