Posts by Mark Darwin
Sea back in the black with US$79.9 million Q2 profit, beating estimates
GAMING and e-commerce player Sea on Tuesday (Aug 13) posted a net profit of US$79.9 million for the three months ended Jun 30, down 75.9 per cent from US$331 million in the corresponding year-ago Q2 period. Despite the decline, the figure was still higher than the US$60 million estimate in a Bloomberg poll of 12…
Read MoreThailand to expand state equity fund by up to US$4.3 billion to invest in local stocks
Thailand will increase the size of a state mutual fund by between US$2.8 billion-US$4.3 billion to invest in local stocks, officials said on Tuesday (Aug 13), in a bid to support Asia’s worst performing market this year. The Vayupak Mutual Fund will offer new units to the public by September, Finance Minister Pichai Chunhavajira told…
Read MoreChina’s outbound investing quota crunch spurs foreign asset managers to get creative
SOARING demand from Chinese investors for offshore investments has left foreign banks and fund managers scrambling to ration outbound-investing quotas despite the recent sell-off in the US and Japanese markets. To cope with the surging appetite, firms using China’s Qualified Domestic Institutional Investor (QDII) programme are taking steps to get around the quota crunch, executives…
Read MoreJapan’s Nikkei surges 3.5% after boost from weak yen
Japan’s Nikkei share average surged 3.5 per cent on Tuesday (Aug 13), with tech shares leading the rally as sentiment got a boost from a weaker yen as traders returned after a public holiday. The Nikkei ended the day at the session’s peak of 36,232.51, trading higher in the last 40 minutes of trading. It…
Read MoreOverseas investors turn bearish on Japanese equities after brutal sell-off
GLOBAL investors are turning bearish on once-favoured Japanese stocks following last week’s turbulence as they reassess economic prospects and the viability of yen-funded trades. Using cheap yen to buy stocks on the Nikkei was a hot trade until this month. The Nikkei index had doubled since the start of 2023, and a tumbling yen had…
Read MoreGM cuts China jobs as it resets in world’s biggest car market
GENERAL Motors (GM) has been laying off staff in China and will soon meet with local partner Saic to plan a larger structural overhaul of its operations there, a recognition that the Detroit automaker is unlikely to see its sales return to 2017 peak levels. GM is cutting staff in Chinese market-related departments, including research…
Read MoreIt can cost more to power a house than rent it in Pakistan
ELECTRICITY bills have outpaced home rental rates for some people in Pakistan, as tariff increases and other reforms to comply with International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan conditions spark nationwide protests. The South Asian nation – where nearly half the population survives on less than US$4 a day – has seen electricity prices surge 155 per…
Read MoreCICT posts 2.5% rise in H1 DPU to S$0.0543 despite higher finance costs
CAPITALAND Integrated Commercial Trust (CICT) has recorded a distribution per unit (DPU) of S$0.0543 for the first half of the year, up 2.5 per cent from S$0.053 in the corresponding period the year before. It also announced on Tuesday (Aug 13) distributable income of S$366.5 million, up 3.7 per cent from S$353.2 million in the…
Read MoreJ&J gets plaintiff backing for US$6.5 billion baby powder accord
JOHNSON & Johnson (J&J) has cleared a key hurdle for advancing a US$6.5 billion plan to resolve thousands of lawsuits by people who say its baby powder gave them cancer, according to sources familiar with the matter. More than 75 per cent of the group signed off on J&J’s proposal through secret balloting that ended…
Read MoreFood Empire H1 profit falls 11.3% to US$23.6 million on Russia market weakness
FOOD Empire posted a 11.3 per cent drop in net profit to US$23.6 million for its first half ended Jun 30, 2024, from S$26.7 million in the previous corresponding period. The food and beverage manufacturer saw lower profit contributions from its Russia market amid short-term price disruptions, it said in a regulatory filing on…
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