World

SINGAPORE: The Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) building on Kallang Road was a hive of activity on Thursday (May 12) amid a rush for passports, with security guards “screening” visitors and directing them. Among those who turned up was Mr Ad Maulod, who waited three hours before collecting his new passport, a day before he was due to travel to Malaysia. "I have a backache now (from standing in line)," he said on the situation inside the building. He leaves for a family trip to Kuala Lumpur on Friday, and it was the second time queuing up for his passport in as many days, said the 38-year-old research fellow. On Wednesday, he waited four hours in the hope of having the process expedited. He applied for a passport on Apr 2, but with an old photo. When it was rejected on Apr 2...

BUDAPEST: A second-half penalty from Dominik Szoboszlai earned Hungary a shock 1-0 win over England in the Nations League on Saturday - their first victory against Gareth Southgate's side in 60 years. Looking to get their preparations for the Qatar World Cup, which begins later this year, up and running, England were surprisingly second best from the off in Budapest, and were fortunate to go into the break all square. The hosts kept coming and made their pressure count as Szoboszlai converted from the penalty spot in the 66th minute after Zsolt Nagy was fouled by Chelsea defender Reece James - a decision which incensed the England players. England pressed as they looked for a leveller, but they could not create that killer chance as their Nations League campaign got off to a disappointi...

LONDON: The dollar rose to fresh two-decade highs on Thursday (May 12) as concerns that tighter monetary policies to tame surging inflation will hurt the global economy dampened risk sentiment and drove investors into the safe-haven currency. Data on Wednesday showed US consumer price growth slowed sharply in April, suggesting that inflation had probably peaked, though it was likely to stay hot. The dollar benefited as the data confirmed expectations for further aggressive hikes in interest rates by the Federal Reserve and investors fretted that central bank tightening could slow global economic growth. Asian stocks fell to an almost two-year low, European shares tumbled and oil prices were down 2 per cent. Against this backdrop, the dollar index, which measures the greenback's strengt...

TOKYO: Nippon Steel Corp, the world's No 5 steelmaker, expects its seamless pipe business will return to a profit this year from a loss last year as gas drilling activity is on the rise to meet higher demand for non-Russian fuel. "We are getting an increasing number of inquiries for seamless pipes as demand for non-Russian gas is growing," Takahiro Mori, executive vice president, told Reuters on Wednesday (May 26), citing the Middle East as an example of where demand is coming from. "Our seamless pipe business will definitely turn to black ink this financial year as the weak yen also helps," he said. Japan's leading steelmaker is among the world's top makers of high-end seamless pipes used for drilling oil and gas. The once highly-profitable business had been hit in recent years both b...

SINGAPORE: Business associations in the services industries have banded together to appeal for a concerted effort to tackle the manpower crunch they face in a policy paper published on Thursday (May 12). The paper, published by the Singapore Business Federation (SBF), represent various sectors including lifestyle services, environmental services, and estate & facilities management services. It outlines ways in which businesses, trade associations and chambers, government agencies, unions and educational institutions can work together to address manpower challenges faced by the industries, said the SBF in a press release. SBF said that the reopening of borders and resumption of activities are opportunities for companies in the services industries to grow. Nine key actions have been devel...

HANOI : The chairman of Vietnam's Vingroup conglomerate said on Wednesday that an initial public offering (IPO) for the company's auto unit, VinFast, may be delayed until next year due to market uncertainty. The IPO is currently slated for the fourth quarter of this year. Vingroup Chairman Pham Nhat Vuong also told the company's annual general meeting the conglomerate was prioritising spending on VinFast and gave an aggressive car sales target. "We are eyeing a Q4 IPO, but there are lots of ongoing market uncertainties now... If necessary we may delay it to next year," Vuong said. "The IPO is not just for fundraising. It's also about marketing and claiming VinFast's position globally," he said. VinFast's Singapore-based holding company had filed for an IPO with the U.S. securities regu...

HONG KONG : China's Didi is in talks with state-backed Sinomach Automobile to buy a third of its electric-vehicle unit, two sources said, signalling the ride-hailer's regulatory troubles are in the rear view mirror as it focuses on growth. The deal, if completed, would accelerate Didi Global Inc's strategic expansion in the world's largest EV market and help cushion the impact of the pandemic on its core ride-hailing business. Scrutiny from Beijing for suspected violation of data security has forced Didi to pursue a delisting from New York and rein in its business but there are signs of a thaw. The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday that regulators are set to conclude their investigations into the company. Didi aims to acquire shares in small-sized automaker Sinomach Zhijun Automobi...

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NEW YORK : Oil prices gained about 1 per cent on Tuesday, with U.S. crude settling at a 13-week high on supply concerns, including no nuclear deal with Iran, and prospects for demand growth in China, which is relaxing lockdowns to control the pandemic. Looking ahead, analysts polled by Reuters forecast U.S. crude inventories fell last week. A drop in crude stockpiles could further support prices. [EIA/S] The American Petroleum Institute (API), an industry group, will issue its inventory report at 4:30 p.m. EDT (2030 GMT) on Tuesday. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) reports at 10:30 a.m. EDT (1430 GMT) on Wednesday. Robert Yawger, executive director of energy futures at Mizuho, said "several numbers" in the EIA report are "within striking distance of historical lows," inc...

BEIJING : China's property market woes are likely to worsen this year with prices remaining flat and sales and investment falling further, while tighter and widespread COVID-19 curbs weigh on still fragile demand despite more policy easing. The property market, a pillar of the world's second-largest economy, was weakened by a government clampdown on excessive borrowing from developers last year. Since the beginning of this year, over 100 cities have taken steps to boost demand via cuts in mortgage rates, smaller down-payments, and subsidies. The outlook for the property market is expected to remain bleak in the first half of the year and for the whole of 2022. Average home prices are estimated to fall 1.3 per cent on year in the first half, according to a Reuters survey of 13 analysts ...