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Euro Sales Finance (ESF) has appointed Bluestone Software Inc. to power its dedicated web portal, the first of its kind in the asset finance market, using its Total-e-Business facility.
11/12/2000
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Business Europe has launched a new on-line service aimed at supporting small and medium sized companies (SMEs).
The service will focus on practical approaches to the specific needs of SMEs. It will offer analysis, advice and user forums on relevant issues generated from current news items. Typical areas of interest will be government regulation, developments in e-commerce and ways of finding new business. It aims to streamline the process of accessing key information.
11/12/2000
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Western banks are exercising a growing influence over their counterparts in many emerging market countries. They have been introducing a new and more aggressively competitive element to local banking markets and local banks are being forced to rationalise and modernise their own operations in order to compete with them.
11/12/2000
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The Tankan survey published by the Bank of Japan in early October 2000 suggests that the Japanese economy is moving out of recession. However, there are fears that a modest recovery achieved over the course of 2000 may be short lived and most companies do not expect the recent improvement in conditions to continue.
In these circumstances the government is not expected to change its current supportive fiscal policy.
Different sectors of the economy have had varying experiences in recent months. Notably, larger companies have been faring much better than small ones.
11/12/2000
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The Japanese banking sector is performing badly compared with most other sectors of the economy. While many other large companies have recently been recording increased earnings, the major banks are still registering falling profits.
For instance, Sakura Bank Ltd, one of the largest banks, has reported profits for the two quarters ending 30 September 2000, down by 23% year-on-year at Yen 31.3 billion ($284.9 million). The effect of this fall was mitigated to some extent by cost cutting measures that allowed operating profits to rise by 8.8%.
11/12/2000
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The Thai economy has moved ahead strongly in recent months, enjoying growth of 6.6% in the April-June 2000 quarter. During the first half of the year gross domestic product increased by 5.9% over its level in January-June 1999.
11/12/2000
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CIT Commercial Services, the leading US factoring company, has entered into an agreement with RetailExchange.com, the online business-to-business exchange for surplus consumer products.
11/12/2000
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The Belgian/ Dutch financial services group Fortis yesterday announced that it is planning to retain its dual headquarters in Brussels and Amsterdam in order to strengthen its grip on its core Benelux market.
This puts to rest rumours that the company planned to create a single European headquarters in Amsterdam or Brussels. Fortis’ chief executive, Anton von Rossum, has said “Fortis is a Benelux based company with a Benelux identity and we have no plans on changing our headquarters in the next few years.”
07/12/2000
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The Insolvency Act 2000, which today received royal assent, is designed to encourage enterprise and to support viable businesses.
The act will give small companies in financial difficulty the option of breathing space within which to present a rescue plan (called a Company Voluntary Agreement or CVA) to their creditors and will improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the procedure of the disqualification of unfit company directors.
05/12/2000
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It has been announced that DnB, Norway’s largest bank, intend to merge their factoring and leasing subsidiaries, DnB Factoring AS and DnB Finans AS. Assuming the merger is granted approval at the general meeting of the two companies, both of which are 100% owned by DnB, then it will be effective as of 1 January 2001.
BCR Publishing
05/12/2000
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An announcement of the sale of the US division of Bank of America Commercial Finance is expected next week. It is rumoured that GMAC, the General Motors subsidiary will be the purchaser.
BCR Publishing
01/12/2000
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It was revealed to factorscan today that Factors Chain International and International Factors Group are to merge. Details of the arrangement are yet to be announced. The two agencies which facilitate 90% of international factoring trade worldwide on behalf of their factoring clients, expect to be in a position to combine operations in the latter half of 2002 or early 2003.
01/12/2000
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The New Jersey based consumer receivables and management company Asta Funding Inc. has today reported results for its fiscal year ended 30 September 2000.
Asta’s net income for the year ended 30 September 2000 had risen by 113% to $5,830,000 from the $2,733,000 recorded the previous year. Revenues increased by 56% from $11,603,000 to $18,110,000 over the same period.
30/11/2000
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The three banks which created the new “superbank” Mizuho in September have reported mixed half-year earnings. Dai-Ichi Kangyo Bank, Fuji Bank (both of which have factoring subsidiaries) and the Industrial Bank of Japan have all been struggling to shed bad loans in the light of increasing rates of corporate bankruptcy.
29/11/2000
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The Czech Republic’s third largest banking group, Komercni Banka is poised for privatisation and big players across Europe are lining up to win the 60% of the bank which has been put up for sale by the Czech state. Komercni Banka is the owner of the fourth largest player by market volume in the Czech Republic’s factoring industry. Komercni’s factoring subsidiary, Factoring KB, currently holds 16% market share.
Komercni Banka recorded a loss of 30 million for the first nine months of 2000, in spite of repeated government intervention.
29/11/2000
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