Singapore 6th and New Delhi 38th most expensive Asian city

Singapore, June 9 The strong Singapore dollar has made the island state the sixth most expensive city in Asia for expatriate living, according to an international cost survey agency.

ECA International said prices of goods and services commonly purchased by international assignees have risen at much faster rates in Singapore than in other developed locations in the region.

Comparatively, New Delhi was ranked the 38th most expensive Asian city, with Mumbai rated 43rd, Bangalore 46th, Chennai 47th, Hyderabad 48th, Pune 50th, and Kolkata 51st.

Other South Asian cities in the ratings were Colombo (42), Dhaka (44), Islamabad (52) and Karachi (53).

Elaborating on Singapore, ECA International said goods and services in the city state now cost almost 3 per cent more than in Hong Kong, reversing a year ago trend when these cost 5 per cent more in Hong Kong.

Singapore was now more expensive for international assignees than Hong Kong, New York, Amsterdam, Frankfurt and Shanghai.

The city state rose to the 36th spot from 68th in the global ranking in one year, said the company, which provides solutions for firms sending their staff overseas.

Lee Quane, ECA International''s regional director (Asia), said the strong Singapore dollar was the main reason for Singapore''s rise in the ranking over the past 12 months.

The Singapore dollar has risen by more than 10 per cent against the US dollar over the year.Companies bringing staff into Singapore would see allowances increasing, as Singapore continues to rise on the ranking table.

Asia''s most expensive cities are: 1) Tokyo, 2) Nagoya, 3) Yokohama, 4) Kobe, 5) Seoul, 6) Singapore, 7) Hong Kong, 8) Beijing, 9) Shanghai and 10) Busan.

Overall, Tokyo continue to maintain its position as the world''s most expensive city, followed by Oslo, Nagoya, Stavanger in Norway, Yokohoma, Zurich, Angola''s capital Luanda, Geneva, Kobe and the Swiss capital of Bern.

Japan was the only Asian country surveyed where the actual cost of goods in the ECA basket of goods has fallen. But a strong currency and already higher costs for goods mean that the cost of living for assignees is significantly more than in other locations in the top ten ranking.

Nifty flat

Indian equity benchmarks were flat in the opening trade despite fall in global markets. The Nifty has been in a tight range of 5500-5600 since last week. Among frontliners, Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, HUL, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Bajaj Auto, Hero Honda, M&M, BHEL, Reliance Capital, ONGC and SAIL were supporting the market.

However, HCL Tech fell 2%. BPCL lost 2%. Sun Pharma and Ambuja Cements too were down. ICICI Bank, Infosys and L&T were marginally in the red.

Strike continues........

The workers' strike at the Manesar plant of the country's largest car-maker Maruti Suzuki India continued for the sixth day today and production continues to be completely stopped. "The situation is the same as yesterday," a company spokesperson told PTI. Around 2,000 workers at the plant have been on strike since Saturday, resulting in a production loss of about 4,200 units till yesterday and the value of the loss is estimated to be around Rs 210 crore.

The striking workers are demanding the recognition of a new union -- Maruti Suzuki Employees Union (MSEU) -- formed by those working at the Manesar plant, among other things.

Bisleri looking to enter Middle East countries

Bottled water major Bisleri International today said it is looking at entering Middle East countries as part of its strategy to expand its overseas presence. As part of the plan, the company said it will consider setting up more manufacturing facilities outside India.

"We are working on getting into the Gulf countries. We are currently finding ways how we should get into those markets," Bisleri International Chairman Ramesh Chauhan told PTI, but did not give details such as the timeline and investment required for the project.

Sino-Forest tumbles as Moody's sets review

Shares of Sino-Forest(Toronto:TRE.TO) went into another tailspin on Tuesday as the Chinese timber plantation operator struggled to fight a short-seller's allegations that its finances are a fraud.

The latest hit came after Moody's Investors Service said it may lower its rating on the company's debt, saying its business model may be hurt even if it demonstrates the allegations from short-seller Muddy Waters are untrue.

Shares in Hong Kong-headquartered, Toronto-listed Sino-Forest closed down 34 percent at C$4.01, having dropped at midday to C$3.67. Its shares are off almost 80 percent since the Muddy Waters report was published last Thursday.

Sino-Forest, which owns timber plantations across China and counts some major North American funds as its investors, has strongly denied allegations by Muddy Waters of problems with its audited accounts and business model.

The Muddy Waters report accused Sino-Forest of overstating its timber investments in China's Yunnan province by $900 million, using fraudulent data to support its plantation ownership claims, and running its revenue through intermediaries to hide the true amount from auditors.

Sino-Forest said it is weighing defamation action against Muddy Waters, a Hong Kong-based short-seller and research firm that has launched similar attacks against a handful of Chinese companies listed in North America.

As a short-seller Muddy Waters profits as the shares fall.

"While Sino-Forest has refuted the bulk of the allegations and has set up an independent committee to investigate them, Moody's is concerned that its financial position and business plan will be negatively affected in the interim, and even if they prove to be unfounded," Moody's analyst Ken Chan said in a statement.

Prices of the Chinese forestry company's bonds have also been hit by the report.

Sino-Forest's annual information form indicates it had about $2 billion in outstanding short- and long-term debt as of Dec. 31, 2010. It said on Monday it had about $1.09 billion in cash and cash equivalents as of March 31, 2011.

GREENHEART SHARES PLUNGE

In a separate regulatory filing, Sino-Forest's Hong Kong-listed subsidiary, Greenheart Group (HKSE:0094.HK), said its operations were not in any way affected by the allegations being made against Sino-Forest.

Still, shares in Greenheart, which resumed trade on Wednesday after being halted on June 3, plunged more than 80 percent to all time low.

Sino-Forest controls more than 63 percent of Greenheart, which operates tree plantations in Suriname and New Zealand, according to regulatory filings.

PWC RETAINED

Sino-Forest launched a counter-attack on Monday, saying it would release documents to prove its ownership claims, and it announced PricewaterhouseCoopers has been hired to help a committee of independent directors probe the allegations.

"PwC is highly familiar with the forestry industry and the business environment in China," Sino-Forest said, adding that the accounting firm will start work immediately.

Ernst & Young remains in its role as the company's auditor, according to a spokeswoman, who declined to comment further on Sino-Forest's review of the allegations.

The company is still getting support from analysts who had recommended its shares before the Muddy Waters broadside.

Dundee Securities analyst Richard Kelertas said on a call with investors that he believes that Sino-Forest can clear itself of all the allegations.

"We have found out through sources that Muddy Waters pre-marketed this smoking-gun report on Sino-Forest to hedge funds over the last five weeks," said Kelertas, who did not identify his sources.

Kelertas could not be reached for further comment on Tuesday.

Muddy Waters was not immediately available to comment.

Raymond James analyst Daryl Swetlishoff said the Sino-Forest move to appoint PwC is a good choice.

"We continue to have our target and rating under review, pending the release of the finding of the committee of independent directors, and we expect Sino and Muddy Waters to continue to compete for investor support," he wrote in a note to clients.

RBC Capital Markets said the allegations raised the risk surrounding Sino-Forest, but analyst Paul Quinn largely panned a conference call Muddy Waters founder Carson Block held late on Monday.

"No new evidence was brought forward, although Mr. Block claimed to have 'a lot of other material' that he intends to distribute in time," Quinn wrote in a report. "We suspect that we haven't heard the last from Muddy."

Quinn said Sino-Forest must do a better job of answering Muddy Waters' allegations related to its use of "authorized intermediaries" when buying and selling trees for plywood and pulp production.