ISDN Holdings’ 1H08 Earnings Climb By 70.8%

Earnings for Main board-listed ISDN Holdings, an integrated engineering solutions provider for diverse industries, surged by 70.8% to $4.4m in 1H08, as revenue increased by 32.7% to $57.4m.The Company recorded healthy growth for both its Motion Control-related and Other Specialised Engineering Solutions sales nearly doubled from $7.6m to $14.9m, from a year earlier. Company will continue to ride on the growth of its businesses in North Asia where demand in China is expected to continue to be strong. Teo Cher Koon, Managing Director and President added, “The business outlook for the ISDN Group remains positive and we continue to benefit from our partnerships with strategic partners from both Europe and Asia.”

Singapore Adds Another National Heritage Icon

The Ascott Group has transformed a national heritage building and Southeast Asia’s tallest tower in the 1950s into a premium serviced residence in Singapore. The former Asia Insurance Building is now the Ascott Singapore Raffles Place after a $60m conservation and restoration effort. Jennie Chua, Ascott’s President & CEO said: “By conserving this precious heritage building and giving the architectural icon a new lease of life as Ascott Raffles Place, we provide global travellers a unique and special experience. It offers a timeless remembrance of Singapore’s heritage with modern comforts of international standards right at the heart of Singapore’s business district and lifestyle hub.” Ascott Raffles Place is one of The Ascott Group’s seven serviced residences in Singapore, including Citadines Mount Sophia, which will open in 2009.

Sinopipe Secures Second PRC Build-Transfer Contract Worth Rmb65m

Sinopipe Holdings and its subsidiaries, who are engaged in the design, manufacture, distribution and installation of a variety of plastic pipes and pipe fittings, announced that it has signed its second Build-Transfer contract. This latest BT contract is entered into with the local government in Yichun City, HeilongJiang Province, PRC. This project will be completed over two phases, with first phase to be completed by end of 2008. It is expected to enhance the Company’s financial statements starting from current fiscal year till completion of project and it will help to enlarge the Company’s market share in Heilongjiang Province.

Inflation Concerns Ease As Oil Price Drops To 3 Month Low

Oil remained to be the focus of investors on Wednesday as crude oil prices dropped to fresh three-month lows following further signs of weakening demand. Nymex September West Texas Intermediate fell as low as US$117.14 a barrel, marking a drop of more than 20% from the record high struck last month, before settling at US$118.58. The drop in oil helped further soothe inflation worries, just a day after the Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged but stressed that the potential danger of upside risks to prices was still a “significant concern”. Marco Annunziata, chief economist at Unicredit summed it up, “While the crisis has moved from an acute to a chronic stage, it is still too early to be sure that the worst is behind us.”

IPOs At Its Worst Slump In 4 Years

Statistics have shown that the number of global initial public offerings is at at its lowest since 2004 with fewer than 500 deals raising twice as many deals for the same period in 2007 and shows that the recent market turmoil continues to make investors wary of new listings. At end July this year, 499 deals raised US$75.9b, compared with 1,055 deals that raised US$167b at the same stage last year. In the US, only 42 deals equalling slightly more than US$30b were raised and not including the proceeds from Visa’s record breaking stock market debut, the largest ever in the US, the global total raised through IPOs so far this year has reached a five year low. Also, companies based in Asia Pacific have raised more money than European companies and both raised more than US based companies.