Global Headlines
Apple Inc Reportedly Avoided Tax Payments Apple Inc, the world’s most valuable technology company, has reportedly kept billions of dollars in profits by using an unusual global tax structure. Offshore accounts of the company reportedly hold US$102.0 billion, and billions of profits were shifted out of the United States into affiliates based in Ireland. The...
Indonesia’s Central Bank Approves DBS Offer to Buy 40 Per cent of Bank Danamon
by Ernie B. Calucag Indonesia’s central bank has approved DBS Group Holdings’ bid to buy 40 per cent of PT Bank Danamon, the Reuters reported Tuesday quoting central bank governor Darmin Nasution. “If they want more … we want to see a realisation from MAS (the Monetary Authority of Singapore) regarding our need for reciprocity,”...
CPF Interest Rate for Ordinary Account to Remain at 2.5 Per cent
by Ernie B. Calucag All CPF members will continue to receive a risk-free interest rate of 2.5 per cent on their ordinary account (OA) savings from 1 July 2013 to 30 September 2013. “The computed CPF interest rate, derived from the major local banks’ interest rates for the three-month period, 1 February 2013 to 30...
Goldman Sachs Acquires 6.7 Per cent Stake in Keppel REIT for S$279.9 million
by Ernie B. Calucag Goldman Sachs (Singapore) agreed on Tuesday to buy 180 million units of Keppel REIT from a subsidiary of Keppel Corp Limited for S$279.9 million. The units, representing 6.7 per cent of the total issued units in Keppel REIT, were acquired at S$1.555 each. The price is at a 3.5 per cent...
STI Ends Flat
by Donavan Lim Singapore shares closed flat on Monday. Local equities remained unchanged despite gains on regional bourses as well as a robust Wall Street finish last week. The 30-shares Straits Times Index (STI) gained 4.93 points, closing at 3,454.23. XMH Holdings closed at S$0.325 after it announced that Koh Boon Hwee-related Credence Capital Fund...
Global Headlines
Yahoo Said to Buy Tumblr for US$1.1 billion In order to cope with the ailing market, Yahoo is all set to attract a younger audience. The Wall Street Journal’s All Things D has confirmed rumours that Yahoo Inc’s board has approved of a deal to buy blogging-meets-social-networking site Tumblr. The deal is worth US$1.1 billion....
SGX Mulls Selling PDS Stake
by Ernie B. Calucag Singapore Exchange (SGX) said Monday that it has entered discussions with the Philippine Stock Exchange on the sale of its 20 per cent stake in Philippine Dealing System Holdings Corp (PDS). “The discussions are preliminary and there is no assurance any definitive or binding agreement will result,” said SGX in a...
MAS Re-appoints Minister Tharman as Chairman
by Ernie B. Calucag The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) announced Monday that Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance, Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam, has been reappointed as Chairman of the MAS Board of Directors for the next two years, from 21 May 2013 to 31 May 2015. The central bank has also reappointed its current...
Singapore’s Domestic Trade Down 7.3 Per cent in 1Q2013
by Donavan Lim Singapore’s domestic wholesale trade fell 7.3 per cent in first quarter compared to a year ago, according to data released by the Department of Statistics Monday. The drop was partly attributed to a decline in domestic sales of petroleum and petroleum products. Excluding petroleum, domestic wholesale trade decreased by a smaller 2.1...
Singapore Companies Urged to Embrace Flexible Work Arrangement to Ease Labour Shortage
by Donavan Lim Hundreds of thousands of Singaporeans could re-enter the workforce and ease the nation’s manpower shortage if more companies adopted flexible work arrangements, the Employer Alliance (EA) said Monday. There are more than 418,000 economically inactive residents aged 25 to 64, of which 336,000 are women. Of these, more than 160,000 want to...
STI Remains Resilient as Wall Street Falters
by Donavan Lim Singapore shares closed flat on Friday. Local equities failed to make new highs as disappointing US jobs data sent Wall Street lower. Uncertainty over the continued QE3 programme also weighed on US equities. “It’s unlikely the Fed is going to tighten anytime soon. That said, the market is looking for any excuse...
Tiger Airways Remains in the Red
by Ernie B. Calucag Tiger Airways Holdings Limited remained in the red for the fiscal fourth quarter ended 31 March 2013, despite reporting a turnaround in operating profit during the quarter. The budget carrier posted a net loss of S$15.0 million in the quarter, about the same compared to the S$16.0 million net loss seen...
