- A + A KUALA LUMPUR (May 17): Duopharma Biotech Bhd’s net profit for the first quarter ended March 31, 2022 (1QFY22) grew 15.2% to RM20.29 million from RM17.61 million in the same quarter last year, on the back of higher revenue due to increase in sales. The Sinopharm Covid-19 vaccine distributor saw its revenue for the quarter under review rise 11.71% to RM185.94 million from RM166.45 million previously, bolstered by higher sales to the consumer healthcare and private ethical sectors. Earnings per share improved to 2.19 sen compared with 1.9 sen a year ago, according to Duopharma’s filing with Bursa Malaysia. Compared to the immediate preceding quarter, Duopharma’s net profit grew 29.11% quarter-on-quarter from RM15.72 million, as revenue went up by 27.84% from RM145.44 million in 4QFY21. In a separate statement, Duopharma Biotech group managing director Leonard Ariff Abdul Shatar said earnings in the upcoming quarters will be buoyed by the RM375 million … [Read more...] about Duopharma’s 1Q net profit rises 15% on higher revenue
15 billion pound project
Britain’s Queen Elizabeth attends opening of London train line
LONDON (Reuters) -Britain's Queen Elizabeth, whose public engagements have been limited in recent months due to mobility issues, made a surprise appearance on Tuesday at a ceremony to mark the completion of a long-awaited London train line named in her honour. Elizabeth, wearing a bright yellow hat and coat and using a walking stick, was joined by her youngest son Edward and Prime Minister Boris Johnson as she unveiled a plaque at Paddington Station. It is the latest public outing for the 96-year-old monarch who, despite missing the opening of parliament for the first time in almost six decades last week due to what Buckingham Palace calls "episodic mobility issues", twice attended a horse show at her Windsor Castle residence in recent days. "In a happy development Her Majesty The Queen is attending today's event to mark the completion of the Elizabeth line," a Buckingham Palace spokesperson said. The $24 billion rail project was originally due to be opened in December 2018, … [Read more...] about Britain’s Queen Elizabeth attends opening of London train line
Crypto’s Great Reset: How Digital Asset Investors Will Recover From The Market’s $1 Trillion Meltdown
The bottom fell out from one of crypto’s fastest growing blockchains, LUNA, which promised to succeed where bitcoin failed. Its predictable collapse reverberated across the entire crypto market and is forcing investors to pick up the pieces. C rypto’s history has been defined by five resets. The first came in 2014 when what was basically the only bitcoin exchange in the world, Mt. Gox, imploded following a nearly half-billion-dollar hack. The second, in 2016, was The DAO hack, when an attacker tricked a smart contract into giving away $60 million worth of ethereum, worth $8 billion today. The third, in January 2018, occurred when the ICO bubble popped, starting a year-long decline wiping out 60% of the crypto market or more than $700 million mostly in the form of worthless junk tokens. The fourth took place in March 2020 when crypto lost 40% of its value along with most other global financial markets. Each reset not only led to price-market capitalization increases, they … [Read more...] about Crypto’s Great Reset: How Digital Asset Investors Will Recover From The Market’s $1 Trillion Meltdown
Q1 foreign investment pledges fall to lowest since 2009
MANILA, Philippines—Ahead of the May 9 presidential elections, pledges from foreign investors who wanted to avail themselves of tax and other perks for their forthcoming projects fell 54.1 percent year-on-year to P8.9 billion during the first quarter–also the lowest quarterly haul since the global financial crisis 13 years ago. The latest Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) data on Tuesday (May 17) showed that commitments approved by the country’s seven investment promotion agencies (IPAs) from January to March dropped from P19.6 billion in the first three months of last year. IPAs give away fiscal incentives to qualified projects. Historical PSA data showed that the first-quarter 2022 foreign investment pledges were the lowest since the P3.9-billion worth generated during the first quarter of 2009, at the height of the 2008-2009 global economic downturn. The Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises (CREATE) Act signed by President Rodrigo Duterte last year … [Read more...] about Q1 foreign investment pledges fall to lowest since 2009
Biden’s New Plan To Expand Broadband Access
The Biden administration, which wants everyone in the U.S. to have affordable access to high-speed internet by 2029, announced May 13, 2022, a $45 billion 'Internet for All (IFA)' initiative to pay for it. According to the U.S. Commerce Department, the initiative will provide "affordable, reliable, high-speed internet for everyone in America by the end of the decade." Administration and implementation of the program will be the responsibility of the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). The announcement about the IFA initiative came on the heels of news May 9, 2022, that the Biden administration had partnered with 20 broadband providers, including AT&T and Verizon, to improve their subsidized high-speed internet plans made available to low-income Americans through the Affordable Connectivity Program. Key Takeaways 'Internet for All (IFA)' is a $45 billion initiative to provide affordable high-speed broadband … [Read more...] about Biden’s New Plan To Expand Broadband Access
PetChem, Dialog, Duopharma, Yong Tai, Caely, DNeX, Reservoir Link, Borneo Oil, Chin Hin and SCIB
- A + A KUALA LUMPUR (May 17): Here is a brief look at some corporate announcements and news flow on Tuesday (May 17) involving Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd (PetChem), Dialog Group Bhd, Duopharma Biotech Bhd, Yong Tai Bhd, Caely Holdings Bhd, Dagang NeXchange Bhd (DNex), Reservoir Link Energy Bhd, Borneo Oil Bhd, Chin Hin Group Bhd and Sarawak Consolidated Industries Bhd (SCIB). Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd ( PetChem ) is acquiring the entire equity interest in leading specialty chemicals group Perstorp Holdings AB from Financière Forêt SARL for a base purchase of €1.538 billion (RM7.018 billion) cash. The acquisition marks the creation of a significant specialty chemicals portfolio, while enhancing its overall earnings, said PetChem, which together with its unit Petronas Chemicals International BV (PCIBV) has entered into a conditional securities purchase agreement with the seller for the proposed acquisition. Under the deal, PCIBV is required to pay a maximum … [Read more...] about PetChem, Dialog, Duopharma, Yong Tai, Caely, DNeX, Reservoir Link, Borneo Oil, Chin Hin and SCIB
Occidental Petroleum Stock Plunges, but S&P 500 Rallies Into Close
Major Moves The majority of the stocks in the S&P 500 lost ground today as traders attempted to quantify and make adjustments for the uncertain risk they face with the Trump administration's tariff deadline looming at 12:01 a.m. Friday morning. The risk is uncertain because nobody knows if the Trump administration is going to go through with tariff increase. The U.S. Trade Representative's (USTR) office filed paperwork on Wednesday to raise tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese goods from 10% to 25%, but that doesn't mean the administration has to pull the trigger. However, the S&P 500 component that lost the most ground today didn't drop because of uncertain tariff risks. It fell because it faces easily quantifiable risks – 38 billion of them to be precise. Until today, Occidental Petroleum Corporation ( OXY ) had been in a bidding war with Chevron Corporation ( CVX ) for Anadarko Petroleum Corporation ( APC ). Chevron originally bid $33 billion for Anadarko, … [Read more...] about Occidental Petroleum Stock Plunges, but S&P 500 Rallies Into Close
Dialog posts lower profit for 3QFY22 despite revenue growth, declares 1.3 sen dividend
- A + A KUALA LUMPUR (May 17): Dialog Group Bhd posted a net profit of RM133.06 million for the third financial quarter ended March 31, 2022 (3QFY22), down 2.3% from RM136.17 million a year earlier, mainly caused by higher project cost. Earnings per share declined to 2.36 sen from 2.41 sen previously. Quarterly revenue, however, jumped 46.5% to RM593.43 million compared with RM405.18 million a year ago, contributed by increased business activities in both home and international operations, the oil and gas company's filing with the bourse on Tuesday (May 17) showed. The company also declared an interim cash dividend payment of 1.3 sen per share, to be paid on June 28, 2022. For the cumulative nine months ended March 31, 2022, Dialog's net profit slipped 3.7% year-on-year to RM389.76 million from RM404.6 million. Cumulative revenue, meanwhile, grew 51% to RM1.64 billion from RM1.09 billion. Dialog said the higher revenue reported by the Malaysian operations for … [Read more...] about Dialog posts lower profit for 3QFY22 despite revenue growth, declares 1.3 sen dividend
Bitcoin Trailblazer Raises Capital To Create Interplanetary Cryptocurrency
LedgerX co-founder Paul Chou is building on the sale of the company he created by raising capital for a new kind of cryptocurrency that can be spent on Earth, the Moon, Mars and beyond. I t’s just before midnight on a rainy autumn Friday. Paul Chou and his entourage dodge puddles on the runway of the Teterboro Airport in New Jersey as they board a Gulfstream private jet bound for Las Vegas. The flight attendant cracks open a bottle of champagne and with a nod welcomes the passengers aboard. The girls disappear into the back and emerge minutes later wearing sequined cocktail dresses and feather boas. Sensing she’s in for a party, the attendant offers a round of tequila shots just as the inertia from the plane taking off to the Bellagio Hotel & Casino forces her laughing into her seat. Ostensibly, Chou, 38, is celebrating not only his birthday but the sale for an undisclosed amount of LedgerX, the ground-breaking bitcoin derivatives firm he co-founded with his wife in … [Read more...] about Bitcoin Trailblazer Raises Capital To Create Interplanetary Cryptocurrency
So you want to move to Vietnam?
“Whilst Thailand is often nicknamed the ‘land of a thousand 7-elevens’, with a convenience store on just about every corner, there are very few of these in Vietnam, for now.” With the Thai Baht on a high at the moment, along with stricter enforcement of visa rules, some expats say they’ve had enough and are heading to Vietnam, or some other south east Asian country, where they might improve their personal situation. For example, an expat pensioner, on a fixed income, from a country where the Thai baht has risen against your currency, Thailand has become a more expensive option – perhaps impossible to make ends meet anymore with your old pension. The British pound, as just one currency, has gone from around 55 baht to the pound four years ago, to now around 39 baht, a big loss in value. Meanwhile the cost of living in Thailand has risen over the last decade. But Vietnam has its own challenges and, whilst being an amazing place to explore as a tourist, may not be to everyone’s … [Read more...] about So you want to move to Vietnam?