Business Times Online - Companies News

A celebration of relationships

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 20:00:00 GMT

DOING business is often about who you know and it helps if you are on friendly terms with your bankers. This week, several thousand businessmen attended Lunar New Year gatherings hosted by the major banks to meet the top brass, fellow business associates and enjoy the food and drink.

EYS eyes part of Healthzone businesses

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 20:00:00 GMT

EU Yan Sang International has offered A$5 million to buy certain businesses of bankrupt Healthzone, an Australian firm in which the Singapore-listed traditional Chinese medicine retailer has a stake of over 16 per cent.

TAC denies delisting talk

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 20:00:00 GMT

THAILAND'S Total Access Communication pcl (TAC) said yesterday it had no plans to delist from the Singapore bourse after market talk pushed the Singapore-listed shares up more than 40 per cent.

Second Chance H1 profit up 8%; proposes warrant bonus

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 20:00:00 GMT

LISTED property and retail group Second Chance Properties posted an 8 per cent increase in net profit to $9.6 million for the six months ended Dec 31, 2011.

Fortis plans spin-off listing on SGX: report

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 20:00:00 GMT

FORTIS Healthcare (India) Ltd plans to raise US$300 million by spinning off its non-core business into a separate company, which will then be listed on the Singapore Exchange (SGX), a report in the Economic Times newspaper said.

Valuetronics Q3 net profit flat at HK$31.49m

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 20:00:00 GMT

SINGAPORE-LISTED electronics manufacturing service provider Valuetronics Holdings Ltd yesterday posted net profit of HK$31.49 million (S$5 million) for the third quarter ended Dec 31, 2011, a 0.3 per cent year-on-year decline from HK$31.57 million.

Keppel's $400m bond issue adds to buzz

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 20:00:00 GMT

THE local debt market continues to buzz, with Keppel Corp the latest to tap investors yesterday with a $400 million, 10-year, 3.145 per cent bond offering.

Goldtron board member resigns ahead of EGM

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 20:00:00 GMT

GOLDTRON'S longest-serving board member, Low Seow Chye, has resigned from his position as the company's lead independent director.

CapitaLand makes key changes

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 20:00:00 GMT

CAPITALAND has unveiled key appointment changes, in line with its ongoing effort to groom younger talent for leadership roles.

Bourse enjoys jump in trade

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 20:00:00 GMT

TRADING activity in the securities market soared last month, with overall volume jumping 62.7 per cent to 24.6 billion shares, compared to December's 15.1 billion shares.

Deutsche Bank cuts investment bankers' pay

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 20:00:00 GMT

(FRANKFURT) Deutsche Bank AG cut pay for employees at the corporate and investment bank by 15 per cent in 2011 after income at the division plunged, following lower compensation at Wall Street competitors.

One-time charges hit Nasdaq profit

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 20:00:00 GMT

(NEW YORK) Nasdaq OMX Group Inc's quarterly profit declined due to a number of expenses, but when stripping out the one-time charges, the Nasdaq stock market parent beat analysts' expectations.

NYSE may appeal EU ruling on Deutsche Boerse

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 20:00:00 GMT

(LONDON) NYSE Euronext chief executive officer Duncan Niederauer said the exchange operator is considering whether to appeal against European regulators' veto of its merger with Deutsche Boerse AG.

CEOs must pay for bourse merger failure

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 20:00:00 GMT

DUNCAN Niederauer and Reto Francioni deserve a bit of a spanking for their failure to mate. Sure, the chief executives of NYSE Euronext and Deutsche Boerse, respectively, had a good financial case for putting the two exchanges together.

GLP to develop logistics facility in Okayama

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 20:00:00 GMT

GLOBAL Logistic Properties (GLP) plans to start developing a large-scale logistics facility in Okayama, Japan, in June this year, making it the second project under its joint venture with the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board.

Goldtron EGM to vote on ouster

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 20:00:00 GMT

ELECTRONICS manufacturer Goldtron Ltd is holding an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) on March 2 for shareholders to vote on resolutions put up by seven disgruntled shareholders to oust three directors and install their own four nominees.

Asian firms face tighter credit, higher default

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 20:00:00 GMT

A CREDIT squeeze lies ahead for Asian companies in 2012, and defaults and downgrades are likely to increase, Moody's Investors Service said in a report on Wednesday.

Cautious outlook for local banks' Q4 results

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 20:00:00 GMT

ANALYSTS have issued guarded prognoses for the three local banks ahead of the release of their fourth-quarter and full-year results this month.

StarHub's Q4 net profit up 15.1% at $92.6m

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 20:00:00 GMT

STEADY performance from its mobile and broadband businesses pushed StarHub's net profit for 2011 to $315.5 million, up 19.9 per cent from the previous year.

SIA's Q3 earnings plunge 53% on high fuel costs

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 20:00:00 GMT

SINGAPORE Airlines' third-quarter profit slumped 53 per cent to $135.2 million, from $288.3 million a year earlier, due to persistently high jet fuel prices.

Key questions remain as panel winds up Sino-Forest probe

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 20:00:00 GMT

(SINGAPORE) Bankruptcy- threatened plantation operator Sino-Forest Corp said yesterday that an independent committee had wound up its probe into allegations that the company had exaggerated its assets, but its report is unlikely to pacify investors as it left key questions unresolved.

Nomura returns to profit

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 20:00:00 GMT

(TOKYO) Nomura Holdings, Japan's largest investment bank, posted a surprise return to quarterly profit on a sharp upswing in its overseas fixed income business and a one-off gain on the sale of the Skylark restaurant chain.

EC vetoes merger of Deutsche Boerse, NYSE

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 20:00:00 GMT

(BRUSSELS) European Union regulators vetoed Deutsche Boerse and NYSE Euronext's plan to create the world's biggest exchange after concluding the merger would hurt competition.

MF Global's missing money traced: report

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 20:00:00 GMT

(NEW YORK) US investigating authorities have traced more than 90 per cent of the customer money which disappeared from MF Global around the time of its bankruptcy, the New York Times (NYT) reported yesterday, citing people briefed on the investigation.

Company Briefs

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 20:00:00 GMT

NOBLE Group Ltd has approached banks for a loan as it seeks to refinance debt, according to three people familiar with the matter.