Singapore unemployment rate at 14-year low in 2011
SINGAPORE: Supported by strong employment creation, Singapore’s unemployment rate declined to a 14-year low in 2011, according to the “”Employment Situation, 2011″” report……
FBM KLCI closed higher, regional markets up
Key regional markets clawed back some of its losses and traded in positive after Greece is said to be nearing solutions to avoid a messy default……
TNB’s CEO Che Khalib quits
KUALA LUMPUR: Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) CEO Datuk Seri Che Khalib Mohd Noh will be calling it quits when his contract expires in June this year after heading the national utility for the past seven years……
New management team for Proton likely following takeover
PETALING JAYA: Speculation over the future of the top management at Proton Holdings Bhd has surfaced with reports indicating that DRB-Hicom Bhd is keen to get its own people in the top posts of the national carmaker……
TNB, Petronas and the Govt yet to decide on how to absorb further cost of burning distillates
KUALA LUMPUR: The problem of compensation for the burning of distillates following the severe gas shortage at Tenaga Nsaional Bhd (TNB) is not over……
Bank Negara announces new liberalisation rules
PETALING JAYA: Bank Negara has announced a slew of liberalisation measures regarding the use and conversion of foreign exchange, in line with its efforts to enhance competitiveness and develop the domestic financial markets……
MAHB proposes private share placement to part finance KLIA2
PETALING JAYA: Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) has proposed private placement of up to 110 million new ordinary shares of RM1 each, representing 10% of the company’s issued and paid-up share capital, primarily to part finance the addition…..
Sukuk dominates fund-raising activities
PETALING JAYA: Ringgit-denominated sukuk issuances dominated Malaysian fund-raising activities approved by the Securities Commission (SC) last year, accounting for RM78.9bil out of RM118.9bil total funds approved through the capital market……
IPTE eyes 10% market share
KUALA LUMPUR: ING Public Takaful Ehsan Bhd (IPTE), a unit of ING Management Holdings (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd (ING Malaysia), is set to capture a 10% share of the takaful market by 2015, from about 1% share currently……
KPRJ said to launch mandatory general offer for Tebrau Teguh
PETALING JAYA: Tebrau Teguh Bhd, which has suspended its shares from trading, may be the next company to undergo privatisation by its major shareholder……
Support Line
K.M. Lee writes on Dayang Enterprise, Pelikan International and Silver Ridge Holdings……
Offer price for Glenealy cheap
PETALING JAYA: The offer price for Glenealy Plantations (Malaya) Bhd in a proposed privatisation exercise is too low, according to OSK Research……
Temasek Formation gets nod for merger
KUALA LUMPUR: Temasek Formation Bhd (TFB), a special purpose company owned by AIC Corp Bhd and Jotech Holdings Bhd executive chairman Datuk Goh Tian Chuan has been granted the Securities Commission’s (SC) approval for the proposed merger of Jot…..
Record earnings for Public Bank
PETALING JAYA: Public Bank Bhd posted a 3.6% year-on-year increase in net profit to RM877mil for its fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2011, and cited the improved performance as mainly due to higher net interest and net income from its Islamic banking bu…..
Report: Delay in CPO quotas
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia has delayed issuing quotas to export crude palm oil without taxes for 2012 as it drafts policy to counter competition from top supplier Indonesia, which slashed its export taxes for refined oil, sources told Reuters ……
Munir: More must be done to promote Islamic banking to non-Muslims
GEORGE TOWN: More must be done to promote Islamic banking to non-Muslims, Bank Muamalat chairman Tan Sri Dr Munir Abdul Majid said……
Maybank finalises RM1bil loan
PETALING JAYA: Malayan Banking Bhd has concluded the syndication of US$330.6mil (RM1.02bil) syndicated term facility for Indonesian independent power producer, PT Bajradaya Sentranusa (BDSN)……
No more IMF loan for Sri Lanka
COLOMBO: Sri Lanka, which is locked in a row with the International Monetary Fund over its exchange rate policy, will not draw the remaining US$800mil of a US$2.6bil loan from the global lender due to the high interest rate, the governor of the centr…..
Turning Shanghai into yuan centre
BEIJING: China will make Shanghai the global centre of yuan trading, clearing and pricing by 2015, according to a specific state plan laying out the citys future as an international financial centre……
Tiger Airways buys 33% stake in Indonesias Mandala Airlines
SINGAPORE: Singapore budget airline Tiger Airways said it had bought a 33% stake in beleaguered Indonesian carrier PT Mandala Airlines as part of its regional expansion plans……
Ryanair hikes profit forecast on higher fares
DUBLIN: Ryanair has raised its profit forecast, saying higher ticket prices are more than making up for expensive fuel and reduced capacity, underlining the resilience of its low-cost sector as legacy carriers struggle……
Foreign auto makers in China lose backing under new rules
BEIJING: China has withdrawn support for foreign investment in auto manufacturing under new rules, as it seeks to encourage the domestic industry in the world’s largest car market……
EU drafts law in response to China protectionism
FRANKFURT: The European Union is drafting a law in response to Chinese protectionism in public markets, EU trade commissioner Karel De Gucht told the German Focus magazine in an interview……
S. Korea wants to strike trade pact with China
SEOUL: South Korea finance minister called for early negotiations on a free trade pact with China so Seoul can compete against Taiwan in the lucrative Chinese market……
Spain in pain as long recession looms
MADRID: Spains economy looks set to slip into a long recession after contracting in the last quarter of 2011 for the first time in two years, as Europes leaders gather to seek out ways to promote growth and jobs in the debt-laden region……
Europe set to spread budgetary golden rules
BRUSSELS: European leaders are set to adopt a new treaty to reinforce budgetary discipline among governments in the wake of the debt crisis……
Fujifilm makes offer to Olympus
TOKYO: A Fujifilm Holdings executive says the company has proposed an alliance with scandal-tainted Olympus Corp, adding that there are areas the two rivals can cooperate without infringing on antitrust regulations. &nbs…..
Plassat is new Carrefour boss
PARIS: Carrefour, Europes largest retailer, has picked retail veteran Georges Plassat as its next boss, signalling key shareholders may back another attempt to fix its ailing hypermarkets rather than pushing for a break-up……
Apple overtakes HP as world’s largest vendor of personal computers
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Apple Inc overtook Hewlett-Packard Co as the world’s largest vendor of personal computers in the fourth quarter, helped by booming demand for its iPads, research firm Canalys said on Monday……
Japanese carmaker Honda’s Q3 seen hit by disasters, yen
TOKYO (Reuters) – Honda Motor Co is expected to report a double-digit slide in quarterly operating profit on Tuesday and forecast a still larger drop for the full year, as natural disasters in Japan and Thailand hit it harder than rivals……
CFTC panel to review high-frequency trading
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Commodity Futures Trading Commission is expected to review a rapid-fire technique that allows traders to buy and sell shares at lightning speed, a step that could help it better understand the impact of an activity critics …..
HP director Babbio to leave board
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Hewlett-Packard Co said on Monday long-time director Larry Babbio Jr. will step down, as the technology giant continues to restructure its much-criticized board……
Cosmo editor donates $30 million to Columbia, Stanford
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Longtime Cosmopolitan editor Helen Gurley Brown is donating $30 million to Columbia University and Stanford University to establish a media institute in honor of her late husband, the schools announced on Monday……
Most banks tightening credit to Europe, Fed says
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – More than two-thirds of banks in a Federal Reserve survey of senior loan officers said they had tightened credit to European financial firms in January, underscoring the continent’s severe banking crisis……
Markets push Portugal towards bond pariah Greece
LONDON/LISBON (Reuters) – Portugal’s slide towards becoming the next Greece – needing a second bailout to avoid bankruptcy – accelerated on Monday as untrusting underwriters hiked the cost of insuring Lisbon’s bonds to new highs and insisted it be pa…..
Cameron faces eurosceptic ire for pragmatic UK stance
ONDON (Reuters) – British Prime Minister David Cameron sparked the wrath of eurosceptics in his Conservative party on Monday, indicating he would not block the use of European Union institutions in an economic policy pact Britain opted out of in Dece…..
Europe signs up to German-led fiscal pact
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Chancellor Angela Merkel cemented her political ascendancy in Europe on Monday when 25 out of 27 EU states agreed to a German-inspired pact for stricter budget discipline, even as they struggled to rekindle growth from the ashes …..
Stanford sought to influence regulator
HOUSTON (Reuters) – Allen Stanford, charged with a $7 billion Ponzi scheme, sought to have a Antiguan regulator with oversight of his offshore bank dismissed after she rejected a number of the Texas financier’s overtures to work together, she testifi…..
Study: Mexicans overcharged billions for phone use
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Mexicans were overcharged billions of dollars for phone service in recent years as the industry dominated by billionaire Carlos Slim gouges customers and keeps the economy from growing, a study released on Monday said……
Sentoria Group to raise RM51.6mil from IPO
Sentoria Group Bhd plans to raise RM51.6mil from its initial public offering……
Judge dismisses Oracle fraud claim against HP
(Reuters) – A California judge has dismissed a fraud claim brought by Oracle Corp against Hewlett-Packard Co in the bitter legal battle between the two companies over the Itanium platform……
IMF plays down risk of China “”hard landing”"
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A senior International Monetary Fund official said on Monday that China was taking steps to reduce property bubble risks and said it has room to add fiscal stimulus if conditions worsen……
Australia business activity, housing subdued in Dec
SYDNEY, Jan 31 (Reuters) Australian businesses conditions were stable in December as cuts in interest rates helped offset the gloom engulfing Europe, a survey showed on Tuesday, while an easing in price pressures pointed to scope for further stimulus…..
ANALYSIS – Advantage ANZ, NAB among Australia banks as costs soar
SYDNEY, Jan 31 (Reuters) Stubbornly weak Australian mortgage growth and soaring funding costs are tipping the scales in favour of businesslending focused ANZ and National Australia Bank among the ‘Big Four’ banks, as the economy slows and jobs are cu…..
China studies measures to reform IPO mechanism
SHANGHAI, Jan 31 (Reuters) China’s securities regulator is studying measures to allow market forces to play a bigger role in companies’ initial public offerings, responding to Premier Wen Jiaobao’s call for further liberalisation of the current syste…..
NZ household borrowing still flat in December
WELLINGTON, Jan 31 (Reuters) New Zealand household borrowing remained soft in December with a rise in housing credit offsetting weaker consumer borrowing, the Reserve Bank of NZ (RBNZ) said on Tuesday……
Singapore Dec bank lending up 1.1% from Nov
SINGAPORE, Jan 31 (Reuters) Total bank lending in Singapore rose 1.1 percent in December from November, central bank data showed on Tuesday……
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