SINGAPORE (July 15): “Just imagine Churchill allowing this humiliating, servile, sycophantic indulgence of the American president’s ego to go unchallenged.” — British opposition Labour Party’s shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry. She was criticising Boris Johnson, widely expected to become the next UK prime minister, for not supporting Kim Darroch, until recently the UK’s ambassador to the US, who had described US President Donald Trump in diplomatic cables as ‘inept’.
Singapore ‘natural choice’ for HQ, says Dyson CEO
Dyson did not choose Singapore as the location for its headquarters for tax reasons, says CEO Jim Rowan of the upcoming plan announced in January. “It made sense for us to have the epicentre of the business closer to where the manufacturing, final stage of product design, supply chain, and sales growth [are],” Rowan told reporters on July 9. Singapore already hosts Dyson’s digital motor manufacturing facility and a technology centre. Dyson currently has its manufacturing operations in Southeast Asia, with products finished in Malaysia and the Philippines.
However, Rowan remains tight-lipped about Dyson’s electric vehicle development, declining to give updates about its plans to build a manufacturing plant in Singapore. “We say 2021 is a reasonable time to scale up the project. The technology is pretty complex and the marketplace itself is becoming more and more complex as it becomes a bigger and bigger piece of the automotive industry,” he says. While Singapore is still relatively new to EV manufacturing, Rowan notes that California too was not known for EV manufacturing until Tesla decided to build its first plant there. “That industry is still developing, and the places where people want to manufacture their EV products and their sub-assemblies are still in the development phase,” he says. — By Benjamin Cher
Penny stock saga-linked hedge fund executives convicted in the US
Mark Nordlicht and David Levy, co-founder and co-chief investment officer, respectively, of the defunct hedge fund Platinum Partners, have been found guilty of fraud by a New York City jury.
Back in 2013, the fund, which had about US$1 billion ($1.35 billion), had planned to invest US$560 million in Asiasons Capital, LionGold and Blumont. These were the three Singapore-listed counters at the core of the infamous October 2013 penny stock saga involving about a dozen listed entities. Nordlicht and Levy were convicted over an investment scheme involving a loss-making oil company called Black Elk Energy Offshore Operations. Prosecutors said the two men rigged a bondholder vote by not disclosing that some bonds were controlled by Platinum. A third Platinum executive, Joseph SanFilippo, was acquitted of all the charges he faced. In Singapore, the trial of John Soh Chee Wen and Quah Su-Ling, the alleged masterminds of the penny stock crash, will resume in August this year. According to prosecutors, some $8 billion worth of market value in the three stocks were destroyed by the alleged manipulation.
Airbus to check for cracks on A380
Airbus will inspect the wings of its A380 double-decker jets after cracks were found on some planes. The cracks could affect the structural integrity of the wings if not repaired. However, there is no need for the aircraft to be grounded. The fixes are to be made during scheduled overhauls, according to the European Union Aviation Safety Agency, which is drafting an airworthiness directive on the issue. For a start, the checks will cover 25 of the oldest A380s in service. They are operated by Singapore Airlines, Emirates, and Qantas Airways. The remaining planes must be examined before they reach 15 years of age. In February, Airbus announced that it will stop producing the A380. The last orders will be fulfilled in 2021.
UK ambassador to US quits
Kim Darroch, Britain’s ambassador to the US, resigned on July 10 after Boris Johnson, widely touted to be the next UK prime minister, refused to show support for him. Darroch, in confidential diplomatic cables leaked recently, had called US President Donald Trump “inept” and “dysfunctional”, prompting a barrage of abuse from Trump on Twitter and an assertion that he would no longer deal with the diplomat.
In a televised debate on July 9, Johnson refused to express support for the beleaguered ambassador. When asked repeatedly, Johnson did not answer whether he would retain Darroch in Washington if he became prime minister. He said he was “not going to be so presumptuous” on what date Darroch would leave his job. “I alone will decide who takes important and politically sensitive jobs,” said Johnson.
Foreign Office minister Alan Duncan said Johnson had “thrown our ambassador under a bus” and that the behaviour of the Tory leadership frontrunner was “contemptible”.
Singapore convicts three front runners for insider trading
The Monetary Authority of Singapore announced the first-ever convictions for front running as an insider-trading offence. Leong Chee Wai, Simon E Seck Peng and Toh Chew Leong were charged with a total of 333 counts of insider trading offences. They were convicted and sentenced to jail for 36 months, 30 months and 20 months respectively, said MAS on July 10. Their front running arrangement had yielded total gains of $8.1 million over seven years from 2007.
Leong and Toh were senior equity dealers at First State Investments (Singapore), whereas E was a remisier at UOB Kay Hian. The three “colluded to misuse confidential information for personal gain, thereby undermining market integrity”, said Loo Siew Yee, MAS’s assistant managing director for policy, payments and financial crime. “MAS will pursue insider trading charges against individuals involved in front running in appropriate cases and ensure that those guilty of such misconduct are kept out of the industry.”
US says sales to Huawei will require individual licences
The US said it would grant licences allowing companies to export goods to Huawei Technologies. However, it will not remove the Chinese technology giant from an export blacklist even as talks between the world’s two biggest economies are poised to resume. US commerce secretary Wilbur Ross said on July 9 that his department would “issue licences where there is no threat to US national security”, though Huawei would continue to face export controls. Ross’ statement clarifies the announcement by US President Donald Trump on June 28. Back then, following a meeting with China President Xi Jinping, Trump said US companies were allowed to resume selling to Huawei, which, as a company, remains on the Entity List. The list is typically reserved for rogue regimes and associated companies. US chip makers such as Micron Technology and Intel derive significant revenue from Huawei.
