Friday, 18 September 2009
Three former senior execs of Daka Designs charged in Hong Kong
Three ex-senior executives of a former Singapore- listed company, Daka Designs, have been charged in Hong Kong with conspiring to defraud shareholders and the Singapore Exchange between early 2003 and May 2005.
Shenzhen begins push to increase transparency
When it comes to freedom of the press, the mainland has a poor record overall by Western standards, but Shenzhen authorities announced yesterday a new initiative to enhance government transparency, saying that officials who violated it could face Communist Party disciplinary action or lose their jobs.
Now, a less aggressive manner
When Mr. Vijay Badami and his family returned to Karnataka in India a couple of years ago, relatives told him that Singapore had changed them.
More S-chips go on charm offensive
More S-chips are going on a charm offensive to revive interest among institutional investors. And their choice of weapons are roadshows, meetings and investor conferences.
Man, 68, charged with molest
Ho Ching, a former ice-cream vendor, allegedly kissed the girl in the living room of his flat at New Upper Changi Road on Aug 8 last year.
Just how far can ‘internal affairs’ be stretched?
Ever since the 1950s, China has subscribed to the principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of other countries, which was first written into a treaty that it signed with India in 1954. Since then, China has continued to loudly uphold this principle and to criticise those who, in Beijing’s view, interfere in its internal affairs, including commenting on its human rights record.
Guangdong goes after fleeing debtors
China’s southern Guangdong province has passed a law aimed at barring foreigners and locals from fleeing the country to escape failed business investments and debts.
Eyeing China, Singapore sees Mandarin as its future
A cacophony of Mandarin and English echo through the streets of Singapore’s Chinatown as crowds of shoppers buy joss sticks and fruit as offerings to the spirits during the Seventh Month Ghost Festival.
China walking taller than before the crisis
If any country can be said to have had a good crisis, it is China.
Thursday, 17 September 2009
China growth path could exceed planet’s resources
If China’s economy continues to expand rapidly and rely heavily on coal and other fossil fuels until the middle of the century, its power demands could exceed what the entire planet can withstand, according to a study by government think tanks released Wednesday.
Bocom in talks with some S-chips to tap Hong Kong market
BOCOM International Holdings, which recently made its first investment in a Singapore-listed Chinese company, is now in talks with a few other S-chips to tap the Hong Kong market.
Australian police deny Indian race attack cover-up
Australian police on Wednesday denied trying to cover up a racial attack that left four Indian men seriously hurt and renewed fears over the safety of South Asian students.
As Expo looms, officials battle local dialect again
Shanghai authorities have launched a week of events aimed at stamping out what they see as an obstacle to good public communication - the local dialect.
Without proper disclosure, how useful are research reports?
The first important disclosure is the track record of the recommending analyst and whether he, she or their families own shares in the companies that are the subject of the recommendations. This information should appear on the first page for easy reader access; however, the current practice is not to include any information on track records while share ownership details - or the absence thereof - always appear in appendices and are usually in fine print as if they were simply incidental information.
Beauty China not appealing against winding-up order
Cosmetic company Beauty China Holdings is headed for liquidation as it will not be appealing against the winding-up order made by the High Court in Hong Kong.
Chefs in the soup, hotels in a tizzy
Some cite need to tighten purchasing systems; others worry about fallout
China-based Great Group Holdings launches mainboard IPO
Undergarment maker’s IPO of 80m shares priced at 29.5 cents
Daiwa Securities SMBC Singapore Ltd is the manager, underwriter and placement agent for the listing.
Daiwa Securities SMBC Singapore Ltd is the manager, underwriter and placement agent for the listing.
Greenspan should visit Singapore - and learn a thing or two
As Alan Greenspan tirelessly makes the rounds to save his legacy, Singapore is reminding us why the former Federal Reserve chairman’s efforts aren’t working.
US makes China one of its four top targets for spying
The US has listed China as one of the key targets for espionage for the next four years, a significant shift by the Obama administration and one that offers a rare insight into the motives of America’s spies.
Welcome to Millionaire Country!
Despite a dip, Singapore still has highest concentration of wealthy households
Why Financial Markets Worry About US-China Trade Dispute
The growing US trade dispute with China—a major trading partner and buyer of American assets—could pose a significant threat both to US markets and the economic recovery, analysts say.
Test of Taiwan’s rule of law
Chen’s trial showed no one is above the law, but it was also tainted by perceptions of meddling
Patrick Swayze dies at 57
Hollywood actor Patrick Swayze, best known for his roles in hit films Dirty Dancing and Ghost, died on Monday after a long battle with pancreatic cancer, his publicist said.
Party faces decision on graft
When Communist Party leaders meet in Beijing today, the nation will be watching to see whether they approve a new regulation that requires cadres to make public their family assets.
Is the yuan about to go global?
Not quite yet - China is in no position to challenge the pre-eminent role of the US dollar in the near future
HK$24.5m for one-bedroom flat sets record
A one-bedroom flat in a luxury development in Tsim Sha Tsui has fetched a whopping HK$30,025 per sq ft, setting a record in Hong Kong.
Govt takes fizz out of nascent property bubble
Cooling measures to curb speculation; move likely to hit sales, dampen prices
Ex-Pearl Energy trio launch KrisEnergy
US private equity firm to invest up to US$500m in oil-gas exploration, production company
Excess liquidity at the heart of the problem
With interest rates at a low, investors have few options other than property
Chen appeals over verdict; expelled from DPP
Former Taiwanese president Chen Shui-bian has formally appealed against a verdict sentencing him to life in jail for corruption, in a fresh attempt to redeem his integrity and stage a possible political comeback.
Bubble, toil and trouble - lessons not learnt
As long as returns are high, investors will dip their toes into the next big thing
Alibaba attracting European suppliers
Alibaba.com Ltd, the operator of China’s biggest trading website, is attracting more sellers from Europe and has 1.4 million users in the region after increasing its marketing amid the recession.
A trade war with China is a bad idea
The U.S. placed tariffs on Chinese tires, and China struck back with a probe of U.S. chickens. The tension needs to pass. Protectionism could hurt a recovery.
China still likes us ... for now
The Treasury keeps churning out debt and China is still buying. But with the dollar faltering and a trade spat brewing, will China continue to buy U.S. bonds?
Tuesday, 15 September 2009
Expats in Shanghai given sober wake-up call on perils of drunk driving
Expatriates living in the city were reminded that their residence permit may be revoked if they are caught driving under the influence of alcohol, the Shanghai Exit-Entry Administration Bureau said yesterday.
Monday, 14 September 2009
Risks seen for Asian stocks after rally
The medium-term risks of persistently soft US consumption and the eventual withdrawal of crisis policies will probably end a six-month honeymoon in Asian stock markets, when such risks were largely ignored.
Nowhere to hide; globally, it’s markets see, markets do
The United States stock market has just completed its best six months since 1933. From March 9 to September 9, the S&P 500 Index leapt 53 per cent.
Sporting chance
The mainland’s branded sportswear sector showed tremendous potential for growth, and this prompted the Xtep group to establish the Xtep brand in 2002.
Multipronged strategy drives sales up 33.5pc
Despite a challenging global environment, leading mainland-based international sportswear enterprise China Dongxiang (Group) has shown strong financial performance for the six months ended June.
Mainland sportswear maker on firm footing
Xtep International Holdings reported satisfactory growth for the six months that ended on June 30. The company’s solid performance came thanks to its continued efforts to enhance the brand, its product design and development capabilities, and growth of its retail network.
Chinese stocks expected to outperform US blue chips: ING
Chinese stocks should continue to see strong performance and are likely to outperform the US blue-chip stock market in the medium term, an ING investment director told Reuters.
Chinese firms rush to list in buoyant market
Dozens of Chinese companies are rushing to raise billions of dollars amid fears that the recovery on global markets will fizzle and foreign lenders will start demanding their money back, analysts say.
Beijing’s stimulus plan criticised for worsening imbalance
Spending will cause over-investment and under-consumption, say economists
Cheap dollars are sowing the seeds of the next world crisis
In a world of systemic instability, reserves mean power. Reserves mean you can defend your currency, stabilise your banking system and boost your economy without resorting to yet more borrowing – or, worse still, the printing press.
‘I Expect a Currency Crisis or Semi-Crisis’: Jim Rogers
The worst of the economic crisis is not over and a currency crisis can happen this year or the next year, because the problem of too much debt in the system has not been solved, legendary investor Jim Rogers told CNBC Monday.
Let’s Pay Bankers in Toxic Assets: Farrell
Bankers that created toxic assets like subprime-mortgage derivates should be paid in those assets instead of cash, which will bring about a more transparent and less reckless Wall Street, Vince Farrell, chief investment officer at Soleil Securities, said Monday.
Sunday, 13 September 2009
One year after Lehman’s collapse, the tears still flow
Big and small, investors reeled from US giant’s 2008 crash
Out of harm’s way, but far from normality
Social barrier for Uygurs shut up in Guangdong factory after fatal fight
Protesting Chen supporters target judge’s home
The home of the judge who handed down controversial life sentences in the graft case against former Taiwanese president Chen Shui-bian and his wife, Wu Shu-chen, has become the latest hot spot for protests by Chen’s supporters.
Money isn’t the only measure of success, but feel good about how much you make
It is often said that good writers never make any money. I have never met a successful writer, so I don’t know if this is a universally held view. But all the writers I do know, who are all poor, assure me that this is the case.
Hong Kong businessman gets partial payout after 10-year fight over hijacking of Shanxi firm
After a 10-year fight for compensation, a Hong Kong businessman who says he is owed millions after his company was hijacked by officials in Yuanqu county, Shanxi, has received less than a third of his investment back.
Wall Street analysts fear wrong bet, follow the herd
All of Wall Street’s bank analysts were caught out by Lehman Brothers’ collapse - and few have redeemed themselves since.
GEYLANG: The new CHINATOWN
China nationals are flocking to Geylang, drawn by low rents and cheap food
Saturday, 12 September 2009
Real and imagined attacks fan the flames of needle hysteria
Mysterious needle attacks have spread to new cities in Xinjiang, officials in the restive, far-western region confirmed yesterday, although once again the assaults appear to be a mix of the real and the imaginary.
Reaction to black talent star shows gulf in cultural sensitivities
Born to a Chinese mother and a black American father, the 20-year-old Shanghai Theatre Academy student was the major draw in successive appearances on a Shanghai TV talent show Let’s Go! Oriental Angel that began airing in June. But the audience was not as interested in her performances as her unusual complexion and mysterious life story.
Obama imposes tariffs on Chinese tires
President Barack Obama on Friday slapped punitive tariffs on all car and light truck tires entering the United States from China in a decision that could anger the strategically important Asian powerhouse but placate union supporters important to his health care push at home.
Mainland economy stays on recovery course
The mainland economy continued to recover last month as the expansion in industry and retail sales accelerated while capital investment maintained its strong momentum, official data released yesterday shows.
Flu likely to infect tens of millions during peak season
The Ministry of Health issued a stark warning on swine flu yesterday, saying fatalities were unavoidable and tens of millions would be affected during the peak flu season.
Anti-graft move expected at China’s key party meeting
A breakthrough in China’s long-drawn battle against corruption may emerge at a key meeting of the country’s political leaders next week.
Jailed for life, Chen and wife go down in history
A court yesterday sentenced Taiwan’s former president Chen Shui-bian to life imprisonment after convicting him of corruption, marking a watershed in the island’s turbulent young democracy.
Ex-Taiwan leader Chen gets life term
Professor Chen Fang-ming, a Taiwan literature expert from the National Chengchi University, said that Chen’s worst crime was not graft but how he made the Taiwanese lose their faith in fairness and justice by his lack of contrition and denials of guilt.
‘All our values have been twisted and distorted,’ he said.
Couple’s appeal could take five years
Chen Shui-bian and his wife Wu Shu-chen could be expected to mount a vigorous fight against the life sentences handed down to them yesterday but any decision by Taiwan’s highest court was years away, top lawyers say.
‘Verdict a warning to politicians to keep their hands out of the cookie jar’
The trial of former Taiwanese president Chen Shui-bian may have caused a rupture in the pro-independence “green camp”, but it heralds a new stage in the island’s democratic and judicial development, analysts say.
Taiwan media divided over ex-leader's life sentence
Media in Taiwan were divided on Saturday over former president Chen Shui-bian’s conviction on corruption charges, with some hailing it as a “milestone” while others said it was a “flawed” process.
Profitability of IRs in doubt: Citi analyst
Can the integrated resorts count on Singaporeans to gamble enough to make them profitable? Citi has doubts.
Du earned just HK$2m from deals, court told
Hong Kong’s biggest insider trader may have earned only HK$2 million profit from his HK$87 million in illegal dealings, the District Court heard yesterday.
Why Du Jun thought he could flout the law
Why did Du Jun leave the safety of Beijing and head for Hong Kong to collect a picture and an air purifier, knowing the local regulator was after him?
Jim Rogers: Wait and See Investment in A-shares, Big City Real Estate
Jim Rogers, an American investor and financial commentator based in Singapore who has been paying close attention to the Asian market, sees that in the past 10 months, A-shares values have doubled, but predicts that there will be a negative change in September-November. He adds he would neither buy nor sell shares at present, points out that in the next 20 years agriculture will be a very promising industry in China, and suggests that everybody play the role of “farmer.”
Cash Rich SOEs Pushing Real Estate Bubble Ever Higher
Since May, real estate enterprises with central enterprise background, and even non real estate firms, have begun to enclose lands, resulting in big changes in the land market. The increasing land prices are leading to skyrocketing housing prices and attracting official attention.
Friday, 11 September 2009
Car loan war around the corner
Hong Leong Finance first to cut interest rate, putting pressure on other lenders
Bubbles forming in commodities, stocks, property: Bank of China
It sees potential risk of liquidity going into asset market
Driven market with no brand loyalty
Nouveau riche Chinese are discovering ‘you are what you drive’ - but pricing is still the top concern for most buyers
Dying to earn: Japan’s foreign slave labourers
“The most serious problem we face are violations of the law,” Nakajima says. “But these are not just labour laws that are being broken; we see abuse of authority, sexual harassment and violence.
House prices rise fast on record lending, confidence
It rose 2% in August from a year earlier, and double the gain in July, says report
The tide has turned for insider traders
Greed and opportunity ensure that so long as free markets exist, unscrupulous insiders will be tempted to find ways to profit at the expense of honest investors, whatever the risk. But if anyone has yet to get the message that Hong Kong now treats as criminals those who trade with the benefit of inside information, they no longer have any excuse. Yesterday’s conviction of former Morgan Stanley Asia managing director Du Jun should ram it home.
BlackBerry records provided prosecutors with their evidence
The BlackBerry may have become the executive’s best friend, but for those who do not play by the rules, it can also be their undoing.
Investors who suffer losses may get reparation
Investors who sold shares in Citic Resources Holdings to Du Jun, not realising he was acting on insider information, could receive compensation if the Securities and Futures Commission succeeds in a landmark legal action.
Du Jun walked into SFC trap
A trip back to Hong Kong to collect a framed picture and a small air purifier from his old office proved to be the downfall of Du Jun, the city’s biggest insider trader.
New rules for online music in China
China has announced that all songs posted on music websites must receive prior approval and foreign lyrics must be translated into Chinese, in a new push to control online content.
Private bankers face heavy odds amid staff shortage
Singapore may be short of 900 private bankers; premium on experience now
Property prices climb 2pc in mainland cities
Property prices in 70 large and mid-sized cities on the mainland rose 2 per cent in August from a year earlier as sales and investment grew under government policy support.
Punters go dicing with Genting chips
Heavy trading sees Genting (S) share price fall; Malaysian parent holds its own
S-chips should focus on fundamentals
The recent slew of delisting and dual-listing news among S-chips isn’t a comforting sign, considering that interest in China companies listed in Singapore is just starting to show signs of a revival.
SGX, the Asian Gateway: Where does it go from here?
Looking back at the last 10 years Singapore Exchange (SGX) has been in existence, one cannot but conclude that it has done an incredible job.
SOEs May Sue Derivative Transaction Counterparties
Chinese state-owned enterprises (SOEs) suffering huge losses from fuel hedging transactions are threatening to strike back at their counterparties by taking them to Court.
Top court to hear petitions on rulings
A chink of light this week greeted petitioners - the desperate thousands who defy police and party to reach administrative centres and ultimately Beijing to get perceived wrongs righted. The Supreme People’s Court announced it would hear petition cases concerning wrongful or unfair court judgments.
Taiwan ex-president, Chen Shui-bian, jailed for life for graft
A Taiwan court imposed a life sentence on former President Chen Shui-bian after convicting him of corruption Friday, marking a watershed in the island’s turbulent political history.
Taiwan ex-leader says he is done with politics
Taiwan’s former president Chen Shui-bian, who is awaiting a verdict in a corruption case against him, has vowed to quit politics if he is released, a report said Thursday.
Thursday, 10 September 2009
OCBC Sec moves to boost foreign trades
OCBC Securities Pte Ltd (OSPL) is expanding its direct market access (DMA) to seven more foreign stock exchanges in China, Indonesia, Thailand and the US by the end of this month, bringing the network to 11 stock exchanges.
Illegal flyers’ days numbered
The city this year stepped up its campaign against those who post illegal flyers and the initiative has met resounding success.
First ‘evidence’ of needle attacks
Authorities counter criticism of official version of events in Urumqi
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