News

Drilling for natural gas off the southern coast of Cyprus will begin on or before October 1, after which the country will get a concrete picture of how rich its resources are, said Energy Service director Solon Kassinis yesterday. Cyprus has signed a production-sharing contract with Houston-based Noble Energy. The company has a concession to … more »

Stocks plummeted more than 3% Monday as investors sought safe-haven assets following an unprecedented downgrade to the U.S. government’s AAA credit rating by Standard & Poor’s on Friday. At 10:36 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average ($INDU) was down by 373 points, or 3.3%, at 11,071. The S&P 500 ($INX) was down by 47 … more »

Capitaland’s commitment of $5 billion of new investments for the six months to June has almost equaled its target for the full year as the firm’s top executives reiterated their confidence in both the China and Singapore markets in a results briefing on Thursday./p> Mr Liew Mun Leong, president and chief executive of CapitaLand Group, … more »

Tax rate on salaries over 512 thousand rubles per year should be no more than six percent, but not 10 percent as proposed by Finance Ministry. This was said by the assistant of Russian president Arkady Dvorkovich, according to RIA Novosti. In present time, the insurance contribution comes into the tax of 34 percent from … more »

Several hundred Singaporeans spend more than a thousand dollars ‘regularly’ on their Facebook gaming hobby – including one individual who spent $8,800 over a six-week gaming binge several months ago. According to MOL Global, between 60 to 70 per cent of the money it collects from the game cards purchased by Singapore gamers is spent … more »

The Federal Antimonopoly Service of Russia (FAS) has prepared a new package of amendments to the law “On Trade”, which significantly limits the ability of retailers to obtain additional compensation from suppliers of goods. The law “On Trade” was passed at the end of 2009 after several years of discussion in various agencies and criticism … more »

According to newspaper “Kommersant”, the Federal Financial Markets Service (FFMS) has prepared a bill that would remove all restrictions on the placement of securities of Russian companies abroad. The draft order FFMS says that now Russian issuers will be able to post overseas 100 percent of the total shares. Russian companies are now allowed to … more »

The Electricity Authority (EAC) is looking to turn the tide on electricity shortages by adding over 100 megawatts (MW) to current capacity by the end of August. EAC general manager Stelios Stylianou said yesterday the reserve turbine at Vassiliko, called Black Start, should be ready for action by the end of August, providing an extra … more »

Sydney – Australia on Thursday urged US leaders to strike a ‘speedy’ deal to resolve the potentially disastrous political deadlock over raising the debt ceiling of the world’s richest economy. ‘I think like most finance ministers and government around the world, we’d like to see a speedy resolution of this matter, both in the United … more »

Marina Bay Sands (MBS) has announced its strongest quarterly profit since opening a year ago in a reflection of the rapid growth of the gaming market. Bumper growth in both its gaming and non-gaming businesses – such as its landmark hotel – drove up second quarter operational profit by 42 per cent to US$405.4 million … more »

LONDON – The dollar slid against the euro and yen on Tuesday and hit an all-time low point against the safe-haven Swiss franc, under pressure from deadlock over the US debt limit, traders said. In early London deals, the single currency managed a brief rise above US$1.45 (S$1.74) before trading at $1.4474, up from $1.4375 … more »

TOKYO – JAPAN’S finance minister said his country was ready to buy more European bonds if needed to support the eurozone shaken up by fiscal debt woes, reports said on Friday. Japan will invest more in European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) bonds if needed, Dow Jones Newswires quoted Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda as telling reporters. … more »

Dell has opened a new high-tech showcase to help Singapore companies get a better handle on cutting edge cloud computing technology. At Dell’s 7,000-sqf Global Solutions Centre in Jurong, visitors will be able to see how cloud computing technology works, and can chat with Dell staff to understand how they can use it in their … more »

TRADE agency International Enterprise (IE) Singapore is lining up a range of services and initiatives to help smaller firms in the Republic expand fast. One approach will be to offer companies not only market access but also assistance to get them to realize the importance of branding and intellectual property, and the usefulness of mergers … more »

CYPRUS’ three main banks, Bank of Cyprus (BoC), Marfin Laiki and Hellenic Bank yesterday passed the EU-wide bank stress tests coordinated by the European Banking Authority (EBA) in collaboration with the European Central Bank (ECB). Reuters reported that eight European banks failed a test of their ability to withstand a prolonged recession which did not … more »

Google on Thursday reported that its profit climbed to US$2.51 billion (S$3.05 billion) in the recently-ended fiscal quarter on record-high revenue of more than US$9 billion. ‘We had a great quarter, with revenue up 32 per cent year-on-year for a record-breaking over US$9 billion of revenue,’ Google co-founder and chief executive Larry Page said in … more »

Oil Company “Russneft”, headed by Mikhail Gutseriev, has sold Orsk refining venture to Cyprus offshore Fort Invest. The contract for purchase “Orsknefteorgsintes” was settled on 28 June. Contract value is unknown but is already approved by Russian Antimonopoly Service. However, an official newspaper “Russneft” put on record that the refining venture is not on sale. … more »

The price of gold has risen to a fresh all-time high, and the dollar has hit a four-month yen low, on concerns the US may default on its debt obligations. To avoid default, US politicians have to agree to raise the country’s debt limit by 2 August. The spot price for gold rose to a … more »

Singaporeans just can’t seem to get enough of digital devices and the Internet, according to a report released by Nielsen on Monday. It showed that: 85 per cent of digital consumers in Singapore own an Internet-capable mobile phone, 23 per cent of Singaporean Internet users have a tablet computer in their home, Social media platforms … more »

Finance Minister Charilaos Stavrakis yesterday rubbished suggestions the island may be a candidate for a bailout, saying its financing needs were minimal and had almost been met for the year. Stavrakis was quoted as saying Cyprus had an outstanding refinancing balance of €150 million this year, of which €60 million was met yesterday with revolving … more »

International monetary authorities and eurozone governments are trying to build a new rescue package for Greece. For the first time they want private lenders to contribute and lenders have been meeting in Paris to work out how they can contribute to a new bail-out. Charles Dallara, head of the lobby group that is chairing the … more »

China’s central bank said on Wednesday it will raise its benchmark deposit and lending rates by 25 basis points, the third rate hike this year, in the latest round of monetary tightening. The move comes as the government places priority on fighting rising inflation and despite recent fears of an economic slowdown in China.

Growth in the eurozone services sector slowed again in June to hit an 8-month low, while business confidence slipped to its lowest level in two years, a survey suggests. The closely-watched Markit PMI Services index fell to 53.7 from 56.0 in May. Any reading above 50 indicates growth. Growth in France eased “sharply”, while the … more »

Cyprus and Ukraine signed yesterday a series of bilateral agreements and a Memorandum of Understanding, as part of President Demetris Christofias’ official visit to the Ukraine. A Cypriot-Ukrainian Intergovernmental Committee will be established. Foreign Minister Markos Kyprianou and his Ukrainian counterpart Kostyantyn Gryshchenko signed a Memorandum of Understanding between the two Foreign Ministries on EU … more »

According to the Cyprus Tourism Organization (CTO) increased arrivals from the UK, Russia and Central Europe has led to an 11 per cent increase in arrivals over the first five months of this year compared to 2010. The CTO’s deputy chairman, Lefkos Fylakides, said that arrivals from Russia and the central European region are doing … more »

Big Russian Companies complained to Vice Prime Minister Igor Sechkin about the bill draft that expands minority shareholders’ rights. According to “Vedomosti” newspaper, the companies “Rosneft”, “Transneft”, “Surgutneftgaz” and TGC-2 (Territorial Generating Company) have sent a letter of complaint delivering dissatisfaction with new amendments to the Act “About joint-stock companies” and Act “About equity market”. … more »

According to Investfunds data, Russian Share Investfunds (PIFs) attracted 5.8 bln rubles ($280.3mln) from investors in the first part of 2011. In June 2011 the recorded net influx of funds in public PIFs was over 830 mln rubles ($29.8mln) due to equity funds that have attracted over 870mln rubles within a month. During the first … more »

About 1.1mln ton of grain got through the customs registration the day after grain export curbs were removed. Vice prime minister of Russia Viktor Zubkov said that Russian grain is of high quality and demand. Grain export embargo was imposed in Russia in the middle of 2010 due to bad harvest caused by peak torridity … more »

The president of the Republic of Cyprus, Demetris Christofias, leaves today for a two-day visit to Ukraine, where he is expected to sign bilateral agreements and inaugurate the new Embassy of Cyprus in Kiev. The President will also attend and address a Business Forum, organised by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Ukraine, in … more »

An estimated 50,000 Cypriot property owners moved closer to getting their title deeds this week, after MEPs, British leaders and the European Commission rallied to pressure Cypriot authorities to enforce EU law. The Cyprus Property Action Group (CPAG), which represents some 50,000 property buyers with outstanding deeds, is leading the campaign with the backing of … more »