Author: Business News Asia

HONG KONG – OTC Clearing Hong Kong Limited (OTC Clear), a subsidiary of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEx) that was set up in 2013 to provide clearing services for over-the-counter, or OTC, derivatives, welcomes Shanghai Pudong Development Bank as a clearing member. Shanghai Pudong Development Bank Co, Ltd Hong Kong Branch’s membership takes effect Friday. “We are pleased to welcome Shanghai Pudong Development Bank, the first non-state-owned joint-stock Mainland commercial bank admitted to our service,” said Calvin Tai, HKEx’s Head of Global Clearing (Asia). Tai added that the admission of Shanghai Pudong Development Bank is a significant milestone…

CEBU CITY – Consistent with its leadership on the green real estate segment, ArthaLand recently acquired a prime property along Salinas Drive in Cebu City as it eyes the region’s burgeoning information technology and business process management (IT-BPM) sector as its primary target market. The property is strategically located at the Cebu IT Park area where multinational IT-BPM offices currently operate. ArthaLand presently looks at developing a world class green office building which will provide at least 51,000 square meters of high grade space to the local market on the first phase. “We are bullish on the VisMin market given…

Landsbankinn, an Icelandic bank headquartered in Reykjavík, and the Nordic Investment Bank (NIB) have signed a five-year loan agreement in the amount of EUR 30 million (USD 33 million), Landsbankinn said in a disclosure. The loan agreement provides that Landsbankinn allocate the funds to projects which improve the competitiveness of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), as well as environmentally-friendly ventures. Landsbankinn has in the past funded such ventures and companies in various sectors and the NIB loan facility helps the Bank increase its lending to such projects even further. This is the first unsecured loan NIB grants to an Icelandic…

Chinese Internet giant Alibaba Group agreed to buy the media assets of the South China Morning Post (SCMP) Group, including its English language newspaper that has been considered as one of Hong Kong’s most influential newspapers, The South China Morning Post. Financial details of the acquisition has not been disclosed and the deal did not come as a surprise to both observers in Hong Kong and mainland China, who have been speculating about the acquisition several weeks ago. According to Alibaba, it pursued the deal to improve China’s image and offer an alterative to what it considers the biased lens…

BRUSSELS – Student housing specialist Xior Student Housing (XIOR) has officially listed on Euronext Brussels, a report published on Euronext’s website said. With an issue price set at € 25, the Belgian real estate company raised € 88 million in new capital, reaching a total market capitalisation of € 116 million. The offer was 2.1x oversubscribed, with a strong demand from both Belgian retail investors and institutional investors in Belgium, Continental Europe and the United Kingdom. Xior Student Housing NV is a Belgian property company specialising in student housing which offers a variety of accommodation, ranging from rooms with communal…

MADRID, Spain – Bolsas Y Mercado Españoles (BME), the stock exchange of Spain, announced that it has partnered with the United Nations Sustainable Stock Exchanges (SSE) initiative to raise awareness on environmental, social and corporate governance issues, and to spread sustainable business practices. The UN SSE initiative was launched by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon in 2009, and offers a learning platform for exploring how exchanges—together with investors, regulators and listed companies—can encourage sustainable investments and enhance corporate transparency. The SSE is convened by the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the UN Global Compact, the UN Environment Program’s Finance…

PHILIPPINES – Sugar group Roxas Holdings, Inc. (RHI; PSE:ROX) is taking on a new direction with the appointments of two key officers. RHI Chairman and Interim President & Chief Executive Officer Pedro E. Roxas said the appointments of a new PCEO this month and of a new Chief Finance Officer (CFO) in November show the Company’s readiness to keep up with the shifting trends in the industry. “Sugar industry veteran Hubert D. Tubio will be appointed as RHI’s new PCEO this month,” said Roxas. Tubio will replace Mr. Renato C. Valencia who left in October to pursue other interests. In…

PHILIPPINES – ServiceSource® (NASDAQ:SREV), the San Francisco-based global leader in customer revenue growth and retention solutions, announced plans to fill approximately 100 new positions by mid-2016 based in the company’s new service delivery center located in the heart of Bonifacio Global City (BGC). Opening in January of 2016, the new state-of-the-art facility will bring a potential of up to 500 new positions to the area over the next year. ServiceSource operates in the B2B space and specializes in Knowledge Process Outsourcing (KPO), which demands a higher-end skill set from employees. These initial KPO roles will support the revenue lifecycles of…

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) received an upgrade by equity research analysts at Jefferies & Co Monday morning from Hold to Buy. Jefferies & Co also set a USD55.000 target price per share on Abbot Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)’s stock. Out of 17 analysts covering Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT), 16 rate it “Buy”, 0 “Sell”, while 6 “Hold”. This means 73% are positive. $58 is the highest target while $46 is the lowest. The $50.97 average target is 16.18% above today’s ($45.3) stock price. Abott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) closed at 45.30 a share last Friday, a 2.60 percent gain from the previous close. The stock has…

MANILA, PHILIPPINES – Lazada Philippines (www.lazada.com.ph), the country’s leading one-stop online shopping and selling destination will culminate its Online Revolution sale in a 3-day Grand Christmas Sale finale on December 10 – 12. Lazada broke its online sales records during the kick-off of the month-long sale event last November 11, generating 2.4 million visits and over 120,000 items purchased on its website and mobile app in a single day. The e-commerce giant expects to surpass these numbers before the year ends as it reveals further markdowns on its holiday bestsellers during the upcoming sale on December 10-12. Discounts during the…

Bangladesh seeks to copy the success stories of the Philippines, Sri Lanka, and India when it comes to business process outsourcing (BPO) industry, with the goal of generating 200,000 BPO jobs by 2021. “We have a plan to create employment opportunities for 200,000 youth by 2021 through different programmes in partnership with governments, organisations and other companies, through the summit we want to create awareness and initiate a debate to this effect”, said Ahmadul Hoq, the president of the Bangladesh Association of Call Center and Outsourcing (BACCO). In an interview with The Independent. Hoq said Bangladesh continues to lag far…

The value of auto insurance premiums is forecast to grow in most countries up to 2018 after growing at a rate of 2.9 percent in 2010 and 2014, UK-based Finaccord has reported. According to the financial services and research firm, the global market value of auto insurance premiums rose to US$669.7 billion in gross written premiums last year. The value is forecast to hit US$819.2 billion by 2018. By line, the report said the worldwide market value broke down between US$460.1 billion in personal motor insurance premiums and US$209.6 billion in commercial motor insurance premiums. The US, China and Japan…

Grupo Emperador Spain S.A., a company owned by Emperador Inc. (PSE:EMP) of the Philippines, has reached a definitive agreement with Beam Suntory Inc. to purchase its Spanish brandy and sherry business in Jerez de la Frontera, the brandy capital of Spain. The purchase includes the iconic brands of Fundador, the Philippines’ best selling premium imported brandy; Terry Centenario, Spain’s number one selling brandy; Tres Cepas, the number one brandy in Equatorial Guinea and Harveys, the number one selling sherry wine in the United Kingdom. All the brands carry a unique heritage and market leading position. Fundador Brandy has been a…

Japan’s Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF), the world’s biggest pension fund, just lost USD64 billion in the last quarter, its worst in comparable data starting 2008. Documents released in Tokyo showed that the USD1.1-trillion Japanese asset manager saw the value of its holdings declined by JPY7.9 trillion in the second quarter of this year. The loss was the Japanese asset manager’s first since it doubled its allocation to stocks and reduced debt last October. The latest documents showed that GPIF lost JPY8 trillion on its domestic and foreign equities and JPY241 billion on overseas debt. As of the end of…

AUSTRALIA – The Board of Stanmore Coal Ltd (ASX:SMR) has announced that the company has completed the acquisition of the Isaac Plains Coal Mine from Val S.A. and Sumitomo Corporation. “By satisfying transaction completion for the acquisition of Isaac Plains, Stanmore is on track to deliver on its strategy to become a coal producer in the first half of calendar 2016,” Managing Director Nick Jorss said in a disclosure to the Australian Securities Exchange. He added that the tender process for the role of principal mining contractor is well advanced, with award anticipated prior to the end of the calendar…

AUSTRALIA – The Board of Australian nickel miner Mincor Resources NL (ASX:MCR) is set to appoint current Chief Operating Officer, Peter Muccilli, as Chief Executive Officer effective from 1 February 2016. This after the company’s long-serving Managing Director, David Moore, has indicated his desire to step down from day-to-day management and move to a non-executive role from early next year. Moore will move to the position of Deputy Chairman from 1 March 2016 and in that role will remain actively engaged with the company. Mincor’s Chairman, David Humann, speaking on behalf of the Board and shareholders, congratulated Moore on exception…

Seven alleged members of an ISI-inspired group were killed in a raid on what authorities said was an ISIS training camp in Sitio Sinapingan, Barangay Butril, Palimbang, Sultan Kudarat in Mindanao Thursday morning. Two of the fatalities were believed to be Indonesian nationals, including Ustadz Abdul Fatah. The two Indonesians were reportedly acting as bomb-making trainors for the group, authorities said. Sultan Kudarat PNP Public Information Officer Supt. Reynante Cabico said raid was conducted by elements of the Philippine Marines Battalion Land Team 6. An exchange of gunfire ensued between the government troops and the group of Kumander Tokboy Maguid…

Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte has made official his pronouncement to run for president in the 2016 elections as he filed his certificate of candidacy (COC) at the Commission on Elections (Comelec). Duterte withdrew the COC he filed for Davao City mayor and then submitted his candidacy for president at the Law Department of Comelec in Intramuros, Manila. His daughter, Inday Sarah Duterte, is taking over his candidacy for Davao City mayor. However, Duterte did not personally file his COC for president but was instead hand-carried by lawyer Salvador Medialdea. The filing of Duterte’s COC was made after PDP-Laban president…

The sanctions that were laid down by the U.S. and the EU regarding Russia’s oil and gas sector gave Russia no choice but to turn its exports to China. However, with the slowdown that China is experiencing, Russia is now looking at India to offset potential losses. Last year, Russia and China inked a deal that involved the construction of two pipelines that would effectively transport the former’s gas exports to the latter. The first pipeline is “located in East Siberia called the Power of Siberia,” while the other is in West Siberia called the Altai pipeline. The Altai pipeline,…

MANILA – Philippine listed bank BDO Unibank Inc (PSE:BDO) and Japanese financial institution FIDEA Holdings (FIDEA Group) further strengthened their business relationship through a memorandum of understanding (MoU) that will allow BDO to provide support to FIDEA’s clients planning to invest in the Philippines. FIDEA is a joint holding company between major Japanese regional banks, The Shonai Bank Ltd (Yamagata prefecture) and The Hokuto Bank Ltd (Akita prefecture). Both banks have partnered with BDO Unibank under the Japan Bank of International Cooperation (JBIC) framework in 2013. Said framework was developed to support the banking needs of Japanese enterprises eyeing the…