New World bondholders receive interest payment on dollar note
HONG KONG: New World Development, a Hong Kong property developer, has paid interest due Monday on a dollar note, Bloomberg news reported on Tuesday, citing several bondholders.
New World, which has one of the highest debt ratios among its peers and also had two CEO changes last year, said earlier this month it would defer coupon payments worth US$77.2 million on four perpetual bonds scheduled for June.
Reuters could not immediately verify the report.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Sun
31 minutes ago
- The Sun
Life on the edge of grocery bill
LET us get one thing straight – being Malaysian these days feels like being stuck in a game of Survivor: Inflation Edition. You wake up, stretch, brush your teeth, check your phone and bam! Another notification that something else is going to cost more. First it was eggs. Then American goods. Now, insurance premiums are climbing too. What's next? Even this makcik is cringing in dread! Ah, the humble egg. Or, as every Malaysian mother affectionately calls it, 'makanan penyelamat hujung bulan' – the ultimate last-ditch effort to keep starvation at bay when your wallet's drier than a kampung road in a heatwave. This trusty little oval, once the undisputed champion of emergency meals, is now flirting with luxury status. At this rate, we'll need a bank statement just to crack one open – maybe even a credit check! Whether it is the removal of subsidies, rising chicken feed prices or supply chain issues, some blame global warming or that one aunty who hoards 12 trays 'just in case.' Regardless, Malaysians have always had a deep emotional relationship with eggs. Half-boiled with toast in kopitiams. Masak lemak with petai in kampungs. Or wrapped in nasi lemak at your local roadside stall, only to discover that there is no egg inside, just sambal and heartbreak. Now imagine the horror when egg prices go up. Makcik near the pasar said, 'Kalau macam ni, baik saya bela ayam kat rumah je!' (If this is the case, might as well I rear chicken at home). And we all laughed. Until we realised ... she wasn't joking. Moving on to American goods. From overpriced jeans to iPhones and protein powders that promise Hulk-like biceps but deliver credit card trauma instead. These days, looking at a US$ price tag is enough to make even the makcik with five condos and a personal driver go, 'Eh, mahal jugak ni' (Eh, this is quite pricey). Want to buy a tub of peanut butter? That'll be RM35. Want imported cereal that tastes like cardboard and regret? RM45. And let's not talk about gadgets. One fella tried to buy the latest iPhone but ended up applying for a personal loan, selling one kidney and pawning his childhood memories. Of course, Malaysians are resilient. We're the same people who can make 47 TikToks complaining about prices, then still queue two hours at a US burger franchise opening because 'Wah, once in a lifetime!' Priorities, kan? But wait, we haven't even reached the final boss yet: insurance premiums. Yes, the thing you grudgingly pay for and hope you never have to use. Well, congratulations! It's more expensive now. Motor insurance? Up. Medical coverage? Up. Life insurance? Also up, although, ironically, your actual life expectancy might be going down due to all this stress. Insurance agents everywhere are now rebranding themselves as financial therapists. They don't just sell plans; they listen to your sob story, nod sympathetically and then explain why your monthly premium now costs more than your car instalment. 'Bang, kalau nak coverage lengkap, you kena tambah sikit je, RM400 extra per month,' they say with a straight face, while you mentally calculate how many Maggi packets you'll need to survive next month. And it's not just the working crowd feeling the pinch. Retirees, yes, our beloved aunties and uncles, are also getting whacked. Many of them, with no active income, now find themselves having to fork out more for the same health coverage. For elderly Malaysians living on EPF crumbs or children's allowances, rising premiums are more than just annoying; they're terrifying. Some are being forced to reduce coverage or drop policies altogether. So the next time you see an old uncle at the pharmacy measuring out his pills with a calculator, give him a nod. He's doing financial acrobatics we can't even comprehend. And it's not just individuals. SMEs are also taking hits from every angle. Import costs? Up. Raw materials? Up. Office toilet paper? Don't even ask. One HR executive joked that her company had to downgrade staff medical insurance from the 'gold plan' to some thing more like the 'recycled can plan.' Another joked that if an employee fainted now, their SOP was to just fan them with a company memo and hope for the best. The bigger picture here? This cocktail of rising costs is brewing a deeper worry: How long can the average Malaysian hold on before something snaps? The cost of living has always been a slippery slope, but now it's become a full-on jungle obstacle course. And we're not all trained like those ninja warriors from TV. Most of us just want to survive, afford some telur, maybe buy a proper toothpaste brand instead of generic toothpaste 'cap Gigi-Gigi Gembira', and have a little left over for an indulgence like Roti John with cheese. Unless this is resolved, it's back to the grind – scrolling online platforms for the cheapest telur deal and skipping luxury baristas to buy kopi kampung. Malaysians are nothing if not resourceful. We'll budget, bargain, barter, and bawl – but somehow, we'll still make it to payday with just enough left for teh o ais limau. Because we don't really have a choice. And honestly, where else can you be broke and emotionally drained, yet still find the energy to go full keyboard warrior over the little things? Priorities, kan! Azura Abas is the associate editor of theSun. Comments: letters@
The Star
an hour ago
- The Star
Want to file for divorce in China? You might need a booking agent
SINGAPORE: Chinese medical office worker Qin Meng has found a lucrative side-hustle: she wakes up before midnight, fills in her clients' divorce certificate applications on a government website, then hits the confirm button exactly at the top of the hour. Miss it by seconds and the daily slots are "gone in the blink of an eye," says the 30-year-old, who charges 400 yuan (US$56) for her service, bringing relief to couples who have sometimes spent six months trying for a slot. Demographers say the emergence of impromptu agents like Qin, who advertise on Chinese social media, is another sign of how the slowing economy is piling financial stress on married couples and contributing to the breakdown of relationships. The 2024 divorce rate has yet to be announced by the National Bureau of Statistics, but Yi Fuxian, a Chinese demographer and senior scientist at University of Wisconsin-Madison, expects it to hit 2.6 per 1,000 people, against a low of 2.0 during the Covid-19 pandemic. This compares with the most recent rates of 1.5 in Japan and 1.8 in South Korea. "Poverty destroys marriage," said Yi, warning divorce numbers were inversely correlated with birth rates and could worsen the country's demographic crisis. "China's economic downturn in recent years and the rising youth unemployment rate have reduced the economic capacity of families, exacerbated family conflicts, and thereby increased the divorce rate." While the economy is expanding at about 5% a year, Chinese households have been saving more because of concerns about job security and the impact of a prolonged property crisis. Much of the economic growth has relied on export competitiveness, but Chinese firms, hit by US tariffs, have cut jobs or lowered pay to reduce costs, while millions of fresh university graduates are struggling to find work. The rising financial pressure was thrust into the spotlight last year after a driver rammed his car into a crowd killing 35 people in what was the country's deadliest attack in recent history. The court found that at the time of his offence, the driver was angry with his divorce settlement. He was sentenced to death. Soon after, the bi-monthly Communist Party magazine Qiushi re-published a 2016 speech by President Xi Jinping that argued "harmonious families lead to a stable society." In a further sign that the rebound in divorces is driven by financial strain, demographers point at data showing lower divorce rates in affluent coastal areas and higher ones in poorer inner and northern regions. Zhou Minghui booked her divorce appointment herself on the fifth attempt, after weeks of worry that her ex-husband might change his mind about their separation. Zhou said her motivation for divorce was what she described as her ex's "reckless financial investments". He had lost nearly four million yuan in the stock market in the space of three years, forcing the couple to sell their home, she said. Even then they were only able to repay just over half of the debt he had taken to buy the shares. "When the economy is in a downturn, people shouldn't be so eager to invest or consume,' said 38-year-old Zhou, who works in the education industry in the southern city of Shenzhen. The Covid-era drop in divorce appears increasingly like an anomaly. Demographers say it was the result not only of the shutdown of non-essential public services, but also by the 2021 introduction of a 30-day mandatory cool-off period for couples seeking amicable divorce outside the courts. Couples need to get on the Civil Affairs Department's website twice - before and after that month-long breather - to book appointments to register their divorce. But the demand now far exceeds the available daily slots. The agents, people like Qin, have figured this out and advertise their services for anything from 50 yuan to 999 yuan. Qin has earned 5,000 yuan, nearly half her monthly salary from her day job, since she started the side gig "for fun" in March. She receives multiple daily enquiries and expects to earn much more. "The economy is not great, so there's more pressure at work and more conflicts in marriage," Qin said. "Divorce rates will keep rising." - Reuters
Free Malaysia Today
an hour ago
- Free Malaysia Today
Thailand to begin trade negotiations with US this week
America's goods trade deficit with Thailand hit US$45.6 billion in 2024. (EPA Images pic) BANGKOK : Thailand will submit a formal trade proposal to the US this week, the kingdom's finance minister said today, as it seeks to avoid Donald Trump's threatened tariffs. Thailand faces a 36% levy on key exports to America under the US president's 'Liberation Day' measures and remains one of the few Southeast Asian nations without a bilateral deal with Washington. After today's cabinet meeting, finance minister Pichai Chunhavajira told reporters, 'We will submit the details by this week'. He added that the first round will be held virtually, followed by face-to-face meetings. Thailand's finance ministry said in May that the proposal aimed to reduce the trade imbalance and improve access for US exports to the Thai market. America's goods trade deficit with Thailand hit US$45.6 billion in 2024, up 11.7% from the year before, according to the data from the US trade representative. The Thai government last month cut its 2025 economic growth forecast to 2.3%-3.3%, from 3.2%-4.2%, citing uncertainty over 'reciprocal tariffs'. In April, authorities arrested American scholar Paul Chambers for alleged royal defamation, prompting speculation that politics had delayed talks, though the case was later dropped.
