US investor Soros buys stake in India stock exchange

MUMBAI (AFP) - – US billionaire investor George Soros has bought a four percent stake in the Bombay Stock Exchange for almost 35 million dollars, a spokesman for the stock exchange said on Friday.

Soros's Quantum hedge fund acquired the stake in Asia's oldest exchange from Dubai Financial, part of state-run Dubai Holdings, which is owned by United Arab Emirates prime minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum.

US-based philanthropist George Kaiser also holds a four-percent stake in the BSE through his investment firm Argonaut Ventures.

MUMBAI (AFP) - – India, the world leader in the export of cut and polished diamonds, is taking a major step towards becoming a global trading centre for the gemstone with a newly launched diamond exchange.

The Bharat Diamond Bourse (BDB), touted as the world's largest diamond trading centre, opens Sunday in India's financial capital Mumbai more than 20 years after the idea was first proposed.

India's bid to become a diamond hub to match Antwerp in Belgium and Tel Aviv in Israel has had a bumpy ride, overcoming contractor disputes, floods, fires and charges of misuse of funds.

The three million square foot (287,700 square metre) exchange will bring export and trading firms, banks, vaults, a customs department and investors under one roof, in an eight-tower complex in Mumbai's main commercial district.

"With this, Mumbai will be the largest diamond hub in the world," BDB president Anoop Mehta said of the 11-billion-rupee (240-million-dollar) project.

The United States is currently the largest diamond consumer, accounting for 40 percent of the market, compared to seven percent for India and four percent for China.

China is a growing rival to India's dominance of the cut-diamond market, sourcing stones from Zimbabwe, Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

A Gujarat-based firm, Surat Rough Diamond Sourcing (India), is in talks with Zimbabwe's government to train young Zimbabwean traders to cut diamonds, in return for a regular supply of rough stones from the sanctions-hit African nation.

India is poised to join China, Japan and Taiwan with foreign-exchange reserves exceeding $300 billion, helping the rupee toward its best two-month gain since the period to May 2009.

The stockpile has increased $14 billion since Aug. 31 to a two-year high of $296.4 billion, heading for the biggest two- month gain since February and March 2008, Reserve Bank of India data show. A central bank report today may show that reserves are on track to reach the level shared by only three other Asian economies, according to Standard Chartered Plc and Yes Bank Ltd. The rupee has advanced 5.7 percent since Aug. 31, the second- best performance among Asian currencies behind the South Korea won’s 6.7 percent gain, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

KATMANDU, Nepal – How's this for a Facebook status update: "About to start scaling Mount Everest."

Should they have time to check e-mails, climbers attempting to scale the world's highest peak now have access to high-speed Internet near its 17,000-foot (5,200-meter) base camp, the last gathering point on the journey to the top.

Ncell, a subsidiary of Swedish telecom company TeliaSonera, announced Friday that they have set up seven 3G base stations in the Everest region, allowing climbers and trekkers to access wireless Internet and make video calls, for example over Skype.

General Electric Company will also provide the Indian Aeronautical Development Agency with 107 F414 engines to be installed on the Tejas light combat aircraft. Harley-Davidson Motor Company will open a new plant in India for the assembly of Harley-Davidson motorcycles from U.S.-built "complete knock-down" kits.

YOKOHAMA, Japan (AP) — Acknowledging that its global economic status is declining, Japan's government is declaring it will work to "open up the country" and redouble efforts to forge free trade agreements to boost its economic prospects.

A policy paper released Saturday reflects Japan's concerns that it is falling behind in forging free trade deals. It says Tokyo will work to wrap up pending negotiations with Australia and Peru, resume suspended trade talks with South Korea, and seek new talks with other countries or regions.

"If Japan's trade and investment environment becomes less attractive than the environment in other countries, there is a possibility that future employment opportunities will be lost," the paper on comprehensive economic partnerships says.

More broadly, the paper says Japan faces a "watershed moment" and needs to deepen ties with emerging economies as huge structural changes in the global economy are causing its own economic status to decline.

"Recognizing this, the government of Japan is absolutely resolved to 'open up the country,'" it says.

WASHINGTON (AFP) - – India is on course to top China as the world's most populous country in 2025, the US Census Bureau forecast, potentially changing the dynamics between the Asian giants.

The latest Census Bureau estimates out this week, which are in line with previous studies, predicted that India would have 1.396 billion people in 2025, surpassing China, whose population growth is more modest.

Ethiopia is experiencing rapid population growth and is expected to become the sixth most populous country in 2050, the figures showed.

Other countries expected to rise in population rank include the Democratic Republic of Congo, which has one of the world's highest fertility rates at 5.4 children per woman.

India's stock markets have taken a beating this month, after chalking decent gains in 2010. The 25 basis points rate hike by the Reserve Bank of India on Tuesday didn't help sentiment either. The seventh consecutive rate increase is stoking fears that the tightening could hamper economic growth.

This market condition requires caution. Traders will already have taken profits as major stocks developed similar end of trend patterns. Full confirmation of a major trend reversal comes when the long term GMMA compresses. Until this develops the retreat can be seen as a technical retracement prior to a continuation of the uptrend. On current development this is a temporary derailment rather than a change in direction.