Neda Director General and Economic Planning Secretary Emmanuel F. Esguerra said the country would be shielded by its “strong macroeconomic fundamentals” from Brexit’s negative consequences to global markets.

“The direct effect of Brexit does not seem substantial even as we expect that domestic financial markets will experience volatility and huge swings in capital flows in the short term due to uncertainty. Despite this knee-jerk reaction, the economy stands on solid footing given its strong macroeconomic fundamentals,” Esguerra said.

In a referendum last week, the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union, severing not only political but also economic ties with the mainland.

The Philippines’ exposure to the UK’s economy was “minimal,” Esgeurra said, pointing out that merchandise exports and imports accounted for just 0.9 per cent and 0.5 per cent, respectively, of total two-way trade between 2010 and 2015.

“However, the indirect effects via its impact on the EU bloc and the knock-on effects on the rest of the global economy bears watching. Diversification of export markets and products, increasing competitiveness and strengthening domestic demand would therefore be important,” Esguerra said.

As for the country’s external debt, borrowings from three European countries—France, Germany and the UK—totalled $6.8 billion or a mere 8.8 per cent of the foreign debt stock, which remained mainly denominated in US dollar (63 per cent) and Japanese yen (12.4 per cent).

“As such, the depreciation of the euro and the UK pound is not expected to have significant effects on debt service,” the outgoing Neda chief said.

As far as investments were concerned, net equity placements from the UK were equivalent to an average of only 4.9 per cent of the total from 2010 to 2015, although Neda noted that the share jumped to 20.2 per cent last year.

In terms of remittances, cash sent home by Filipinos living or working in Britain accounted for just 5.3 per cent on the average during the 2010-2015 period, although inflows were growing by 9.5 per cent.

“Annual overseas Filipino workers’ (OFW) deployment to the UK accounted for only 0.26 per cent of the total in 2010-2014. In 2014, OFW new hires to the UK consisted mostly of nurses, at 88 per cent,” Neda added.

“Also, tourist arrivals from the UK accounted for 2.7 per cent in 2010 to 2015 and grew by 9.3 per cent. As with remittances, tourist arrivals from the UK showed resilience in times of adverse events,” according to Neda.

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (Philippine Central Bank, BSP) Governor Amando M. Tetangco Jr. earlier warned of spillover effects in domestic markets, which are expected to be more volatile in the near term.

The BSP was nonetheless “ready to provide liquidity to our market as needed,” Tetangco had said.

Outgoing Finance Secretary Cesar V. Purisima, meanwhile, had pointed out that the Philippine economy “has a robust domestic consumption core, insulating it from the bulk of Brexit’s effects.”

The Swedish furniture giant on Tuesday (June 28) announced a massive recall of 36 million chests and dressers, including its popular Malm model, in the United States and Canada, after the US Consumer Product Safety Commission said the children – all aged three years and younger – were killed when an Ikea chest or dresser fell on them.

In response to queries from The Straits Times on Wednesday (June 29), an Ikea Singapore spokesman assured the public that its chests of drawers are safe when anchored to the wall.

Customers should follow the assembly instructions and use the anti-toppling device provided with the product, the spokesman said.

Ikea Singapore added that the recall by its US and Canada counterparts was based on a local voluntary and non-mandatory standard, which applies to free-standing clothing storage units in North America.

“Ikea chests of drawers are tested for compliance to European Safety Standard, and meet all mandatory stability requirements on all markets where it is sold and it also recognises that some chests of drawers are intended to be attached to the wall,” the spokesman said.

“Ikea Singapore follows this global European standard (one of two global safety standards that Singapore authorities require furniture retailers to comply to), and hence, we will not be conducting any recalls here as we are in compliance with safety regulations.”

Lawyer Mohamed Haniff Khatri Abdulla confirmed that Dr Mahathir was being questioned by police at his office at the Perdana Leadership Foundation.

“It’s still ongoing. My team are there in the session. I was having a trial so I am on my way there now,” Mohamed Haniff told The Star Online.

As he was not yet present at the session, he could not share what exactly Dr Mahathir was being questioned about.

This is the second time this month that the former premier has been questioned by the authorities.

Earlier in June, Dr Mahathir was questioned at Yayasan Albukhary over his statement that the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and Malay Rulers had been “placed under house arrest”.

The company, which is privately held and en route to an initial public offering (IPO) this year, believed that one of the immediate opportunities arising from Brexit is the depreciation in the pound sterling.

EWI chief executive officer Teow Leong Seng told a press conference here that the weakness of the pound could boost its IPO plans.

“We did not anticipate the Brexit outcome and this has led to a weakness in the pound, but we think this event has its positives.

“The immediate positive for us is that we are going into this listing targeting to raise 2.6 billion ringgit (US$631.61 million). The weakness of the pound will give us 10 per cent more firepower (from the proposed funds to be raised) when we go to London.

“Our international buyers have immediately gotten a 10 per cent reduction in whatever they bought in London. We think sales will continue to be strong,” he added.

Generally, about 40 per cent of the purchasers of EWI’s projects in London are outside the United Kingdom and about 50 per cent of the buyers are in that country.

Teow also believed that London would continue to be a “primary real estate destination” post-Brexit.

“London has its advantages and the strength of the city is still intact. Moving forward, when we look at sites to acquire, we will be careful to try to understand what is going on with Brexit. And the sites that we look at will automatically have a 10 per cent reduction.

“We believe the weakness of the pound will prompt investors to look at the UK now because it has suddenly become cheaper,” he added.

EWI executive vice-chairman Kee Sin concurred that there were opportunities to be tapped from the weakness of the pound.

“If prices come back to post-Battersea levels, it will become a very good buy in London. At the end of the day, it is about land costs and selling prices. In a developed economy like the UK and Australia, the selling prices are quite fixed.

“Every developer sells and construction costs are more or less at the same price because the inflation rate is stable,” Liew said.

“If land prices are dropping, then it is a good time to buy provided you have the cash.

“We are not looking to buy at the moment,” he added.

Teow said the reaction to Brexit could be momentary and the longer-term effects would eventually be seen.

“Actually, the market has already settled and things seem to have stabilised.

“Our sales have been very strong in the UK and continue to be so. As long as sales continue to be strong and costs are kept under control, it will have no impact on our numbers,” he said.

Liew said that crises such as the Brexit come and go, but the resilient spirit of the people to overcome must not be overlooked.

“We should take comfort in how the world has evolved. In 2008/2009, when the subprime crisis struck the United States. The country pumped in trillions into the economy to buy all the bad debts. But look at America now, it has a top currency that is demanded by everybody and the country has recovered.

“You must believe in the spirit of entrepreneurship of how people overcome hurdles and move on and history proves this,” Liew added.

On the impending listing of EWI, Teow said that an international player has expressed interest to take up a stake the “same size” as Eco World Development Group Bhd (EWB), which has caused it to make adjustments in the listing proposal.

“As we were looking for cornerstone investors wanting to take up 2 per cent or 3 per cent, we chanced upon this investor who wanted a stake that is the same size as EWB. A stake of the same size would make them co-anchors,” said Teow.

EWI is majority-owned by Liew and upon listing, EWB has proposed to take a stake of between 20 per cent and 30 per cent.

It had been speculated that Guocoland Ltd of Singapore, which is controlled by Quek Leng Chan of the Hong Leong group, had expressed interest to be anchor investor in EWI together with EWB.

Teow said that the co-anchor investor was not asking for any management position and only wanted board representation.

Liew added that EWI would continue to be led by the present management.

He also said that the entry of a co-anchor investor was a major change, as it would mean two brand names for EWI.

In a statement, AirAsia said that passengers who are travelling on all flights operated by Malaysia AirAsia (flight code AK) and Thai AirAsia (flight code FD) are advised to check-in at Terminal 1, which is within walking distance from the old terminal.

The new terminal T1 was put into use on March 12, to improve the quality of services at Yangon International Airport, a main gateway to Myanmar.

Malaysia AirAsia operates two routes from Kuala Lumpur and Penang into Yangon, while Thai AirAsia operates one route from Bangkok into Yangon with a total of 45 weekly flights.

Vietnam Airlines is conducting 10 flights per week between the two countries, including five between Hanoi and Yangon and five between Ho Chi Minh City and Yangon.

Aviation treaty with Netherlands

Myanmar and the Netherlands on Monday signed the Air Services Agreement that would allow airlines in the two countries to operate seven weekly services.

The agreement was signed by Kyaw Myo, deputy minister for transport and communications, and Karel Hartogh, ambassador of the Netherlands to Myanmar. Attending the signing ceremony were representatives from Myanmar National Airlines, Myanmar Airways International, Golden Myanmar Airlines and Royal Dutch KLM.

The aviation agreement between Myanmar and the Netherlands was originally signed in 1951 and was revised in 1977. This is the third time the agreement has been revised to accommodate current trends.

“Airlines from both countries can fly seven times per week now. At present, there is no direct flight between the two countries yet,” said the deputy minister.

Some countries that have agreements with Myanmar revised their agreements after 2010. Many of the revised agreements replaced the phrase “single destination” “multiple destinations”.

Myanmar has aviation agreements with about 50 countries, including EU countries, the US and Israel, in addition to neighbouring countries. Myanmar’s earliest aviation agreement was signed with the US in 1949.

The Nielsen Vietnam Cross-Platform Insights Report 2015 provides a comprehensive view of the way Vietnamese consume digital media in today’s cross-platform environment, which helps understand the extent of cross-device content consumption.

The report has been conducted in nine Asia markets including Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, India, Taiwan and Hong Kong.

In all markets, a sample of 1,000 frequent online users aged 16 years and above was captured using an online survey methodology.

According to the report, nine out of 10 consumers in Vietnam (91 per cent) own smartphones as personal ownership, compared to 82 per cent in 2014.

In Asia, consumers in Singapore are the most digitally active, averaging 25 hours and 9 minutes per week.

Vietnamese aged between 21 and 29 are spending the most time on Internet, up to 27 hours and 2 minutes per week, growing at a faster pace than other age groups.

Next is the group aged 40 and above, spending around 22 hours and 6 minutes online.

When coming to the devices being used for Internet connection, 31 per cent of consumers most often access Internet via smartphones and 38 per cent of them use laptops for Internet browsing.

“The rapid up-take of connected devices, especially smartphones and tablets, is instrumental in media consumption shifting beyond traditional media formats such as broadcast TV, and also beyond traditional time parts,” notes Doan Duy Khoa, Director of Consumer Insights of Nielsen Vietnam.

“For media owners, it is becoming increasingly important to understand consumers’ viewing habits in order to deliver the right content at the right time, working in partnership with advertisers to uncover new opportunities to connect with and engage consumers to build brand awareness, affinity and loyalty”, he adds.

The report also shows that traditional TV continues to maintain its position and relevance in terms of content distribution platforms by far with 72 per cent of consumers watching broadcast TV.

However, alternative platforms are emerging; 78 per cent of digital consumers report watching TV content and movies via online platforms such as video-on-demand (VOD).

And 67 per cent of video-on-demand subscribers claim to stream VOD content every day. YouTube (97 per cent), Facebook (81 per cent) and nhaccuatui.com (56 per cent) are acknowledged as the top three popular sources from which consumers access VOD content.

According to the report, more than nine in 10 Vietnamese are dual-screeners. Regardless of age, they all love to access some form of content through TV and online sources at the same time.

“As device ownership increases, dual screening could become the norm. There is likely to be increasing experimentation to access content through new devices like smartphones, tablets and Connected/Smart TVs”, Khoa notes.

As a part of a competition called “Level Up – Soft Skills Opening the Future”, the event was organised by the HCM City General Sciences Library and Samsung Electronics Vietnam.

Organised at S-hub, a place for young people and start-up entrepreneurs, the participants exchanged experiences with teachers and famous businesspeople.

“It’s no longer difficult to find information as it can be found on the Internet. So the most important things are people’s communicative abilities and skills when facing issues. Because of that, we need practical experience,” said Nguyen Van Dao, deputy director of Samsung.

The last round of the competition will be held in late July.

The plans arose from a meeting between Laotian Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith and his Cambodian counterpart Hun Sen when Thongloun visited Cambodia from June 27-28.

According to Laos’ Foreign Ministry, both sides agreed on several fields of cooperation and are opening general consulates.

The Lao consulate will be located in Stung Treng province of Cambodia and will open on June 30, while the Cambodian consulate in Champassak province will open on July 1.

During the meeting, the two prime ministers said they highly valued the achievements in cooperation that had continued to increase after exchange visits by heads of state, heads of government and other high-ranking officials of the two countries.

Both sides are planning an official opening ceremony of international border checkpoints at the Nong Nok Khiene area in Champassak province and the Trapeang Kriel area in Cambodia’s Stung Treng province by the end of this year.

Another plan supported by both countries is to build a 145-metre bridge across the Xe Lam Phao River in Champassak’s Mounlapamok district to connect to Cambodia.

A 78km road linking Mounlapamok district to the Xe Lam Phao bridge is also planned.

Both sides agreed to promote investment and trade cooperation between their neighbouring provinces after bilateral trade reached US$24.5 million (Bt865 million) last year.

In the field of education, it was agreed to increase government-to-government bachelor degree exchange scholarships to 15 annually.

The two countries will continue to cooperate on border security and prevent the illegal trade in timber and drugs in border areas. They also agreed to speed up border demarcation.

On regional issues, both sides agreed to assist and support each other through groupings such as Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam; Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam; the Ayeyawaddy-Chao Phraya Mekong Economic Cooperation Strategy; Asean; the UN; and the Greater Mekong Subregion.

Thongloun will attend a CLV meeting that Cambodia will host in November.

He invited Prime Minister Hun Sen to visit Laos at a convenient time and to attend the Asean Summit that Laos will host this year.

In a filing with Bursa Malaysia, the budget carrier said it had entered into a share sale agreement with Yeo to purchase 881,873 ordinary shares of 1 ringgit in T&Co, or 80 per cent of the share capital of the company.

AirAsia said the purchase consideration shall be satisfied in part by cash of 814,000 ringgit and in part by AirAsia credit shell of 100,000 ringgit which may be used to pay for flights on all carriers within the AirAsia group.

The carrier has also entered into a shareholders agreement with Yeo, Douglas Cheng Heng Lee and T&Co to govern the foregoing parties’ relationship as the shareholders of T&Co.

T&Co has been supplying inflight coffee and tea solutions to AirAsia since December 2013.

“The purchase price of 914,000 ringgit is based on the agreed valuation of 1.14 million ringgit.

“This was derived after taking into consideration T&Co’s net tangible assets of 280,586 ringgit as of June 2015 and the capitalisation of the amount owing to Cheng of 852,341 ringgit.

“Upon capitalisation, the total shares of T&Co shall be increased to 1.102 million bringing up the NTA per share to 1.03 ringgit,” AirAsia said.

The carrier said the T&Co board would have three directors comprising of two directors nominated by Airasia and one by Yeo, which could be Yeo or any director nominated by her.

AirAsia rationalised that acquiring a majority stake in T&Co would allow the carrier greater management control of T&Co.

It said the acquisition would also allowed Airasia to be more focused on product development and that coffee and tea were an important part of the inflight experience.

“A good coffee and tea offering would help AirAsia differentiate its brand in an increasingly competitive market.

“It would also allow AAB to raise premiums on beverages as well as improve the margin,” it said.

Lu Hao, speaking at an investment promotions event targeted at China-based Singapore businessmen in Beijing, said he hopes to collaborate in areas such as food processing, real estate, tourism and health.

The province, which grew at 5.7 per cent last year compared with 6.9 per cent nationally, would also welcome investments in the hi-tech and financial industries, where it lacks expertise.

Lu said Singapore and Heilongjiang could leverage each other’s strengths to jointly explore opportunities in Russia’s Far East.

The governor, who is a rising political star, told the businessmen that the growth potential of the province was not “well understood”, and it was making progress with its shift away from an overreliance on its energy sector.

Lu said growth was dragged down mostly by the energy sector, where the Daqing oilfield – China’s biggest – suffered from the double whammy of lower production and a sharp drop in global oil prices.

“This is the biggest challenge that we face in our economic transformation,” he said.

Despite much slower growth in industry, agriculture and services registered healthy growth that was 1-2 percentage points higher than the national average.

Financial services, telecommunications and postal services grew by more than 20 per cent last year.

Growth in external demand brought about by tourism has also contributed to the growth of the service sector, he added.

Singapore’s Ambassador to China, Stanley Loh, said Singapore’s actual investments in Heilongjiang stood at about 2 billion yuan (Bt11 billion) from 141 projects.

This was relatively small, compared with Singapore’s investments in coastal provinces such as neighbouring Liaoning, which attracted US$5.7 billion (Bt201 billion) worth of investments as of last month.

Singapore property giant CapitaLand, one of the first movers into this nascent market for Singapore businesses, accounted for nearly 70 per cent of Singapore’s investment in the province with its two shopping malls in the capital of Harbin.

Other major players are agribusiness Wilmar International, which has a food processing factory in Harbin, and Global Logistic Properties, with a logistics warehouse in the city.

Wong Car Wha, regional general manager of CapitaLand Mall Asia’s northeast and central China, said while its two malls were successful now, the projects had suffered from delays and needed extra funding due to construction problems faced in the winter.

“We were not familiar with Harbin’s weather. But we hope to learn from these experiences and do better in our future projects in Heilongjiang,” he said.