Business
20th April
Fiji bus operators propose interim fare structure
AN interim measure of increasing fares for the first four stages around the country has been proposed by the Fiji Bus Operators Association. At least, the association says this is where a majority of bus...
Airbus sells longer-range A321s, sees quick end to Boeing crisis
TOULOUSE, France (Reuters) – The new sales chief at Europe’s Airbus hinted at orders for an unannounced new version of its A321 jet, while softening market rhetoric and predicting rival Boeing will emerge quickly from a crisis over the grounded 737 MAX. Airbus is seeing more demand for longer-range versions of roughly 200-seat planes previously...
19th April
FBOA demands withdrawal of EOI issued for western bus routes
THE Fiji Bus Operators Association (FBOA) has demanded the withdrawal of an expression of interest issued by the Land Transport Authority for the routes presently serviced by a Lautoka-based company. FBOA general secretary Rohit Latchan said the LTA’s call for expressions of interest as published last Saturday, April 13, was both unreasonable and arbitrary. In...
Decline in sector
THE decline in the economic contribution of the forestry sector over the past seven years has resulted in reduction in sawmilling operations and some job losses. Minister for Forests Osea Naiqamu said for the past seven years, the sector contributed an average of $36 million per year to Fiji’s gross domestic product. “This equates to...
18th April
$8.4m paid in settlements to Fijian workers
A TOTAL of $8.4million has been paid out to workers as settlement agreements through the Employment Ministry’s mediation services since it was established in 2011. This was revealed by the ministry’s mediator, Tomasi Keni, while making submissions on the UN Convention on International Settlement Agreements Resulting from Mediation before the Parliament Standing Committee on Foreign...
16th April
FFI to close Malau operations
FIJI Forest Industries Limited (FFI) will close its operations in Malau next month. A statement from the company said FFI had been in an insolvent state over the last decade. The statement said FFI was a native species plywood and veneer mill and the main reason for its insolvency status was the non-availability of native species logs....
Corporate jetmakers court Chinese elite for sales despite slowing economy
MONTREAL/SINGAPORE/SHANGHAI (Reuters) – Gulfstream Aerospace and Bombardier are trotting out their longest-range business jets at an Asian air show this week, as they compete for orders from China’s growing elite, despite the country’s slowing economy. The Asian Business Aviation Conference & Exhibition, (ABACE) opens Tuesday in Shanghai under a cloud of economic uncertainty, amid slowing...
Tepco begins second round of fuel rod removals at battered Fukushima nuclear plant
TOKYO (Reuters) – Tokyo Electric Power has begun removing spent nuclear fuel rods from a second building at the wrecked Fukushima plant, using remote-controlled cranes to lift hundreds of radioactive cylinders from a highly contaminated reactor site. The company, known as Tepco, said on Monday that it had successfully removed the first of more than...
Asia’s tech champions zero in on main street banking
HONG KONG (Reuters) – Asia’s internet firms are challenging the region’s traditional banks for consumer finances, tapping their massive user networks for business and following a trail blazed in China by tech giants Alibaba and Tencent. The push into banking by companies better known for their messaging apps, cute emojis and online holiday bookings comes...
Japan Post sells $2.9 billion shares in insurance unit at bottom of range – filing
TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan Post Holdings Co on Monday priced a share sale of its insurance business at the bottom of an expected range, a filing showed, raising $2.9 billion in the sale. Japan Post sold 136.7 million share at 2,375 apiece, the insurance company said in a filing, representing a 4 percent discount from...
EU approves tougher EU copyright rules in blow to Google, Facebook
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Google will have to pay publishers for news snippets and Facebook filter out protected content under new copyright rules aimed at ensuring fair compensation for the European Union’s $1 trillion creative industries. EU governments on Monday backed the move launched by the European Commission two years ago to protect Europe’s creative industries,...
Amazon workers strike at four German warehouses
BERLIN (Reuters) – Workers at four Amazon logistic centres in Germany went on strike on Monday, the latest action in a long-running campaign for better pay and conditions. Trade union Verdi said workers at warehouses in Rheinberg, Werne, Bad Hersfeld and Koblenz had stopped work, with the strike set to last until Thursday in some...
Belgian cybersecurity agency finds no threat from Huawei
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Belgium’s centre for cybersecurity has found no evidence that telecoms equipment supplied by Huawei Technology could be used for spying. The agency, which reports to the Belgian prime minister, had been tasked with analysing the possible threat posed by Huawei, which supplies equipment to Belgian mobile operators Proximus, Orange Belgium and Telenet....
