Hong Kong Economy Slows in January-March
Source: AFP Hong Kong’s economic growth slowed sharply in the first quarter of the year due to sluggish exports and a weak global economy, the government said Friday. The economy grew 0.4 per cent year-on-year in the first three months of the year compared with 3.0 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2011,...
URA to Launch Farrer Drive Site for Sale
by Ernie B. Calucag The residential site at Farrer Drive will be launched for sale by public tender in about two weeks, the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) said on Friday. URA said it has accepted an application from a developer for the 0.63-hectare site to be put up for public tender after it was made...
Inflation, Wages among Parliament Issues on Monday
by Ernie B. Calucag Singapore’s economy will be the major issue to be aired in Parliament when the House sits on May 14. Topics such as inflation, restructuring, wages and productivity have taken up the majority of the 87 questions tabled for oral reply on Monday. Given the increasing inflation in the country, MP Lim...
OCBC Beats Forecast, 1Q2012 Net Profit Soars 32 Per cent
by Ernie B. Calucag Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation Limited (OCBC), Singapore’s second largest lender, on Friday reported a 32-per cent jump in first-quarter net profit, thanks to a quality loan book, strong trading and investment income as well as bigger contribution from its insurance arm. OCBC booked a quarterly net profit of S$832.0 million for 1Q2012,...
Bundesbank Denies it will Allow German Inflation to Rise
Source: AFP Bundesbank president Jens Weidmann has categorically denied that the German central bank is prepared to tolerate higher inflation in order to improve the situation in the debt-mired eurozone. Such recent talk was an “absurd debate,” he said in comments in Friday’s Sueddeutsche Zeitung daily, stressing that the Bundesbank was mandated to maintain the...
China Says Inflation Eases Slightly in April
Source: AFP China announced Friday that inflation slowed in April, easing worries of resurgent prices and giving room to loosen monetary policy to boost slowing growth in the world’s second-largest economy. The country’s consumer price index (CPI) rose by 3.4 per cent year-on-year in April compared with 3.6 per cent in March, the National...
China Industrial Output Slows to Nearly Three-year Low
Source: AFP Growth in industrial output from China’s millions of factories and workshops slowed to 9.3 per cent year-on-year in April, the lowest level in nearly three years, the government said Friday. Last month’s figure, which was down from growth of 11.9 per cent in March, followed worse-than-expected import data on Thursday that indicate a...
Singapore’s ACRA Announces Proposed Enhancements for National XBRL Filing System
by Jared Heng Singapore’s Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) Friday announced proposed enhancements for the national eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL) filing system. When implemented, these will be the first major enhancements since the XBRL system was first introduced to the business community in 2007. ACRA said the move was in response to feedback...
SIA Seeks Regional Tie-ups to Drive Growth
by Ernie B. Calucag Singapore Airlines (SIA) said Thursday that it is looking at exploring regional partnerships, particularly in India and China, to drive its growth going forward. The airline posted its first quarterly loss in more than two years on Wednesday, hammered by rising fuel costs and slower demand and increasing competition on long-haul...
ICBC Gets Fed Nod as Chinese Banks Seek US Growth
Source: Bloomberg Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd won approval to buy a US lender in the biggest opening of the American banking market to Chinese companies, less than a week after economic talks in Beijing. The Federal Reserve allowed ICBC to operate as a bank holding company, buying a controlling stake in...
BOE Halts Stimulus as Inflation Threat Outweighs Slump
Source: Bloomberg Bank of England officials halted stimulus expansion after seven months of bond purchases as the threat of inflation trumped concerns about an economy that has succumbed to a double-dip recession. The nine-member Monetary Policy Committee led by Governor Mervyn King Thursday held its quantitative easing target at GBP325 billion (US$524 billion), ending a...
China Trade Surplus Widens in April
Source: AFP China announced Thursday that its trade surplus widened in April as import growth slowed, casting doubts over the capacity of the world’s second-biggest economy to rebound quickly. The country recorded a better-than-expected surplus of US$18.42 billion in April, the customs agency said. Anaemic growth in imports covered weak exports, which continue to be...
