Jumaat, 7 Mac 2014

The Star Online: Metro: Sunday Metro

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World’s best press photos on display at Raffles Hotel
Malaysia Airlines hunts for missing plane carrying 239
First water treatment plant opened

World’s best press photos on display at Raffles Hotel

Posted: 07 Mar 2014 08:00 AM PST

The world's best press photos will go on display at the Raffles Hotel from today until the end of March.

Dubbed the Oscars of photojournalism, the World Press Photo exhibition will feature 154 award-winning photographs by 54 top photographers.

These were judged to be the best out of 103,481 images submitted by 5,666 photographers.

The Straits Times is the official media partner of the exhibition, which last came to Singapore in 2006. This year, Singapore is the last stop for the roving exhibition, which has travelled to 45 countries so far.

Admission is free, and visitors can download an audio app for a virtual tour of the photos on display. — The Straits Times / Asia News Network

Malaysia Airlines hunts for missing plane carrying 239

Posted: 07 Mar 2014 07:31 PM PST

KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysia Airlines said a flight carrying 239 people from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing went missing early Saturday, and the airline was notifying next of kin in a sign it feared the worst.

The airline said flight MH370 disappeared at 2:40 am local time (1840 GMT Friday), about two hours after leaving Kuala Lumpur International Airport. It had been due to arrive in Beijing at 6:30 am local time (2230 GMT Friday).

The Boeing 777-200 was carrying 227 passengers, including two infants, from 13 different nationalities, and 12 crew members.

China's state television said 158 of the passengers were Chinese. Some 160 Chinese had been due to be on the flight but two missed it, according to Xinhua, quoting China's Civil Aviation Administration.

"We deeply regret that we have lost all contacts with flight MH370 which departed Kuala Lumpur at 12.41 am earlier this morning bound for Beijing," Malaysia Airlines Group Chief Executive Officer Ahmad Jauhari Yahya said in a statement.

The statement said the Malaysian flag carrier was working with authorities, who had launched an effort to locate the aircraft.

"Our team is currently calling the next-of-kin of passengers and crew," Ahmad Jauhari said.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with all affected passengers and crew and their family members."

The airline's Kuala Lumpur-Beijing route passes over the South China Sea, and remote parts of the Indochinese peninsula before entering southern Chinese airspace.

A Malaysian Airlines spokeswoman said she could not immediately provide further details, but the airline said it would soon hold a press conference in Kuala Lumpur.

"This news has made us all very worried," Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said in Beijing.

"We hope every one of the passengers is safe. We are doing all we can to get more details."

'Contact lost over Vietnam airspace'

A report by China's Xinhua news agency said contact was lost with the plane while it was over Vietnamese airspace.

Xinhua also quoted Chinese aviation authorities saying the plane did not enter China's air traffic control sphere.
A spokeswoman with a Thai agency that monitors the country's airspace told AFP the plane also did not cross over Thailand. Vietnamese officials said they had no information on the plane.

A Beijing airport spokeswoman said the facility had activated an emergency response system. Screens at the airport indicated the flight was "delayed".

An accident would be a huge blow for the carrier, which has bled money for years as its struggles to fend off competition from rivals such as fast-growing AirAsia.

It recorded its fourth straight quarterly loss during the final three months of 2013 and warned of a "challenging" year ahead due to intense competition.

The carrier admitted in 2012 it was in "crisis", forcing it to implement a cost-cutting campaign centred on slashing routes and other measures.

In 2011, it chalked up a record 2.5 billion ringgit ($767 million) loss.

In July 2013, a Boeing 777-200 operated by South Korea's Asiana Airlines skidded off the runway upon landing at San Francisco's international airport after it clipped a seawall before touching down.

Three people died.

"We're closely monitoring reports on Malaysia flight MH370. Our thoughts are with everyone on board," the manufacturer said in a statement on its Twitter feed.

Boeing has been beset by problems with its high-tech 787 Dreamliners put into service two years ago, including a months-long global grounding over battery problems last year.

The information vacuum regarding the flight touched off a frenzy on social media, which saw an outpouring of concern for passengers and unconfirmed rumours that the plane had landed safely in southern China.

Malaysian Airlines has said those rumours were false, The Star newspaper reported.

A spokesman told the Sydney Morning Herald that Australian passengers were on board but could not confirm how many.

Malaysia Airlines (MAS) has suffered few accidents in its history.

One of its jets crashed in 1977 in southern Malaysia, killing all 93 passengers and seven crew.

A smaller Twin Otter aircraft, operated by its unit MASwings, crashed upon landing in Malaysia's Sabah state on Borneo island last October, killing a co-pilot and a passenger.

There were no immediate signs of passenger relatives descending in large numbers on Beijing's airport.
An AFP journalist saw one woman enter the arrivals zone at the airport and break down in tears. She was led away by police.-AFP

First water treatment plant opened

Posted: 07 Mar 2014 08:00 AM PST

Singapore has opened its first water treatment plant to recycle industrial used water.

This water was previously treated to internationally-accepted standards and discharged into the sea.

The new plant purifies it to a higher standard so it can be re-used by industries for, say, their cooling processes.

National water agency PUB said the plant can produce up to one million gallons of non-drinkable water per day, and the output will be used by companies in Jurong Island.

The plant, located at the PUB's Jurong Water Reclamation Plant, was the result of collaboration between the agency and Japanese firm Meiden Singapore. — The Straits Times / Asia News Network

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

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EU veteran Juncker wins centre-right backing for top Brussels job
Turkish court orders release of jailed former army chief - media
IMF says mission is progressing well in Ukraine

EU veteran Juncker wins centre-right backing for top Brussels job

Posted: 07 Mar 2014 07:55 AM PST

DUBLIN (Reuters) - Former Luxembourg prime minister Jean-Claude Juncker, a fixture of Brussels politics for the past 25 years, won the backing of Europe's centre-right parties on Friday in the race to become European Commission president.

Juncker, who lost office last year after 18 years as prime minister, beat French rival Michel Barnier, the EU's regulation chief, to become the European People's Party (EPP) top candidate for the European Parliament elections in May.

It puts Juncker, 59 and one of the region's most experienced deal brokers, in contention for the EU's most influential job, with oversight of legislation affecting 500 million Europeans.

Juncker is a consummate dealer in the world of European politics and also a divisive figure. As chairman of the Eurogroup of euro zone finance ministers during much of the region's debt crisis, he once said it was necessary sometimes to lie and that he favoured "secret, dark debates".

His win on Friday was not as resounding as some in his camp had hoped, indicating reservations even within his own political family that Juncker, once close to former German chancellor Helmut Kohl, symbolises old-school politics.

Juncker won 382 votes from EPP members in Dublin, while 245 voted for his rival.

A strong believer in Europe and federalism, he has tempered some of his positions to win over more of the EPP, including Merkel, with whom he has not always seen eye-to-eye.

"I did everything in my limited power to avoid the catastrophe, to direct our euro vessel through the heaviest storm since the great depression," he said.

OLD SCHOOL

Juncker will now go head-to-head against Social Democrat candidate Martin Schulz and the Liberals' Guy Verhofstadt for the Commission presidency.

Whichever group comes top in the European Parliament elections - polling suggests this will either be the Social Democrats or the EPP - will have first chance to try to get parliamentary backing to be Commission president.

The decision also depends on the EU's 28 national leaders. While Juncker may get support from many of the figures with whom he shared a negotiating table for nearly two decades, others, such as Britain's David Cameron, are not fans.

The idea of choosing lead candidates for Europe's main political groups is aimed at making the vote more relevant to citizens, who have turned out in ever smaller numbers to vote in European elections since the first were held in 1979.

It is also seen as vital in the face of growing support for far-left, far-right and anti-EU protest parties.

Part of a generation of old-school politicians, Juncker played a significant role in handling Europe's debt crisis.

He was caught up in a spying scandal in Luxembourg last year that led to the collapse of the coalition government and his departure as prime minister.

His Eurogroup successor, Dutch Finance Minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem, described him on Dutch television as a heavy drinker and smoker. Juncker dismissed the suggestions.

Juncker disarmed but often irritated peers with his dry sense of humour, speaking openly of having to lie to the media, discussing his problems with kidney stones and once patting the head of former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi.

"He's outdated, part of the old establishment and partly responsible for the crisis," Hannes Swoboda, leader of the rival centre-left group in the European Parliament, told journalists earlier this week.

Turkish court orders release of jailed former army chief - media

Posted: 07 Mar 2014 07:46 AM PST

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - A Turkish court ordered the release of former army chief Ilker Basbug from a life sentence on Friday, Turkish media said, adding to uncertainty over the fate of court cases trying coup plots against Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan.

The decision followed a constitutional court ruling on Thursday that Basbug's incarceration for his alleged role in the 'Ergenekon' conspiracy violated his rights as the court trying him had failed to publish a detailed verdict on the case.

(Writing by Daren Butler; Editing by Gareth Jones)

IMF says mission is progressing well in Ukraine

Posted: 07 Mar 2014 07:45 AM PST

KIEV (Reuters) - An International Monetary Fund mission in Ukraine is "progressing well", Reza Moghadam, the director of the IMF's European Department, said on Friday.

He said the IMF stood ready to support the government's economic programme to put Ukraine "on the path of good economic governance and sustainable growth" and that consultations would continue.

(Reporting by Natalia Zinets, Editing by Timothy Heritage)

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

The Star Online: Business

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Efficiency and rule of law put high-cost country like Singapore big on FDI map
Genting bets on Sri Lanka?
How to be a multi-millionaire - version 3.0

Efficiency and rule of law put high-cost country like Singapore big on FDI map

Posted: 07 Mar 2014 08:00 AM PST

IT'S a poll not any country wants to top.

So when a survey by the Economist Intelligence Unit put Singapore on top of its list of most expensive cities in the world, well understandably, there would have been a chorus of grumbles.

Singaporeans for long have complained how expensive things have become. In a city where cars and property would cost more than an arm and a leg for many people elsewhere, cost of living is a big talking point.

But the message from the policy makers is that expect costs to remain high.

According to the Straits Times, Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam says that as long as the economy remains vibrant, Singapore will not be a cheap place for doing business.

There is, however, a couple of issues with that ranking. The EIC took into account the price of wine, the cost of a car, and the value of high fashion when tabling its findings. The reality is that not everyone buys all the items in the basket of goods and services used in the survey.

The other thing is that the seemingly high costs is not having an effect on the amount of foreign direct investments (FDI) are finding its way into Singapore. The same thing is being seen in the rest of South-East Asia.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BoA) in a report this week noted that FDI into the five big economies of South-East Asia continued to strengthen in 2013, and overtook the amount of money foreigners had invested into China.

"FDI into Asean-5 climbed to US$128.4bil in 2013, up 7% from US$120bil in 2012. FDI into China, based on official FDI utilised, fell to US$117.6bil in 2013, down 2.9% from US$121.1bil in 2012," it says.

BoA notes that FDI into China reached a peak in 2011 at US$124bil and has edged lower over the past two years.

The report says that the narrowing of the gap in what China and South-East Asia draws in as FDI is caused by a more favourable demographics in the region versus an ageing China with a labour force which is starting to shrink.

The other thing in this region's favour, which is benefiting from a growing consumption market, is rising wage differences that has been caused by higher wage growth in China and an appreciating yuan. The pace in the rise of wages in China has also been a deterrent to FDI.

"China is also starting to emerge as an outward FDI investor given its growing savings and wealth."

The political landscape in South-East Asia also influenced just how much money flowed into each country with Thailand seeing a decrease in 2012 but Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines saw healthy growth numbers.

Indonesia benefits from a large domestic market and so does the Philippines.

Even though FDI into Singapore only rose 5%, economists say investors were not deterred by the high cost of the doing business in the city-state as there were other factors that swings things in Singapore's favour.

Singapore, in value terms, still commands the lion share of FDI into South-East Asia.

"It's efficiency and the rule of law," says an economist who gave the reason why a high cost country like Singapore can continue to pull in foreign money into its economy.

Singapore for a long time has been among the leaders in polls ranking the best place to do business. In the Global Competitiveness Report, Singapore has been ranked second for the past three years.

"It's down to the institutions, governance and investor protection. Those factors mitigate the cost of doing business there," says the economist.

But recent political decisions, especially when it comes to foreign labour, may hamper investment flows into Singapore.

BoA says Singapore's Economic Development Board is projecting a lower manufacturing investment target in 2014, compared with 2013.

"Malaysia seems to be succeeding in attracting FDI as part of its transformation drive, with more than a third going into its manufacturing sector in 2013," says BoA.

The economic transformation programme has been a big-pull factor in driving investments higher from both domestic and foreign sources.

The policy to pluck the low-hanging fruits for investment opportunities has seen total investments in Malaysia surge in recent years.

Total investments in the country from both domestic and foreign sources amounted to RM216.5bil last year, up from RM167.8bil in 2012.

Genting bets on Sri Lanka?

Posted: 07 Mar 2014 08:00 AM PST

THE Genting group, on an expansion trail, may be close to securing a casino venture in Sri Lanka, sources say.

The tourism industry in Sri Lanka, a country which boasts of fine beaches and interesting wildlife, has been booming in recent years after the end of a decade-long civil war and it is no secret that Genting has been eyeing entry into the market, industry observers say.

Genting's interest in the Sri Lankan gaming scene has long been speculated, dating back to 2010 when the Sri Lankan government passed a bill to regulate the gambling industry to boost tourist arrivals. But the idea was put on the backburner after laws related to casinos faced opposition.

Last year, the government approved the development of three integrated resorts (IR), one of them to Australian casino mogul James Packer who controls Crown Ltd.

ASX-listed Crown is planning a US$350mil resort-casino complex in the heart of the Colombo commercial hub with local casino operator Ravi Wijeratne, who owns two casino approvals in Sri Lanka according to a Reuters report in December. The Reuters report, quoting government officials, said another Sri Lankan entreprenuer Dhammika Perera, who has been running casinos on a small scale, owns three casino approvals.

Perera, who got approval to build a US$300mil casino resort facility, was reportedly looking to lure a US or Asian gaming brand for one of his casino approvals. The third IR project that will be built is a US$650mil casino project by local conglomerate John Keells Holdings.

Sources say Genting's possible venture into Sri Lanka could also be via a tie-up with a local partner as the government policy was not to issue any new casino licences, but to allow existing approvals to operate under regulations passed in 2010.

"Gaming licences are not something that come by easily, so Genting is always on the lookout for any openings," a source tells StarBizWeek.

"It is also about positioning. Sri Lanka is not exactly a gaming haven, but it is a gateway to the untapped Indian market where gambling is highly regulated," says a source.

Genting, when contacted, declined to comment.

Of interest is that Genting has a presence in Sri Lanka via a 25% stake in the Union Bank of Colombo, a smallish commercial bank accounting for less than 1% of the country's banking sector assets.

The source says Genting hopes to draw from the Philippines' experience where it had a first mover advantage when Resorts World Manila (RMW) opened in 2009.

Analysts say RWM is well positioned for a multi-year growth story as it embarks on its next US$700mil capex cycle to double its room and gaming capacity by 2018.

"The Philippines is a roaring success story with Genting having recouped investments made within a year. It is exploring Sri Lanka in the same vein," says the source.

In 2012, Sri Lanka received one million international visitors and is targeting 2.5 million arrivals by 2016 according to news reports. China is one of Sri Lanka's fastest-growing visitor source markets, with arrivals from the country surging 75% in the first 10 months of 2013 but arrivals from India is fast rising – up 9% in the same period, media reports indicate. Tourism revenue surged above the US$1bil mark in 2012 and could surpass US$2bil a year ahead of the target set for 2016.

Currently, there are around nine small casinos already in operation in Sri Lanka although only four are licensed and registered with the Department of Inland Revenue, reports indicate.

Betting big overseas

In recent years, cash-rich Genting has been investing substantial amounts overseas to diversify beyond its strongest, but saturating Malaysian and Singaporean operations. Analysts estimate that at the rate that Genting is expanding abroad, its Malaysian operations will account for less than a third of its revenue, from about 40% currently. As at Dec 31, it had RM11bil cash.

"After being side-lined in Macau, Genting's strategy is to look well ahead of the curve and work towards a vision of having a footprint in every major international gateway," CIMB Research said in a recent regional gaming sector report. For the record, Genting failed in its bid to get a casino licence in Macau in 2001. The research firm estimated Genting would be spending US$9.5bil over the next five years excluding potential opportunities in Miami and Japan.

Earlier this month, it made its maiden foray into South Korea via a US$2.2bil (RM7.33bil) joint venture on the Jeju Island.

Through Genting Singapore Ltd, it is vying for a licence in Japan, which may soon legalise casinos. But it will be up against some big names like Las Vegas Sands Corp and US-based MGM Resorts International who are also reportedly eyeing Japan. Industry analysts predict Japan could rake in US$15bil in annual gaming revenue, making it Asia's largest market for gambling after Macau.

Genting's plans in Miami in the US two years ago had hit a legislative bump but there may be a breakthrough with the state's legislators introducing a draft bill and voting on a new gaming law in the second quarter of this year. It had invested close to US$500mil in two properties in Miami and is awaiting legislative approval for a casino permit.

It is no secret that to be dubbed a major gaming player, one needs to have a presence in Las Vegas. Genting is pouring US$4bil into an unfinished project it took over in Las Vegas with construction expected to start in the second half of this year. CIMB noted that Genting's timing into Vegas is favourable given the resurgence of Asian VIP business into the casino hotspot. It expects the group to cross-market their Asian VIP database into Vegas not unlike other international gaming players there.

"Although Macau continues to take centre stage with US$45bil in gross gaming revenue in 2013, the US remains the biggest gaming market in the world at US$70bil a year," CIMB Research said in its regional note. The research house does not rule out the group pooling its assets in New York, Las Vegas and Miami for a combined listing in the US to crystallise value.

How to be a multi-millionaire - version 3.0

Posted: 07 Mar 2014 08:00 AM PST

NASDAQ is seeing a revival of the tech boom. The last time it happened in the year 2000, any company with the name ending in ".com" saw its share price run well ahead of fundamentals – if there were any in the first place.

The DotCom boom produced many millionaires and a much bigger pool of investors who got burnt by putting money into companies that failed in the following year.

This time around, the buzz surrounding tech stocks are related to nimble start-ups that employ a few people who come out with applications that shake the mobile Internet space.

Leading the pack is Facebook buying WhatsApp, the company that invented the free messaging technology for smart phones over mobile Internet, for US$19bil. It is a deal financed by Facebook shares.

WhatsApp employed 55 people – meaning the value per employee, if the amount is shared out evenly, is US$345mil. But that obviously is not the case as the bulk of the shares go to the two founders of WhatsApp.

However Facebook has offered each of the WhatsApp employees some US$55mil worth of restricted stocks of the company if they stay on.

There are other similar deals that have been transacted the last two years, turning the employees into multi-millionaires overnight.

Softbank paid US$1.5bil for a 51% stake in Finland's Supercell, a company that makes games for mobile Internet users. Supercell had 132 employees at the end of 2013, meaning each of them were worth US$11mil.

In 2012, Facebook acquired Instagram a company comprising 13 employees for US$1bil – a deal that valued each employee at some US$77mil.

Malaysia has not produced the start-ups that have shaken the mobile Internet world, although we have a few aspirants eyeing a listing on the Nasdaq. MoLAccess Portal Sdn Bhd is amongst them.

However we have more than a fair share of our own versions of "WhatsApp" or "Instagram", that is, small and nimble companies with a few employees that have made plentiful returns.

The difference is, instead of innovation and technology, what these companies have are people with connections to decision makers in and outside the country and sound knowledge of how the capital markets worked.

This combination is the key to making millions in this part of the world.

In the 1980s, the trend was to get contracts – preferably from the government – and to flog it off to contractors for a handsome profit. In the 1990s it was all about privatisation and long-term concessions from the government.

The most lucrative of them were concessions to build and operate power plants and water treatment plants because it used to be awarded to privately-owned companies.

For instance a power plant concession with a power purchase agreement sealed with Tenaga Nasional Bhd, is worth more than RM800mil. The company operating and maintaining the power plant is worth another RM800mil. These are estimates based on transacted prices disclosed by listed companies.

Without a single ounce of experience but loads of knowledge about how the finances work, a firm with a handful of employees that lands itself with a licence to build and operate a power plant is worth a cool RM1.6bil.

Not bad for a firm that probably employs fewer than 100 people, including the tea lady and office boy.

But over the years, concessions and contracts awarded to individuals and listed companies had drawn so much scrutiny and glares from the public that the government has decided to tender them out through a competitive process.

In the last four years, one of the routes to becoming a multi-millionaire without drawing much attention is to win a mandate to raise funds in the debt market by issuing bonds backed by guarantees.

Bonds are debt papers that give investors a coupon of a between 3.5% and 6% or more, depending on factors such as the maturity period, the underlying assets backing the bonds, and the issuer.

The higher the coupon rate, the more risky the bonds.

The best debt papers normally are those that come with guarantees. In particular, investors fancy a guarantee from the government or a related agency.

The key is to find a reason to raise the money. Normally, if it is for an investment with a foreign party in Malaysia, it does not need much justification since the beneficiary is the domestic economy.

To raise funds to facilitate the investment, the agency raises long-term funds, preferably with a maturity of 25 years or more.

The papers are much sought after because of the guarantees. Distribution is easy and the advisers make a pile along the way.

For instance, a 25-year government-guaranteed paper with a coupon of 5% will find ready buyers prepared to accept a 4% yield.

The spread between coupon rate and the yield of 1% – better known as 100 basis points – is the clean profit for those arranging the transaction.

There may be several layers involved in distributing the papers but everybody makes a handsome profit along the way.

Bond traders estimate that for every RM1bil raised for a government-guaranteed paper with a tenure of 25 years and coupon rate of 5%, the persons or firm distributing or selling down the debt papers could easily pocket a total of RM125mil. So for RM10bil debt paper, the amount is estimated at RM1bil or more in fees and commissions.

Now comes the best part. After raising the money and if there is no use for it in the immediate term, the bond issuer simply parks the funds in a foreign fund that gives a return exceeding the coupon rate.

If the coupon rate is 5%, to justify the fund-raising exercise, the returns must be higher.

Nobody pays much attention to the mandate of the fund manager handling the funds. As long as the returns are higher, the question of mandate and recoverability would only come in 24 years when the bonds are near maturing.

By then, the deal makers would have long gone, taking their millions with them and probably multiplying the money.

So if you can't find employment in the next start-up that can write the program that revolutionises the mobile Internet world, then identify the firm that is going to do the next biggest debt market deal.

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

The Star Online: Nation

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Najib: More Felda settlers can renovate their homes
Organised crime raking in billions
Man goes missing after hotel stay

Najib: More Felda settlers can renovate their homes

Posted: 06 Mar 2014 08:00 AM PST

KUALA LUMPUR: More Felda settlers nationwide can now renovate their houses following an additional allocation of RM100mil under the agency's interest-free home loans, says Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

Under the scheme, Felda settlers could apply for loans up to RM40,000 per family without interest, and this had benefited some 100,000 settlers and their families across the country since 2005.

"Another 12,000 settlers, who previously did not have the chance, can now apply for the scheme," the Prime Minister said in his address at Felda's Semai Bakti 2013 programme here yesterday.

Najib, who is also the Finance Minister, added that Felda would sign a Memorandum of Understanding with Lulu Hypermarket, which has more than 100 branches in the United Arab Emirates, to sell Felda's frozen products in that region.

Later in the evening, Najib urged the British Malaysian Chamber of Commerce to sustain its momentum in increasing bilateral trade between Malaysia and the United Kingdom.

Glorious moment: Najib and British High Commissioner Simon Feathersone sharing a light moment with former Manchester United striker Andy Cole during the anniversary dinner.

Najib and British High Commissioner Simon Feathersone sharing a light moment with former Manchester United striker Andy Cole during the anniversary dinner.

Speaking at BMCC's 50th anniversary dinner, Najib acknowledged the chamber's contribution, saying "it has been a remarkable half-century".

"When the chamber was formed, Malaysia was an agrarian economy – home to just 10 million people, with per capita GDP of US$300 (RM977). There was no Asean; no Asia Pacific Economic Caucus; no World Trade Organisation. The world was a very different place. Cardiff City players still wore blue!", he said.

Najib said following the 2012 pledge by both British Prime Minister David Cameron and himself to increase investment and double the value of bilateral trade to £8bil or RM26bil by 2016, the chamber should deliver that commitment by becoming the local partner for the Overseas Business Network Initiative.

The initiative is a key focus area under the Bilateral Trade Support Initiative, designed to provide assistance and support services to SMEs looking to expand overseas.

Organised crime raking in billions

Posted: 06 Mar 2014 08:00 AM PST

PETALING JAYA: Interpol has warned that the cigarette component supply chain is being exploited by organised crime to rake in billions of dollars in its illicit trade.

Interpol secretary-general General Ronald K. Noble said producers of acetate tow, a key component in cigarette filters, were exporting high volumes of their product to cigarette manufacturers.

"In some cases, the export volumes are significantly higher than government-mandated levels for legitimate production," he said in a statement yesterday.

"In one country alone, figures showed a surplus of nearly 27,000 tonnes of acetate tow a year, which is enough to make 214 billion cigarettes – worth tens of millions of dollars in the black market."

Gen Noble said either acetate tow producers were selling excess levels of acetate tow to manufacturers producing illicit cigarettes, or acetate tow was being diverted from legitimate to illegitimate distribution points.

"One solution is for acetate tow producers to put in place their own stricter supply chain controls.

"Another is for governments to impose severe criminal sanctions or civil penalties on producers who knowingly sell to manufacturers producing illicit cigarettes, or who remain wilfully ignorant to the final distribution points of their products," he said.

He felt the industry was not interested to find out how their products ended up in the hands of organised criminals.

"It is in the interest of all governments to establish due diligence frameworks and 'know your customer' programmes such as those required for banks, and to demand track and trace systems for key component manufacturers. Such initiatives can help combat the illicit trade in tobacco products and avoid millions being siphoned out of the public purse," he said.

Interpol launched its Trafficking in Illicit Goods and Counterfeiting programme in 2012, building on its established efforts against intellectual property crime, and to increase the organisation's efforts and resources to identify and dismantle the organised crime networks behind these crimes which pose a serious threat to public health and safety.

On Wednesday, the Customs and Excise Department launched Ops Outlet, targeting traders of illegal cigarettes and imposing harsher sentences for selling the contraband.

Man goes missing after hotel stay

Posted: 06 Mar 2014 08:00 AM PST

KUALA LUMPUR: A Malaysian who was back in the country to have his passport and visa renewed has reportedly gone missing after checking out of a hotel in Kuala Lumpur.

K. Jeyachandran (pic), 56, had flown in from India on Feb 8 to renew his documents and had been scheduled to leave for India on Feb 14.

However, he did not board the plane and spent two nights in a hotel in Petaling Street, according to police sources.

Jeyachandran is believed to have psychiatric problems and is currently under medication and may be suffering from memory lapses.

Anyone with information on his whereabouts can contact Sjn G. Sambasivam at 012-664 3084.

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

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The Star Online: Lifestyle: Arts & Fashion

A singular path

Posted: 01 Mar 2014 08:00 AM PST

The work of iconic French photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson is celebrated in Paris.

The subtitle of a new retrospective of the 20th century's best known photographer at the Pompidou Centre in Paris could be: Almost Everything You Know About Henri Cartier-Bresson is Wrong. Or, at least, Long Overdue a Rethink.

Its curator, Clement Cheroux, has risen to the unspoken challenge that any Cartier-Bresson exhibition now presents: how to shed new light on the life and work of an artist who so defined the medium that yet another celebration of his genius might seem superfluous.

Cheroux has wisely chosen to tackle his life chronologically, mapping out through around 500 images the stages of Cartier-Bresson's creative development, while allowing us surprising glimpses of the private individual behind the legend. The show includes family albums, portraits of the artist, early paintings, late drawings, and even a couple of striking, surrealist-influenced collages.

For all his wanderings, real and artistic, Henri Cartier-Breson was most at home as a photographer observing people. This piece is called Camagüey (1963).

The vast exhibition is a journey into a singular way of seeing that takes some circuitous but always rewarding byways and emphasises the importance of two touchstones: surrealism and radical politics. Of the former, Cartier-Bresson once said: "Surrealism has had a profound effect on me and all my life I have done my utmost never to betray it."

In this context even familiar images take on a new sense of suggestion; well-observed tableaux that capture the innate absurdism of the everyday.

Among all the deftly-observed human drama, a series of interior shots of the offices of the Nazi SS on Avenue Foch, Paris, are ominously suggestive and almost unidentifiable as Cartier-Bresson photographs. A group of nine images from Dessau records the interrogation of a female prison guard who cowers as she is berated, then beaten, by former inmates. These stills give way to a section of a short film showing the same event in all its unsettling power.

Out of this tireless chronicling of a tumultuous decade came Cartier-Bresson's commitment to Magnum, and a second life as a global reportage photographer. Well-known images are included here: Matisse sketching at home; an owlish Sartre deep in thought.

Elsewhere there are a handful of quietly sensual images, including one of his wife Martine Franck's long, stockinged legs resting on a sofa, as well as a few rare snapshots of the master at work taken by accomplices. One senses that for all his wanderings, real and artistic, Cartier-Breson was most at home as a photographer observing people.

> Henri Cartier-Bresson's retrospective is running at Centre Pompidou, Paris in France (www.centrepompidou.fr) till June 9.

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Japanese historians slam sex-slave apology review

Posted: 07 Mar 2014 03:59 AM PST

TOKYO, March 07, 2014 (AFP) - A group of Japanese historians on Friday stood behind their government's 1993 apology over wartime sex slavery, slamming Tokyo's possible move to revise it as "unforgivable".

The landmark apology, known as the Kono Statement, acknowledged official complicity in the coercion of women from across Asia into a system of wartime brothels, an issue that draws particular resentment in neighbouring South Korea.

On Saturday, South Korean President Park Geun-Hye warned Japan that it would face "isolation" if it pushed ahead with a move to revisit the apology.

But conservative Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's government has said evidence given by "comfort women" - a euphemism for those forced to work in military brothels - that forms the basis of the apology is to be re-examined.

Respected historians say up to 200,000 women, mostly from Korea but also from China, Indonesia, the Philippines and Taiwan, were forced to serve as sex slaves in Japanese army brothels.

However, a minority of right-wing Japanese insist there was no official involvement by the state or the military and say the women were common prostitutes.

"It is unforgivable to retreat from the Kono Statement," Yoshiaki Yoshimi, a professor of modern Japanese history at Chuo University, told academics and rights activists at a Tokyo conference.

"The latest historical documents can allow us to say that the military hurt the honour and dignity of many women."

Hiroshi Hayashi, a politics professor at Kanto Gakuin University, said he and his fellow researchers discovered at least a dozen new documents proving that there was direct military involvement in the practice.

"There are many more, probably more than 6,000, undisclosed documents that had been stored by the Japanese government," he said.

"The government has repeatedly said there are no documents remaining to show the military's direct involvement in the issue. I must say this is an extremely disingenuous attitude."

Their comments came a day after the US ambassador to Japan, Caroline Kennedy, urged Tokyo and Seoul to patch up their troubled relations.

"I think that the two countries really should and will take a lead in this process, and the United States, being a close ally of both of them, is happy to help in any way that we can," Kennedy said in an interview aired by Japanese broadcaster NHK.

The Kennedy interview had reportedly been jeopardised after controversial remarks about wartime sex slavery by NHK head Katsuto Momii, who had called the practice "common in any country at war".

Birmingham's Yeung sentenced to six years jail for money laundering

Posted: 06 Mar 2014 11:27 PM PST

Hong Kong (AFP) - Hong Kong businessman and Birmingham City owner Carson Yeung was on Friday sentenced to six years in jail for laundering HK$720 million ($93 million).

Judge Douglas Yau handed down the sentence in the southern Chinese city's district court after convicting the 54-year-old of five charges of money laundering on Monday.

"The sentence must include an element of deterrence to discourage those who are in a position to exploit the system," the judge said.

"The law will come down on them with full force," he told a courtroom packed with reporters.

"Maintaining the integrity of the banking system is of paramount importance if Hong Kong is to remain an international finance centre," Yau added.

Hong Kong police investigator Yu Yin-ching said outside court that she was "happy" with the outcome of the case, which started in 2008.

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Tests to start on ring to prevent pregnancy and HIV

Posted: 06 Mar 2014 07:55 PM PST

This could be a valuable tool for women, says AIDS research body.

CLINICAL trials are to begin soon on a new vaginal ring that promises to provide months of protection against pregnancy, HIV and herpes, US researchers said on March 5.

The device, which is similar to birth control rings already on the market, delivers both an antiretroviral drug and a contraceptive which are slowly released over 90 days.

A report on the ring and how it was developed by scientists at Northwestern University is published in the peer-reviewed journal PLOS ONE.

The ring could offer women an alternative that eliminates the anxiety of missed pills and requires a lower dose of an antiretroviral drug aimed at preventing HIV since it is delivered at the point of transmission.

Scientists and AIDS prevention advocates have been trying to develop a ring like this for a long time, said Rowena Johnston, vice president and director of research at amfAR, the Foundation for AIDS Research.

"If you have something that is long acting that people don't have to think about every time they have sex but something that is in place, that is thought to be a boon," she told AFP.

While the ring is only designed to protect against transmission during vaginal sex, it could be a valuable tool for some women, she said.

"And it is probably not easily detected by the male partner, if that is important to you," Johnston added.

Both drugs released by the ring – levonorgestrel and tenofovir – are already used to prevent pregnancy and the spread of HIV.

Tenofovir – which inhibits HIV and herpes replication in susceptible cells – is taken orally by 3.5 million HIV-infected people worldwide.

It has been found to help prevent HIV infection as well, but so far only with pills that must be taken daily.

A gel which delivers tenofovir has been found to be somewhat effective in clinical trials but the gel needs to be inserted into the vagina before and after sex.

Many of the women in the clinical trials did not use the gel every time they had sex.

"Products only work when they are used," said study co-author David Friend, product development director at CONRAD, which develops reproductive health technologies for low-income countries and is affiliated with Eastern Virginia Medical School.

"By having a ring that can remain in the body for up to 90 days, our hope is that this ring will offer a solution to increase adherence, and therefore provide greater protection against HIV while also preventing pregnancy," Friend said.

The differences between the two drugs presented a "huge" design challenge, said Northwestern University biomedical engineer Patrick Kiser, who holds the ring's patent.

Tenofovir dissolves easily whereas the contraceptive drug levonorgestrel is highly insoluble. The drugs also had to be delivered in drastically different – but consistent – doses.

"A lot of engineering has gone into developing the ring," Kiser said.

The ring uses a new kind of polymer – or chain of molecules – that swells in the presence of bodily fluids and is capable of delivering up to 100 times more tenofovir than current intravaginal rings. – AFP Relaxnews

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Japanese historians slam sex-slave apology review
Birmingham's Yeung sentenced to six years jail for money laundering
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