The Asian Development Bank estimates donor countries will probably need to provide as much as $13 billion from 2013 to 2016 to finance loans and grants to projects in poor countries. Negotiations with donors for about $12 billion to $13 billion of funds is ongoing and may last until May this year, Kazu Sakai, director general of the strategy and …

(Reuters) – Wal-Mart Stores Inc said on Monday it is taking a controlling stake in Chinese e-commerce firm Yihaodian, as the world’s largest retailer seeks new revenue sources to fend off rising competition in the world’s fastest-growing major economy. The move comes two weeks after Wal-Mart announced the appointment of industry veteran Greg Foran as head of its China operations, capping a …

The regulations for the US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act were announced earlier this month, and Asian financial institutions can no longer play wait-and-see, according to PwC. The proposed regulations for the US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (Facta) were finally issued on February 8, and they will significantly affect foreign financial institutions (FFIs), including those in Asia, according to …

SINGAPORE/NEW DELHI: Reliance Communications has appointed another two banks for the upcoming $1 billion IPO of its undersea cable unit in what may be the biggest stock listing in Singapore this year, two sources said.  Standard Chartered and DBS Group Holdings will join Deutsche Bank as the main advisers in an initial public offering, which will help the debt-laden Indian …

MUMBAI: India’s purchase of paper gold doubled last year as corporates and SMEs, seeking a safe haven for their investments, invested heavily in gold exchange-traded funds (ETFs), a traditional favourite of wealthy individuals and households. Companies now account for nearly 50% of all ETF purchases in the country and SMEs, too have climbed on to the bullion bandwagon. “The gold …

Rates for tankers hauling liquefied natural gas are rising for a third year as expanding Japanese demand for the fuel attracts cargoes from the Atlantic, extending voyages at a time of shipping capacity shortages. Rising requirements from Japan mean Golar LNG Ltd. (GOL), which operates nine LNG tankers and is controlled by shipping billionaire John Fredriksen, will report a threefold gain in …

China Telecom Corp. (728) will offer Apple Inc. (AAPL)’s iPhone 4S starting March 9, making it the nation’s second mobile-phone company to sell the device. Users who commit to a two-year contract can get a free 16- gigabyte handset with a service plan costing 389 yuan ($62) a month, the state-owned parent of China Telecom, the nation’s third-largest wireless carrier, said in a statement …

Rice stockpiles are poised to reach the biggest in almost a decade as record harvests boost supplies and imports decline for the first time in three years. Inventories may gain 3 percent to 100.1 million metric tons, the most since 2003, as global imports contract 7.5 percent, the U.S. Department of Agriculture says. The Thai export price, a global benchmark, …

* Singapore to scrap GST on gold, aims to become bullion hub * Change in tax treatment takes into effect in October * Singapore wants to be pricing hub for gold By Lewa Pardomuan and Luke Pachymuthu SINGAPORE, Feb 20 (Reuters) – Singapore is seeking to lure bullion refiners by scrapping taxes on gold, a move which could also attract trading houses …

BEIJING, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) — China’s commercial banks saw their combined net profit expand to 1.04 trillion yuan (165.1 billion U.S. dollars) in 2011, according to latest official data. It was a marked increase from 763.7 billion yuan in 2010, statistics from the China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) show. The lenders’ non-performing loan ratio stood at 1 percent as of …