World Trading News

Yongnam unit wins S$159m JV contract

A joint venture (JV) between Yongnam Engineering & Construction - a subsidiary of Yongnam Holdings - and Jian Huang Construction Co has won a S$159 million contract for the JTC Food Hub @ Senoko.
The JV will build a new seven-storey ramp-up development in the Senoko Food Zone.
Built on a land area of 33,000 square metres, the development will consist of 50 modular factory units and will feature an integrated coldroom-warehouse facility. When completed, this integrated facility will be operated by a third party logistics service provider, offering logistics to Food Hub tenants.
Construction is expected to commence from this month, with completion slated for the first half of 2017.
Seow Soon Yong, chief executive of Yongnam, said: "We are excited to have secured the JTC Food Hub @ Senoko project, which is a significant milestone that reinforces Yongnam's capabilities and competitiveness."

Global investors at risk from low quality assets, warns IIF

LAST October, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) warned investors in unusually blunt terms against pouring money into global stock and bond markets under the "illusion of liquidity", and that financial markets could be headed for a bust. 

Asia: Markets struggle as profit-taking offsets Wall St rally

Asian equities were mostly lower Tuesday after healthy gains in the previous session attracted profit-takers, offsetting a strong lead from Wall Street.
Shanghai tumbled 2.20 per cent, or 73.24 points, to 3,263.05 after rallying Monday in response to the Chinese central bank's weekend interest rate cut. Hong Kong shed 0.74 per cent, or 184.66 points, to end at 24,702.78 Tokyo closed flat, slipping 0.06 per cent or 11.72 points to 18,815.16.
Sydney - which ended Monday at a seven-year high - fell 0.42 per cent, or 24.98 points, to 5,933.90 after the Australian central bank kept interest rates on hold, confounding expectations for a cut to another record low.
However, Seoul finished 0.23 per cent, or 4.57 points, higher at 2,001.38.


Oil prices stabilise in Asian trade

Oil prices stabilised in Asia on Monday following sharp gains in the previous session as dealers predicted the end of volatile trading and the beaten-down commodity bottoming out, analysts said.
US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for April delivery fell 37 US cents to US$49.39 while Brent crude eased 28 US cents to US$62.30 in late-morning trade.
WTI advanced US$1.59 while Brent gained a hefty US$2.53 on Friday.
WTI, after having fallen in early 2015 to a six-year low, has swung wildly in February, but finished the month a little more than US$1.50 higher. By contrast, Brent gained about US$12.

Stocks to watch: Noble, Centurion, Global Invacom, Pacific Radiance, Banyan Tree, StarHub, Sheng Siong

NOBLE Group halted the trading of its shares on Thursday after Iceberg Research launched its second litany of allegations against the commodity group, saying that Noble's profits are overstated as Noble books fair-value gains on long-term offtake agreements it has with its suppliers upfront.

It also highlighted that the fair value of unrealised commodity contracts (mark-to-market) which are related to its long-term offtake agreements is too high and needs to be written down.
It added that Noble's operating cash flows are weak and the reported operating cash flows are inflated as it excludes interest expenses and includes cash balances with futures brokers not immediately available for use in the business operations.

Centurion Corp reported on Thursday that its net profit for the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2014, soared to S$72.97 million, thanks to a major boost from the fair-value gain on its investment properties.

Euro loses steam after rising on Greek debt deal as caution lingers

[TOKYO] The euro held steady on Monday, rising initially in relief following a conditional loan extension deal for Greece, but losing steam as caution towards the debt saga persisted.
Euro zone ministers late on Friday agreed to extend Greece's financial rescue package by four months.
Greece had asked for a six-month extension, but the financial markets still drew some relief as the agreement removed the immediate threat of its exit from the single currency bloc after weeks of difficult and often predictable negotiations.
The euro's gains on Friday were nevertheless modest as there were still kinks to be ironed out on Monday.



Germany holds up Greek bid for euro zone loan extension

 Germany rejected a Greek proposal for a six-month extension to its euro zone loan agreement on Thursday, saying it was "not a substantial solution" because it did not commit Athens to stick to the conditions of its international bailout.

Berlin's stance, describing the carefully worded Greek letter as a "Trojan horse" for shirking commitments, set the scene for tough talks at a crucial meeting of euro zone finance ministers on Friday. Greece's leftist-led government is scrabbling to avoid running out of money within weeks and will face pressure to make further concessions in Brussels.