Asia Archive

Singapore, Nov 3 (DPA) Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong Tuesday said the city-state’s economy had bottomed out and was not expected to take another dip after it emerged from its worst recession in history.

‘We are out of the trough,’ said Lee. ‘We do not expect another dip in the economy.’

In the third quarter, Singapore’s economy showed its first year-on-year expansion after three quarters of decline, climbing 0.8 percent compared to a year earlier.

Growth of 0.8 percent was ‘nothing to crow about, but something to be grateful for’, Lee said.

‘We expect the economy to continue to stabilise,’ he said, noting that Singapore’s export-reliant economy depended heavily on the recovery of the developed economies.

Lee was talking to journalists ahead of hosting the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit next week.

The government now expects the economy to shrink between 2 and 2.5 percent in 2009, an improvement from the 4-to-6-percent contraction that it predicted earlier.

Dhaka, Nov 3 – Banking in Bangladesh entered a new era with the commencement of online payment system introduced by the country’s central bank. It facilitates fund transfers and payment of utility bills on the net.

The new move allows people to use local currency credit cards for online transactions within the country.

Although these services are being introduced by the Bangladesh Bank on a small scale, it is seen as the first step toward full-fledged online banking.

It will enhance the use of e-commerce and online banking services, facilitating subscribers of all commercial banks in Bangladesh.

‘Hassles are about to be over. Shoppers will no longer have to go to market spending hours in traffic jams. One does not need to stand in long queues to pay utility bills. All are now possible on the Internet,’ The Daily Star said Tuesday.

The central bank issued a circular to all commercial banks, saying subscribers to Internet banking will now be able to pay utility bills online from customers’ accounts to billing accounts.

‘This will create a revolution in e-commerce and online banking,’ said Bangladesh Bank Governor Atiur Rahman.

Online fund transfer between two accounts under the same name in the same bank will also be possible.

The circular mentioned that e-commerce-based transaction between buyers and sellers can also be done through Internet banking. Online transactions by credit card in local currency will also be possible.

‘This is the first and the most significant step towards electronic transaction in the country,’ Munir Hasan, consultant to the Access to Information (A2I) project under the Prime Minister’s Office, told the newspaper.

Vice Chairman of Association of Bankers Bangladesh Nurul Amin, also managing director of National Credit and Commerce Bank Ltd, said: ‘Banks need to be prepared for offering such services. Customisation and integration are necessary for this purpose.’

Security measures along with a legal framework need to be put in place to safeguard both customers and banks, he added.

‘We collect payment manually from 300-400 clients every day. The system consumes huge time and money. Now we are ready to start online payment collection on a pilot basis. We were waiting for this to happen for quite long,’ said Fahim Mashroor, chief executive officer of Bdjobs.com.

Madrid, Nov 3 (EFE) Amid the worst recession in decades, Spaniards are cooking much more at home instead of frequently going out to restaurants, according to a new study.

The head of business development for the consulting firm TNS Worldpanel, Stephane Roger, Monday presented figures for the consumption sector so far in 2009, noting that the average value of purchases year to date had declined by 1.6 percent from its level in 2008.

In general, the population increase, the reduction in consumption outside the home and the larger number of visits to stores caused the largest consumption sector – food – to increase by 2.5 percent in volume.

Among the products that saw a spectacular rise in sales were pizza ingredients, breakfast cereals, hot chocolate mixes or cooking cream, along with cleaning products.

At the other end of the spectrum is the textile sector, since people can generally do without – or put off – new clothing purchases, Roger said.

The crisis is also to blame for the fact that consumers have become more fickle. The percentage of households that visit more than five foodstore chains each year increased from 39 percent to 43 percent in a year.

In a new phase of growth for 2010, TNS Worldpanel is focusing more on older people, single people, couples without children and immigrants, who are gaining clout in the market and have different needs.

Dhaka, Nov 3 – A law to curb violence against women in the form of acid being thrown at them has been approved in Bangladesh, which has witnessed 132 incidents of this kind since January.

The legislation, Acid Control (Amendment) Bill, 2009, aims to establish ‘strict government control on the use of acid materials and curb acid related crimes’, it was announced Monday after approval was given by the cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

Acid is available in the open market as an industrial raw material. Its use by men spurned by women and who get away because of lax laws and poor police investigations has been a subject of debate in Bangladesh.

Statistics compiled by the Acid Survivors’ Foundation (ASF), an NGO, show that the 99 percent of the victims file cases but the criminals somehow get away. Only 10 to 12 percent of the criminals receive punishment and the rest escape during the trial process.

The latest victim of the attack last Saturday was Shila of Kushtia, a town in south-western Bangladesh.

She was about to be married to an expatriate living in Saudi Arabia last Friday. ‘But she is now moaning with pain in the bed of the Acid Survivors Foundation (ASF) hospital,’ New Age newspaper said Tuesday.

‘Some miscreants’ poured acid through the open window when the family members were asleep the day before the ceremony, it said.

According to the ASF statistics, a total 132 people across the country received acid burns in the past 10 months of this year.

ASF executive director Monira Rahman said the incidents of acid violence are taking place for lack of implementation of the acid-related laws.

Kuala Lumpur, Nov 3 – The High Court Tuesday set Nov 23 to hear Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim’s appeal against trial on a sodomy charge against him.

The rejection of the appeal would means commencement of the trial on the same day.

On March 10, Ibrahim, 62, had claimed trial to sodomising his former personal aide Mohammed Saiful Bukhari Azlan, 24, in June last year.

This is the second sodomy charge since 1998 when Ibrahim, then deputy prime minister, was ousted from office and underwent a long period of imprisonment.

The Court of Appeal will rule this Friday if Ibrahim will get documents and DNA samples he claims are crucial for his defence in the sodomy trial, Star Online, website of The Star newspaper said Tuesday.

Azlan, the alleged victim, was present in court.

He later told reporters: ‘I have been ready for a very long time to give evidence, at any time even if the court sets the date for tomorrow.’

Ibrahim is currently leading main opposition Parti Keadalan Rakyat (PKR), and

is considered the ‘de facto leader’ of the opposition alliance Pakatan Rakyat (PR).

The PR controls four of Malaysia’s 13 states and has strong presence in parliament.

Ibrahim’s wife and alliance president, Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, is under pressure to ‘sack’ her husband if she wants the alliance to survive.

Friends of the couple have demanded that she remove Ibrahim and to ‘stop covering up her husband’s weaknesses’.

The latest to join in Monday was Malaysian Indian United Party president K.S. Nallakarupan. He said Wan Azizah should take up former PKR Youth chief Ezam Mohammed Nor’s challenge ‘to sack her husband on moral grounds’.

‘Wan Azizah should be given the best actress award for being able to play the same script for the past 12 years and people still believe her,’ the newspaper quoted Nallakarupan as saying.

Hong Kong, Nov 3 (DPA) A jobless widower appeared in court dressed as a woman after being caught using his dead wife’s identity to exercise at a luxury gym, a court report said Tuesday.

Lau Siu-wah, 51, gained access to the Physical Fitness and Beauty gym at the Sheraton Hotel in Tsim Sha Tsui last Friday using the membership card of his wife who had died in 2007.

He began exercising in an area reserved for women but his looks aroused suspicion among women in the gym who called the police.

Lau, who was arrested in a nearby street after leaving the gym, admitted to police that he had used the identity card of his late wife to get into the gym, said a report in the Hong Kong Standard.

Lau appeared in court Monday wearing women’s clothes and red nail polish facing charges of using an identity card belonging to another person.

He did not enter a plea and the case was adjourned until later this month to allow police time for further investigation. Lau was released on bail.

Taipei, Nov 2 (DPA) Taiwan’s air force Monday ruled out an act of sabotage or human error for an incident in which a presidential plane carrying President Ma Ying-jeou had braking trouble after landing.

Trailing smoke and a small fire were seen when a Fokker 50 VIP transport plane with Ma on board landed at Chingchuankang airport in Taichung, central Taiwan, Sunday, an air force spokesman said.

The fire at the two main tyres on the right rear of the aircraft was spotted and put out by ground crew. All passengers, including Ma, were escorted off the plane and no one was injured, spokesman Su Wen-fu said.

‘An initial finding has showed that the problem was not caused by human or environmental factors,’ Su stressed.

The Defence Ministry later said the problem was caused by overheating of the brake rotors, and that it already sent the plane for a comprehensive overhaul.

Asked by reporters Monday whether he felt panicked, Ma said: ‘It’s okay, it’s okay. Just take it easy and no need to panic.’

Madrid, Nov 2 (DPA) A late 1-0 win at bottom team Malaga puts solid Valencia back in fourth place in the Spanish Liga.

Valencia won thanks to a goal 21 minutes from time from new captain David Navarro Sunday.

Navarro has had his ups and downs in the last couple of years, being loaned out to Mallorca after receiving a lengthy UEFA ban for his part in the March 2007 fracas against Inter Milan.

But he is now wearing the captain’s armband in the absence of injury victim Carlos Marchena – and enjoying a new lease on life.

Navarro marshalled the Valencia defence superbly in Malaga and scored the crucial goal, heading in a high centre from Pablo Hernandez that goalkeeper Gustavo Munua made a mess of.

Malaga came close to equalising when Victor Obinna hit the crossbar. Three minutes later the Nigerian striker was foiled by Valencia keeper Cesar Sanchez.

‘We had to fight really hard today,’ said Navarro. ‘It was lovely to score that goal, especially since it gave us three points.’

Valencia now have 18 points from nine games, one less than third- place Sevilla, who won 2-0 Saturday at Xerez.

Sevilla, in turn, are three points behind second-placed Real Madrid, who beat Getafe 2-0 Saturday at home. Real are now just one point behind leaders Barcelona, who conceded a late 1-1 draw Saturday at Osasuna.

Valencia are one point above fifth-place Mallorca, who scored a tight 1-0 home win earlier Sunday over Racing Santander.

The only goal in Palma came in the 18th minute, when Pierre Webo made it 1-0 with an angled drive, after good work by man-of-the-match Borja Valero, who, at age 24, is finally begin to fulfil some of his early promise.

‘We are winning all of our home games,’ said Valero, ‘and that is very important in this league’.

Mallorca are one point ahead of sixth-placed Deportivo Coruna, who were held to a 1-1 draw at home to dogged Sporting Gijon in Sunday’s late game.

Lassad Nouioui gave Deportivo the lead, only for Diego Castro to level for Gijon, who are now seventh.

The performance of the day was turned in by born-again Villarreal, who thrashed Tenerife 5-0. Joseba Llorente led the rout with two goals, the others were scored by Robert Pires, Guiseppe Rossi and Cani.

In Sunday’s other early games, Zaragoza beat Almeria 2-1 with goals from Angel Lafita and Ruben Pulido, while Valladolid battled out a late 1-1 draw at Espanyol with an equalizer from supersub Haris Medunjanin.

Malaga are bottom with just four points, followed by Xerez on five.

Atletico Madrid, who lost 1-0 Saturday in Bilbao, are on seventh, the same as Santander. Then come four teams on nine points: Tenerife, Almeria, Valladolid and Villarreal.