Lend Lease in rights issue to fund projects
(SYDNEY) Australian property developer Lend Lease Corp launched a deeply discounted A$806 million (S$1.01 billion) rights issue yesterday to help finance new projects and stop its credit rating falling into junk status.
Higher load factor helps Tiger post $14.1m profit in Q3
(SINGAPORE) After huddling over the financial numbers for well over two and half hours after the market’s 5 pm close yesterday, Tiger Airways’ board finally released third quarter figures which showed that the airline is on track to profitability by the end of the current financial year.
Regional air travel continues upbeat recovery
(SINGAPORE) Preliminary figures released yesterday by the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA) show a continuing recovery in demand for air travel.
Changi Rewards card being launched
CHANGI Airport Group is launching a card to reward people who patronise the airport’s shops and other outlets.
China to hold yuan stable to help exports
(BEIJING) China yesterday reaffirmed its determination to hold down the yuan’s exchange rate to help its beleaguered exporters.
No emissions cap for now
(BEIJING) China’s top climate change negotiator has said the world’s biggest carbon polluter has no intention of capping greenhouse gas emissions for the time being, state media reported yesterday.
Strong demand for gold from China, India
(BEIJING) Gold demand by the world’s top two consumers has started strong in 2010, with India’s jewellery industry buying regularly and tighter monetary policy in China not affecting purchases, the World Gold Council said yesterday.
BNY Mellon sees doubling in Asian business in 5 years
(BEIJING) Bank of New York Mellon Corp, the world’s largest custodian of financial assets, expects its Asian business to double within five years and its Chinese operations to grow even faster.
Sembcorp FY09 net jumps 35% with very strong Q4
SEMBCORP has turned in sterling fourth-quarter results, growing net profit more than two-and-a-half times to $259 million from $100.8 million in the previous corresponding quarter on strong performances from the utilities and marine divisions and improved results from the environment and industrial parks arms.
Full Apex delisting foiled
A SLIM voting margin of 0.15 of a percentage point prevented the controlling shareholder of Full Apex Holdings from delisting the company.
A tale of two plantation groups
ON the face of it, the contrast couldn’t have been starker.
SC Global gets boost from AVJ consolidation
SC Global Developments saw a near eight-fold jump in fourth-quarter net profit to $33.2 million – from just $4.2 million a year ago – as it consolidated the results of new subsidiary AV Jennings Ltd (AVJ).
Banyan Tree posts Q4 net of $2.97m
BANYAN Tree Holdings chalked up a $2.97 million net profit in the fourth quarter of last year, compared to a $6.96 million loss in Q4 2008, thanks in part to a stronger performance by its hotel investment segment.
Allgreen 2009 profit more than doubles
ALLGREEN Properties posted a more than doubling in full-year net profit, helped by firmer sales and a higher provision write-back.
Jardine C&C’s profit up 12% to US$503m
JARDINE Cycle & Carriage saw its net profit for the year ended Dec 31, 2009 rise 12 per cent to US$502.8 million, boosted by record profits from its Astra unit.
BreadTalk Q4 profit falls 24.5%
DESPITE a 5.4 per cent year-on-year rise in revenue to $68.2 million, BreadTalk Group ended the fourth quarter of 2009 with a 24.5 per cent fall in net profit to $3.29 million. Factors cited included start-up and renovation costs.
Yanlord net jumps 44% in FY09 despite poor Q4
YANLORD Land Group’s net profit dropped 16 per cent to $118.4 million for the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2009, as revenue and gross profit margins plummeted.
Rotary Engg posts 36% jump in Q4 earnings
PETROCHEMICAL terminals and storage terminals builder Rotary Engineering beat market expectations by posting its highest-ever net profit of $54.2 million, a 7 per cent rise over the previous year’s $50.9 million.
HTL back on profit path for Q4, full year
HTL International Holdings yesterday announced a full-year net profit of $48.3 million for FY2009, a turnaround from a FY2008 net loss of $20.3 million.
Japan Land unveils $250m data centre
JAPAN Land unveiled its new data centre here yesterday – the largest in Singapore, and with environment-friendly features that won it a Green Mark Gold award from Singapore’s Building & Construction Authority (BCA).
Chemoil Q4 net plunges 76.4% to US$2.9m
LAST year’s global recession took its toll on marine fuel supplier Chemoil Energy, which saw its fourth-quarter net profit plunge by over three-quarters, or 76.4 per cent, to US$2.9 million, despite a 45 per cent increase in revenue to US$1.84 billion.
Haw Par earnings fall 27% to $57m
HAW Par Corporation’s revenues inched up 1.5 per cent year on year to $124 million for the year ended Dec 31, 2009, boosted in part by the group’s improved sales of Tiger Balm and other Tiger products around the world.
At a glance
Structured deposits: when less could be more
SOME banks have begun selling structured deposits to yield-hungry savers who must be wondering how long more they have to suffer the current ridiculous low interest rates.
Company Briefs
THE Singapore Exchange (SGX) has proposed to amend its derivatives clearing rules to accommodate physically deliverable contracts.
Euro in tough situation but will pull through: Merkel
(BERLIN) The euro is in a difficult situation for the first time since its launch, but it will come through, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said in an interview published yesterday.
Euro zone’s economic confidence dips in Feb
(BRUSSELS) European confidence in the economic outlook unexpectedly worsened in February after the euro region’s recovery almost stalled in the fourth quarter.
Australian business investment up 5.5% in Q4 2009
(SYDNEY) Australian business investment rebounded in the fourth quarter last year – a sign that the economy is strengthening enough for the central bank to raise interest rates next week for the fourth time in six months.
The delicate art of tasting wines
TASTING, as opposed to drinking, implies a conscious effort to note and record the taste, aroma and other qualitative attributes of the wine.
Light but filling
THERE are remakes – and then there’s A Woman, a Gun and a Noodle Shop, Zhang Yimou’s oddly inventive interpretation of Blood Simple, the Coen brothers’ memorable 1984 debut feature about murder and mayhem in a small Texas town.
A tear-jerker with limited ambitions
JUST as we know exactly what to expect when we go to a fast-food joint, a film that has been adapted from a novel by Nicholas Sparks is not likely to yield any surprises.
Slow and dull treatment of a little-known story
VALKYRIE, for all its pomp and pedigree, is a hollow piece of movie-making.
Working a treat
991C Alexandra Road Telephone 6225 7789
Bringing lifestyle into the workplace
YOU could describe 75 High Street as serviced offices disguised as a boutique hotel. Or as an event space with catering services.
Is it a workplace or a nightspot?
TO paraphrase the old Belinda Carlisle song: ‘Heaven is a workplace on earth’. . . or at least it could be to a dozen small businesses from mid-March.
Classic tale gets MTV makeover
TO celebrate its 20th anniversary, local theatre company Toy Factory will be staging an audacious re-imagining of one of the most pervasive stalwarts of the American literary canon.
Outreach group casting succeeds
FOR buds theatre company, doing a good thing proved to be quite difficult. After the success of the non-profit group’s last production, The Shagaround, they decided to engage with local outreach groups for their next project.
Giselle, an apt farewell for Victoria Theatre
BEFORE the Victoria Theatre as we know it goes dark for the last time, she will be given a royal send-off by Singapore Dance Theatre’s (SDT) performance of Giselle.
Moulding imaginative plant forms
IT is late evening and Han Sai Por is directing some movers as they struggle to position her heavy granite sculptures in their new exhibition space.
Around Town
THE story unravels after a man stabs a Member of Parliament (MP) at a Meet-the-People Session.
Where the girls are
ONCE in a while, a book, along with its author, comes along that is not so much a subject to be reviewed or discussed, but a life to be felt.
Cold comfort
A FATHER in a train bounces his toddler girl on his knee, chatting with fellow passengers, among whom is the author Xinran.
Instrumental Mosaic
ANYONE who has heard great vocal music can attest to its ability to transcend language boundaries, but instrumental music bypasses words altogether to commune directly with the mind and spirit.
Viva vinyl! The Observatory’s LP release rocks
IT WILL surprise many that the old school vinyl long-playing, or LP, format is still a thoroughly modern medium when it comes to preserving audio quality of the highest order.
Space opera game gets a second act
The most highly anticipated science fiction role-playing game (RPG) of the first half of this year is probably Final Fantasy XIII, the Japanese version of which was released in December, with the English dub hitting stores next month.
India’s 3G auction will help govt plug deficit
(NEW DELHI) India’s plan to auction licences for nationwide third-generation mobile phone services may raise enough money to trim the nation’s 16-year high budget deficit, Moody’s Investors Service and Nomura Holdings said.
Power ministry against tax on turbine imports
(NEW DELHI) India’s power ministry is opposing a proposal to double taxes on imported turbines and boilers because it will raise costs for electricity producers and delay capacity addition needed to curb blackouts, according to two officials at the ministry.
200b rupee refinery plan revived
(NEW DELHI) Hindustan Petroleum Corp, India’s third-biggest state-run refiner, has revived plans to build a 200 billion rupee (S$6.1 billion) refinery and petrochemicals plant in southern India to benefit from rising Asian fuel demand.
JCY falls 9% below IPO price on debut
HARD disk drive maker JCY International made a poor debut on Bursa Malaysia yesterday when its shares closed nearly 9 per cent or 14 sen lower, despite its offer price having been fixed at the lower end of indicative pricing – RM1.60.
Muhyiddin riled by Razaleigh
MALAYSIA’S Deputy Premier Muhyiddin Yassin yesterday questioned Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah’s loyalty to the United Malays National Organisation (Umno) in relation to an ongoing dispute over oil royalty payments to Kelantan.
Cargotec looks to future with new $20m facility
(SINGAPORE) Even though flat growth is expected in the year ahead, cargo-handling solutions provider Cargotec is positioning itself for the future with a new $20 million 17,721 sq m facility at the recently rebranded Tukang Innovation Park.
STI loses 13 points in quiet session
A LIMP trading session yesterday finished with brokers heaving a sigh of relief that the boredom had ended and with the Straits Times Index standing 12.99 points weaker at 2,749.19.
Firms unfazed by changes to tax rules on buildings
CHANGES to building allowances will be unfavourable to some land-intensive companies but are unlikely to affect business plans significantly.
Citi to add more branches and ATMs
CITIGROUP plans to add new branches and more ATMs to its network here this year as it continues its push into the Singapore consumer banking market.
Rise in services trade surplus in ’08 proves ’07 was no fluke
SINGAPORE has continued to sell more services than it buys from overseas, proving that its services trade surplus in 2007 – the first in over a decade – was no fluke.
Retired Shell chief exec made honorary citizen
SINGAPORE yesterday conferred on Jeroen van der Veer, retired chief executive of Royal Dutch Shell plc, the honorary citizen award for his valuable contributions to the Republic.
News media business model must change
AS social media and search aggregators such as Google continue to grow in popularity, the business model for traditional news media must evolve as well.
April27 target is ‘ambitious’, says MBS CEO
WITH about two months to go before Marina Bay Sands’ (MBS) opening, its president and chief executive Thomas Arasi says the project’s construction schedule is ‘ambitious’.
Hougang reserve list site open for application
PROPERTY developers looking to boost their residential landbanks can get their cheques ready for a new piece of state land.
US semicon firm Lattice opens Asia ops centre here
THE pull of Asia has drawn Lattice Semiconductor Corporation, the world’s third largest supplier of programmable logic devices, to set up its first Asian operations centre in Singapore.
1,000 delegates to attend cities summit
SINGAPORE will host the second World Cities Summit from June 28 to July 1 to drive dialogue on sustainable cities. Jointly organised by the Centre for Liveable Cities (CLC) and Singapore’s Civil Service College, the summit is expected to attract more than 1,000 delegates, up from 800 in 2008.
Currency experts give their take on euro, US$
THE outlook on the US dollar was the subject of a seminar yesterday held at the NUS Business School’s spanking new building, but worries over the euro and China took centre stage.
Dancing in a more open society
ON the morning of Dec 17, 2009, we received an e-mail in Bahasa Indonesia from our Muslim friend living in Cirebon, West Java, Indonesia.
The art of the Barongsay Festival
THE city of Cirebon is about 297 kilometres east of Jakarta, in the province of West Java.
Eco-park to be a hotbed of ideas, jobs, business
(SINGAPORE) Singapore’s first eco-business park is expected to create 20,000 jobs and draw some $2.5 billion worth of investments in buildings by its 2030 completion.
Developers put home launches on fast track
(SINGAPORE) DEVELOPERS will be bringing forward their property launches over the next few months to satisfy strong demand from homebuyers, said Real Estate Developers’ Association of Singapore (Redas) president Simon Cheong yesterday.
Gold loses more lustre as US dollar shines
(SINGAPORE) Gold prices continued to head south yesterday, with some analysts predicting more selling pressure in the coming weeks.
MAS plans bigger deposit insurance net
(SINGAPORE) The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has proposed widening the deposit insurance (DI) scheme to cover businesses and unincorporated entities, in effect giving more protection to small companies.
Alliance group’s Bridget Lai resigns
BRIDGET Lai has resigned as the chief executive of Malaysia’s Alliance Financial Group.
CDL generates $1b cash from operating activities in ’09
(SINGAPORE) City Developments Ltd (CDL), which yesterday posted its second-highest full-year net profit, is getting ready for at least five Singapore residential property launches this year.
Fix health care, it hurts everyone, says Obama
(WASHINGTON) President Barack Obama opened a bipartisan summit on health care yesterday, saying rising costs for medical services and insurance are among the ‘biggest drags’ on the US economy and must be dealt with even as the government grapples with the recession.
Manufacturing orders take an unexpected fall
(WASHINGTON) New orders for long-lasting US manufactured goods excluding transportation unexpectedly fell in January, while the number of workers filing for jobless benefits rose last week, suggesting a loss of momentum in the pace of economic recovery.
South Beach to start building by 2011
(SINGAPORE) The consortium that owns the South Beach site now plans to begin construction ‘by next year’ – since most of the mega projects including the two integrated resorts are nearing completion and ‘contractors will be hungry’ for business by then.
Three-Minute Digest
DEVELOPERS will be bringing forward their property launches over the next few months to satisfy strong demand from homebuyers
Disclosure: quality counts, not just quantity
TIGER Woods’ widely televised apology in which he spoke for 15 minutes, essentially saying nothing new, bears a striking similarity to the way disclosure is practised in local corporate and financial circles.
US climate change legislation loses puff
EVEN before the electoral loss that the Democrats suffered in the Massachusetts special Senate race, depriving them of their filibuster-proof majority of 60 seats, most political analysts seemed to agree that the climate change legislation mandating industry reductions in greenhouse gas emissions was facing serious obstacles on Capitol Hill.
Sharing info globally to chase the tax dollar
LAST month, it was announced that Singapore would host the 2010 global forum on transparency and exchange of information for tax purposes from Sept 30 to Oct 1. It is likely that for most, this announcement went unnoticed. But the implications of the global sharing of companies’ tax information will not.
M&A: leveraged deals relief?
COMPANIES considering mergers and acquisitions (M&A) as part of their growth strategy received a shot in the arm from the government in the recently unveiled Budget 2010.
Delhi needs to speed up state firms’ sale
IN the last 10 months, India has raised US$3.5 billion selling off pieces of state-run companies, more than such sales brought in during the previous four years.
Brokers’ Take
MAINTAIN ‘Outperform’: FY2009 results 13 per cent above expectation.
Quality of life is the bigger issue – not productivity
THIS year’s Budget trains the spotlight squarely on increasing productivity, and this will be the clarion call for the next five years, with $5.5 billion in the kitty.
Property tax boon may be short-lived
I REFER to the revision of the property tax rate on owner occupied properties which has the effect of reducing by $240 the property tax currently paid by the majority of homeowners, based on exemption of tax on the first $6,000 of annual value (AV) which at present attracts tax at 4 per cent.
Have your say
Euro falls, yen gains on Greece concerns
(LONDON) The euro hit a one-year low against the yen yesterday as investors sold the single currency on concerns about Greece’s fiscal position, prompting safe-haven flows into the low-yielding Japanese currency.
Rehab me – or tip me good
GOOD morning. Thank you for joining me. I want to apologise to each and every one of you out there – I am deeply sorry for my irresponsible and selfish behaviour.
Senate panel seeks expanded auto review
(WASHINGTON) A US Senate committee on Wednesday asked a government watchdog to expand its review of how regulators handled recent Toyota Motor Corp recalls to include other carmakers.
Coca-Cola in talks to buy operations of largest bottler
(NEW YORK) Coca-Cola Co is in talks to buy most of its largest bottler for roughly US$15 billion, including debt, a person familiar with the situation said on Wednesday.
Geithner may give leeway on Volcker Rule
(WASHINGTON) The Treasury Department wants to give regulators discretion to define proprietary trading as the White House tries to revive its plan to bar banks from making risky bets that could cause another financial crisis.
GM to close Hummer after China deal fails
(DETROIT) General Motors will close Hummer after Chinese regulators blocked a local company’s purchase of the brand, whose military- style vehicles clash with government policy.
Freddie Mac bracing for more pain
(WASHINGTON) Freddie Mac lost almost US$26 billion last year, ominous news for US taxpayers who are footing the bill to rescue the mortgage finance company and its sibling Fannie Mae.
|