Sarin’s Bottom Line Up Sevenfold in FY2010

Mainboard-listed Sarin Technologies Limited, a maker of precision

technology products for measurement of diamonds and gems, more

than doubled its revenue to US$45.7 million (S$58.4 million) in the

12 months ending 31 December 2010 (FY2010), a significant

increase of 114 per cent over FY2009’s US$21.4 million.

The company said its strong growth was underpinned by a rebound
 
in capital equipment expenditures across all geographical segments

early in the year as the diamond industry recovered from the global

financial crisis.

The big leap in revenue resulted in a sevenfold increase in bottom

line to US$11.1 million, compared with US$1.5 million in FY2009.

Taiwanese Celebrity He Jun Xiang Appearance

Level 3 Garden Plaza

22 Feb (Tue)

5pm

Courage Marine Earns US$9 million Net Profit in FY2010

Courage Marine Group Limited, a dry-bulk shipping company that

transports raw materials for Asia’s growing energy needs, recorded

a net profit of US$9 million (S$11.5 million) in the twelve months

ending 31 December 2010 (FY2010), from only US$75,000 in the

previous year.

The group’s turnover last year increased 67 per cent to US$46.5

million compared with US$27.9 million in FY2009.
 
“The weak market conditions have led to losses in many dry bulk

shipping companies. Fortunately, the group remains profitable, led

by the management’s years of experience. We effectively utilise the

strategy of using pre-owned vessels and minimal operating costs to

achieve over five consecutive years of profitability,” said Mr Hsu

Chih Chien, Chairman of Courage Marine.

CapitaMalls Asia’s FY2010 Net Profit Grows 9 Per cent to S$421.9 million

CapitaMalls Asia Limited on Thursday announced that it achieved

profit after tax and minority interests (PATMI) of S$421.9 million for

FY2010, up 9 per cent from the S$388.1 million recorded in FY2009.

Revenue under management was S$1.36 billion for the same

period, up 6 per cent from S$1.29 billion in the previous year.

Liew Mun Leong, Chairman of CapitaMalls Asia, said: “CapitaMalls

Asia recorded a strong set of results in our first full year of operations

since listing, tracking the robust economic growth in Asia, and

capitalising on our proactive asset enhancement initiatives and

capital management strategy. Our business is in this region, and we

are well-positioned to ride on this growth.”
 
Last year, the group committed a total investment of S$2.0 billion in

six new projects and recycled about S$500 million of capital through

the monetisation of Clarke Quay to CapitaMall Trust and the listing

of CapitaMalls Malaysia Trust.

The group also won the Bedok Town Centre site last September,

adding that it will put the site up for tender this year.

It also opened five malls in China last year and acquired four more,

giving it a total of 53 shopping malls across 34 cities in China, of

which 38 are operational. It said it is targeting to open another five

malls in China this year.

SGX Expands American Depositary Receipts Suite

Singapore Exchange (SGX) is enhancing its suite of American Depositary

Receipts (ADRs) by adding new companies from other Asian countries

and partnering a second depositary bank, SGX said on Wednesday.

Initially, the new ADRs to be added are from Focus Media Holdings

(China), JA Solar (China) and POSCO (South Korea). They will trade

on SGX GlobalQuote from this quarter, joining 19 other ADRs from

Chinese companies that debuted on GlobalQuote in October 2010.

Citigroup is the latest depositary bank bringing ADRs onto GlobalQuote,

joining BNY Mellon, which acted for the pioneer batch of 19 ADRs.

Since the ADRs’ launch, GlobalQuote has achieved a total turnover of

S$3.4 billion, SGX said.

Magnus Bocker, CEO of SGX, said: “We are offering (a) wider investment

selection to our investors who have responded positively to the

successful launch last October. By the end of the first quarter, Global-

Quote will offer a pool of the largest and most liquid securities in Asia,

equivalent to more than a third of the companies in the benchmark

MSCI Asia APEX Index which tracks Asia’s top 50 companies.”

ASX, SGX Strengthen Merger Proposal with New Arrangements

Australia’s ASX Limited (ASX) and Singapore Exchange Limited (SGX)

have agreed to adjust their merger proposal as they seek to overcome

political obstacles that stand in the way of the major deal.

In a joint statement posted Tuesday on ASX’s website, both sides promised

an equal number of directors from each country on the proposed

ASX-SGX board.

Chew Choon Seng, SGX’s chairman, will head the combined board,

which has been cut to 13 members. Of these, Australian and Singaporean

citizens will account for five members each respectively. The board

will also include three international directors, including ASX-SGX

Managing Director and CEO-designate Magnus Bocker.

All physical assets required for the operation of ASX’s businesses,

including listing, trade execution, clearing and settlement, and all

dedicated data and data recovery centres will continue to be developed

and located in Australia.

Both sides also pledged to build centres of excellence in Australia and

Singapore to drive product innovation, leverage on relationships with

intermediaries and liquidity providers, and develop new international

products and services to be distributed to the Asia-Pacific marketplace.

“These commitments demonstrate SGX’s belief in the merits and

benefits of the merger, address concerns that have been expressed,

and provide further clarity as to how the merged entity will operate in the

future to create growth and deliver value for shareholders and all stakeholders,”

SGX’s Chew said.

David Gonski, current chairman of ASX, will be the combined group’s

deputy chairman, as well as Chair of the ASX-SGX Integration Committee

tasked with overseeing a successful merger.

“The changes and commitments announced today, combined with

existing regulatory protections, strengthen our belief that the ASX-SGX

merger proposal is in the best interests of shareholders and in the

national interest of Australia,” ASX’s Gonski said.

In October last year, ASX and SGX announced plans for a merger that

would form one of the world’s largest listed exchange group with a broad

international shareholder base.

SGX’s CEO Magnus Bocker said Tuesday that both exchanges expect

to submit their revised merger proposal with Australia’s Foreign Investment

Review Board (FIRB) in the “next few weeks.”

Exchange Tie-ups Put Focus on Asia

A wave of stock exchange consolidation globally has thrown the
spotlight on Asia's bourses, sparking a rally in shares of Australia's
ASX, which is trying to convince politicians to support a US$7.9 billion
takeover bid from Singapore Exchange.
Deutsche Boerse's advanced talks to buy NYSE Euronext to create
the world's biggest trading powerhouse was a wake-up call for Asian
bourses which face increasing competition in equity trading from new
platforms.
The deal came just hours after the London Stock Exchange
announced a bid for Canada's TMX.
The latest consolidation mounts pressure on Southeast Asian
exchanges, which have avoided mergers because of tight ownerships
and political obstacles, although these bourses are taking steps to
promote cross-border trading.
"The competitive threat from the alternative trading pools makes
strategic sense for traditional exchanges to combine resources so
they can compete better," said Neo Chiu Yen, vice president of equity
research at ABN AMRO Private Bank in Asia.
SGX's US$7.9 billion bid for the ASX faces major political and regulatory
hurdles in Australia but investors said the latest deals appeared
to strengthen the case for a tie-up.
Shares in both companies outperformed their wider markets on
Thursday. ASX shares were trading 4.5 per cent higher, while SGX
shares were up 1.3 per cent in Singapore.
"That whole game's moving very fast now. Maybe it gives the ASXSingapore
Exchange (deal) a bit of a kick along," said John Sevior,
head of equities at Perpetual Investments, ASX's biggest shareholder.
"It just depends on how broad the government's horizons are. At the
moment, it's mired very much in domestic political issues."
Sources close to the deal said there had been informal dialogue in
recent weeks between SGX-ASX and Australian politicians and the
country's Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB), which has the
power to block any deal. However, SGX had not yet formally submitted
its application to FIRB.
While many analysts said the deals should bolster the case for a
SGX-ASX merger, one analyst said the LSE could now be seen as an
alternative partner for ASX.
"LSE is clearly making a play on the mining-resources side of things
and Asia is in general very resource hungry, so if Australia wasn't
potentially tied-up with SGX, which isn't a done deal yet, that would
be one option," said Niki Beattie, managing director of trading consultancy
Market Structure Partners.
Many smaller Asian exchanges were not yet feeling the pressure from
alternative equity trading, although Hong Kong and Malaysia's
bourses could be candidates for deals, analysts said.
"Looking at the other stock exchanges, it is a bit too early to say that
we are going to see a wave of consolidation in Asia, unless those
markets open up, show aggression in terms of attracting listings
beyond their domestic companies and liberalize the exchanges a lot
more in terms of ownership," said Harsha Basnayake, head of Transaction
Advisory Services in Southeast Asia for Ernst & Young.
"Certainly the HK exchange is there and then there is Bursa Malaysia
as potential candidates," Basnayake added.

SGX’s Securities Market Turnover Value Hits S$37.18 billion in January

Volumes achieved by Singapore Exchange’s (SGX) derivatives market
and Over-the-Counter (OTC) clearing business increased in January
from the same period last year, SGX said in a statement on Tuesday.
Securities market turnover value totalled S$37.18 billion in January, up
from S$28.37 billion in December, but down from S$38.21 billion a year
earlier.
Securities daily average value (SDAV) rose from S$1.23 billion in
December to S$1.77 billion in January. On a year-on-year basis
however, the SDAV was lower than the S$1.91 billion recorded in January
2010.
The value of exchange traded funds registered S$789 million, more
than double the S$345 million recorded in the same period last year.
SGX said the derivatives market volume in January was about 5.11
million contracts, up 2 per cent year-on-year and with an average daily
volume of 260,233.
Nifty futures (SGX S&P CNX Nifty Index futures) achieved a volume of
about 1.19 million contracts, up 42 per cent from a year earlier.
FTSE China A50 Index futures volume soared 62 per cent from December
to reach 214,648 contracts.
Total options volume registered 115,486, more than six times that
recorded a year earlier.
AsiaClear volume in January jumped 42 per cent year-on-year to 16,765
contracts, with OTC iron ore swaps volume up 57 per cent at 4,441
contracts.

SGX Consults Public on Proposed New Metals Futures Contracts

Singapore Exchange (SGX) is consulting the public on the proposed

introduction of new metals futures contracts, namely lead, tin and

steel billet, for trading on SGX’s derivatives market.

The proposed new contracts will expand SGX’s current suite of

commodities contracts, in addition to the first three metal contracts

(copper, aluminium and zinc) to be launched on February 15.

With Asia becoming a hub for commodities, these new contracts will

cater to increasing investor interest in metals trading and provide

market participants additional investment opportunities during the

Asian trading hours, SGX said.

The introduction of new futures contracts arises from SGX’s partnership

with the London Metal Exchange (LME). These new contracts

are standard, cash-settled metals futures contracts based on settlement

prices from LME.

Market participants and members of the public can send in their

comments and suggestions on the proposed contracts to SGX from

Monday until 9 February 2011.