Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte continues to make headlines after suggesting initiatives that support micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) during the 2017 ASEAN Summit. Approximately 1,000 Sentifi financial voices are discussing Duterte, so join the conversation and see what insights they have to share.
Rodrigo Duterte: Supports MSMEs
The president believes the regional organizations should pursue mechanisms and initiatives on MSMEs because they will create significant impact on the lives of ASEAN people as well as making the region more open for businesses and improving connectivity. He also advocated for increasing people-to-people interaction through commerce, travel and education. Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry President George Barcelon added that the ASEAN Business Advisory Council will continue the discussions on providing help to MSMEs through many means, including infrastructure and financing.
SpaceX: Successfully launches a Falcon 9 rocket
SpaceX made a glorious return to rocket launch after successfully launching a Falcon 9 rocket that carried an Iridium payload. The company actually has a long list of customers waiting for a ride to orbit. Their customers include NASA, the U.S.’s military and multiple companies in the commercial sector. Thus, the launch schedule is quite hectic, with 70 satellites, 10 at a time, being launched in the next 14 moth.
Philip Hammond: Warns the EU that the U.K. will fight to protect its benefits
The U.K. Chancellor made it very clear that if the EU refuses a trade deal in an attempt to wound Britain, the U.K. could retaliate by cutting corporation tax and red tape to lure in business. The Chancellor deemed it necessary to change the U.K.’s economic model if it gets locked out of the single market. U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May is also set to release a statement about pulling the U.K. out of the single market, customs union and the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice in a clean break with Brussels.
American Apparel: Closes all 110 of its U.S. stores
Despite both Amazon and Forever 21 bidding for the troubled clothing chain, the company picked Canada-based Gildan Activewear for its $88 million. Gildan planed to grow American Apparel sales by “leveraging its printwear distribution networks in North American and internationally. That will help American Apparel brand live on even though it has to close all of its stores in the U.S.
Eurowings: Plane makes an emergency landing following bomb scare
A bomb scare forced a passenger plan from Eurowings, going from Oman to Germany, make an emergency landing in Kuwait where all 299 passengers were evacuated. After the authorities conducted a thorough search of the plane, they concluded the scare was a hoax. Afterward, the passengers were able to continue their journey.
BlackRock Inc.: Raises quarterly dividend
The investment management corporation announced a 9.2 percent increase to its quarterly dividend, which now sits at $2.5 per share or $10 annualized. It also revealed that the annual yield on the dividend in 2.6 percent.
Air India: Leases more than 100 planes
The Indian government has decided to help Air India double its fleet by adding over 100 aircraft through leasing. The planes will be inducted in the next four years. The leasing method is used to not put any more debt burden on the airline. Its management is also in talks with banks to restructure its debt of over Rs 51,000 crore (approximately more than $7.6 billion).
Bharti Airtel: Lays off a third of its employees
In an attempt of strategic organizational restructuring aimed at improving efficiencies, the Indian telecommunications services company has laid of a third of its workforce. The company has had a tough time in the market as its expansion into the Kenyan market proved fruitless and it is losing market share to competitors.
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