Isnin, 11 Mac 2013

NST Online Business Times : latest

0 ulasan
Klik GAMBAR Dibawah Untuk Lebih Info
Sumber Asal Berita :-

NST Online Business Times : latest


LTAT to pay highest ever dividend

Posted: 11 Mar 2013 10:08 PM PDT

The Lembaga Tabung Angkatan Tentera (LTAT) today announced its highest ever dividend payout of 16 per cent, amounting to RM759.3 million, one per cent better when compared to previously.

Defence Minister, Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi the payout comprised a seven per cent dividend, one per cent bonus, and eight per cent special bonus in the form of unit trusts.

"This reflects an increase of 11.6 per cent in total payout against the RM680.4 million recorded in 2011," he told a media briefing on LTAT's results here.

LTAT also posted a higher unaudited income of RM907.4 million for its financial year ended December 31, 2012, the highest recorded, since its establishment 40 years ago.

This is an increase of 5.5 per cent when compared to the RM860 million registered in the same period of 2011.

As at December 31, 2012, LTAT's assets rose by 10 per cent to RM8.8 billion compared with RM8 billion previously. Members' contributions stood at RM7.8 billion against RM7.1 billion in 2011.

For 2013, Ahmad Zahid said LTAT aims to notch a RM1 billion profit alongside higher dividends, on the back of the stellar 2012 performance.

This would also be supported by expectations of stronger earnings from its subsidiaries, Boustead Heavy Industries Corp and Affin Holdings Bhd, as well investments in trading, property and retail.-- Bernama

Toho may build plant in Malaysia

Posted: 11 Mar 2013 08:28 PM PDT

Toho Titanium Co may build a factory outside Japan for the first time as it seeks to escape escalating energy costs brought on by the Fukushima disaster.

The company, whose products are turned into lightweight and corrosion-resistant parts used in everything from Boeing Co's 787 Dreamliner airplane to desalination plants, may spend several hundred million dollars to build the overseas plant in either Malaysia or another lower-cost site, chief executive officer Kiyonobu Sugiuchi said in a March 8 interview.

"It will be tough for us to operate plants just in Japan," Sugiuchi said in the interview in Chigasaki, south of Tokyo. "We used to insist on staying in Japan."

Toho Titanium's possible move abroad highlights the challenges facing high-energy consumers such as steelmakers and chemical companies following the shutdown of almost all Japan's nuclear reactors after Fukushima two years ago. Japan last year paid 6 trillion yen (US$62 billion) for liquefied natural gas imports, or 73 per cent more than two years earlier, as the nation turned to alternative power plants.

Higher titanium ore prices have pushed up raw material costs for the titanium industry. The cost of titanium ore delivered from Australia has tripled to US$1,550 per metric tonne in the past three years, according to Metal Bulletin data.

Ore costs and a higher bill for electricity pushed Toho Titanium's operating profit down by 1.9 billion yen in the six months ended September 30, the company said in a November 9 statement.

The Japan Titanium Society, together with eight other domestic industry groups, in January urged the nation's trade ministry to take measures, including subsidies and the resumption of nuclear plants, to alleviate cost increases.

Waning demand for titanium from industrial plant users is making it difficult to pass on increased costs to domestic customers, Sugiuchi said. Titanium ingot prices may fall for the first time in three years or at best match year-ago levels in the fiscal year beginning April 1, Sugiuchi said.

In addition to higher energy and raw material costs, the grounding of Boeing's 787 Dreamliner since January 16 after battery failures is adding pressure.

Boeing's new aircraft, which is built with light carbon-fibre materials instead of aluminum to boost efficiency, uses titanium in roughly 14 per cent of the total airframe, according to Boeing's website.

Titanium use has been expanded in the 787 because it is resistant to corrosion, has minimal fatigue concerns and can withstand comparable loads better than aluminum, Boeing says.

Japanese companies have a record 35 per cent production share of the 787's body. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd, IHI Corp, Toray Industries Inc and Osaka Titanium Technologies Co are among companies involved in the plane's construction.

The possibility that Boeing's battery woes will tarnish the Dreamliner's reputation is of great concern, Sugiuchi said.

"If successful, other planes will be made using similar construction methods, leading to greater demand for titanium," Sugiuchi said. "It would be a problem if they don't succeed with the plane."

The grounding of the 787 will have no immediate impact on earnings because the US planemaker is continuing with production even amid the investigation, Sugiuchi said.

Toho will deepen output cuts to 30 per cent in April and will keep factory operations lower than normal for the next 12 months as it awaits a recovery, Sugiuchi said.-- Bloomberg

Kredit: www.nst.com.my

NST Online Top Stories - Google News

0 ulasan
Klik GAMBAR Dibawah Untuk Lebih Info
Sumber Asal Berita :-

NST Online Top Stories - Google News


Cardinals Arrive at Vatican Before Papal Conclave - Voice of America

Posted: 11 Mar 2013 11:22 AM PDT

Catholic cardinals gathered at the Vatican for their last pre-conclave talks Monday, the day before they seal themselves into the Sistine Chapel to elect a successor to Pope Benedict.

The conclave is due to begin Tuesday and will involve 115 cardinal-electors. They are expected to vote until one man receives at least a two-thirds majority, or 77 votes. Cardinals must be under 80 to vote.

The centuries-old tradition of choosing the new leader of the world's Catholics is cloaked in secrecy, and no clear favorite has emerged to take the helm of the Church.

Some reports are speculating that Milan Archbishop Angelo Scola and Brazilian Pedro Odilo Scherer are top contenders. Others are pointing to Cardinal Timothy Dolon of New York and Cardinal Sean O'Malley of Boston.

Over the past several days the Cardinals have been holding closed-door meetings in Rome to discuss the challenges that the next pope will face and vet possible candidates for the post.

Also under discussion are the child sex abuse scandals involving priests, and allegations of cover-ups by bishops, which have shaken confidence in the church.

Pope Benedict surprised the world last month, when after eight years in office he became the first Roman Catholic Church leader in 600 years to step down voluntarily.

The cardinals will officially enter the conclave at 5:00 p.m. local time on Tuesday. The first possible smoke sighting from the Sistine Chapel chimney should emerge around 7:00 p.m. Black smoke from the burned ballot papers means a pope has not been chosen -- white smoke means the new pontiff has been elected.

There will be no more than four votes per day.

US imposing new sanctions on North Korean bank: Obama aide - Reuters

Posted: 11 Mar 2013 11:19 AM PDT

Tom Donilon stands as U.S. President Barack Obama announces the resignation of National Security Advisor James Jones in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, October 8, 2010. REUTERS/Larry Downing

Tom Donilon stands as U.S. President Barack Obama announces the resignation of National Security Advisor James Jones in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, October 8, 2010.

Credit: Reuters/Larry Downing

NEW YORK | Mon Mar 11, 2013 2:13pm EDT

(Reuters) - The U.S. Treasury is imposing sanctions against North Korea's Foreign Trade Bank, the country's main foreign exchange institution, for its role in supporting Pyongyang's nuclear weapons program, President Barack Obama's national security adviser said on Monday.

In a speech to the Asia Society in New York, the White House aide, Tom Donilon, also said China should not conduct "business as usual" with North Korea while Pyongyang threatens its neighbors.

"The United States will not accept North Korea as a nuclear state," Donilon said in prepared remarks. "Nor will we stand by while it seeks to develop a nuclear-armed missile that can target the United States."

He said Washington was willing to negotiate with North Korea but insisted that it must first take "meaningful steps" to meet its international obligations.

The Treasury Department said it was designating for sanctions three individuals in connection with the Foreign Trade Bank: Pak To-Chun, Chu Kyu-Chang and O Kuk-Ryol. It also sanctioned Paek Se-Bong, chairman of North Korea's Second Economic Committee.

"North Korea uses FTB to facilitate transactions on behalf of actors linked to its proliferation network, which is under increasing pressure from recent international sanctions," the Treasury said in a statement.

(Reporting By Matt Spetalnick; Editing by Christopher Wilson)

Kredit: www.nst.com.my
 

NST Online

Copyright 2010 All Rights Reserved