- 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 railway 2017
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
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?
WILBON And WILLIAMS: Democrats Have Taken Black Women’s Vote For Granted. Will It Come Back To Bite Them?
In 2020, Joe Biden’s presidential bid was resurrected from life support by black women in South Carolina. The numbers bear us out; if the next Republican presidential candidate could garner 15% of the black female vote, it is game over for Democrats. The Black Women’s Roundtable (BWR) and Essence magazine recently released a poll to gauge the pulse of black women in America. Brilliant Corners Strategies , a Left-leaning market research company, conducted the survey. However, even a poll commissioned and conducted by the Left for the Left could not hide the great displeasure that black women have with the Democratic party. Only 9% of black women believe they are getting ahead. 61% of black women Gen Xers and 68% of the black women from the Silent Generation say the economy is getting worse. Only 65% of the black women would vote for the Democrats in the midterms. At least 92% of black women voted for the Democratic candidate in 2018. Democrats know they cannot win the … [Read more...] about WILBON And WILLIAMS: Democrats Have Taken Black Women’s Vote For Granted. Will It Come Back To Bite Them?
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
Twitch vs. Mixer: The new streaming war
New York (CNN Business) Mac vs. PC. Android vs. iPhone. Twitch vs. Mixer? Tech rivalries are decades old, but the newest battle in the industry is over how people watch and broadcast video games. Twitch has substantially grown its video game streaming business since its launch in 2011, and Amazon ( AMZN ) purchased the service for $1 billion in 2014. But rival Microsoft ( MSFT ) is ramping up its video game streaming efforts and may give Twitch a run for its money soon. In late July, Twitch received some bad news: It lost Fortnite star Ninja to Microsoft's Mixer. After making millions of dollars from advertising and donations on Twitch, propelling himself and the platform into stardom, Ninja said he would stream exclusively on Mixer. He said he was returning to his "streaming roots," a vague statement many took to mean getting back to a smaller platform where he is the star. Some people speculated he had been paid handsomely to … [Read more...] about Twitch vs. Mixer: The new streaming war
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
Walk Or Cycle Instead Of Driving, Urges Ford Boss
Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Spearheading a “park the car” campaign Ford Europe president Stuart Rowley says the world would be a better place if more people gave up driving to walk or cycle instead. The concept was “probably the last thing many people would expect from an auto maker,” admitted Rowley. “However, driving responsibly is no longer just about safety,” he said. “It’s also about caring for our environment and our health—and walking or cycling can bring about significant change.” Rowley pointed out that half of European car journeys are less than three miles which are the “kind of trips that could easily be made by bike or on foot.” Traveling by car was“an “absolute necessity” for some people, Rowley argued, “but for many of us—myself included—it is a habit we must change.” He pledged to walk and cycle more in his daily life, and said he would be campaigning for others to do likewise. Ford, he revealed, would be … [Read more...] about Walk Or Cycle Instead Of Driving, Urges Ford Boss
Malaysia Aviation Group on track to break even in 2023 but faces fuel, forex headwinds
This article first appeared in The Edge Malaysia Weekly, on May 9, 2022 - May 15, 2022. Izham: We remain bullish on MAG’s future [and] cautiously optimistic about the environment. (Photo by Suhaimi Yusuf/The Edge) - A + A MALAYSIA Aviation Group Bhd (MAG), which narrowed its full-year net loss for 2021 by 60% over the preceding year, remains on track to achieve break-even in 2023 as part of its Long Term Business Plan 2021-2025 (LTBP 2.0). However, group CEO Captain Izham Ismail warns of headwinds from fuel and foreign exchange (forex) volatility, which could affect the target. MAG, whose wholly-owned subsidiaries include Malaysia Airlines Bhd (MAB), MAB Kargo Sdn Bhd (MABkargo), FlyFirefly Sdn Bhd and MASwings Sdn Bhd, posted a net loss of RM1.65 billion for the financial year ended Dec 31, 2021 (FY2021), a significant improvement on the year-earlier RM4.1 billion net loss when it was dealing with the effects of a slowdown in the global economy and … [Read more...] about Malaysia Aviation Group on track to break even in 2023 but faces fuel, forex headwinds
Lightspeed and Moore Strategic Ventures become investors in Razorpay by buying employee shares worth $75 mn
Razorpay Founders Shashank Kumar & Harshil Mathur B2B payments and neobanking platform Razorpay is looking to get new investors on board through a share sale of $75 million by its employees, the company said on May 10. The purchase will be led by Lightspeed Venture Partners along with participation from Moore Strategic Ventures who will subsequently join the company’s cap table. This will also be Razorpay’s fourth and largest Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) buyback till date, and the second largest in the startup space after Flipkart’s Rs 600 crore buyback in July 2021. 650 of the startup’s existing and former employees will be eligible for this across roles including software engineers, product managers, customer experience agents, sales, and administrative staff. In December 2021, Razorpay’s valuation had jumped from $1 billion to $7.5 billion after the startup raised $375 million in its largest round. In an interview with Moneycontrol, Razorpay’s founder and … [Read more...] about Lightspeed and Moore Strategic Ventures become investors in Razorpay by buying employee shares worth $75 mn