Asian millionaires 'top wealth rankings' www.bbc.com

Asian millionaires now control more wealth than those in North America, Europe and other regions, according to a report from finance firm Capgemini.
Driven by China and Japan, Asia's millionaires saw their wealth jump by 10% in 2015, the firm's World Wealth Report found.
Millionaires held nearly $60 trillion (£40 trillion) worldwide last year, four times higher than 30 years ago.
That could rise to $100 trillion by 2025, Capgemini said.
Asia's growth in high net worth individuals - defined as having $1 million in assets - came despite slowing economic growth in China and a weak Japanese economy.
'Dominant force'
Capgemini found the growth in Asia was driven mainly by financial services, technology and health care industries.
The region's millionaires held $17.4 trillion of wealth, compared with $16.6 trillion in North America, the report said.
"If past growth rates hold, Asia-Pacific is likely to continue to be a dominant force over the next decade, representing two-fifths of the world's HNWI wealth, more than that of Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East and Africa combined," Capgemini said.
Poor performance in US equity markets slowed growth in North America to 2.3% last year, although the US still had the highest number of millionaires with 4.45 million.
Europe's millionaires saw a 4.8% increase in wealth, which was led by Spain despite the country's record unemployment.
The UK had the fifth highest number of high net worth individuals, although it only increased 1% to 553,000.
Latin American millionaires suffered a decline in net worth of 3.7%, driven by political volatility and a turbulent stock market in Brazil.
Worldwide, the wealth controlled by millionaires grew 4% last year to $58.7 trillion (£39.5 trillion).
Earlier this year, Oxfam found that the richest 1% now have as much wealth as the rest of the world combined.

First bid for McDonald's China franchises confirmed www.bbc.com

The first bid has been confirmed for McDonald's China and Hong Kong restaurants as the US fast food giant plans to franchise its outlets in the country.
China's Sanpower confirmed to the BBC it had put in a joint bid with Beijing Tourism Group.
There are more than 2,200 McDonald's in China with plans to open 1,250 more.
In March, McDonald's had said it would reorganise its business in China, seeking to franchise its restaurants.
Media reports have suggested that the US company has received more than half a dozen bids, which could raise as much as $3bn (£2bn).
Global franchise plans
Competitor Yum Brands, the owner of KFC and Pizza Hut, is also restructuring its China business, with plans to spin it off ahead of a likely initial public offering (IPO) of shares in 2017.
Both McDonald's and Yum Brands have been facing increasing competition from cheaper local rivals, particularly in China, where they are trying to recover from food safety scares.
In the long term, McDonald's plans to franchise 95% of its outlets worldwide.
Sanpower is a technology and real estate firm and said it hoped to integrate the fast food chain into its commercial shops and mall spaces.
"In recent years, we are building more offline commercial stores, aiming to provide better shopping experience for consumers. McDonald's could provide new brand elements for us," Sanpower spokesman Zou Yan said in an email.

Leaders of Mongolia and China hold meeting www.montsame.mn

Tashkent\MONTSAME\. On sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit underway in Tashkent, President of Mongolia Ts.Elbegdorj held on June 23 a bilateral meeting with President of China Xi Jinping at the Kuksaroi (Blue Palace) State Resident.

Mongolian delegates to attend 2016 Global Entrepreneurship Summit www.en.montsame.mn

S.Korean companies interested in cooperating on Aero-Express project www.en.montsame.mn

South Korea's Kia tops US car quality ranking www.bbc.com

China glut reshaping EU steel industry www.asia.nikkei.com

FRANKFURT/LONDON -- With Britain set to vote Thursday on whether to remain in the European Union, the country has seen its fair share of political drama recently. But the turmoil is not just limited to the country's political sphere: The steel industry is also in chaos, with the planned pullout of India-based Tata Steel from the U.K. likely to have a big impact not only there but throughout the EU, where 330,000 people have jobs in the sector.

Geert Van Poelvoorde, executive vice president of ArcelorMittal and president of the European Steel Association, or Eurofer, was in Brussels in April for an annual steel conference organized by the industry body. He said that cheap steel from China was hurting European steelmakers, and that some 80,000 jobs, or 20% of total European steel industry employment, have been lost since the global financial crisis erupted in 2008.

Van Poelvoorde also complained that the EU was slow to take action to counter Chinese steel dumping. While the U.S. has increased tariffs on Chinese steel products to some 260%, levies in Europe have remained at 30% to 60%.

He cited Tata's possible departure from the U.K. as clear evidence of how bad things are getting. The company's British operations, which have the second-largest output capacity in Europe, have pummeled by cheap imports from China, posting losses for years. The Indian parent announced plans in late March to sell the local business.

At the entrance of the conference venue was a sign reading "Save Our Steel." Similar signs can be spotted in the Welsh town of Port Talbot, home to a Tata plant. The region has relied heavily on Tata's steel business, and scared plant workers have been protesting the planned pullout ever since the announcement.

So far, British commodities trader Liberty House and others have volunteered to buy Tata's U.K. unit, while local plant workers have proposed retaining the business through a management buyout. Negotiations have been slow and difficult, however. Tata initially planned to finalize its decision soon after the Brexit poll, but July is now looking more likely.

If the Port Talbot plant, the U.K.'s largest steel factory, is shuttered, the country's economy will certainly feel it. According to British think tank Institute for Public Policy Research, the closure would affect 15,000 workers at Tata's locations across the U.K. and possibly threaten another 40,000 in related industries.

Tata entered the U.K. by acquiring what was once the state-owned British Steel. According to a survey by YouGov, a British research company, more than 60% of people in the U.K. support the nationalization of Tata's U.K. unit. There appears to be a special attachment among the British to the steel industry, which helped drive the economy during the Industrial Revolution.

But when talk of nationalization first came up, British Prime Minister David Cameron noted that it went against the country's long-term efforts to promote privatization. The tone changed in April, when the government announced its intention to purchase a stake of up to 25% in the local British unit, in response to growing calls for a rescue measure to retain jobs.

Moscow commute at 1,200 kph & new Silk Road: Russia explores Hyperloop sci-fi dream www.rt.com

US lays anti-dumping duties on steel from China www3.nhk.or.jp