BUSINESS BRIEFS

SingTel profit hit by currency

SINGAPORE: SingTel, Southeast Asia's largest telecoms firm, missed forecasts with flat quarterly earnings after a strong Singapore dollar crimped contributions from Asian mobile firms it has stakes in, sending its shares to a four-week low. SingTel made April-June underlying net profit, before goodwill and exceptionals, of S$865 million, versus S$868 million a year ago, and missing an average forecast of S$930.3 million. First-quarter attributable net profit was S$878 million, down 5.3 per cent from last year.

Chrysler seeks manufacturing alliances

TRAVERSE CITY, MICHIGAN: US automaker Chrysler LLC is seeking manufacturing alliances with other automakers in a bid to "generate cash as a smaller company", Chrysler's manufacturing chief said on Monday. Chrysler has "the flexibility" to perform contract manufacturing for other automakers, Frank Ewasyshyn, Chrysler's executive vice president in charge of manufacturing, said during a forum.

M'sia to issue new Islamic fund licences

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's Securities Commission, will issue more Islamic fund management company licences before the year-end as well as next year in an effort to continuously internationalise the industry, its chairman Zarinah Anwar said yesterday. "We have already approved three licences and are processing more applications from Europe, the US, the Asia-Pacific and the Middle East."

MAS among top 10 legacy airlines

NEW YORK: Aviation Week's latest report on top-performing companies, has ranked Malaysia Airlines as the second best amongst the worlds top 10 legacy airlines. On the other hand, AirAsia, ranked seventh amongst the top 10 low-cost/regional airlines. The study measures survivability in a tough, competitive environment. It focuses on the global airline industry, indicating which carriers are best suited to surmount the daunting economic challenges facing them.

HSBC buys into Techcombank

HANOI: The Vietnamese government has allowed London-based HSBC Holdings Plc to raise its stake in partly private Techcombank to 20 per cent, the ceiling for foreign ownership in a domestic bank. The government granted its approval on July 30, under which Hanoi-based unlisted Techcombank would sell another five per cent of its stake to HSBC, bringing the foreign bank's ownership to 20 per cent, the State Bank of Vietnam said in a statement.

Jakarta to develop palm oil spot mart

JAKARTA: The Jakarta Futures Exchange is planning to develop a spot market for crude palm oil so that the world's biggest producer will have its own benchmark price as early as next year, an official said yesterday. Indonesia is a leading supplier of commodities, ranking as Asia's biggest cocoa producer, but plays only a minor role as an exchange for these products with the derivatives contracts traded outside the country, for example in Malaysia and London.Agencies