Hopes fade for 150 Libya refugee boat people

Hopes fade for 150 Libya refugee boat people

Hopes fade for 150 Libya refugee boat people

Posted: 07 Apr 2011 01:01 AM PDT

Hopes faded on Thursday for some 150 African refugees fleeing Libya whose boat capsized in the middle of the Mediterranean in rough weather, a day after 53 survivors were plucked from the sea.

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Branson launches 'Virgin Oceanic' to dive deep

Posted: 07 Apr 2011 12:59 AM PDT

(America-AFP) - British billionaire Richard Branson unveiled Virgin Oceanic on Tuesday, a new "flying" mini-submarine the adventurer says will take him down to the furthest depths of the oceans and set multiple world records. Copyright (AFP RELAXNEWS/ AFPTV), 2011.

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Manila negotiator sets 3-yr deadline for peace with Maoists

Posted: 07 Apr 2011 01:09 AM PDT

Since 1986, successive governments and the rebels have been holding stop-start negotiations to end one of the world's longest-running insurgencies that has killed more than 40,000 people and stunted growth in resource-rich rural communities.

China says detained artist being investigated for suspected economic crimes

Posted: 07 Apr 2011 01:09 AM PDT

BEIJING (Reuters) - China's Foreign Ministry said on Thursday detained artist and activist Ai Weiwei was being investigated "in accordance with the law" for "suspected economic crimes."

Detained Chinese artist-activist Ai "suspected" of economic crimes

Posted: 07 Apr 2011 12:38 AM PDT

BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese police said they are investigating the detained artist and activist Ai Weiwei for "suspected economic crimes", while his family said on Thursday he was the innocent victim of a political witchhunt.

EXCLUSIVE - Gulf states seek to broker Yemen's Saleh exit

Posted: 07 Apr 2011 12:38 AM PDT

LONDON/DUBAI (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia and its Gulf allies are trying to broker a deal to have Yemen's president step down and hand over power, possibly to an interim council of tribal and political leaders, sources told Reuters on Wednesday.

Disputes prove opposition cannot be alternative to BN: Najib

Posted: 07 Apr 2011 12:44 AM PDT

Opposition candidates fighting each other in the Sarawak state election is proof the parties in it do not have a common understanding and cannot be an alternative to the Barisan Nasional coalition, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

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Najib orders thorough probe on customs officer's death

Posted: 07 Apr 2011 12:39 AM PDT

Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak has directed police and the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission to conduct a thorough, transparent and professional investigation into the case of the customs officer found dead on the third floor of the MACC building in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.

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RM1.1bn loans still owed to PTPTN

Posted: 07 Apr 2011 12:39 AM PDT

Some 214,790 borrowers have yet to repay National Higher Education Fund Corporation (PTPTN) loans amounting RM1.1bn from 1997 until Feb 28.

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Customs considers advisory board

Posted: 07 Apr 2011 12:38 AM PDT

The Customs Department will propose setting up an advisory panel in order to monitor its own performance, Director-General Datuk Seri Mohamed Khalil Yusuf said.

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World has 'no right' to interfere in Ai case: China

Posted: 07 Apr 2011 12:30 AM PDT

China on Thursday warned the international community that it had "no right to interfere" in the case of detained outspoken artist Ai Weiwei, who is under investigation for unspecified economic crimes.

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Hong Kong Disneyland expansion ready by 2013

Posted: 07 Apr 2011 12:29 AM PDT

Hong Kong Disneyland, which has been struggling to attract visitors since opening in 2005, said Thursday it would complete the first phase of its expansion by 2013, a year early.

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ADB says Asia to post solid growth, warns on food costs

Posted: 06 Apr 2011 08:25 AM PDT

HONG KONG: Asia's economic growth will ease to just under 8 per cent for the next two years as the region continues a solid recovery, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) said yesterday, while warning that rising food prices threaten to send more people into poverty. The Manila-based lender said the region's economic recovery is still firm even though those growth rates are lower than the 9 per cent expansion in 2010, when an exceptionally strong rebound from the global financial crisis took place. The region in the bank's annual economic report - 45 developing or newly industrialising Asian economies, excluding Japan - is forecast to grow 7.8 per cent in 2011 and 7.7 per cent in 2012. "Developing Asia, having shown resilience throughout the global recession, is now consolidating its recovery and rapid expansion in the region's two giants - the People's Republic of China and India - will continue to lift regional and global growth," ADB chief economist Changyong Rhee said. However, the bank warned that inflation remains one of Asia's biggest challenges, with prices forecast to rise 5.3 per cent this year before tapering off to 4.6 per cent in 2012. Asia's developing countries are home to two-thirds of the world's poor - about 600 million people - who tend to spend more of their incomes on food and will be hit harder by rising food prices. "This widens income inequality and could potentially lead to social tensions," the report said. A weak US economy, sovereign debt problems in countries that use the euro common currency and Japan's recovery from the devastating March 11 earthquake and tsunami are other possible threats to growth, the ADB said. Higher oil prices stemming from unrest in the Middle East could also undermine the region's recovery, the bank said, while also noting that the leaking radiation crisis at a Japanese nuclear plant hit by the tsunami is raising concerns about nuclear generation as an energy source. The ADB encouraged Asia's emerging economies to forge so-called "South-South" links with other developing nations in the southern hemisphere to avoid relying on the wealthy industrialised West and Japan, whose economies remain weak after the 2008 global financial crisis. In drawing up its forecast, the ADB assumes Japan's economy will eke out modest growth of 1.5 per cent this year and 1.8 per cent in 2012. Assuming Japan's nuclear reactor crisis doesn't deteriorate significantly, Rhee said the disaster's long-term impact on growth would not be dire and may even nudge it higher as the country spends on reconstruction. The impact on the rest of Asia would be mixed. East Asian economies including China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and South Korea will lead growth, expanding an overall 8.4 per cent in 2011 and 8.1 per cent in 2012. China is forecast to grow 9.6 per cent in 2011 and 9.2 per cent in 2012, down from 10.3 per cent last year. India's economy, which grew 8.6 per cent in 2010, is forecast to expand 8.2 per cent in 2011 before strengthening to 8.8 per cent in 2012. Southeast Asia, including Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia and the Philippines, will grow 5.5 per cent in 2011 and 5.7 per cent in 2012. Indonesia, Vietnam and Cambodia are expected to expand more than 6 per cent this year and next. - AP


Australia defends blocking ASX-SGX deal

Posted: 06 Apr 2011 08:17 AM PDT

SYDNEY/SINGAPORE: Australia defended its preliminary decision to block Singapore Exchange's US$7.8 billion (US$1 = RM3.03) bid for Australia's ASX Ltd, but criticism is growing that the decision could hurt future foreign investment in the country. Treasurer Wayne Swan, speaking a day after saying he intended to block the deal on unspecified national-interest grounds, said Australia continued to welcome foreign investment and described the approval process as fair and transparent. "I welcome foreign investment, but ultimately all foreign investment proposals have to be in the national interest," he told ABC radio yesterday. Swan declined to spell out his reasons for initially blocking the deal, which was agreed by the two exchanges to cut costs, combat alternative trading platforms and avoid being overtaken by North American and European exchange mergers. Critics however, have jumped on the decision as a case of politics trumping business. Sources said SGX is expected to talk to the Foreign Investment Review Board before the board made its final recommendation on April 11. SGX had no plans to withdraw its bid before then, said the sources, who were not authorised to talk publicly about the deal. However, investors believe the deal is all but dead, with the SGX saying it had no current plans to amend its ASX bid. - Reuters


Mapletree Commercial poised to raise over S$900m in IPO

Posted: 06 Apr 2011 10:01 AM PDT

SINGAPORE: Mapletree Commercial Trust is set to raise as much as S$924 million (S$1 = RM2.40), including from cornerstone investors, in an initial public offering (IPO) here, underscoring a return of confidence to the market. The IPO of the trust, managed by Singapore state investor Temasek's property arm, was delayed for two weeks, after a massive earthquake and tsunami struck Japan and caused widespread panic-selling in equity markets. But the launch of Mapletree Commercial's IPO comes amid a recovery in global stock markets, indicating investors' risk appetite may be returning after a slump in the aftermath of the earthquake. Mapletree Commercial plans to sell 1.02 billion units, excluding an over-allotment option, to investors at an indicative price of S$0.84 to S$0.91 each, it said in a prospectus yesterday. This translates to a distribution yield of about 5.5 to 5.9 per cent for the fiscal year ending March 31 2012, offering investors a chance to reap a steady income stream and to tap into the growth in Singapore's retail industry and a recovery in the office property sector. The offering includes 302.2 million units, which will be sold to cornerstone investors AIA Group , Hillsboro Capital, Itochu Corporation and NTUC FairPrice. Mapletree Commercial will have an initial portfolio worth about S$2.8 billion, including Singapore's largest shopping mall VivoCity, and two office properties in the city-state. Singapore expects to welcome 12 million to 13 million visitors this year, up from 11.6 million in 2010, helped by growing travel within Asia, which could benefit Mapletree Commercial's VivoCity shopping mall due to its proximity to the tourist attraction Sentosa. VivoCity, one of the city's largest shopping malls, is the biggest asset for the trust, making up 76 percent of its revenue. The funds raised will be used to buy Bank of America Merrill Lynch HarbourFront and PSA Building, two office developments in the southern part of Singapore owned by Mapletree Investments. Mapletree Commercial's sponsor, Mapletree Investments, has also granted the trust a right of first refusal for the acquisition of 10 properties including Mapletree Business City, an office precinct in the south of Singapore. Citigroup, DBS Bank, Deutsche Bank and Goldman Sachs are the joint global coordinators and, along with CIMB, are also joint bookrunners and issue managers. - Reuters, Bloomberg


US regulators unveil plan to curb market volatility

Posted: 06 Apr 2011 09:25 AM PDT

NEW YORK: The US Securities and Exchange Commission has unveiled a plan that protects markets from the kind of big price swings in stocks that triggered last year's "flash crash." The new "limit up-limit down" safeguards, which the SEC unveiled Tuesday, would require trades in listed stocks to be executed within a range tied to recent prices for that security. If approved by the SEC, the mechanism would replace the single stock circuit-breakers established through a pilot program shortly after the May 6 flash crash, which temporarily caused the stock market to lose over US$1 trillion. Share prices of stocks already covered by the current circuit-breaker program would only be allowed to move by up to five percent above or below their average values from the preceding five minutes. Stocks in the SandP 500 index, Russell 1000 index and some exchange-traded funds are covered by the current pilot program. The SEC said all other stocks would be limited to a 10-per cent trading band. "Upgrading our trading parameters will help our markets retain the confidence of investors and companies," SEC chair Mary Schapiro said in a statement. "We were focused on improving the structure of our markets before weaknesses were exposed on May 6, and we will continue to be focused on market structure going forward." The SEC has been collaborating with national securities exchanges and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority on the new proposal. -- AFP


Taiwan to impose tax to curb home prices

Posted: 06 Apr 2011 09:27 AM PDT

TAIPEI: A planned "luxury tax" that aims to rein in property speculation in Taiwan came a step nearer on Wednesday when it breezed through its first reading. The Finance Committee gave the go-ahead to the first draft of the bill after President Ma Ying-jeou ordered legislators in his Kuomintang party, which holds a majority on the committee, to help push it through. The move comes as house prices in Taiwan have soared, leading to tensions over the widening gap between the island's rich and poor that has seen Taipei become one of Asia most expensive cities. "The approval of the bill today marks a triumph of social justice ... hopefully it will help crack down on short-term speculation," Kuomintang legislator Fei Hung-tai, a committee convenor, told reporters. Fei expected the committee to pass the second and third and final reading of the bill before it is voted on by parliament towards the end of the month. Under the provisions of the bill, anyone who sells non-residential properties and vacant land within two years of buying it will face a levy of up to 15 per cent. It also includes plans for a 10 per cent special sales tax on luxury goods such as yachts, private jets, furs and high-end furniture. The bill was introduced as various government data indicate Taiwan, once a relatively equal society, is gradually seeing a more unequal distribution of wealth, with property prices emerging as a key public bugbear. The most prosperous 20 per cent in Taiwan reported average disposable incomes of T$1.79 million (US$60,700) in 2009, more than six times that of the poorest 20 per cent - the largest gap since 2001. At the end of October, the average price of property in Taipei hit US$4,614 per square metre (US$430 per square foot), up 15 per cent from last year, according to property agency Taiwan Realty. -- AFP


Paper iPads hot sellers as Chinese honour dead

Posted: 07 Apr 2011 12:19 AM PDT

Death is no barrier to Chinese ancestors receiving the latest gadgets, with paper iPads, laptops and LCD TVs burned at gravesides across Asia to mark the Ching Ming festival this week.

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A troubled election

Posted: 07 Apr 2011 12:14 AM PDT

However, who will be the successor among the 34 candidates of the PBB?

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BoJ unveils loan scheme, warns on quake impact

Posted: 07 Apr 2011 12:13 AM PDT

The Bank of Japan on Thursday warned of the pressures facing a nation reeling from its biggest recorded earthquake, a tsunami and a nuclear crisis, as it bolstered funding for quake-hit areas.

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