Author: Wira Selamat

Leong Hup International Bhd (LHI) is seeing an improved operating environment in key markets including Malaysia and Indonesia, and this should sustain its earnings growth, says RHB Research. The research firm added it continues to like LHI because the poultry player is well-positioned to capture the robust poultry consumption in the Asean region. “Year-on-year (y-o-y) in the first half of financial year 2023 (1H23), revenue grew 6% to RM4.6bil. “This was supported by healthy growth across all operating markets on the back of the broad reopening of economies. “The Philippines market contributed the highest growth, as the group continued to…

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has ordered an indefinite suspension of 22 major land reclamation projects in Manila Bay to allow a study of their environmental impact and legal compliance, an official said Thursday. Marcos’s order came after the United States expressed public concern over environmental damage from the projects and the involvement of a Chinese company which was blacklisted by Washington for its role in building militarized Chinese island bases in the South China Sea that further stoked tensions in the contested waters. The heavily fortified U.S. Embassy in Manila sits on the edge of the bay, which is…

Filipino President Ferdinand Marcos Jr denied making a deal with China to remove a grounded warship, which is a military outpost in the South China Sea, on Wednesday. He said such an agreement must be considered rescinded if it ever existed. The Philippines reportedly keeps a handful of mere troops on the WWII-era Sierra Madre at the Second Thomas Shoal, which Manila knows as the Ayungin Shoal, inside the 200-mile-long exclusive economic zone (EEZ). On Monday, China accused the Philippines of reneging on a promise made “explicitly” to get rid of the vessel grounded back in 1999 to enhance territorial…

Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. touches on plan while visiting military command on Palawan island. The Philippines plans to deploy its own maritime militia to defend its sovereignty amid a raging territorial row with China, the Filipino armed forces chief said Thursday as he visited an island on the frontline of the sea dispute. Reporters who accompanied Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. on his tour of Palawan asked him if the military would deploy maritime militia forces as part of its transition to territorial defense from traditional internal security operations. “Yes, it’s part of our plans, that’s part of our reserve force development,” the head of the…

Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee is in Singapore, his first visit since becoming the territory’s new leader just over a year ago. His visit, from Sunday (Jul 23) to Tuesday, comes at the invitation of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) on Sunday. MFA added that the Hong Kong leader will call on and be hosted to lunch by Mr Lee Hsien Loong. He will also be hosted to breakfast by Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong. Deputy Prime Minister and Coordinating Minister for Economic Policies Heng Swee Keat and Mr John Lee will also speak at the ‘Singapore-Hong Kong:…

The U.S. has invited Chinese and Russian officials to a key food security meeting amid the fallout from Russia leaving the Black Sea grain deal, the Biden administration confirmed. Key U.S. and Chinese officials may have a chance to sit down in person and discuss the fallout from Russia’s withdrawal from a key global food security deal next month. The U.S. has invited China’s agriculture minister, Tang Renjian, to the 2023 APEC food security ministerial meeting, which takes place in Seattle on Aug. 3, the Biden administration confirmed. Russia’s decision to blow up the Black Sea Grain Initiative is expected…

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) has emerged as a dynamic region that presents enticing business opportunities. Asean member-countries boast of a rapidly growing consumer market and a flourishing entrepreneurial ecosystem. With its strategic location and diverse economies, the Asean region has created a favorable environment for trade and investment through advanced technology, robust manufacturing centers, developing sectors and attractive tourism destinations. Businesses have garnered opportunities to capitalize on Asean’s economic growth and tap into its immense potential. Among the 10 member-countries of this region, the Ambassadors of Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia were invited to a panel…

Vietnam has quickly become a major export production hub for global manufacturers like South Korea’s LG and Samsung Electronics, suppliers to Apple, Inc. and auto makers like Honda and Toyota The U.S. considers building strong economic and security ties with Vietnam a priority, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Thursday as she met with Vietnamese officials in a visit aimed at fortifying America’s relations across Asia. Yellen arrived in Vietnam after visits to Beijing and to India, where she attended financial meetings of the Group of 20 major industrial economies. “The United States considers Vietnam a key partner in advancing a free and open…

The ASEAN-G7 Justice Ministers’ Interface convened in Tokyo, Japan on July 7, aiming to foster cooperation among the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the Group of Seven (G7) countries in the field of law and justice. The event, which took place one day after the ASEAN-Japan Special Meeting of Justice Ministers, is the first joint meeting of the justice ministers from ASEAN and G7 countries to enhance rule of law collaboration for strengthening regional and international order. At the event, the justice ministers underscored the importance of international law and order. They also sought to cooperate in the exchange and training of legal…

The Japanese government on Thursday slammed China’s unilateral actions and repeated intrusions into Japanese waters and in the South China Sea. Japanese Ambassador Kazuhiko Koshikawa said Beijing’s dangerous behavior in the South China Sea and continuing defiance of the 2016 arbitral award by an international tribunal in The Hague is a serious concern. “As China’s unilateral actions such as repeated intrusions into Japan’s waters around the Senkaku Islands in the ECS (East China Sea), China’s dangerous behavior in the South China Sea in defiance of the 2016 arbitration award is a grave concern for regional peace and stability,” the Japanese…