SWF Update

[khunking]

Ordinance Board scam: CBI asks defence ministry to blacklist six firms

Ordinance Board scam: CBI asks defence ministry to blacklist six firms

July 07, 2010 15:54 IST


The Central Bureau of Investaigation has asked the defence ministry to blacklist six firms, including four international ones, for their alleged involvement in the Ordnance Factory Board scam.
Official sources said the names of four international companies -- Singapore Technologies Kinetics, Israel Military Industries Ltd, Rheinmetall Air Defence, Zurich, and Cooperation Defence, Russia [ Images ] -- are mentioned in the letter by the CBI to the Defence Ministry.
Besides, two Indian firms -- T S Kisan and companies Pvt Ltd (New Delhi [ Images ]) and R K Machines Tools Ltd (Ludhiana) -- have also been named in the CBI communique to the MoD sent earlier this week, they said.
The action came after agency sleuths investigating the case found alleged involvement of these firms in the scandal.
The agency had on June 30 filed a 2,700-page chargesheet in a special CBI court, Kolkata [ Images ], against former Director General of Ordnance factory Board, Sudipta Ghosh and 11 others for graft.
A case was registered by CBI on May 17, 2009 under different Sections of IPC and Prevention of the Corruption Act against Ghosh and others.
It was alleged that Ghosh had entered into criminal conspiracy with other accused with the object of demanding and obtaining huge illegal gratification in the matter of various supply orders placed by Ordnance Factory Board and also in the matters relating to transfer or posting of the officers of Ordnance Factories.
Following registration of case and subsequent probe, the CBI had arrested Ghosh and others.
"During searches conducted by CBI, cash amounting to approximately Rs 1.41 crore was seized from the residences and bank lockers of the former DG and his wife. Another Rs 1.14 crore was recovered from the premises of other accused persons," CBI spokesperson Harsh Bhal had said.
The chargesheet has named Ghosh and his wife Kajal Ghosh, Ramesh Nambiar, then additional GM (Sports) Air India [ Images ], J K Thapar, director of T S Kishan and Companies Private Ltd, Satish Mahajan, director and Sunil Handa, manager of R K Machines Tools Ltd, Ludhiana.
Former statistical investigator of National Sample Survey Organisation, J K Grover, two private firms T S Kisan & Company Private Limited, New Delhi and R K Machines Tool Limited, Ludhiana, chairman of Mokul Group of Companies Mohinder Singh Sahni and two private persons -- Ashish Bose and Pradeep Rana -- were also named in the charge sheet.
The matter will be heard on July 31 by a Kolkata court.
According to CBI, the modus operandi of Ghosh was that he used to habitually negotiate bribes with domestic and foreign suppliers of defence equipment to the Ordnance factories through his conduit (Ashish Bose).
Three separate cases were also registered by CBI against Ghosh, Nambiar and Grover for possessing assets disproportionate to their known sources of income.

© Copyright 2010 PTI. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of PTI content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent.

 

[khunking]

No 'Chip', but a good year for Temasek

No 'Chip', but a good year for Temasek
by admin , July 7, 2010, 1730hrs

SINGAPORE (July 7, 2010) - Temasek Holdings, which is expected to unveil its annual report this month, is set to post a record jump in the value of its assets as markets rebounded and the Singapore state investment firm increased bets in Asia, according to Bloomberg.

The past year had seen Temasek bugged by a brief period of leadership uncertainty after former BHP Billiton CEO Charles "Chip" Goodyear, who was designated to succeed Ms Ho Ching as chief executive, left the firm in August last year citing differences in strategy.

Temasek would be reporting results for the 12 months to March 31 this year. CIMB-GK economist Song Seng Wun told Bloomberg that Temasek’s assets would likely have recovered by about 40 per cent to around the S$185 billion peak reached two years earlier. A year ago, assets plunged S$55 billion as Temasek lost on bank stakes during the financial crisis.

Said Mr Song: “It’s a pretty spectacular rebound. All that red from the previous year would have turned around very sharply in line with the strong performance of the market.”

Bloomberg reported that excluding the purchase of rights shares, Temasek invested about US$4.4 billion in 2009, down from $9.5 billion the previous year, according to estimates by London-based Monitor Group. It completed 15 publicly announced deals worth about US$2.1 billion this year, according to preliminary data compiled by the consulting firm.

Temasek has been expanding aggressively into energy, commodities and agriculture. Financials and telecoms, however, still account for the biggest share of its holdings.

Associate Professor Melvyn Teo, director of the BNP Paribas Hedge Fund Centre at Singapore Management University, told Reuters: "Temasek's move to resources is consistent with its goal of catering to Asia's emerging middle class. Demand for resources will go up because of emerging economies like China but there is only so much supply, so prices will go up over time."

Specifically, Temasek bought more shares in PT Bank Danamon Indonesia and Neptune Orient Lines over the past year, among investments that increased in value as markets recovered. Danamon’s shares have risen more than four-fold from the subscription price of 1,200 rupiah in April last year. Neptune Orient has risen 48 per cent from the S$1.30 price offered to investors in June last year.

The MSCI World Index rose 49 per cent in the 12 months through March. Temasek also spent more in Asia as the region led a rebound from the global economic crisis.

Globally, sovereign fund assets climbed 9 per cent in 2009 from a year earlier to US$3.5 trillion, London-based research firm Preqin said in March.

Norway’s sovereign wealth fund, the world’s second largest, said the value of its investments increased a record 26 per cent last year. Khazanah, Malaysia’s state investment company, said in January the net value of its assets swelled 63 per cent in 2009.


‘TEMASEK TRYING TO FIND ITS PLACE’

Looking ahead, Monitor Group senior analyst Victoria Barbary told Bloomberg that Temasek is unlikely to pick up the pace of investments in the coming months as Europe battles a sovereign-debt crisis and China attempts to contain asset-price bubbles.

She added: “They are investing much less than we had seen them previously; it’s obviously a function of the markets, the losses, and the turmoil at management level. There is also a sense that Temasek is trying to find its strategy and place.”

While some observers expect Temasek to provide clues at the upcoming results briefing on when current CEO Ho Ching is expected to step down and who her successor might be, Assoc Prof Teo told Reuters that he hoped Temasek would shed more light on how how it plans to build Seatown - a multi-billion-dollar investment firm it set up earlier this year with staff seconded from Temasek – “as it adds an extra dimension to how Temasek is set up”.

According to Reuters’ sources, Seatown aims to raise funds from external investors to earn fees as well as show foreign governments that Temasek was a financial investor with no political agenda. Seatown will in time allow ordinary Singaporeans to co-invest with the firm.

 

[khunking]

Temasek’s assets set to reclaim peak as Asia pays off

Temasek’s assets set to reclaim peak as Asia pays off

<TABLE class=contentpaneopen><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=top>Written by Bloomberg </TD></TR><TR><TD class=createdate vAlign=top>Wednesday, 07 July 2010 17:06</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

Temasek Holdings is set to post a record jump in the value of its assets as markets rebounded and the Singapore state investment firm increased bets in Asia.

Temasek will likely say assets recovered by about 40% to around the $185 billion peak reached two years earlier when it reports results for the 12 months to March 31, said Song Seng-Wun, an economist at CIMB Research in Singapore. A year ago, assets plunged $55 billion as Temasek lost on bank stakes during the financial crisis.

“It’s a pretty spectacular rebound,” Song said. “All that red from the previous year would have turned around very sharply in line with the strong performance of the market.”

Temasek bought more shares in PT Bank Danamon Indonesia and Neptune Orient Lines Ltd. over the past year, among investments that increased in value as markets recovered. The MSCI World Index rose 49% in the 12 months through March. Temasek, seeking a successor to Chief Executive Officer Ho Ching, 57, also spent more in Asia as the region led a rebound from the deepest global recession since World War II.

Globally, sovereign fund assets climbed 9% in 2009 from a year earlier to US$3.5 trillion ($4.86 trillion), London-based research firm Preqin said in March. Norway’s sovereign wealth fund, the world’s second largest, said the value of its investments increased a record 26% last year. Khazanah Nasional Bhd., Malaysia’s state investment company, said in January the net value of its assets swelled 63% in 2009.

Temasek’s biggest jump in the value of its assets since it started reporting in 2004 was the year ended March 31, 2007, when it increased by $35 billion.

‘WAR CHEST’
Temasek said in September it had built a stronger net cash position since the credit crisis. Melvyn Teo, associate professor of finance at Singapore Management University, said the company is “building a war chest to take advantage of opportunities going forward.”

Wholly owned by Singapore’s Ministry of Finance, Temasek also doubled the size of its medium-term bond program to $10 billion, under which it raised $5.4 billion between October and February. That’s in part to help develop the local debt market, said Victoria Barbary, senior analyst at Monitor Group in London, and “a good way of diversifying the capital base.”

Temasek is set to publish the annual report after real estate unit Mapletree Investments said June 30 that profit surged 87% to $393.8 million in the 12 months to March 31 from a year earlier, boosted by new developments and the increased value of its property holdings. It owns about $6.8 billion of real estate assets.

DANAMON, NEPTUNE
Temasek’s participation in rights offerings by companies in its portfolio bolstered assets. It spent more than $1 billion in the financial year buying additional shares of companies including Jakarta-based Danamon and Neptune Orient Lines.

Danamon’s shares have risen more than fourfold from the subscription price of 1,200 rupiah in April last year. Neptune Orient has risen 48% from the $1.30 price offered to investors in June last year.

Excluding the purchase of rights shares, Temasek invested about US$4.4 billion in 2009, down from US$9.5 billion the previous year, according to estimates by Monitor Group. It completed 15 publicly announced deals worth about US$2.1 billion this year, according to preliminary data compiled by the consulting firm.



NO CHIP
The company is unlikely to pick up the pace of investments in the coming months as Europe battles a sovereign-debt crisis and China attempts to contain asset-price bubbles, said Barbary.

“They are investing much less than we had seen them previously; it’s obviously a function of the markets, the losses, and the turmoil at management level,” she said. “There is also a sense that Temasek is trying to find its strategy and place.”

Temasek, which aborted the appointment of Charles “Chip” Goodyear last year to replace Ho, has named former Singapore Exchange Chief Executive Officer Hsieh Fu Hua an executive director and president in charge of succession planning.

Last July, the company reversed its appointment of 52-year- old Goodyear, the former head of BHP Billiton, citing “differences regarding certain strategic issues.” BHP Billiton is the world’s largest mining company.

Ho, wife of Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, remains in charge of Temasek, which was founded in 1974 to foster development of the island’s banks, airlines and ports.

Temasek is the biggest shareholder in five of Singapore’s 10 biggest listed companies by market value including Singapore Telecommunications, Southeast Asia’s biggest phone company, and DBS Group Holdings, the region’s largest bank by assets. SingTel fell 0.7% to $3.05 as of 4:13 p.m. in Singapore trading today, while DBS lost 1% to $13.82.

ENERGY, RESOURCES
The asset manager has been diversifying into energy and resources, following the previous year’s S$16 billion of divestments including stake sales in Charlotte, North Carolina- based Bank of America Corp. and London-based Barclays Plc at losses. Temasek hasn’t disclosed the size of those losses.

Temasek spent at least US$2 billion on energy and resources companies, including convertible preferred shares in U.S. natural gas producer Chesapeake Energy Corp. and Singapore-based agricultural commodities supplier Olam International, in the past 12 months, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Chesapeake shares have declined 11.1% since Temasek announced its investment on May 11, compared with an 11.4% decline in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index. Olam has risen 61% since Temasek’s purchase.

Temasek will “continue to overweight more in Asia,” Ho said in September. It is seeking to invest in industries such as banking and infrastructure that are proxies for the economy and middle-class growth, she said.

Overseas Asian investments made up 43% of the portfolio last year, up from 16% in 2004.

“Temasek is looking at opportunities to latch on to the emerging market consumer base,” said Jan Randolph, head of sovereign risk at IHS Global Insight in London. “It’s a general shift from traditional investments in the West, because it’s ironic the West have the risk issues now.”

 

[khunking]

Tiger's expansion likely to put the bite on Virgin

http://www.theage.com.au/

Tiger's expansion likely to put the bite on Virgin

<!-- Class 'push-0' just right-aligns the element so that the main content comes first. --><!-- cT-storyDetails -->MATT O'SULLIVAN

<CITE>July 9, 2010</CITE>
<BOD>TIGER Airways' ambition to boost its Australian operations is likely to leave Virgin Blue most vulnerable as domestic aviation market competition intensifies.
Tiger, the low-cost carrier backed by Singapore Airlines, wants to boost its market share from 7 per cent to 10 per cent next year and could have 30 planes in Australia by 2016, analysts say.
The airline, which has nine planes in Australia, declared in May that its local operations had broken even in the year to March, after notching up close to $80 million in losses in its first two years here.

Virgin Blue is regarded as more vulnerable than Qantas to a price-war for leisure passengers because of its greater dependence on that market. It also does not have the same luxury as Qantas does in having a lower-cost offshoot - in the form of Jetstar - competing against Tiger.
Despite the ambitions of its new chief executive, John Borghetti, to court more business travellers, Virgin Blue still has 80 per cent of its revenue exposed to the leisure market.
''It is therefore likely to get dragged into the discount price war with Tiger and Jetstar, even while it attempts to push up into the corporate market,'' Royal Bank of Scotland analysts said. ''We're concerned how long that strategy [to grab a bigger share of the corporate market] may take to implement, while the rest of the business is subject to intense price competition.''
Virgin Blue warned in late May that earnings this year could plunge 75 per cent and that it expected average ticket prices to fall by more than 10 per cent from historical lows.
RBS estimated Tiger's cost base as 20 per cent lower than Jetstar's, which gives the Singapore-based airline an advantage in a price war.
The analysts said Tiger had made a notable impact on the price-sensitive end of the aviation market, while the premium-end, dominated by Qantas, had been stable. Since Tiger began in Australia in late 2007, discount leisure fares had fallen by 36 per cent.
<!-- articleBody --></BOD>

 

[khunking]

Attorney General hints BP's partners may face criminal investigation



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July 11, 2010
Attorney General hints BP's partners may face criminal investigation

By David Usborne

Transocean, the Swiss owner of the doomed Gulf of Mexico rig, faces the wrath of Americans as the cost of oil catastrophe reaches $3bn

<!-- google_ad_section_start -->Companies partnered with BP in developing the crippled Macondo well in the Gulf of Mexico could possibly also be targeted in the sweeping criminal investigation under way in Washington, Eric Holder, the US Attorney General, will say this morning.
Any switch of attention to the other players in the disaster, likely to include Transocean, owner of the doomed rig, may offer partial relief for BP which so far has been alone in taking the wrath of the White House and shouldering the costs of the catastrophe, which last week topped $3bn (£2bn).
"There are a variety of entities and a variety of people who are the subjects of that investigation," Mr Holder says of his department's probe, in an interview with Bob Schieffer of CBS, to be broadcast in the US today. "For people to conclude that BP is the focus of this investigation might not be correct."
Transocean, based in Switzerland, saw its shares rise by more than 4 per cent on Friday at the news that a Louisiana judge had ruled against a request by the Obama administration to reinstate a six-month ban on deep-ocean drilling pending the end of the BP investigation.
But Transocean, which has grown in recent years, out of a series of mergers and acquisitions, to become the world's largest deepwater driller, was on the defensive last week about its broader record, both as a corporate entity that pays its taxes and over worker safety and human rights.
The company, already under attack from leading US senators over plans to pay out $1bn in dividends, was forced to react to a New York Times article detailing numerous recent Transocean controversies, including an ongoing tax evasion investigation in Norway, the loss of eight lives off the coast of Scotland when a support vessel capsized, and allegations by human rights groups of business being conducted in countries blacklisted by the US.
While not responding directly to the article, the company issued a statement saying it was acting within the law in Myanmar, where as recently as this spring it was allegedly involved in a drilling site where another of the stakeholders was identified as a Singaporean business that itself has been linked by US officials to money launderers for the Myanmar military junta.
It emerged, meanwhile, that Transocean had acknowledged in filings with the US financial authorities that, in the past, some of its equipment has been forwarded through Iran and that it once had a stake in a Syrian company. Both Syria and Iran have been subjected to US business sanctions.
As for investigations of possible tax evasion in Norway, the company has said it could result in fines and assessments in excess of $800m.
Transocean has publicly blamed BP for the Gulf blowout, even though there were far more of its people on the rig, the Deepwater Horizon, when it exploded on 20 April, than from BP. But pressure on the company has been growing on Capitol Hill. Late last month, senators warned it against moving forward with dividend payments, though there is little sign of the company heeding this.
"Many things remain unclear about what happened on the Deepwater Horizon," the senators wrote in a letter. "Before your company begins to reward its shareholders, we urge you to follow BP's example by withholding further shareholder rewards until investigations of this are complete."
At the end of June, Senator Max Baucus revealed he was looking into whether Transocean had exploited loopholes in the US tax system by moving its corporate headquarters to Switzerland. Previously, the company was based in Houston, Texas. Then it moved its nameplate, but few of its executives, to the Cayman Islands. From there, it went to Zurich.
"Transocean's questionable business practices may be at fault for costing lives and livelihoods on the Gulf Coast, and now there are questions regarding its tax practices as well," the senator said. "Hardworking Americans pull their weight by paying the taxes they owe every day and American companies must do the same."
BP was also tangling last week with one of its minor partners in the crippled well. The Houston-based Anadarko oil company, which owns 25 per cent of the well, stated it was declining a request from BP that it share some of the clean-up costs.
"We are disappointed they have failed to live up to their obligations," BP spokesman Mark Salt said late on Friday. "Anadarko's refusal to pay its share will in no way affect BP's commitment to stop the leak, clean up the spill, and pay all legitimate claims as quickly as possible."
Engineers for BP were meanwhile preparing to take the current containment cap off the gushing well and replace it with one with a better seal. The company is accelerating efforts to complete the first of two relief wells in the hope of stopping the leak before the end of July.<SCRIPT type=text/javascript><!--google_ad_client = "pub-0858739627959571";google_ad_slot = "5852100577";google_ad_width = 468;google_ad_height = 15;//--></SCRIPT><SCRIPT type=text/javascript src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js"></SCRIPT>




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[krafty]

Re: Attorney General hints BP's partners may face criminal investigation

hi,khunking, i like your avatar, is that really you?

 

[khunking]

Re: Attorney General hints BP's partners may face criminal investigation

hi krafty, please visit this thread to find out more about my avatar. cheers.

http://www.singsupplies.com/showthread.php?t=64295

hi,khunking, i like your avatar, is that really you?

 

[khunking]

Standard Chartered behind BP's crisis fund

Standard Chartered behind BP's crisis fund

<author itxtvisited="1">By Mark Leftly </author>


Sunday, 11 July 2010


Standard Chartered, the bank leading the $10bn-plus sale of assets in BP, is believed to be behind a $5.25bn (£3.5bn) standby account to protect the crisis-stricken oil giant.
It is understood that the bank gave $2bn to the account when it was set up in May. Credit Suisse, Morgan Stanley, and Goldman Sachs are said to be among those providing the balance.
All four of the banks were subsequently hired to review and sell oil and gas field assets. BP is raising cash to ensure it can cover the potential costs of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, which has wrecked the FTSE 100 giant's reputation in the US and badly damaged the share price.
At an investor conference last month, BP said it had $15bn available should it have to quickly cover the costs of the spill. This included the standby facility, though BP did not comment on the loan providers. A banker said: "All the banks that lent to BP have ended up with roles in the disposal process."
The news emerged as BP closes in on plugging the oil spill. There have been reports that engineers could end the crisis as soon as tomorrow, more than a month ahead of schedule.
Once the spill has been tackled, pressure on BP's top bosses is expected to be renewed. Investors have been dismayed by the performances of Tony Hayward and Carl-Henric Svanberg, the chief executive and chairman respectively, since the Deepwater Horizon well exploded in April.
Industry sources said that Mr Svanberg is more likely to be replaced than Mr Hayward, who has tried to improve the company's safety record since he took over in 2007.
Standard Chartered and BP spokesmen declined to comment. BP shares closed at 364.8p on Friday, down 0.6 per cent on the start of the day's trading.

 

[khunking]

India invites Singapore to invest in infra, assist in water mgmt

India invites Singapore to invest in infra, assist in water mgmt

New Delhi, Jul 9 : India today invited Singapore companies to invest in infrastructure development and provide expertise in areas of water management, urban planning and skills development.
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</td></tr></tbody></table>


Union Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma, who is on a visit to Singapore, met Foreign Minister George Yeo, Trade and Industry Minister Lim Hng Kiang and Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong and discussed opportunities for investment in India's infrastructure development
.

Mr Sharma briefed Mr Tong on the progress of the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor and areas where Singapore companies could bring in their expertise and investments.

In the meeting with his Singaporean counterpart Lim Hng Kiang, Mr Sharma discussed issues relating to the ongoing 2and review of India Singapore Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement(CECA), a Commerce and Industry communique here said.

The Singaporean Minister Lim Hng Kiang underscored the importance of early conclusion of India-ASEAN agreements on services and investments.

Mr Sharma is also scheduled to visit the facilities of New water Plant, which showcases the advances that Singapore has made in the area of used water recycling and water management in urban situations.

 

[khunking]

Sama Sama

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From: www.itworld.com
IBM takes blame for massive bank system failure

<!-- do not pull in teaser/deck --><!-- confirm that this div pulls in name and source -->by Sumner Lemon
July 13, 2010 —


<!--paging_filter-->
IBM took responsibility for a major IT system failure suffered by one of Singapore's largest banks on July 5, saying an employee's error caused the outage.
In a statement released Tuesday, IBM said problems started when software monitoring tools detected "instability" within DBS Bank's storage system. While the storage system remained "fully functional," IBM employees initiated a recovery process to fix the issue.
"Unfortunately, a failure to apply the correct procedure inadvertently caused the service outage," IBM said, adding that no data was lost.
The outage knocked DBS' IT systems offline for seven hours, leaving customers unable to withdraw money from automatic teller machines. All of the bank's commercial and consumer banking systems were affected, although no data was lost, the bank said at the time.
Much of DBS' IT systems are managed by IBM under a S$1.2 billion (US$868 million [M]) outsourcing agreement signed in 2002.
IBM and DBS are taking steps to prevent a repeat of the July 5 system failure.
IBM has "taken steps to enhance training of our personnel related to current procedures and brought in experts from our global team to provide further assistance," the statement said. In addition, IBM and DBS are taking "additional actions to increase the resiliency and redundancy of this part of DBS' infrastructure," it said.
A DBS spokeswoman did not immediately reply to an e-mail seeking comment on the IBM statement.

IDG News Service


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Diversification, flexibility key to ST Engineering growth

Diversification, flexibility key to ST Engineering growth

Liau Yun Qing, ZDNet Asia on July 13th, 2010 (48 minutes ago)


Diversification and flexibility play an important part in Singapore Technologies Engineering' (ST Engineering) growth strategy, helping to drive the company's path to globalization and overseas acquisitions, according to its head honcho.
In his keynote address at the SAP World Tour 2010 held here Tuesday, Tan Pheng Hock, president and CEO of ST Engineering, touched on how being flexible and willing to take risks boosted the company's competitive edge.
He explained that ST Engineering, in its early years, operated as a Singapore-centric company running its operations from the local office with some overseas customers. By 2001, the company realized that the local market had matured and its growth potential constrained.
The turning point for the company came in 2003 when SARS (severe acute respiratory) struck most parts of Southeast Asia, said Tan. Business was affected as foreign businesses avoided Singapore despite reassurance that it was safe to visit, he added.
From the incident, ST Engineering realized it needed to diversify its operations, customer base and even its workforce, Tan explained. The company then focused on inking mergers and acquisitions overseas, and its operations soon extended into the United States, China and Europe, he added.
The ability to be flexible also helped push the company's growth, especially in foreign markets. Instead of holding on to its brand name, Tan said ST Engineering localized itself according to the requirements of each foreign market so that it could be seen as a local brand in the different countries. For instance, the company acquired local companies and hired local staff in the respective markets.
Localization is especially important when entering big markets because it lowers the company's risk of being disadvantaged by protectionist policies, he said.
Also, in the past, ST Engineering preferred holding a majority of the local subsidiary's shares. However, in China, due to regulative issues, the company accepted that it could not hold majority shares and worked with local companies in joint ventures.
"We must be prepared to do things differently," he noted, stressing the importance of being flexible.
Another growth driver was the company's willingness to take risk and diversify into new emerging markets, such as Kazakhstan and parts of Africa, said Tan.
New markets also offer companies the benefit of a level playing field due to the lack of major players, both local and foreign, he added. Thus, the company would not be disadvantaged in these markets, he said.
SAP goes for flexibility, too
Offering customers flexibility is also part of SAP's mid-term strategy. Krish Datta, president of SAP in Southeast Asia, highlighted the software vendor's focus on delivering software in three platforms: on-premise, on-demand and on-device.
While on-premise is the traditional way of delivering software where the user owns the installation and have control over the delivery, on-demand is based on the utility model and users pay for only what they consume, much like the cloud computing model--although the software is still integrated on-site. On-device is the ability to access software on any device.
Datta explained that SAP wants to offer customers the freedom of choice in selecting their platform of delivery so they can innovate at their own pace and not be constrained by only one application delivery method.
He also pointed to the company's service-oriented architecture (SOA) where the company release upgrades as enhancement packs, offering customers the flexibility to implement software upgrades module-by-module to minimize disruption to their business. URL:http://www.zdnetasia.com/diversification-flexibility-key-to-st-engineering-growth-62201320.htm

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What about DBS?

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<!--Article Goes Here--><TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR><TD>The Canadian Press - ONLINE EDITION
Singaporean bank offers $84 million compensation to Hong Kong buyers of Lehman-linked products

By: Min Lee, The Associated Press
14/07/2010 7:20 AM | Comments: 0


HONG KONG - Singaporean bank DBS Group Holdings on Wednesday offered US$84 million in compensation to Hong Kong clients who bought investment products linked to Lehman Brothers, the U.S. investment bank whose collapse two years ago helped trigger the global financial crisis.
The settlement covers 2,160 DBS clients in the southern Chinese territory who bought the financial products despite being classified by the bank as having a low appetite for investment risk, Hong Kong's Securities and Futures Commission said in a statement. The investors will get their principal back and interest.
DBS admits no wrongdoing under the deal, although Hong Kong regulators said in their statement that the Lehman-linked notes "may not have been suitable" for low-risk investors.
The settlement, however, leaves out some 4,700 of the estimated 6,900 people who invested $297 million in the financial instruments, marketed as Constellation notes, which were linked to the credit ratings of a group of financial institutions, including Lehman. An organizer for the investors didn't immediately respond to an email seeking comment.
Wednesday's announcement addresses a second major group of Hong Kong investors burned by Lehman's failure. A July 2009 deal negotiated by Hong Kong regulators returned $813 million to thousands who bought another type of Lehman-linked products misleadingly labelled as "mini-bonds."


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[khunking]

A Great Way To Fly

SIA’s June performance ‘underwhelming’ says RBS

<TABLE class=contentpaneopen><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=top>Written by The Edge </TD></TR><TR><TD class=createdate vAlign=top>Friday, 16 July 2010 15:45 </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

Improvement in Singapore Airlines’ (C6L.SG) June operating data shows carrier gradually finding its feet after tough fiscal FY10, but pick-up remains moderate, says Royal Bank of Scotland, which has Hold call with $15.65 target according to Dow Jones.
RBS notes improvement in passenger business last month “somewhat underwhelming”, with load factor below rival Cathay Pacific’s (0293.HK) despite much lower capacity: “SIA will record disappointing passenger traffic owing to its decision to maintain significantly higher yields this year in the face of stiffer competition.”

SIA’s overall June load factor at 71.0% vs 67.6% year earlier, 69.1% in May. Shares off 0.5% at $14.96 in light trade but still +3.0% since beginning July, in line with STI’s 3.8% gain over same period.

Support expected at 10-day moving average, last at $14.76.

 

[khunking]

EVN To Sell 30% Stake In Telecom Unit To Foreign Partner - Executive

EVN To Sell 30% Stake In Telecom Unit To Foreign Partner - Executive





HANOI -(Dow Jones)- State-run Vietnam Electricity Group, or EVN, will sell a 30% stake in its telecommunication unit to a foreign strategic partner, a company executive said Friday.
"We expect to sign an agreement with the foreign partner to sell the stake in EVN Telecom in the third quarter this year," the executive, who didn't want to be named, told Dow Jones Newswires.
The executive said EVN Telecom has been holding talks with nine foreign companies that want to buy the stake.
He refused to unveil the value of the stake, but said that EVN Telecom has been valued at more than $500 million.
The government will retain a 51% stake in the company, the official said, adding that the remaining 19% will likely be sold in its initial public offering or to be sold to domestic strategic partners.
State media said earlier this week that a Singaporean company and a Malaysian company have proposed buying the 30% stake, without giving further details. The executive said Singapore Telecommunications Ltd. isn't among the candidates.
EVN Telecom provides internet, landline and mobile phone services.
-By Vu Trong Khanh, Dow Jones Newswires; +84 4 35123042; trong-khanh.vu@ dowjones.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires 07-16-100025ET Copyright (c) 2010 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.</PRE>

 

[khunking]

Asian company offers $39m for Swan Taxis

Swan Taxi takeover bid
Friday July 16, 2010, 4:10 pm
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Shareholders in Western Australia's largest taxi company will be asked to approve a multi-million dollar takeover bid by a Singaporean company.
ComfortDelGro has made a $38.8 million offer to buy Swan Taxis. ComfortDelGro is the world's largest taxi company and has a fleet of more than 44,000 vehicles.

PerthNow

WESTERN Australia's largest taxi operator Swan Taxis has advised its shareholders to accept a $38.8 million takeover offer from Singapore-based transport company ComfortDelGro.
<!-- google_ad_section_end(name=story_introduction) --><!-- // .story-intro --><!-- google_ad_section_start(name=story_body, weight=high) -->
Swan Taxis chairman and managing director Kevin Foley said the board had reviewed the offer and was ``satisfied it represented a strong return to shareholders and the best opportunity to develop the business to meet growing demand''.
``For all our valued drivers and staff it will be business as usual,'' Mr Foley said in a statement today.
Swan Taxis said the proposal would not alter its operations and management in WA and Mr Foley would remain with the unlisted company to ensure continuity and stability within the future management.
``ComfortDelGro intends to continue Swan Taxis' business without any major changes and ensures continued employment for existing Swan Taxis employees,'' the statement said.
Swan Taxis' suitor is the world's second largest transport company and is one of the biggest private bus operators in NSW and Victoria.
It owns 75 per cent of SBS Transit, which is listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange.

 

[khunking]

The FTA Illusion

Free trade gains oversold

Friday, July 16, 2010 » 11:10pm

Live: Federal Election called for 21 August
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The benefits of new free trade agreements between Australia and other nations are being oversold, with a report finding gains to businesses have been limited.
The Productivity Commission on Friday released research on Australia's bilateral and regional trade agreements, which are being pursued while the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Doha round of trade talks stalls.
Before negotiations on the agreements, commonly known as free trade agreements (FTAs), feasibility studies are done - most recently with Indonesia and India.
But commissioner Patricia Scott said they tended to overestimate the likely benefits of the agreement succeeding.
'Great emphasis has been placed on the potential benefits of preferential agreements in advance of negotiating them,' she said.
'The commission has found that expectations of the benefits have been optimistic.'
The commission received little evidence that FTAs have led to substantial commercial benefits.
In agriculture, for example, where market access had improved by negotiating reduced tariffs, in some cases, quarantine barriers meant the potential gains couldn't be realised.
Modelling found agreements would lead only to a 'modest' boost to the national income, 'especially where member nations were both small economies'.
The report recommends looking at other more cost-effective options to FTAs - for example, services sector-only agreements - that are less comprehensive, yet still meet the WTO's requirements.
It also recommends independent feasibility studies, and wider consultation in the early stages.
It questions whether the current studies are a good indicator of whether FTA talks should proceed, 'let alone whether the modelling in them is helpful for assessing the arrangements finally proposed by the negotiators'.
In the past seven years, Australia has signed FTAs with Singapore, Thailand, the US, Chile and New Zealand, and is negotiating with China, Malaysia, Japan and Korea.
Three regional deals are also being discussed, including the significant Trans-Pacific Partnership, which would create a giant free trade zone between the US and Asia-Pacific.
The commission wants more feedback from business before September 10.

 

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India is the flavour in Europe, Singapore; not in US, Japan

<TABLE width="100%"><TBODY><TR><TD width="5%"></TD><TD width="90%">

<BASE href="http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2010/07/18/stories/2010071852030100.htm">Date:18/07/2010 URL: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2010/07/18/stories/2010071852030100.htm <HR>Back<!-- story begins --> <CENTER><IFRAME style="POSITION: relative; TOP: 0px" height=24 src="http://www.cmlinks.com/hindubusinessline/ticker.asp" frameBorder=0 width=439 scrolling=no></IFRAME></CENTER>India is the flavour in Europe, Singapore; not in US, Japan



<TABLE border=0 width="100%" bgColor=#f9eadd><TBODY><TR><TD>India-specific exchange-traded funds record net inflows in 2 regions, outflows in 3. </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

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</CENTER>
Lokeshwarri S. K.
BL Research Bureau
Retail investors abroad are sending conflicting signals about the attractiveness of Indian stocks, if patterns in fund flows for India-specific exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are anything to go by.
In the first six months of 2010, while India ETFs traded on the US, Hong Kong and Japanese exchanges saw net outflows, those listed on Euronext and Singapore recorded inflows. This pattern remains unchanged from that recorded in 2009.
US investors negative
Of the five geographical regions considered for this analysis, exchange-traded funds mandated to invest in Indian equities recorded net outflows in three regions and inflows in two. The 16 ETFs considered have recorded net outflow of $11.2 million in the first six months of this year. Funds listed in the US recorded the greatest outflow equalling $34 million, while those in Singapore-listed ETFs recorded the highest inflows, of $23 million.
India-focused ETFs listed on exchanges in the US have witnessed consistent redemptions over the last two years. Investors in WisdomTree India Earnings ETF that has a market capitalisation of $958 million pulled out $15 million between January and June. Flows from this fund were halted in the first six months of 2009, in the aftermath of the credit crisis.
There were incessant outflows thereafter that halted only in mid-June this year.
Another large US-listed fund, IPath MSCI India Index ETN, that has a market-cap of $952 million could recoup some of the outflows recorded in the first four months of this year in May and June, resulting in net outflow of only $1 million. This fund too witnessed accelerated outflows from September 2009 till this April.
Japan-listed Next F India CNX Nifty ETF recorded outflow of $12 million in the first six months this year.
Global pattern
Money flowing out of India-centric ETFs listed in the US and Japan needs, however, to be seen against the backdrop of ceaseless outflow from equity funds in developed markets in the first half of 2010. According to global fund database provider EPFR Global, developed market equity funds recorded outflows of $15.6 billion in this period.
European and Singaporean investors, however, viewed India as a lucrative investment destination. European investors, in fact, appear to be taking a favourable long-term view of Indian equities. Lyxor ETF MSCI India that is among the larger ETFs listed in France with market cap of over 1.1 billion Euros has recorded constant inflows since inception in November 2006.
Another indicator of growing interest in Indian equities among overseas investors is the number of new India-centric ETFs floated in the calendar years 2009 and 2010. While Direxion Daily India Bear 2X fund and Direxion Daily India Bear Share Fund were incorporated in the US in March this year, ETFs such as iShares S&P India Nifty 50 (USA), NEXT Funds India CNX Nifty N ETF (Japan) were floated towards the end of 2009.


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Related Stories:
ETF tracking Hang Seng opens today
India-specific ETF lists on LSE — Fund eyes mid-cap space
iShares MSCI India debuts on Singapore Stock Exchange
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Fortis promoter firm pledges 37.8% stake

Fortis promoter firm pledges 37.8% stake

NEW DELHI: Fortis Healthcare promoter firm Fortis Healthcare Holdings Ltd (FHHL) has pledged 37.78 per cent stake in the company, at a time when it is looking to tie up funds for its $2.3-billion offer to acquire fully the Singapore-based Parkway Holding s.
In a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange, Fortis Healthcare said its holding firm has pledged 3.3 crore shares on July 9, taking the total number of pledged shares to 15.3 crore shares, which is 37.78 per cent of the total outstanding shares of the compa ny.
The company, however, did not specify how much fund was raised through the pledging of shares. The latest pledging comes two days after FHHL had revoked 56 lakh shares.
Fortis is locked in a battle for a controlling stake in Parkway against Malaysian fund Khazanah which had launched a $835-million partial offer to raise its stake to 51.5 per cent.
Fortis is understood to have roped in a consortium of banks led by Axis Bank to finance its offer that will close on August 12. The consortium, according to banking sources, would include about 10 to 12 banks as about Rs 11,000 crore would be needed to f und the mega acquisition.
The company has 25.37 per cent stake in Parkway, while Khazanah has 23.32 per cent. The rest is held by independent investors. Fortis had offered to buy shares at S$3.8 per unit against S$3.78 per share offer made by Khazanah’s arm International Healthca re Holdings Ltd.
Shares of Fortis Healthcare were today trading at Rs 151.80 on late afternoon trade on BSE, down 0.26 per cent from its previous close. — PTI

 

[khunking]

Neptune Orient Lines enters US$150m term-loan agreement

Neptune Orient Lines enters US$150m term-loan agreement

Written by Bloomberg
Tuesday, 20 July 2010 17:34

Neptune Orient Lines, owner of Asia’s largest container line by fleet size, entered an agreement with Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp. and ING Bank NV for a term loan of US$150 million ($206 million). The loan is to partially finance the acquisition of two new vessels, it said in a statement to the Singapore stock exchange.

Last Updated on Tuesday, 20 July 2010 17:35

 

[khunking]

Temasek prices maiden £700 million sterling bond

Temasek prices maiden £700 million sterling bond

By Mei Tuicolo | 21 July 2010

One of Singapore’s most seasoned borrowers, Temasek issues its first sterling-denominated bond, while BEA closes off last week with a $150 million tap of its recently issued 2020 subordinated debt.


Temasek has opened this week with the issue of its inaugural sterling bond, a £700 million ($1.07 billion) Aaa/AAA-rated issue. This is the first time the Singaporean investment company has priced a bond denominated in pounds and the first time an Asian corporate has issued in sterling since ICICI Bank priced a £350 million bond in 2007. And being such a rare event, investors were keen to buy into the transaction.

After going on the road early last week, Temasek announced the dual-tranche deal in the London morning on Monday and by the afternoon of the same day it priced £200 million of 12-year bonds and £500 million of 30-year bonds.

The bonds priced with 4.625% and 5.125% coupons respectively. The shorter tranche, which is set to mature on July 26, 2022, was reoffered at 99.665, while the longer tranche, with a maturity date of July 26, 2040, was reoffered at 99.55.

The Reg-S registered bonds were issued through Temasek's $10 billion global medium-term note programme.

The appeal for Temasek of doing a 12-year and 30-year sterling deal was to maximise demand and distribution. "If you look at the way the sterling market functions, there are a number of investors who follow indices that are 15 years and longer or 15 years and shorter," shared one source.

Temasek has built a reputation as a long-term fundamental investor. Therefore, doing this deal was very much a strategic business decision in terms of accessing long-dated markets. Last year it issued a $500 million 30-year bond and in February this year it priced a $1 billion dual-tranche 10-year issue.

Long-dated bonds are found primarily in the US dollar and sterling markets. The Singapore dollar market is long-dated to some degree, which Temasek has taken advantage of. Most recently it sold S$1 billion ($725 million) of 10-year bonds, also in February.

It has a well thought-out plan and "has used different currency and tenor mixes that make sense to its assets and overall portfolio both from a risk management and funding perspective," a banker close to the deal said with regard to Temasek's long-term funding strategy.

Prior to the announcement there had been an initial whisper that the 2022s would price between 97bp and 100bp over the UK yield curve. In the end, the deal priced below that range at 95bp.

The 2040s saw a similar pricing development with the joint lead managers -- Deutsche Bank, HSBC, Royal Bank of Scotland and UBS -- indicating that the yield spread would be within the range of 93bp to 95bp. The bonds finally came to market at 90bp.

The spreads on both tranches tightened by about 5bp to 8bp during Asian trading yesterday and, by late afternoon, the 2022s were trading at 90bp over the UK yield curve, while the 2040s were quoted at 80bp. The tightening was mainly driven by accounts that were looking to top up their initial allocation.

Given that there were no liquid Asia-based benchmarks, the lead managers looked to other investment grade non-UK corporates to gauge the appropriate pricing. Those comparables were Procter and Gamble, Walmart, Johnson & Johnson, Electricite de France, Statoil and Pfizer, which have all recently issued long-dated bonds in the sterling market.
The sterling market is an insular market and, as one banker noted, the buy-and-hold nature of it is such that not a lot of trading is seen in these bonds.

"There's not a lot of liquidity in the bonds right now," said another source. "Investors tend to stick them in a drawer and never see them again."

In the primary market, the 12-year tranche was about two times oversubscribed and the 30-year tranche was two-and-a-half times oversubscribed. Lead managers observed that some of the buyers were global players with large sterling portfolios, while others were sterling-focused accounts.

The sterling market is populated by a club of 20 to 30 insurance companies and pension funds that really drive that market and tend to have a natural appetite for long-dated bonds. This club, as well as a large number of well-known US investors with offshore portfolios seemed to be the main drivers during the bookbuilding process.

The regional distribution of the 12-year bonds saw UK-based investors receive 65.9%, German investors 20.1%, Swiss investors 4.6%, offshore US investors 3.9%, Singapore-based accounts 2.5%, Benelux investors 2.3% and the rest of the world 0.7%.

In terms of allocation across investor type, fund managers made up 45.5% of the allocation, insurance houses took 39.7%, private banks 6%, banks 3.3% and other investors 5.5%.
The allocation of the 2040 tranche was quite similar. Like the 2022s, the majority of the longer tranche, or 82.9%, was sold into the UK, 15% went to Germany, 0.9% to offshore US investors, 0.5% to Switzerland, 0.3% to Singapore and 0.4% to Benelux.

As mentioned, buy-and-hold-type accounts dominated with fund managers allocated 60% of the bonds, insurance houses 31.2%, pension funds 5.8%, private banks 1.0% and other investors 2%.

Bank of East Asia

The Temasek bond came on the back of a busy few days last week in terms of new issuance, which ended with Bank of East Asia returning to the market last Friday with a $150 million tap of its existing $450 million 6.125% fixed-rate 2020 bonds that were issued earlier this month.
The tap brought the total deal size to $600 million and the newly issued notes will carry the same July 16, 2020 maturity date. They were re-offered at 100.102 to yield 6.111%.

Initial guidance went out on Friday at Treasuries plus 315bp and the bonds eventually priced at 313bp over. When the deal was first sold into the market on July 9, it was priced to yield 6.256%, which equalled a spread of 320bp over 10-year US Treasuries.

As this was a reverse inquiry driven by Asian investors, the tap was only open to Asian accounts and the order books closed on Friday evening (Hong Kong time). By then, however, joint bookrunners Citi and J.P. Morgan had secured $800 million of demand from 84 accounts.

The final allocation saw Hong Kong investors receive 60% of the bonds, while the remaining 40% went to the rest of Asia. Private banks took almost half of the bond, or 48%, banks bought 23%, fund managers 22% and the remaining 7% was allocated to insurance houses, corporate investors and other types of investors.

Neither the BEA bonds nor the wider investment-grade banking sector have deviated much from where they traded at the end of last week. Early yesterday the BEA 2015s were still trading at a spread of around 309bp to 310bp. By midday they had tightened to 305bp.

Despite the markets remaining slightly volatile, deals are still getting done and the pipeline remains laden with new issues looking to come to market. In the immediate future, E-land Fashion, Neptune Oriental, Alliance Global (a Philippine high-yield deal) and China Resources Power are all expected to price.