The Malaysian Insider

SINGAPORE, July 4 —Temasek Holdings has finally made its foray into the oil and gas business by clinching its first-ever exploration rights — an Indonesian concession in West Belida onshore Sumatra.

This comes a year after it first set up Orchard Energy, its oil and gas exploration and production (E&P) subsidiary. Things have started moving now that Orchard has an experienced team in place, led by 30-year E&P veteran Tony Tan who crossed over from Singapore Petroleum Company in January to be its CEO.

LONDON, July 4 — All airline companies know that good service is key to attracting customers.

Yet Ryanair — a European low-cost carrier — operates on a different business model: It prospers by being nasty to its passengers. And it is getting nastier still.

Ryanair has just announced that its customers will no longer be able to board aircraft unless they check themselves in online. Passengers will also have to lug all their suitcases to the plane. In future, they may also have to pay for every mid-flight visit to the toilet.

SINGAPORE, July 4 — Asia will lead the world out of the economic morass, but the journey will be long and uncertain, a business school don warned yesterday.

The worst of the global recession might be over, but a full recovery is not likely until after next year, said Professor Bernard Yeung, dean of the National University of Singapore (NUS) Business School.

And he believes a new global economic order will surface, dominated by Asia with China at its centre.

SINGAPORE, July 4 — Singapore can expect unemployment to remain at current levels or to rise further, Manpower Minister Gan Kim Yong said yesterday.

In remarks suggesting a turnaround is not imminent, he said that with the economic outlook still uncertain, the labour market “will remain soft for next one to two quarters at least”.

“A lot will depend on whether orders are coming in for the third as well as the fourth quarter. Visibility is not clear beyond July or August,” he said at a press conference to give an update on the impact of the Skills Programme for Upgrading and Resilience (Spur).

HONG KONG, July 3 — Wilmar International, the world’s largest listed palm oil company, has hired three banks to handle what sources say could be a US$3 billion (RM10.5 billion) flotation of its China business.

The Hong Kong IPO would be among the biggest so far this year in Asia, where companies have rushed back to the equity market as its gains have gathered pace.

The Singapore-based company previously said it plans to list 20-30 per cent of its China operation to tap investor interest in its biggest market and to raise cash for acquisitions.