PLA streamlines arms purchases to stamp out waste and corruption

The People’s Liberation Army is to reform its procurement system in a bid to stem widespread wastage and corruption.

Americans unable to accept US decline

Domestic resistance, rising global challenges make it tough for US to continue being No. 1

Fisting in Chinese

Fisting in Chinese, etc. from Danwei on Vimeo.

Court freezes big asset sales by Sino-Env EDs

Independent Directors (IDs) of Sino-Environment Technology Group were granted court orders yesterday to restrain the company’s executive directors (EDs) from selling any major assets and signing new contracts of significant value.

Raising the bar for independent directors

The Singapore Exchange’s (SGX) latest move to change listing rules to improve corporate governance will place a greater burden on independent directors (IDs). It comes in the wake of recent events which have highlighted how challenging the job can be for IDs, something far removed from the popular notion of the board as a cosy old boys’ club.

Dual listing lure poses challenge to SGX

The performance of China XLX on its debut on the Hong Kong bourse has serious implications for Singapore’s ambitions to attract offshore companies to list here.

Yorkville to invest in Transcu life sciences firm

Singapore-listed life sciences firm Transcu Group (TRSU.SI) said on Thursday that Yorkville Advisors, a U.S. investment fund manager, planned to invest up to US$51.8 million ($72 million) in the company.

SUTL Global buys 23.4% of Achieva for $15.2m

Leisure group SUTL Global has bought 23.4 per cent of mainboard-listed IT-related firm Achieva for $15.2 million. The seller is an executive director who has stepped down for health reasons.

China Squeezes Property Speculators With Tougher Tax Penalty

The government will impose a sales tax on homes sold within five years of their purchase, increasing the time period covered by the charge from two years, the State Council, the nation’s cabinet, said yesterday after a meeting chaired by Wen. China reduced the penalty period of the tax to two years from five in January of this year to stem falling prices.

Japan Land twisting in ever tighter knots

It is odd that Japan Land did not mention who had been in charge of the accounts for its subsidiary - Japan Asia Land - at a press conference last week.

Because if the board had said then that Junya Kitada - chief financial officer of Japan Asia Land until Nov 30 - was also the head of the company’s hired accounting firm, that fact would have been added to the company’s litany of corporate governance flops.

3-day, 7-day tickets are Expo bargain

Starting in January, you’ll be able to buy three and seven-day tickets for the 2010 Shanghai World Expo that will allow you to visit the Expo several times at a cheaper price.

Judges must not pre-judge merits of case

Judges must not pressure parties in a case to settle their dispute quickly, nor should they make up their minds about the case before hearing all the arguments.

Las Vegas casino case: Ruling overturned

Appeals court: Foreign judgment valid here only if it is to claim money

China executes securities trader who hid millions

China executed Tuesday the former manager of a securities company who embezzled millions of dollars - the first execution of an executive from the communist country’s financial sector, state media said.

News blackout on Dr. Chee’s acquittal by AGC of charges of speaking in public without a permit

A complete news blackout was imposed by the Singapore media on the acquittal of the Singapore Democratic Party’s Secretary-General Dr. Chee Soon Juan of three remaining charges of speaking in public without a permit by the Attorney-General Chambers.

SGX makes it compulsory for brokers to mark short-sell orders

In a bid to increase market transparency, the Singapore Exchange (SGX) has said that it is making it compulsory for brokers to mark all short-sell orders.

Chinese woman altered fingerprints for Japan entry

A Chinese woman arrested in Japan for illegal entry had altered her fingerprints through surgery to fool a biometric security system at the airport, media reports said Monday.

Olam advisers lose fees in US$400m bond issue

Olam International had trouble selling US$400 million of convertible bonds in early September because convertible arbitrage funds could not borrow Olam stock for shorting, said the company’s chief executive, Sunny Verghese.

Chinese auction site a boon for businesses, big and small

Taobao’s growing popularity has captured the imagination of students like Ge, but also giants like Dell, Uniqlo, Procter and Gamble, and Chinese firms seeking to step from the shadows after years of manufacturing for US and European labels.

Ajahn Brahm on "The Meaning of Life"

When Uncle Sam calls East Asia’s bluff

At least by the measure of stock market prices, the world is returning to the happy days of early 2008, before the financial shocks. But some less obvious, yet perhaps more profound, signs point to fundamental changes. Asia, in particular, boasts about some of these - a shift in power and wealth to the East - but, in practice, is ill-prepared for their realisation.

Family portrait of 56 ethnic groups in China

Chen Haiwen, a photographer, recently lead a team of 14 photographers to create a book entitled, “Harmonious China: A Sketch of China’s 56 Ethnicities.” The team spent one year travelling all over China to complete the project. They ended up taking over 5.7 million photographs.

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Fugitive running out of options

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper has just wrapped up a four-day visit to China, during which he sat down with the country’s leaders and signed a number of agreements, including one on climate change. But there was one topic he would have preferred to avoid but which inevitably cropped up - the extradition of Lai Changxing, the country’s most famous fugitive.

Gome founder to be charged with corruption, insider trading

After a year of gathering evidence, mainland prosecutors have decided to charge the billionaire and former Gome Electrical Appliances chairman with corruption and insider trading, mainland media said.

Investors are happy to follow the herd

Widely held views on the market are favoured, never mind they are often wrong

China’s Red Princesses

These social butterflies mix with European and American glitterati, but few in China get to hear of their exploits

New Zealand man injects sleeping wife with HIV

An HIV-positive man in New Zealand has admitted injecting his blood into his sleeping wife and infecting her with the virus which can cause AIDS, a newspaper reported Sunday.

Revelation of Swiss bank accounts

TOP FIVE

1. INDIA - $1,456 BILLION
2. RUSSIA - $470 BILLION
3. U.K. - $390 BILLION
4. UKRAINE - $100 BILLION
5. CHINA - $96 BILLION

Chinese wind power companies target global markets

China’s Goldwind Science & Technology Ltd. is one of the world’s biggest makers of wind turbines - a cornerstone of the booming clean power business - but is virtually unknown outside its home country.

China targets illegal golf links

Crackdown comes amid widespread construction of courses

China launches ad campaign to salvage global image

China, the country that introduced the world to formerly obscure chemicals such as melamine and diethylene glycol via a series of product safety scandals, is now hoping to salvage its image through an advertising campaign.

Beijing to let foreigners set up limited partnerships

Foreign firms and individuals will be allowed to set up limited partnership firms in mainland from March next year, a move that could make it easier for some overseas investors to tap the domestic market.