Vietnam Airlines is expected to hold its 2016 shareholders meeting earlier than September 30 in order to elect ANA Holdings Inc to the board and adopt a plan to increase charter capital by issuing additional shares offered to its existing shareholders.

ANA’s entrance as a shareholder marks great significance for Vietnam Airlines’ long-term development, the airline said when?.

“Given its extensive cooperation in various fields, together with the participation of the world’s leading airline in management, Vietnam Airlines will be provided with a firm foundation to launch its fleet renewal programme by adding new-generation aircraft, expanding markets and improving the quality and efficiency of services and operations,” the airline said in a statement.

After completing the share transaction to ANA, Vietnam Airlines will continue to look for potential financial investors to issue additional shares in order to increase its charter capital and reduce the state’s share to 75 per cent.

This percentage is set to fall to 65 per cent under the company’s restructuring plan.

The man is wagging his right index finger back and forth, and talks in a mix of Bahasa Malaysia and what sounded like Arabic.

He expresses gratitude to Allah for “easing our journey and jihad” and for appointing them as “soldiers of Tawhid (The Oneness of God)”.

He called out to the authorities of the nusantara (archipelago) – especially in Malaysia and Indonesia.

“Know this … we are no longer your citizens, and have liberated ourselves from you,” he said as the camera panned to show a goateed man nearby holding another Malaysian passport.

“With His permission and His assistance, we will come to you with a military force that you cannot overcome.

“This is Allah’s promise to us,” he said.

These footages are seen in one of the video clips released by the IS.

The man also referred to the toppling of governments and leaders who did not follow Islamic principles to make way for the supremacy of Islam.

Shortly later, he threw his passport into the middle of the circle, and the children followed suit.

A young boy stepped forward with a silver lighter and uttered Bismillah before lighting up a folded piece of white paper.

He then placed it among the pile of documents to set the heap ablaze, a sight which is greeted by raucous cheers and singing from the other children as their fists punched the air.

The scene then moves to a classroom setting, depicting children wearing songkok chanting during religious lessons supervised by an adult, and undergoing combat training under the watchful eyes of another.

They also go through outdoor learning sessions, where a man in a red headwrap conducted quizzes for his young charges.

In another clip of a sandy clearing surrounded by coniferous trees, children stood in line as they fired rounds from semi-automatic pistols.

In a testament to their tender years, their small bodies jerked back from the recoil, with the hems of their oversized camouflage fatigues falling past their knees.

An adult nearby, clad in camel khakis, long-sleeved shirt and a vest, raised his right fist, shouting takbir as the children followed suit with a chorus of Allahu Akbar (God is Great).

“The economic council is looking into this matter on how to help the local port operators compete effectively against Singapore’s move. One option is to allow the domestic ports to increase their capacity so that they can achieve economies of scale,” said an official from the regulators of ports.

Singapore and Malaysia are the only two Southeast Asian countries that are in the list of the world’s top 20 busiest container ports. Both countries’ ports have been banking on traffic plying through the Straits of Malacca, which is one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world connecting the West to the Far East.

Singapore which is the world’s second largest port handled 33.87 TEUs while Port Klang was at 12th place with 10.95 million TEUs in 2014.

The volume from Port Klang comes from Northport and Westports.

Malaysia’s other notable port is the Port of Tanjung Pelepas (PTP) that is ranked at 18th place handling 8.5 million TEUs in the same year.

In April, Singapore launched the first phase of its mega port in Tuas that will have an annual capacity of 20 million TEUs.

The 30-year development, when completed, will see Tuas mega port equipped with total annual capacity of 65 million TEUs following the country’s plan to move all its port activities in one place. The objective is to improve efficiency and cost.

The existing ports in Tanjong Pagar and Pasir Panjang would be redeveloped for other purposes including property developments.

As for Malaysia, the initial suggestion from the consultants helping the World Bank in its national port study is that the country needs to improve on growing its hinterland traffic.

Hong Kong-based consulting firm ICF International that is working with the World Bank on the study had said that while Malaysia had been successful in capturing increasing amounts of transhipment container volumes, consistently gaining share from Singapore since 2004, it was comparatively less successful in charting growth in hinterland (import-export) container and bulk volumes, particularly outside of the primary Port Klang complex.

It stated that international competition for port market share has intensified across South-East Asia (SEA), not only in traditional powerhouses like Singapore and Hong Kong, but in emerging, aspiring hubs like Vietnam and Indonesia that also have hinterlands that attract manufacturing and other import-export activity.

The national port study with recommendations was supposed to have been completed in the first quarter of this year but has been delayed.

Reacting to the development in Tuas, Westports chief executive officer Ruben Emir Gnanalingam (pic) told StarBiz that it was a long-term project and he believed that there was a lot of room for transhipment volumes to grow in SEA.

“We are focused on container terminal eight (CT8) for now and also have CT9 to come in the future. This should allow Port Klang to grow up beyond 2020.”

“We are also currently studying expansion options for the long term as well,” he said.

By the end of next year, when CT8 is fully completed, Westports’ total capacity will rise to 13.5 million TEUs.

The port operator handled 9.1 TEUs for 2015, representing an 8 per cent year-on-year growth. Its total utilisation rate last year was 83 per cent.

Meanwhile, according to a Bernama report last week, PTP would invest more than RM8.6 billion to expand the port’s capacity over the next five to 15 years.

Chairman Datuk Seri Che Khalib Mohamad Noh was quoted as saying the immediate plan was to embark on a comprehensive upgrading, refurbishment of quay cranes and rubber-tyred gantries.

It would also replace PTP’s existing equipment to increase the handling capacity from the current 10.5 million TEUs to 13.2 million TEUs annually.

On the east coast, Kuantan Port’s expansion into a deep water port was well under way and upon completion it would be capable of handling 52 million freight-weight tonnes of bulk and container cargo.

The port is banking on the prospects of hinterland cargo coming from the Malaysia-China Kuantan Industrial Park (MCKIP).

The total investments drawn to MCKIP, which is located within the East Coast Economic Region Special Economic Zone, stood at RM15.08 billion as of June.

Johor Domestic Trade, Tourism and Consumerism Committee chairman Tee Siew Kiong said talks were already ongoing between the state government and the three investors to set up operations in Johor.

“We are confident of securing the investments based on the progress made during the discussions,” he said during a week-long trip to Dongying in Shandong recently.

He said the figure included some US$100 million for the expansion of the second phase of Shandong’s D&Y Textile and Garment Group, which has been operating at the Sedenak Industrial Park in Johor since last year.

“The other two new investors involved core businesses of producing tyres and the other one in the green technology sector, which are yet to make its debut in Malaysia. Tee said the tyre company had initially conducted a feasibility study on four countries including Indonesia, Thailand, the United States and Malaysia as part of its plan to set up operations.

“The chances of the tyre company investing in Johor is much higher compared to other countries or even other Malaysian states due to the state’s strategic location and close proximity with Singapore,” he added.

Tee said existing Chinese investors in the state had praised the delivery system of the state authorities in aiding and assisting in undertaking their businesses in Johor.

“This has greatly boosted the state’s image among Chinese investors and companies that are actively looking to relocate and expand their operations outside China,” he said, adding that the Johor government would continue to strive for the best services to keep investment growing.

Citing an example of its efficient services, Tee said that registering a company and opening a bank account for the purpose would only take three days in the state, while it could take up to a year in other countries.

He said that despite the economic slide, Johor had been able to retain its position as the top state for investment in the country, grossing some 66.6 billion ringgit in the past three years alone.

“In 2013 we secured some 14.4 billion ringgit in investments, which rose to 21.1 billion ringgit and 31.1 billion ringgit in 2014 and 2015,” he said, adding that Chinese companies contributed the most especially in the manufacturing sector.

Tee assured that the state government would continue its efforts to attract more foreign investors especially China companies and sustain its position as the top investment destination in the country.

(US$1 = 4 ringgit as of 7/4/2016 via oanda.com)

Alex Cauguiran, head of the recently-convened coalition Advocacy for Dual Airport Priority (Adapt), said the President’s pronouncements “validated his statement” about making the CRK an active international gateway.

“I believe he is sincere in developing the CRK. He said he would discourage new factories in Metro Manila and instead encourage them outside,” said Cauguiran, who met with Duterte on June 13.

“We also discussed that in the ‘certainty of development’ of Clark, support services, industries, investments and generation of employment will follow and all these will lead to development in the region,” Cauguiran added.

Ruperto Cruz, chair of the multisectoral coalition Pinoy Gumising Ka Movement, said the President’s instruction to Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade in the first Cabinet meeting to develop Clark “has our support.”

“I think he means well. But it remains to be seen whether Tugade will [fulfill] the plan,” Cruz said. He did not elaborate.

Tugade, in a telephone interview on Friday, said he would “seriously implement” Duterte’s marching order concerning Clark and the CRK. Clark used to be a US Air Force base while the CRK once served as the Military Airlift Command within the base. These facilities closed after the Philippine Senate ordered the closure of American bases in the country.

In the Cabinet meeting on Thursday, Duterte addressed Metro Manila’s congestion problems by asking Tugade, “What if we make a road … a new road going to Pampanga airport so that some domestic flights can be transferred there?”

“If we can have a road … then just transfer flights to Pampanga so they don’t clog the [Ninoy Aquino International Airport]. The best in the meantime is one road network that will be geared toward Pampanga and Clark so we can use the [CRK],” Duterte said.

During the election campaign, he said a fast train linking Manila and Clark would make the CRK useful to travellers.

Adapt had been urging Duterte during the election campaign to define and implement a dual airport strategy for CRK and Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), to implement the CRK master plan by restoring the 8-million passenger capacity of a terminal in Phase 1, and to direct government agencies to make pre-employment procedures and services available near or within the CRK.

The Singapore investment company is expected to unveil its performance this week for the financial year ended March 31.

Analysts say Temasek’s exposure to China, as well as the financial service sector, likely left its portfolio battered by significant headwinds over the year, and also leaves it hard-pressed to replicate its strong performance in previous years.

Last year, Temasek posted record results – its net portfolio value climbed to an all-time high of US$197 billion as of March 31, 2015, surging US$32 billion over the previous 12 months.

The value of its portfolio had been steadily growing every year since 2009 – when it dipped due to the global financial crisis.

However, this trend is likely to reverse in its latest set of results following a volatile year.

There were multiple stock routs in China over the period and the markets “have not experienced a recovery of any significance”, said KGI Fraser Securities trading strategist Nicholas Teo.

China’s stock market plummeted last June in a rout that saw indexes plunge by as much as a third.

Shortly after, US$5 trillion was wiped off global stock markets over two weeks last August after China’s surprise devaluation of the yuan.

At the beginning of this year, another cut in the value of the Chinese currency triggered a plunge in Chinese shares, followed by a tidal wave of losses in global bourses.

Temasek has been steadily increasing its exposure to China, which made up 27 per cent of its portfolio as of last year.

Enrico Soddu, the head of data and research at the Sovereign Wealth Centre in London, said Temasek’s portfolio is likely to have declined between 5 per cent and 10 per cent because of its exposure to Chinese markets.

“Temasek is not a sovereign wealth fund but a holding company… so they might have been affected more than other government funds by the slowdown in the China and emerging markets as a whole, considering their overexposure in Asia,” he added.

Temasek’s exposure to the financial service sector – which made up the bulk of its portfolio at 28 per cent last year – is another factor that likely weighed on portfolio performance, noted IG market strategist Bernard Aw.

In particular, Temasek is the biggest foreign investor in Chinese banks. Soon after the slump in Chinese equities last August, the investment firm raised its stake in the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) to 10 per cent of the company’s Hong Kong- listed shares.

Aw pointed out that the Bloomberg World Diversified Financial Services Index tumbled 17.5 per cent over Temasek’s financial year. “Financial services were hammered in the first quarter of 2016,” he said.

ICBC’s Hong Kong-listed shares, for instance, plunged 25 per cent from US$0.74 on April 1 last year to US$0.56 on March 31 this year.

Closer to home, DBS Bank – in which Temasek is the largest shareholder – also saw its share price slide 25 per cent over the same period.

Other Singapore companies in Temasek’s portfolio also had a challenging year. The offshore and marine units at Keppel and Sembcorp were hit hard by falling oil prices, and both conglomerates saw share prices plunge at least 30 per cent over Temasek’s financial year.

Teo noted that there might be a few bright spots. Lower oil prices likely benefited transportation companies in Temasek’s portfolio, such as Singapore Airlines.

Neptune Orient Lines shares also received a fillip over the period on the back of takeover rumours. The company has since been sold to French shipping giant CMA CGM.

Market watchers say the current financial year will be another tough one for Temasek, given the lacklustre global growth outlook and mounting uncertainties.

“The outlook is bleak,” said Teo. “Brexit is going to be messy, and the United States presidential election is also coming up. Temasek will have to manage in the face of all these uncertainties.”

These are purportedly funds it has lost over decades to widespread tax evasion and in assets hidden overseas by wealthy citizens and businesses. If all goes to plan, the government expects 1,000 trillion rupiah (US$76.3billion) to be repatriated from overseas and subsequently invested locally. It will also add 165 trillion rupiah to its tax coffers.

This will not only increase the government’s revenue by 11 percentage points, but the capital can also be used to pay for infrastructure and developmental projects that Indonesia urgently needs to boost its under-achieving economy.

There were initial concerns that the Indonesian taxman’s offer of amnesty and discounted rates for errant taxpayers may lead to an exodus of funds from places like Singapore, where US$200 billion in Indonesian wealth is said to be stashed.

Bankers to the rich have since put paid to those concerns, saying the outflow will not be substantial enough to adversely affect Singapore. The city-state’s merits – including its status as a corruption-free and stable tax jurisdiction – will mean some will continue to park their wealth there.

Also, taxpayers who come clean under the amnesty are not forced to repatriate the assets they declare, although they will be taxed at double the rate of those who do send their money home.

Economists like Wellian Wiranto from OCBC Bank say Indonesia’s tax amnesty Bill makes economic sense. What is worth noting is that it is also the first piece of legislation ratified by a Parliament where Joko has majority support for the first time since he took office in 2014.

So the Bill is also a measure of his growing political strength. But is it a real breakthrough and will more of his reforms be realised? Only time will tell.

Covering more than 110,000sq.m at the International Hi-Tech Healthcare Park in Binh Tri Dong B Ward, the four-storey mall has a large supermarket, restaurants, cafes, fashion, cosmetics and sports shops, a food court, a CVG cinema, and a parking lot with a capacity of 1,500 cars and 4,000 motorbikes.

Eighty per cent of the stalls are owned by Vietnamese businesses and 20 per cent by Japanese and others.

The opening day drew a big crowd, attracted in part by discounts of up to 50 per cent offered by many shops.

It is the Japanese retailer’s fourth mall in Vietnam.

From April to June, the Myanmar Rice Traders’ Association conducted a survey of farmers, the homeless and the urban population to examine annual individual rice consumption, changes in consumption when income increases and money spent on rice.

The survey, based on 2014 nationwide census data, focused on 24,200 people from 5,130 households – 1,710 rural homes, 1,480 homeless families and 1,940 urban households.

According to the survey, average annual per-capita rice consumption was 155 kilograms. The minimum was 43kg and the maximum 326kg.

The average urban consumption was 133kg, the homeless consumed 160kg and farmers ate 176kg. According to the Central Statistical Organisation, the percentage of income spent on food was 73 per cent in 1989, 71 per cent in 1997, 72 per cent in 2001, 64 per cent in 2005, 70 per cent in 2006 and 64 per cent in 2012.

The decline suggested poverty was falling.

Poor households

“Most households are still poor as they have to spend more than half of their income on food. People spend less money on food when their incomes increase. It is a good indication,” said Dr Theingi Myint, associate professor from the Yezin Agricultural University in Nay Pyi Taw

According to the survey, 10 per cent of urban income was spent on rice while it is 15 per cent in rural areas.

Aung Than Oo, chair of the Rice Traders’ Association, said: “We can control the rice market and export volumes only when the country’s approximate consumption is known.”