Author: Business News Asia

MANILA, PHILIPPINES – In the middle of a hot Tuesday afternoon, a sudden downpour caused by a thunderstorm surprised residents in Metro Manila while other areas experienced hailstorms. The downpour that lasted for less than two hours immediately triggered flooding in some parts of the metropolis. The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) earlier issued a thunderstorm advisory in Metro Manila and warned that heavy rains, strong winds and possible flash floods may occur. The heavy rains followed days of sizzling temperatures and Pagasa said warmer days were expected with the end of the northeast monsoon and the…

CHICAGO, USA – Mark Hoplamazian, President and Chief Executive Officer of Hyatt Hotels Corporation announced the appointment of Atish Shah as Senior Vice President, Interim Chief Financial Officer, pending the company’s selection of a permanent Chief Financial Officer. Shah currently serves as Senior Vice President – Strategy, Financial Planning & Analysis and Investor Relations. Prior to joining Hyatt in 2009, Mr. Shah served as a portfolio manager of a hospitality real estate private equity fund at Lowe Enterprises. Prior to that, he worked for Hilton Hotels Corporation in a variety of finance roles, including feasibility, planning, investment analysis, and investor…

PENNSYLVANIA, USA – Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, an international pharmaceutical company headquartered in Petah Tikvah, Israel, has reportedly offered to buy Mylan NV, a Pennsylvania-headquartered global generic and specialty pharmaceuticals company, for about USD40.1bn, Teva said in a statement Teva made the unsolicited offer to acquire all of the outstanding shares of Mylan in a transaction valued at USD81 per Myslan share, with the consideration to be comprised of approximately 50 percent cash and 50 percent stock. Teva’s proposal also provides Mylan stockholders with a more attractive alternative to Mylan’s proposed acquisition of Perrigo Company plc, as announced on April 8,…

VATICAN CITY – The Vatican announced on Tuesday that Pope Francis has already accepted the resignation of Bishop Robert Finn, who was convicted of failure to report suspected child abuse in 2012. Finn, who was church leader of the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph, Missouri in the United States, when he was convicted, becoming the first sitting bishop to be convicted in the child sex abuse scandal in the Catholic Church. In 2012, Finn was convicted for failing to report suspected child abuse in connection with the Fr. Shawn Ratigan child pornography case. The diocese waited five months to inform…

CATANIA, SICILY – Prosecutors in Sicily announced that the Tunisian captain of the capsized vessel that killed as many as 900 people was charged with reckless multiple homicide in relation to the sinking. The captain and a Syrian crew member were arrested aboard the Italian coastguard ship, Gregoretti, as they arrived in port with the survivors of vessel that sank off the Greek Island of Rhodes. Public prosecutor Giovanni Salvi, who was also on the harbor front, told reporters that the two men arrested had been identified thanks to the testimony of other survivors. Salvi said several of the survivors…

TOKYO, JAPAN – Chinese search engine Baidu has announced that it has officially shut down its search engine operation in Japan as part of its efforts to focus on its mobile business in the country. “Baidu stopped updating its search index for Japan in 2013, and it finally exited the Japanese search market in mid-March of this year to focus on other parts of the business, like the mobile input method editor, Simeji”, a company representative told China Daily. Baidu, however, clarified that it will continue to operate its Japan office in Tokyo and will continue to develop other areas,…

MANILA, PHILIPPINES – Secretary General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Iyad Ameen Madani of Saudi Arabia expressed hope that the peace process in Mindanao will continue. Madani had a meeting with Philippine Peace Process Secretary Teresita Quintos-Deles, as well as with officials of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), during which he expressed hope that the peace process would continue. “We are optimistic, we are supportive,” Madani said after presiding over the Bangsamoro Coordination Forum (BCF) in Davao City. The OIC chief arrived in the country on April 16 for a…

MANILA, PHILIPPINES – The Philippine Stock Exchange, Inc. (PSE) will hold its annual stockholders’ meeting (ASM) on May 2, 2015, 8:00 a.m., at Pavilions A and B of Wack Wack Golf and Country Club in Mandaluyong City. Items in the ASM agenda include the proposed increase in PSE’s stake in the Philippine Dealing Systems Holdings Corp., the proposed Employee Stock Purchase Plan and the election of Directors. The PSE’s Nominations and Elections Committee released the official list of candidates on March 26. Stockholders who cannot attend the meeting or vote in person may submit a signed proxy form and/or Secretary’s…

MANILA, PHILIPPINES – The latest survey conducted by Social Weather Stations showed that the net satisfaction rating of the administration of Philippine President Benigno Aquino III dropped to its lowest level in March. The survey, which was published by BusinessWorld, said 48 percent of the 1,200 respondents were satisfied with the government’s performance, down from 58% in December. About 29 percent said they were dissatisfied and 23 percent undecided with the national government’s general performance, resulting in a ”moderate” +19 net score. “The 2015 first quarter satisfaction rating of the national government marks a 15-percentage-point drop from the ”good” +34…

MANILA, PHILIPPINES – The number of fatalities in the ambush in Lumbacaya Unayan town in Lanao del Sur rose to eight after a 10-year-old girl died in the hospital, authorities said today. Norjana Amenor succumbed to gunshot wounds in the head and body while undergoing surgery at the Northern Mindanao Medical Center. Amenor was one of those onboard the truck that was riddled with bullets by armed men in Lumbaca Unayan, the police said. A manhunt was launched by authorities against the armed group headed by one Aragasi Bationg Ali. Authorities believed rido, or family feud, was the main motive…

Demand for family offices in the Asia-Pacific region is expected to rise as the number of multi-millionaires and billionaires in the region continues to grow at a rapid pace, a Wealth-X report said. Family offices refer to small financial firms that provide advisory or asset management to ultra-high net worth individuals and their families. Wealth-X report said Asia accounted for 30 percent of the net increase of global billionaires wealth last year, registering 52 new billionaires in 2014, with 33 coming from China. The rise in the number of billionaires in Asia is expected to also push the demand for…

BEIJING, CHINA – The Chinese government has warned Chinese nationals situated in South Africa’s anti-foreigner attack zones to be on alert for their safety. All Chinese people and companies are urged to be vigilant in the event of riots or protests, to protect their safety and property, and to contact the police or the local Chinese Consulate General in the event of emergency. The warning was issued after China made formal representations to the government of South Africa following a series of attacks against Chinese interests in the country. As anti-foreigner violence erupted in the eastern port city of Durban,…

TOKYO, JAPAN – For a still undisclosed reason, Samsung has taken off its corporate logo from its new smartphones – the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge – in Japan, a spokeswoman confirmed. The company spokeswoman confirmed the report but did not give any reason for the removal of the logo in Japan. While leading the smartphone race globally, Samsung ranks lower in Japan, a market dominated by Apple, Sony, Sharp and Fujitsu. In the Philippines, the waiting game was finally over as Samsung kicks off the much-anticipated arrival of the newest Galaxy smartphones through a spectacular two-day consumer launch…

MANILA, PHILIPPINES – The Monetary Board of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), the central bank of the Philippines, approved the amendment of the Unit Investment Trust Fund (UITF) regulations to allow for a unit-paying feature that will provide non-guaranteed stream of income to participants. The amendment is in line with the thrust of the BSP to institute reforms that will take advantage of investment opportunities while ensuring market order, both of which are expected to accrue to the investing public. The unit paying UITFs will invest in various income-generating securities and upon determination of the trust entity shall give…

MANILA, PHILIPPINES – Philippine President Benigno S. Aquino III led the turnover of Php3 billion (USD68 million) for the Department of Education’s program that aims to build more classrooms in public schools across the country. The funds were from the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (Pagcor) for the Department of Education’s “Matuwid na Daan sa Silid Aralan”. Coinciding with the turnover of funds was the handover of two new school buildings to the Tarlac National High School here. The school buildings were built by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), with funding from PAGCOR. In his speech during…

MANILA, PHILIPPINES – Philippine President Benigno Aquino III said Deputy Director General Leonardo Espina will remain Officer in Charge of the Philippine National Police until the president finds a new police chief. Aquino earlier confirmed that Espina has resigned but his acceptance of the resignation remains pending until he finds a new chief. In an interview here, the President noted that Espina will turn 56 years old in July. “(If) he assumes (office) today, he has about three months to serve. ‘Pag nag-three months to serve siya, may turnover na naman to the next guy who replaces him, and that’s…

ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN – China, the world’s second-largest economy, is set to sign deals worth USD50 billion with Pakistan under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), the ministry of planning and development said. The CPEC was originally estimated at about USD45 billion but the amount was revised to USD50 billion because of the addition of some projects and cost escalations, said Planning and Development Minister Ahsan Iqbal. A major chunk of the CPEC will be China’s investment in independent power projects, which will take up about USD35 billion to USD37 billion of the total amount. The remaining USD8 billion to USD9 billion…

TOKYO, JAPAN – Japan’s population shrunk by 0.17 percent, or by 215,000, to 127,083,000 as of 1 October 2014, government data released on Friday showed. The latest figure means the country’s population fell to its lowest in 15 years last year and one in four people in Japan are now aged 65 or older. The population drop, according to the government data, was attributed to a combination of low birthrate and long life expectancy. There are over 33 million people aged 65 or over in Japan, including long-staying foreigners. In releasing the population data, the government warned that the country’s…

HONG KONG – International financial services group Credit Suisse announced the appointment of George Chow and Zeth Hung as co-heads of investment banking (IB) in Greater China. Chow was previously head of fixed incomes sales for Greater China while Hung was vice chairman of IB and global markets solutions group for Greater China. The two Credit Suisse veterans are expected to start in their newly created roles in June. They will report to Vikram Malhotra, who is head of IB, Asia Pacific. Chow has an additional reporting line to Brian Yoon, head of fixed income Asia Pacific, on any fixed…

MANILA, PHILIPPINES – Comedian Richie D’ Horsie, who rose to fame as sidekick of comedy trio Tito, Vic and Joey, died Friday of complications from diabetes, kidney failure and brain attack. Richie D’ Horsie, Ricardo Reyes in real life, has been in and out of the hospital since last year. He was 58. According to his niece, April Alcober, the comedian died in his residence at 9:24 p.m. Friday due to complications of diabetes, kidney failure and brain stroke. D’ Horsie’s death was also confirmed by Bibeth Orteza, who posted the news on her Facebook page. “Rest in Peace, Ricardo…