Asia's business news

Activists are still calling for the arrest of Daewoo Group founder Kim Woo-choong accused of swindling billions of dollars.

By the BBC's Neil Heathocote from Singapore

Some weeks it can feel like a closely fought battle between Korean carmaker Daewoo and the Japanese prime minister to see who can command the worst headlines.

The past few days have been no exception.

South Korean prosecutors kicked off by indicting 34 Daewoo executives and accountants.

They are accused of inflating the bankrupt group's assets by more than $30bn in what may turn out to be one of the world's biggest accounting frauds.

The central allegation is that the group, acting under the orders of founder Kim Woo-choong, hid losses so that the banks would carry on making new loans while the company teetered on the brink of insolvency.

Mr Kim left Korea in 1999. Prosecutors say they won't indict him until they work out where he is.

At the same time public approval of Japan's prime minister Yoshiro Mori collapsed to 9%. That is the second lowest rating registered since polls began more than 50 years ago.

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori - under pressure to resign.

Potential successors began lining up - but serious contenders are reluctant to stand up and be counted just at the moment.

None of them want to take the helm, only to see their party routed in Upper House elections this summer.

Chinese shares

China has announced that it will free up local investors to buy foreign currency denominated shares.

The Chinese government closed the market on Monday while it finalised new rules - which for the first time will allow Chinese citizens to buy the so-called 'B-shares'. Until now these have only been officially open to foreign investors.

The government is hoping the move will encourage China's citizens to invest some of the huge stash of foreign currency savings currently tucked away in the nation's bank vaults.

But the move also blurs the distinction between domestic and foreign types of equity - and raises the prospect that they might be fully merged, eventually opening up one of the world's biggest stock markets to outside investors.

Meanwhile, back in Korea, more than 4,000 riot police moved into Daewoo's main plant to end a sit-in protest by workers.

And Japan's finance ministry suggested consumption taxes might go up. Manufacturers have already been complaining that shoppers are reluctant to spend - but the government , it seems, is now worried about how its high levels of debt.

Forced overtime, fondling of factory workers, limited access to medical care - all widespread abuses in some of Nike's Indonesian contract factories, according to a report by the non-profit organisation Global Alliance.

Nike promised to make it easier for workers to report such abuses.

Japan finally ended the week being downgraded by ratings agency Standard & Poor's.

S&P cut its long-term local and foreign sovereign debt rating to AA+ from AAA. Only Italy among the Group of Seven leading industrial nations has a weaker rating.

Japanese ministers called the downgrade wrong and uncalled-for.

But the other major rating firm, Moody's, disagrees - they downgraded Japan some months ago.