Bloomberg RHB Bank Bhd., Malaysia’s fourth-biggest lender by assets, hired former Standard Chartered Plc banker Goh Ken-Yi to head client coverage in its Singapore securities unit, people with knowledge of the matter said. The banker started working this week at RHB Securities Singapore Pte, according to the people. He was most recently a managing director in charge of commercial ...
Read More »Bank of America, Bain to weigh bids for popular assets
Bloomberg Bank of America Corp. and Bain Capital’s credit investment arm are considering bids for about 1 billion euros ($1.06 billion) of non-performing assets from Banco Popular Espanol SA as the Spanish lender accelerates efforts to clean up its balance sheet, according to people with knowledge of the matter. Negotiations are ongoing, and an agreement may be reached in ...
Read More »PBOC boosts yuan fixing
Bloomberg China’s central bank raised its yuan fixing for the first time in 13 days as the dollar’s ascent eased, reinforcing speculation that policy makers are prepared to step up measures to slow the currency’s declines. The People’s Bank of China strengthened its daily reference rate by 0.3 percent to 6.8779 per dollar, ending a 12-day decline that took ...
Read More »Mauritian bank begins east Africa expansion with Kenya buy
Bloomberg SBM Holdings Ltd., Mauritius’s second-biggest lender, said it’s acquiring Fidelity Commercial Bank Ltd. of Kenya to kick off an expansion in East Africa that will target four more countries. The bank is buying FCB’s entire share capital for 100 shillings and injecting 1.46 billion shillings ($14.3 million) of new capital, Port Louis-based SBM said in a statement on ...
Read More »Brussels outranks Frankfurt in pay league for central bankers
Bloomberg Mario Draghi may be first among equals in the European Central Bank’s Governing Council, but he certainly isn’t the best paid. The central bank governors of Belgium, Italy and Germany make more than the ECB president’s annual 386,000 euros ($409,400), data compiled by Bloomberg show. Belgium’s Jan Smets took the crown with about 480,000 euros, almost six times ...
Read More »Where boxing is a way of life!
Accra, Ghana / AFP Parkins Takyi-Aidoo bobs and weaves around a ragged punch bag, dancing on concrete in a rehearsal for the knockout blow that one day could secure him fame and glory. The Ghanaian is just 13 years old but by training in the Bukom neighbourhood of Accra — a hotbed for fighters — he probably has a ...
Read More »Ancient Indonesian martial arts seeks global spotlight
Jakarta / AFP Some fight with machetes three-feet long, others are armed with daggers curved like the claws of big cats, while other combatants rely on only their minds. This is the world of “pencak silat”, or Indonesia’s martial arts, which are now battling for greater global recognition — having secured a place in the Asian Games, the government ...
Read More »Saudi shares rebound, outperform rest of Gulf
DUBAI / Reuters Saudi Arabian stocks rebounded on Tuesday as oil prices hit a one-month high, outperforming other stock markets in the Gulf where traders booked profits. Egypt’s main index pulled back but foreign buyers continued to hunt for bargain buys, lifting the broader index. Saudi Arabia’s general market index rose 1.6 percent to 6,602 points, heading back towards ...
Read More »Global equities surf commodities wave
London / AFP Stocks across the globe forged higher on Tuesday, with Wall Street setting new records as rising metals and oil prices bolstered sentiment in the mining and energy sectors, dealers said. At the opening bell on Wall Street, the Dow jumped above 19,000 for the first time, extending its post-election rally. London stocks gained 0.9 percent on ...
Read More »Facebook experimental drone accident under scanner
Bloomberg A U.S. safety agency is investigating an accident involving a massive experimental drone Facebook Inc. is developing to bring the internet to remote areas of the world. No one was hurt in the incident, which came during the unmanned aircraft’s first test flight on June 28. It marks the latest hiccup in Facebook’s plans to wirelessly connect the ...
Read More »