Philip Chua Business Blog

Posts Tagged ‘Pacific’

STOCKS here started the holiday-shortened week on a bullish note yesterday, propelled by major contract wins at some firms and renewed optimism for the economic recovery boosting banks and commodities-related stocks.

The Straits Times Index (STI) finished 36.34 points or 1.3 per cent higher at 2,797.88, the highest closing level since Aug 14 last year.

Elsewhere in Asia-Pacific yesterday, othe… more

President Obama’s trip to Asia is one part introduction, one part diplomatic dialogue and eight parts competitive economics. Whatever agreements are met with leaders of Japan, and South Korean or communiqués are issued from the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Conference (APEC) in Singapore, it is the visit to Beijing that matters….

58% of respondents expect to spend more on research and development in next 12 months
MOST business leaders in the Asia-Pacific believe it will take two to three years for the global economy to recover fully.
In the meantime, many are gearing up for future growth and plan to spend more on research and development in the next 12 months.
These findings come from a survey conducted jointly by Pricewa… more

SINGAPORE may be buzzing amid the arrival of top global leaders for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit but nothing, it seems, can stir the local stock market – and others around the region – from a decidedly lacklustre patch.
Blue-chip stocks around the region stayed trapped within a tight trading range throughout the trading session yesterday.
Even the ailing greenback’s renewed weaknes… more

(SINGAPORE) It is far from business as usual for Asia-Pacific’s syndicated loan market – notwithstanding last month’s mega US$2.4 billion Noble deal.
Volumes are much lower than last year, according to Thomson Reuters LPC.Its data shows that this year, up to Nov 2, syndicated loan volumes for Asia-Pacific ex-Japan reached US$118 billion with 449 deals. In 2008, there were 811 deals amounting to US… more

SINGAPORE’S economy is set on a course of continuing stabilisation, according to Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.
‘We do not expect another dip in the economy in the immediate future,’ he told a media briefing yesterday, ahead of next week’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) meetings here.
The fact that the economy grew by 0.8 per cent in the third quarter over the same period a year ago – t… more

THE average corporate tax rate in the Asia-Pacific region continues to fall, bucking trends in Europe and Latin America, according to a KPMG survey out yesterday.
However, rate reductions could well be put on hold as governments urgently need to raise tax revenues to fund budgets hit by the global economic crisis.

The survey of corporate and indirect taxes in 116 nations found that many countrie… more

EVEN as the stock markets pick up, expect to see fewer designer labels on fellow passengers on the MRT in coming months, if the latest survey released yesterday by Omnicom Media Group (Asia Pacific) is anything to go by. Singaporeans ranked among the most thrifty in the region, with 45 per cent of respondents planning to be either ‘a little more cautious’ or ‘a lot more cautious’ with spending ove… more

(SINGAPORE) When it comes to pledged shares and margin loans, disclosure rules that require directors to make a judgment call are inadequate, the CFA Institute Centre for Financial Market Integrity said.
In a paper released yesterday, the CFA Institute Centre urged for higher disclosure standards in this area across Asia-Pacific stock exchanges.
Directors are the ones tasked with deciding whether… more

Singapore expected to benefit from its direct domestic plays, says AMPCI
GLOBAL equities are at the early stage of a three-to-five-year bull market, said Kerry Series, head of Asia Pacific Equities at AMP Capital Investors (AMPCI).
Mr Series, who spoke to BT in Singapore yesterday, noted that Asian stocks could outperform on the back of stronger earnings growth and investor demand.
Despite the m… more