“It is a real cyberattack on parts of the government system. It’s an ongoing process, an ongoing attack,” said Armin Schuster, chairman of the committee, adding that no further details could be given to avoid passing crucial information on to the attackers.

Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere said the hacking was “a technically sophisticated attack that had been planned for some time”, adding that it had been brought under control.

The highly professional assault had been monitored by the security agencies in order to gain insights into the mode of attack and its targets, said de Maiziere.

German news agency DPA said Thursday, a day after first reporting the attack, that the likely authors were the Russian cyber espionage group “Snake”, citing unnamed security sources.

Also known as “Turla” or “Uruburos”, the group, which targets state departments and embassies worldwide, is believed to have links to Russian intelligence, according to German media.

DPA had earlier pointed at the Russian hacker group APT28, which has been accused of attacks on Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign as well as on Germany’s parliamentary IT system in 2015.

German security authorities had only detected the online spying in December, DPA has reported, adding that it had infiltrated the systems of the foreign and interior ministries.

Konstantin von Notz, deputy of the committee, complained it was “completely unacceptable” that members of the oversight body only learnt of the attack through the media.

Russian hackers

Top security officials had repeatedly warned during Germany’s 2017 general election campaign that Russian hackers may seek to influence or disrupt the polls.

While authorities did not have concrete proof, they have blamed the malware attack that crippled the Bundestag parliamentary network in 2015 for days on the APT28, also known as “Fancy Bear” or “Sofacy”.

The attack netted 17 gigabytes of data which, officials feared, could be used to blackmail MPs or discredit them.

In a separate assault, several German political parties were in September 2016 sent fake emails purporting to be from NATO headquarters which contained a link that installed spying software on victims’ computers.

The emails affected party operations such as a regional network of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union and the federal offices of the far-left Die Linke party.

Amid the rising frequency of attacks, Germany’s defence ministry in 2016 set up a cyber department to coordinate the response to online intrusions.

Merkel, seeking to prepare the German public for more online attacks, has said people should “not allow themselves to be irritated” by such rogue operations.

The proposal throws down the gauntlet to a group behind a US$6.7 billion bid. That group includes billionaires John Gokongwei and Lucio Tan.

Consortium representatives said yesterday that the proposal – which was based on an 18-year concession – was aligned with the government’s strategy to develop a sustainable multi-airport system in the Philippines.

The GMR Megawide consortium believes that its solution will increase airfield capacity to 950 to 1,000 aircraft movements per day, a 30-35 per cent increase from the current estimate of 730 aircraft movements daily.

For peak hours, the consortium pitches to increase NAIA’s aircraft handling capacity by 50 per cent, from 40 to 60.

Within 24 months of taking over operations, the consortium also plans to rehabilitate and expand the existing terminals, which will roughly double the space and result in over 700,000 square metres of terminal area. Once completed, both the airside facilities and the terminals shall be able to handle a total annual throughput of 72 million passengers.

“As an experienced private operator, we have a deep understanding of the problem experienced by NAIA and we would like to offer our take on the solution,” said Louie Ferrer, one of the consortium’s authorised representatives. “Our team has transformed Delhi International Airport, previously one of the world’s worst airports, into one that is consistently named among top five best airports of the world.

“We have also transformed Mactan-Cebu International Airport, one of the Philippines’ previously overlooked airports, into the 2016 Best Regional Airport in Asia Pacific. We hope to contribute our knowledge from these projects to the development of our country’s main gateway.”

The GMR Megawide consortium is also the operator of the Mactan-Cebu International Airport.

“It is vital to immediately decongest NAIA and maximise its potential in order to sustainably support the air traffic needs of the greater capital region,” Ferrer said. “A solution is urgently needed, which we in the private sector are willing to support and provide.”

The “alternative” proposal was submitted around two weeks after seven of the country’s biggest conglomerates submitted a rival 350-billion peso unsolicited proposal to upgrade NAIA.

Aboitiz InfraCapital, the Ayala family’s AC Infrastructure Holdings Corp, Andrew Tan-led Alliance Global Group Inc, Lucio Tan-led Asia’s Emerging Dragon Corp., Gotianun-led Filinvest Development Corp., Gokongwei-led JG Summit Holdings Inc, and Metro Pacific Investments Corp formed the NAIA consortium. They vowed to transform NAIA into a “world-class” regional aviation hub comparable to the airports of Singapore and Thailand.

Working in partnership with Changi Airport of Singapore, the NAIA “super-consortium” is seeking a 35-year operating concession in exchange for the upgrading of NAIA’s airside, landside and air navigation support. The immediate goal is to double the capacity of the highly congested NAIA to 65 million passengers annually in 48 months or the first phase of the project.

As part of its efforts to promote usage of the kip, the central bank has joined forces with the commerce sector to urge vendors in major towns to display prices in kip.

The bank has also erected billboards along major roads that tell people that using the kip means they love their country. In relation to monetary policy, the central bank has kept the interest rate on kip deposits higher than that of foreign currency accounts so that more people will use the national currency.

Although the central bank has been conducting this campaign over the past few years, the business community and the public still lack the confidence to save their money in the local currency due to its instability.

According to the latest annual report of the Bank of the Lao PDR, posted on its website, a majority of people still prefer to deposit money in foreign currencies as they are more confident it will hold its value.

The report shows that kip deposits in banks saw an increase of only 6.6 per cent compared to the previous year. This figure accounted for 48 per cent of total deposits.

Use of the kip is small compared to the use of foreign currencies, according to the data. Foreign currency deposits increased by 19 per cent and accounted for 52 per cent of total deposits.

In 2016, commercial deposits were recorded at about 61 trillion kip, an increase of about 13 per cent compared to the previous year. This figure accounts for 47 per cent of GDP, according to the report.

Analysis shows that the increase in foreign currency deposits demonstrates that the Bank of the Lao PDR’s efforts to promote the use of the national currency was not as effective as many had expected. Some depositors said they preferred to save money in foreign currencies, in particular the baht and US dollar, because they have more confidence in the stability of these currencies. In addition, many people save money in foreign currencies because most big-ticket items, such as cars, houses and land, are traded in foreign currencies.

Car dealers said they preferred the US dollar because they make purchases in this currency. They were happy to sell for kip if the central bank guaranteed that it could supply foreign currency in accordance with the official rate.

“If we accept Lao currency from customers, we have to get this money exchanged and the rate is higher than the official one. So it’s better for us to take US dollars,” said a car dealer on T2 Road. She said that if the kip were more stable and it was easier to change money at the official rate, many people would keep their savings in kip because they would get a higher interest rate.

Singapore’s central bank is assessing whether additional regulations are required to protect investors in cryptocurrencies, an official said in a speech yesterday.

The city-state which is aiming to be a hub for financial technology and so-called initial coin offerings in Asia – does not regulate virtual currencies and last year called for the public to exercise “extreme caution” over investment in cryptocurrencies.

Its central bank does regulate activities involving virtual currencies if they pose specific risks. For example, it imposes anti-money laundering requirements on intermediaries providing virtual currency services.

“We are assessing if additional regulations are required in the area of investor protection,” Ong Chong Tee, deputy managing director (Financial Supervision), Monetary Authority of Singapore said in a Reuters report. – The Straits Times

New firms in Vietnam up 30% in 2 months

Nearly 18,703 new enterprises were formed in Vietnam in the first two months of this year, with a total registered capital of more than 197.3 trillion dongs (US$8.66 billion).

According to the Ministry of Planning and Investment, there has been a rise of 29.4 per cent in the number of enterprises and 29.3 per cent in registered capital compared to the same period last year.

In February, the country had 7,864 newly-established firms, with a total registered capital of 99 trillion dongs, posting 44 per cent and 59 per cent year-on-year increases in terms of the number of companies and registered capital, respectively.

The average registered capital of each firm was 12.6 billion dongs last month, increasing 10.5 per cent from the same period last year.

The number of labourers in newly-established enterprises in February was 71,120, posting a 13.8 per cent year-on-year increase.

However, the number of new firms in February was reduced by 27.4 per cent compared to January due to the eight-day Tet (Vietnamese Lunar New Year) holiday. – Viet Nam News

AirAsia gains 967m ringgit from leasing ops sale

Malaysia’s AirAsia Bhd is selling its aircraft leasing operations to BBAM Ltd Partnership for US$1.185 billin (4.619 billion ringgit ) under its strategy of disposing non-core assets and businesses and focus on its core operations.

Its unit Asia Aviation Capital Ltd’s aircraft leasing operations have an enterprise value of US$2.846 billion (11.096 billion ringgit).

The low-cost carrier said on Thursday it expects to recognise a gain on sale of about 967.1 million ringgit, which analysts were expecting to return to shareholders in the form of dividends.

Under the deal, Asia Aviation Capital is selling its portfolio of 84 aircraft and 14 engines – of which 79 aircraft and 14 engines will be leased back to AirAsia and its affiliates.

BBAM Ltd Partnership (BBAM) is one of the world’s largest dedicated managers of investments in commercial jet aircraft. – The Star

Co-founder Jianmin Sim, 29, has all the hallmarks of the young entrepreneur – a former machine-learning researcher with a Masters in engineering from Oxford University. His partner, though, is his father, 63-year-old John Sim, who has three decades of experience buying and selling commodities.

Together, according a Bloomberg report, they are trying to shake up one of the world’s more opaque trading businesses, starting with the us$19 billion oleochemicals industry, which turns liquids derived from oil palms into ingredients for detergents, soaps and personal-care products.

The startup, launched in 2015, provides market information and connects buyers and sellers of raw materials. The son plots strategy as chief executive officer. The father develops the firm’s brokerage and trading businesses. It’s already turning a profit, according to Jian, and counts Cargill Inc. and Wilmar International Ltd. among 10,000 clients in 102 countries.

“They had an unfair advantage, coming from the industry inside, as opposed to people with a good idea based on what they read somewhere,’’ Paul Santos, managing partner at Wavemaker Partners, which has invested in SourceSage, told Bloomberg. “They had a conviction that this industry was really messed up and needed a transformation.”

For Jian, his father is usually the first person he sees every morning and the last person he talks to before going to bed. The duo can’t remember a single day last year they didn’t see each other and talk shop.

“Once he retires, his knowledge would be gone forever,’’ said the son, who is known as Jian among friends. “I wanted to capture that, digitise it, and immortalise John Sim as a brand.’’

Many physical commodities markets are ripe for disruption using technology. Unlike stocks, where prices are typically determined on highly regulated exchanges, most niche commodities have dodged intense regulatory scrutiny because of their relatively smaller value and the wide geographical spread between production, shipping, processing and end users.

SourceSage joins a growing list of startups trying to shake that model up, mostly by targeting specific commodities in a country or region, such as mysteel.com (steel) and zhaosuliao.com (plastics) in China, or FarmLead (crops) in North America.

The Singapore startup gathers and verifies commodity prices from online and offline sources and distributes real-time data as well as weekly market analysis via its app, website and terminal. Chat-bot Amanda helps users navigate the app. They can search data on chemicals, oil & fats, oleochemicals, petrochemicals, freight & logistics and steel & iron ore, the app shows.

The company hires independent researchers for market reports, some from major price reporting agencies such as S&P Global Platts and ICIS. Bloomberg LP, the parent of Bloomberg News, competes with Platts and other companies in providing commodity-market news and information.

“It’s a robust technology platform that’s user-friendly and easy to navigate,” said Sathia Varqa, co-founder of news and data publisher Palm Oil Analytics, who uses the app daily to reach SourceSage’s palm-oil related community.

Still, SourceSage is a minnow in the global commodities market and Jian doesn’t see it as a major competitor to the established price-reporting giants, but rather as a platform for smaller players who can’t afford to pay a lot for market information. He subscribes to Clayton Christensen’s theory that disruptive innovation starts at the low-end of the market.

The startup charges customers a subscription fee, which starts from US$800 per month for individuals, and between US$3,000 and US$25,000 for companies. It also makes fees from brokerage services. Eventually, it seeks to develop a commodities exchange platform.

The father and son defy other startup stereotypes, too. In a packed office of young staff in T-shirts Jian wears a suit and calls his dad by his first name in professional settings. John is more casual and jokes about how he’s losing his greying hair because of the stress of running a startup at his age.

“This company is a rare balance of prudence and ambition,’’ Wavemaker’s Santos said. “Jian is mild-mannered, so it’s easy to overlook that there is grit and steel beneath that drives him.”

John began at Exxon Mobil Corp in 1985, working in a variety of roles before moving to Salim Oleochemcals in 1990, under Indonesian tycoon Anthoni Salim. He joined P&G Chemicals before setting up his own shop, Integrated Chemicals Pte, which matches producers with buyers globally. John said he was quite content running his small, profitable business.

While building P&G Chemicals’ supply chain in China, John met junior managers at chemical factories, many of whom became wealthy after taking over state-owned factories.

“They remembered him as someone who helped them, and they became our clients,” said Jian.

Other contacts John made during his career who have since become customers of the startup are Nadir Godrej, managing director of India’s Godrej Industries Ltd. and Tatsuya Imou, CEO of Kenko Corp.

Father and son weren’t close when Jian was growing up. John says he was a typical Asian father of his generation, busy building his career and with little reason to talk to his son other than about his grades. He never expected his son to follow in his footsteps as he figured it was an antiquated industry.

Borith’s remarks came at the ministry’s annual meeting and were in response to a report released on Monday by the European Union’s foreign affairs ministers, which warned the Cambodian government of “specific targeted measures” and called for enhanced monitoring of Cambodia’s Everything But Arms (EBA) agreement over the country’s recent political crackdown.

Cambodia’s status under EBA grants the country tariff-free access to the EU market, which is traditionally the Kindgom’s largest market for exports.

A threat to the EBA agreement could imperil Cambodia’s industrial sector, which is comprised mostly of garment factories and which employs about 850,000 people.

A comprehensive look at Cambodia’s customs data from last year is not available. Commerce Ministry officials have repeatedly told The Post that the Ministry and Economy and Finance’s Customs Department has only provided data for the first 3 months of last year, while customs officials could not be reached for comment.

The publicly-listed pharmaceutical company invested 500 billion rupiah (US$35 million) to build the factory in Cikarang, West Java, and another 200 billion rupiah for research and development, including technology transfer.

“The inauguration of this drug ingredient and biological product factory is part of Kalbe’s commitment to take the initiative and help create an integrated pharmaceutical industry,” Kalbe Farma president/director Vidjongtius said in his speech at the factory’s inauguration ceremony earlier this week.

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo and Health Minister Nila Moeloek, who also attended the event, say the factory marks significant progress for Indonesia’s pharmaceutical industry.

Jokowi said after touring the factory that “Everything uses biotechnology and everything is automated with robotics. I think this is the kind of investment and technological innovation we need and a leap from chemical ingredients to biotechnological ones.”

“This is an extraordinary technological achievement,” Nila said.

The factory, which has a production capacity of 9 million units, has already started the production of erythropoietin (EPO), a protein that stimulates red blood cell production and is used in dialysis and other treatments.

Kalbe Farma also plans to produce insulin, cancer-treating monoclonal antibodies and three other drugs within five years.