Week ahead in Asia & Pacific from Sept 6
ReutersFollowing are some of the main Asia and Pacific news eventsexpected this week (all times GMT).
- - - - -
SATURDAY, Sept 6
ISLAMABAD - Pakistan presidential election, with Asif AliZardari, widower of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto,widely expected to win. The new president will have to contendwith a host of critical problems including militant violence, afragile coalition government, and an economy in crisis.
PERTH - Voters in Australia's resource powerhouse west goto the polls for state elections, which could decide whetherthe country opens more uranium mines to meet booming worldwidedemand for nuclear energy. The centre-left Labor Party haspromised to legislate to ban uranium mining if it retainspower, while opposition conservatives want to open the vaststate to uranium mining and get a project up and running withinfive years. A conservative victory would help Australia meetits goal of replacing Canada as the world's biggest supplier ofuranium for nuclear fuel.
- - - - -
SUNDAY, Sept 7
HONG KONG - Fourth set of legislative council electionssince the former British colony was handed back to China in1997. Hong Kong's pro-democracy camp faces a stern test withrival pro-Beijing candidates poised to further erode the camp'swaning influence. At stake is the democrats' control of a thirdof the legislature, without which Hong Kong's reformists wouldlose a crucial veto bloc over reforms aimed at moulding a modelof universal suffrage by 2017, with Beijing's consent.
- - - - -
MONDAY, Sept 8
- - - - -
TUESDAY, Sept 9
SINGAPORE - World oils and oilseeds convention (until Sept11). With palm oil prices falling sharply, focus will be onwhether biofuels will become attractive again and if thebiggest importers, India and China, will resume buying sprees.Delegates will also gauge interest in dollar-denominated palmoil contracts, just launched by Bursa Malaysia.
- - - - -
WEDNESDAY, Sept 10
BEIJING - China publishes August producer prices data and,tentatively, trade data. Also due to report on last month'smoney supply and foreign direct investment. The data shouldpaint an overall picture of economic growth moderating afteryears of rapid double-digit expansion.
- - - - -
THURSDAY, Sept 11
BEIJING - China's consumer price inflation for Augustexpected to offer further evidence that price pressures in theworld's fourth largest economy have already peaked.
TOKYO - Japan publishes July machinery orders data. Thevolatile indicator is expected to show a further drop, addingto evidence the world's second largest economy was heading intorecession.
SEOUL - South Korea's central bank reviews interest rates.Most analysts expect rates to stay on hold after a rise lastmonth and after inflation came off a decade high. Some analystssay, though, a weakening of the won currency may force thecentral bank's hand and trigger another rise.
WELLINGTON - New Zealand's central bank rate review. Asecond consecutive interest rate cut is expected, as theeconomy is widely seen to be in its first recession in morethan a decade.
- - - - -
FRIDAY, Sept 12
TOKYO - Japan publishes revised second quarter grossdomestic product data. Recent figures on capital spendingsuggest the world's second biggest economy may have contractedeven more than the initially estimated 0.6 percent.