Kencana Agri Achieved Strong Performance In 1H08
Kencana Agri, a fast-growing producer of crude palm oil and crude palm kernel oil with significant cultivatable land bank in Indonesia, announced that its revenue in 1H08 ended 30 Jun 2008 more than doubled to US$53.5m yoy on the back of increased sales volume and higher commodity prices. Despite higher production costs during the period, the Group achieved a 90.5% growth in gross profit and net profit grew in tandem by 56.7% to US$15.6m. Henry Maknawi, Chairman & CEO of Kencana added, “In line with the growing market demand for palm oil worldwide, we are positive about the outlook of the palm oil industry and will continue our focus on growing our plantations through new plantings on our current land bank, actively seeking opportunities to acquire additional land bank, and improving our overall productivity in next 12 months.”

Centillion Strengthens US Presence With US$4m Acquisition
Electronic waste recycler Centillion Environment and Recycling announced the successful acquisition of 100% of the membership interest in Guaranteed Recycling Xperts (GRX) for an initial cash payment of US$4m, with a further US$3m over a 3 year earn out period. The acquisition will allow GRX to draw upon the Group’s expertise in the recycling of electronics and recovery of precious metals, while GRX’s 10m pounds recycled yearly will provide additional leverage and scale to Centillion’s existing US operations. The announcement follows hot on the heels of the Group’s October 2007 acquisition of Metech International, as the Group further strengthens its presence in the US market. “As a business we are continually evaluating various business opportunities in the region. We were particularly interested in the environmental stewardship of GRX. The acquisition of GRX allows Centillion to further expand its presence in
the US market where electronic waste is growing exponentially,” added Richard Jacob, CEO of Centillion.

US Dollar Falls Against Yen & Euro Ahead Of Housing & Inflation Reports
The dollar fell against the yen, snapping a three-day advance, before US government housing and inflation reports this week, that may add to speculation the Federal Reserve will delay increasing interest rates. The currency also retreated from the strongest level in almost 6 months versus the euro after the Wall Street Journal reported the OPEC may cut crude oil production next month. The British pound declined against the euro as an industry report showed UK house prices posted the biggest annual decline in August since at least 2002. The dollar slid to 110.34 yen as of 10:17 a.m. in Tokyo from 110.53 yen in New York on Aug 15, when it reached 110.66, the strongest since Jan 2. The US currency weakened to $1.4722 per euro from $1.4687 on Aug 15. It earlier touched $1.4647, the highest since Feb 20.

Singapore Property Set For A Fall
Following the boom in construction which reflects a recent surge in property prices and jump of nearly 70% last year in residential and office rents, the property market looks set to hit some turbulence that could produce an equally significant fall. There are increasing signs that property prices have peaked. New home sales have slowed significantly, with residential prices rising only 0.17% in the second quarter. Increases in office rents are tapering off at a similar rate. Developers are reporting lower profits for the second quarter as the property market cools. City Developments, Singapore’s biggest private property group, last Thursday reported a 15% drop in earnings. CapitaLand and Keppel Land, the two big state-owned developers, have announced profit falls of 43.5% and 16% respectively. Meanwhile, Singapore’s FTSE property share index has fallen 35.2% from its peak last October.