Kimberly shares got socked hard in January after company execs, citing rising raw-material prices and margin-busting marketplace competition, offered downbeat full-year profit guidance.
While food businesses on the production end have benefited from the high prices, companies near the consumer end have suffered from risingrawmaterial costs.
In Asia's dynamic economies, rising costs constitute the biggest challenge facing business Companies have to cope not only with increasing wages, rents and rawmaterialprices, but also with the tighter money imposed by higher interest rates instituted to dampen inflation.