Latest Southeast Asia News
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The Asian stock markets plunged in line with the US markets
The appetite for risk remained subdued in the Far East after imploding late Wednesday, when the Federal Reserve maintained its bond-buying program, but Chairman Ben Bernanke hinted that the FOMC plans to moderate purchases later this year. The foreign currencies remain under pressure after tanking. The Asian stock markets plunged in line with the US markets. The short-term outlook for the ...
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UK issues travel advice for Singapore
UK government has issued new travel advice for Singapore. The warning was prompted by high levels of pollution from land clearance fires in Indonesia. "Since 17 June Singapore has been experiencing high levels of pollution ("haze") from land clearance fires in Indonesia. We advise all travelers and British residents in Singapore to monitor carefully the Pollutant Standards Index ...
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Singapore from Bilingualism to Biculturalism
Singapore's bilingual policy has been the cornerstone of its development "from third world to first." However, as global power shifts from the West to Asia, especially with regards to China, it may be time for Singapore to upgrade its bilingual policy to biculturalism. Singapore's bilingualism refers to the use of English and one of the three commonly heard ethnic languages, ...
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Minorities Unsafe in Pakistan
Pakistan’s founder "Quaid-i-Azam" Mohammad Ali Jinnah dreamt of a country that would be Islamic and at the same time secular. The basic ideals behind the creation of Pakistan underscored security, welfare and cooperation of the people of all religions. Thanks to extremism and radicalization, today Pakistan is counted among the most dangerous places to live. Unfortunately, ...
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Star of Acclaimed TV Series The Sopranos Dies
U.S. film and television actor James Gandolfini, who portrayed an emotionally vulnerable crime boss on the groundbreaking television drama "The Sopranos," has died at the age of 51. Statements issued by the actor's managers and U.S. cable television network HBO, which aired the series from 1999 through 2007, said Gandolfini died while on vacation in Italy from a possible heart ...
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Singapore Indonesia to hold talks on smog crisis
SINGAPORE (AFP) - Singapore and Indonesia were scheduled to hold emergency talks on Thursday after thick smog from forest fires on Sumatra island reached unprecedented levels in the city-state.Singapore said it was sending the chief executive of the National Environment Agency (NEA), Andrew Tan, to attend an emergency meeting to be hosted by Indonesia's foreign ministry in Jakarta on the ...
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Jaya Suprana Searching for Indonesia’s philosophy
Asked about his greatest concern for the nation today, Jaya Suprana replied: "We only lack an appreciation of what we own. This attitude makes me feel anxious." He observed that the nation at all levels appreciated something from the outside far more than being proud of local values."It seems as if all things of external origin, especially the West, are superior to our own, but ...
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Analysis Plantations sector Still standing
Why is that?Our sensitivity analysis shows that CPO companies have the propensity to benefit from the weakness of the rupiah and higher interest rates (exhibit 5). This allows for the popularity CPO companies among investors to increase in this risk-averse market, particularly given the sector's defensive exposure toward the food industry.Additionally, with the advent of the largest Muslim ...
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Haze update Some kindergartens closed in Muar due to hazardous air quality
Haze woes in Malacca, air pollutant index (API) reading heightened in Malacca. The air quality in Muar is now hazardous with the Air Pollutant Index (API) reading hitting 337, prompting several private kindergartens to send their pupils home. -- FILE PHOTO: STAR PUBLICATION SDN ...
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$A does little to deter Asian travellers
A growing influx of travellers from Asia are flying into Sydney, with Chinese and Singaporean visitor numbers surging during May. The Australian dollar still held above parity with the greenback until last month, but this did little to deter overseas visitors, with international air travel volumes taking off by 5.9 per cent. Meanwhile, Chinese visitor numbers surged by 29.4 per cent in May ...
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STOCKS NEWS THAILAND-Nok Air jumps 12 pct on debut
Thu Jun 20, 2013 12:43am EDT Shares in budget carrier Nok Airlines Pcl jumped 12 percent to 29 baht versus its IPO price of 26 baht on its market debut, outperforming other airline shares, thanks to its attractive valuation and growth prospect. Nok Airlines raised 4.9 billion baht ($159 million) in an initial public offering last week to fund its fleet expansion. Market players appeared ...
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Asian stocks down as Fed sees slower bond buys
A visitor is seen at Tokyo Stock Exchange during a morning trading in Tokyo Monday, June 17, 2013. Asian stocks edged up Monday amid hopes that the U.S. Federal Reserve will put off plans to wind down its stimulus program. Tokyo's Nikkei 225, the regional heavyweight, jumped 2.2 percent to 12,960.81, extending Friday's 2.4 percent ...
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Opposition to impeach Thai govt over water project
Thai opposition Democrat Party will file a petition to remove the Cabinet on suspicion that the government colluded with four large companies in the bidding for the 350-billion-baht (US$11.34 billion) water-management scheme. Democrat Bangkok MP Atthavit Suwannapakdee, also a shadow Cabinet spokesman, said his Cabinet had decided to solicit 120 MP signatures to file impeachment proceedings ...
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101000 Singapore millionaires in 2012
The share market rally sharply increased the ranks of Singapore's wealthy last year. New figures out yesterday show that there were 101,000 millionaires by the end of 2012 in Singapore, a jump of 10.3 per cent over 2011. Their total wealth went through the roof as well and was estimated to have hit US$489 billion (S$615 billion), up 11.5 per cent on the 2011 level. The report by ...
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Indonesia dodges haze blame game
Amid criticism from its neighbours, Malaysia and Singapore, over the cross-border haze and deteriorating air quality affecting the two countries, Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa talked tough on the issue, saying that Asean members should collaborate to address the situation rather than lay blame. "The approach must be one of collaboration and partnership, not one of apportioning blame ...
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Thailands first-car scheme has hit people also trying to buy cheaper homes
Up to 10 per cent of Thais who try to buy homes at prices up to 2 million baht (US$65,000) from Pruksa Real Estate Plc have suffered knockbacks for mortgages because of "substandard" credit scores after they bought a vehicle under the government's first-car scheme. Pruksa chief business officer Piya Prayong said the company had tried to help customers by suggesting they find ...
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Mango season in full swing in Pakistan
Season of mangoes, the king of fruits, is now in full swing as the fruit has made it to the market in big quantity. The season of the delicious fruit will last until the end of July. There are varying assessments of stakeholders as to size of crop and rates in the market. Wholesale fruit market is brimming with buyers, exporters and traders on a daily basis as truck loads of the fruit start ...
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Advice for Thai politicians
Politicians forget too quickly about the people who put them in power, as Pheu Thai and the government were rudely reminded last weekend. The by-election in Bangkok's Constituency 12, Don Muang district, last Sunday was not just another insignificant poll. It was widely followed and closely watched, not just by people in the constituency itself, but also by many observers around the ...
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Asian firms need to understand politics to succeed experts
Asian companies will have to reinvent their business strategies and develop long-term plans in order to be able to take the advantage of the surge in the region's economy, experts have said. In addition to the improvement of marketing strategies, companies should also understand the highly dynamic local political situation in the region to achieve success. Takumi Shibata, ...
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Race is on for Southeast Asias tech breakthrough
SINGAPORE - Technology start-up companies in Southeast Asia are building momentum but need more funding and success stories to really take off, three entrepreneurs told the Reuters Global Technology Summit on Wednesday. With 600 million people, Southeast Asia has some of the world's fastest-growing economies, a rapidly rising middle class and an enormous hunger for smartphones and other ...
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Smoggy Singapore struggles to get to grips with pollution takes aim at companies and neighbors
(30 mins ago) Singapore and Indonesia were scheduled to hold emergency talks today after thick smog from forest fires on Sumatra island reached unprecedented levels on the island. Parts of Malaysia have also been severely affected by the smog. Singapore said it was sending the chief executive of the National Environment Agency, Andrew Tan, to attend an emergency meeting to be hosted by ...
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Singapore Airlines finalizes order for up to 50 more A350 XWBs
Singapore Airlines (SIA) has increased its orders for the A350 XWB with an additional 30 A350-900s, plus options for a further 20 aircraft. The agreement firms up a commitment announced last month. Under the terms of the agreement, Singapore Airlines will be able to select either the baseline A350-900 or the larger A350-1000 when exercising the options. This is the third order from Singapore ...
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US bus owner faces charges in crash that killed 17 from Vietnamese Catholic community
DALLAS - The owner of a U.S. bus company has been indicted on federal charges over a crash that killed 17 people from a Vietnamese Catholic community, authorities said. Angel de la Torre and an associate, Carlos Ortuno, are charged with making false statements and other offences. The indictment was returned on May 30, authorities said Wednesday, and de la Torre and his associate were taken into ...
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Helicopter crash in remote northwestern Nepal kills 1 passenger injures 5 people on board
KATMANDU, Nepal - A helicopter has crashed in remote northwestern Nepal, killing one passenger and injuring five other people on board. A police official said the helicopter belonging to local Fishtail Air crashed Wednesday evening near Muchu village. That's about 400 kilometres (250 miles) north west of the capital, Kathmandu. The injured were flown by a rescue helicopter to the nearest ...
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STOCKS NEWS SINGAPORE-Index headed for biggest daily drop in a year
Wed Jun 19, 2013 11:59pm EDT Singapore shares were headed for their biggest one-day decline in more than a year, tracking weaker global markets after Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke said the central bank would start to reduce its stimulus measures later this year. The benchmark Straits Times Index dropped nearly 2 percent on Thursday. The broadest MSCI's index of Asia-Pacific shares ...
Cambodia Focus
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Cambodia reliant on China for a range of infastructure projects
Cambodia is in need of foreign investment for a number of major infrastructure projects and China is becoming the country’s biggest investor on several key ventures. This is part of a broader expansion in China’s influence in Asia as the country continues to develop into the world’s second superpower.
Cambodia suffered through the economic downturn that came about following the financial crash toward the end of 2008. In 2009, the economy contracted 1%, which wrought significant hardship for many hundreds of thousands of people, most notably those employed in the garment sector as the export of clothing fell by around 20% in value. Read more
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