SINGAPORE, April 26 (Bernama-BUSINESS WIRE) -- Over the past decade, Singapore has lost some of its economic competitiveness. While the economy has been growing steadily, the pace of growth has stagnated according to a new report from Oliver Wyman.
“Singapore is lauded as one of the greatest economic success stories in history. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has grown at an average annual rate of around 7.7 percent since its independence in 1965,” said Christian Pedersen, Oliver Wyman partner and co-author of the report. “However, the pace of progress in Singapore is slowing, mainly due to a decline in productivity – a phenomenon which affects most economies. In lieu also of broader global uncertainties, the leadership of Singapore’s industrial and financial industries needs to be bold, adopt new techniques, and view productivity through a different lens in order to help reverse this trend.” The report, entitled “Singapore Productivity Challenge: Role of the Private Sector” can be viewed here. The report examines how rising wages combined with a decline in labour productivity are making it more difficult for Singapore to stay ahead of the emerging Asian economies such as China, India, and Indonesia. Key findings of the report include:
The report discusses challenges and solutions across various industries including information and communication and healthcare and also features data on workforce metrics from Mercer, Oliver Wyman’s sister company. The report concludes with a call to action for large, private sector companies in the region to take measures in order to reverse the productivity drain, and set an example for smaller firms to follow. mrem.bernama.com/viewsm.php?idm=28976
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NEW YORK, April 27 (Bernama-GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Nasdaq, Inc. (Nasdaq:NDAQ) today reported financial results for the first quarter of 2017. First quarter net revenues were $583 million, up $49 million or 9% from $534 million in the prior year period. The first quarter increase in net revenues included a $50 million positive impact from acquisitions and $15 million, or 5%, organic growth in non-trading segments, partially offset by a $12 million organic decline in Market Services net revenues driven by lower industry trading volumes, as well as an overall $4 million impact from unfavorable changes in foreign exchange rates.
"I'm pleased Nasdaq was able to set new highs in terms of operating income and EPS, and deliver continued strong organic revenue growth across the non-transactional businesses, despite a challenging trading volume environment," said Adena T. Friedman, President and CEO, Nasdaq. "Importantly, we are seeing growth in areas where we've invested materially to innovate for the benefit of our clients, bringing them new or enhanced capabilities and efficiencies, in particular in the Market Technology, Information Services and Corporate Solutions businesses." http://mrem.bernama.com/viewsm.php?idm=28986 SINGAPORE, April 26 (Bernama-BUSINESS WIRE) -- A.M. Best has affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of A+ (Superior) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of “aa-” of United Overseas Insurance Limited (UOI) (Singapore). The outlook of these Credit Ratings (ratings) is stable.
The ratings reflect UOI’s excellent earnings track record, favorable business profile and strong risk-adjusted capitalization. As a subsidiary of United Overseas Bank Limited (UOB) group, Singapore’s third-largest bank by asset value, UOI maintains a stable market presence despite challenging market conditions through cross-selling initiatives with the group. The company continues to register strong underwriting margins that are above its peers, supported by a favorable claims experience and a low expense ratio averaging 20% in the five years ending in 2016. An offsetting rating factor is the small and competitive operating landscape, which limits the company’s growth opportunities in Singapore. In response, management has introduced strategies aimed at expanding its regional business through the UOB group’s regional network. A.M. Best expects UOI’s focus on prudent underwriting and its efficient operating model to mitigate the risks associated with regional growth. Positive rating actions are unlikely in the near term. Negative rating actions may arise if there is material deterioration of UOI’s operating results or risk-adjusted capitalization. Ratings are communicated to rated entities prior to publication. Unless stated otherwise, the ratings were not amended subsequent to that communication. This press release relates to Credit Ratings that have been published on A.M. Best’s website. For all rating information relating to the release and pertinent disclosures, including details of the office responsible for issuing each of the individual ratings referenced in this release, please see A.M. Best’s Recent Rating Activity web page. For additional information regarding the use and limitations of Credit Rating opinions, please view Understanding Best’s Credit Ratings. A.M. Best is the world’s oldest and most authoritative insurance rating and information source. For more information, visit www.ambest.com. Copyright © 2017 by A.M. Best Rating Services, Inc. and/or its subsidiaries. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Contacts A.M. Best Faith Tan, +65 6589 8400, ext. 212 Financial Analyst [email protected] or Christopher Sharkey, +1 908 439 2200, ext. 5159 Manager, Public Relations [email protected] or Chi Yeung Lok, +65 6589 8400, ext. 211 Associate Director [email protected] or Jim Peavy, +1 908 439 2200, ext. 5644 Director, Public Relations [email protected] Source: A.M. Best View this news release online at: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170425006001/en --BERNAMA SINGAPORE, April 27 (Bernama-BUSINESS WIRE) -- The Philippine non-life industry experienced another year of solid premium growth in 2016, with gross and net premiums growing faster than the overall economy. However, this growth was likely not supported by sufficient net profitability or capital growth, according to a new A.M. Best briefing, and net underwriting margins remain thin for a catastrophe-exposed market like the Philippines.
The Best’s Briefing, titled, “The Challenges of Balancing Growth With Profitability,” states that the average four-year net combined ratio (2012-2015) of a sample group of eight non-life insurers was 102.9. While higher pricing to incorporate a larger allowance for catastrophe claims could lead to positive average net underwriting results over a longer period, competitive constraints make this hard to implement. Moreover, as expense ratios dominate the net combined ratio in the Philippines, realizing efficiencies will likely play an important role in achieving improvements in net underwriting margins. While overall net profits from 2012 to 2015 were positive and relatively stable, they were insufficient to strengthen risk-based capital. Return on equity (ROE) averaged only 3.6% during this period and lagged behind growth in premiums, indicating that the insurers’ capital generation capability failed to match the growth in insurance risk. As of 2015, risk-based capital was estimated to have remained below the levels in 2012, the year before Super Typhoon Yolanda hit the Philippines. A temporary fall in risk-based capital after a catastrophe is not unusual, but strong insurers would be able to restore their risk-based capital. However, this was not evident for the sample group between 2012 and 2015 as low net profitability impeded capital growth. To access the full copy of this briefing, please visit http://www3.ambest.com/bestweek/purchase.asp?record_code=260719. A.M. Best is the world’s oldest and most authoritative insurance rating and information source. For more information, visit www.ambest.com. Copyright © 2017 by A.M. Best Rating Services, Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Contacts A.M. Best Chi-Yeung Lok Associate Director +65 6589 8400, ext. 211 [email protected] or Christopher Sharkey Manager, Public Relations +1 908 439 2200, ext. 5159 [email protected] or Jim Peavy Director, Public Relations +1 908 439 2200, ext. 5644 [email protected] Source: A.M. Best RedHill Biopharma Announces Enrollment of Last Patient in the BEKINDA® Phase II Study for IBS-D26/4/2017
BEKINDA® is a proprietary, bimodal extended-release, once-daily oral pill formulation of ondansetron, targeting several gastrointestinal indications. The randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase II study is evaluating the safety and efficacy of BEKINDA® 12 mg in adults over the age of 18 with IBS-D. The study enrolled 127 subjects in 16 U.S. clinical sites. Top-line results are expected in the third quarter of 2017. SOURCE : RedHill Biopharma Ltd. First Japanese ICT provider to receive this license
MUMBAI, India, April 25 (Bernama-BUSINESS WIRE) -- NTT Communications (NTT Com), the ICT solutions and international communications business within the NTT Group, today announced that it acquired a Virtual Network Operator – International Long Distance (VNO-ILD) license in India through its affiliate, NTT Communications India Network Services (NTTCINS), on March 1 this year. The license acquisition will allow NTT Com to add Arcstar Universal One International Network Services to its portfolio of existing services in India. Currently, NTT Com provides National Long Distance “NLD” network services through NTTCINS and Colocation, Managed Hosting, Cloud and ICT Management Services through Netmagic, an affiliate. Beginning this July, NTT Com will leverage its full stack of high-quality ICT solutions to help enterprise customers build their ICT environments for business expansion in India. "With the enhanced network capabilities coupled with Managed Hosting and Cloud services, we are always committed to enable our customers to reap the maximum value from their technology investments. This suite of offerings provides a robust value proposition as an ICT provider to meet our customers’ IT infrastructure and connectivity requirements,” said Sharad Sanghi, Managing Director and CEO of Netmagic Solutions. NTT Com now looks forward to offering a comprehensive range of ICT solutions, including WAN, LAN, Data Centers and associated Value Added Services to support Indian businesses and multinational corporations. NTT Com also plans to enhance its network services by adding Internet access options and to improve the service quality by way of closer relationships with local carriers. Service Image http://www.ntt.com/en/about-us/press-releases/news/article/2017/0425/a.html About NTT Communications India Network Services NTT Communications India Network Services is a wholly owned subsidiary of NTT Com and currently provides national long distance network services to enterprises in India. About Netmagic Solutions (An NTT Communications Company) Netmagic, an NTT Communications company, is India’s leading Managed Hosting and Cloud service provider, with 9 carrier-neutral, state-of-the-art data centers and serving more than 2000 enterprises globally. Headquartered in Mumbai, Netmagic also delivers Remote Infrastructure Management (RIM) services to various Enterprise customers globally including NTT Communication’s customers across Americas, Europe and Asia-Pacific region. The Company was the first in India to launch services – Cloud Computing, Managed Security, Disaster Recovery-as-a-Service (DRaaS) and Software-Defined Storage. Netmagic has been recognized with 6 awards at the CIO Choice Award 2016 and Frost & Sullivan India ICT Award 2016. To learn more, visit us at: www.netmagicsolutions.com. About NTT Communications Corporation NTT Communications provides consultancy, architecture, security and cloud services to optimize the information and communications technology (ICT) environments of enterprises. These offerings are backed by the company’s worldwide infrastructure, including the leading global tier-1 IP network, the Arcstar Universal One™ VPN network reaching 196 countries/regions, and 140 secure data centers worldwide. NTT Communications’ solutions leverage the global resources of NTT Group companies including Dimension Data, NTT DOCOMO and NTT DATA. www.ntt.com | Twitter@NTT Com | Facebook@NTT Com | LinkedIn@NTT Com Contacts For further information, please contact – Netmagic Solutions (An NTT Communications Company) Sikta Samantaray [email protected] Source: NTT Communications Corporation New UL PUBLISHER solution creates a centralised view of post-trade data while mitigating regulatory risk
PARIS, April 25 (Bernama-BUSINESS WIRE) -- Ullink, a global provider of electronic trading and connectivity solutions to the financial community, has launched a fully automated post-trade data management solution called UL PUBLISHER, enabling market participants to report transaction data to relevant regulatory authorities, meet upcoming MiFID 2 regulation and create a centralised view of post-trade data across multiple asset classes and front-office electronic trading systems. With the introduction of MiFID 2 in January 2018, firms face new challenges in collecting, validating, enriching, submitting and tracking order and trade data across asset classes and front-office trading systems. For transaction reporting, MiFID 2 introduces requirements for more than 60 new data items to be reported, imposes new reporting logic, and places responsibility on both buy-sides and sell-sides to report under different reporting scenarios. New reporting destinations – or Approved Reporting Mechanisms (ARMs) – are also being created introducing new connectivity and integration requirements. http://mrem.bernama.com/viewsm.php?idm=28969 OPENING-UP AND INNOVATION, LEADING GUANGZHOU DEVELOPED INTO A CITY WITH THE MOST INVESTMENT VALUE21/4/2017 GUANGZHOU, China, April 20 (Bernama-AsiaNet)
On April 25th and 27th, Guangzhou will hold the Fortune Global Forum 2017 Symposium in Tokyo, Japan and Singapore respectively. Guangzhou will be sending invitations again, inviting guests from the world's top 500 enterprises to attend the Fortune Global Forum 2017, which will be held in Guangzhou this December. Predictably, Japan and Singapore as Guangzhou's important partners in Asia, the symposiums will attract much attention. As the birthplace of the Maritime Silk Road in the east, Guangzhou engaged economic and trade exchanges frequently with Asian countries along the Maritime Silk Road since ancient times. Opening-up and innovation, the lifeblood of Guangzhou, enabled the city's strong economic growth. Guangzhou is becoming one of the cities with the most investment value in the world. For nearly three decades, Guangzhou has been the third largest city in China, following Shanghai and Beijing. In 2016, the city's Gross Domestic Product reached about 2 trillion yuan, equivalent to that of Singapore and neighboring Hong Kong. As the capital city of Guangdong Province, Guangzhou is at the core of the Pearl River Delta, one of the most dynamic economic areas in the world. To reach the goal of "establishing open, loose and free innovative ecology", Guangzhou municipal government is increasing its fiscal spending on the innovation of science and technology, reaching 11 billion yuan in 2017. Besides, the city is improving its commercial environment, emphasizing on the rule of law, market-oriented system and international business-friendly environment. According to the city's latest plan, it would become "the nation's innovation hub with global influence by 2020". In fact, Guangzhou is one of the most business-friendly cities in China, topping the Forbes list in this category five times over the past six years. To encourage the innovation of enterprises, Guangzhou is streamlining government administration and delegating power to the lower level of government. Last month, Foxconn Technology Group, the world's largest electronics contractor and a major supplier of Apple, began construction of a new panel factory in Guangzhou's Zengcheng District, with an investment of 61 billion yuan. It only takes 50 days from project negotiation to sign the contract, and 60 days from the contract signed to start the project, which hailed as "China speed" by The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times. "It will not only be a panel processing factory, but a concept of building an ecological town featuring high-end technology in the city of Guangzhou," said Terry Gou, CEO and chairman of Foxconn Technology Group. A favorable business environment attracts foreign investors enormuosly. According to the data from the Commerce Department of Guangzhou, newly established foreign-invested enterprises in 2016 reached 1757, with year-on-year growth of 23 percent. The actual use of foreign capital reached 5.7 billion US dollars, an increase of 5.3 percent compared to the same period last year. In the study report of Chinese Cities of Opportunity 2017, which jointly published by PwC and China Development Research Foundation in March this year, Guangzhou ranked first for two consecutive years as the city with the most opportunities. Guangzhou favored by many industry giants and recognized by international organizations, is rooted in the lifeblood of innovation and opening-up, presenting a powerful attraction for high-end resources, and thus creates huge investment opportunities. Source: Guangzhou Municipal Government --BERNAMA LANZHOU, China, April 20 (Bernama-AsiaNet) --
Residents in NW China's Lanzhou City start their morning with a bowl of hot beef noodle. Beef noodle is an indispensable food of local people and an important way for the world to learn about the city. Add some ash water rich in potassium carbonate to the mixed dough and wait for a while and then the chefs will turn the dough into over ten kinds of of noodle of diverse types. With some delicious beef soup, the beef noodle can well serve one's appetite. Beef noodle is regarded as a piece of name card of Lanzhou City. There are more than 1,000 beef noodle cookshops in Lanzhou and they can sell over one million bowls of beef noodle every day. SOURCE: Lanzhou City Image Attachments Links: http://asianetnews.net/view-attachment?attach-id=287823 http://asianetnews.net/view-attachment?attach-id=287824 http://asianetnews.net/view-attachment?attach-id=287825 http://asianetnews.net/view-attachment?attach-id=287826 http://asianetnews.net/view-attachment?attach-id=287828 http://asianetnews.net/view-attachment?attach-id=287829 http://asianetnews.net/view-attachment?attach-id=287899 --BERNAMA KUALA LUMPUR, April 17 (Bernama) -- The leading players in Islamic Wealth Management and Financial Planning once again gathered at the 4th MFPC International Conference on Islamic Wealth Management & Financial Planning (ICWMFP) at Putra World Trade Centre (PWTC), Kuala Lumpur on 15 April 2017.
With the pertinent need of early knowledge of Fintech among the financial fraternity, MFPC has decided to organise this year conference with the theme “Islamic Wealth Management and Fintech Solutions”. 4th ICWMFP saw experts from finance, banking, academician and the Fintech sector. Zainal Izlan Zainal Abidin, Managing Director of Islamic Capital Market from Securities Commission (SC) Malaysia delivered the key note address. The organising chairman of the conference, Assoc. Prof. Dr Ahcene Lahsasna stated that this year’s conference provide alertness about the challenges and the advantages of Fintech in Islamic wealth management. He also added that Fintech has become such a global interest and the technology would alter the Islamic Wealth Management Industry. “It is undeniable that we see many financial products and services is being marketed through the internet; through company’s e-platform or system today; while we could anticipate greater sale volume to be achieved and at the same time, these distribution channels may also bring new challenges to the finance industry. I believe today’s conference will further emphasize the importance, the challenges and the advantages of Fintech in Islamic wealth management”. mrem.bernama.com/viewsm.php?idm=28908 |
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