THE Hyatt at the Bund (right building), one of Shimao’s iconic projects, stands proudly along the Huang Pu River in Shanghai. Below, the Hyatt’s lobby reflects the developer’s flair for the so-called Riviera model, where elements of nature blend seamlessly with modern materials like steel and concrete. Photos are from Shimao’s web site.

THE much-awaited joint-venture (JV) guidelines to cover the government’s negotiated projects with private investors like Chinese real-estate giant Shimao Property Holdings Ltd., which is keen on developing former baselands for $2 billion, may yet get timely approval, after all.

WHO would have imagined that Asia’s response to the glamorous and seemingly overexposed developers of the US (think Hilton or Trump) would take the form of the unassuming but unstoppable behemoth that is the Shimao Group?

Headed by China’s second-richest man, Hui Wing Mau, the Shimao Group is at the heart of a vast real-estate empire currently valued at $10.2 billion.        

THE government has lifted the rice- and corn-importation quota of the private sector to address supply concerns in the country, Presidential Management Staff head Cerge Remonde said Monday.

Remonde said President Arroyo and her Cabinet will tackle Tuesday ongoing and forthcoming government measures to address concerns over rice supply in the country, including a proposed revenue-neutral scheme that may boost rice imports by the private sector without lowering current tariff levels.

ARRIVING passengers, majority of them tourists and a lot of balikbayans, toward the Christmas holidays increased by nearly 20 percent last year over 2006 while overall international passenger traffic in 2007, which includes outbound, grew by almost 11 percent to 11.23 million from 10.13 million the previous year.

The Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) reported 30 airlines transported the 11.24 million outbound and inbound passengers during the period, with Philippine Airlines (PAL) carrying the most number or 2.38 million, of which 1.8 million were bound overseas.

THE Philippine Export-Import Credit Agency (PhilExim) has decided to sell bonds to have the funds to expand its direct lending and guarantee operations, according to the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda).

THE Philippines is hosting this year a forum on clean-development mechanism (CDM) of the Kyoto Protocol for the members of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) Forum in order to orient their small and medium enterprises (SMEs) on how to take advantage of the $21-billion emerging business.

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Glorious food! A man sits against a background of sumptuous food, underscoring an irony of our time: amid fears of a food shortage emerge reports that some traders are hoarding staples. Not everyone’s greedy, though. Pioneer food chain Binalot is keeping its prices till year-end. --NONIE REYES