Hanoi - A Vietnamese official Friday cautiously welcomed Japan's decision to suspend new aid to the country owing to a major corruption scandal on a Japanese-funded infrastructure project.
On Thursday, Japanese Ambassador Mitsuo Sakaba told a meeting of international donors in Hanoi that his country would suspend new loans to Vietnam pending the investigation of the Pacific Consultants International case.
PCI, a Japanese consulting firm, allegedly paid millions of dollars in kickbacks to Vietnamese transportation officials while working on transit and water projects in Ho Chi Minh City in the early 2000s.
London, Dec 5 : Japanese cities have claimed four of the top five places on a list of the most expensive parts of the world for foreigners to live owing to the global financial insecurity.
The most expensive city in the world for foreigners was Luanda in Angola, which came as a surprise for many, but the top spot came in the wake of the rarity of expatriate products leading to high cost of living.
The list was compiled by ECA International, which consults companies on international assignments.
Tokyo - Tokyo stocks ended trading down Friday, as concerns over upcoming US employment data sniffed out modest gains made earlier that day as investors tried to snap up bargains.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average closed down 6.73 points, or 0.08 per cent, at 7,919.51.
The broader Topix index of all first-section issues declined 2.86 points, or 0.36 per cent to 786.02.
On currency markets at midday (0300 GMT), the dollar was quoted at 92.45-50 yen, down from Thursday's 5 pm quote of 92.79-80 yen.
Tokyo - Japan's foreign reserves topped 1 trillion dollars in November for the first time in four months, buoyed by sharp gains in US Treasury bond prices, the Finance Ministry said Friday.
Japan held 1.002 trillion dollars in foreign reserves by the end of November, up 25.14 billion dollars from the previous month.
The country holds the most foreign reserves worldwide after China.
Tokyo - Japanese carmaker Honda Motor Co considers disbanding its costly Formula One team as it battles sinking profits, news reports said Friday.
Honda representatives had informed its team, which is based in Britain, that it was to pull out of the expensive sport if no new sponsor was found, Japan's Jiji Press news agency said, also citing British news reports.
If there was no buyer by March, the team was to be sold, leaving current drivers Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello in limbo, the BBC reported.
London, Dec 5 : Japanese cities have claimed four of the top five places on a list of the most expensive parts of the world for foreigners to live owing to the global financial insecurity.
The Japanese have invented the first space beer, in hi
Tokyo - Tokyo stocks ended trading down Friday, as concerns over upcoming US employment data sniffed out modest gains made earlier that day as investors tried to snap up bargains.
Tokyo - Japan's foreign reserves topped 1 trillion dollars in November for the first time in four months, buoyed by sharp gains in US Treasury bond prices, the Finance Ministry said Friday.
Tokyo - Japanese carmaker Honda Motor Co considers disbanding its costly Formula One team as it battles sinking profits, news reports said Friday.
