Asia Pacific
Headlines
SANNE appoints new business development director in Tokyo
Makoto Nagao, has been appointed to the newly created role of Director, Business Development adding further strength to SANNE’s Asia-Pacific business. With more than 35 years of experience, Nagao-san brings a wealth of knowledge, following a lengthy career with Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, SMFG. While he was at SMFG, Nagao-san was General Manager...
Crayfish.io launches UK’s first funded initiative to get businesses China-ready
A ground-breaking initiative with a £500k investment fund dedicated to helping UK businesses get ‘China-ready’ has been launched in Cambridge by global online platform, Crayfish.io. Starting in September, the Crayfish China Accelerator programme - which has secured UK-China Enterprise Ltd (UKCE), a Chinese-capital-backed VC fund, as its...
SANNE opens new office in Mumbai, India
SANNE, a leading global provider of alternative asset and corporate services has further extended its global reach with the opening of a new office in Mumbai, India. With existing offices in 18 leading international finance centres, SANNE now has a local presence in one of the world’s fastest growing alternative markets and is also pleased to announce...
SANNE secures new bookkeeping licence in China
SANNE, a leading global provider of alternative asset and corporate administration services obtains new bookkeeping licence in China boosting its already strong proposition. The new licence expands SANNE’s existing product offering in China, adding bookkeeping, accounting and tax preparation services for Chinese registered entities. Jing Jing...
SANNE appoints Country Head to lead its Singapore business
Adding further expertise and knowledge to its APAC business As a leading global provider of alternative asset and corporate business services, SANNE is pleased to announce the appointment of David Fowler to the role of Country Head − Singapore with immediate effect. Based in SANNE’s Singapore office, David will be taking over the role from Valérie...
Finance
Urban Laotians pay handsomely for ant-egg soup
“YOU WOULDN’T serve this to the king,” says Dalaphone Pholsena, a restaurateur in Vientiane. Before her are two small bowls of ant-egg soup, a favourite dish of the late summer in Laos. In it are chunks of white fish, meaty mushrooms and dozens of splayed and lifeless ants. Bobbing at the surface is the pièce de résistance: clusters of ivory-white...
Sri Lanka is becoming a one-family state
USUALLY, WHEN people speak of an electoral landslide, they exaggerate. But the word aptly describes what happened in Sri Lanka on August 5th. The island nation’s voters all but buried the grand old party that had led an outgoing coalition, the United National Party, reducing its 106 members in the 225-seat parliament to a humiliating total of exactly...
NIMBYs and pacifists thwart Japan’s military plans
DURING A VISIT to Tokyo in 2017, Donald Trump called on Japan to buy “massive” amounts of American weaponry. At the time, North Korea was testing new rockets regularly. For the Japanese government, buying Aegis Ashore, a pricey American missile shield, allayed both concerns. Not all Japanese, however, were happy with the purchase, especially in...
Indonesia risks repeating an environmental disaster
AS THE PRESIDENT’S helicopter flew above the swamp forests of Central Kalimantan, a province in the Indonesian part of Borneo, older residents may have felt a sense of déjà vu. Joko Widodo, popularly known as Jokowi, had arrived on July 9th to inspect the site of a new agricultural zone of 1,650 square kilometres—more than twice the size of New...
Cambodians are bingeing on microfinance loans
BANGLADESH MAY be the homeland of microcredit, but no country is keener on it than Cambodia. According to its central bank, there were some 160,000 branches of microfinance institutions around the country in 2016—one for almost every square kilometre of Cambodian territory. Almost 2.2m of Cambodia’s 10m-odd adults have a microcredit loan outstanding,...
Legal
After Fintech, Singapore eyes Legaltech status
Singapore, a haven for disruptive fintech firms, is aiming to shake up Asia's legal sector next The Lion City will host Southeast Asia's first legaltech accelerator from April. The city-state's initiative aims to groom legaltech startups as well as incubate new business models or services conceived by law firms. Singapore's law academy has launched...
China updates New Industry Catalogue
PRC reduces regulatory procedures for foreign investments following its 2016 reforms. China creates a nationally applicable “negative list” for foreign investment, which opens up more industries for multi-national companies.Foreign Investments Filing Administrative Rules will be updated and published soon by the Ministry of Commerce to clarify...
Proposals to make free movement of data a principle of EU law expected this autumn
Ansip said proposed new EU legislation to tackle unnecessary restrictions on where data can be stored are likely to be published this autumn.The proposals will also look to make it easier for businesses to move their data between rival cloud providers and ensure that public sector bodies can access data held by authorities in another EU country to help...
New advertising standards in the UK to take tougher stance on gender stereotypes
The new standards will be drawn up by the Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP), according to a new report on gender stereotypes in advertising (64-page / 5.4MB PDF) published by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), the watchdog that oversees compliance with UK advertising rules.The CAP will also look to "clarify standards that reflect the ASA‘s...
UK government urged to avoid data transfers 'cliff edge' at point of Brexit
In a new report, a House of Lords committee warned that trade and security could be impacted if the flow of data is disrupted at the point of Brexit.To enable data to flow between the UK and EU post-Brexit, the EU Home Affairs Sub-Committee urged the UK government to seek a so-called 'adequacy' decision from the European Commission, which would recognise...
Deals
Lyreco Group announces the acquisition of DeskRight
Lyreco Group today announced the acquisition of DeskRight, a leading office supplies business on the Singapore market. The move puts Lyreco, European leader and number three worldwide in the distribution of workplace supplies solutions to businesses, in a leadership position on the Singapore market and represents the first step in its new development...
HSA Advocates advised a consortium of four ports in relation to strategic sale of Dredging Corporation of India by Government of India
HSA Advocates represented a consortium of four ports Vishakapatnam Port Trust, Paradeep Port Trust, Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust and Deendayal Port Trust in relation to strategic sale of Dredging Corporation of India concluded by Government of India (GoI). The four ports have acquired 100% of GoI's shares in Dredging Corporation of India (i.e. 73.47%...
Duff & Phelps enhances restructuring and dispute offering with acquisition of Zolfo Cooper Asia
Expands Footprint in Greater China Region Duff & Phelps, the global advisor that protects, restores and maximizes value for clients, today announced the acquisition of Zolfo Cooper Asia, a leading independent provider of restructuring, insolvency, litigation support and forensic accounting services. The combination of Duff & Phelps and Zolfo...
Investcorp launches in India with acquisition of IDFC Alternative’s Private Equity and Realty Businesses
Entry in to India expands footprint of direct investments into Asia Investcorp a leading global provider and manager of alternative investment products, today announced the launch of its operations in India with the imminent completion of its first deal, the acquisition of the Private Equity and Real Estate investment management businesses of IDFC...
China, Japan overseas M&A push to extend in 2019
China’s economic growth slowdown to drive dealmaking abroadJapanese companies may continue to seek large foreign dealsCompanies in China and Japan will continue their pursuit of overseas acquisitions this year amid the economic growth slowdown and geopolitical uncertainty, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co. Ready availability of capital will...
Acq Lite
Famous birthdays for Aug. 15: Anthony Anderson, Jennifer Lawrence
Aug. 15 (UPI) -- Those born on this date are under the sign of Leo. They include: Advertisement -- French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte in 1769 -- Scottish novelist Walter Scott in 1771 -- U.S. first lady Florence Harding in 1860 -- British composer Samuel Coleridge-Taylor in 1875 -- Actor Ethel Barrymore in 1879 -- Chef Julia Child in 1912 File...
Billboard Music Awards to take place Oct. 14, Kelly Clarkson still hosting
Aug. 14 (UPI) -- The Billboard Music Awards announced a new date for their 2020 awards show on Friday. The 2020 Billboard Music Awards will air Oct. 14 at 8 p.m. EDT on NBC, according to Billboard's website. The awards were originally scheduled for April 29. They had to postpone due to precautions over the COVID-19 pandemic. Advertisement Billboard...
What to stream this weekend: 'Project Power,' 'Darcey & Stacey'
Aug. 14 (UPI) -- Jamie Foxx and Joseph Gordon-Levitt team up in Netflix's Project Power, Jason Sudeikis coaches a soccer team despite being unqualified in Apple TV+'s Ted Lasso and the Silva twins premiere their new 90 Day Fiance spinoff, Darcey & Stacey, this weekend. In addition, Adam Devine stars as a magician who becomes a counselor in Disney+'s...
Weezer rock out on 'Beginning of the End' from 'Bill & Ted Face the Music'
Aug. 14 (UPI) -- Weezer's has released their latest song titled "Beginning of the End (Wyld Stallyns Edt) which appears on the soundtrack for Bill & Ted Face the Music. The track is available through music streaming services such as Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, Pandora, Tidal, Deezer, Soundcloud. Advertisement "Nostradamus predicted a bomb...
Watch: SuperM 'can't slow down' in '100' video
Aug. 14 (UPI) -- South Korean boy band SuperM is back with a new music video. The K-pop supergroup released a video Friday for the song "100." Advertisement The "100" video shows the members of SuperM performing an energetic dance routine. It features other dynamic scenes, including racing cars and a speeding train. "We go, we go, we go, we go / We...