The Star Online: Business
The Star Online: Business |
| Posted: 01 Nov 2012 06:55 PM PDT LONDON: Britain's state-rescued Lloyds bank has set aside another £1bil to compensate clients who were mis-sold insurance, pushing it into another third-quarter loss. Lloyds Banking Group (LBG), which is 39.6% owned by the taxpayer after a vast bailout at the height of the global financial crisis, said that the new provision would take its total bill for the insurance mis-selling scandal to £5.3bil. The London-listed bank added in a results statement that it faced a net loss of £361mil in the three months to the end of September. However, that marked an improvement from a shortfall of £501mil a year earlier. Chief executive Antonio Horta-Osorio added the payment protection insurance (PPI) charges were the "primary driver behind the statutory loss". From the £5.3bil that Lloyds has set aside, the bank added that it had paid out £3.7bil at the end of September. However, stripping out the PPI provision, the group doubled its underlying profit to a better-than-expected £840mil in the third quarter, as it cut bad debts and narrowed losses from its non-core businesses. Horta-Osorio added: "We have made further significant progress this quarter, improving underlying performance in a challenging environment, while continuing to deliver returns above the cost of equity in the core business and strengthen our already robust balance sheet." The bailed-out group also revealed that it was ahead of schedule in its ongoing restructuring plans that were unveiled last year. LBG has now exited 12 of the 15 countries that it had already signalled it would depart from by the end of 2014. That leaving it with current operations in 18 nations. In addition, Lloyds has reduced its non-core assets by 31 billion to 110 billion, ahead of its 2012 guidance. LBG has slashed more than 30,000 posts since 2009 as it looks to nurse its way back to health after its part-nationalisation, which was sparked by the ill-fated 2008 takeover of rival bank HBOS at the height of the financial crisis. British banks have suffered heavy compensation bills for PPI, which provided cover for consumers should they fail to meet repayments on a credit product such as loans, mortgages or payment cards. LBG was pushed into a vast net loss of £2.78bil in 2011 as a result of soaring claims. - AFP |
| Posted: 01 Nov 2012 06:54 PM PDT BEIJING: China has announced a trade investigation into European exports of solar-grade polysilicon, escalating a bitter trade row with the European Union (EU), which has unveiled a similar probe into Chinese products. The probe into the product, a key material used in the making of solar cells, is the latest in a series of trade disputes between China and its Western trading partners, including autos, steel and rare earth minerals. The commerce ministry said in a statement that it would examine whether firms from the European Union sold the products at artificially low prices in China. It will also investigate alleged subsidies received by the EU producers and exporters and probe any damages caused to Chinese companies. The findings will help the ministry "come to a just ruling according to the law". The probes were launched after complaints by Chinese polysilicon producers that included claims that EU firms received German government subsidies and favourable loans from the European Investment Bank, a separate ministry statement said. European companies that may be affected must register to respond within the next 20 days and report values and quantities of the products they sold in China between July 1 last year and June 30, it said. The ministry aims to complete the investigations in one year or a maximum of 18 months if "unusual conditions" come into play, it added. The row in the solar sector between China and the European Union escalated after Brussels in September launched an investigation into whether Chinese companies were selling panels in Europe at up to 80 % below actual cost. EU ProSun, which groups European makers and called for the anti-dumping probe, has also filed an official complaint with the European Commission over alleged illegal subsidies to Chinese firms. Beijing reacted sharply to the EU investigation, warning that restricting Chinese solar battery products would harm both sides. More than 60% of China's US$35.8bil of solar product exports went to the EU last year, according to Chinese industry figures, while the country imported US$7.5bil worth of European solar equipment and raw materials. China has also urged the United States to rescind hefty anti-dumping and anti-subsidy duties on Chinese solar-cell makers. The US Commerce Department this year announced penalties that include anti-dumping taxes at between 18% and 250% to offset the impact of alleged unfair competitive edges of Chinese firms. The measures are still up for confirmation by the US International Trade Commission, which is expected to rule this month. - AFP |
| Posted: 01 Nov 2012 06:49 PM PDT JOHOR BARU: Iskandar Malaysia will continue to attract interest from potential investors from all over the world with the upcoming 8th World Islamic Economic Forum (WIEF). The three-day event to be held from Dec 4 to 6 at the Persada Johor International Convention Centre here will see the participation of over 1,500 delegates from 50 countries. "This is an opportunity for Johor and Iskandar Malaysia, in particular, to promote the economic opportunities which they could offer to investors,'' said WIEF Foundation chairman Tun Musa Hitam. He said that since its launch six years ago, Iskandar Malaysia was moving in the right direction and investors would have a first-hand look at the developments taking place in the economic region. Musa said "Changing Trends, New Opportunities" was chosen as the theme for this year's event following the Arab uprising and eurozone crisis. Musa was speaking at a luncheon to give the media the latest update on the event which would be held outside Kuala Lumpur for the first time since its was first organised in October 2005. Also present were WIEF Foundation secretary general Tan Sri Ahmad Fuzi Abdul Razak and managing director Datuk Syed Abu Bakar Almohdzar. Last year, the event was held at Kazakhstan's capital Astana in June, and the 9th edition of the WIEF would be held in London in October 2013. Apart from Kuala Lumpur, the event was also held in Islamabad, Pakistan in 2006, in Kuwait in 2008 and in Jakarta, Indonesia in 2009. "WIEF does discuss issues concerning religions or faiths, but our objective is to connect Muslims and non-Muslim communities to drive collaborations and seize business opportunities,'' Musa said. He said the images of Muslims had been tainted the world over since the 9/11 attacks in the United States and many associated Muslims as terrorists and that an economic forum like WIEF was vital to correct the negative perception of the Muslim world. Musa said there would also be a Business Networking Breakfast for participants covering 16 economic sectors such as healthcare, technology, agriculture, green industry, halal industry, tourism, logistics, and oil and gas. "This is a business matching session and feedback from our previous events showed that many who attended the networking have benefited from it,'' he said. |
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