Author: Business News Asia

The Financial Services Agency of Japan (FSA) has granted SCOR Global Life SE approval to open a branch office in Tokyo as of April 4, 2017. The new branch, SCOR Global Life SE Japan Branch, will allow SCOR to conduct Life and Health reinsurance business in Japan. SCOR has had a presence in Japan since 1983 when SCOR set up Japan Liaison Office. The establishment of this branch office in Japan is part of the Group’s “Vision in Action” strategic plan to expand and deepen its franchise, and clearly demonstrates the Group’s commitment to the Japanese market. “We welcome the…

Philippine Seven Corporation (PSE:SEVN), the local licensee of 7-Eleven Convenience Stores, posted solid net income growth in 2016 at 16.6 percent to P1.18 billion (US$23.5 million). In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, the company said retail sales of all stores went up by 23.2 percent to P31.8 billion from P25.8 billion a year ago. Higher sales were driven by the opening of new stores and 1.2 percent growth in same store sales for the whole year. Store count by the end of 2016 reached 1,995, up by 393 stores or 24.5 percent higher from 1,602 at the end…

The island of Mactan in the province of Cebu is hosting this week the 12thASEAN Finance Ministers Investors Seminar (AFMIS), which aims to tackle ways of further harnessing investment opportunities within the 10-member regional bloc that has emerged as a key driver of global growth amid the current risks to the world economy. The whole-day event will commence in Lapu-Lapu City on Thursday (April 6) with Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III of the Philippines, this year’s ASEAN host,  and ASEAN Deputy Secretary General Lim Hong Hin delivering their respective welcome remarks. Finance Ministers Pehin Dato Abdul Rahman Ibrahim of Brunei Darussalam; Sri Mulyani…

MACTAN, Cebu – Finance ministers and central bank governors from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) are meeting starting Monday, 03 April, in Mactan island in the province of Cebu, the Philippines, to discuss ways of fleshing out ASEAN’s commitments to financial integration and cooperation, against the backdrop of a new wave of protectionism and other uncertainties in the global economy. To be hosted by Philippines’ Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III and Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Amando Tetangco Jr. at the Shangrila’s Mactan Resort and Spa in Lapu-Lapu City, the meetings will also include the ASEAN Finance…

China Fortune Land Development (CFLD), one of China’s biggest real estate companies, is set to launch Indonesia’s first international new industry city on 6 April, according to a Xinhua report. The integrated real-estate project, which is located in Tangerang City, will offer 2,800 houses on the 60-hectare property, said CFLD Indonesia’s vice president Imelda Adhisaputra. CFLD Indonesia purchased the land from PT Alam Sutera Realty. The property will be a mixed-used development, integrating it with commercial and industry clusters, Adhisaputra told Xinhua. CFLD, established in 1998, is one of the biggest Chinese companies in the industrial estate sector and listed…

CANADA – Personal information of approximately 95,000 job applicants in McDonald’s Canada has been compromised following a cyber-attack on the restaurant’s career website. McDonald’s Canada said applicants affected are those who applied online for a job at any of its restaurants between March 2014 and March 2017, the company said in a statement. The personal information compromised was limited to applicant name, address, email address, phone number, employment background and other standard application information. READ ALSO: McDonald’s Stock Shoots Up on Higher Q3 Sales “Importantly, our application forms do not request highly sensitive personal information such as social insurance numbers,…

US-based business process outsourcing (BPO) firm Sitel has opened its fourth hub in Baguio City recently. The new site is expected to provide around 800 news jobs to Baguio residents and adjoining provinces. Sitel Philippines chief operating officer Craig Reines said Baguio was a natural choice because it has been good to the company for the last 12 years. He added that the city still has growth potential. [READ ALSO: Convergent Outsourcing Opens New Center in the Philippines] The company’s expansion in the city continues to make it the top private employer in the Cordillera region. The inauguration of the…

A survey conducted by Qualfon showed that 82% of its employees would recommend working in the company to a friend or family member. The survey, dubbed Your Matter with Mike, polled employees at all levels of the company. Qualfon CEO Mike Marrow said the company’s employee recommendation rate is strong, with 82% of all employees agree or strongly agree that they would recommend working at Qualfon to a friend or family member. “The fact that 82% of our employees would recommend us makes me proud to be part of the Qualfon family,” Marrow said. [READ ALSO: US BPO Firm Hiring…

Frasers Hospitality Group, a division of Frasers Centrepoint Limited, is opening eight new properties in the Middle East and Africa as part of its strategy to expand its global presence, the company announced today. The new properties will increase Frasers Hospitality Group’s global footprint to more than 1,500 units across both regions. The recent launch of Fraser Suites West Bay, Doha marks the first of eight properties to open, making it the group’s second operating property in Qatar and the fifth in the Middle East. The group’s operating properties in the region – Fraser Suites Diplomatic Area Bahrain, Fraser Suites…

Watsons, the largest health and beauty care chain store in Asia, is opening at least 100 new stores in the Philippines this year, in addition to its 550 stores at present. Karen Fabres, Group Marketing Manager at Watsons Personal Care Stores (Philippines) Inc, said most of the new stores will be positioned closer to communities instead of putting them in malls. Fabres said community stores will try to introduce more household products, including laundry soaps, so that people in the community will not need to go to supermarkets to top up their supplies. “What we really want to do is…

Insurance industry veteran Michael Ho has been appointed country president for Chubb Life in Hong Kong. In an announcement Friday, Chubb said Ho will report to Chubb Life’s regional president in Asia Pacific, Kevin Goulding. Ho Joins Chubb from Prudential Asia, where he most recently held the role of regional chief agency officer, responsible for building and developing the regional agency capabilities in Asia. [READ ALSO: Chubb Launches Marine Capabilities in China] Ho will be responsible for leading the Hong Kong operations for Chubb Life, the life insurance division of Chubb, which provides a broad range of life insurance and…

Australia-listed Frontier Digital Ventures (ASX:FDV) diclosed that it has raised its ownership of Sri Lanka’s top property portal, LankaPropertyWeb, to 48 percent from 37 percent. In a disclosure to the Australian Securities Exchange, Frontier Digital Ventures said it has exercised its option to increase its ownership of the Sri Lankan property portal by 10.5 pecent for US$200,000. “The option is being exercised as a result of LankaPropertyWeb’s superior operational execution in 2016, which has established it as the clear market leader ahead of Lamudi and ikman.lk,” Frontier said. [READ ALSO: Sri Lanka Opens Pharma Industry to Bangladesh Investors] Frontier Digital’s…

Nearly half of Chinese people who are planning to invest more this year pick wealth management products as their top investment choice, according to a survey conducted by the People’s Bank of China. The survey showed that about 33.9 percent of urban households in China intend to invest more this year, with the top three investment choices being wealth management products from banks, securities companies, and insurance companies (49.2 percent); fund trust products (20.5 percent); and stocks (19.3 percent). Some 22.9 percent of the households polled said they intend to buy a house in the next three months, 2.8 percentage…

Chinese insurance companies’ premium income rose 31 percent in the first two months of this year to reach Rmb1.19 trillion (about US$173 billion), according to the China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC). The official data showed that growth in the January-February 2017 period declined substantially from the same period last year, when Chinese insurance firms’ premium income growth increased 51.5 percent. Life insurance companies posted the steepest decline in premium growth on a year-on-year basis. According to the CIRC, premium income of life insurers hit Rmb1.02 trillion, up a mere 35 percent, compared to the 63.8 percent growth in the same…

SINGAPORE – Cambridge Industrial Trust Management Limited (CITM) has named Singaporean Adrian Chui as its CEO and Executive Director effective 24 March. CITM (SGX:J9IU), the manager of Cambridge Industrial Trust (CIT), made the announcement in a disclosure to the Singapore Exchange today. It added that Shane Hagan will now resume his original role as Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer of the company. Chui joins CITM from Standard Chartered Bank, where he most recently ran both the Southeast Asia real estate advisory and the Singapore corporate banking divisions. In his new role at CITM, Chui reports to the board…

United Overseas Bank Limited (UOB) becomes the first Singapore bank to receive preliminary approval to set up a foreign-owned subsidiary banks in Vietnam. The State Bank of Vietnam made the announced during the official visit to the country by Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. UOB deputy chairman and CEO Wee Ee Cheong said the approval is a welcome development considering the strategic importance of Vietnam and its economic potential. “We were the first Singapore bank to open a foreign bank branch in Vietnam in 1995 and since then have maintained an unwavering commitment to the country. We look forward…

Metropolitan Bank & Trust Company (PSE:MBT)’s Board of Directors approved the establishment of a Medium Term Note Programme in the aggregate amount of up to US$2 billion or its equivalent in other currencies. Metrobank may from time to time issue, offer and sell notes in such form, amount, currency, tenor, number of tranches, at such interest rate, and under such other terms and conditions as the management of the bank may subsequently determine, approve or ratify. [READ ALSO: Metrobank Posts P18.1 Billion 2016 Profit] The program shall be established to afford the Bank maximum flexibility in accessing markets and maximizing…

Two Malaysian seafarers were rescued from the hands of the Philippine terror group Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) in Pata, Sulu Thursday morning by the fleet-Marine units under the Joint Task Force Sulu. The rescue operation was conducted by authorities at around 2am off the seawaters of Kalinggalang Caluang near Pata Island in Sulu, the Armed Forces of the Philippines said. Capt. Jo-ann Petinglay, Western Mindanao Command (WMC) spokesperson, identified the rescued Malaysian as Tayudin Anjut, 45 and Abdurahim Bin Sumas, 62. The two were rescued by combined elements of the Philippine Marine Ready Force Sulu led by Major Angcap, Marine…

Malaysian financial services group AmBank is expecting a 15 percent growth from its small and medium-enterprise (SME) loan segment for financial year 2017. Group CEO Datuk Sulaiman Moh Tahir said the expected growth will be driven by AmBank’s Top Four Strategy that it embarked on in 2016. He said the bank’s focus on SMEs and mid-corporations as well as a gross domestic product growth projection of 4.5 percent this year will support the growth in the SME loan segment. Sulaiman added that the group foresees loan growth to be around 6 percent to 7 percent for FY17, given the infrastructure…

Pan-Asian life insurance group AIA Group Limited has announced the appointment of former English professional footballer David Beckham as its Global Ambassador. In the newly created role, Beckham will support AIA in its goal of helping people in the Asia-Pacific region live longer, healthier, and better lives. “We are delighted to welcome David as AIA’s Global Ambassador. David is an incredibly successful global sporting icon, a committed family man and is hugely respected for his longstanding community and charity work; most notably as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador over the past 12 years,” Mark Tucker, AIA’s Group Chief Executive & President,…