WSJ: Equity Deals Keep Coming in Singapore, Philippines

Lucio Tan

 

Reuters

Southeast Asia's recent boom in share offerings is growing louder.

In the Philippines LT Group Inc. LTG.PH +11.11%, a conglomerate owned by billionaire Lucio Tan, raised around $920 million in the country's largest-ever share offering, pricing shares at 20.50 pesos ($0.50) each  the high end of the indicative range, issuance manager UBS AG said Wednesday.

That followed Monday's report in The Wall Street Journal that the Philippine unit of Nasdaq-listed Melco Crown Entertainment Ltd. is looking to raise $377 million in a private placement. Road shows for that sale started Monday in Manila and will be held in Hong Kong, Singapore, London and the U.S., the term sheet showed.

Meanwhile, in Singapore, Taiwanese pay-TV operator Asian Pay Television Trust is testing investor appetite for a listing as a business trust that could raise up to US$810 million, people with knowledge of the deal said Wednesday.

And Croesus Retail Trust, a Japanese real estate fund, has revived a plan to raise around US$300 million by listing some of its shopping malls as a business trust in Singapore in the second quarter.

Also aiming for a second-quarter listing in Singapore is U.K.-listed Investec PLC, a fund management and banking group, which plans to raise up to US$500 million through an IPO of its aircraft leasing trust.

So far this year, Southeast Asia has seen a surge in share offerings. Both Thailand and Singapore have raised more money from new listings than Hong Kong, the world's busiest IPO market from 2009 through 2011.

The Wall Street Journal

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Brunei Sultan, Phil President Aquino vow closer cooperation

EYE-CATCHING The President's sister and incidentally the country's No. 1 taxpayer, Kris Aquino, at the state luncheon Tuesday hosted by her brother for Brunei Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah who was here on a two-day state visit. EDWIN BACASMAS

President Aquino on Tuesday vowed closer cooperation with visiting Sultan of Brunei Haji Hassanal Bolkiah and other regional leaders to find a peaceful solution to territorial conflicts in the South China Sea.

At a state luncheon for the Sultan, the President said the government wanted to "move forward" with negotiations on a code of conduct to reduce disputes in the international waterway.

The President referred to rival claims by the Philippines and fellow Asean members Malaysia and Vietnam, along with Taiwan and China over the Spratly islands and the Scarborough Shoal in the West Philippine Sea.

"This is our pledge: to continue working with our neighbors in implementing the commitments of Asean member states in the Declaration of the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea, and in moving forward with negotiations for the adoption of a Code of Conduct," Aquino said.

The Sultan's visit comes a week before leaders from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations converge in Bandar Seri Begawan on April 24 and 25 for their 22nd summit. Brunei is this year's chair of Asean, which also includes the Philippines, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos and Burma (Myanmar).

Bolkiah, for his part, vowed to foster peace and stability in southeast Asia. He also praised Aquino for his peace initiatives with Moro rebels in Mindanao.

Bolkiah said Brunei, as Asean chair this year, would "continue to work closely with the Philippines towards achieving concrete outcomes in economic growth and social progress, and in promoting regional peace and stability."

Aquino welcomed Bolkiah to Malacañang at past 10 a.m. after the latter laid a wreath at the monument of national hero Dr. Jose Rizal at the Rizal Park. A 21-gun salute boomed as the President and the Sultan stood on a platform while the anthems of both countries were played.

Bolkiah was set to fly out at around 3 p.m.

INQUIRER Global Nation

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Philippine Research Institute Bred RICE with salt gland for Coastal areas; India and Bangladesh could benefits

International Rice Research Institute - Philippines

Salt-tolerant Rice Bred at Philippine Institute  

Scientists have successfully bred a rice variety that is salt-tolerant, which could enable farmers to reclaim coastal areas rendered useless by sea water, a Philippine-based institute said Tuesday.

The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) near Manila said its researchers are in the process of perfecting the variety of rice that would be the most salt-tolerant ever developed before field testing it widely.

"They hope to have the new variety available to farmers to grow within four to five years," the institute said in a statement.

IRRI's media office said the new variety would offer twice the salt-tolerance as previous attempts to breed such a variety.

India and Bangladesh could potentially be the biggest beneficiaries, the IRRI said, remarking that about 20 million hectares (49 million acres) of rice farms worldwide have been affected by salinity.

The new variety was bred by crossing an exotic wild rice species found in brackish water with one cultivated at the institute.

The result is a "new rice line that can expel salt it takes from the soil into the air through salt glands it has on its leaves", the statement said.

"This will make saline stricken rice farms in coastal areas usable to farmers," said lead scientist Kshirod Jena.

"These farmlands are usually abandoned by coastal farmers because the encroaching seawater has rendered the soil useless."

Incidents such as the 2011 tsunami in Japan which flooded thousands of hectares of rice farms with sea water have spurred the development around the world of new varieties of rice that can grow in such areas.

Rice is considered one of three major domesticated crops that feed the world, along with wheat and corn, and scientists have been continuously looking to develop new varieties to increase production.

Yahoo News!

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