Asian Stocks Decline For Fifth Day
Asian stocks fell for a fifth day after Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group said it will sell new shares to replenish capital and Canon slashed its profit forecast as slowing global growth cuts sales. Mitsubishi UFJ, Japan’s No. 1 publicly traded bank, plunged 15% after saying it plans to raise as much as ¥990b. Slumping profit sent China Life Insurance down 7% in Shanghai. Canon, the world’s largest camera maker, lost 4.6% while Singapore Airlines tumbled 9.7%, leading declines in the city state, as trading resumed after a holiday yesterday.

Beauty China Clinches HK$47m OEM Contracts
Mainboard-listed Beauty China Holdings, an integrated cosmetics company in PRC, has received approximately HK$47m worth of new OEM contracts from 2 customers in Russia and France to manufacture around 21m skin-care, colour cosmetics and fragrance products. The first batch of production is scheduled to run in 1Q09, with the bulk of the remaining production to begin and to be delivered by 2009.

Sinopipe Incorporates JV And Increases Production Capacity In PRC
Sinopipe Holdings has incorporated a JV company, Hailun Aton Piping in Hailun City, Heilongjiang Province, PRC through its 74.33%-owned subsidiary, Jiamusi Auton Advanced Materials Technology (JAAMT). The paid-up capital is Rmb10m, with JAAMT taking 55% while 45% will go to the JV partner. Hailun Aton Piping will generate production capacity of approximately 1,200 tonnes per annum, making it one of the few manufacturers in the province with the capacity to produce plastic pipes with diameter of 630mm.

STX Pan Ocean Awards Shipbuilding Contracts By Tender In 2008
STX Pan Ocean has awarded 3 shipbuilding contracts to 2 companies, namely STX Shipbuilding (STXS) and STX Dalian Shipbuilding (STXDS), whom had submitted their tenders through an earlier public tender invitation. STXS will construct 2 Very Large Crude Oil Carriers at US$147.5m per vessel and 2 Cape Bulkers at US$107m per vessel while STXDS will construct 8 Handy Bulkers at US$39m per vessel. The basis of selection of winning bid was based on ability to meet the stipulated deadline for construction and the bid price.

KS Energy Services Reports Loss Of Liftboat Titan-1
KS Energy Services regrets to announce the loss of its jack-up liftboat Titan-1 enroute from Pascagoula (Miss, USA) to Liverpool (UK), loaded aboard the semi submersible heavy lift vessel ‘M/V Ancora’. The Titan-1 is fully insured by insurance and the company does not expect any material impact on the financial results for FY08. The company is now in discussion with the its affected customer to substitute the Titan-1 with another identical sister-ship for the necessary contract execution.

Yuanbang Property Obtains Land Use Rights Certificate For Wenchang Project
China Yuanbang Property, a premium brand Guangzhou-based property developer, has obtained the land use rights certificate for a piece of land in relation to the Wenchang Project in the Liwan District of Guangzhou City, Guangdong Province, PRC from the State-owned Land Resource and Housing Management of Guangzhou City. The land, which measures 9,510 sqm and has a planned gross floor area of 68,139 sqm, will be developed into a mixed development of residential cum commercial units with facilities including a clubhouse and underground car park.

Global Voice Completes Fiber Optic Network In Munich
Global Voice Group, Europe’s foremost provider of mission-critical, high performance data services, has completed a major commissioning on its metropolitan fiber optic network in Munich (Germany) to meet the ever-increasing networking requirements within and beyond the borders of the Bavarian state capital. The company can now supply a range of new on-demand and bespoke high-performance networking to enterprises, carriers and service providers.