Author: Business News Asia

PHILIPPINES – Authorities remain puzzled at how a 19-year-old man killed her 85-year-old grandmother and reportedly ate her heart insider their house in Kabankalan City, Negros Oriental, south of the capital Manila. Police said they found the victim, identified as Olivia Jalaman, already lifeless when they arrived inside her house in Barangay Tapi Tuesday dawn. The victim had a nasty wound on her left chest and her heart was already missing, said Kabankalan City Police Chief Supt. German Garbosa. The suspect, identified as Robin Jalaman, was also inside the said house. Jalaman admitted to the crime and said that he…

HSBC Holdings Plc, one of the largest banking and financial services institutions in the world, has named Janet Henry as its new global chief economist. Henry, previously HSBC’s chief European economist, will succeed Stephen King, who stepped down after serving as global chief econoist for 17 years, the bank said in an announcement to staff. King will remain at HSBC as senior economic adviser, servicing a carefully targeted list of HSBC’s key strategic clients around the world. – BusinessNewsAsia.com

SHANGHAI – Wyndham Hotel Group, the world’s largest hotel company based on number hotels, announced the opening of Ramada Nanjing, a 156-room hotel, the newest upscale business hotel to open near Nanjing Lokou International Airport. The hotel group also signed seven additional Rama properties across the provinces of Jiangsu, Hubei, Shandong and Sichuan, MarketWatch has reported. The 156-room Ramada Nanjng offers a free breakfast buffet, 24-hour shuttle service, on-site business center, fitness center and a variety of multi-function meeting space. The hotel is developed by China Eastern Airline Jiangsu Co Ltd, one of the largest airline operators in China. Leo…

Global accounting firm Ernst & Young has announced the appointment of Rohan Sachdev as its global insurance emerging markets leader. With his new role, Sachdev will be tasked to oversee the strategy of EY’s global insurance group in the emerging markets, Reuters reported. Sachdev, who has 20 years of experience in the insurance industry, will continue as EY India’s insurance sector head and financial services advisory leader. Meanwhile, the general insurance sector of India posted an increase of 12.6% in gross direct premium income underwritten in the month of June, data from the General Insurance Council showed. The data showed…

HONG KONG – Protection gap in the Asian region is forecast to balloon to USD82 trillion by 2020 as more Asians continue to lack the knowledge on the importance of getting insurance coverage to maintain their living standards in the unfortunate event that a working family member is no longer able to provide. The report, from Swiss Re, estimates that the mortality protection gap for the region widened further between 2010 and 2014. The size of the gap increased to US$58 trillion in 2014 from US$42 trillion in 2010 for the 13 Asia-Pacific markets covered by the report. In many…

KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA – A Malaysian official announced on Sunday that the object recently found on the island of Reunion in the Indian Ocean was not part of the missing Malaysia Airline Flight 370. Azharudding Abdul Rahman, Malaysian Director General of Civil Aviation, told media outlets that the new debris was just a domestic ladder and not part of a door, as earlier reported. Reports said the debris was a piece of a Boeing 777 wing flap. It was found on a beach in the town of Saint Andre last Wednesday. The item was turned over to authorities after it…

SINGAPORE – The Singapore Ministry of Health has announced on Sunday that all Singapore citizens and permanent residents will be covered by a national lifelong insurance scheme starting 01 November. The national lifelong insurance scheme MediShield Life will cover hospital admissions for all citizens and permanent residents in Singapore, the Business Times reported. It was in 2013 when the compulsory insurance scheme was first announced and the ministry will provide introductory booklet to all Singapore households this month. The lifelong health insurance scheme will provide coverage for currently uninsured individuals with serious pre-existing conditions, although at a higher premium. It…

Japanese media reported that Mark Karpeles, the chief executive officer of Mt. Gox bitcoin exchange, was arrested by authorities in Japan on Saturday. Details of the arrest have not been disclosed yet but local media confirmed the arrest of Karpeles, over the loss of about USD390 million worth of virtual currency. The NHK reported that Karpeles was arrested on suspicion that he had accesed to the computer system of MtGox and was alleged involved in falsifying data about the exchange’s outstanding balance. Earlier, Japan’s vice finance minister Jiro Aichi calls for an international cooperation in regulating the virtual currency bitcoin…

Official government data showed that China’s manufacturing activity dropped in July, missing expectations for a slight growth, Reuters reported. The official Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) was stalled at 50 in July, lower than the 50.2 figure posted in June. The July PMI stands on the mark that separates growth from contraction on a monthly basis. Analysts earlier predicted a reading of 50.2 for July. Earlier, preliminary gauge of mainland China’s manufacturing activity fell to a 15-month low, an indication that the second-biggest economy globally is still struggling to find equilibrium while trying to control a slowdown. Initial reading of the…

Bradesco, Brazil’s second-largest private sector bank, is reportedly in exclusive talks with HSBC for a USD4bn sale of its Brazilian unit. The Financial Times report quoted sources familiar with the matter as saying that HSBC is nearing the sale of its Brazilian subsidiary to local rival Bradesco for close to USD4bn. HSBC earlier promised to shed 50,000 jobs and sell its subsidiaries in Brazil and Turkey as its focuses more on the promising Asian markets. Analysts believe the disposal is timely for HSBC, which made a loss of USD247m in Brazil in 2014. HSBC is the seventh-largest bank in Braziil…

From the current limit of 40 percent, Indonesia’s Financial Services Authority has hinted that it is open to lifting the curb and allowing a higher percent of foreign ownership in local banks. The percentage of foreign ownership, however, will depend on an investor’s business plan, according to Muliaman Hadad, chairman of the Financial Services Authority, in an interview with Bloomberg. But Hadad did not say how much more the authority would allow in terms of foreign holdings in domestic banks. It will depend on the seriousness of the investor and the concept of what the investor is going to do,…

The Taliban’s one-eyed leader Mulla Mohammed Omar is reportedly dead but Afghan government officials said they are still trying to verify the report. If indeed Omar, who has a USD10-million bounty on his head following the 9/11 attack, is dead, a power struggle within the Taliban is likely to occur sources said. The BCC has reported that Omar may have been dead for as long as three years. “We are aware of the reports of the passing away of Mullah Omar, the Taliban leader,” Zafar Hashemi, a deputy spokesman for Afghan President Ashraf Ghani said. He added that the governmet…

KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysian authorities scored big in the fight against illegal drugs as police busted a Pakistani drug syndicate that tried to sneak up to 35 kilograms of heroin into the country. Elements of the Bukit Aman’s Special Tactical Intelligence Narcotics Group (Sting) arrested a total of 22 Pakistanis aged between 20 and 45. Authorities said the drug syndicate tried to ship the heroin from Karachi in Pakistan to be trafficked to western countries. The syndicate, which has been operating for a month already, reportedly used Malaysia as a transit point. “The syndicate was using our country as a…

MANILA, PHILIPPINES – Metropolitan Bank & Trust Company (Metrobank) recently signed an agreement with one of Japan’s leading financial conglomerates, The Bank of Yokohama (BOY), in a bid to better service Japanese companies operating in the Philippines. The deal gives the latter more flexibility in serving their clients’ needs from opening accounts to payment settlements. Metrobank has established strategic partnerships with over 60 Japanese regional banks to strengthen its position in the local SME and institutional banking segments. BOY is the 18th bi-lateral Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) or direct tie-up established by Metrobank with a Japan-based financial institution. Under the…

MANILA, PHILIPPINES – Clash of Clans fans all over the Philippines may now gear up for their ultimate battle as wireless services leader Smart Communications, Inc. (Smart), the mobile subsidiary of PLDT, has finally opened the nationwide online registration for the Philippine Clash 2015. The country’s biggest CoC tournament, Philippine Clash 2015 covers five key regions and offers over P2 million worth of prizes – the largest prize pool ever offered in a local gaming competition. The competition builds on the success of Clash of Summer, the country’s first ever stand-alone COC tournament held in Taguig City last May, also…

MANILA, PHILIPPINES – Businesses around Asia now have an online venue for their corporate announcements, press releases, and disclosures as BusinessNewsAsia.com, a Google News-indexed website now allows companies to post their press releases for free. Launched on 25 July, BusinessNewsAsia’s press release service is free for Asian-based companies that seek to promote their products or services, announce developments, or reach clients through news releases. “We would like to become a venue for Asian businesses to post their announcements and press releases, subject to review, for free. We want to help these businesses relay their messages to their target audience in…

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) wishes to remind members of the public again to stay vigilant to a recent massive scale of bogus voice message (VM) phone calls purportedly from banks claiming irregularities in the customers’ bank or credit card accounts and asking them to input their personal information or contact the operator for account authentication. Over the past two weeks, the HKMA and some banks (including The Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited, Bank of China (Hong Kong) Limited and Hang Seng Bank Limited) have received a total of almost 2,000 inquiries from members of the public…

Twelve Filipinos, 11 men and a woman, who are languishing in the jails of Qatar will soon be going home to the Philippines after they were given royal pardon by the Qatari government. The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) of the Philippines has confirmed that the 12 Filipino inmates in Qatar were given clemency as part of the country’s celebration of Ramadan. The DFA did not name the 11 men and one woman who will soon be going home as ordered by the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. Information provided by the DFA showed that the…

LAGUNA, PHILIPPINES – More than 400 students fell ill after allegedly eating sponge cake, locally known as “mamon”, and ice candy provided to them by a company that conducted community service, authorities said. The students from Real Elementary School in Laguna were rushed to the hospital after they started experiencing severe stomach pain and nausea minutes after eating the free snacks, according to Vicente Tomazar, director of the Office of the Civil Defense in Region 4. Authorities said the food was allegedly brought by the AMS Electronic Company and distributed as part of the outreach program of the City College…

Grammy nominated singer Chris Brown was finally allowed to leave the Philippines Friday night, after four days of being stranded in the country due to an estafa case filed by a religious group. The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) revealed that Brown left the Philippines at 9:30 pm Friday on board his private plane. Brown went straight to Hong Kong to prepare for his scheduled concert in Macau. Bureau of Immigration spokesperson Elain Tan also confirmed that Brown was able to secure an Emigration Clearance Certificate (ECC) from the immigration office, proving that he has no more financial…