Author: Business News Asia

SINGAPORE – An international line-up of industry-leading suppliers and speakers are expected to grace this year’s Data Centre World Asia (DWCA), the leading data center gathering in the Asia Pacific region, which will be held at Suntec Singapore on 28-29 October. DCWA Singapore 2015 will stand alongside the free-to-attend Cloud Expo Asia Singapore, Asia’s top cloud computing event for business, promising insight into blue chip cloud innovation over a two-day conference programme, and introducing the new dedicated Internet of Things theatre, Smart IoT. DCWA Singapore 2015 will introduce new specialist streams focused around Asia Pacific innovation in the data centre, expanding…

MANILA – Max’s Group, Inc. (MGI) continues to aggressively expand its presence in the global scene, with the opening of Pancake House in the United Arab Emirates. Pancake House is one of the MGI’s family of brands. MGI recently inked a development agreement with Lulu Group to build at least eight Pancake House stores in UAE within the next five years. “We are pleased with the opportunity to further broaden our reach in the UAE this time around for Pancake House. We are excited with our partnership with Lulu Group, an established retailer with a storied and rich history of…

AUSTRALIA – Stargroup (ASX:STL), formerly Icash Payment Systems Limited, disclosed that it has been awarded the ATM supply contract for the next three years for the Clipsal 500 Adelaide. The Clipsal 500 Adelaide is Australia’s largest domestic motorsport event. The 2015 event was attended by 286,500 patrons and is one of the state’s major tourist attractions, generating AU$39.76 million in economic benefit to South Australia. The Boards of Stargroup and the South Australian Motor Sport Board recently met to finalise the agreement. “This is arguably the best touring car event in the world and it is full of stalls, food…

SINGAPORE – AVIC International Maritime Holdings Ltd (SGX:O2I) has disclosed that its proposed acquisition of Shanghai Catic Industrial Co Ltd has been terminated after failing to secure relevant regulatory approval. In a disclosure to the Singapore Stock Exchange, AVIC International maritime Holdings Ltd (SGX:O2I) said the proposal has been terminated automatically because it failed to comply with the requirement to obtain the relevant regulatory approval from the government authorities in China. “As the conditions precedent under the Sale and Purchase Agreements have not been fulfilled to date, the Company has by mutual agreement entered into two separate deeds of termination…

PHILIPPINES – Sta. Lucia Land, Inc. (PSE:SLI), one of the prime real estate developers in the Philippines, received an “AA+” issuer rating, with a stable outlook, from the Credit Rating and Investors Services Philippines Inc. (CRISP). In a letter addressed to Sta. Lucia Land Inc., CRISP said the publicly-listed company has been assigned an “AA+” rating based on the following factors – solid 40-year track record, well established brand recognition as a property developer, and low debt burden. CRISP also assigned a stable outlook on Sta. Lucia as it is expected to maintain its sales and revenue trajectory in a…

PHILIPPINES – The Philippine provinces of Aurora, Quirino, Isabela and Polillo Island have been placed under storm warning signal number at typhoon Lando (international name: Koppu) moved closer to central-northern Luzon on Saturday, the state weather bureau PAGASA announced. As of 5 a.m. Saturday, PAGASA said typhoon Lando has maintained its intensity and continues to increase its threat to the four areas that were placed under public storm signal number 3. Signal number 3 means the areas are expected to experience winds of 121 to 170 kilometers per hour in 18 hours, weather specialists said. On Saturday, Philippine President Benigno…

HONG KONG – China Life Insurance Co Ltd (HKG:2628)’s stock closed higher on Friday’s trading on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange after it reported higher premium income for the first nine months of this year. Shares of China Life Insurance Co Ltd (HKG:2628) were up 1.53 percent to close at HK$29.95 on Friday, with an intraday high of HK$30. On Friday, China Life Insurance said its accumulated premium income for the first nine months of 2015 was about Rmb310.5 billion, an increase of 14.4 percent over the same period last year. China Life’s stock has a 52-week high of HK$40.49…

HONG KONG – Shares of Asian insurer AIA Group Ltd (HKG:1299) traded higher on the Hong Kong stock exchange on Friday after Deutsche Bank raised its target price for the stock to HK$56.5 from HK$52.3. AIA Group Ltd (HKG:1299)’s stock was up 3.36 percent to trade at HKD46.20 at the close on Friday, with an intraday high of HKD47.20, which was the highest in a month. On Friday, Deutsche Bank raised its target price for AIA on the back of a higher value of new business (VNB) for Q3. The AIA Group Ltd announced that its VNB on constant exchange…

PHILIPPINES – A total of 25 stocks traded on the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) managed to post double-digit gains this week, outperforming the Philippine Stock Exchange Index (PSEi), which was down 1.17 percent. The wider All Shares Index also fell 0.60 percent this week. In this article, we will take a look at the Top 10 Stocks that posted double-digit gains this week, bucking the trend of falling stocks in the Philippines and around Asia. Topping the week’s top price gainers is Now Corporation (PSE:NOW), which has a one week price change of a staggering 77.19 percent, bringing its 4-week…

PHILIPPINES – Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE)-listed Ayala Land, Inc. (PSE:ALI) has disclosed that it is acquiring additional shares of Malaysian development and construction company, MCT Bhd for US$92 million. In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange before the marketing opening on Friday, Ayala Land, Inc. (PSE:ALI) said it will increase its stake in Malaysia’s MCT Bhd through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Regent Wise Investments Limited. The additional shares will bring its total shareholding in MCT from 9.16 percent to 32.95 percent, Ayala Land said. “This transaction affirms ALI’s confidence in MCT’s solid track record in project execution and business strategy,”…

SINGAPORE – Meiden Group announced today that the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB) has awarded Meiden Asia Pte Ltd with the International Headquarters Award Meiden Asia has established a regional headquarters in Singapore to oversee sales & marketing, manufacturing, engineering and R&D activities for the Group in Southeast Asia. Since venturing into the Singapore market in 1975 through the setup of Meiden Singapore, Meiden Group has seen remarkable growth over the last forty years. Recognising the strategic importance of the country in its regional operations, Meiden Group continued to increase its investment in Singapore by moving its regional headquarters function…

Philippine stocks traded on the Philippine Stock Exchange climbed on Thursday’s close, following two days of decline, with 26 of the 30 blue chip stocks posting gains. The Philippine Stock Exchange Index (PSEi) rallied on Thursday to revert a two-day decline, gaining 120.63 points or 1.74 percent to close at 7,045.40 points Bloomberry Resorts Corporation (PSE:BLOOM)’s stock gained the most in today’s trading session, moving up 10.83% to trade at Php6.55 a share at the close. Bloomberry was the only blue chip stock that posted a double-digit gain today. The wider All Shares gained 1.43 percent to end the day…

AUSTRALIA – Automotive Holdings Group (ASX:AHG) has confirmed that it is in negotiations to acquire the distribution rights for Higer buses in Australia. In a disclosure to the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX), Automotive Holdings Group (ASX:AHG) said it has entered exclusive negotiations to acquire the business from the administrator. The current distributor WMC was recently placed into voluntary administration. “AHG has had an association with Higer as an import partner to WMC and, with a number of new products being brought to the market, we see significant growth potential in the brand,” said AHG Managing Director Bronte Howson. Automotive Holdings…

AUSTRALIA – YPB Group Ltd (ASX:YPB), an Australia-based provider for brand protection and security systems for brand owners, has been selected by a leading Chinese industrial association as its brand protection solution provider for the next three years. In a disclosure to the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX), YPB Group Ltd (ASX:YPB) said that the newly-signed association has more than 300 corporate members as part of an industry that manufactures more than 330 million products annually. YPB will provide comprehensive suite of solutions to PROTECT products, DETECT counterfeits and CONNECT Chinese consumers with the brand owners under the national association. It…

PHILIPPINES – Metro Pacific Investments Corporation (PSE:MPI) acquired from Manila Electric Co (PSE:MER) 84,012 common shares of stock of Indra Philippines Inc. for Php326.525 million. In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE), Metro Pacific Investments (PSE:MPI), said the acquisition comprises 24.95 percent of the outstanding capital stock of Indra Philippines. Indra Phils. is a subsidiary of Indra Sistemas, S.A., which has international knowledge, experience and track record in the information technology business. Indra Phils., which has been operating in the Philippines for the past 18 years, is one of the leading provider of information technology solutions to various…

PHILIPPINES – Philippine Stock Exchange-listed Now Corporation (PSE:NOW) launched and demonstrated live two of its innovative technology creations: (a) the “NOW Broadband Cable TV” a guaranteed broadband Internet service with Wireless Cable TV, and (b) the “NOWPlanet.TV” a digital media platform as a product that converges free TV, web channels, cloud services and other interactive services. The first of its kind in the Philippines, Now Corporation (PSE:NOW)’s broadband Internet service offers only broadband Internet at guaranteed speed with wireless cable TV broadcast and cloud services. This means clients could now rely on minimum bandwidth from 2 megabit per second to…

PHILIPPINES – Blue chip telecoms stocks Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co (PSE:TEL) and Globe Telecom Inc (PSE:GLO) saw their shares declining on Wednesday’s trading as the index continued retreat following a week of gains. Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co (PSE:TEL)’s stock shed Php30 after declining by 1.36 percent in today’s trading. It traded at Php2,170 at the close. Just before the market’s close, PLDT published its public ownership report. At the New York Stock Exchange, Philippine Long Distance Telephone (ADR) (NYSE:PHI) was trading slightly lower on Wednesday. It stock was trading US$47.81 a share, or 0.21 percent lower in morning…

Philippine stocks traded at the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSEi) declined by 88.67 points, or -1.26 percent, on Wednesday’s trading, ending the day at 6,924.77 points. All of the sectors were in the red, with Mining and Oil posting the sharpest decline at 3.28 percent. Stocks that declined outnumbered advances, 112 to 64, while 45 stocks were unchanged. Of the 30 blue chips traded at the Philippine Stock Exchange, six stocks managed to post gains while 22 others declined and two remained unchanged. Bloomberry Resorts Corporation (PSE:BLOOM) topped today’s blue chips as it gained 1.55 percent to close at Php5.91, its…

The Philippine Stock Exchange, Inc. (PSE) has asked the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to make financial clearing and settlement operations among the services available to the public during the November 17 and 20, 2015 work holidays declared for government offices in the National Capital Region (NCR) in relation to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meetings in Metro Manila. Government work suspension in NCR includes the suspension of the operations in the Philippine Payments and Settlements System (PhilPaSS) of the BSP which settles transactions of financial institutions. Normal check clearing operations in the Philippine Clearing House Corporation are also dependent…

AUSTRALIA – Australian Stock Exchange-listed oil and gas company Zeta Petroleum plc (ASX:ZTA) has announced the resignation of its Chief Executive, Andy Morrison. In a disclosure to the Australian Stock Exchange, Zeta Petroleum plc (ASX:ZTA) said Andy Morrison has stepped down as Chief Executive of the Company with effect from 12 October 2015 to pursue other business interests. Morrison has agreed to continue as an unpaid adviser to the Board in the short term. Commenting on this update, Stephen West, Non-executive Chairman of Zeta said: “I would like to thank Andy for the contribution he has made to the Company…