Business Digest, December 3, 2012
Hong Kong home sales continued to fall over the weekend, following the government's latest round of price-cooling measures. Data from Ricacorp Properties, which monitors transactions in 10 big housing estates, showed deal numbers dropped to 19 over the weekend, from 20 a week earlier. Average prices fell nearly 15 per cent to HK$11,056 per square foot from a week earlier. Sandy Li
Toyota Motor is still struggling to revive sales in China, part of a broader slump Japanese car firms are suffering as a result of a diplomatic row between the countries. Toyota sold about 60,000 cars on the mainland last month, a Toyota executive said, down from 81,800 cars it and its Chinese partners sold in November last year. Reuters
Sales of liquor distributor Silver Base plunged 85.4 per cent to HK$235.1 million in the six months to September 30, while it suffered a net loss of HK$177.1 million compared with a net profit of HK$407.1 million in the year-earlier period. The firm cited "poor market conditions" for the sales drop and a high unsold inventory of baijiu liquor on the mainland. Toh Han Shih
Growth in Australia, the world's biggest exporter of iron ore and coal, might have slowed last quarter as commodity prices fell, Treasurer Wayne Swan said. "We shouldn't be surprised to see growth moderate from its above-trend pace in the first half of the year," he said. Bloomberg
