Thursday, August 6, 2015

Malaysian palm oil producers renew expansion push into Philippines

AUG 6, 20153:30 PM

[MANILA] Malaysian palm oil producers are seeking fresh opportunities in the Philippines, aiming to build plantations in the country's southern region, where a historic peace deal has been forged between the government and Muslim rebels.

Mindanao, home to the Philippines' largest Muslim rebel group - the Moro Islamic Liberation Front - can offer land to palm oil producers looking to expand but who face a scarcity of new growing areas at home, Malaysian Palm Oil Council Chairman Lee Yeow Chor told journalists in Manila.

"In order for Malaysian planters to expand ... they have to look outside and certainly the Philippines, especially the southern Philippines, is one of the areas to look at," said Mr Lee, who is attending a Malaysia-Philippines palm oil trade fair.

The Moro rebels agreed in March last year to disband their guerrilla force and surrender 15,000 weapons to the government in exchange for control of their economy, culture and politics.

Although work on the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) that will grant autonomy to the region has halted, Philippine President Benigno Aquino last month urged Congress to pass the legislation before he steps down next year.

A number of Malaysian palm oil producers had earlier planned to expand into the Philippines, but security was an issue.

After an initial agreement between Manila and the Muslim rebels in 2012, Felda Global Ventures, one of the largest crude palm oil producers, became the first foreign palm investor to consider Mindanao, which is also rich in a minerals.

"The potential (for expansion) is there but it depends on how the governments and industry players can solve any current problems," Malaysia Palm Oil Board Chairman Wan Khair-il Anuar, who was also in Manila, told a media briefing.

While exploring expansion opportunities in the Philippines, Malaysia also aims to ship at least 500,000 tonnes of palm oil to its Southeast Asian neighbour this year, Mr Lee said.

That would be the same volume that Malaysian producers shipped to the Philippines last year, accounting for 80 percent of the latter country's imports of palm oil.

"Our role is to complement the local coconut oil industry," Mr Lee said.

The Philippines is the world's top supplier of coconut oil. Malaysia is the No 2 palm oil producer after Indonesia.

Malaysian palm oil futures hit an 11-month low on Thursday as worries about rising output and falling demand offset support from a weak currency and other vegetable oils.

REUTERS

Apple Music attracts more than 11m trial members since June 30

AUG 6, 20158:55 PM

[SAN FRANCISCO] Apple Inc's new music streaming service has attracted more than 11 million members during its free trial period, the company said Thursday.

Apple Music rolled out a three-month free trial period on June 30. Nearly 2 million people opted for the free trial family plan, which will cost US$14.99 a month for up to six family members, the company said.

Apple's iTunes Store helped revitalize the music industry a decade ago, but digital downloads have slumped in recent years amid a shift toward streaming. Unlike popular streaming services from rivals like Spotify, Apple's offering does not include a free on-demand tier, a decision praised by some in the music industry.

Apple also said its App Store saw the largest-ever number of customers in July, yielding US$1.7 billion in transactions.

Apple set a high water mark for App Store customers in China in July.

It said it has now paid developers almost US$33 billion.

Although App Store transactions are on the rise, Apple still draws the majority of its revenue from sales of hardware such as its blockbuster iPhone.

In the most recent quarter, Apple's revenue rose 32.5 per cent to US$49.61 billion from a year earlier, beating Wall Street expectations of US$49.43 billion.

The company's stock has dipped recently amid concerns about how its growing business in China will fare amid economic downturn in the country.

REUTERS

Brent oil prices fall after supertanker heading to Asia turns back

AUG 6, 201510:51 PM

[LONDON] The price of a North Sea crude which underpins the Brent oil benchmark has fallen after a supertanker heading to South Korea unexpectedly turned back, leaving supply more ample, traders and analysts said.

In what analysts said is an unusual move, trading firm Vitol has been re-offering Forties crude from the Sea King, a Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC) which had set off for South Korea from the UK about two weeks ago.

The move effectively increases supply in the backyard of the Brent benchmark, and price differentials of Forties crude and the outright price of Brent itself have weakened. Brent crude futures are trading below $50 a barrel, a six-month low.

"The Sea King is part of the reason Brent is sinking," said Olivier Jakob, oil analyst at Petromatrix. "This is not a usual move and does not bode well for North Sea crude oil that has been relying on shipments to Asia to clear the overhang that was visible during June."

Sea King was one of up to four VLCCs that traders initially thought was heading to South Korea in July. The Asian nation half a world away is a regular buyer of Forties as its crude imports from the European Union are tax-free under a free trade agreement.

The flow to Asia has helped boost Forties differentials and the wider Brent market in previous months as Forties is the largest of the four North Sea crude streams underpinning the global benchmark.

Vitol has sold two Forties parcels from the Sea King, which according to Reuters ship tracking software is off the coast of Portugal with Scapa Flow off the Scottish coast as its destination.

"I believe it is simply a case of re-optimising the crude and sending it elsewhere instead," said a trading source of Vitol's move.

Vitol said it does not comment on trading activity. The vessel's manager, Thenamaris, denied talk in the market that the ship stopped the voyage to Asia because of mechanical trouble.

"Sea King is awaiting charters' orders, and as per our corporate policy we do not comment on commercial matters associated with vessels under our management," Thenamaris said in an emailed response to questions. "The vessel is not suffering from any technical issues."

REUTERS

MH370 proof raises hopes of solving flight mystery

AUG 6, 201511:01 PM

[KUALA LUMPUR] Malaysia said on Thursday plane wreckage found on a remote Indian Ocean island was from ill-fated flight MH370 and more debris had washed ashore, raising hopes that one of aviation's great mysteries could be solved.

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak announced a two-metre-long (almost seven-foot) wing part that was discovered on French Reunion island last week was definitely from the missing plane, the first proof it met a tragic end in the Indian Ocean 17 months ago.

"It is with a very heavy heart that I must tell you that an international team of experts has conclusively confirmed that the aircraft debris found on Reunion island is indeed from MH370," Mr Najib said.

The Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 disappeared on March 8 last year, inexplicably veering off course en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 people on board.

The disappearance turned into one of the biggest mysteries in the history of aviation, sparking a colossal hunt in the Indian Ocean based on satellite data which hinted at MH370's possible path.

Malaysia Airlines hailed the news as a "major breakthrough" that it said would hopefully help to find the plane somewhere in the depths of the Indian Ocean.

Australian authorities, who have led a multinational search for the aircraft, also expressed renewed confidence that the frustrating search for the body of the plane would succeed.

"It suggests that for the first time we might be a little bit closer to solving this baffling mystery," Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said.

But French prosecutors involved in determining if the wing part was from MH370 used more cautious language than Mr Najib, saying only there was a "very high probability" it came from the plane.

Adding to the confusion, French investigators have not been sent any new wreckage to analyse after Malaysia said more items suspected to be from MH370 had been found on Reunion island.

French authorities "have not as yet received new plane debris," a French judicial source said, hours after Malaysian Transport Minister Liow Tiong said aircraft seat cushions and window planes had been discovered.

Anguished family members have awaited news with a mix of anticipation and dread, and some welcomed the first concrete proof of the plane's fate.

Sara Weeks, the sister of MH370 passenger Paul Weeks of New Zealand, said the confirmation ended "a week of turmoil".

"We've had 17 months of nothing... so actually finding something is the first step towards pinpointing where it is," she told the Fairfax New Zealand media group.

But some relatives who have consistently criticised Malaysia's handling of the crisis, particularly in China where most of the passengers were from, refused to believe the wing part was from the plane.

They have accused Najib's government and the airline of a bungled response to the disaster, possible cover-up and insensitive treatment of families - charges that have been vehemently denied.

Some continued to insists on Thursday they would not believe the Malaysian authorities until the plane's black box data and flight recorders were recovered, or bodies were found.

"Where is my husband's body? Have any passengers' belongings been found? No. It's just a piece that they found," said Elaine Chew, whose husband Tan Size Hiang was part of the cabin crew.

"No, this is not closure for me." Zhang Yongli, whose daughter was on the plane, similarly voiced her anguish, anger and distrust.

"I don't believe this latest information about the plane, they have been lying to us from the beginning." "I know my daughter is out there, but they won't tell us the truth," he added, waving Chinese and Communist Party flags.

Still, China's foreign ministry said Najib's declaration "confirmed the verdict on the Malaysia Airlines accident", and expressed "deep grief" for the passengers.

Martin Dolan, chief commissioner of the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB), said he was now "confident that we're looking in the right area and we'll find the aircraft there".

But he told ABC radio it was "too early to tell" what exactly happened to the aircraft and that close examination of the flaperon was necessary.

Gerry Soejatman, a Jakarta-based aviation consultant, called the confirmed MH370 link a "huge step".

"People want all the answers, but look, let's be real. We must be glad that we found something at all. Now we know roughly where it might have crashed," he said.

"This answers a lot of questions actually. It eliminates other theories, conspiracy theories. If the black box is found later on, it is likely we could get more answers." It is hoped that more detailed examination in the coming days may indicate how the piece detached from the wing and whether it showed traces of an explosion or fire.

Scientists have also said barnacles on the flaperon could indicate how long it was in the water, and perhaps where it had been.

AFP

Update: Malaysia says matches prove wing part is from missing flight MH370

AUG 6, 20159:47 PM

[KUALA LUMPUR] Malaysia said on Thursday paint colour and maintenance-record matches proved that a piece of wing found on the shore of an Indian Ocean island was part of the wreckage of Malaysian Airlines flight MH370, which vanished without trace last year.

Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai said investigators on the French island of Reunion had collected more aircraft debris, including a plane window and aluminium foil, but there was no confirmation they also belonged to the missing plane.

With the first trace of the plane confirmed, Malaysia has asked the governments of neighbouring Mauritius and Madagascar to help widen the search area, he told reporters.

Earlier, Prime Minister Najib Razak confirmed that the piece of debris was from the Boeing 777 airliner that was bound for Beijing from Kuala Lumpur with 239 passengers and crew on board when it went missing. "Today, 515 days since the plane disappeared, it is with a heavy heart that I must tell you that an international team of experts have conclusively confirmed that the aircraft debris found on Reunion Island is indeed from MH370," Najib said in a televised address.

The airline described the find as "a major breakthrough".

The first piece of direct evidence that the plane crashed in the sea closed a chapter in one of the biggest mysteries in aviation history.

But exactly what happened remains unknown and Mr Najib's announcement did not appear to represent any kind of resolution for the families of those on board, most of whom were Chinese.

The fragment of wing known as a flaperon was flown to mainland France after being found last week covered in barnacles on a Reunion beach.

Despite the Malaysian confirmation, prosecutors in France stopped short of declaring they were certain, saying only that there was a "very strong presumption".

Deputy Paris Prosecutor Serge Mackowiak said this was based on technical data supplied by both the manufacturer and airline but gave no indication that experts had discovered a serial number or unique markings that would put the link beyond doubt.

Representatives of manufacturer Boeing confirmed that the flaperon came from a 777 jet, he said, and Malaysia Airlines provided documentation of the missing aircraft.

Mr Mackowiak told reporters more analysis would be carried out on Thursday, and a fragment of luggage also found in Reunion would be examined by French police.

"We appreciate the French team and their support and respect their decision to continue with the verification," Mr Liow said, adding that Malaysian experts were convinced the flaperon was from MH370 because a seal on the part matched a maintenance record and the paint was the same colour.

A group of families from China said French investigators and Boeing must also say definitively the wing piece was from the plane.

"We are not living in denial ... but we owe it to our loved ones not to declare them lost without 100 percent certainty!" the families said on their microblog.

China's foreign ministry urged Malaysia to keep investigating and to "safeguard the legitimate rights and interests" of relatives.

Investigators looking at the wing flap at an aeronautical facility in the French city of Toulouse are likely to start by putting slices of metal under a high-powered microscope, to see clues in its crystal structure about how it deformed on impact, said Hans Weber, president of TECOP International, Inc, an aerospace technology consulting firm.

They would probably then "do a full physical examination, using ultrasonic analysis before they open it up to see if there's any internal damage", Mr Weber said. "That might take quite a while. A month or months."

John Goglia, a former board member of the US National Transportation Safety Board, told Reuters much could be learned from examining the metal and how the brackets that held the flaperon in place had broken.

However, other experts cautioned that the cause of the disaster may remain beyond the reach of investigators until other debris or data and cockpit voice recorders are recovered. "Debris such as the flaperon can only increase our understanding of the last seconds of the flight," said Greg Waldron, Asia managing editor at industry publication Flightglobal.

Flight MH370 disappeared on March 8, 2014, and is believed to have crashed in the Indian Ocean, about 3,700 km (2,300 miles) east of Reunion.

Investigators believe that someone may have deliberately switched off the aircraft's transponder, diverted it off course and deliberately crashed into the sea.

An initial search of a 60,000 sq km (23,000 sq miles) patch of sea floor has been extended to another 60,000 sq km.

REUTER
S

Thursday, August 6, 2015