Turbulence Still Rife In Struggle For Direction
Wall street hit its lowest level in more than 5 years, before staging a dramatic recovery on Thursday as global financial markets reacted to the US Treasury’s decision to shelve plans to buy toxic mortagage assets. After dropping as much as 3.9% to 818, the S&P 500 closed up 6.9% at 911.27 with strong buying triggered by hopes that equities may have set a bottom. In Europe, the FTSE Eurofirst 300 lost 0.2% after a choppy session, its 3rd consecutive day of losses. In Asia, the Nikkei 225 Average dropped 5.3%, Hang Seng retreated 5.2% and STI dipped 1.6%.

SingTel Seals $1.075b Of Credit Facilities From Bankers
SingTel has inked agreements for credit facilities of approximately $1.075b to refinance existing facilities and for general working capital purposes. These consist of a 5-year facility of $350m in Singapore which will mature in 2013 and a 3.5-year A$725m facility in Australia which will mature in 2012.

Sun East Issues Profit Guidance
Sun East cautions that it expects to report a net loss for its upcoming 1Q09 results ended 30 September 2008, mainly due to the provision made for doubtful debts.

Jurong Tech Signs Term Sheet Agreement
Jurong Technologies Industrial has inked a non-binding term sheet with Deng Li, Wu Laiying and Lin Bo whereby the company will enter into a joint venture to invest in Dewav. Dewav will engage in the design, development, manufacture, and assembly of components for mobile devices and the sale and distribution of mobile devices in China and other countries.

Novo Issues Profit Warning
Novo expects to report a loss for its 2Q09 results ended 31 October 2008. The loss is mainly due to the recent plunge in prices of steel and its related products that have caused sharp falls in its revenue and lower profit margin.

SPC Inks Contract To Explore Mahakam Hilir Block
SPC has, thru’ its unit, SPC E&P Upstream, inked a Petroleum Production Sharing Contract with Badan Pelaksana Kegiatan Usaha Hulu Minyak Dan Gas Bumi, an Indonesian state-owned legal entity to explore the Mahakam Hilir Block, subject to final government approvals. The block is located onshore Kutai Basin, one of the largest and most important oil and gas producing basins in Indonesia.

Asiatravel.com Enters Co-Branding Partnership With Pomoho And Travel Point
Asiatravel.com has inked a co-branding partnership with Travel Point, the e-commerce arm of Auston International, and Pomoho International to promote Asiatravel.com’s full range of travel products and services via Pomoho’s popular and high-traffic website to the PRC outbound travel market. Pomoho.com is the 5th largest video-sharing website in PRC and has more than 3m registered users.

Etika Achieves Historical Highs With FY08 Results
Etika, one of the world’s largest manufacturers and distributors of sweetened condensed milk and a leadin gregional F&B Group, has posted a milestone revenue jump of 51.3% to RM592.3m and its profit after tax soared 300.9% to RM40.5m. The company has declared a dividend of $0.013 for its shareholders.

Yongnam’s 3Q08 Net Profit Jumps 215%
Yongnam Holdings, a well-established structural steel contractor and specialist engineering solutions provider, has reported a strong revenue growth of 85.3% to $124.2m and net profit jumped 215.1% to $24.7m for its 3Q08 results.