A truly modern army can’t be a tool of the party

Despite its name, the People’s Liberation Army is an army of the Communist Party, not of the nation. This is not only political reality, but something written into the constitution.

Dr. Lim Hock Siew's Speech

Mystery bankers, dodgy deals, missing millions

The auditors travelled to China to probe cash transactions made by Sino-Environment. It turned out to be a rocky journey as the company staff and its supposed ‘bankers’ appeared to have laid roadblocks at every step.

29 Catalist firms still do not have sponsors

Unsponsored firms face trading suspension, then delisting

Swing Media secures $10m equity line facility

Swing Media Technology Group says it has entered into a $10 million equity line facility (ELF) with YA Global Master SPV, a fund managed by New Jersey’s Yorkville Advisors.

High-rating television show about urban life suspended

Content on corruption and affairs too realistic, reports say
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Stocks will dive back to 2008 March low - analyst of Societe Generale S.A, Edwards

U.S. stocks are heading for a fall to below their lows of last March.

Asia is poised for V-shaped recovery next year

Asia is poised for a sharp economic recovery next year, even as developed economies in the West continue to struggle, according to Standard Chartered’s chief economist.

Sincere Watch sets its sight on China, India

Sincere Watch will focus on growing the business in Asia by setting up stores in parts of China and India rather than turn to acquisitions at this point.

Get stockbrokers in on governance

Why is it that when scandal rocks the stock market - as it has this year with the high-profile problems at various China companies listed on the Singapore Exchange (SGX) - nobody looks at the role that the stock broking community might have played in safeguarding investors’ interests?

Peru human fat killings ‘a lie’

Peru’s police chief has suspended a top investigator for saying he had caught a gang who were murdering people to sell their fat.

Mortgage slaves’ plight more fact than fiction

Until it was mysteriously pulled from the airwaves recently, the latest hit TV show on the mainland was Woju. Set in the imaginary city of Jiangzhou, clearly based on Shanghai, it follows white-collar workers as they struggle to buy apartments.

Low Thia Kiang: “Cooling-off” period will give PAP an extra day of campaigning

The late Singapore Chief Minister Mr. David Marshall once described the Straits Times as the “running dogs and prostitutes of the PAP”.

The state media is known to portray PAP candidates in a positive light while casting aspersions on the characters of opposition candidates.

Asia Tiger prowls for fund-raising options

Asia Tiger - soon to be renamed The Think Environmental Co Ltd - is exploring ways to fund its change of stripes.

Sino-Env: tough questions need to be addressed

The gathering of over 70 minority shareholders of Sino-Environment at a meeting chaired by Singapore Investors Association (Singapore) or SIAS this evening is sure to whip up some heated discussion about the sorry state of affairs at the S-chip.

Goldman selling Shanghai block for US$300m

Goldman Sachs is in talks to sell a residential property investment in Shanghai for more than US$300 million as it seeks to take profit in the mainland’s property market before expected policy risks emerge next year, say sources familiar with the decision.

DMG’s Gabriel Yap to take a break from stock broking

Well-known stock market personality Gabriel Yap is quitting the business - for a while at least - to travel and do charity work.

China stock bubble seen bursting next year

China’s ballooning stock market bubble, fuelled by excessive liquidity, is likely to burst in the first half of 2010, punctured by economic concerns arising from higher-than-expected inflation, Morgan Stanley Asia executive director Jerry Lou said on Thursday.

If you play your cards right ...

Top poker players are being studied to help traders’ strategic thinking

US-China partnership key to fixing world issues

Observers analysing the visit of US President Barack Obama to China not unnaturally looked for signs of a shift in the world balance of power - and they found them.

For one thing, the American leader was noticeably respectful of his Chinese hosts and did not attempt to lecture them, at least not in public and probably not in private as well.

SGX should enforce listing rules itself - not rely on others

I refer to the report, ‘SGX: Public rap for misconduct is enough’ (BT, Nov 20), and the letter from SGX, ‘SGX comments in context’ (BT, Nov 24).

Curbs on officials with family overseas

Shenzhen cadres will be barred from powerful positions if their spouses and children live outside the mainland under a groundbreaking regulation aimed at curbing rampant government corruption.

Appeal dismissed: Trading ‘expert’ must refund $176,583

The High Court yesterday upheld the decision of the Small Claims Tribunal that self-styled trading expert Clemen Chiang has to give out refunds totalling $176,583 to 48 people who attended his seminars.

United SSE 50 China ETF lists today

Singapore’s first China A-shares exchange-traded fund (ETF) will be listed today, with a change in the tracking index, issuers UOB Asset Management (UOBAM) and China Securities Index said yesterday.

The threat of ‘hot money’ in the region

Emerging countries the world over are growing increasingly concerned about strong inflows of ‘hot money’ into their respective countries. ‘Hot money’, also known as mobile capital, refers to short-term private capital that flows across borders into different markets in search of higher returns.

State-run magazine reports on black jails in China

It read like a muckraking expose: A magazine revealed a system of secret detention centers in Beijing where Chinese citizens are forcibly held and sometimes beaten to prevent them from lodging formal complaints with the central government.

Minsheng Down in Debut as China Banks Under Pressure

Shares of China Minsheng Banking, which raised $3.9 billion in the world’s fifth largest initial public offering of 2009, fell 1 percent in their Hong Kong trading debut, underscoring the recently soured investor sentiment for mainland banks.

Court to mistress: Law can’t help you

The Court of Appeal has rejected a bid by the mistress of a dead businessman to get his estate to pay maintenance for their two children.

Asia should look at own-currency reserves

Governments in Asia should continue to develop their domestic bond markets, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) argued during the fourth annual Asian Bond Markets Summit held in Singapore this week by the ADB and The Asset magazine.

Analysts who forecast crisis warn of US meltdown in 2012

A US dollar plunge could ravage the United States economy as soon as 2012, when foreign investors are likely to exit en masse from US assets, according to a new book by two analysts who forecast the recent credit crisis.

Ailing greenback may fuel giant asset bubble

Investors may come to grief when US dollar carry trade unwinds

Virus in Netherlands hits disarmed iPhones

Hackers have built a virus that attacks Apple’s iPhone by secretly taking control of the device through its internet connection, according to security experts.

Judicial management likely cure for Sino-Environment

This will safeguard firm’s assets while a debt repayment plan for bondholders is worked out

Gamblers are easy prey

They come from diverse backgrounds - there are teachers, pilots, engineers and even the odd housewife alongside the jobless. But they share one thing in common: They are gamblers faced with mounting debts.

College course to help groom China’s scions

A leading Chinese university has launched a special business programme to help groom the scions of China’s growing number of wealthy families into future tycoons, state media reported.

China almost ties with US in number of researchers

China increased investment in research and development by 36 per cent from 2002 to 2007, almost catching up to the US in the share of its workers engaged in creating knowledge or products, the UN said.

BYD boss still riding high after Buffett’s investment

The soft-spoken 43-year-old entrepreneur was zapped onto the world stage last year when his company, BYD Co Ltd, became the latest darling of US billionaire investor Warren Buffett, who bought 10 per cent of the electric car and battery maker.

Beijing moves to turn harmful methane into an energy source

The mainland, a massive consumer of fossil fuels and coal in particular, is trying to modernise its mines by containing emissions of methane and turning the gas into a source of much-needed energy.

Banks seen raising billions in capital in coming years

Chinese banks, under government pressure to shore up their finances, are set to unleash a wave of capital raising worth billions of dollars that could strain equity markets but also spur innovation in debt instruments.

Asia Sentinel Loses a Singapore Correspondent

It is little wonder that the sage advice of one professor of journalism at Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University to an eager student reporter was: “If you want to do journalism, don’t do it in Singapore.” – Asia Sentinel

Activist who criticised school construction gets prison term

A lengthy prison sentence for a rights activist shows the determination of Chinese officials to suppress any vestige of dissent related to shoddy construction and unnecessary deaths in last year’s devastating earthquake in Sichuan province, fellow activists said.

Sino-Env independent directors fire back

The independent directors (IDs) of Sino-Environment Technology Group have vigorously refuted the claims made by the executive directors, saying that complaints against the company’s sacked financial controller and about the payment of certain professional fees are without merit.

Zhejiang businessmen’s 22 golden rules

If you’ve ever wondered why Zhejiang has a penchant for drawing successful businessmen from its ranks, then you probably won’t be surprised to know of the “22 Rules for Zhejiang Businessmen.” Of course, it’s a little seedier than what you’d find in business ethics books, but it seems to be pretty spot on from what we know of Zhejiang businessmen and their practices: Jiaren.com lovingly calls them the “Jews of the Orient,” which we guess is a compliment?

Shanghai first to offer social net to expatriates

The move means expatriates living and working in the city can receive coverage equal to that for locals over sick pay and bills for workplace injuries - so long as they pay into the system. Previously, the only option for companies with foreign employees was to take out commercial insurance.

$500 Million and Apology From Goldman

How much good will can an apology — and half a billion dollars — buy? A lot, Goldman Sachs is hoping.

Do busy wives cause husbands to stray to prostitutes?

Official figures on arrests of foreign call girls reflect a high demand of prostitutes in Malaysia.

Lying - an integral part of job interviews

The more stupid or inappropriate the questions get, the more you are entitled, almost expected, to lie.

Guangzhou’s African bind

To heal wounds caused by a protest by up to 200 Africans in July, Guangzhou police are offering a two-month amnesty and talks with leaders of their community to resolve differences.

Dubai looks to oil-rich neighbour for possible aid

As world markets absorbed the shock of Dubai’s debt crisis, the ruler of the once-booming city-state left town for an important meeting in a desert palace. His hosts: the leaders of neighbouring Abu Dhabi whose balance sheets are flush with oil revenue.

Dangers of an Overheated China

President Obama’s recent trip to China reflects a symbiotic relationship at the heart of the global economy: China uses American spending power to enlarge its private sector, while America uses Chinese lending power to expand its public sector. Yet this arrangement may unravel in a dangerous way, and if it does, the most likely culprit will be Chinese economic overcapacity.