Australia to proceed with controversial Internet filter

Australia said yesterday it would push ahead with a mandatory China-style plan to filter the Internet, despite widespread criticism that it will strangle free speech and is doomed to fail.

I Ching and 2012

I Ching and 2012

妻子, 情人, 紅顏知己

No more 3-year telco contracts, fixed penalties

IDA’s new rules are meant to safeguard the interests of consumers

Few can muster the political courage to pop an asset bubble

The mainland authorities are nervous, too. Yesterday, the State Council pledged to crack down on overheating property markets, declaring “some cities are seeing excessively fast housing price rises, and we should pay high attention to this”.

Despite the fighting talk, however, it is doubtful whether officials either in Hong Kong or on the mainland will muster the courage needed to pop any developing bubbles, at least in the near term.

Asian Stocks to Extend Bull Market, JPMorgan Says

Asian stocks outside of Japan may extend a bull market into 2010, helped by declining risk premiums, a recovery in economic and earnings growth, and low interest rates, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co.

China Developers Fall as Government Targets Housing

China Vanke Co. led declines by the nation’s developers after the official Xinhua News Agency said the government will target “excessive” growth in property prices in some cities.

50 Ways to Cut 500 Calories a Day

Here's the simplest (no-diet!) way to slim down.

NTU opens centre for China’s officials

Growing demand prompts university to offer more customised programmes

Dr. Wu wants the Nanyang Centre for Public Administration, housed at the historic Chinese Heritage Centre, to become a full-fledged school of public affairs that also offers undergraduate degrees.

Cleaners ‘beat bankers in worth’

Hospital cleaners are worth more to society than bankers, a study suggests.

And tax accountants damage the country by devising schemes to cut the amount of money available to the government, the research suggests.

Bubble muddle

The International Monetary Fund is worried about Hong Kong.

$40m in coffers? Sino-Env EDs have no quick answer

Sino-Environment executive directors (EDs) appear to have backtracked on the claim made by the group chairman about having $40 million in the company’s coffers after the Singapore Exchange (SGX) asked them to substantiate the claim.

Sons ordered to pay dad’s $15m debt

The two sons of Indonesia-born businessman Agus Anwar have been ordered by the High Court to cough up the $15 million he owes to a private bank here.

Who’s going to blow next?

Dubai’s travails have some economists wondering if another debt bomb may be lurking dangerously

China’s public holidays for 2010

1. New Year: January 1-3; 3 days;
2. Spring Festival: February 13-19; 7 days;
3. Qingming Festival: April 3-5; 3 days;
4. Labor Day: May 1-3; 3 days;
5. Duanwu Festival: June 14-16; 3 days;
6. Mid-Autumn Festival: September 22-24; 3 days;
7. National Day: October 1-7; 7 days;

China’s young Net addicts don’t grow up

Problem from youth continues into adulthood leading to divorces, money and health woes

A year into office, no unity under Thai PM Abhisit

In the year since he became Thai premier with no popular mandate, Abhisit Vejjajiva has underperformed on the domestic and regional stage and failed to reconcile a deeply divided nation, analysts say.

Young Chinese groan at skyrocketing property costs

Computer engineer Jenny Jin and her husband have been hunting for a home for a year, but like many young would-be property owners in China, they have struggled to enter the market due to soaring prices.

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.

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.