Airports Corporation of Vietnam , the main investor of the 336.63 trillion dong ($12.8 billion) Long Thanh International Airport project, said it has received a notification from the police that its chairman has been detained in a corruption probe. In addition to Chairman Vu The Phiet , police detained Deputy General Director Nguyen Tien Viet in its investigation into alleged violations of regulat...
Airports Corporation of Vietnam , the main investor of the 336.63 trillion dong ($12.8 billion) Long Thanh International Airport project, said it has received a notification from the police that its chairman has been detained in a corruption probe. In addition to Chairman Vu The Phiet , police detained Deputy General Director Nguyen Tien Viet in its investigation into alleged violations of regulations on bidding and receiving money from contractors, the company said in a disclosure posted on the website of the Hanoi Stock Exchange. The statement cited a Wednesday notification from the Investigation Police Agency of the Ministry of Public Security. The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The company appointed board member Le Van Khien last month as the company’s legal representative, replacing Phiet. Deputy General Director Nguyen Duc Hung heads ACV’s executive board.
We have selected seven stories from this week’s news across Hong Kong, mainland China, the wider Asia region and beyond that resonated with our readers and shed light on topical issues. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing Rising tensions in the Middle East following attacks on Iran are having an impact on the trade corridors and investment plans of Chinese e...
We have selected seven stories from this week’s news across Hong Kong, mainland China, the wider Asia region and beyond that resonated with our readers and shed light on topical issues. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing Rising tensions in the Middle East following attacks on Iran are having an impact on the trade corridors and investment plans of Chinese exporters and investors, who had seen Iran and the broader region as crucial growth markets. Though a Hong Kong operator has lost control of the Panama Canal, one of the world’s most pivotal waterways for merchant ships, researchers said this week that Chinese state institutions have funded hundreds of other seaports around the world. The bamboo-based unmanned aerial vehicle’s maiden flight took place in February, researchers said. Photo: Xinhua Chinese researchers have developed a drone with wings made from bamboo, making it 20 per cent lighter and considerably cheaper than a carbon fibre device, according to state news agency Xinhua.
Jimmy Lai, the prominent pro-democracy activist who was recently sentenced to 20 years in prison in Hong Kong, has said he will not appeal his conviction. The decision marks the end of a years-long legal saga for the 78-year-old critic of the Chinese Communist party (CCP), and opens the door for political negotiations to his release. A member of Lai’s Hong Kong legal team said: “We can confirm we ...
Jimmy Lai, the prominent pro-democracy activist who was recently sentenced to 20 years in prison in Hong Kong, has said he will not appeal his conviction. The decision marks the end of a years-long legal saga for the 78-year-old critic of the Chinese Communist party (CCP), and opens the door for political negotiations to his release. A member of Lai’s Hong Kong legal team said: “We can confirm we have clear and definitive instructions not to lodge an appeal against conviction or sentence.” Lai, a British citizen, was sentenced in February after being convicted in December on charges of sedition and conspiracy to collude with foreign forces. He had pleaded not guilty to all charges. Although Lai was spared the maximum penalty of a life sentence, his 20-year jail term is the harshest penalty given for national security offences in Hong Kong. His family has said that it could mean “he will die a martyr behind bars”. Western governments including the UK have described Lai’s prosecution as politically motivated and have called for his immediate release. The UN rights chief, Volker Türk, has said that the verdict was incompatible with international law and must be quashed. The UK prime minister, Keir Starmer, is understood to have raised Lai’s case in his recent meeting with China’s leader, Xi Jinping, in Beijing. Lai’s son, Sebastien, subsequently said the UK did not do enough to secure his father’s release on the highly anticipated China trip. The decision not to appeal against the conviction concludes Lai’s legal process, and could mark the start of the political process to secure his release. Western governments have previously secured the release of citizens held by China, including the Australian journalist Cheng Lei and the Canadian citizens Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, who were imprisoned after a row between Beijing and Ottowa over the detention of a Huawei executive. But those cases were all linked to deteriorating bilateral relations, while Lai has been an...
(RTTNews) - Orion Properties Inc. (ONL) announced Loss for its fourth quarter of -$35.81 million The company's bottom line came in at -$35.81 million, or -$0.64 per share. This compares with -$32.76 million, or -$0.59 per share, last year. The company's revenue for the period fell 8.2% to $35.22 million from $38.36 million last year. Orion Properties Inc. earnings at a glance (GAAP) : -Earnings: -...
(RTTNews) - Orion Properties Inc. (ONL) announced Loss for its fourth quarter of -$35.81 million The company's bottom line came in at -$35.81 million, or -$0.64 per share. This compares with -$32.76 million, or -$0.59 per share, last year. The company's revenue for the period fell 8.2% to $35.22 million from $38.36 million last year. Orion Properties Inc. earnings at a glance (GAAP) : -Earnings: -$35.81 Mln. vs. -$32.76 Mln. last year. -EPS: -$0.64 vs. -$0.59 last year. -Revenue: $35.22 Mln vs. $38.36 Mln last year. The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
SoftBank Group Corp. is seeking a loan of as much as $40 billion to mostly help finance its investment in US tech giant OpenAI , according to people familiar with the matter, in what would be its largest-ever borrowing denominated solely in dollars. The bridge loan would have a tenor of about 12 months, according to some of the people, who asked not to be identified discussing private matters. Fou...
SoftBank Group Corp. is seeking a loan of as much as $40 billion to mostly help finance its investment in US tech giant OpenAI , according to people familiar with the matter, in what would be its largest-ever borrowing denominated solely in dollars. The bridge loan would have a tenor of about 12 months, according to some of the people, who asked not to be identified discussing private matters. Four lenders, including JPMorgan Chase & Co. , will be underwriting the facility, the people said. Talks with banks are ongoing and details could change, the people added. Spokespeople for JPMorgan and SoftBank declined to comment. SoftBank Hits Brakes on Talks to Buy Data Center Firm Switch Masa Son Pitches $1 Trillion US AI Hub to TSMC, Trump Team SoftBank Stargate Venture With OpenAI Snags on Tariff Fears Masayoshi Son’s Next Great Hope is Taking Nvidia’s AI Crown The potential size of the loan underscores SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son ’s aggressive bid to try and position his company as a linchpin in the global AI boom. The $30 billion bet on OpenAI comes on top of more than $30 billion the company has already injected into the startup, which now forms the centerpiece of Son’s ambitions — a gamble reminiscent of his early investments in ByteDance Ltd. or Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. , but at a far higher price. The Japanese company, which held about 11% in OpenAI at the end of December, has unloaded assets including its stake in Nvidia Corp. to bankroll its growing bet on OpenAI. The US company now represents one of SoftBank’s biggest holdings, alongside a roughly 90% stake in chip designer Arm Holdings Plc , even as investments elsewhere slow. That’s tethered the Japanese company’s shares to ChatGPT’s relative performance against Google ’s Gemini and Anthropic PBC ’s Claude. Still, the scale of SoftBank’s bet — as well as persistent concerns about a bubble given the lack of a truly mainstream use case for AI services — has spooked market observers. This week, S&P lowered S...
spawns/iStock via Getty Images By Warren Patterson , Head of Commodities Strategy and Ewa Manthey , Commodities Strategist Energy: Refined product volatility ICE Brent settled above US$85/bbl yesterday, up 4.9%, the highest close since the Middle East conflict began. The market remains well supported with few signs of de-escalation in the Middle East and a resumption of energy flows in the region....
spawns/iStock via Getty Images By Warren Patterson , Head of Commodities Strategy and Ewa Manthey , Commodities Strategist Energy: Refined product volatility ICE Brent settled above US$85/bbl yesterday, up 4.9%, the highest close since the Middle East conflict began. The market remains well supported with few signs of de-escalation in the Middle East and a resumption of energy flows in the region. Clearly, with every day that goes by without flows resuming, the oil market will reprice the amount of supply lost, leaving room for prices to move higher. However, in early trading in Asia today, prices gave back some of yesterday’s gains. This follows the US's announcement that it would allow the sale of Russian oil to India for 30 days. The waiver allows the sale of Russian crude and products to India that were loaded onto vessels before 5 March and remains valid until 4 April. This essentially allows floating Russian oil to reach India. According to Bloomberg, there are at least 9.5m barrels of Russian oil floating in Asian waters. While this might help put some immediate downward pressure on the market, it is not a game-changer. The only way for prices to come down on a sustained basis is a resumption of oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz. This action by the US is part of the administration's plan to try to cap oil prices. The US is also considering tapping the strategic petroleum reserve (SPR), which currently sits at 415m barrels. If the US government were comfortable drawing down the SPR to the levels seen in 2023, we could expect a release of around 68m barrels. Refined product markets remain volatile amid disruptions in the Persian Gulf. Jet fuel cracks have seen the biggest moves amid concerns over jet fuel supply from the region. Around 23% of the global seaborne jet fuel trade moves through the Strait of Hormuz. In addition, refiners in other regions facing disruptions in crude supply will be forced to reduce run rates. This will further tighten the jet fu...