Author: Business News Asia

Paradise City will open on 20 April in South Korea, adjacent to the Incheon International Airport, becoming the first integrated resort in the country. Paradise City, launched in 2012, is a joint project by Sega Sammy Group and South Korean Paradise Group. It aims to create South Korea’s first integrated resort facility, where people of all ages will be able to enjoy. In a disclosure with the Tokyo Stock Exchange, Sega Sammy Holdings Inc said the 330,000 sq m facility includes a luxury hotel, boutique hotel, casino, commercial facilities, convention halls, and a premium spa, among others. With the scheduled…

The Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has approved the P1.24 billion initial public offering (IPO) of Bermaz Auto Philippines Inc, the exclusive distributor of Mazda vehicles. With the approval, Bermaz Auto Philippines will offer 155 million primary and secondary shares at an offer price of P8 per share, according to SEC documents. The company said it will use the proceeds of its IPO to fund the construction of a warehouse, body and paint facility, training facility, showrooms, and satellite outlets. The 155 million primary and secondary shares represent 15.6 percent of Bermaz Auto’s total outstanding capital stock after the…

Bursa Malaysia-listed Serba Dinamik Holdings (KLSE:SERBADK) posted a strong performance in the third quarter of 2016, with revenue increasing 43.1 percent to MYR731.77 million (US$164.27 million). The international energy services group attributed its strong performance in the quarter ending 30 September 2016 to the group’s operating & maintenance segment, which accounted for 86.5 percent of the total revenue. The engineering, procurement, construction and commission segment of Serba Dinamik contributed 13.5 percent of the group’s total revenue during the said period. Total revenue for the fiscal year ended 2016 rose 53.6 percent to MYR2.16 billion, from MYR1.40 billion in the previous…

Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE)-listed Aboitiz Equity Ventures Inc (PSE:AEV) disclosed that its consolidated net income in 2016 increased by 27 percent to P22.5 billion (US$446 million) from P17.7 billion a year earlier. The solid 2016 net income report sent Aboitiz Equity Ventures’ stock (PSE:AEV) gaining 0.95 percent in today’s trading to end the day at P73.20 a share. The P22.5 billion net income translates to P4.02 in earnings per share. In a disclosure, AEV said power accounted for 65 percent of its full-year profit, followed by the Banking and Financial Services, Food, Infrastructure, and Land strategic business units (SBUs) with…

Hong Kong-based Chinese medicine firm PuraPharm Corporation Limited has announced its acquisition of K’An Herb Company, a company engaged in manufacturing of herbal formulas in the US. The Hong Kong-exchange listed PuraPharm said the acquisition is carried out by its wholly owned subsidiary for US$5.4 million in cash. The acquisition will be funded by internal sources of the group. In a statement, PuraPharm said the acquisition will provide the company a cost and time effective way to enter the US market. It can create synergies with PuraPharm’s existing products and expand the products portfolio of its Chinese medicine products, which…

Stocks listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) were mostly down on Friday’s close with just Information Technology and Telecommunication Services gaining but at a mere 0.55 percent and 0.41 percent, respectively. A number of ASX stocks, however, managed to register double-digit percentage gains on Friday to send their weekly price gains higher, led by mineral exploration company Redstone Resources (ASX:RDS), which posted 66.67 percent gain on Friday and a weekly price change of 81.82 percent. The monthly price gain of Redstone Resources now stands at 150 percent while its 12-month performance points to a 233.33 percent price gain. Its…

Taiwanese electronics contract manufacturing giant Foxconn has officially started construction of its US$8.8 billion liquid-crystal display (LCD) plant in China’s Guangzhou City. The US$8.8 billion investment is just for the first phase of the plant, according to reporters. The plant, which covers an area of about 1.5 square kilometer, is designed to manufacture 10.5-generation 8K displays, smart TVs and electronic whiteboards, among others. According to officials of Zengcheng district, the location of the project, the annual production value of the new plant is estimated to reach Rmb92 billion, or about US$13.34 billion, and provide 6,000 to 10,000 technical jobs. READ…

Nursing professionals and students will get the chance to find work in Australia during the nursing career expo set in Cebu on 4 March. The event, Australia Nursing Career Expo (ANCE), will take place at Radisson Blu Hotel in Cebu City and will present the different opportunities that Australia offers to skilled Filipino nurses. ANCE in Cebu is the second leg of the series of events organized for Filipino nurses aspiring to achieve global success through international educatio and employment abroad. The event will feature Vikram Sharma, CEO and Director of Lawson College and a certified Australian Registered Migration Agent,…

Philippine-listed real estate developer Century Properties Group, Inc. (PSE:CPG) has announced the launch of the Philippines’ first home market category, which will unveil its brand name and product offerings in the second quarter of 2017. “The launch of this new segment effectively expands the company’s portfolio of residential offerings, from luxury and mid-priced condominiums in the business districts and city centres to competitively-priced first homes within boom towns outside of Metro Manila, while maintaining Century’s tradition of quality, innovation, and unique customer experience across all market segments,” said Marco R. Antonio, CPG’s Chief Operating Officer and Managing Director for the…

Australia-listed fintech firm Rubik Financial Ltd (ASX:RFL) today confirmed that Goldfields Money (ASX:GMY) is its first Rubik Model Bank client. “We are very pleased to be able to confirm our partnership with Goldfields Money. It’s proof that the market are responding to our offering and that the solution is in line with market demand,” said Rubik CEO Iain Dunstan. Rubik Model Bank is Rubik’s next generation, digital banking platform specifically tailored for Australian Credit Unions, Mutuals and other Authorised Deposit-Taking Institutions. The platform has localised Temenos’ international award winning, “front-to-back” technology used by over 2,000 financial institutions globally. READ ALSO:…

Malaysian lender RHB Bank saw its net earnings for the fourth quarter of 2016 falling 28.1 percent to MYR261.24 million (US$58.77 million) from the previous quarter’s MYR363.37 million. The bank’s poor Q4 performance was attributed mainly to higher impairment on loans and financing, lower non-fund-based income and higher operating expenses. RHB Bank also saw its revenue declined by 9.25% to MYR2.56 billion, from MYR2.82 billion in the same period last year. The bank’s profit for fiscal year 2016 was up by 1 percent to MYR1.68 billion from MYR1.66 billion a year ago, while revenue went down slightly by 1.9 percent…

AUSTRALIA – Xped Limited (ASX: XPE) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Advanced Semiconductor Engineering Inc (ASE) of Taiwan, allowing both companies to collaboratively engage to develop a binding agreement to license several Xped technologies, develop specific solutions for ASE, and collaboratively market and develop solutions for ASE customer base. When a binding agreement is reached, ASE will incorporate Xped ADRC Proxy and the RML Translation technology into ASE modules for automation devices, sensors, and beacons. Under the proposed terms the companywill provide ASE branded versions of the Xped App customised for virtual gateway, asset tracking, building automation, and…

AHAlife Holdings Limited (ASX:AHL), a curated online marketplace for consumers of unique and designer items, has announced the appointment of Sebastian Kaufmann as the company’s CEO effectively immediately. The appointment of Kaufmann, who has been chief curation officer of AHAlife since the company acquired Kaufmann Mercantile in 2016, comes after Shauna Mei (CEO and Founder) and Sachin Devand (CTO and Co-Founder) have mutually agreed with the board to pursue other endeavours and cease being executives of the company. AHAlife said both Shauna and Sachin have al agreed to resign as directors effective immediately. Stuart Halls will continue in his role…

The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) announced Sunday that 13 drug suspects have escaped from the agency’s detention cell in Camp Olivas, San Fernando, Pampanga. PDEA Director General Isidro Lapena has immediately ordered an investigation on the incident to determine how the drug suspects managed to escape from the detention cell without being detected. The detainees, all deemed as high-value targets, escaped by cutting the bars of their detention cell with a saw, PDEA-Central Luzon director Juvenal Azurin said. The escapees, he said, were first caught in sting operations that yielded large amounts of shabu, and are facing non-bailable cases.…

China’s insurance regulator, China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC), has restricted the stock trading operations of Evergrande Life as part of punishment due to the insurer’s irregular investment operations. The CIRC said in a statement that the imposed measures will be for one year after investigators found irregularities in the Evergrande Life’s stock investment trust business and internal management profile. “The company’s speculative trading activities in certain stocks between September and November has caused grave social consequences,” the CIRC said. The insurance regulator has deployed investigators to check the operations of China’s insurance companies as part of efforts to contain possible…

The business process outsourcing (BPO) sector remains the top-employment sector in the Philippines, accounting for 38% of the country’s total workforce, according to data released by JobStreet.com. The study further revealed that the high salary in the country’s IT sector will continue to encourage and create a stronger industry workforce. Professionals in the IT sector remain the highest-paid employees in the country, JobStreet.com said. IT professionals command a monthly salary of P37,034 for a junior executive and P68,723 for supervisors. The business process outsourcing (BPO) remains the top-employment sector accounting for 38 percent of the total workforce, the report said.…

Australian Leaders Fund (ASX:ALF), an investment company focusing on companies in Australia and overseas and managed by Watermark Funds Management, announced a solid, half-year profit in fiscal year 2017 of $4.2 million. With the announcement, Australian Leaders Fund also declared an interim dividend of 4 cents per share, 50% franked, according to the company’s disclosure at the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX). Last year presented several challenges for investors, with shock election results in Europe and the US and even less predictable reactions thereto from share markets globally, the company said. Australian Leaders Fund’s portfolio has been set conservatively for some…

SOUTH KOREA – South Korean companies committed 185 violations in disclosure policies last year, up from the 126 cases registered in 2015, the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) said. Last year, the FSS imposed KRW2.2 billion (US$1.9 million) in fines to firms involved in 63 cases. Apart from imposing fines, other administrative measures taken under the Financial Investment Services and Capital Markets Act include restrictions on new securities offerings and official warnings. According to the FSS, the rise in the number of cases could be attributed to stricter monitoring and more efficient probe system. The regulator also said some unlisted companies…

The Philippine Stock Exchange Inc (PSE) posted a net income of P701.54 million in 2016, 3 percent higher than the 682.81 million profit in 2015, the PSE said in disclosure Friday. The increase was driven by the growth of operating revenues b 4 percent to P1.26 billion from P1.21 billion in 2015. Meanwhile, operating expenses amounted to P592.6 million, 1.5 percent lower than the P601.91 million expenses in 2015. Listing-related income, which made up 44.2 percent of operating revenues, rose by 15.6 percent on the back of four initial public offerings (IPOs) and 39 additional / follow-on listings, the PSE…

PHILIPPINES – The Ayala group is increasing its capital expenditures this year by 13 percent to ₱185 billion, primarily to support the growth strategies of its real estate, telecommunications, and water units and ramp up its emerging businesses in power, industrial technologies, healthcare, and education. Here are quick facts about the group’s increased capital expenditure for this year: Bulk of Capex will be for Ayala Land A large portion of this amount was from Ayala Land, which has set aside ₱88 billion mainly to bankroll the completion of its residential, office for sale and leasing projects. Furthermore, a significant driver…