Thailand, Japan FTA

BANGKOK: Thailand’s government said that a long-delayed free trade accord (FTA) with Japan, initially drawn up under deposed premier, could be signed soon. Thai cabinet told the foreign ministry to inform Japan that it is ready to sign the bilateral free trade agreement. — AFP

Russia, Japan deal

TOKYO: Russia’s prime minister and energy minister will visit Japan next week to discuss a territorial dispute and a row over Moscow’s takeover of the massive Sakahlin-2 oil and gas project. The premier will pay a two-day visit from February 27. The standoff has stalled economic relations between Japan and Russia. — AFP

China’s growth to drop

BEIJING: Economic growth in China in 2007 will drop to single digits for the first time in five years. The world’s fourth-largest economy is expected to expand by nine percent this year. — AFP

British surplus rises

LONDON: Britain’s public finances showed the biggest-ever monthly surplus for the month of January. The public sector net cash requirement (PSNCR), the public sector’s need to raise cash, showed a surplus of £21.397 billion last month. That compared with a deficit of £13.321 billion in December. In January 2006, the surplus had been £21.357 billion. — AFP

P’pines eyes growth

MANILA: The Philippine government hopes to accelerate economic growth from seven per cent this year to nine per cent in 2009. GDP expanded by 5.4 per cent in 2006, faster than five per cent in 2005 but slower than the government’s target of between 5.5 per cent to 6.1 per cent.

Money-laundering

MOSCOW: At least 673 cases on money-laundering charges were opened last year in Russia, double the previous year’s number. A total of 92 cases made it through court in 2006, which was five times the previous year’s number, the service’s chief Viktor Zubkov said, admitting however that it was ‘but a small portion’ of all violations the service flushed out in Russia’s banking system. “Almost nothing changed, the shady ways of getting money abroad remain,” Zubkov said. — AFP