Author: Business News Asia

NEW YORK – Global financial information and services firm Markit Ltd said the final reading of its Purchasing Managers Index for the US services sector expanded at its fastest pace in March since August. The US services sector PMI increased to 59.2 in March from 57.1 in February, registering the highest level since August. The final reading also overtook the flash reading of 58.6, Markit said in a report it released on Monday. A PMI reading above 50 indicates an expansion in economic activity while a reading below 50 signals a contraction. According to Markit’s report, employment at service companies…

MANILA, PHILIPPINES – Traders at the Philippine stock market were on high spirits Monday as the Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) reached another record high, its 25th for this year. The PSEi for the first time passed the 8,000 level following the long Holy Week break, registering 8,053.74 points at the closing bell on Monday. The closing points were higher by 60.65 points from a record high registered last week. The PSEi also reached a new all-time intraday high of 8,062.79, eclipsing the previous intraday high of 8,007.98 registered on March 30, 2015. “Closing above the 8,000 level is significant…

NORTH CAROLINA, USA – Craig Stephen Hicks, the main suspect in the killing of three North Carolina college students who were Muslims, could face the death penalty if convicted of first-degree murder. Hicks, 46, is set to appear in court today for a hearing that will determine if he will be facing the death penalty for killing Deah Shaddy Barakat, 23; his wife Yusor Mohammad Abu-Salha, 21; and her sister Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha, 19. Durham County District Attorney Lawyer Roger Echols earlier said he plans to seek the death sentence if Hicks is convicted of first-degree murder. The police said…

INDONESIA – Despite Australia’s appeal for clemency for the planned executions of two Australian drug smugglers, who are members of the Bali Nine, an Indonesian court here said death by firing squad will push through. A panel of three judges in the administrative court in Jakarta confirmed an earlier ruling that will send Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran to the country’s so-called “execution island” for firing squad. The two were sentenced to death for their role in a failed heroin smuggling plot in 2005. The Bali Nine were arrested after Indonesian police received a tip off from Australian Federal Police.…

Malaysia’s insurance industry is set for a another fruitful year as the Life Insurance Association of Malaysia (LIAM) has predicted that the country’s life insurance industry will grow between 5% and 10% in insurance coverage this year from last year’s 6.9% increase. LIAM President Vincent Kwo said last year’s insurance coverage amounted to MYR1.17tr (USD321bn) from 2013’s MYR1.09tr (USD299bn). Kwo added that last year’s 9.3% growth in total premiums is expected to be repeated this year. The report, however, does not mention how much Malaysia’s life insurance industry paid back to the consumers but Kwo said medical claims and bonuses…

MALAYSIA – Malaysia will be hosting the 29th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in 2017 based on the recent meeting in Singapore by the Southeast Asian Games Federation (SEAGF) Sport & Rules Committee. The committee agreed during the Singapore meeting that Malaysia will host the SEA Games in 2017, followed by Brunei in 2019 and then Vietnam in 2021. Since the inaugural SEA Games, which was held in Bangkok in 1959, Malaysia has hosted the 1977, 1989 and 2001 Games. The last time Malaysia host the Games is in Kuala Lumpur 2001. By the time the country will host the games,…

KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA – The Malaysian police detained 17 suspected militants who were allegedly planning terror activities in the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur. Malaysian Inspector-General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar confirmed the arrest through a Twitter post on Monday. “Syabas Bhg Counter Terrorism @PDRMsia semlm t’kap 17 org sedang merancang lakukan keganasan di KL. 2 dr mrk baru balek dr Syria. Go PDRM Go,” Khalid Abu Bakar. The Twitter post translates to “Congratulations to the police’s Counter Terrorism division yesterday [Sunday] for arresting 17 people planning to commit acts of terror in Kuala Lumpur. Two of them had just…

IRELAND – The Irish Coast Guard rescue helicopter has airlifted a male camper who sustained serious injuries after falling into a ravine at Mahon Falls in the Comeragh Mountains. The man, who has not been identified as of this posting, was reportedly with a group of campers holding a party near the Mahon Falls when the accident occurred. Another source, however, said the man was doing an early morning walk when he slipped in a ravine. Authorities said they were still investigating the incident. The man sustained spinal and shoulder injuries after the fall, which occurred just after 6 a.m.…

CANADA – Despite facing a long list of challenges in Cabada, taxi-hailing corporation Uber is not giving up on Canada, despite its current row with some officials, and even expresses hope to maintain further expansion in the country. The San Francisco-based tech giant has been facing a barrage of charges from municipal governments, ranging from political salvos to court injunctions, just so Uber can take its cars off Canada’s streets. Critics have been particularly vocal about the company’s UberX service, which allows unlicensed drivers to offer rides in their own vehicles. Such trips, sources said, are not eligible under the…

MANILA, PHILIPPINES – The Philippine government said it supports a United Nations (UN) initiative raising awareness on disasters to make vulnerable communities much safer. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon and United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction head, Margareta Wahlström, have urged disaster-prone countries like the Philippines to make “disaster risk reduction” a household word. In a radio interview on Sunday, Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Herminio Coloma said such an initiative is already being done by the Aquino administration. Disaster risk reduction has been the priority of the Aquino government and has incorporated it in the pillars of its…

MANILA, PHILIPPINES – The Philippine government has successfully evacuated 99 Filipino nationals from the war-torn Yemen, the official Philippine gazette reported. The Crisis Management Team (CMT), led by Philippine Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Ezzedin Tago, along with officials and personnel from the Philippine Embassy in Riyadh and the Philippine Consulate General in Jeddah, successfully evacuated the 99 Filipino nationals from Yemen. THe group is composed of 54 men, 43 women, and two infants. The group traveled on a convoy of two buses. They left the western Yemeni city of Hodeidah at 7:00 a.m. (Saudi time) on April 5 and arrived…

The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), China’s securities regulator, has approved 30 new initial public offerings (IPOs), in an attempt to cool a stock market rally. Based on stock exchange filing on 03 April, 28 of the 30 new IPOs have published their share issue prospectus to launch the IPOS over the next two weeks. Analysts said the 30 IPOs could lock up as much as Rmb3.7 trillion (USD597.13 billion) in subscription funds over the next two weeks. The number of latest IPOs approved was the most for this year after the securities regulator approved 20 IPOs in January and…

SINGAPORE – CapitaLand Limited announced that Mr Peter Seah Lim Huat will retire from the position of an Independent Non-Executive Director and Deputy Chairman of the CapitaLand Board and not seek re-election at the upcoming Annual General Meeting to be held on 30 April 2015. On the same day, he will also retire as Chairman of the Finance and Budget Committee, Chairman of the Nominating Committee and a member of the Executive Resource and Compensation Committee. Mr Seah, aged 68, was appointed to the Board on 18 December 2001 and assumed the role of CapitaLand’s Deputy Chairman on 1 January…

DHAKA, BANGLADESH – At least 24 people have been confirmed dead while dozens more are injured as a severe storm continues to sweep across Bangladesh, authorities said today. Most of the fatalities were residents of Bogra district, a northern district of Bangladesh in the Rajshahi Division. Among those killed in the severe storm were women and children. There were also reported fatalities in the capital Dhaka while more than 50 people were brought to the different hospitals around the country due to injuries caused by the storm, Bogra’s Chief District Administrator Shafiqur Reza Biswas said. Several houses were were also…

PHILIPPINES – A gold processing plant owner, his son and their family driver were killed in what police described as a massacre on Eastern Sunday in the province of Masbate. The Philippine National Police said a thorough investigation has been launched to determine the real motive of the massacre, which resulted to the death of businessman Jesus Amaro, his son Gilbert, and their family driver. Initial investigation pointed to robbery as the suspects carted away a bag filled with gold after shooting to death the victims inside their house in barangay Luy-a, Aroroy town. The police said armed men barged…

GUIYANG, China – At least 21 people were confirmed dead and several others injured when the bus they boarded plunged into a river Saturday night in Guizhou Province, southwest China, authorities confirmed on Sunday. Initial investigation showed that the bus suddenly swerved off a mountain road and plunged directly onto a dry riverbed in Nayong County, Bijie City, according to rescuers who responded at the site. Authorities said the bus passed through the mountain road illegally because the road was intended only for small vehicles. The accident occured at 7pm Saturday. An investigation was still on going to determine how…

MANILA, PHILIPPINES – Intensifying its efforts in the preparations for Typhoon Chedeng, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) is also focusing its attention on providing emergency telecommunications support in areas that will be hit by the typhoon. “In times of disasters, the need for communication is as important as the need for food. People in disaster-stricken areas need to immediately communicate with their loved ones to assure them that they are safe or to ask for help,” DSWD Secretary Corazon Juliano-Soliman said. To ensure the smooth flow of communication during these crucial times, staff of the DSWD’s Information…

MALAYSIA – In what others considered as a miracle, a four-year-old girl survived a potentially deadly seven-floor fall from an apartment building in Presint 14, Putrajaya, Malaysia. Although she sustained injuries in the head, the four-year-old girl survived the plunge as she hit a roof on the first floor, saving her from instant death, the police said. Putrajaya Police Chief Assistant Commissioner Abdul Razak Abdul Majid said the incident occurred at 3pm when the victim and her aunt wanted to take the elevator to the 7th floor of the apartment block. The girl first entered the elevator but the lift’s…

PHILIPPINES – Three minors died in separate incidents of drowning in the rivers of Sigay and Tagudin Ilocos Sur on Black Saturday, authorities here said. A 14-year-old boy and his 12-year-old brother drowned in the river off Sitio Namatingan, Barangay Sto. Rosario, Sigay when they went swimming without adult supervision. The victims, identified as Winky Bello, 14, and his brother Wendy, 12, asked permission from their parents to go to the nearby river for a swim. The family was visiting a relative in the area, the police said. When the two boys failed to come back afer a few hours…

CANADA – Amanda Graham, 24, thought her pet cat Cleo was already dead after it went missing nearly six years ago in Ontario. On Friday, the two reunited in what witnesses described as a very emotional reunion. “She just liked getting outdoors and just kept getting out and not coming back,” Graham stated. “And then the last time we just did not locate her and assumed the worst.” Cleo went missing from her family’s farm in Kemptville, Ontario just south of Ottawa six years ago. Graham said her family looked for the cat but gave up days after the search…