Singapore

He held different posts in Glencore Group prior to his appointment.

He is appointed based on his extensive management and operations experience in Malaysia.

Mr Ward maintains responsibility for the overall day-to-day operations the Group's two subsidiaries.

He is also Director of SRG F & B Malaysia.

Offshore drillers reveal that exploration and development activities remain robust.

One cause was the civil subcontractors’ failure to cope with schedule, and more were subsequently appointed at higher costs.

Reasons include lower revenue and higher operating expenses and finance costs.

Three vessels have been re-sold while potential buyers are being sourced for the remaining units.

It was a 7.7% increase from last year's US$1.3 total spend.

The changing paradigm

Management admitted that the catch volume from the South Pacific is not up to expectations.

The times they are a changing Let’s face it; the world we live in is a lot different from the one we grew up in. The science fiction that we grew up reading is becoming reality, Apple’s automated personal assistant, Siri being one such example. We are no longer just ‘consumers’ of information, media or entertainment; we are ‘creators’ or ‘collaborators’ now. Ownership of an asset or product is not the end goal anymore – we value instant, anywhere access to all our services. Devices in multiple form factors, ubiquitous connectivity and ingenious applications - all of them are making our lives, at home and at work more different than ever before.

Management decided to cease its loss-making Licensing business.

As global and local economic events have a direct bearing on the employment market, it is always wise to pay close attention to major issues unfolding across the globe.

Yachting is still a formative industry in Singapore, but is gradually gaining traction, especially among the younger generation here. Compared to New Zealand, where there are almost 500,000 boats, Singapore has only a few thousand yachts for a comparable sized population. As a result, the revenue currently generated by the local boating industry is negligible, whereas in a European country such as Italy, yachting brings in billions of dollars in direct income to the government in the form of taxes and tourism receipts.

The 19.9% profit fall sees a slower recovery in 2H as there is less visibility from customers.