The Business Times, 31 December 2014

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Total Pages: 24
1 24 The Business Times
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  • Title Section
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    30 1 THE BUSINESS TIMES S$1.00 S|jh A SINGAPORE PRESS HOLDINGS PUBLICATION www.businesstimes.com.sg G C ©BTBreakingnews CO REGN NO *****2868E MCI (P) 051/08/2014 I Wednesday, October 8, 2014 Wedn sday, December 31
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  • Article, Illustration
    Lock icon DAILY DIGEST
    191 1 Indonesian search crews recovered debris and bodies floating in the sea from the AirAsia airliner that went missing on Sunday with 162 people on board, as investigators seek to determine what brought down the plane. TOP STORIES 2 ST Engineering’s corruption scandal woes are far from over as
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  • Article
    Lock icon MARKETS
    27 1 Tuesday Change STI 3,366.11 (-1.58) KL COMP 1,766.83 (-1.58) NIKKEI 225 17,450.77 (-279.07) HANG SENG 23,501.10 (-272.08) SHENZHEN B 1,014.54 (+0.38) DOW (11am EST) 17,992.98 (-45.25)
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  • Article
    Lock icon QZ8501 caps grim year for airline industry
    1096 1  -  OUTLOOK 2015: AVIATION By Nisha Ramchandani nishar@sph.com.sg @Nisha_BT Singapore FRAUGHT with tragedies, 2014 has been a year that the aviation industry will likely close the door on with relief. The most recent disaster, where Singapore-bound Indonesia AirAsia Flight QZ8501 vanished on Sunday 42
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  • Article, Illustration
    Lock icon Government trims confirmed-list industrial land sales for H1 2015
    724 1  -  industrial property market stabilising from land releases between 2010 and 2014: major completions expected in the next two years By Lee Meixian leemx@sph.com.sg @LeeMeixianBT Singapore THE Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) continues to taper industrial government land sales under the
    Source: MTI  -  724 words
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      Lock icon Page 1 Advertisements Column 1
      145 1 *****4 OUTLOOK 2015: OFFSHORE MARINE Low valuations spell consolidation COMPANIES MARKETS 6 BILLIONAIRES World’s wealthiest add US$92b in 2014 CYCLIST-FRIENDLY TOWNS Sengkang EC tender closing postponed REAL ESTATE 10 EXECUTIVE MONEY 23 INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY Slimming specialist forks out $32m for 243 Alexandra Road REAL ESTATE 10 O UNVEILING SOON SCULPTURA
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  • TOP STORIES
    • Article, Illustration
      Lock icon Plane debris found, some bodies retrieved
      797 2 UK aviation-safety specialist says it wasn’t a controlled ditching as bodies don’t have life jackets on AIRASIA FLIGHT QZ8501 BLOOMBERG REUTERS AFP Surabaya INDONESIAN search crews recovered debris and bodies floating in the sea from the AirAsia airliner that went missing on Sunday with
      BLOOMBERG; REUTERS; AFP; PHOTO: REUTERS  -  797 words
    • Article
      Lock icon Disaster rekindles pain of MH370
      544 2 AFP Beijing RELATIVES of those on board missing Malaysia Airlines flight 370 said on Tuesday that their torment has been awakened anew by the AirAsia loss in Indonesia, nine months into their nightmare. “It is just like what happened nine months ago when I heard
      AFP  -  544 words
    • Article
      Lock icon Deloitte suggests refinements to PIC scheme in Budget 2015 wishlist
      415 2  -  EDB, not IRAS, should vet firms’ proposals for R&D projects for PIC eligibility By Kelly Tay kellytay@sph.com.sg @KellyTayBT Singapore THE Economic Development Board (EDB) rather than the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) should be the agency that assesses whether
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    • Article
      Lock icon AirAsia jets in fresh incidents in Thailand and Philippines
      327 2 AFP Bangkok AN AirAsia flight bound for north-east Thailand turned back to the capital Bangkok shortly after takeoff Tuesday when pilots detected an “irregularity” in the storage compartment, airline officials said. Later on Tuesday, another AirAsia jet this time in the
      AFP  -  327 words
    • Article
      Lock icon Greece may be leading indicator, not exception
      427 2  -  By Neil Unmack REUTERS BREAKINGVIEWS GREECE’S limbo will weaken Europe’s recovery. The failure of the Athens Parliament to agree on the country’s president will lead to new elections. That may bring left-wing Syriza to power, putting Athens at odds with its European creditors.
      REUTERS BREAKINGVIEWS  -  427 words
    • Article, Illustration
      Lock icon Tokyo stocks have nowhere to go but up in 2015: analysts
      978 4  -  The Bank of Japan’s monetary stimulus and corporate profits will power market OUTLOOK: NIKKEI STOCKS By Anthony Rowley btworld@sph.com.sg Tokyo WHILE Tokyo stock prices ended their last trading day of 2014 a modest 8 per cent up on the
      PHOTO: REUTERS  -  978 words
    • Article, Illustration
      Lock icon Fourth ST Marine senior exec charged in corruption scandal
      554 5  -  Former company president accused of conspiring with colleagues to give bribes of more than S$556,000 By Claire Huang huangjy@sph.com.sg @ClaireHuangBT Singapore BLUECHIP engineering giant Singapore Technologies Engineering’s (ST Engineering) corruption scandal woes are far from over as a fourth former high
      PHOTO: WONG KWAI CHOW/ THE STRAITS TIMES  -  554 words
    • Article
      Lock icon Electricity tariffs to fall 8% in Q1 2015
      574 5  -  Consumers gain from the fall in oil prices; tariff to be the lowest since Q1 2010 By Andrea Soh sandrea@sph.com.sg @AndreaSohBT Singapore THE fall in the price of oil has filtered through to benefits for consumers in the form of lower electricity
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      Lock icon Page 4 Advertisements Column 1
      155 4 Download BTLuxe and win two business class tickets to Tokyo on ANA Luxe Download the BTLuxe app on iPad and answer the following questions: 1) What is Rene Redzepi doing in the first photo of the story ‘Tokyo or Bust’ in the BTLuxe iPad App? 2) With ANA, Japan’s only
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      31 5 4Want access to BBQ pits? If you're looking for your dream condo complete with facilities, turn to the Print Classified Properties section. To advertise, call the Print Classified Hotline: 1800-289 9988.
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  • COMPANIES & MARKETS
    • Article, Illustration
      Lock icon Low valuations spell consolidation for O&M sector
      1233 6  -  Analysts rule out dramatic recovery as they look at the fund-raising, takeover and privatisation landscape in the aftermath of the 2014 rout OUTLOOK 2015: OFFSHORE MARINE By Malminderjit Singh msingh@sph.com.sg @MalminderjitBT Singapore PLUNGING oil prices have made 2014 a year to forget for
      FILE PHOTO  -  1,233 words
    • Article, Illustration
      Lock icon US oil drillers idle the most rigs in two years as crude sinks
      504 6 BLOOMBERG New York OIL drillers in the US, facing the lowest crude prices in five years and rising competition from suppliers abroad, idled the most rigs since 2012. Rigs targeting oil declined by 37 to 1,499 in
      BLOOMBERG; PHOTO: BLOOMBERG  -  504 words
    • Article
      Lock icon Hopefully, 2015 will not be the year of The Great Payback
      662 7  -  TT HOCK LOCK SIEW BY R SIVANITHY sivan@sph.com.sg @RSivanithyBT FROM 2007 until 2013, equity markets were said to have been buoyed by a “Great Flotation”, pushed higher by the tidal wave of liquidity unleased by the US Federal Reserve
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    • Article
      Lock icon Oil still the main drag as commodity benchmarks take further hits
      581 7  -  By Chan Yi Wen yiwenc@sph.com.sg @ChanYiWenBT Singapore PLUNGING oil prices were still the main cause as commodity benchmarks continued to suffer severe losses through December. The Credit Suisse Commodity Benchmark (CSCB) Index has tumbled some 25 per cent for
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    • Article
      Lock icon China’s Jiangsu Changjiang to spearhead US$780m bid for STATS ChipPAC
      248 7  -  By Chan Yi Wen yiwenc@sph.com.sg @ChanYiWenBT Singapore A CONSORTIUM led by China’s Jiangsu Changjiang Electronics Technology (JCET) on Tuesday unveiled a pre-conditional voluntary general offer for mainboard-listed STATS ChipPAC. Subject to fulfilment of specified pre-conditions, JCET, through subsidiary JCET-SC (Singapore),
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    • Article
      Lock icon Brokers to disclose trading curb details from Dec 31
      418 7  -  By Kenneth Lim kenlim@sph.com.sg @KennethLimBT Singapore SINGAPORE brokers will announce and explain decisions to impose trading restrictions beginning Dec 31, the Securities Association of Singapore (SAS) announced on Tuesday. Each of the nine Singapore SAS member houses will announce on its
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    • Article
      Lock icon US ETF tracking China stocks posts record inflows
      439 7 BLOOMBERG New York THE largest US exchange-traded fund (ETF) that tracks mainland Chinese stocks posted a record eighth week of inflows amid speculation that easing of monetary policies will help extend equity gains in Asia’s biggest economy. Investors added US$34.6 million to
      BLOOMBERG  -  439 words
    • Article
      Lock icon New Lakeside rapped for breach of rules, governance failure
      312 7  -  By Chan Yi Wen yiwenc@sph.com.sg @ChanYiWenBT Singapore SINGAPORE Exchange (SGX) has reprimanded New Lakeside Holdings, which has been renamed Zhongxin Fruit Juice since March 2013, its former director and former group chief financial officer (CFO) for breaching listing rules and corporate
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    • Article, Illustration
      Lock icon STI / Catalist
      63 8 STI Catalist Straits Times index Dec 30,2014 3,366.11 -1.58 (-0.05%) Current streak 1 day Day high 3,373.93 Day low 3,359.29 52-week high 3,374.06 (July 31, 2014) 52-week low 2,960.09 (Feb 5, 2014) FTSE ST Catalist index Dec 30,2014 736.71 -2.53 (-0.34%) Current streak 3 days Day high 740.52 Day low
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    • Article, Illustration
      Lock icon Greece back on investors’ radar screen
      631 8  -  STI pauses after eight consecutive gains as the eurozone member’s political worries drag regional stocks down TT STOCKS By R Sivanithy sivan@sph.com.sg @RSivanithyBT GREECE hasn’t figured much on the radar of investors for many months. But it did on Tuesday because of the prospect
      Source: Bloomberg  -  631 words
    • Article
      Lock icon STI STOCKS
      305 8 Stock name Close Change Day high/low 52w high 52w low PE Div yield Mcap Ascendas Reit 242 -3 247/241 250 206 5.9 6118.6 CapitaLand 327 +2 328/326 348 268 16.4 2.4 *****.7 CapitaMall Trust 203 +1 203/201 209 180 5.1 7040.6 CityDev 1035 +15 1035/1020 1118 860 14
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    • Article, Illustration
      Lock icon STI / FTSE ST All-Share
      35 8 STI FTSE ST All-Share FTSE ST All-Share index Dec 30,2014 804.78 -0.18 (-0.02%) Current streak 1 day Day high 806.25 Day low 803.54 52-week high 819.39 (July 31, 2014) 52-week low 722.35 (Feb 5, 2014)
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    • Article
      Lock icon GAINERS
      77 8 BY CENTS CLOSE UP 52w high/low DBXT Nifty US$ ***** 76.8 0.4 *****/9759 DBXT Vietnam US$ 2599 41.0 1.2 3100/2388 DBXT MSJAP US$ 4475 21.2 0.4 4814/4260 DBS Bk 4.7% NCPS ***** 20.0 0.2 *****/***** CityDev 1035 15.0 1.5 1118/860 BY PERCENTAGE CLOSE UP 52w high/low Acma Ltd W*****7
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    • Article
      Lock icon LOSERS
      75 8 BY CENTS CLOSE DOWN 52w high/low DBXT MSKorea US$ 5515 -164.2 -2.2 6735/5515 Lyxor Idonesia US$ 9022 -144.3 -1.2 9636/7199 DBXT MSEurope US$ 5654 -76.8 -1.0 6492/5366 GLD US$ ***** -59.6 -0.4 *****/***** DBXT iBoxxSing SG$ ***** -42.0 -0.3 *****/***** BY PERCENTAGE CLOSE DOWN 52w high/low CN8000MBePW*****0 1.4 -41.7
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    • Article
      Lock icon UNUSUAL ACTIVITY
      81 8 VOL CLOSE($) CHANGE China Hongcheng 171.0 0.011 +0.002 +22.22 Joyas Intl 49,044.0 0.027 +0.002 +8.00 ES 641.0 0.169 +0.041 +32.03 LifeBrandz 23,302.0 0.005 -0.001 -16.67 Lafe 337.0 0.033 -0.009 -21.43 Transit Concrete 10.0 0.460 -0.080 -14.82 Ouhua Energy 210.0 0.026 +0.006 +30.00 Novo 255.0 0.220 +0.020 +10.00 Top
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    • Article, Illustration
      Lock icon HANG SENG
      2 8
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    • Article
      Lock icon MOST ACTIVE
      38 8 VOLUME Compact Metal 82,923,000 Top Global 55,769,000 Joyas Intl 49,044,000 IHC 38,006,000 Golden Agri-Res 32,117,000 Market volume 1,140,521,000 VALUE DBS Grp 59,117,518 SingTel 52,010,074 Keppel Corp 39,016,490 OCBC Bank 31,272,710 Global Logistic 26,750,950 Market value 711,745,000
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    • Article
      Lock icon SGX ETFs
      108 8 Most Active Fund Last sale +/-(‘000) Day high/low 52w high/low Buy/Sell Mcap UETF SSE50China 215 +1 156 216/214 217/140 215/216 67.2 Nikko AM STI ETF 346 cd +1 119 347/346 422/300 345/346 8.3 STI ETF 340 105 341/340 343/298 340/341 ABF SG Bond ETF 116.7 cd 30 117/116.7
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    • Article
      Lock icon OTHER SINGAPORE INDICES
      77 8 Dec 30 VALUE CLOSE BT OB/OS 75.00 +193.00 BT CADI -*****.00 +8.00 BT 10-day MA -*****.00 +8.00 FTSE ST Mid Cap 746.01 +0.21 FTSE ST Small Cap 491.35 +0.75 FTSE ST All Share 804.78 -0.18 FTSE ST China Top 186.25 -0.11 FTSE ST China 221.13 -0.40 FTSE
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    • Article, Illustration
      Lock icon STI / MSCI EAFE
      33 8 STI MSCI EAFE MSCI EAFE index Dec 29,2014 1,793.46 +3.54 (+0.20%) Current streak 2 days Day high 1,796.60 Day low 1,793.46 52-week high 1,995.49 (July 3, 2014) 52-week low 1,714.64 (Oct 16, 2014)
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    • Article
      Lock icon SECURITIES TRADING SCOREBOARD
      186 8 MAIN CATL TOTAL Up Down Unch Up Down Unch Up Down Unch Multi Ind 3 5 8 0 0 0 3 5 8 Manufacturing 44 40 34 5 9 10 49 49 44 Commerce 19 17 21 4 6 2 23 23 23 Tpt/Stor/Comms 11 14 16
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    • Article
      Lock icon SECURITIES TRADING TURNOVER
      121 8 VOLUME (‘000) VALUE (‘000) MAIN CATL TOTAL MAIN CATL TOTAL Multi Ind 12,989 12,989 54,419 54,419 Manufacturing 291,628 22,123 313,751 74,327 2,315 76,642 Commerce 96,234 29,092 125,326 56,704 1,382 58,085 Tpt/Stor/Comms 58,660 310 58,970 102,433 116 102,549 Finance 12,391 28 12,419 123,114 6 123,120 Construction 69,721 2,819
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    • Article, Illustration
      Lock icon NIKKEI
      1 8
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    • Article, Illustration
      Lock icon SHANGHAI COMPOSITE
      2 8
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    • Article, Illustration
      Lock icon DOW JONES
      2 8
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    • Article
      Lock icon CALENDAR
      31 8 DATA I Dec 31 Singapore bank lending (monthly statistical bulletin)/bank loans and advances YoY I 9.45 am (Jan 2) HSBC China manufacturing PMI T Brokers take will resume next week
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    • Article
      Lock icon Yen surges amid end-of-year investor nerves
      621 9 TT CURRENCIES REUTERS London THE yen gained sharply against the US dollar and euro on Tuesday as investors sought the traditional safety of the Japanese currency amid end-of-year nerves over looming economic risks. The risk of Greece dropping out of the eurozone returned to
      REUTERS  -  621 words
    • FOREX RATES
      • Article
        Lock icon INTERBANK CROSS RATES
        471 9 Dec 30 A$ C$ Rmb Euro HK$ Ind Rs Rupiah Yen Won RM NZ$ Pak Rs Peso S$ Rand Sfr NT$ Baht Pound US$ Australia 0.949 5.063 0.670 6.325 51.926 101.511 0.976 8.943 2.857 1.044 82.281 36.458 1.079 9.483 0.806 25.898 26.841 0.525 0.815 Canada 1.054 5.337
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      • Article
        Lock icon INTERBANK CURRENCY RATES
        155 9 Dec 30 Against S$ Against US$ Currencies Bid Offer Bid Offer S$/US$ to one unit of foreign currency: Australian dollar 1.0792 1.0797 0.8152 0.8155 Canadian dollar 1.1379 1.1381 0.8596 0.8595 Euro 1.6104 1.6108 1.2165 1.2166 NZ dollar 1.0342 1.0346 0.7812 0.7814 Sterling pound 2.0556 2.0563 1.5528 1.5531
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      • Article
        Lock icon US$/S$ FORWARD RATES
        22 9 Dec 30 S$ Bid Offer 1-month 1.3248 1.3252 2-months 1.3255 1.3259 3-months 1.3257 1.3262 6-months 1.3267 1.3273 Source: OCBC
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    • EQUITY BONDS WARRANTS FUTURES
      • Article
        Lock icon SGX DERIVATIVES TRADING
        353 9 Dec 30 OPEN HIGH LOW SETT VOL OP/INT NIKKEI 225 INDEX FUTURES SPOT *****.12 *****.76 *****.77 Mar15 *****.00 *****.00 *****.00 *****.00 ***** *****5 Jun15 *****.00 2 3184 MSCI TAIWAN INDEX FUTURES SPOT 343.64 344.97 341.68 Dec14 344.30 357.50 341.90 341.93 ***** ***** Jan15 344.80 359.60 342.70 343.50
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      • Article
        Lock icon BONDS, WARRANTS, PREFERENCE SHARES
        207 9 Most active Dec 30 Prem Expiry Vol Conv Exer Disc Gear-Mths Company Last Sale +or-('000) Ratio Price ing Left DBS MB eCW*****2 14.7 unch 3835 0.1 0 6 Rowsley Ltd W*****3 3.8 unch 3371 1 18 22 SHS Holdings W*****6 4.7 unch 2963 1 20 3
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      • Article
        Lock icon MORGAN STANLEY CAPITAL INTERNATIONAL INDICES
        373 9 In local curr In S$ In US$ dy yr dy yr dy yr Dec 29 Index Change Change Change Change Change Change World Preliminary 1293.3 0.2 9.2 0.1 9.3 0.2 4.3 EAFE Preliminary 996.8 0.2 4.2 0.1 -1.9 0.2 -6.4 Europe Preliminary 1394.8 0.2 2.9
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      • Article
        Lock icon GOVERNMENT SECURITIES
        65 9 Dec 30 GOVERNMENT BONDS Period Issue Coupon Maturity Close Day's code rate Bid High Low 2-Year NY*****F 3.75 01-Sep-16 105.17 105.24 105.20 5-Year N*****0H 1.625 01-Oct-19 100.11 10-Year NY*****H 3.000 01-Sep-24 106.30 106.55 106.35 15-Year NY*****E 2.875 01-Jul-29 103.18 103.35 103.20 20-Year NZ*****V 3.375 01-Sep-33 108.69 109.04 109.04
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    • BANK RATES
      • Article
        Lock icon INTERBANK RATES
        154 9 Dec 30 $S Offer Bid 0vernight 0.02 par 1-month 0.4375 0.3125 2-months 0.4375 0.3125 3-months 0.4375 0.3125 Overnight mode: 0.02 US$ Offer Bid 7 days 0.17 0.07 1 month 0.25 0.15 2 months 0.30 0.20 3 months 0.40 0.20 6 months 0.50 0.30 9 months 0.60 0.40 12
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      • Article
        Lock icon SIBOR
        36 9 Dec 30 (S$) 1 mth 0.***** 2 mths 3 mths 0.***** 6 mths 0.***** 9 mths 12 mths 0.***** SWAP Offer rates (S$) 1 mth 0.***** 3 mths 0.***** 6 mths 0.***** Source: Thomson Reuters
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    • AGRI METALS ENERGY
      • Article
        Lock icon COMMODITY FUTURES
        193 9 Dec-29 Price Net change change Last Trade Agricultural Dec-29 CBOT Soybeans (US cents/bu) 1041.75 -5.75 -0.55% 14/01/2015 CBOT Soybean Oil (US cents/lb) 32.79 0.33 1.02% 14/01/2015 CBOT Wheat (US cents/bu) 615.50 4.75 0.78% 13/03/2014 Dec-29 LIFFE Cocoa (£/tonne) 1982.00 -7.00 -0.35% 16/03/2015 LIFFE Coffee (US$/tonne) 1835.00 -29.00 -1.56%
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      • Article
        Lock icon PALM OIL
        57 9 Dec 30 KLCE Palm Futures (RM/MT) Delivery Opening Sett Av Vol Open Month Range Price Price High Low Done Position Jan 15 2298.0 2300.0 2305.0 2295.0 453 3952 Feb 15 2309.0 2296.0 2315.0 2294.0 2614 ***** Mar 15 2300.0 2284.0 2305.0 2283.0 ***** ***** Apr 15 2289.0 2273.0
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      178 6 IN THE MATTER OF THE COMPANIES ACT, CAP 50 AND IN THE MATTER OF BOLDING BUSINESS TRAVEL GUIDES PTE LTD Co. Reg. No. *****3827H (IN MEMBERS’ VOLUNTARY LIQUIDATION) NOTICE OF FINAL MEETING NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN pursuant to Section 308 (1) of the Companies Act, Cap. 50, that the Final
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  • REAL ESTATE
    • Article
      Lock icon Sengkang EC tender closing postponed
      341 10  -  Extension is to give bidders more time to study LTA requirement for a minimum of 88 bicycle parking spaces CYCLIST-FRIENDLY TOWNS By Kalpana Rashiwala kalpana@sph.com.sg @KalpanaBT THE Housing and Development Board (HDB) has postponed the tender closing for an executive condo (EC) development site in
      341 words
    • Article, Illustration
      Lock icon Ang Mo Kio: A pilot walking, cycling town
      407 10  -  By Chan Yi Wen yiwenc@sph.com.sg @ChanYiWenBT BY 2018, it should be easier and more convenient to commute in Ang Mo Kio without a car. On Tuesday, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) and the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) announced preliminary plans to transform
      PHOTO: URA  -  407 words
    • Article, Illustration
      Lock icon Slimming specialist forks out $32m for 4-storey industrial building
      390 10  -  By Kalpana Rashiwala kalpana@sph.com.sg @KalpanaBT AN ageing four-storey freehold industrial building at 243 Alexandra Road, next to the Kwan Yam Theng Buddhist Temple, has changed hands for the third time in four years. In the latest transaction, homegrown slimming specialist Bottomslim
      PHOTO: ARTHUR LEE  -  390 words
    • Article, Illustration
      Lock icon Rent payments up US$20.6b in US as home ownership falls
      643 10 BLOOMBERG New York US renters paid US$441 billion for apartments and houses this year, a US$20.6 billion increase, as fewer Americans owned their homes and landlords with tight inventories raised leasing charges, Zillow Inc said today. The number of rental
      BLOOMBERG; FILE PHOTO  -  643 words
    • Article
      Lock icon UK house price gain slowest in over a year
      481 10 REUTERS London BRITISH house prices rose at their slowest annual rate in more than a year this month but the market looks set to recover in 2015 if the economy improves as expected, a survey from mortgage lender Nationwide showed on
      REUTERS  -  481 words
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  • ENERGY & COMMODITIES
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  • CONSUMER
    • Article, Illustration
      Lock icon Hotdog cart-turned-burger chain files for IPO
      724 13 Started as a public service in New York a decade ago, Shake Shack has more than 63 outlets in over 30 cities BLOOMBERG New York SHAKE Shack Inc is going public and may be worth as much as US$1 billion not bad considering New
      BLOOMBERG; PHOTO: REUTERS  -  724 words
    • Article
      Lock icon As ‘Interview’ takes streaming plunge, Hollywood tests waters
      672 13 REUTERS Los Angeles CONSUMERS paid US$15 million in just four days to watch The Interview from the comfort of their couches, building expectations that other hot, new films might also make their debut online. But Hollywood is not quite ready to give
      REUTERS  -  672 words
    • Article, Illustration
      Lock icon US in-store pickup of online purchases does not save much time: study
      433 13 REUTERS San Francisco MAJOR US retailers including Target Corp and Toys “R” Us have begun allowing shoppers to collect online purchases at their brick-and-mortar stores, but a study shows the option often saves little, if any, time over
      REUTERS; PHOTO: AFP  -  433 words
    • Article
      Lock icon Small US firms may struggle with new UPS, FedEx prices
      437 13 Couriers will charge for packages by dimensional weight REUTERS Chicago UNITED Parcel Service Inc and FedEx Corp are rolling out new pricing systems to curb online retailers’ large package sizes, but industry experts warn that many small firms are unprepared
      REUTERS  -  437 words
    • Article
      Lock icon Walgreens shareholders okay takeover of Alliance Boots
      327 13 AFP New York SHAREHOLDERS of US pharmacy chain Walgreens approved a US$16 billion takeover of European rival Alliance Boots that creates a global leader in the drug store business. Walgreens said on Monday that 97 per cent of its shareholders approved the company’s
      AFP  -  327 words
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  • GOVERNMENT & ECONOMY
    • Article, Illustration
      Lock icon Jaitley denies putting pressure on RBI to cut rates
      524 14 Finance minister’s comment that the high cost of capital is stifling investment sends markets into a tizzy REUTERS Mumbai INDIA’S finance minister denied on Tuesday that he was pressuring the central bank into cutting interest rates, after his comment that the
      REUTERS; PHOTO: AFP  -  524 words
    • Article
      Lock icon Ukraine expects loan disbursement after IMF visit, hopes for more
      569 14 REUTERS Kiev UKRAINE expects the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to disburse new and overdue loans after a visit next month and still hopes a US$ 17 billion bailout programme can be expanded, its central bank chief said on Tuesday. Valeria
      REUTERS  -  569 words
    • Article, Illustration
      Lock icon ECB may roll out heavy artillery against deflation in 2015
      776 14 Greece elections may be unsettling for European partners, but should be manageable for eurozone, say bank watchers AFP Frankfurt AFTER a breathless year of action and now a new political crisis in Greece, the European Central Bank may finally roll
      AFP; PHOTO: AFP  -  776 words
    • Article
      Lock icon China launches cyber claim to islands in Japan dispute
      431 14 The website, in Chinese now, to be made available in other languages soon including Japanese AFP Beijing BEIJING has launched a website for an uninhabited island chain in the East China Sea, in its latest bid to assert sovereignty over an
      AFP  -  431 words
    • Article, Illustration
      Lock icon Former China president Hu approved graft probe against aide: sources
      519 14 REUTERS Beijing CHINESE President Xi Jinping secured the blessing of his still influential predecessor, Hu Jintao, before launching a corruption probe against a former senior aide to Mr Hu a sign that internal Communist Party harmony and respect for elders
      REUTERS; PHOTO: REUTERS  -  519 words
    • Article, Illustration
      Lock icon Japan cuts corporate taxes to spur economic growth
      460 15 Abe hopes it will lead to higher wages, increased consumption, and greater corporate investment REUTERS Tokyo JAPAN’S ruling coalition has approved a tax reform plan that will cut corporate taxes from April and pledges further reductions in coming years in a bid
      REUTERS; PHOTO: BLOOMBERG  -  460 words
    • Article
      Lock icon Thailand private consumption flat in November
      403 15 REUTERS Bangkok PRIVATE consumption in Thailand stalled in November, the latest sign that the economy is still sputtering and putting more pressure on the military government to ramp up infrastructure spending to spur growth. The army seized power in May to end months of
      REUTERS  -  403 words
    • Article
      Lock icon Italy’s economic slowdown has ended, says minister
      304 15 REUTERS Milan RECENT data shows that the slowdown in the Italian economy has ended, Italy’s Economy Minister Pier Carlo Padoan said in an interview published on Tuesday. Italy’s economy, the most sluggish in the eurozone for more than a decade, has not posted
      REUTERS  -  304 words
    • Article
      Lock icon Macau increases scrutiny of high rollers’ agents
      343 15 BLOOMBERG Hong Kong MACAU’S gambling regulator tightened scrutiny of agents bringing in high rollers to its casinos, as the Chinese government stepped up control over money flow into the territory. Macau’s Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau recently issued a letter to junket operators
      BLOOMBERG  -  343 words
    • Article, Illustration
      Lock icon South America seeks new sources of growth
      1352 16 Governments in the continent address stagnating economies as commodity boom comes to an end NYT Lima THE president of Venezuela calls for budget cuts as plummeting oil prices slash the country’s export income. Peru relaxes environmental regulations to clear the way for major
      NYT; PHOTO: REUTERS  -  1,352 words
    • Article, Illustration
      Lock icon Glasgow nurse first to be diagnosed with Ebola in the UK
      761 16 BLOOMBERG London THE first person diagnosed with Ebola in the UK, a female healthcare worker who returned from Sierra Leone to Glasgow, will receive specialist treatment at a London hospital prepared to handle infectious-disease outbreaks. The patient was transferred
      BLOOMBERG; PHOTO: AFP  -  761 words
    • Article
      Lock icon China to ease curbs on banks’ yuan trading, simplify regulations
      473 16 New rules replace daily caps on forex positions with weekly limits, clarify standards for total forex positions REUTERS Shanghai CHINA will relax restrictions on banks’ yuan trading starting in 2015, in a small but significant move towards relaxing its capital
      REUTERS  -  473 words
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      117 15 Luxe D I N E THE NEW LUXURY BTLuxe 2014. In print and on your iPad. Download it FREE at the App Store Win a pair of Business Class tickets to Tokyo on ANA! Download the BTLuxe app on iPad and answer the following questions: What is Rene Redzepi doing
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  • TRANSPORT
    • Article
      Lock icon Smooth crossover to Euro VI diesel standard expected in 2018
      423 17  -  By Samuel Ee samuelee@sph.com.sg Singapore A SMOOTH transition to the Euro VI diesel-emission standard is expected in Singapore for most distributors of European and Japanese vehicles, although some Japanese manufacturers may not be able to offer as many models as
      423 words
    • Article, Illustration
      Lock icon Among Cuba’s vintage cars, the truly valuable are elusive
      785 17 REUTERS Havana LUIS Abel Bango spent seven years searching for his dream car, a 1957 Chevy Bel Air. He finally found it on Cuba’s far western tip, buying it off the original owner for US$7,000. “I went everywhere looking for what
      REUTERS; PHOTO: REUTERS  -  785 words
    • Article
      Lock icon Fresh reminder from another disaster at sea
      857 17  -  Passenger ship safety and safe evacuation must be priorities for 2015 as recent incidents point to the need to re-examine how to get lots of people off passenger ships including ro-ros and cruise liners quickly and safely TT STRAIT TALK BY DAVID HUGHES
      857 words
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      Lock icon US high-speed rail plans may ride on Texas express
      733 17 REUTERS Austin, Texas WITH high-speed rail in the United States long on plans and short on construction, a Texas company is aiming to fast-track service between Dallas and Houston. The Texas Central Railway Company plans to use private investment and Central
      REUTERS; PHOTO: REUTERS  -  733 words
    • Article, Illustration
      Lock icon Gun smuggling on Delta flights shows up security
      1159 18 Culprits include an ex-Delta employee and a Delta baggage handler at Atlanta airport NYT New York CRITICS who have long complained that airport security measures are mostly “security theatre” have given a recent aviation gun-smuggling drama poor reviews. On Dec 10, while
      NYT; PHOTO: REUTERS  -  1,159 words
    • Article
      Lock icon US airports modernising dining options with fresh-from-the-farm fare
      994 18 NYT New York OUTSIDE of the hotel minibar, few places for business travellers have had more unhealthy fare than airports, home of the stale, prewrapped sandwich and fast-food burger. But that is starting to change. The farm-to-table movement has come to airports
      NYT  -  994 words
    • Article, Illustration
      Lock icon US carmakers feeling optimistic after industry’s rebound in 2014
      881 18 Sales up 6%, with rosier forecast for 2015 as production hits 8-year high WP Washington WAVE goodbye to a banner year for the US motor vehicle industry. Six years after the federal bailout saved it from driving off a cliff, the
      WP; PHOTO: BLOOMBERG  -  881 words
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  • Article
    Lock icon Shipping times
    1714 19 MONTREAL 10 120 29/7 30/7 4/8 MONTREAL 10 120 29/7 30/7 4/8 EASTERN CAR LINER, LTD SPECIALIZE IN RORO HEAVY LIFT INTRA-ASIA SERVICE VOY Ramp(KT) Lifting(KT) SIN PKL KUC KK JKT SUR SEIYO SPRING 2 70 7/1 8/1 12/1 SEA CORAL 65 60 8/1 9/1 13/1 15/1 MALAYSIA
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      Lock icon Page 19 Advertisements Column 1
      294 19 C a ila n E n n o r e J e d d a h B r is b a Shanghai Chittagong n e Ho Chi Minh H o n g K o n g J e b e NYK RORO (ASIA) PTE. LTD. REGULAR SERVICE TO Persian Gulf,
      294 words
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  • OPINION
    • Article
      Lock icon 2014 ends with uneasy truce in East Asia
      615 20 EDITORIAL AN uneasy truce settled over East Asia as 2014 drew to a close. Not that nations had declared hostilities, but tensions bordering on physical friction had become prevalent in the case of Japan, China and South Korea and these appear to
      615 words
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      Lock icon It’s only getting better
      772 20  -  TT THE BOTTOM LINE By Leon Hadar Washington ONE of the moving episodes in The Imitation Game, the new film about British mathematician Alan Turing, the key figure in cracking Nazi Germany’s Enigma code during World War II, revolves around Mr Turing’s friendship at a boarding
      772 words
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      Lock icon SHIPPING NEEDS A TECH REVOLUTION
      1126 20  -  It’s time to look to a world where voyage information and data from ship structures, components and machinery are centrally collected and used to enhance performance. BY TOM BOARDLEY performance.BY TOM BOARDLEY T The writer, who is marine director at Lloyd’s Register, will be a
      PHOTO: BLOOMBERG  -  1,126 words
    • Article
      Lock icon America is still in the race
      985 21  -  TT COMMENTARY By Shahid Javed Burki T The writer is former vice-president of the World Bank and also former Pakistan finance minister MANY analysts have written about America’s relative decline relative to the large Asian economies, in particular the Chinese economy. No matter which
      985 words
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      Lock icon Why commodity prices are down in US but up in Europe
      831 21  -  By Jeffrey Frankel T The writer is professor of economics at the Harvard Kennedy School. This article was sourced from VoxEU.org, a Web portal which features the views of prominent economists OIL prices plummeted 43 per cent during the
      PHOTO: AFP  -  831 words
    • Article
      Lock icon THE CASE AGAINST PERSISTENT GLOBAL IMBALANCES
      1355 21  -  Any one of 10 confidence-denting events that started in 2014 if left to fester is sufficiently dire to potentially trigger a new financial meltdown. BY BERNARD LEE BY meltdown.BY BERNARD LEE T The writer is founder and chief executive of HedgeSPA, an investment analytics
      1,355 words
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  • LIFE & CULTURE
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      Lock icon Agonising wait for Schumachers and Bianchis
      447 22 AFP Geneva FORMULA One legend Michael Schumacher has entered a second year battling back from a horrific ski accident that has left him a recluse in his Swiss home, his condition a close-ly-guarded secret. And the race-track accident involving 25-year-old Jules Bianchi three months
      AFP  -  447 words
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      Lock icon Contemporary art scene sizzles in Shanghai with Power Station
      1074 22 Two years after its debut, China’s first state-owned contemporary art museum has come into its own NYT Shanghai FEW knew what to expect of the Power Station of Art when it blew onto the contemporary art scene here in 2012. Just
      NYT; PHOTO: NYT  -  1,074 words
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      Lock icon Cuba’s artists await a flood of travellers
      1017 22 NYT Havana KADIR Lopez was working in his studio at his elegant home here when the doorbell rang. It was Will Smith and his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith. “I had no idea they were coming,” said Lopez, whose work incorporates salvaged American signs
      NYT; PHOTO: NYT  -  1,017 words
  • Page 22 Miscellaneous
    • Miscellaneous
      Lock icon Page 22 Miscellaneous Column 1
      317 22 CRYPTIC CROSSWORD Across 1 Run off with single girlfriend? It’s lawful (10) 6 Slip looking both ways (4) 9 Ray’s male adult, thank you very much! (5) 10 A rotter’s case in domestic tale (9) 12 Girl is someone, at heart, flexible (7) 13 Quick beer, right? (5) 15 Cheeky
      317 words
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  • EXECUTIVE MONEY
    • Article, Illustration
      Lock icon World’s wealthiest add US$92b in 2014
      1477 23 Net worth of 400 wealthiest billionaires stands at US$4.1 trillion; biggest gainers are China’s Ma, and America’s Buffett and Zuckerberg BLOOMBERG Moscow THE richest people on earth got richer in 2014, adding US$92 billion to their collective fortune in the face of falling energy
      BLOOMBERG; PHOTOS: AFP, BLOOMBERG  -  1,477 words
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      Lock icon Bric investment theme loses appeal as outlook for the four economies diverges
      1034 23 BLOOMBERG Singapore THE Bric grouping of Brazil, Russia, India and China has never looked so disunited to stock investors. While Chinese and Indian benchmark equity indexes have surged an average 40 per cent this year, Russian and Brazilian
      BLOOMBERG; PHOTO: BLOOMBERG  -  1,034 words
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