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SingTel
sells Singapore Post shares worth S$105 mln
Singapore: Asia's fifth-largest phone
firm Singapore Telecom said it has sold shares of Singapore
Post worth S$105.2 million ($62.2 million) cutting
its stake in the firm to 25.87 per cent from 30.85 per
cent. It says it plans to sell its remaining stake of
25.9 per cent in the postal group also.
The
company says the deal is in line with its strategy of
divesting non-core businesses.
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SE
Asia in danger of falling behind China
Kuala Lumpur: Singapore's prime minister Lee
Hsien Loong said on the sidelines of annual talks of the
Association of South-east Asian Nations (Asean) that South-east
Asia, once Asia's economic tiger, needs to speed up economic
reforms or risk falling further behind China in the race
for inward investment.
Loong
said, "On my recent trip to Europe, businessmen and
ministers were eager to hear about China and are engrossed
by the possibilities of the Chinese market." In the
early 1990s, South-east Asia was at the centre of the
global investment radar and was swamped by foreign investment,
but the bubble burst in 1998, crippling some economies.
When the region finally recovered, it found China had
eclipsed them."
He
added, "I believe that China shall become a positive
factor in promoting regional peace and fostering greater
cooperation. It is in our interests to see China continue
to rise in a peaceful and stable manner," he added.
Bilateral trade between China and ASEAN grew by 25 per
cent in the first half of 2005, and China is the block's
fourth largest trading partner. Trade volume for the first
six months of 2005 was posted at $59.76 billion.
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Japan
pledges $10-billion aid for Doha
Tokyo:
Japan has pledged to donate $10 billion over three years
to help promote developing countries' exports in an effort
to highlight its contribution to the World Trade Organisation
before next week's ministerial meeting in Hong Kong.
Japan plans to provide duty-free and quota-free market
access for essentially all products originating from the
world's least-developed countries, along with $10 billion
in aid. The overseas development assistance will consist
of yen loans, grants and technical co-operation for projects
such as improving ports, customs facilities and training.
"This is just a start. This is a package aimed at
the success of the Doha round," said Shoichi Nakagawa,
Japan's agriculture minister.
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