Author: Business News Asia

ALABAMA, USA – After nearly 39 years of languishing in jail as a death row inmate, Anthony Ray Hinton has been freed as a new trial found that he was innocent of murder, to which he was convicted, in 1985. Hinton was about 20 years old when he was arrested, charged and then sentenced to death penalty for killing two people – fast-food restaurant managers – in Alabama. Hinton was charged based on the testimony of an injured worker, who pointed at him as the shooter. A subsequent raid in the home of Hinton’s mother resulted to the discovery of…

SEOUL, South Korea – South Korean singer and actor Choi Siwon, a member of the South Korean boy band Super Junior and Super Junior-M, is joining the Chinese version of the popular Korean show “We Got Married”. Choi’s role in the Chinese version of the popular Korean show was confirmed through the official Weibo page of the show itself. He will be playing the role of one of the three male hosts in the Chinese version of the variety show. We Got Married is a South Korean reality variety show, one segment of the Sunday Sunday Night program. First broadcast…

TOKYO – Japanese carmaker Suzuki is building a new plant in Myanmar with plans to hire around 300 new people as it seeks to increase output in the country by more than five times, sources said. Suzuki has secured a 20-hectare land at the Thilawa special economic zone, southeast of Yangon, to make it the site of its second plant in Myanmar, a country where the car market continues to grow. The second plant in Myanmar is expected to start production by 2017, with annual capacity of 10,000 cars. Suzuki is expected to manufacture Ertiga, a seven-seat compact, in the…

MALAYSIA – The Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Abdul Halim Mu’adzam Shah is in stable health and not ill as rumored through text messages, authorities assured Malaysians today. Kedah Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Mukhriz Mahathir told reporters that there is not truth about text messages that said the King’s health has deteriorated following a request to hold Yassin prayers for His Majesty’s health. The text messages said the King was ill and had collapsed in the palace. Authorities, however, denied the rumors. “His Majesty is not ill as rumoured through the short messaging system (SMS), the source of which I am…

Philippine Airlines and Cebu Pacific Air announced cancellations of flights due to weather disturbance brought about by Typhoon Chedeng (international name Maysak), the Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC) said today. On Saturday morning, Cebu Pacific cancelled its Manila-Naga and Naga-Manila flights due to bad weather. While its Manila-Caticlan, Caticlan-Manila flights were also cancelled due to marketing requirement. The management of Cebu Pacific assured the public of full refund for the cancelled flights. Passengers can also opt for rebooking. On the other hand, Philippine Airlines (PAL) announced the cancellation of four flights scheduled on Sunday as the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical…

SINGAPORE – Nadaman at Shangri-La Hotel, Singapore welcomes certified vegetable sommelier, Fusae Enomoto to enhance the current seasonal menu with organic produce air-flown from her own farm from 13 to 19 April 2015. Aside from enjoying the a la carte creations and set menus, guests can participate in two cooking classes led by Enomoto on 15 April 2015. Enomoto is a certified vegetable and fruit meister, who currently co-manages the Enomoto Farm, a family-owned farm in Saitama Prefecture located to north of Tokyo. She cultivates more than 100 varieties of seasonal vegetables without utilising chemical fertilisers and pesticides. One of…

SINGAPORE – Greenhouse and Summer Pavilion, signature restaurants at The Ritz-Carlton, Millenia Singapore are scheduled to undergo a five-month transformation through late August, the hotel said. Award-winning, New York-based designer, Tony Chi who possesses worldwide renown for crafting some of the world’s most stunning hotels and restaurants, has been appointed to design the interiors for the new restaurants. A new all-day dining restaurant will be unveiled post-transformation, while an elevated Cantonese fine dining experience awaits at the transformed Summer Pavilion. During the transformation, Chihuly Lounge and the Pool Bar will offer enhanced lunch and dinner a la carte menus, while…

Italian insurance Assicurazioni Generali has appointed Jack Howell as its new regional officer of Asia, further boosting the Italian insurance group’s international management team. Howell be be responsible for Generali’s activities in 10 Asian markets, succeeding Sergio Di Caro, who was been appointed head of Generali Employee Benefits. Howell, 44, has extensive leadership experience in Asia, including Hong Kong, Indonesia, Philippines and Vietnam. He was chairman and CEO of Philam Plans, an insurance company based in the Philippines and was appointed CEO of Prudential Vietnam in 2008. Aside from Howell’s appointment, Generali also announced the appointments of Antonio Cassio dos…

MALAYSIA – Former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad urged authorities to allow Sirul Azhar Umar to reveal the mastermind in the murder of Mongolian model Altantuya Shaariibuu. “He was asked to do it, so the question that should have been asked a long time ago was, who asked you to do it?” Dr Mahathir said at a forum in Cyberjaya. He said it was “grossly unfair” to just hang Sirul, who is now in Australia, to death for murdering the Mongolian model as he kept saying that he was only carrying out orders. “Until now somehow or other there is…

MALAYSIA – At least 500 people were rendered homeless after fire destroyed 50 wooden houses at Kampung Bangau-Bangau water settlement in Semporna Saturday morning, fire officials said. The blaze ocurred just 10 days after fire destroyed 250 wooden stilt houses in the same area, leaving more than 2,000 people homeless. Sabah Fire Services Department spokesman Mohd Affendi Ramin said no one was injured in the fire that broke out at about 1:40 a.m. on Saturday. It took firefighters almost two hours to control the blaze, whose origin was still being investigated. Twenty personnel including few from Kunak district were dispatched…

Blue Bell Ice Cream said it has voluntarily shut down operations at its Broken Arrow Oklahoma plant to pave the way for a thorough inspection following the deaths of three people linked to a foodborne illness. “We are taking this step out of an abundance of caution to ensure that we are doing everything possible to provide our consumers with safe products and to preserve the trust we have built with them and their families for more than a century,” the company said in a statement. The company said its other plants will continue to operate, adding that the Broken…

Local government units in areas that are expected to be hit by typhoon Chedeng (international name Maysak) in the Philippines are gearing up for the onslaught of the storm, which is expected to make landfall in Casiguran, Aurora. The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said the location of the typhoon’s center was 625 kilometers East Southeast of Casiguran, Aurora as of 5 a.m. Saturday. The typhoon still packs maximum sustained winds of 155 kilometers per hour (kph) near the center and gustiness of up to 160 kph. It was forecast to move West Northwest at 19 kph.…

The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) placed seven provinces in Luzon under public storm warning signal Number 1 as typhoon Chedeng, international name Maysak, continues to move West Northwestward closer to Eastern Luzon. Public storms warning signal Number was raised in the provinces of Isabela, Aurora, Quirino, Quezon (including Polillo Island), Catanduanes, Camarines Norte and Camarines Sur. Signal Number 1 means winds of 30 to 60 kilometers per hour are expected in at least 36 hours. Based on the latest Pagasa forecast, Chedeng has maximum sustained winds of 140 kilometers per hour near the center and gustiness…

Here are the top business stories around Asia for April 3, 2015 Japan’s Richest Man is Tadashi Yanai The latest list released by Forbes showed that retail mogul Tadashi Yanai is the richest man in Japan with a net worth of USD21.1 billion. Yanai, founder and CEO of Fast Retailing, was ranked second last year, thanks to the sales increase at his apparel chain, Uniqlo. Joining Yanai in the top 10 are Masayoshi Son (USD13.9 billion), Nobutada Saji & family (USD10.9 billion), Hiroshi Mikitani (USD10.5 billion), Takemitsu Takizaki (USD8.8 billion), Keiichiro Takahara & family (USD5.4 billion), Han Chang-Woo & family…

A study conducted by the Asian Diabetes Foundation showed that Singapore has the highest proportion of younger type-2 diabetes patients, a report by Channel News Asia said. The survey, which spanned two-years and involved 319 patients from Singapore, China, the Philippines, Thailand, Hong Kong, South Korea, India, Vietnam and Taiwan, also revealed that 3 in 10 Singaporeans had diabetes before reaching the age of 40. The proportion with younger patients in Singapore is the highest among the nine countries involved in the two-year survey by the Asian Diabetes Foundation. According to the study, Singapore currently has more than 498,000 patients…

What started as a child’s play turned tragic when a six-year-old died after falling from the second floor of a mall in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Friday afternoon. Authorities said the girl, identified as Nurhayada Sofia Musa, was playing near the escalator of the Kenanga Wholesale City Mall when she accidentally fell from the second floor and into the ground floor. Dang Wangi Police Chief ACP Zainol Samah said the child died on scene due to severe head injuries. Her body was brought to the Kuala Lumpur Hospital for post-mortem examination. The six-year-old girl was with her parents coming into the…

SINGAPORE – Two foreign workers died while three others were injured when fire broke out in their rented apartment at 88 Lorong 6 Geylang Friday morning. The identities of the fatalities, believed to be foreign workers, have not been disclosed yet. They were declared dead at the scene by responding paramedics. According to the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF), the fire struck a unit on the second level of the four-storey building where the victims were asleep at 4 a.m. The unit is rented out by the owner, identified as Mrs Bala, for about a year already. When paramedics arrived…

PHILIPPINES – Typhoon Chedeng, international name Maysak, has weakened slightly as it moves towards the eastern coast of Central and Northern Luzon in the Philippines, the country’s weather forecaster said. According to the latest severe weather bulletin issued by the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) at 2 pm Friday, typhoon Chedeng was located at 880 kilometers East Southeast of Casiguran, Aurora. It continues to pack maximum sustained winds of 150 kilometers per hour near the center and gustiness of up to 180 kph. The strength of the typhoon was much weaker than the 240 kph registered before it entered…

MALAYSIA – Malaysian Prime Minister Mohd Najib Tun Razak turned to Twitter to announce that Malaysia condemned the attack by militant group al-Shabag in Garissa University College in Kenya that killed 147 people. In a post on his Twitter account, the Malaysian Prime Minister said Malaysia condemns the attack in Kenya and stressed that extremism committed in the name of Islam will always be rejected in his country. “Msia condemns the attack in Kenya and rejects extremism committed in the name of Islam. Islam is a religion of peace, tolerance & respect”. The Malaysian prime minister joins the number of…

South Korea’s largest car manufacturer, Hyundai Motor Co, and Japanese car producer Toyota Motor Corp are expanding their car production capacity in China with new plants in the country. Toyota was expected to announce building a new car plant in China, ending a three-year expansion freeze. The China expansion is part of the USD1.3 billion investment that Toyota will pour in Chin and Mexico. The new car plant, which will be located in the city of Guangzhou, will increase Toyota’s annual production capacity in China by up to 100,000. The new plant will produce up to 100,000 Yaris subcompacts a…