Author: Business News Asia

MANILA, PHILIPPINES – Philippne President Benigno S. Aquino III will meet with Filipino communities when he goes to the United States and Canada on the second week of May, the Office of the President said. The report said that Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Maria Andrelita Austria revealed that the President will have a one-day working visit in Chicago on May 6, before travelling to Canada on a state visit from May 7 to 9. “We want to look at this visit as covering three basic points: first, is to reciprocate the visit made by the Prime Minister of Canada to the…

MANILA, PHILIPPINES – The central bank of the Philippines, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), has issued an advisory to inform the public on the extent of authority of external collection agencies to offer and approve debt restructuring of credit card. The BSP issued the advisory in response to the complaints and inquiries received by the BSP’s Financial Consumer Protection Department involving credit card debt restructuring. Credit card issuers, in the course of their business, refer problem credit card accounts to accredited external agencies for collection. “However, accounts referred to collection agents which are restructured often result in complaints on unfair…

After releasing a report in March that said the amount of bitcoin trading activity in China has risen, Goldman Sachs is co-leading a USD50 million investment round in bitcoin wallet firm Circle Internet Financial. The investment was what the bitcoin world badly needed to boost its credibility as an online currency and possibly the future of online money. In an announcement Wednesday night, Goldman sachs said confirmed co-leading the financing round but did not offer further details about its decision to invest in Circle, which was started in 2013 by Jeremy Allaire. Circle is one of a small group of…

TOKYO – Japan’s central bank the Bank of Japan (BOJ), has decided to hold off on expanding monetary stimulus during a board meeting in Tokyo on Thursday. The BOJ board members decided to keep its plan to expand the monetary base at an JPY80 trillion (USD673 billion) annual pace after voting 8 1. The lone opposition to the decision, board member Takahide Kiuchi, urged the BOJ to cut its purchases of government bonds and risky assets to JPY45 trillion annually instead of keeping the monetary base. Later today, the BOJ is expected to present updated inflation and growth forecasts, followed…

MANILA, PHILIPPINES – A survey conducted by Social Weather Stations (SWS) showed that the number of unemployed Filipinos dropped in the first quarter of this year, the lowest under President Benigno Aquino III’s administration. The SWS survey, which was conducted from 20 March to 23 March involving 1,200 respondents, discovered that unemployment rate in the Philippines dropped from 27 percent, or 12.4 million Filipinos, in the quarter ending December to 19.1 percent or 9 million in March. The survey considers unemployed Filipinos as those who are 18 years old and above without a job and also looking for ajob. SWS…

MANILA, PHILIPPINES – President Benigno S. Aquino III would like Sarangani Representative and Filipino boxing icon Manny Pacquiao to seriously consider retiring from boxing after his upcoming fight with Floyd Mayweather, Jr. The Chief Executive made the statement on Tuesday during an interview with members of the Philippine media delegation covering his participation in the recently concluded 26th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit here. “I’m very confident that he will do our countrymen proud as he has always done. Of course, I go back to my perpetual message, continued fighting in the ring does not promote good health,”…

NEPAL – As rescuers scramble against time to rescue those who are still trapped inside collapsed buildings in Nepal, economists said the massive earthquake that hit the country last Saturday could cost USD2 billion in economic losses. The death toll in the earthquake has already passed 3,500 as of Tuesday and thousands more are still missing, Nepalese authorities said. More than the human loss due to the earthquake, the country will have to brace for the economic losses brought about by the massive tremor. Kinetics Analysis Corp said the country stands to lose about USD2 billion from the earthquake and…

HONG KONG – The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) has warned the public against a fraudulent website that claims to be the official site of Dah Sing Bank Ltd (DSB). The website, dahsingbankonline.com, was still up despite the warning from the Hong Kong authority as of this posting. The site carries photos of DSB banks and even provide press releases and regulatory disclosures. It also features electronic application form and has a page for electronic banking. “The DSB has clarified taht it has no connection with the fraudulent website,” the HKMA said in a statement posted on its website. Anyone…

KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA – Bank Negara Malaysia, the country’s central bank, has announced the appointment of Mod Adhari Belal Din as assistant governor, in addition to his function as strategic human capital department director. In a statement released on Tuesday, Bank Negara said Mohd Adhari’s appointment, which will take effect on 1 May, means he will be tasked for strategic management, human capital development center, IT services and strategic human capital departments. Prior to his appointment, Adhari served as the Director of the Strategic Human Capital Department as well as the Strategic Management and Risk Management Departments. Before joining Bank…

JAKARTA, INDONESIA – South Korea’s first life insurance company, Hanwha Life Insurance, is seeking to hire 650 new financial consultants in Indonesia within this year to double its existing number of consultants in the country. Aside from hiring new consultants, Hanwha Life Insurance, an affiliate of chemicals-to-finance conglomerate Hanwha Group, also aims to open new outlets in Indonesia and further offer services to the local banking industry. Hanwha currently has 650 local financial consultants and five outlets in the country. “We will strengthen our presence in emerging markets which have a huge growth potential, even if it takes time. This…

BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS – Only 15 percent of residents in Boston and 18.9 percent of the entire Massachusetts residents reported support for the death penalty for Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, a recent survey showed. The result of the new survey showed that support for the death penalty for Tsarnaev has decreased from the September 2013 Boston Globe survey, which showed that 33 percent of residents in Massachusetts support death penalty for the bomber. The new survey result, however, does not necessarily mean that residents in Massachusetts have already forgiven Tsarnaev. Frank Perullo, president of Sage Systems LLC,…

MANILA, PHILIPPINES – The murder trial involving US Marine Private First Class Joseph Scott Pemberton, the prime suspect in the death of transgender Jeffrey “Jennifer” Laude, should be covered live by the media, the Laude family said. The family of Laude went to the Supreme Court to ask that the murder trial be carried out live by media because the Filipino people “have the right to know what is happening in the proceedings. “More importantly, the so-called fourth estate has the constitutionally guaranteed protection to report on matters of great public interest, including the criminal proceedings in this case,” the…

DAVAO, PHILIPPINES – At least two milk tea sores in Davao City were caught allegedly selling expired milk tea ingredients just a few weeks after two persons in Manila died due to milk tea poisoning, authorities said. The discovery of the milk tea shops, located inside a mall in the city, came after the Davao City Health Office conducted massive inspection of milk tea shops in the city. The two shops, however, complained that there sales have been affected following the reports that they were selling expired milk tea ingredients. But Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte said naming the two…

NEPAL – Global insurers and reinsurers with presence in Nepal are sending their teams to assess the damages brought about by the massive earthquake that struck the nation last Saturday. Analysts said most of the claims will come from home insurance policy that provides cover for any damage to property and contents caused by natural or man-made calamities. Among the insurance companies that are sending their teams in Nepal are the General Insurance Corporation of India (GIC) Re, the largest international reinsurer in Nepal, and Bajaj Allianz General Insurance. The Indian-government-owned GIC Re said it has formed a special team…

MANILA, PHILIPPINES – The Philippine government is sending a team from the Philippine embassy in New Delhi to Nepal to address the needs of Filipinos affected by the earthquake, President Benigno Aquino III said. “More than this, the Philippine government will be communicating with our counterparts in Nepal, to offer assistance. We are prepared to, and consequently taking steps to, render aid to the maximum of our limitations,” Aquino said. Aquino, who is in Malaysia for the 26th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) summit, said the Filipino people join the rest of the world in expressing sorrwo and concern…

KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA – At least 100 local and international companies have been targeted to participate in the price reduction campaign that the Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Ministry has introduced. This was revealed by Minister Datuk Seri Hasan Malek, who added that at least 40 companies have so far expressed interest to join in the ongoing campaign. Among the 100 firms that are expected to participate in the program by the end of this year are giant retailers and food and product manufacturers. “With their participation, a total of 488,056 products are being offered at lower prices and are…

MANILA, PHILIPPINES – Philippine President Benigno Aquino III vowed to personally appeal the case of Mary Jane Veloso, the 30-year-old Filipina who is in the death row in Indonesia, to Indonesian President Joko Widodo. In his first statement regarding the case of Veloso, Aquino said he will personally talk to Widodo to appeal the case of Veloso, who has been given a 72-hour notice of execution by the Indonesian government. Before flying to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia for the ASEAN Summit, Aquino said he will personally look for the chance to speak to his Indonesian counterpart to stop the execution of…

NEPAL – Rescuers race against time to save those who are still trapped underneath rubble of collapsed buildings in Kathamandu following a devastating 7.9 magnitude earthquake that rocked Nepal Saturday. Health and disaster officials have not released an official count of fatalities but sources said the death toll has already passed 700 and reports of fatalities in other parts of the Himalayan nation continue to pour in. It was the biggest earthquake to strike Nepal in over 80 years, hitting the very populous Kathmandu valley, AlJazeera reported. The earthquake’s epicentre was 80 kilometres northwest of Kathmandu, but the ground also…

MONTREAL, CANADA – Montreal-headquartered Stingray Digital Group Inc, a leading B2B multi-platform music and in-store media solutions provider operating on a global scale, aims to raise about CAD120 million, or USD99 million, when it lists on the Toronto Stock Exchange. Stingray has not officially revealed the details of its initial public offering (IPO) but sources said the listing could be completed sometime in early June of this year. Stingray Digital offers music TV channels, smartphone apps and an online streaming service for consumers and businesses. Reuters reported Montreal-based Stingray, founded in 2007, is headed by Eric Boyko, who owns a…

VANCOUVER, CANADA – The City of Vancouver has announced plans to regulate marijuana dispensaries in the city, a move that could result to the shutting down of about 25 percent of Vancouver’s dispensaries. The city currently has 80 marijuana dispensaries and senior health officials said the plan to license these marijuana shops is a smart move but could affect 20 dispensaries. These 20 dispensaries, sources said, will be forced to close shop because they are either located less than 300 meters from a school or are selling baked marijuana goods and candies. Under the new rules that the City of…