Savings bank life insurance company

- A + A (May 18): A former senior official from the Chinese Central Bank is under investigation for “suspected serious violation of laws and discipline,” the Communist Party’s anti-graft watchdog said. Sun Guofeng, who was removed from his post as head of the monetary policy department in May, is under disciplinary investigation, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection said in a statement Wednesday. At least 40 financial sector officials have been probed or penalized since the latest corruption crackdown on the sector was launched in October. The top disciplinary watchdog sharply criticized the People’s Bank of China among more than two dozen financial regulators, state banks, insurers and bad debt managers in February, saying the agencies had gaps in their work to implement the Party’s major strategy. Born in 1972, Sun joined the PBOC in 1996 and has spent most of his career in the monetary policy department. He’s been at the forefront of the PBOC’s … [Read more...] about China says senior Central Bank official under investigation

- A + A HONG KONG (May 18): Smarting from HSBC Holdings Plc’s move to scrap its dividend during the height of the pandemic, the bank’s largely silent mass of retail shareholders in Hong Kong is warming up to the idea of a breakup. Splitting up Europe’s biggest bank to separate out its Asian operations is being pushed by its largest investor, Ping An Insurance Group Co, based just across the border in Shenzhen. The call is winning support in Hong Kong’s retail base, which owns about a third of the bank, with some seeing it as a surefire way of preventing the steady stream of payouts from being cut off again. Their loyalty has been tested as numerous pivots in strategy fail to impress the market, leaving dividends at half of what they were in 2018 and the stock down more than 40%. The former British colony is the beating heart of the bank’s global operations, accounting for about 30% of the group’s 2021 adjusted profits. Yet decisions such as the halting of dividends … [Read more...] about HSBC’s mass of Hong Kong retail investors warms to breakup

- A + A (May 18): Asian sponsors of blank-check firms are facing a tough market for initial public offerings wherever they turn, as a combination of increasing regulatory scrutiny and fading investor demand shutters the window for new listings from the US to Asia. In the past three months, at least six Asia-related special purpose acquisition companies seeking a combined $1.3 billion from US IPOs have been scrapped, according to data provider SPAC Research. Of 12 blank-check firms that have filed to go public in Hong Kong, only one has actually started trading. It’s a similar pattern in Singapore, where SPACs have stalled after three inaugural IPOs in January. “The global IPO market has obviously been very quiet so far this year,” Paul Uren, JPMorgan Chase and Co.’s Asia Pacific head of investment banking, said in an interview with Bloomberg TV. “What we need to see for that to change is lower volatility and investors with more of a risk-on mentality.” Asia was … [Read more...] about Asia’s SPAC Hopefuls Have Nowhere to Turn As IPO Market Shuts

Reuters filepix for illustration purpose only - A + A NEW YORK (May 18): The US is forcing Wall Street banks to embark on a systematic search through more than 100 personal mobile phones carried by top traders and dealmakers in the largest-ever probe into clandestine messaging on platforms such as WhatsApp. The Securities and Exchange Commission has been sending firms lists of key positions — in some cases pointing to around 30 people including heads of certain investment banking teams or trading desks — that are subject to the review, according to people with direct knowledge of the requests. Personnel in those roles are being ordered to hand over phones so devices can be examined by lawyers. The aim is to gauge how pervasively Wall Street professionals use unauthorized messaging platforms to chat with each other or clients as regulators decide which firms to punish, and how hard, for failing to preserve business-related messages sent via unapproved platforms. … [Read more...] about US pries into over 100 trader and banker phones in texting probe

- A + A (May 18): Asian sponsors of blank-check firms are facing a tough market for initial public offerings wherever they turn, as a combination of increasing regulatory scrutiny and fading investor demand shutters the window for new listings from the US to Asia. In the past three months, at least six Asia-related special purpose acquisition companies seeking a combined US$1.3 billion from US IPOs have been scrapped, according to data provider SPAC Research. Of 12 blank-check firms that have filed to go public in Hong Kong, only one has actually started trading. It’s a similar pattern in Singapore, where SPACs have stalled after three inaugural IPOs in January. “The global IPO market has obviously been very quiet so far this year,” Paul Uren, JPMorgan Chase and Co’s Asia Pacific head of investment banking, said in an interview with Bloomberg TV. “What we need to see for that to change is lower volatility and investors with more of a risk-on mentality.” Asia was … [Read more...] about Asia’s SPAC hopefuls have nowhere to turn as IPO market shuts

- A + A KUALA LUMPUR (May 18): MPHB Capital Bhd’s wholly-owned subsidiary Multi-Purpose Capital Holdings Bhd (MPCHB) has agreed to sell its 51% equity interest in MPI Generali Insurans Bhd for RM485 milllion to Generali Asia. “MPHB and its subsidiaries are currently involved in the underwriting of general insurance business, provision of general loan financing services and property investment and management. “The proposed disposal entails the disposal of MPHB Group’s entire general insurance business via the disposal of MPCHB’s remaining 51% equity interest in MPI Generali,” it said in a stock exchange filing. Generali Asia and MPCHB have agreed that the purchase price will be adjusted if completion of the deal occurred during the extended completion period (being the period commencing on Jan 1, 2022 and expiring on June 30, 2022, and subject to a further extension of up to Aug 31, 2022). MPHB Capital said it believes that the proposed disposal provides an … [Read more...] about MPHB Capital unit to sell remaining 51% stake in MPI Generali for RM485 mil

Serba Dinamik seeks restraining order against units, proposes '100% return' scheme of arrangement to creditors - A + A KUALA LUMPUR (May 18): Four subsidiaries of Serba Dinamik Holdings Bhd are seeking a restraining order and a leave to convene a creditors' meeting -- a move seen as to revive the troubled oil and gas group which is facing a winding up petition from its creditors. In a bourse filing on Wednesday (May 18), Serba Dinamik said its subsidiaries, namely Serba Dinamik Group Bhd (SDGB), Serba Dinamik Sdn Bhd (SDSB), Serba Dinamik Development Sdn Bhd and SD Controls Sdn Bhd, have filed an application for the two purposes on May 13. SDGB and SDSB are also among Serba Dinamik’s three subsidiaries, which together with the listed entity were slapped with winding-up petitions from six financial institutions for failing to service its RM1.2 billion syndicated term financing. The lenders are HSBC Amanah Malaysia Bhd, Ambank Islamic Bhd, Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd, … [Read more...] about Serba Dinamik units seek restraining order, proposes ‘100% return’ scheme of arrangement

- A + A (May 18): The Russian unit of Alphabet Inc’s Google intends to file for bankruptcy after mounting fines led to its local bank account being frozen, in the latest sign of the Kremlin’s crackdown on foreign internet companies. Google’s local unit said it intends to apply to an arbitration court to declare it bankrupt in a notice posted Wednesday on the website of a Russian federal registry. The company has been “anticipating its own bankruptcy and impossibility to service monetary obligations” since March 22, the notice said. Google will continue to offer services for free inside Russia, including Google Search, YouTube, Gmail and Google Play, Interfax news service reported, citing a company representative. Its Russian office is unable to operate currently because of the frozen bank account, the representative said. Russia has been cracking down on foreign social media and internet companies in what the government calls a campaign to uphold its digital … [Read more...] about Google declares bankruptcy of Russian unit after mounting fines

For one small Ukrainian company, conflict has become a key mile marker. Fashion editors Kate Zubarieva, 33, and Asya Varetsa, 31, conceived of the idea for their fashion label, Sleeper , during the 2014 Revolution of Dignity--a five-day clash between protesters and the Ukrainian government in Ukraine's capital, Kyiv, which eventually led to the ousting of the country's president, Viktor Yanukovych. Then, in February 2022, after Russia invaded the country , the Ukrainian company rapidly laid down manufacturing roots in another country. As Russia began planning a military offensive against Ukraine in December 2021, the Sleeper team began to prepare for the worst, and the founders knew they had to make a series of tough decisions. In about two to three weeks, the apparel company helped relocate 30 employees abroad and 40 to more western regions of Ukraine. It also transitioned its production to Turkey. "We knew we had a good amount of savings to sustain the … [Read more...] about No One at the Ukrainian Fashion Brand Thought Russia Would Really Invade, But They’re Glad They Planned for It Anyway

Black box data on crashed China Eastern 737 suggests possible “intentional nosedive” Investigators are now examining further if the crash of China Eastern Airlines 737-800 on March 21 was indeed due to “intentional action on the flight deck”. The early reports say that there is, so far, no evidence of a technical malfunction. The Wall Street Journal reported this week that flight data from one of the two “black boxes” on the Boeing jet indicated that “someone in the cockpit intentionally crashed the plane”. The comments were made by people the WSJ cited as “familiar with the preliminary assessment by US officials”. US National Transportation Safety Board officials have been working with engineers from Boeing and investigators from the Civil Aviation Administration of China since the crash. Boeing, the US manufacturer of the jet, has so far declined to comment on the early leaks and, instead, referred all questions to the Chinese regulators. At this stage, the CAAC, … [Read more...] about Thailand News Today | Crashed China eastern flight possible “intentional nosedive”