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Tag: asia

  • Biggest Drop In UK New Car Sales Since World War Two

    Biggest Drop In UK New Car Sales Since World War Two

    British new car sales fell nearly 30% last year in their biggest annual drop since 1943 as lockdowns to curb the spread of the coronavirus hit the sector, an industry body said on Wednesday. Demand stood at 1.63 million cars in 2020, according to data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). It was particularly hard hit by a 97% fall in April, the first full month of a national lockdown.

    Dealerships gradually reopened in June on differing dates across the United Kingdom’s four nations.

    “We lost nearly three-quarters of a million units over three or four months, which we never got back,” said SMMT Chief Executive Mike Hawes.

    Showrooms in England have closed again during a second lockdown in November but many were better prepared with “click and collect” options, allowing more purchases, but still leading to a 27% year-on-year slump.

    The performance leaves new car sales at their lowest level since 1992, and suffering the biggest drop since 1943, when sales fell by more than 90%.

    Then, Britain was fighting World War Two, and the industry was repurposed for the effort.

    In 2020, diesel car registrations more than halved, while nearly 30% of sales were electric, hybrid, and mild hybrid vehicles as Britain brought forward a ban on the sale of new combustion engine-only cars to 2030.

    The sector was also awaiting a trade deal with the European Union. An agreement was reached on Dec. 24, meaning immediate tariffs and disruption were avoided, but the sector has warned of additional costs.

    The car sector, like others, now faces the challenge of new lockdowns announced in England and Scotland this week.

    The SMMT expects sales to be below 2 million this year, with the sector nervously looking ahead to March, one of the top two selling months of the year due to the change in the license plate series.

    “Where the industry is focussed at the moment, is what do we need to do to try to sustain sales …, sustain manufacturing over the next two to three months, especially with March being such a critical month for the industry and that will undoubtedly be affected,” said Hawes.

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  • AXA Names Managing Director for Life Insurance

    AXA Names Managing Director for Life Insurance

    AXA Insurance names a new managing director to lead its life strategic business unit, succeeding incumbent Sean Goh. Li Choo Kwek-Perroy joins as a managing director for AXA Insurance’s life strategic business unit, according to a statement, while Goh will leave the firm to pursue other opportunities. In her new role, Kwek-Perroy reports to Jean Drouffe, chief executive at AXA Insurance.

    Kwek-Perroy has two decades of insurance experience and rejoins AXA where she first worked in 2000 before holding various senior positions in Paris, Brussels, Hong Kong, and Singapore. She was trained as an actuary and held a diverse mix of roles in the industry across product, marketing, digital and distribution transformation, risk management, and finance. She was most recently a chief transformation officer and chief customer officer with rival Manulife.

    I am delighted to welcome Kwek-Perroy back to the AXA Singapore Executive Committee, said Drouff. Her strong technical background, extensive industry experience, and proven leadership capabilities make her the ideal choice to drive our life business forward. I am confident that she will bring valuable new perspectives and innovative and customer-focused insights to the business.

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  • Standard Chartered Appoints Chief Investment Officer

    Standard Chartered Appoints Chief Investment Officer

    Standard Chartered promotes a 25-year financial markets veteran internally to become its chief investment officer based in Singapore, according to an internal memo.

    Standard Chartered appoints Steve Brice as its new chief investment officer, according to an internal memo, as well as head of the discretionary portfolio management division.

    He will lead 25 investment professionals and chair the bank’s global investment committee which forms cross-asset investment views for the private and retail banking segments.

    A spokesperson for the bank confirmed the appointment.

    Brice is a longstanding Standard Chartered employee, spending 23 of his 25 years in the industry with the bank beginning in 1998. He was previously its Southeast Asia chief economist; head of research for the Middle East and South Asia; and South Africa head of global markets.

    Prior to joining Standard Chartered, he began his financial career with London-based consultant IDEA where he was its regional head of FX for Europe.

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  • Philippine Airlines suspends all UK flights

    Philippine Airlines suspends all UK flights

    Philippine Airlines has suspended flights to and from London till the end of February 2021 as Britain battles a new coronavirus strain, said a report.

    The airline said it supports all measures that seek to curb any potential increase in Covid-19 cases during the holiday season and beyond.

    Passengers already in transit and those who arrived in the Philippines from the UK before December 24 will be allowed to enter the country, but they must undergo stricter quarantine and testing protocols, the report cited Presidential spokesman Harry Roque as saying.

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  • UBS’ Top Private Bank Strategist Advances

    UBS’ Top Private Bank Strategist Advances

    A top adviser to UBS private bank co-head Iqbal Khan won a major promotion as part of a shake-up of the Swiss bank’s strategy and corporate development team.

    Zurich-based UBS is tasking Christian Zeinler with group strategy, from February 1, according to a memorandum. Zeinler is head of strategy and business development at UBS’ flagship $2.6 trillion wealth management arm – a job he will retain – as well as chief of staff to Iqbal Khan, who co-runs the unit.

    The change was set into motion by the departure of Michael Bonacker, who had held the top strategy job since 2017, and will leave by mid-year. Bonacker, an ex-McKinsey partner who held top roles at Deutsche Bank, Lehman Brothers, and Commerzbank before joining UBS, was instrumental in the Swiss bank’s strategy reviews since 2017.

    After Bonacker departs, UBS’ mergers and acquisitions chief, Malte Schwaner, will oversee corporate development, which will include M&A, equity investments, and benchmarking activities. Schwaner and Richard Barrett, who oversees UBS performance assessment and analytics, will report financing chief Kirt Gardner.

    The changes are also in connection to the advancement of Sabine Keller-Busse to the top Swiss job, Gardner said in the memo. The 60-year-old finance chief also poached from Morgan Stanley last month for a key finance role.

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  • Honda 2Wheeler India Likely To Start Production On Gujarat Plant’s Third Line In Next 2-3 Years

    Honda 2Wheeler India Likely To Start Production On Gujarat Plant’s Third Line In Next 2-3 Years

    Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India is likely to initiate production on the third line of its Gujarat Plant in the next two to three years. According to a recent report from PTI, the two-wheeler manufacturer took this step as demand has shrunk in the market due to the coronavirus pandemic. The company commenced the construction activity of a third line to add six lakh units per annum at its Gujarat plant to increase total capacity to 12 lakh units per annum.

    Yadvinder Singh Guleria, Director – Sales & Marketing, HMSI said, “As for our new line which we had made in our fourth factory in Gujarat, we call it our third line. The construction activity and other activities went on as per schedule. However, we have put on hold the decision on when to start production at that line because the overall market has shrunk. In terms of demand, the existing lines and existing capacity are good enough to take care of the demand, which is currently in the market and in the coming next two years or so.”

    He further said, “It depends on how quickly the market rebounds and the new demand shoots, green shoots visible to us. That is the only time we will decide to start production in the third line. From today’s point of view, since the overall market condition is very fluid and a lot of unpredictability around, it looks like two to three years”.

    The company’s business is majorly contributed by scooters which constitute 60 to 65 percent while the remaining business comes from motorcycles. Currently, the two-wheeler maker has four production facilities across the country that are located at Manesar in Harayana, Tapukara in Rajasthan, Narsapura in Karnataka and Vithalapur in Gujarat. The total annual production capacity of all these four plants stands at 64 lakh units.

    The company official said the Indian two-wheeler industry has been hit adversely due to the pandemic which is down by 25 percent. While motorcycle and scooter segments are down by 22 percent and 33 percent respectively. However, the company had to face its challenges as the business is majorly driven from urban India, which had been in the lockdown for a significant number of days than the rural India that reflected on the business.

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  • Apple had strong App Store sales in 2020

    Apple had strong App Store sales in 2020

    The Apple App Store generated over $64 billion in revenue last year. That would be a 28% increase over the $50 billion that the iOS digital storefront collected in 2019; it would also represent a 3.1% hike over 2018’s revenue of $48.5 billion. Part of the reason for the surge in the top line has to do with the global pandemic which led businessmen working from home and children engaged in remote learning to download certain apps from the App Store. In addition, there were apps installed to help both kids and adults kill time. Mobile games come to mind as does the short-form video app TikTok used to create 15 seconds and 60-second videos

    The App Store is part of Apple’s Services division which garnered over $50 billion in gross for the first time ever in fiscal 2020. This helped the company achieve a major goal of doubling Services revenue from $25 billion to $50 billion over five years. Consider the businesses that are included in this unit and you’ll see why it is the fastest-growing business unit inside Apple. The Services division houses the App Store, Apple Pay, AppleCare+, Apple Music, Apple News+, Apple Arcade, iCloud, Apple TV+, Fitness+, Apple Books, and more. Apple Music has grown to 85 million subscribers in just five years which Loup Ventures says, “illustrates the power of services built on top of default apps.” Apple’s services sector grew by 16% last year to $53.7 billion in sales and Loup Ventures sees another 15% hike next year. And consider that the App Store makes up 35% to 40% of Services Revenue.

    Loup Venture’s Andrew Murphy sees Apple creating more services that would add new features to some of the tech giant’s existing or default Services platforms.  Some examples could include:

    • Stocks+ could allow Apple to provide trading and advisory services for users.
    • Maps+ could be monetized by Apple by suggesting destinations to users that would be based on input from them.
    • Mail+ would be a premium email service offering productivity, inbox management, scheduling and more.

    In 2019, Apple CEO Tim Cook explained that Apple’s Services sector had a goal to “help our customers get the most out of the products and to enrich lives” by making companion apps “more entertaining, more useful and more informative.” The original plan for the Services sector was to generate recurring revenue allowing Apple to collect flows of cash even in years when the iPhone just isn’t selling. These recurring revenues are high margin allowing Apple to bank large sums of money.

    Loup Ventures used Fitness+ for a case study noting that it adds value to Apple Watch users who can view biometric data on their watch screen. Besides integrating with the Apple Watch, it also integrates with the Apple iPhone, Apple TV, and AirPods.

    Based on revenue, Apple’s Services business is just about the size of a Fortune 50 firm. Would Apple ever decide to spin it off as a separate company? It is a possibility but nothing that is being looked at right now. During the holidays, App Store customer spending was up 27% year over year. In 2019, App Store customer spending was up 16% on an annual basis.

    Apple, as many of you know, takes a 30% cut of in-app purchases made using the App Store’s “in-app” platform. Because iOS is a closed system, Apple’s customers can’t sideload apps and are forced to buy paid apps through the App Store even if they can be purchased for less money from another app store. As a result, Apple is being investigated by some regulatory agencies for monopolistic behavior. Recently though, Apple dropped its cut to 15% for the purchase of apps created by developers with less than a $1 million in annual sales.

  • Google Meet update adds new ways to create meetings

    Google Meet update adds new ways to create meetings

    Unsurprisingly, a tragic event like COVID-19 led to a surge in virtual meetings with employees being stuck at home. Moreover, families and friends forced into isolation needed to remain in touch, and apps like Google Meet, Zoom, as well as others, had to evolve to provide these kinds of services.

    Google Meet went through a lot of changes in the last few months, but the transformation isn’t over yet. Mostly used by companies, Google Meet is now being updated to offer users easier ways to create new meetings.

    For example, once you tap on the “New meeting” button, you’ll now have three options at your disposal, each allowing you to create a new meeting at different times: Create a meeting for later, Start an instant meeting, and Schedule in Google Calendar.

    If you choose the third option, you’ll have to go to Calendar in a new tab to create an event with Meet conferencing details automatically populated. Of course, users will still be able to enter a meeting code or nickname to join a meeting.

    The update went live this week, but the rollout may take up to 15 days. The new Google Meet changes will be available to all users, regardless of whether they have a Google business or personal account. It’s important to add that Workspace Essentials users will not see the “Schedule in Google Calendar” option but will have the two options available.

  • Cebu Pacific 2nd PH airline to ban citizens from countries with new coronavirus variant

    Cebu Pacific 2nd PH airline to ban citizens from countries with new coronavirus variant

    Cebu Pacific Air said it will stop carrying foreigners coming from countries included in an expanded travel ban amid the appearance of a new coronavirus variant.

    Cebu Pacific added it will allow only Filipino citizens on its flights from Hong Kong, Nagoya (Japan), Singapore and Seoul (South Korea).

    “CEB will not accept foreign nationals who originated from, transited via, or visited within 14 days prior to arrival in the Philippines, any of the 20 countries specified in the IATF resolution,” Cebu Pacific said, referring to the Inter-Agency Task Force Resolution No. 91.

    The IATF resolution said the ban will run from Dec. 30 this year through Jan. 15, 2021.

    The countries are Denmark, Ireland, Japan, Australia, Israel, the Netherlands, Hong Kong, Switzerland, France, Germany, Iceland, Italy, Lebanon, Singapore, Sweden, South Korea, South Africa, Canada, Spain and the United Kingdom.

    Cebu Pacific said affected passengers may avail themselves of free rebooking within 90 days, a full refund or make use of its travel fund, which is valid for two years.

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  • OCBC Names New CEO as Samuel Tsien Retires

    OCBC Names New CEO as Samuel Tsien Retires

    The banking industry veteran, with 35 years of banking experience, will take the helm from 14 April 2021.

    OCBC has named Helen Wong as the successor for its outgoing chief executive Samuel Tsien, who retires after 14 years at the bank, the firm announced on Friday evening.

    Wong, who rejoined OCBC in January 2020 to lead OCBC’s new wholesale banking unit after starting her career at the bank as a trainee in 1984, was appointed after a rigorous global search, the bank said in the announcement.

    Wong is widely regarded as a top female banker in Hong Kong with deep Greater China experience and extensive market knowledge and is regarded as an expert on the Southeast Asian region.

    She previously spent 27 years at HSBC, where she held various senior management positions in corporate and investment banking, including president and chief executive of HSBC China, head of global banking (Hong Kong), and chief executive of Greater China.

    Tsien, 66, joined OCBC Bank in July 2007 as the global head of global corporate bank and was appointed the group CEO in 2012.

    In his nine years as the Group CEO, Sam has significantly built the OCBC franchise into a much more diversified and resilient business. He has strengthened the risk culture and internal processes, and instilled a set of solid corporate values to guide the team in doing business in a sustainable way, OCBC chairman Ooi Sang Kuang said in an internal memo to staff.

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  • Bentley Posts Highest Ever Sales Numbers In 101 Years In 2020

    Bentley Posts Highest Ever Sales Numbers In 101 Years In 2020

    Bentley Motors announced total sales of 11,206 in 2020, an increase of 2 percent over 2019. Although the pre-COVID sales forecast was much greater, new model introductions fuelled this significant achievement which was the highest sales performance in any of the luxury British marque’s 101 years. Bentley’s production was shut down for seven weeks beginning in March, and running at a 50 percent output for a further nine weeks thereafter, as social distancing measures were

    The Americas remained Bentley’s number one region although a strong performance in China, posting an increase of 48 percent came in a close second. The Bentley Continental GT (24 percent) and GT Convertible (15 percent) together accounted for 39 percent of total sales. However, in spite of the run out of the previous generation model, and delays to market entry of the all-new Bentayga due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the SUV was still the biggest selling single model, accounting for 37 percent of total sales.

    The Americas region delivered 3,035 cars, an increase of four percent on the corresponding figure for 2019, 2,913. Placing the region as Bentley’s number one market, this strong performance was boosted by the introduction of the Flying Spur and a full year of sales of the Continental GT and GT Convertible luxury Grand Tourer.

    Bentley’s biggest growth was reserved for China, posting a sales increase of 48 percent, 2,880 cars, against 1,940, as the traditional sedan market welcomed the introduction of the all-new Flying Spur, with Bentayga sales remaining strong.

    Europe closed the year with the delivery of 2,193 cars, against a figure of 2,670 in 2019, a decrease of 18 percent with the region impacted because of the market entry delays of the all-new Bentayga.

    Bentley’s home market in the UK continued its consistently strong performance, recording sales of 1,160 cars. This represented a decrease of 22 per cent over the previous year. Bentley delivered 735 cars to the Middle East in 2020, against a total of 852 the previous year.

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  • Sony Starts Testing Vision-S Electric Car On Public Roads

    Sony Starts Testing Vision-S Electric Car On Public Roads

    It was last year at the 2020 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in January when Sony Corporation surprised everyone by showcasing its fully electric car – Vision-S. The Japanese technology giant revealed the electric prototype which comes packed with high-end technologies including camera sensors, entertainment systems and much more. Sony’s Vision-S Prototype reached Tokyo in July 2020 for advancing its sensing and audio technologies. Though the car is not expected to go on sale anytime soon, the company seems to have started testing the electric car on public roads in Austria.

    Built by an in-house AI and robotics team, the Japanese company claims that it has been fully road-tested. This is just to ensure that the EV and its platform Vision-S will comply with applicable safety norms and regulations. Moreover, Sony is also working Magna-Steyr to ensure that the vehicle is well-equipped to hit the road in Europe.

    Sony’s driverless prototype comes embedded with 33 sensors which can easily sense people and other vehicles both inside and outside the car to provide driving support. It takes advantage of the brand’s expertise in the field of imaging, entertainment and sensors, which could be employed in the next-generation electric vehicles. The company is already supplying these technologies to Japanese automakers, however, it now wants to develop an individual product that can be supplied as an all-purpose solution.

    Sony hasn’t shared any details about what powers the vehicle. However, it has revealed some key specifications of the car. Dimensionally, this prototype vehicle from Sony measures 4,895 mm in length, 1,900 mm in width and 1,450 mm in height. The wheelbase and ground clearance of the car stands at 3,000 mm and 120mm (up to 135 mm) respectively. The company claims that the Vision-S can sprint from 0 to 100 kmph in just 4.8 seconds before hitting the top speed of 240 kmph.

    It is also equipped with Sony’s 360 Reality Audio offering ensuring an unprecedented and immersive audio experience. The company uses object-based spatial audio technology for recreating vivid realism. Every seat comes with built-in individual speakers so that every passenger can enjoy their music their seats with a personalised sound configuration option. Additionally, there’s a panoramic screen which offers a diverse array of content that can be accessed by driver and passengers.

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  • Hanoi suburbs see fast rise in housing prices

    Hanoi suburbs see fast rise in housing prices

    Housing prices are rising faster in Hanoi’s outer districts than in areas closer to downtown, thanks to improved connectivity.

    Average prices in districts like Gia Lam and Nam Tu Liem rose 1.3 percent in the last quarter to $1,473 per square meter, and at 0.7 percent in central districts, according to a recent report by real estate consultancy Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL).

    Prices at a newly launched apartment project in Gia Lam District bordering the provinces of Bac Ninh and Hung Yen climbed to a new high of $1,900 per square meter in the last quarter, it said.

    The improved transport infrastructure and the trend of developing large urban areas in suburban areas explain the increase, it added.

    Another real estate consultancy, Savills, said in November that apartment prices were rising in Hanoi’s suburbs as developers offered a number of features to make up for the distance from the city center.

    Gia Lam and Nam Tu Liem accounted for 38 percent and 37 percent of new apartment supply in the last quarter, with prices higher than those closer to downtown, it said.

    Apartment supply has been increasing in outer areas since 2016, it added.

  • Deutsche Bank Strikes a Deal on Bribery

    Deutsche Bank Strikes a Deal on Bribery

    Deutsche Bank will look to avoid U.S. charges of bribery and manipulation of precious metals markets by making a payment totaling nearly $125 million.

    Almost the entire payout relates to charges against the German lender over its dealings in Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi, China, and Italy, according to court papers, with a criminal fine making up two-thirds of the total sum, according to a court hearing in New York.

    Prosecutors claim that Deutsche Bank violated the federal Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) which prohibits firms with U.S. operations from paying bribes elsewhere.

    Deutsche Bank engaged in a criminal scheme to conceal payments to so-called consultants worldwide who served as conduits for bribes to foreign officials and others to win and retain lucrative business projects said a statement from Acting U.S. Attorney Seth DuCharme in Brooklyn.

    According to prosecutors, Deutsche Bank allegedly disguised bribes as «referral fees» paid to «decision-makers» in Saudi Arabia and millions of dollars in consultancy fees to an intermediary for an Abu Dhabi official.

    The bank was also accused of making similar payments to a Chinese government entity to help establish a clean energy investment fund and a tax judge in Italy for referring wealthy clients.

    With regards to precious metals market manipulation, Deutsche Bank was accused of placing fraudulent trades to lure other stop buy and sell futures contracts at price levels they normally would not engage.

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  • UOB Prices Capital Securities Using SORA

    UOB Prices Capital Securities Using SORA

    The bank has become the first issuer to reference the Singapore Overnight Rate Average Overnight Indexed Swap (SORA-OIS) rate for a capital security.

    The reset coupon rate of UOB’s perpetual, non-call five-year additional Tier 1 (AT1) securities on the first call date will reference the five-year SORA-OIS rate, instead of the five-year Swap Offer Rate (SOR) interest rate swap that had been the benchmark reference rate in the market, the bank said in a statement on Friday.

    The issuance will further encourage the use of the new benchmark rate for pricing in the Singapore dollar bond market as part of broader industry efforts to develop deep and robust SORA-based cash and derivative markets, UOB said.

    Priced at a coupon of 2.25 percent per annum, 181 basis points above the prevailing five-year SORA-OIS as at 7 January 2021, UOB’s latest AT1 securities with a transaction size of S$150 million ($113.26 million) were subscribed by high-net-worth and institutional investors. If the bonds are not redeemed in 2026, the coupon will be reset based on 181 basis points above the five-year SORA-OIS on the first call date.

    The transition from SOR and SIBOR to SORA, a transaction-based interest rate benchmark underpinned by the SGD overnight interbank funding market, is aligned with the development that risk-free rates are being used across the global markets as new benchmark rates for financial markets.

    As the industry progresses on the transition to SORA, we will continue to step up our efforts and play our part in expanding the use of SORA across more financial products, Lee Wai Fai, UOB chief financial officer, said in the statement.

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