Singapore Corporate News - 13 Dec 2007

UOB wins its colours in China, to set up Shanghai HQ in Jan

UNITED Overseas Bank (UOB) will soon start operating in China as a China-incorporated bank, joining the ranks of the other two Singapore banking groups - DBS Group Holdings and OCBC Bank.

UOB said yesterday that it has received approval from the China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) to operate a locally incorporated bank in China.

Foreign banks given such an approval gain access to an estimated US$2 trillion worth of household savings in China. They are able to offer the full range of foreign currency and renminbi (RMB) services to Chinese nationals. Banks which are not locally incorporated can offer only selected services such as foreign currency banking to foreigners and local individuals and enterprises in China.

UOB's new wholly- owned subsidiary, United Overseas Bank (China) Ltd, will have a registered capital of 3 billion yuan (S$587 million), UOB said in a statement yesterday. It expects to commence business as UOB (China) next month and will be headquartered in Shanghai, a UOB spokesman told BT.

Jasper proposes rights issue to raise $383.2m

FRESH from acquiring an offshore drilling business, Jasper Investments has proposed a rights issue to raise up to $383.2 million, part of which will be used to repay a bridging loan taken out for the deal.

It also proposed to carry out a share consolidation after the completion of the rights issue.
In a statement yesterday, the investment holding firm said the two-for-one rights issue will have up to 19.16 billion shares issued at two cents each. Jasper shares closed trading yesterday at two cents each, after an intra-day high of 2.5 cents.

Keppel unit gets Viet plant approval

KEPPEL Corporation is on the verge of scoring a coup, having received in-principle approval from Vietnam authorities to help develop the country's first waste-to-energy (WTE) plant.

The mainboard-listed group announced yesterday that Keppel Seghers, the environmental technology division of wholly owned Keppel Integrated Engineering (KIE), has secured approval from the People's Committee of Ho Chi Minh City for the development of the plant.

Featuring Keppel Seghers's in-house technology, the proposed plant will be the first WTE plant in Vietnam and also the biggest WTE facility in South-east Asia, outside of Singapore. With a capacity to treat 2,000 tonnes of waste per day, the plant will generate more than 20 MW of energy for Ho Chi Minh City.

The proposed plant will play an integral role in the city's sustainable waste management plans and will enhance living conditions for local communities. It will reduce the volume of waste by up to 90 per cent, extending the life of existing landfills and freeing up more land for commercial, industrial and residential uses.