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Distributed: Dec 14, 2009

Asian Markets Overview of December 14

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Bank of Communications (SHA:601328)(HKG:3328)

China should take more pre-emptive measures to fight inflation expectations and extend bank loans at a more reasonable pace, said Bank of Communications (SHA:601328)(HKG:3328), China's fifth-largest bank by assets. The bank said hyperinflation is unlikely next year but predicted consumer inflation would rise to 4 percent. On Friday, China reported that consumer prices in November had risen 0.6 percent from a year ago, the first hint of inflation following nine months of deflation.

Sydney, Dec 14, 2009 (ABN Newswire) - Asian shares mostly opened flat this morning. Wall Street closed higher on Friday after the reports of consumer sector lifted investor confidence. The data also fuelled the expectations the US interest rates could hike soon. British and European shares also gained at after strong Chinese growth data.

The US dollar jumped against major currencies Friday. The greenback rose to a two-month against the euro, and reached a one-month peak against a basket of six currencies on hope of an interest rate rise sooner-than-expected.

The strengthened US dollar sent the Australian dollar lower today. At 0700 AEDT, the Australian dollar was trading at $US0.9105/11, down from Friday's close of $US0.9164/71.

Company News

A consortium formed by Japan Petroleum Exploration Co.(JAPEX)(TYO:1662) and Malaysia's state-run Petronas Carigali won a contract on Saturday to develop the Gharaf oil field in southern Iraq in a significant step toward securing a stable energy supply for Japan. It is the first time a Japanese firm has won the bid since the Iraq war. JAPEX and Petronas will jointly invest a total of about US$7 billion to develop Iraq's Gharaf oilfield.

Japan's Oriental Land Co. (TYO:4661) said it will withdraw from the Disney Store business in Japan. Oriental Land now wants to sell the business back so that it can focus on its theme park operation. It had sought to improve Disney Store's operating profit margin to 4% under a medium-term business plan through fiscal 2010, but has determined that the goal would be difficult to achieve amid the economic downturn. Oriental Land acquired the business from The Walt Disney Company (Japan) Ltd. in April 2002.

It is reported that South Korea's Meritz Securities Co. (SEO:008560) and Meritz Investment Bank (SEO:012420) over the weekend agreed a plan to merge the two financial companies on April 1. Meritz Securities currently holds a 55.5% stake in Meritz Investment Bank.

Australian airline carrier Qantas (ASX:QAN) said it will increase a slew of international airfares by up 5 per cent this week. The increases will affect popular routes such as Britain, Europe, Singapore and Hong Kong but not the hotly contested routes to the US.

China should take more pre-emptive measures to fight inflation expectations and extend bank loans at a more reasonable pace, said Bank of Communications (SHA:601328)(HKG:3328), China's fifth-largest bank by assets. The bank said hyperinflation is unlikely next year but predicted consumer inflation would rise to 4 percent. On Friday, China reported that consumer prices in November had risen 0.6 percent from a year ago, the first hint of inflation following nine months of deflation.