October 13, 2012
Europe is gripped by a debt crisis and stalled growth. A budget standoff
in the United States is set to trigger tax increases and spending cuts and
perhaps a recession. A weaker Asia is slowing worldwide growth.
Mindful of those threats, the
International Monetary Fund has turned gloomier about the global economy. And
it’s warning that even its dimmer outlook might prove too optimistic if Europe
and the United States fail to resolve their crises.
Developed countries are facing a
heightened risk of recession, and their troubles threaten China and other
emerging economies, the IMF said in its updated World Economic Outlook.
No major solutions are expected
to emerge from the Tokyo talks, which begin Thursday when finance ministers and
central bank presidents from the seven wealthiest countries meet. They’ll be
followed Friday by the start of annual meetings of the 188-nation IMF and its
sister lending group, the World Bank.
The leaders are expected to
downplay any disagreements to avoid jolting financial markets. But they’re also
likely to warn nations that action is urgently needed to avoid a global
disaster.
Singapore
OCBC Bank, located in Singapore,
earned the Product and Service Innovation Award for FRANK, a radical approach
to addressing Generation Y’s different style of connecting and engaging with
financial institutions.
FRANK branches – or “stores” –
are designed to specifically serve this group of young people aged 18 to 28,
through being conveniently and strategically located in campuses and malls, the
use of understandable language on signage and documentation, and through a
casual atmosphere where popular music is played, and where interactive touch
screens allow customers to shop and apply for their personalized FRANK debit or
credit card. Overall, FRANK allows OCBC Bank to develop lifetime, personalized
relationships with these consumers by meeting their needs early on.
Thailand
Everland primary business is
property development. To be distributed in the form of townhouses, Single
houses and condominiums. The Company have plan is targeted to buy land in a
location that has the potential to develop the project and gave within a period
not exceeding three years to meet the working capital of the company is
maintaining liquidity. At that time and increases sales potential. To provide
programs. Spread in many areas. Can satisfy the needs the buyer has more
variety.
According to the Consolidated –
Audited financial statement for the first quarter of 2012, total net operating
revenues increased with 79.94%, from THB 4,910 thousands to THB 8,835
thousands.
Operating result increased from
THB -5,428 thousands to THB -5,329 thousands which means 1.82% change. The
results of the period increased 17.14% reaching THB -9,476 thousands at the end
of the period against THB -11,436 thousands last year.
Return on equity (Net
income/Total equity) went from -9.80% to -2.34%, the Return On Asset (Net
income / Total Asset) went from -1.30% to -1.45% and the Net Profit Margin (Net
Income/Net Sales) went from -232.91% to -107.26% when compared to the same
period of last year.
The Debt to Equity Ratio (Total
Liabilities/Equity) was 61.12% compared to 652.90% of last year. Finally, the
Current Ratio (Current Assets/Current Liabilities) went from 1.08 to 8.80 when
compared to the previous year.
Malaysia
Malaysia’s Tune Group, a
financial services-to-discount hotel conglomerate owned by Fernandes and
Kamarudin, is expected to launch US$65mil IPO of its insurance arm, Tune
Insurance, not later than the first quarter of 2013, according to two sources
with direct knowledge of the deal.
“They are looking at a market
capitalisation of US$260mil,” one of the sources told Reuters on Wednesday,
declining to be named as the matter is still private.
CIMB Group Holdings Bhd, ECM
Libra Financial Group Bhd and RHB Capital Bhd are involved in the flotation,
said the second source.
Fernandes and officials with Tune
were not available to comment.
Meanwhile, AirAsia’s long-haul
arm, AirAsia X, recently hired CIMB, Malayan Banking Bhd and Credit Suisse
Group AG for a US$250mil IPO expected early next year.
The group is looking to list its
Indonesia operations, Indonesia AirAsia, by the first quarter of next year in a
deal that could raise up to US$200mil.
Indonesia
State energy company Pertamina
says it is sticking to a $725 million plan to acquire an oil asset in Venezuela
amid media reports of a possible scrapping of the purchase in the wake of
President Hugo Chavez’s re-election on Sunday.
Pertamina president director
Karen Agustiawan said that the company was determined to conclude the
transaction based on the original agreement.
“Media reports stating that the
transaction depends on factors other than the written agreement are
speculation,” she said in a statement released in Jakarta on Tuesday.
Pertamina announced in June that
it planned to pay Houston-based Harvest Natural Resources $725 million in cash
for a 32 percent stake in Petrodelta, a joint venture between Harvest and
state-owned Petroleos de Venezuela.
Karen was not specific in
responding to media reports. Indonesian media outlets reported that Pertamina
had yet to give an official proposal to relevant Indonesian ministries and that
Chavez’s re-election may alter the political dynamic.
“Pertamina is committed to
concluding the transaction. In line with its policy. … [It] will not comment on
any speculation regarding the transaction,” Karen said, adding that Pertamina
was optimistic the transaction would be completed according to the timetable
set in the agreement.
Pertamina and Harvest signed the
sales purchase agreement and set a deadline of March next year to complete the
transaction. Petrodelta is said to hold oil fields with reserves amounting to
486 million barrels of oil equivalent, higher than the reserves in Cepu, East
Java, Indonesia’s largest discovery in the past 10 years.
Karen added that Pertamina
planned to acquire at least five oil and gas assets by the end of this year,
with a target of securing 32,000 barrels of oil per day from the acquisitions.
Karen said that Pertamina was
prioritizing areas already in production, so that the outputs could be quickly
used to help meet domestic demand for fuel. “With the current high prices of
crude oil, there are not many oil fields being offered,” she added.
The company leader said that any
additional production would be very significant in the short term, helping
Indonesia to maintain energy security and boost the national economy.
“Rapid economic growth will be
commensurate with the increase in the demand for energy,” she said.
“We appreciate our partners who
are willing to sit down with us and talk about the framework of the most
mutually beneficial cooperation in the future. The support from the government
is also important considering Pertamina’s status as the national energy
company.
“As a state-owned company,
Pertamina is determined to increase the oil and gas production to 2.2 million
barrels of oil equivalent per day by 2025.”
Interviewed in August, Karen said
she wanted to turn Pertimina from an Indonesian oil and gas company to a global
energy company.
Philippines
Two of the country’s largest
banks have expressed interest to roll out the country’s first exchange-traded
funds (ETFs), for which the policy framework is being finalized by the Securities
and Exchange Commission.
Banco de Oro Unibank and Bank of
the Philippine Islands have expressed interest in becoming sponsors of the
ETFs, products that should complement equity-laced funds, SEC Commission
Juanita Cueto told a press briefing late Tuesday.
She said the final framework for
ETFs—a mutual fund-like asset class that the Philippine Stock Exchange has
wanted to add to its array of product offering for over a decade—has been set
for en banc discussion Thursday.
Cueto said the private sector had
found ways to make the ETFs work notwithstanding tax concerns.
SEC chairperson Teresita Herbosa
said the corporate watchdog would finish the framework in line with the target
of the Philippine Stock Exchange to launch this new product before yearend.
ETF is a financial instrument
that tracks an index, a commodity or a basket of assets like an index fund.
Since it trades like a stock on an exchange, its net asset value (NAV) is not
calculated every day but it usually trades close to its NAV. This instrument
thus offers public investors an undivided interest in a pool of securities and
other assets and thus is similar in many ways to traditional mutual funds,
except that shares in an ETF can be bought and sold throughout the day like
stocks on an exchange through a broker-dealer.
The proposed rules and
regulations on ETF classify this as a new investment product, which is similar
to mutual fund but has distinct characteristics. The framework is pursuant to
the Investment Company Act (ICA), which prescribes the regulation of investment
companies such as the requirements to register with the SEC and comply with
certain standards. These standards include regular public disclosure of
financial situation, investment policies and objectives, and fund portfolios,
as well as the companies’ pricing and fees.
An ETF issues redeemable shares
at net asset value. However, the SEC said those shares can only be issued or
redeemed by or through authorized participants.
The PSE has been planning to
introduce ETFs since the early 2000s but taxation issues hampered its progress.
The first ETFs were introduced in
the US in the early 1990s but have evolved since then. The first ETFs held a
basket of securities that replicated the component securities of broad-based
stock market indexes, such as the S&P 500. Many of the newer ETFs are based
on more specialized indexes, including indexes that are designed specifically
for a particular ETF, bond indexes and international indexes.
Yesterday in Asia
Tokyo tumbled 1.98
percent, or 173.36 points, to 8,596.23 – its lowest since August 3. Sydney lost
0.32 percent, or 14.6 points, to close at 4,490.7 and Seoul was off 1.56
percent, or 30.82 points, at 1,948.22.
Hong Kong ended flat, edging
down 17.68 points to 20,919.60, but Shanghai rose 0.22 percent, or 4.71 points,
to 2,119.94.
The International Monetary Fund
on Tuesday further cut its growth estimates for the world economy this year and
next, citing the ongoing European debt crisis and stuttering US growth.
Singapore closed down
1.05 percent, or 32.10 points, at 3,033.81.
Wilmar International fell 1.60
percent to Sg$3.07 and Keppel Corp. shed 1.41 percent to Sg$11.18.
Wellington lost 0.51
percent, or 19.85 points, to 3,888.14.
Fletcher Building dipped 1.92
percent to NZ$7.16 and Chorus slipped 1.19 percent to NZ$3.32.
Manila closed 0.47 percent
lower, shedding 25.30 points to 5,369.60.
Philippine Long Distance
Telephone lost 0.22 percent to 2,724 pesos and Ayala Corp. fell 1.38 percent to
430 pesos.
Jakarta was flat, nudging
down 0.24 points to 4,280.01.
Bank Rakyat fell 1.3 percent to
7,600 rupiah, Bank Negara lost 1.3 percent to 3,825 rupiah, and cigarette maker
Gudang Garam rose 3.4 percent to 51,600 rupiah.
Kuala Lumpur was 0.24
percent, or 3.92 points, off at 1,659.40.
Axiata Group lost 0.3 percent to
6.71 ringgit, while Sime Darby shed 0.6 percent to 9.72 ringgit. YTL added 0.6
percent to 1.76 ringgit.
Bangkok fell 0.24 percent,
or 3.13 points, to 1,289.35.
Mumbai slid 0.86 percent,
or 162.26 points, to 18,631.1.
State Bank of India fell 2.46
percent to 2,224 rupees, Kingfisher Airlines fell 4.58 percent to 11.45 rupees.
Taipei was closed for a
public holiday.
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