Author: Business News Asia

MANILA, PHILIPPINES – Typhoon Noul batters the southernmost tiny islands in Japan on Tuesday after leaving destruction and two fatalities in the Philippines, the Japan Meteorological Agency said. The agency added that the powerful typhoon was spotted over Yakushima at middday Tuesday. Yakushima is about 1,600 kilometers southeast of Tokyo. The typhoon was headed toward the main island of Honshu later in the day or early Wednesday and the agency has already issued warnings for heavy rainfall and powerful waves along the coastlines. In the Philippines, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said 74-year-old Rogelio Paa and…

MALAYSIA – Pursuant to the agreement signed on 18 December 2014, Generali completed the acquisition of a 49 percent stake in Multi-Purpose Insurans Berhad (“MPIB”) – a P&C insurance subsidiary of Multi-Purpose Capital Holdings Berhad (“MPHB Capital”). The transaction was approved at an Extraordinary General Meeting of MPHB Capital’s shareholders on 25 March 2015. The acquisition had also been approved by the local regulator Bank Negara Malaysia. Following the closing, Generali will appoint some of the company’s Directors and key managers. Terence Wong, Head of South East Asia and Hong Kong for Generali commented, “We are very pleased with the…

Chinese Billionaires Dominate Asia’s Wealthiest Under 40 List The latest list released by Wealth-X showed that six young Chinese billionaires are in the top 10 of Asia’s wealthiest entrepreneurs under the age of 40. While the list is topped by India’s Arun Pudur, the 37-year-old owner and president of software firm Celframe, young Chinese billionaires occupied the second to fifth spots as well as the ninth and 10th places. The three other spots in the top 10 list are taken by Japanese billionaires under 40. The top 10 list is dominated by self-made billionaires who amassed their wealth from the technology…

MANILA, PHILIPPINES – Foreign net equity capital in the Philippines increased by 184.7 percent in February to US$179 million, sending the total foreign direct investments (FDI) rising by by 17.9 percent in the month, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said. Data released by the BSP, the country’s central bank, showed that (FDI) rose by 17.9 percent in February 2015 to reach US$359 million from US$305 million in the same period the previous year. This was due largely to the 184.7 percent increase in net equity capital to US$179 million as gross equity capital placements expanded by 103.6 percent while…

MANILA, PHILIPPINES – The Philippine National Police (PNP) said the remains of two people killed after drinking milk tea in Manila have tested positive for oxalic acid, a toxic bleaching substance. In a statement on Monday, forensic examinations conducted by the PNP Crime Laboratory found that Ergo Cha milk tea shop owner William Abrigo and customer Suzaine Dagohoy died due “to shock probably secondary to ingestion of toxic substance”. “About 10 µg/mL (micrograms per milliliter) of oxalic acid is considered dangerous amount. The average human body contains approximately four (4) liters of blood, therefore, it will only take about 40mg…

MANILA, PHILIPPINES – The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), the central bank of the Philippines, is meeting this week and analysts have predicted that it will keep the policy rates steady. This week, China has already trimmed its poilcy rate while Indonesia is set to cut rates when officials meet. In South Korea, the central bank is also forecast to keep the rates steady for this month. The Monetary Board of the BSP will leave the policy rates unchanged when it meets on Thursday, economists said, citing the momentum of the Philippine economy. Last March, the BSP kept the overnight…

MANILA, PHILIPPINES – At least two people were confirmed dead and more than 3,000 people fled their homes in northern Philippines as Super Typhoon Noul (Dodong) slammed into several provinces, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) announced. NDRRMC Executive Director Alexandar Pama said during the news briefing Monday morning that the two victims died even before Dodong made landfall but were counted as typhoon casualties because they were electrocuted while repairing the roof of their houses in preparation for the arrival of the typhoon. The victims were identified as Rogelio Paa, 74, and his relative Neil Paa,…

BEIJING – China’s central bank, the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) has trimmed the benchmark loan and deposit interest rates starting 11 May as the government seeks more ways to revive a slowing economy. The rate cut, the third time since November 2014, means one-year deposit rate will now be 2.25 percent and the one-year lending rate will be at 5.1 percent following the announcement of a 25 basis points cut. The cut will decrease funding costs to beef up the economy, the world’s second largest, while the national economic restructuring is ongoing, the PBOC announced. PBOC’s research bureau chief…

SINGAPORE – The World Economic Forum released the Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report 2015, naming the top 10 most tourism-ready nations in the world, a list dominated by European economies. Out of the 141 economies ranked, Spain ended up in the first place, followed by, in order, France, Germany, United States, United Kingdom, Switzerland, Australia, Italy, Japan and Canada. The Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report assesses the set of factors and policies that enable the sustainable development of the Travel & Tourism sector, which in turn contribute to the development and competitiveness of a country. It assessed 141 economies against…

MANILA, PHILIPPINES – Authorities have implemented forced evacuations in some parts of northeast Philippines as Typhoon Noul, locally named Dodong, made landfall in the province of Cagaya, north of Manila. “We strongly advise pre-preemptive evacuation while we still have time, and we expect there will be a confluence of events – a high tide, heavy rainfall in the mountains, the possibility of a storm surge and strong winds,” said Alexander Pama, head of the national disaster agency, during a news briefing. Tuguegarao City was taken off the grid as the category five storm with winds of up to 185 kph…

MANILA, PHILIPPINES – Three provinces in northern Philippines have been placed under storm signal No. 3 as typhoon “Dodong” (international name “Noul”) moves closer to land, the country’s state weather bureau PAGASA said. Storm warning signal number 3 was raised over Cagayan, Isabela and Northern Aurora. These areas should expect winds of 121 to 170 kph in at least 18 hours, PAGASA said. As of 1:00 p.m. the eye of Typhoon Dodong was located based on all available data at 408 km East of Infanta, Quezon. PAGASA said Dodong is likely to make landfall over Isabela-Cagayan early Sunday and could…

MANILA, PHILIPPINES – The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), the central bank of the Philippines, said preliminary data showed that the country’s gross international reserves (GIR) increased to USD80.8 billion as of end-April 2015. The April figure is USD300 million higher than the March 2015 GIR of USD80.5 billion, BSP Governor Amando M. Tetangco Jr announced on BSP’s website. The USD0.3 billion increase in reserves was due mainly to the National Government’s (NG) net foreign currency deposits and the BSP’s income from investments abroad. These were partially offset by the NG’s payments for its maturing foreign exchange obligations and revaluation…

MANILA, PHILIPPINES – EastWest Banking Corporation (EW) listed more than 371 million shares from its recently concluded stock rights issuance at the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) and raised P8 billion from the offering. “I am glad that EastWest has chosen to tap the equities market to raise additional capital especially as this fund raising exercise will further boost the bank’s capital adequacy ratio and support its growth strategy moving forward,” said PSE Chairman Jose T. Pardo in his welcome remarks during the listing ceremony. EastWest CFO Rene de Borja Jr said the bank’s major expansion phase has been completed and…

CEBU, PHILIPPINES – The Philippines has unofficially broken the world record for the largest cervical cancer screening at a single time following the free cervical cancer screening held in Cebu City Saturday. A total of 780 cervical cancer examinations were conducted for five hours at the Cebu City Central School Saturday, breaking India’s record of 751 in eight hours. The record, however, still has to be verified by the Guinness Book of World Records, who sent representatives to Cebu to witness the mass cervical cancer screening. The mass screening was spearheaded by the Philippine Obstetrics and Gynecological Society (Pogs) Cebu…

CEBU, PHILIPPINES – A buy-bust operation resulted to the arrest of a suspected female drug courier and the seizure of at least P4.7-million (USD105,000) worth of substance believed to be shabu (methamphetamine or crystal meth) and an unlicensed gun, the police here said. The operation conducted by the Regional Anti-Illegal Drugs Special Operations Task Force (RAIDSOTG) 7 resulted to the arrest of Maria Theresa Bacug, a suspected big time drug courier who can dispose several kilos of shabu every week. Bacug was arrested after she handed a small pack of shabu to an undercover policeman during a buy-bust operation. A…

CANADA – The Philippines and Canada have pledged to further strengthen their bilateral relations during the state visit of Philippine President Benigno S. Aquino III to the country, the Philippine Information Agency (PIA) reported. The President is on a three-day visit to Canada, which will also have stops in Toronto and Vancouver. President Aquino arrived in Ottawa in Ottawa and was welcomed by Governor General David Johnston and Mrs. Sharon Johnston with military honors at Rideau Hall, the official residence of the governor general of Canada. In his short remarks following the official welcome ceremony, President Aquino said the Philippines…

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA – Just Eat, the UK-headquartered online and mobile marketplace for takeaway food, is set to acquire its Australia and New Zealand rival Menulog Group Ltd for AUD855 million, or about USD678 million. The proposed acquisition comes as Australia and New Zealand’s takeaway delivery market size has grown to AUD3 billion, with Menulog taking the market lead. Menulog is Australia’s largest online food and beverage ordering service company by number of orders. The service allows users to search for restaurants and various takeaway establishments, indicative of chosen cuisine and location, and browse local takeaway menus and reviews before placing…

WASHINGTON – Unemployment rate in the United States dropped to 5.4 percent in April, the lowest rate since May 2008, after 223,000 jobs were created during the month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported. The following were the jobs created in different sectors: professional and business services (62,000), manufacturing (1,000), retail (12,100), leisure and hospitality (17,000), health care (45,200), finance (9,000), construction (45,000), temporary help services (16,100), transportation and warehousing (15,200) and government (10,000). For this year so far, the unemployment rate dropped by 0.8 percent while the number of unemployed persons also fell to 1.1 million, the BLS…

TOKYO, JAPAN – Expatriates in Japan turned out to earn the highest expat pay and benefits packages in all of Asia, with expatriate manager getting a package of up to USD375,000, a survey conducted by ECA International showed. ECA’s MyExpatriate Market Pay Survey, which looks at pay levels for expatriates around the world, including information on benefits, allowances, salary calculation methods and tax treatment, ranks Japan first among the 14 Asia Pacific countries it surveyed. Australia was ranked second, followed by India, China and Hong Kong, in order. Mainland China remains 4th highest in the region having overtaken Hong Kong…

SHANGHAI – Alibaba Group Holdings has named Daniel Zhang, the group’s current chief finance officer, as its new Chief Executive officer starting 10 May, replacing Jonathan Liu. Alibaba said Liu, who succeeded Jack Ma in 2013, will remain in Alibaba as vice chairman. The CEO change was announced barely nine months after its record IPO in the United States and as Alibaba’s sales rose to 17.4 billion yuan ($2.8 billion) in the three months through March, beating analysts’ estimates. Zhang’s promotion came as he helped turn the Nov. 11 “Singles Day” shopping event as its world’s largest online shopping event.…