EVERY time furniture giant Ikea sells an Ensta or Jokkmokk dining set in Malaysia, Datuk Kimble Yao hears cash registers ring.
One in three pine dining sets Ikea Damansara sells in its Petaling Jaya store is made in Kimble Furniture Corp Bhd’s 10-hectare factory in Bukit Rambai, Malacca.
And he is banking on the company improving profit [...]

Dependent on exports to the United States, the Hebei Lihua Hat Co. saw its profits wiped out as China‘s currency rose steadily against the dollar over the past year.
Yet even those efforts might be inadequate, said Wang Zhenhao, the business manager for Hebei Lihua, located in Baoding, a city southwest of Beijing.
Chinese companies that supply [...]