Governance drives Asia's year

For Asian markets, the last week of the year has been overshadowed by the human tragedy caused by the region's earthquake disaster.
But while the tsunamis momentarily rocked markets such as Thailand and Sri Lanka, the more enduring themes affecting the region's stocks this year were corporate governance and China's hunger for raw materials.
This year Japan was home to the region's worst performing stock.
Seibu Railway was found to have falsified shareholder data for more than 40 years. By the time an
indignant exchange ordered the company to delist this month, its shares had fallen 67.3 per cent since January 1.
Brilliance China Automotive was Asia's second worst performing large-cap stock, with its Hong Kong share price falling nearly 66.6 per cent between January and December 22.
Investors have become increasingly concerned with the gradual transformation of the Chinese car-maker into a state-owned company after the Liaoning provincial administration ousted founder Yang Rong in 2002.
Their concerns were compounded in November when PwC resigned as the company's auditor without explanation.
However, the corporate governance theme played both ways. SK shares rose 120.8 per cent as attempts by foreign fund manager Sovereign Asset Management to oust the group's management, including chairman Chey Tae-won, stoked hopes of a hostile takeover.
Samsung Corp, meanwhile, gained on rumours that it was a possible takeover target after a separate governance-related dispute.
LG Corp, the holding company of the LG Group, was the best performing large-cap stock in the
region after a restructuring under which it was allotted some of the chaebol's stronger companies including LG Electronics, LG Chem and LG Petrochem.
Other technology companies, however, lost steam. Among the worst performers were semiconductor-related shares, with companies including NEC Electronics, Singapore's Chartered Semiconductor and VIA Technologies dragged down by global concerns over excess capacity and tightening demand.