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AsiaLynx Top Stories – 1/23/2010

AsiaLynx Top Stories 23.01.2010 Comments Off

The MGM Grand Macau opened its doors in 2007

MGM Grand Macau To Relaunch Brand With Mainland Visitors In Mind: According to analysts, the MGM Grand Macau has fallen behind its Macau rivals as a result of failing to meet the expectations — or suit the tastes — of Chinese patrons, something MGM Grand Paradise Ltd. President Grant Bowie told the paper he plans to address by transforming the MGM Grand Macau into “a Chinese brand.” (Via Jing Daily :.)

China’s self-developed supertanker completed in south China port: China’s largest self-developed supertanker has been completed in south China’s Guangdong Province and was expected to set sail in late January. The 333-meter-long and 60-meter-wide oil tanker, named Xinpuyang, was designed and built by the Guangzhou Longxue Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. and the Marine Design and Research Institute of China. The tanker was handed over to the buyer, China Shipping (Group) Company, in Nansha Port in Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong on Friday. (Via China – People’s Daily Online.)

Pollution chokes Hong Kong: Hong Kong is famous for its skyline, but that view is often hidden behind a thick blanket of smog. Air pollution reached dangerous levels one in every eight days in 2009. (Via Hong Kong News latest RSS headlines – Hong Kong Herald.com.)

Survey shows Chinese women unwilling to marry Japanese ‘old men’: A survey conducted by a multinational matchmaking company in Tokyo, Japan shows that expectations of Chinese women on Japanese men have improved. The first requirement of Chinese women for their partners is ‘young’, flowed by conditions such as ‘personality and character’, ‘appearance’ and ‘income’, according to the survey. The result broke the traditional impression of matching old men and young women. The majority of respondents felt that the reason why Japanese men chose to marry Chinese women is that the majority of women around them are too young and they can not find a suitable Japanese wife. (People’s Daily) (Via News On Japan.)

Tiger Airways makes a loud roar on debut: IT WAS a roaring debut for Tiger Airways on its first day on the Singapore Exchange (SGX) as it confounded skeptics and delighted investors who had bought the IPO stock despite widespread cynicism over its valuation and growth model. (Via Business Times Online – All The Headlines.)

Tags: Airlines, Asia business, Asia news, China, Guangzhou, Japan, Macau, marriage, MGM Grand, Shipping, Singapore, Tiger Airways
Malaysia’s mysterious ship city causes concern

Singapore 11.11.2009 Comments Off

Anchored ships near the Malaysian southern Johor state.

KUALA LUMPUR (Channel News Asia): Hundreds of ships mysteriously left idle off the Malaysian coast during the economic downturn are posing environmental and safety hazards, port authorities and fishermen say.

The ships are lying off the southeastern tip of southern Johor state which faces Singapore, positioned outside port limits to avoid charges and official scrutiny.

Some authorities said they believed the ships were waiting out the export slump that has deprived them of cargo, while others said they were being used to conduct illegal oil transfers.

“These vessels are not supposed to anchor there. This activity is considered illegal,” Johor Port Authority assistant general manager Damon Nori Masood told AFP.

“All of these ships are off port limits, and some are just one metre away from the boundary line, making us unable to take action,” he said, adding that the vessels are all believed to be foreign owned or flagged.

Damon Nori said the ships are anchored in a narrow strait known as the “traffic separation scheme” (TSS) – designed as a free passage area to allow authorities to control the movement of vessels in and out of the port.

The huge flotilla is illuminated at night, presenting the illusion of a floating city off the coast. Malaysian newspaper reports have said there are several hundred vessels now gathered there. — read more at Channel News Asia…

Tags: Malaysia, Shipping, Singapore
Taiwan to restructure ports

Taiwan 02.11.2009 Comments Off

Kaohsiung Harbour - No longer a top ten port

Taipei (Seatrade Asia Online): The Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC) has planned to set up a Shipping Affairs Administration in 2011 to supervise the operations of four international harbor affairs firms to be transformed from the existing four major international harbour bureaus, thereby upgrading the competitiveness of Taiwan’s major international harbors, a top MOTC official told the China Post on Friday.

Yeh Kuang-shih, vice minister of transportation and communications, made the remarks at the transportation committee meeting of the Legislative Yuan.

During the legislative session, lawmakers doubted the justification of the government decision to build direct shipping links across the Taiwan Strait, as Kaohsiung Harbour, the island’s largest international harbor, has been squeezed out of the world’s top-10 harbors in terms of cargo loading and unloading volumes.

Lawmaker Yang Jen-fu of the ruling Kuomintang said that the cargo handling volume of the Kaohsiung Port has declined after cross-strait direct shipping links took effect, indicating that relatively weak competitiveness of the port.

Another KMT lawmaker Lo Shu-lei also said that the Kaohsiung port used to take the No.3 place in the world, and still maintained the No. 6 spot in 2006, but the ranking dropped sharply to 12th in 2008, losing ground to ports in mainland China. read more at Seatrade Asia Online…

Tags: Kaohsiung, KMT, Shipping, Taiwan
Chinese ship hijacked in Indian Ocean

China 21.10.2009 Comments Off

The De Xin Hai (Guangzhou Daily)

China Daily is reporting that a spokesperson of the EU naval force said the Chinese bulk carrier DE XIN HAI with 25 sailors aboard has been hijacked in the Indian Ocean.

John Harbour said that the EU NAVFOR Maritime Patrol Aircraft ( MPA) has located the ship and has seen pirates on board, as well as some small boats (skiffs) that are used in pirate attacks.

The ship was hijacked in the Indian Ocean, 350 nautical miles northeast of the Seychelles and 700 nautical miles off the east coast of Somalia, the EU naval force said in a statement from its headquarters in Britain.

“On indication of an attack, an EU NAVFOR Maritime Patrol Aircraft, operating from the Seychelles, was launched to investigate the incident,” said the statement, adding “the MPA has located the ship and has reported that there are 4 pirates visible and 2 skiffs (small pirate craft) being towed by the ship.”

The bulk carrier was not registered with the Maritime Security Center Horn of Africa. read more…

Tags: China, hijacking, Shipping