Category Archives: Geo-APAC

Swine Flu vaccine update: WHO raises alert level to 5

Posted on April 30, 2009 by MyOrbit-Team| 3 Comments

New swine flu cases continue to emerge, and its not clear who exactly is the patient zero in this case, and when it really started. For now, we will continue to go with the proposed name of a Mexican boy.

This is a new strain of the flu virus and currently there is no tested/proven Swine Flu vaccine, though Tamiflu, which was tested for Bird Flu, could be used to strengthen the immunity. Learn more here: Swine Flu Vaccine- Tamiflu

U.S. scientists hope to have a key ingredient for a swine flu vaccine ready in early May, though commercial production can only happen by September.

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Posted in Geo-Americas, Geo-APAC, Geo-Europe, Healthcare & Medicine, MyOrbit Blogs, Pharma

Tech Mahindra Acquisition of Satyam and Next Steps

Posted on April 16, 2009 by MyOrbit-Team| 1 Comment

Here’s an update on the Satyam corporate incident from Dec-Jan, on which we had shared our thoughts. Tech Mahindra has emerged as the winning bidder for the 51% equity stake sale in Satyam. Tech Mahindra is also an IT outsourcing services company, and this development is a relief for Satyam’s employees and customers worldwide.

Kiran Karnik, the interim chairman of the Indian government appointed board of Satyam, said that it is up to Tech Mahindra to decide the way forward for Satyam. And of course, it shouldn’t be any other way. Tech Mahindra now has a wide array of restructuring projects as it tries to merge/rationalize Satyam’s services into its overall IT services portfolio.

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Posted in BPO-KPO, Business Strategy, Capital Markets, Contracts & Legal, Geo-APAC, IT Services, Market News, Outsourcing, Project Management

Temasek Holdings Reveals $39 Billion Loss

Posted on February 10, 2009 by MyOrbit-Team| 2 Comments

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_YlvEjlIelzk/R-xvJCBdpJI/AAAAAAAAJ0Y/Q997dhiOFP0/s400/Temasek%2BHoldings.jpgTemasek Holdings, the Singapore state owned investment company, has revealed today that it has lost $39 billion, or 31 percent of its holdings, in eight months last year.Temasek Holdings portfolio went down from SG$ 185 billion to SG$ 127 billion Singapore dollars ($85 billion) as of November 30.

The revelation comes just days after Temasek said Chief Executive Ho Ching, the wife of Singapore’s premier Lee Hsien Loong, steps down to be replaced by former BHP Billiton CEO Charles Goodyear.

The fund made a number of wrong moves under Ho Ching, including a $5 billion investment in brokerage Merrill Lynch in late 2007. And as you may know already, Merrill’s shares fell 78 percent in 2008 amid the global financial turmoil and it was bought by Bank of America Corp. on 1st Jan in a lifesaving deal.

Temasek Holdings also has large stakes in other financial companies such as Standard Chartered Plc, DBS Group Holdings Ltd and Barclays Plc. So it looks like Temasek financed a good chunk of the toxic mortgage securities in the US.

This is a learning for all of us. Warren Buffet invested $5bn in Goldman Sachs, and Temasek in ML. And the difference in the quality of decision making is clear.

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Posted in Banking & Financial Services, Capital Markets, Geo-APAC, MyOrbit Blogs, People, Private Equity, Risk Management

Lessons from Satyam Episode

Posted on December 30, 2008 by MyOrbit-Team| Leave a comment

Rather unique set of events have happened with Satyam, which is India’s 4th largest IT services company, having $2.1 billion annual revenue in FY 2007-2008.

There is much to learn for any business, whether it is privately held or a public-listed.

Read the specific analysis here: Lessons From Satyam Investor Issues 

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Posted in Business Strategy, Capital Markets, Finance, Geo-APAC, IT Services