World Business

Thailand's food exports jump 28 per cent

Bangkok - Thailand's food exports earned the kingdom 380 billion baht (11.3 billion dollars) during the first half of this year, up 28 per cent year-on-year, media reports said Thursday.

The huge jump was attributed primarily to price hikes of agricultural commodities, especially rice, that more than doubled during the January-to-June period, said the Nation newspaper.

Yuthasak Suphasorn, director of the National Food Institute, predicted that earnings from the country's food exports would slow slightly in the second half of 2008, to 367 billion baht (10.9 billion dollars).

Norway's Aker Yards Q2 earnings up, board backs offer from Korea

Aker YardsOslo - Turnover and profits increased in second-quarter 2008, shipbuilding group Aker Yards said Friday attributing the development to increased activity at its yards.

Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) totalled 72 million kroner (13.8 million dollars). In the corresponding business period of 2007 the group posted a loss of 162 million kroner.

Turnover for continuing operations was 7.92 billion kroner, up 31 per cent on the corresponding business period 2007.

Royal Bank of Scotland reports massive half-yearly profit slump

LondonRoyal Bank of Scotland - Britain's Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) Friday reported a pre-tax loss of 691 million pounds (1.38 billion dollars) in the first six months of 2008 which experts said was one of the biggest losses in British banking history.

RBS, Britain's second-largest bank, said it was hit by writedowns of 5.9 billion pounds bn of write-downs after the credit crunch cut the value of many of its mortgages and assets.

TSMC's January-July revenues surge 22.3 per cent

TaipeiTaiwan Semiconduction Manufacturing Corp

Vietnam scraps rice export tax to boost sales

HanoiRice - Vietnam waived an export tax on rice and ordered the state rice cartel to boost purchases in an effort to raise sales abroad and reduce a surplus that has hurt farmers' incomes, officials said Friday.

A decree issued Thursday by Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung orders Vietnam's state-owned food companies, which control the country's rice exports, to buy between 400 and 500 thousand tons of rice in August, and "to make sure that farmers make profits of 40 per cent or more."

New Zealand bourse hit as Telecom reports profit drop

WellingtonNew Zealand Stock Market - The New Zealand stock market fell on Friday after the biggest listed company Telecom reported a 15-per-cent drop in annual profit as it faced increasing competition and rising costs.

Telecom shares quickly dropped more than 8 per cent after it posted an annual profit of 713 million New Zealand dollars (about 513 million US dollars), down from 844 million New Zealand dollars the previous year.

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