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Amplats accepts consultations
Pretoria – Chris Griffiths, Amplats Chief Executive Officer, has assured the North West Provincial Government delegation, led by Premier Thandi Modise, that the mine will intensify its consultation processes before it implements its business review proposals. [Read more…]
Dorsett Hospitality International
Dorsett Hospitality International has been accorded the coveted Best Small Cap Company award by Asiamoney under the Best Managed Company Awards-Hong Kong.
Each year Asiamoney awards the standout companies and executive in each major regional country for strong management. The judging panel of the Award was made up of global professional investors, financial analysts, brokers and other investment communities. [Read more…]
Tel Aviv Israel
Few people realize that Israel, despite all its political problems, is one of the world’s most successful economies. Since 2004 its GDP has grown about 5 per cent a year in real terms every year except 2009, when the global economy crashed. [Read more…]
Jet Asia
Jet Asia announces its appointment of CITS Air Service Co., Ltd. as its General Sales Agent in China effective immediately. CITS Air Service, a subsidiary of China International Travel Service Co., Ltd, China’s largest integrated travel network, will take responsibility of local commercial activities including sales, marketing and reservations. [Read more…]
BRICS Development Bank
Pretoria – The Government of Jamaica has come up in support of the establishment of the BRICS-led Developmental Bank.
Jamaican Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Senator Arnold Joseph Nicholson, told the Minister of Trade and Industry, Rob Davies during their bilateral meeting in Jamaica on Friday that a BRICS Bank was good for Jamaica and that his country was in support of it. [Read more…]
Agriculture sector
Increasing Demand For ‘Food, Fuel And Feed’ Driving Opportunities In The Global Agriculture Sector [Read more…]
Vision China Media
Oak Investment Partners and Gobi Partners have filed a contempt motion in the New York State Supreme Court against VisionChina Media, Inc. (Nasdaq: VISN) and its subsidiary, Vision Best Ltd., for their failure to transfer $60 million into New York State by August 21, 2012. [Read more…]
ING To Sell Insurance Units In Hong Kong
ING sells to Pacific Century Group
– Units sold in combined transaction to Pacific Century Group
– ING to receive total cash consideration of USD 2.14 billion (EUR 1.64 billion)
– Transaction expected to deliver net gain of approximately EUR 1 billion
– Process to sell remaining Asian Insurance/Investment Management units on-going
ING announced that it has reached an agreement to sell its life insurance, general insurance, pension and financial planning units in Hong Kong and Macau, and its life insurance operation in Thailand to Pacific Century Group (PCG) for a combined consideration of USD 2.14 billion (EUR 1.64 billion) in cash.
The agreement is part of the previously announced intended divestment of ING’s Asian insurance and investment management activities. In this context, ING announced last week it reached an agreement to sell its Malaysian insurance activities for approximately EUR 1.3 billion. The process for the remaining businesses is on-going. Further announcements will be made if and when appropriate.
“We are pleased to have found in Pacific Century Group a good home for our customers, employees and agents with the ambition to continue to expand the businesses in these countries,” said Jan Hommen, CEO of ING Group. “This transaction underscores the steady progress we continue to make in our restructuring.”
The agreement values ING’s Hong Kong, Macau and Thai combined life insurance businesses at 24.3x estimated 2012 earnings and 1.9x estimated 2012 book value of EUR 865 million, both on an IFRS basis. Earnings until closing are to the benefit of PCG. At closing, ING expects the transaction to deliver a net gain of approximately EUR 1 billion.
ING is a top 10 life insurer in Hong Kong, Macau and Thailand. In Hong Kong and Macau, where ING offers general and life insurance products as well as pension and financial planning services, ING serves more than 270,000 customers through approximately 400 employees and 1,600 tied agents. In Thailand, where ING offers life insurance as well as pension products, ING serves more than 300,000 customers through about 480 employees and over 4,000 tied agents.
PCG is a private firm founded in 1993 by Richard Li. Over the years, PCG has built interests in financial services, real estate, satellite communications, media and telecommunication services in Asia. Richard Li is the Chairman of HKT, the largest telecom operator in Hong Kong, and the major shareholder of PineBridge Investments, a U.S.-based asset manager with USD 68 billion under management globally.
ING Investment Management’s funds management businesses in Hong Kong and Thailand are outside the scope of this transaction. The transaction announced today does not impact ING’s Asian banking activities.
The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and is expected to close in the first quarter of 2013.
World Bank Group
Washington – On his first day as president of the World Bank Group, Jim Yong Kim stressed the role of the 188-member organisation in helping address global growth risks and providing development assistance. [Read more…]
Investment Skills
New research by two American experts has demolished the key belief of efficient market theory, which several generations of students were taught as the foundation of their investment skills, that high reward is the consequence of accepting greater risk.
Their study of 21 developed and 12 emerging markets that lower-risk low-volatility stocks consistently delivered market-beating returns.
Between 1990 and 2011 the least-volatile decile of developed nations’ shares generated total returns averaging 8.7 per cent a year, while the most-volatile produced a negative 8.8 per cent a year. In the US alone, the comparable figures were a positive 12 per cent average and a negative 7 per cent.
One of the researchers, Robert Haugen, of a California-based research house, says the outperformance by low-risk stocks in every country contradicts “the very core of finance,” turning upside-down the theory about risk and return.
CopyRight – OnTarget 2012 by Martin Spring
for more on Martin Spring see – TheBizSense Views – Views & Forecasting
