New Delhi / AFP New industries must be explored to lessen the country’s dependency on traditional commodities, especially in current times when prices are sliding, said Malaysia Prime Minister Najib Razak. Najib said developing new industries, like the biomass sector, had great potential for the country. Malaysia, he said, had set its sight on becoming a premier biomass processing hub ...

Singapore / DPA Developer CapitaLand’s serviced residence business unit, The Ascott, aims to fast-track its expansion into China by forging a strategic alliance with a major mainland player, Dongfu Investment Development Corp. The Ascott is already the largest international serviced residence owner-operator in China, with more than 14,000 units in 24 cities. The partnership, gives Ascott first right to manage ...

Singapore / DPA The strong wage growth that workers enjoyed last year might not be sustainable, given the lacklustre economic outlook and Singapore’s flagging labour productivity. Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) permanent secretary Ow Foong Pheng said at a press briefing that demand for labour may be more subdued this year, given the “challenging near-term outlook for the Singapore ...