5 more China-made products found tainted with melamine

5 more China-made products found tainted with melamine

By Imelda Saad,

SINGAPORE: Five more China-made food products sold in Singapore have been detected to contain the industrial chemical melamine.

Two are flavoured milk and three are confectionaries containing milk powder as an ingredient.

They are: Dutch Lady Banana Flavoured Milk; Dutch Lady Honeydew Flavoured Milk; Silang - House of Steamed Potato - Potato Cracker; Puffed Rice Rolls - Butter Corn Flavour; and Puffed Rice Rolls - Cheese Flavour.

The latest findings bring the total number of affected products to eight.

The other products that were earlier found to be contaminated with melamine are Yi Li Choice Dairy Fruit Bar Yogurt Flavoured Ice Confection; Dutch Lady Strawberry Flavoured Milk; and White Rabbit Creamy Candy.

The Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA) says the public need not be unduly concerned as it has suspended the import and sale of all milk and milk products from China since 19 September.

AVA also says only low levels of melamine were detected in the affected products. Consumers have to consume large quantities of the contaminated products over a prolonged period of time to have any potential ill effects on health.

For example, an adult weighing 60kg needs to eat 13 packs of Silang House Steamed Potato crackers daily for an entire lifetime to be affected by melamine contamination.

Similarly, a child weighing 30kg will need to eat six-and-a-half packs of the potato crackers for the ill effects of melamine to take root.

 
Source : Channel NewsAsia - 25 Sept 2008

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CCS says CASE did not infringe Competition Act

CCS says CASE did not infringe Competition Act

SINGAPORE : The Competition Commission of Singapore (CCS) has said the Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE) did not infringe the Competition Act.

Last November, the Stansfield Group and the SIC Education Group had lodged a complaint with the Competition Commission against CASE.

In the complaint, it was alleged that CASE had engaged in anti-competitive activities which had greatly impaired the progress of private education organisations in Singapore.

CASE’s executive director Seah Seng Choon said he is pleased with the outcome and believes that the decision supports the organisation’s position that it has not acted in an anti-competitive manner.

But in a statement, the chairman of Stansfield College, Kannappan Chettiar, noted that the CCS did not make a decision on whether the practices of CASE had greatly impaired the progress of private education organisations in Singapore.

He said since the complaints were made, the Singapore government has reviewed the entire legislation surrounding the private education industry, and the new Private Education Act will reduce the role of CASE.

Mr Chettiar said: “We are very happy with the progress made by the government, and to this extent feel that our complaints have been attended to indirectly.” - CNA/ms

Source : Channel NewsAsia - 25 Sept 2008

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Analysts say time is right for Asian banks to project their branding

Analysts say time is right for Asian banks to project their branding

By Rachel Kelly, 
SINGAPORE : As big global banks grapple with the credit crisis, Asian banks are stepping in and helping to change the global banking landscape.

Some experts have said that the time may just be right for Asian banks to project their branding.

Customer perceptions of banks have taken a blow in the last few months, with the unveiling of deeper debt and sub-prime exposure.

And according to industry watcher Brand Finance, the world’s top 100 brands have seen their brand value decrease by about 5 per cent in the first nine months of this year.

Within the financial industry, the investment banking sector took a big hit.

Lucy Gwee, managing director, Brand Finance, said: “In the financial service sector, (the loss of branding value for) investment banks is about US$8 billion, and Citigroup as a whole would have the largest hit of nearly US$3.9 billion. The other investment banks like UBS and Goldman saw their brand value drop by around 11 per cent. As for commercial banks, I do not think they are spared as well; the overall drop is about US$3.8 billion.”

The loss of brand value can be determined by the decrease in value of a brand’s intangible assets such as copyrights, patents, and trademarks.

Recent studies show that intangible assets, which make up a company’s brand, account for 66 per cent of global market value.

As US and European names struggle to survive the credit crisis, Asian banks - particularly the Japanese lenders - have seized the opportunity to expand their footprint.

Nomura Holdings is buying over the Asian and European operations of collapsed US investment bank Lehman Brothers.

The deal is seen as helping to shore up its brand value.

Asian banks are seen as being better-capitalised than their European or American counterparts, and some say that despite the cloudy economic outlook, it might be a good time to raise their profile.

And while some companies may be looking to cut on ad spend during the current financial turmoil, industry experts said that keeping up branding may be crucial to keep afloat.

They also noted that companies should look out for opportunities to extend their brand footprint, with valuations being attractive at the moment.

Experts said that branding is more crucial now, given the speed at which the global banking landscape has changed within the last week.

Ms Gwee said: “Within the banking sector, one can expect that there will be a lot of reform, a lot of re-invention, a lot of restructuring in the banking sector…That will have repercussions as well - negative repercussions - but I think…sectors most exposed to the Western economies would be most likely to be affected…”

Following the merger of Merrill Lynch and Bank of America, along with Morgan Stanley selling a 20 per cent equity stake to Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, more deals are expected to be on the cards in the sector. - CNA/ms

 
Source : Channel NewsAsia - 25 Sept 2008

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Mortgage giants, Lehman and AIG face probe WASHINGTON

Mortgage giants, Lehman and AIG face probe  WASHINGTON

The four are among 26 companies that FBI is investigating for possible fraud 

WASHINGTON: Under pressure to hold Wall Street accountable for the credit crisis, the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has opened preliminary investigations into possible fraud at four companies at the centre of the recent turmoil - Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Lehman Brothers and American International Group (AIG).
A government official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said it was ‘logical to assume’ that those four companies would come under investigation because of the many questions surrounding their recent collapse.

The four are among 26 that the FBI is reviewing for possible accounting misstatements.

Mortgage finance giants Freddie and Fannie, as well as insurer AIG, were all taken over by the government earlier this month. Lehman filed for bankruptcy.

The crisis has led the Bush administration to ask Congress to approve a US$700 billion (S$1 trillion) bailout for the financial industry.

People familiar with the matter have said earlier that other companies under FBI investigation include IndyMac Bancorp and Countrywide Financial, which has since been bought by Bank of America.

FBI director Robert Mueller, testifying in Congress last week, pledged to ‘pursue these cases as far up the corporate chain as necessary to ensure those responsible receive the justice they deserve’.

Fannie and Freddie, as well as AIG, already restated their books earlier this decade and corrected billions of dollars in accounting errors.

Fannie paid a record US$400 million fine to the Securities and Exchange Commission and its regulator in 2006 to settle charges that executives fraudulently used ‘cookie jar’ reserves and other accounting gimmicks to hide US$10.3 billion in losses from 2002 to 2004 and maximise bonuses.

Freddie paid US$125 million in fines in 2003 and restated earnings from 2000 to 2002 after it replaced long-time auditor Arthur Andersen and discovered errors related to derivatives.

Regulators accused the company of manipulating its accounting to push some US$5 billion in earnings to future quarters.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency, which regulates the government-sponsored mortgage companies, seized control of both companies earlier this month after outside examiners found more accounting problems and said their capital cushion was low.

Several senators at last week’s hearing made it clear that they wanted to see the FBI take aggressive steps to investigate possible criminal wrongdoing in connection with the crisis.

‘And if people were cooking the books, manipulating, doing things they were not supposed to do, then I want people held responsible,’ said Senator Patrick Leahy, who leads the judiciary committee.

LOS ANGELES TIMES, NEW YORK TIMES

Source : Straits Times - 25 Sept 2008

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Wing Tai picks top architects for 2 projects

Wing Tai picks top architects for 2 projects

Pritzker Prize winner Jean Nouvel to design his first project in S’pore
By ARTHUR SIM

FEW cities can claim to have buildings designed by 10 Pritzker Prize winning architects, and Singapore is now one of them.
 
Belle Vue Residence: Wing Tai has upped the ante in the race for big names by commissioning eminent Japanese architect Toyo Ito for its luxury development in Oxley Walk. Mr Ito is well known here for designing Vivocity 
To date there are only about 30 winners of the prestigious Pritzker Prize - the architectural equivalent of the Pulitzer Prize - and thanks to Wing Tai Holdings, Jean Nouvel, the latest recipient, will be the 10th winner to design a building here.

Mr Nouvel, who follows in the footsteps of architects like Philip Johnson, Kenzo Tange and James Stirling, will design his first project here - a luxury 43-unit apartment building in District 9 to be called Le Nouvel Ardmore.

On the choice of architect, Wing Tai deputy chairman Edmund Cheng said: ‘Architecture influences who we are by defining how we live. That is why we set high standards for the architecture in our developments - to provide timeless elegant designs and thoughtful functional spaces.’

For Le Nouvel Ardmore, Mr Nouvel has created a 33-storey tower derived from the concept of a rotating Rubik’s cube.

While the tower will not actually ‘rotate’, automated screens will be incorporated into the facade so homeowners can ‘frame their own views’ and create unique living spaces.

Mr Nouvel’s design also calls for an outer structural lattice in the form of a grid detached from the living spaces to create an buffer of greenery and layering of spaces.

Besides giving the tower a distinctive look, the buffer space will be planted at certain levels to correspond to the villas-in-the-sky ambience of the development.

Internally, units will have high ceilings bathed in light from big windows that will provide 270 degree views.

‘We know who our buyers are, we understand their needs and lifestyle requirements,’ said Mr Cheng. ‘They have keen appreciation for differentiation and seek sophistication in their properties.’

As homebuyers become more discerning, developers here are increasingly commissioning big-name architects.

‘Discerning homebuyers and investors are increasingly drawn to good architecture,’ said Mr Cheng. ‘They have a higher sensitivity towards good design and are willing to spend not only on the interior of their apartments but also the exterior. Projects equated with quality are likely to attract higher premiums for their uniqueness and beauty.’

Wing Tai seems to have upped the ante in the race for big names by commissioning eminent Japanese architect Toyo Ito for its other luxury development, Belle Vue Residences in Oxley Walk.

Mr Ito, who received the 2002 Gold Lion Award at the International Architecture Exhibition of Venice Biennale, is already well known here for designing Vivocity.

For Belle Vue Residences, he has pushed the boundaries by coming up with a floor plan inspired by the branches of a tree and setting a distinctly organic tone.

The 176-unit development will have intimate pockets of space designed to mimic nature’s branching pattern, integrating interior and exterior spaces.

The organic branching effect also results in more exposed wall surfaces and windows for more natural light and better ventilation.

As a result of organic planning, there are about 160 unit types, with most responding to the landscape in unique ways.

Source : Business Times - 25 Sept 2008

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Will Paulson’s bailout plan create a monster?

Will Paulson’s bailout plan create a monster?

Like Nixon’s wage-price controls, the Treasury Secretary’s plan is no panacea
By ROBERT SAMUELSON
CALL it Paulson’s Panic. That’s both unfair and accurate. It’s unfair because Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson didn’t create the underlying conditions that led to today’s financial turmoil, and the failure for not quelling it is shared by Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke. But it’s also accurate, because as world financial markets verged on panic, Mr Paulson himself panicked. He saw no remedy except a massive bailout: having the government buy up to US$700 billion worth of risky bonds.
 
Mr Paulson: Historians will judge whether his outsized US$700 billion proposal was necessary, but the notion that its congressional enactment would magically end the crisis may be wishful thinking 
Historians will judge whether his outsized proposal was necessary, but the notion that its congressional enactment would magically end the crisis may be wishful thinking. Americans often delude themselves that all problems can be ’solved’ if only government will act ‘boldly’. This may be another example.

Contrary to much commentary, Mr Paulson’s plan would not be the largest government intervention in the private economy since World War II. That distinction still belongs to Richard Nixon’s imposition of wage-price controls in August 1971. True, Mr Paulson would socialise unprecedented amounts of private debt; but Nixon asserted control over the entire economy. What’s fascinating are the possible parallels between the two episodes, starting with a shared irony: Both came from administrations committed to ‘free markets’.

When Nixon declared the wage-price freeze - a complete surprise because he had consistently opposed controls - the decision proved ‘wildly popular’, writes Rice University historian Allen Matusow in his book Nixon’s Economy. By one survey, 75 per cent of Americans supported it.

‘There was widespread public rejoicing that at last the government was protecting the people,’ Herbert Stein, a Nixon economist, later observed.

 
The difference between now and two years ago is that financial managers then thought they understood the system; now they know they don’t. Ignorance breeds risk-aversion and fear.
 
 
 
 
 
 
Consumer price inflation, which had been rising at a 4 per cent annual rate, dropped towards one per cent. People believed that by acting decisively government could outlaw inflationary psychology. It couldn’t.

Inflationary pressures built up under the artificial lid of the controls. Moreover, the faulty economic doctrines that produced inflation - easy-money policies aimed at maintaining ‘full employment’ of 4 per cent joblessness - remained. When controls ended in 1974, inflation exploded to 12 per cent. It averaged almost 9 per cent from 1975 to 1981. Only the brutal 1981-82 recession, imposed by Paul Volcker’s Fed and raising unemployment to 10.8 per cent, ended the wage-price spiral.

Mr Paulson argues that relieving banks of dubious mortgage-backed securities will ‘unclog’ the financial system and encourage essential business and consumer lending. Maybe. It’s true that these securities, because they cannot easily be valued, have created immense uncertainty.

Banks and other financial institutions reduced routine lending to each other; everyone worried that the other bank might be in trouble. Having the Treasury buy these mortgage securities, on which losses have already been booked, might minimise these fears.

The trouble is that fears extend beyond mortgage securities. It wasn’t just home mortgages that were bundled up into bonds and sold to institutional investors (pension funds, insurance companies, college endowments). Car loans, credit card debt and commercial real estate loans have been similarly packaged, US$900 billion worth in 2007. Naturally, doubts about the value of these securities have also increased. ‘Securitisation’ may survive, but this lending is already down (80 per cent in 2008), reports Thomson Reuters. Credit is tightening across the board; issuance of high-quality corporate bonds is down 22 per cent, while riskier ‘high yield’ bonds are down 65 per cent.

What we are discovering is that all the complex securities, combined with ever-greater international investment flows, have created a global financial system ’so arcane that few people can understand its workings’, writes David Smick in his book The World Is Curved: Hidden Dangers to the Global Economy. The difference between now and two years ago is that financial managers then thought they understood the system; now they know they don’t. Ignorance breeds risk-aversion and fear.

Like wage-price controls, Mr Paulson’s plan is no panacea. Banks, hedge funds, private equity funds and others are trying to reduce risk by ‘deleveraging’ - selling stocks and bonds to raise cash, increase capital and cut their own debt. The rush to cash is a hallmark of financial crises.

But what makes sense for one may be ruinous for all. Heavy selling depresses prices; lower prices then increase losses, deplete capital, prompt more selling and heighten fear. At best, Mr Paulson’s plan might pre-empt this spiral by allowing investors to unload their least attractive securities.

But it wouldn’t automatically stimulate new lending, revitalise ’securitisation’ or prevent more ‘deleveraging’. Time is needed. The rescue is being constructed so hastily that it may include all manner of flawed provisions: too much power for the Treasury Secretary; authority for bankruptcy judges to modify mortgages.

Congress faces a wrenching dilemma, imposed on it by financial markets and Mr Paulson. If it dawdles, it may invite the panic that Mr Paulson has brazenly predicted. But if it acts quickly, it may create a monster whose full implications - possibly adverse - emerge only with time. — The Washington Post Writers Group
Source : Business Times - 25 Sept 2008

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Bailout shouldn’t be a quick fix

Bailout shouldn’t be a quick fix

THE US sub-prime contagion continues and it is still impossible to predict its course or its longevity. The latest move is the US$700 billion Wall Street rescue plan proposed by US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson. This hastily drawn-up plan is predictably facing resistance from lawmakers, who argue that the bailout does more for Wall Street than for Main Street.
Mr Paulson himself admits the bailout is ’sad’ and ‘embarrassing’ but adds that his priority is to restore confidence in markets. The Treasury secretary has Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke on his side - they both argue essentially that if the credit markets don’t function, jobs will be lost, interest rates will rise, more houses will be foreclosed upon, gross domestic product (GDP) will contract and that the US economy will not be able to recover in a normal, healthy way. And that, they say, would be much worse for taxpayers than a bailout.

 
However, the issue is not whether to have a bailout, but what kind of bailout it should be. What Mr Paulson is proposing appears to be modelled roughly along the lines of Sweden’s financial system rescue in the 1990s. There, the mess was cleared at the cost of a three-year recession. Analysts put that final tab at about 2.1 per cent of Sweden’s GDP. Bank shareholders lost almost all their money, but tough government intervention and nationalisation ensured an orderly return to surpluses and real growth. However, the crisis in America is different in size, scale and character. It is not just about the mortgage market, but also about a multitude of other toxic assets, which are hard to value at the best of times. Moreover, ’socialism’ is far less politically acceptable in the US than in Sweden, which means that the follow-up actions which Sweden undertook, including fiscal stringency, cannot be guaranteed after the immediate rescue. The US bailout, potentially the biggest ever, would cost every American US$2,300 per head at a minimum. Nor is it certain that US$700 billion would be enough, as the crisis is far from over and estimates of its cost are, at this stage, just guesses.

The feeling among Americans that the Bush administration is bailing out Wall Street at the expense of Main Street is also a major point of contention. There is enormous political pressure to do more to help distressed homeowners as well, not just financial institutions. There is also concern that banks burned by the crisis may not quickly return to lending liberally to the real economy, even after their balance sheets turn black.

Thus it would seem that for any plan to be politically acceptable and workable, it would need to place greater emphasis on helping the real economy and be more discriminating in bailing out Wall Street.

Thus, rushing through legislation without proper debate and a greater measure of consensus would be dangerous. No doubt, it is important to do the job quickly. But it is just as important to do it right.

Source : Business Times - 25 Sept 2008

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Anwar plans to proceed with caution- KUALA LUMPUR

Anwar plans to proceed with caution- KUALA LUMPUR

He says opposition does not want to violate constitution
(KUALA LUMPUR) Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim said that he would ‘proceed cautiously’ in his bid to topple the government after missing a second self-imposed deadline.

Anwar: Has previously said that he had persuaded enough ruling coalition lawmakers to join his alliance to oust MrAbdullah by Sept 16 
‘We do not want to transgress the constitutional rules and procedures,’ he told reporters yesterday, one day after the date he had demanded Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi recall parliament for a confidence vote. Anwar had previously said that he had persuaded enough ruling coalition lawmakers to join his alliance to oust Mr Abdullah by Sept 16.

Mr Abdullah, who has resisted calls from his party to quit after leading it to its worst election result since Malaysia’s independence, has called the opposition leader’s claims a ‘dream’ and refused to recall lawmakers earlier than the scheduled Oct 13 resumption of parliament. Anwar, who needs at least 30 more lawmakers to take control of the 222-seat house, declined to set a new deadline yesterday.

‘Our problem is there is no guarantee that the motion will be accepted,’ he said, asking his supporters to be ‘patient’.

Anwar was speaking after a court delayed for two weeks a decision to transfer his pending sex trial to a higher court. He faces a maximum prison sentence of 20 years if found guilty of having homosexual relations with a 23-year-old man, a crime in Malaysia.

Earlier this year, Malaysia’s parliament speaker rejected two similar attempts for a no-confidence vote against Mr Abdullah proposed by a member of the ruling coalition and an opposition party. — Bloomberg

 
Source : Business Times - 25 Sept 2008

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Singaporeans watching more F1 races on TV

Singaporeans watching more F1 races on TV

SINGAPOREANS have spent more time watching Formula One motor races on television since it was announced that Singapore would host the race. Ratings from ESPN Star Sports show that the time spent by viewers here watching F1 live races, highlights and related programmes in 2007 jumped 25 per cent from 2006.
From January to August 2008, the highest increase in TV ratings for F1 live races was for men in the 35-44 age group. The rise was 127 per cent compared with full-year 2007.The sport was also popular among males in the 15-24 age bracket, with a viewing increase of almost 20 per cent.

F1 seems to have gained ground among women, too, with a 26 per cent rise in female viewers aged 15 and over. Women in the 35-44 age group registered a 35 per cent viewing increase.

There was also strong out-of-home viewing of F1 races last year, with 45 per cent of F1 viewers preferring to watch the sport at commercial establishments such as pubs and sports bars or at a friend’s home.

Source : Business Times - 25 Sept 2008

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Property players to showcase Singapore luxury homes

Property players to showcase Singapore luxury homes

Knight Frank to offer complimentary tours of 4 high-end developments
By UMA SHANKARI

PROPERTY firms and developers are looking to showcase - and maybe sell - luxury apartments as the wealthy roll into town for this weekend’s Formula One race.
 
Mr Ow: Eyeing visitors looking to invest here 
Several plan to arrange visits to showflats for interested visitors. And others, who have nothing concrete planned, say they will organise site visits if there is interest.

Knight Frank, which plans a property circuit at the weekend, is perhaps the most on the ball.

‘Everyone knows a lot of foreigners will be in town this weekend for the race,’ said executive director (residential) Peter Ow. ‘Some may be interested to know more about Singapore, and even to invest here.’

With this in mind, on Friday, Saturday and Sunday mornings, Knight Frank is offering complimentary tours - with pick-ups thrown in - of four high- end developments. The projects are Nassim Park Residences, Boulevard Vue, St Regis Residences and Viva. Visitors will also be taken on a general tour of Sentosa Cove.

Tours will start at 9am and take about two hours. Knight Frank agents will try to give visitors an idea of what the high-end property market here is like and also ’sell Singapore’.

To get visitor attention, Knight Frank is advertising in print. In addition, invitations will be sent to all rooms at certain hotels, such as the Pan Pacific and Fullerton. Interested guests can then call and book a tour slot.

‘I’m really not sure what the response will be because these people are here to see the race, not look at or buy property,’ Mr Ow said. But even if just one per cent of the 10,000 expected visitors show an interest, the response will be ‘great’, he said.

Other property firms, by contrast, have nothing as specific planned. But they are still eager and willing. DTZ, for example, is prepared to show its high-end properties on request. There have already been some enquiries, it said.

Developers, on the other hand, have a captive audience - some of them are flying guests into town for the race and will be taking them on visits to the latest luxury offerings.

One developer, which is hosting guests for the F1, told BT that while there are no plans to take these guests to showflats during the F1 weekend itself, guests who extend their stay will be invited to look at luxury developments.

Hamilton Scotts, a 30-storey upmarket project by Hayden Properties - the first project in Asia to feature car parking within apartment units - will hold a car show during the race weekend at its showflat. Car aficionados - of whom there will doubtless be many - will get a chance to view the luxury project with the luxury cars.

Source : Business Times - 25 Sept 2008

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