WEEKAHEAD - the view from Reuters Asia news editors

SINGAPORE, Nov 30 (Reuters) - Following is the view from
Reuters Asia editors on the news that is likely to matter most
for the week ahead starting Nov. 30:

* YEN: Will Japan intervene to check the yen?

* DUBAI SCARE: Will it delay an Australia rate rise?

* IPO: Sands China debut; Rusal, China Pacific in the wings

* AFGHANISTAN: Obama decision on U.S. troop deployment

YEN INTERVENTION? (Shirakawa speaks Nov. 30, Suda Dec. 2)

How close is the Japanese government to intervention in the
foreign exchange market? We get a chance to build on our very
strong reporting last week [ID:nECONJP] to try and nail down
thinking at the BOJ and the Ministry of Finance after they took
the rare step of checking dollar/yen JPY= rates from banks,
something unheard of since intervention stopped in 2004. Will
BOJ governor Shirakawa and board member Suda address the issue
of yen strength when they speak on Monday and Wednesday,
respectively? Will the matter be discussed at a meeting between
Prime Minister Hatoyama and Shirakawa that sources tell us will
take place this week? All this after Finance Minister Fujii
raised the prospect of a G7 statement on FX, and several other
officials made their strongest remarks yet on a yen rally that
is deepening deflation and the risk of a double dip recession
in the run-up to Upper House elections next year. The view in
Tokyo bureau is that there will be no intervention, which
tallies with the perception that any yen selling by the BOJ
will do little more than briefly stall the rally. The angle we
need to hit much harder this week is the threat to Tokyo's
credibility from inaction and near impossibility of mustering
foreign support for intervention.
(dayan.candappa@thomsonreuters.com)
(eric.burroughs@thomsonreuters.com)
> Five world markets themes this week [MKT/THEMES]

DUBAI FALLOUT

The impact of Dubai's request for a freeze on debt
repayment is mainly a markets and corporate story for Asia. We
are pursuing three angles. 1) ISLAMABAD - The impact, if any,
on Pakistan, the single largest recipient of United Arab
Emirates foreign investment (actual and pledged) in the world.
Will try to discover the status of the planned Dubai projects,
including a $43 billion development near Karachi. What are
local partners saying? Any risk to expected inflows? Is there
any risk of local defaults? 2) KUALA LUMPUR - Dubai's role in
the Islamic Finance market. Will Dubai's demise shift business
to other centres? Kuala Lumpur is unlikely to be a beneficiary
because of differences in the approach to Islamic regulation.
Will this diminish secular interest in Islamic financing as a
whole? 3) MUMBAI/MANILA - Will there be any impact on
remittances? The biggest flows from the Gulf go to South Asia
and the Philippines. (dayan.candappa@thomsonreuters.com)
(john.chalmers@thomsonreuters.com)
> MARKETS WEEKAHEAD-End of 2009's risk rally? [ID:nGEE5AQ0EB]

AUSTRALIA RATES (Inventories Nov. 30; RBA, building
approvals Dec. 1; retail sales 4th)

The Dubai debt scare may help decide Tuesday's delicately
poised Reserve Bank of Australia rate review. Most analysts
expect a hike to 3.75 percent. The run of data has been mostly
upbeat and the bank's outlook is decidedly bullish. There is no
meeting in January, so failure to move now will force the bank
to wait two months. Yet the market is pricing in a near 50/50
chance of no change because of the latest slide in global
equity markets and the uncertainty triggered by Dubai's delayed
debt payments. Data due this week, though certainly less of a
factor, will be upbeat. Inventories (forecast -1.3 percent) on
Monday will be important for GDP. Building approvals (+1.8
percent) on Tuesday and retail sales (+0.3 percent) on Thursday
should complete the positive picture.
(dayan.candappa@thomsonreuters.com)
> Reuters polls and surveys [ID:nL10903477]
> Top economic events [M/DIARY]

IPO TRAIN

After all the hype, Sands China (1928.HK) makes its trading
debut in Hong Kong (Nov. 30), the latest high profile gambling
play there following the earlier IPO of Wynn Macau (1128.HK).
After pricing its $2.5 billion IPO near the low end of a range,
focus will be on how quickly the debt-laden company can find
its trading legs or whether the Macau gambling story has lost
its lustre [ID:nHKG358168]. INTERVIEW with LVS founder and
billionaire Sheldon Adelson. Other IPOs in the mill: RUSAL ($2
billion, seeking HK listing approval), China Pacific Insurance
($3.5 billion, has HK listing approval - source), Resourcehouse
($3 billion, has delayed roadshow; regulator needs more
information), Longyuan ($2.2 billion, final pricing), Samsung
Life (has picked lead managers). [ASIA-IPO]
(jean.yoon@thomsonreuters.com)
> Company news diary [GLO/EQUITY]

AFGHANISTAN DEPLOYMENT

U.S. President Barack Obama is expected to announce late on
Tuesday that he is deploying a further 35,000 troops, including
trainers, in Afghanistan over the course of a year from early
2010. Most of these troops are expected to be deployed in
Kandahar where a new headquarters will come up. We will do a
story from there explaining just why Kandahar has proved to be
such a hard nut to crack. Beyond the immediate deployment, it
will be interesting to see how Obama frames the war strategy
going forward. Will watch for a change in the language around
his objectives: if he moves away from the "defeat" of al Qaeda
to simply "dismantle and degrade" that would be a significant
lowering of ambition. Pakistan, the country most affected by
more U.S. troops in the region, will be watching closely where
they are deployed. If they are ordered to defend population
centres, as seems likely, Pakistani fears of the surge spilling
over the border may be somewhat eased. At the same time, a U.S.
surge sends a clear signal of resolve to stay the course, and
so the Taliban may be more amenable to talks. [ID:nAFPAK]
(john.chalmers@thomsonreuters.com)
> Five key Asia political risk themes to watch
[ID:nSP482387]
> Weekahead Americas [WKAHEAD/AM] Europe [WKAHEAD/EM]
> Index of Reuters diaries [IND/DIARY]
(Editing by Mathew Veedon)
((Mathew Veedon, +65 6870 3827;
mathew.veedon@thomsonreuters.com; Reuters Messaging:
mathew.veedon.reuters.com@reuters.net))