Asia

Boosted by a surge in smartphone sales and the weakness of the yen the company recorded net profit of 3.5 billion yen, reversing a loss of 24.6 billion yen during the same period last year.

The company said its sales rose 13 percent in the three months to the end of June, from a year earlier, primarily "due to the favourable impact" of the currency movement. It also raised its sales forecast for the current financial year to 7.9 trillion yen from its projection of 7.5 trillion yen in May.

That is according to a new report released by Strategy Analytics. In said report it highlighted that Samsung's handset division had an estimated operating profit of $5.2 billion in the second quarter of 2013. This compares to Apple’s iPhone operating profit of $4.6 billion over the same period.

During the April-to-June period total mobile phone shipments across the globe number 383 million. In all, 27.7 percent of phones shipped were made by Samsung.

Based in Perth, Western Australia, and listed on the Australian Securities exchange (ASX), Continental Coal is a mining company with an Australian accent – which means it understands coal production and, even more importantly, the market that is blotting up most of the world’s coal and promises to do so for a long time. This is of course Asia, and notably China and India.

Alibaba’s announcement that it has experienced a 71 percent jump in quarterly sales to $1.4 billion has resulted in shares in its owner Yahoo rising more than ten percent on Wall Street. The figures eclipse those of Yahoo’s overall performance, which included a 13 percent fall in advertising revenue for the same period.

With the internet age in full swing and very much a part of everyday life in the Western world and developed nations, it is in the fast-developing nations across the world that the expansion of the digital sector is most prevalent today. One such country that is currently experiencing a rapid expansion in internet usage is Thailand, where access to the technology has become an increasing necessity, not only in business, but also in personal life.

On March 1 this year ACCL International’s President, Haji Habibullah Pirzada, opened the company’s newly built headquarters in Kabul. ACCL is an Afghanistan-based company that makes use of its unique approach to partnership in a variety of post-conflict or underdeveloped regions worldwide to create wealth. It is a sign of the success of this unusual company that it had grown out of the premises it occupied since it was established in 2003.

The Group has announced that it is planning to buy a controlling stake in Thailand's Bank of Ayudhya. Japan's biggest lender has agreed to buy a 75 percent stake in the Thai bank for up to $5.6 billion.

The deal would also see General Electric end its investment in Ayudhya, which goes back to 2007 when it bought a 33 percent stake in the bank.

Japanese financial firms have been increasingly expanding into South East Asia, attracted as they are to strong growth opportunities.

The news comes after shareholders in Spirit Nextel, the third biggest wireless operator in the US, backed the company’s revised bid for a 78 percent stake in the business.

In taking control of this stake SoftBank will pay $21.6 billion, a figure that makes it the largest overseas acquisition by a Japanese firm in history.

"The transaction with SoftBank should enhance Sprint's long-term value and competitive position by creating a company with greater financial flexibility," Dan Hesse, chief executive of Sprint said in a statement.

The group intends to pay £320 million to take a stake of almost 92 percent of Sunseeker International. The company is perhaps most famous for providing a number of yachts that have been used in the James Bond movie series.

The other part of Wanda’s first move into the luxury market will involve it making a £700 million investment in the development of a five-star London hotel. These deals follow in the footsteps of the group’s decision to purchase the US cinema chain AMC Entertainment last year.

The economy grew by one percent between January and March, compared to the previous three months, indicating an annualised growth of 4.1%, the cabinet office said, adding to hopes of a recovery in the world's third-largest economy.

The data follows a series of aggressive policy moves aimed at spurring growth in Japan's economy. Since the re-election of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in December last year, Japanese policymakers have introduced a slew of measures aimed at reviving the Japanese economy from years of stagnation.