Business

Airbnb facing blowback

Airbnb took the world by storm by serving as a marketplace connecting travellers to people offering short-term accommodation in their homes. Nearly a decade after its formation, blowback against home-sharing is threatening to take the wind out of its sails.Brian Chesky and Joe Gebbia decided to rent out three air mattresses in their San Francisco apartment living room. There was a severe shortage of hotel rooms in town due to a convention.

8 July 2018
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All the things China market analysts got wrong this year

Anyone who shorted Chinese stocks, went long the yuan and loaded up on the country’s government debt has unexpectedly won big in 2018.Strategists across the board have been blindsided by China’s financial markets this year, where extreme moves mean the nation has hosted both the world’s best and worst performing assets all at once.

28 April 2018
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Southeast Asia online economy seen reaching $50 billion in 2017

Southeast Asia’s internet economy, spanning online travel to ride-hailing, will reach $50 billion this year, putting it on a solid trajectory to grow fourfold by 2025, according to a joint research report by Google and Temasek Holdings Pte.As more consumers buy airline tickets and book hotels through smartphones, the region’s online travel market expanded from $19.1 billion in 2015 to $26.6 billion in 2017, according to a report the two companies released Tuesday.

12 December 2017
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Temasek exploring $1 B Zuellig Pharma stake sale

Temasek Holdings Pte is exploring a sale of its stake in Asian drug distributor Zuellig Pharma, people familiar with the matter said.The Singapore state investment firm has been speaking with advisers about a potential sale of its 20 percent stake in Zuellig Pharma, which commands vast pharmaceutical distribution networks in about a dozen Asian markets, according to the people.

28 November 2017
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Sarath Ratanavadi poised to be Thailand's newest billionaire

A well-timed decision more than a decade ago to abandon coal in time for Thailand’s natural-gas boom is poised to make Sarath Ratanavadi the newest billionaire in Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy.Based on the low end of the pricing range for his Gulf Energy Development Pcl’s initial public offering this week, Sarath has a net worth of 1.9 billion dollars, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

21 November 2017
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Local brands edge large multinationals

Nestle SA is losing buzz to an Indonesian coffee brand famous for brewing civet-cat feces, and L’Oreal SA is losing face to a Chinese skincare brand favored by President Xi Jinping’s wife.Asia traditionally was considered easy money for Western multinationals, with beverage makers, cigarette brands and fast-food giants capitalising on rising incomes and weak local competitors.

21 November 2017
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Trump lauds Asia trade wins and red carpets

Donald Trump on Monday lauded his trade achievements during a five-nation tour of Asia, promising he would reveal "far bigger" steps when he returned to Washington.The US president has frequently bemoaned what he calls "unfair" international trade deals and a perceived lack of respect for America and its leaders.But standing alongside the prime ministers of Japan and Australia in Manila on Monday, he said that was all changing."The way they've treated us, the res

13 November 2017
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Vietnam relies on Facebook to kick-start businesses

Quang Dang built a business with 200 staff selling lipstick and perfume. His secret to success? Once-banned Facebook.Like a growing number of Vietnamese, the 25-year-old turned to Facebook to put money in his pocket as getting his own physical shop proved out of reach. With just 223 dollars in savings, the high school educated entrepreneur got his start hawking cosmetics to friends on the social network.Vietnam has a complicated relationship with the social network.

8 November 2017
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Indonesia to probe Subianto, Suhartos after 'Paradise Papers' leak

Indonesian authorities are investigating if former presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto and the children of ex-dictator Suharto, named in documents leaked from a Bermuda law firm, are in breach of the country’s tax laws.The tax office will scrutinise financial disclosures made by Subianto in the past to check against information contained in the massive leak of confidential information from offshore law firm Appleby Global Group Services, Hestu Yoga Saksama, a spokesman for the Directorate

6 November 2017
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DBS's profit fell due to bad energy loans

DBS Group Holdings reported a surprise drop in third-quarter profit as Southeast Asia’s largest bank boosted bad-loan allowances more than sixfold in an effort to deal with its problem lending to the regional oil and gas services sector.The bank reported a 23 percent drop in net income to S$822 million (602 million dollars), worse than even the most pessimistic of analyst forecasts, but indicated it now hopes to draw a line under the bad-debt issues by recognising more of its energy services

6 November 2017
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