Author: viking

ANALYSIS: The blame for the disappointing progress of the UK’s smart meter rollout should not be laid at the door of the UK’s large energy suppliers. Many of the problems with the rollout stem from issues outside of their control.

The government intends to reform the corporate intangibles tax regime to partially re-instate relief for acquired goodwill and to prevent a de-grouping charge on a share sale qualifying for the substantial shareholdings exemption (SSE), according to the Budget documents .

ANALYSIS: For individuals the 2018 UK Budget was used to ensure compliance and reduce tax avoidance. In particular, taxation of property income has been tinkered with yet again, and a few capital gains tax exemptions tightened.

The core team of Singapore’s new generation of leaders will become evident next Sunday at the ruling People’s Action Party’s (PAP) internal elections, with the identity of the country’s fourth prime minister emerging soon after.
The city state’s former prime minister, Goh Chok Tong, said the election of new leaders from the PAP’s fourth-generation (4G) to its central executive committee (CEC) on November 11 meant the issue of succession would be addressed by…

Embattled financier Low Taek Jho – popularly referred to as Jho Low – is now facing criminal indictments from the United States Department of Justice (DoJ) over the 1MDB global financial corruption scandal.
The fugitive businessman, who is believed to be hiding in China, is also wanted by Malaysia and Singapore in connection with the 1MDB matter. But just how much hot water is the elusive, rotund financier in – and how difficult will it be to bring him in? Q. Just how much…

India has lodged protests with China and Pakistan over a new bus service from Xinjiang to Lahore, saying it passes through the disputed territory of Jammu and Kashmir, violating its sovereignty. The bus project, linking Pakistan’s second-most populous city with the desert town of Kashgar in China’s far western region of Xinjiang, is part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) – a cluster of infrastructure ventures underway across Pakistan since 2015 and worth nearly…

United States navy chief Admiral John Richardson on Thursday said China should abide by a code of conduct for unplanned encounters at sea, as this would reduce chances of an incident or potential escalation of tensions if the two navies met.
His comments, made in Australia during his four-country tour of the Indo-Pacific, came a day after his stop in the Philippines, where he made clear the US Navy would continue patrolling the disputed South China Sea as part of its programme of freedom of…

ANALYSIS: A recent report on the regulation of cryptoassets provides clues about how UK authorities will support technological innovation after Brexit while addressing some of the risks that technology presents to consumers and markets.

Tanjung Priok port in North Jakarta handles more than half the country’s cargo traffic, but for the past few days it has also seen a steady inflow of body parts, debris, and personal belongings from Monday’s Lion Air plane crash in the Java Sea.
Sifting through the remains of flight JT610, which left Jakarta with 189 passengers but never made it to Pangkal Pinang, is Willy, a photographer with Indonesia’s National Search and Rescue Agency, or Basarnas.
As divers and rescuers…

The regulation of cryptoassets is likely to get tighter in the UK, starting from next year, according to a new report by a body tasked with exploring whether new rules are needed to address their growing popularity.