Tag Archives: news

Swire Pacific, Sun Hung Kai Properties and DBS rush to issue as Greek rescue package buoys credit markets. It was another hectic day in Asia’s debt markets yesterday as the news of a second rescue package for Greece helped boost credit markets. While Greece is far from being out of the woods — and bondholders have agreed to take a …

Iran offered India extra crude supplies on revised terms as international sanctions tighten the Middle East producer’s circle of oil customers, according to three people with knowledge of the talks. Indian refiners have yet to decide on whether they will take up Iran’s offer of additional shipments, the people said, declining to be identified because they aren’t authorized to speak …

(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 …

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 …

China’s Vice President Xi Jinping, on the last day of a much-ballyhooed five-day trip through the United States, said the Chinese economy will avoid a “hard landing” this year and maintain stable growth. Slated to become the president of China by 2013, Xi told a business forum in Los Angeles: “2012 will be a crucial year in driving the twelfth …

Asian markets are mostly trading notably higher on Monday with investors picking up stocks following a rate cut by the Chinese central bank and on easing worries about the eurozone economy amid hopes of a solution to Greece’s debt woes. Though some of the markets are off their highs with a section of investors taking some profits, the mood remains …