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Lady Blazers continue winning streak by beating SSC-R

COLLEGE OF ST BENILDE LADY BLAZERS — NCAA.ORG.PH

Games Friday
(Filoil EcoOil Arena)
7:30 a.m. — JRU vs Letran (men)
10 a.m. — JRU vs Letran (women)
2 p.m. — AU vs San Beda (women)
5 p.m. — AU vs San Beda (men)

THE COLLEGE of St. Benilde (CSB) Lady Blazers’ magnificent streak lives on.

Overcoming a second-set bump, CSB was resilient enough to hold back an upset-conscious San Sebastian College (SSC-R) as it hacked out a 25-13, 23-25, 25-13, 25-14 victory on Wednesday that kept the former undefeated for four straight years now in NCAA Season 99 women’s volleyball at the Filoil EcoOil Arena.

It was the fourth win in a row for coach Jerry Yee’s charges that sent them alone at No. 1 again and 33 straight overall since starting that record run in 2020 when it won seven straight before the season was called off due to the pandemic.

It then swept its way to a pair of championships in 22 games when league action resumed after the global malady to sustain one of the longest streaks in Philippine sports.

Mr. Yee though stressed he’s not into counting streaks.

“We’re not even thinking about it,” he said.

But it looked like it would end on this one after the Lady Stags snatched the second set to knot it at one set apiece.

The three-peat-eyeing champions were unperturbed and came back with a vengeance by dominating the next two that sealed it.

Wielyn Estoque emerged the team’s best scorer with 11 points while Michelle Gamit and captain Jessa Dorog scattered 10 hits each.

Cloanne Mondonedo was also brilliant as she not only fueled CSB’s relentless attack with 19 excellent sets, she also did some of the scoring as she chipped in six points, including grenade-like service aces.

That sent SSC-R, which was led by Kat Santos’ match-high 17 hits, sprawling to its fourth defeat in a row. — Joey Villar

LeBron James, Lakers edge Pelicans, clinch playoff bid

LEBRON JAMES recorded 23 points, nine rebounds and nine assists and the Los Angeles Lakers clinched a playoff berth with a 110-106 victory over the host New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday night.

D’Angelo Russell added 21 points for the seventh-seeded Lakers, who led by as many as 18 points in the play-in game. Anthony Davis had 20 points, 15 rebounds and three blocked shots for Los Angeles.

“It was a good win for us,” Mr. James said. “We punched our ticket to the postseason, so it was a good win.”

The Lakers will face second-seeded Denver in the first round of the playoffs, with Game 1 on Saturday in Colorado. The Nuggets swept the Lakers in the Western Conference finals on the way to the NBA title last season, and Denver was 3-0 vs. L.A. this season.

New Orleans star Zion Williamson scored 40 points on 17-of-27 shooting and collected 11 rebounds before exiting with 3:13 left in the game due to left leg soreness. Mr. Williamson will have imaging done on Wednesday, and Pelicans coach Willie Green did not give any details on the extent of the injury.

Trey Murphy III added 12 points for the Pelicans and Brandon Ingram scored 11.

New Orleans will receive a second chance to claim a playoff spot on Friday night. The Pelicans will host the winner of the late Tuesday game between the Golden State Warriors and the Sacramento Kings. The winner of that one gets the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference and a date with the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder.

On Tuesday, Mr. Davis scored a tiebreaking basket to put the Lakers ahead by two with 1:23 left. Mr. Nance split two free throws 15 seconds later to move the Pelicans within 101-100. Mr. Russell then drilled a corner 3-pointer to give Los Angeles a four-point edge with 51.3 seconds to play.

CJ McCollum made a short jumper in the lane to pull New Orleans within 104-102 with 38.5 seconds left. Mr. Davis hit two free throws with 14.8 seconds remaining as the Lakers took a four-point lead and held off the charge.

Austin Reaves scored 16 points and Rui Hachimura added 13 for the Lakers, who shot 41.7 percent from the field and made 14 of 35 (40 percent) from 3-point range.

New Orleans hit 46.2 percent of its shots, including 9 of 30 (30 percent) from behind the arc. Jose Alvarado, Herbert Jones and Mr. Nance added 10 points apiece.

The Lakers led by 18 in the third quarter, but Mr. Murphy and Mr. Alvarado each buried a 3-pointer during a 9-0 surge as the Pelicans moved within 91-89 with 5:41 left in the game.

New Orleans caught the Lakers at 93 when Mr. Alvarado’s alley-oop pass was slammed through the net by Mr. Williamson with 3:53 left. Mr. Williamson scored on a driving hoop 34 seconds later to knot the score at 95 but was injured on the play. He displayed his frustration before heading to the locker room.

Los Angeles held a 10-point halftime lead and soon used a 10-2 spurt to open up a 73-55 lead. Mr. Reaves capped it with a basket with 6:53 left in the third quarter.

Los Angeles led 83-76 entering the fourth quarter.

Mr. James and Mr. Russell scored 15 points apiece as the Lakers led 60-50 at halftime. Mr. Williamson had 20 points and eight rebounds in the half for New Orleans. — Reuters

Murray, Kings KO Warriors

KEEGAN MURRAY sank eight 3-pointers and finished with 32 points and nine rebounds as the Sacramento Kings remained alive with a convincing 118-94 victory over the visiting Golden State Warriors on Tuesday night.

De’Aaron Fox added 24 points for ninth-place Sacramento, which controlled the 9 vs 10 play-in game. The Pelicans will visit the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday, with the winner receiving the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference playoffs and a matchup with the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder.

Stephen Curry scored 22 points for the Warriors, who came in 10th in the West and will miss the playoffs for the third time in five seasons. Curry committed six turnovers and Klay Thompson, had a forgettable contest by missing all 10 of his shots — Reuters

Mbappé scores twice as PSG beats 10-man Barca to reach CL semifinals

BARCELONA, Spain — Paris St Germain’s (PSG) Kylian Mbappé scored twice in the second half to help his side to a 4-1 comeback win at 10-man Barcelona in their Champions League (CL) quarterfinal, second leg to wrap up a 6-4 aggregate victory on Tuesday.

After winning 3-2 in Paris and taking a 1-0 lead with an early Raphinha goal in the return, Barca collapsed after going down to 10 men just before the half-hour when last man Ronald Araujo was red-carded for fouling Bradley Barcola.

Former Barcelona forward Ousmane Dembele equalized for the visitors just before the break while Vitinha and Mr. Mbappé finished the job in the second half, with PSG facing Borussia Dortmund in the semifinals after the Germans beat Atletico Madrid.

Having failed to get past the round of 16 in the last two seasons and being pinned against the ropes by a Barca side who were in the ascendancy, PSG put on a gritty performance to make the most of the home side’s mistakes and turn the tie around.

PSG manager Luis Enrique, who won the treble in charge of Barcelona in 2015, made three changes from the defeat in Paris.

Bringing in Barcola up front was crucial as the France winger was a constant menace to Barca’s defense, running up and down the left channel as PSG dominated from the start.

But Barcelona seemed comfortable to sit back and counter attack, with Raphinha giving them the lead in the 12th minute.

Teenager Lamine Yamal took a long pass in his stride before slicing past Nuno Mendes in the right channel and putting the ball on a plate for the Brazilian to score the opener.

Barca then wasted a chance to extend their lead when Robert Lewandowski missed from close range and were down to 10 men just before the half-hour after last man Ronald Araujo was shown a red card for a foul on Barcola just outside the penalty area.

The Uruguay defender and his Barca team mates argued with the referee, saying it was a shoulder charge and Pau Cubarsi was close by and ready to challenge Barcola, but it was in vain and Mr. Araujo eventually made his way off the field.

Former Barcelona forward Ousmane Dembele put the resulting free kick just wide but did not miss the target nine minutes later, firing home for the visitors in the 40th to equalize on the night from another great play by Barcola.

PSG were back on top in the second half and piled on the pressure until Vitinha finally managed to put the visitors in front.

Mr. Dembele played a short corner to Achraf Hakimi, who rolled a pass to Vitinha just outside the area and the Portuguese midfielder had all the time in the world to slot a shot just inside Marc Andre ter Stegen’s right-hand post.

PSG kept up the pressure and in the 61st minute Barca full back Joao Cancelo made a reckless sliding tackle to take down Mr. Dembele and concede a penalty that Mr. Mbappé fired into the top corner to make it 3-1 as PSG moved ahead in the tie. — Reuters

First 7 jurors selected for Trump’s hush money trial

REUTERS

NEW YORK — The first seven jurors were selected on Tuesday to serve on Donald Trump’s hush-money criminal trial, as the selection process continues to choose a panel of 12 members and six alternates who can be fair to the former US president.

The judge also warned lawyers that he would not tolerate any efforts to intimidate prospective jurors after saying Mr. Trump, the Republican candidate for president in the Nov. 5 election, was audibly muttering while one of the possible members of the panel was questioned.

Mr. Trump faces 34 felony counts of falsifying business records to cover up a hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels shortly before the 2016 election. Ms. Daniels says she had a sexual encounter with Mr. Trump about a decade beforehand.

Mr. Trump has pleaded not guilty and denies an encounter took place. He has called the case, brought by Democratic Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, a partisan “witch hunt” meant to interfere with his campaign to unseat Democratic President Joseph R. Biden.

The hush money case is one of four criminal prosecutions Mr. Trump faces, which also stem from trying to overturn his 2020 loss and alleged mishandling of classified information. He has also pleaded not guilty to those charges, though the other three cases may not go to trial before the election.

The seven jurors selected on Tuesday included a man originally from Ireland who enjoys doing “anything outdoorsy” and watches both MSNBC and Fox News, a woman who works as an oncology nurse and enjoys taking her dog to the park, and a corporate lawyer who said he does not follow the news that closely.

During questioning by Mr. Trump’s lawyer Todd Blanche earlier on Tuesday, the nurse said she did not have a strong opinion about Mr. Trump.

But, she said, “No one is above the law.”

Jury selection began on Monday and is set to resume on Thursday after a day off on Wednesday. Justice Juan Merchan said opening statements could take place next Monday but warned that could be delayed.

TRUMP WANTS ‘FAIR SHAKE’
The process so far has highlighted the challenges of choosing a group of impartial jurors from heavily Democratic Manhattan.

More than half the initial pool of 96 jurors called were dismissed on Monday after saying they did not believe they could be fair. In questioning some who remained on Tuesday, Mr. Blanche said he did not care about jurors’ politics but wanted to get a sense of whether they could be fair to Mr. Trump as an individual.

“It’s extraordinarily important to President Trump that we know that we’re going to get a fair shake,” the attorney said. The jurors are anonymous except to Mr. Trump and lawyers for both sides.

Several prospective jurors said they did not have strong opinions about Mr. Trump, or said their opinions were not relevant to the case.

“If we were sitting in a bar, I’d be happy to tell you,” said one jury candidate, a man who works at a bookstore and enjoys going to Broadway shows. “But, in this room, what I feel about President Trump is not important.”

Justice Juan Merchan ultimately dismissed the juror.

In questioning jurors earlier on Tuesday, Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Joshua Steinglass said the case was not a referendum on Mr. Trump’s presidency. “This case is really not about whether you like Donald Trump,” Mr. Steinglass said. “This case is about the rule of law and whether Donald Trump broke it.”

‘I WON’T TOLERATE THAT’
With jurors outside the courtroom, Mr. Merchan told lawyers for both sides that Mr. Trump had been audibly muttering and gesturing while one prospective juror was being questioned. The judge told Trump lawyer Mr. Blanche to speak to his client about his behavior.

“I won’t tolerate that,” the judge said. “I will not have any jurors intimidated in the courtroom.”

Mr. Trump has routinely tested judges’ tolerance during his recent legal woes and is subject to a gag order imposed by Mr. Merchan. It bars Mr. Trump from making statements about witnesses, court staff and family members that are meant to interfere with the case.

On Monday, prosecutors asked Mr. Merchan to fine Mr. Trump $1,000 for each of three social media posts this month that criticized Ms. Daniels and Michael Cohen, Mr. Trump’s former fixer who is expected to be a prominent witness in the trial.

Mr. Blanche said the former president was only responding to their criticism of him.

Mr. Merchan said he would consider the fines on April 23. — Reuters

US to hit Iran with new sanctions, says Yellen

US TREASURY SECRETARY JANET YELLEN — IMF AND CHRISTIAN LUE-UNSPLASH

WASHINGTON — US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Tuesday warned that the US intends to hit Iran with new sanctions in the coming days over its unprecedented attack on Israel, and these actions could seek to reduce Iran’s capacity to export oil.

“With respect to sanctions, I fully expect that we will take additional sanctions action against Iran in the coming days,” Ms. Yellen said told a news conference on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank spring meetings in Washington.

“We don’t preview our sanction tools. But in discussions I’ve had, all options to disrupt terrorist financing of Iran continue to be on the table,” Ms. Yellen added.

She said the Treasury and State Department have taken previous action to contain Iran’s “destabilizing” behavior by diminishing its ability to export oil.

“Clearly, Iran is continuing to export some oil. There may be more that we could do. I don’t want to preview our actual sanctions activities, but certainly that remains in focus as a possible area that we could address.”

Treasury was working to enlist the aid of China, G7 partners and other major global suppliers to erode Iran’s ability to continue to export oil and to get the microelectronics needed for the drones it used to attack Israel and was selling to Russia, a senior Treasury official told reporters.

The official said a jump in oil prices had been driven mainly by geopolitical uncertainty, not US sanctions, and noted that past sanctions had not led to oil price increases.

“We’re going to have conversations with all major suppliers around the world. That includes countries in the G7; that includes China. All of these countries have to play a role in constraining Iran’s ability to get access to the goods they are using to build weapons,” the official said.

In prepared remarks, Ms. Yellen said Iran’s attack on Israel last weekend and its financing of militant groups in Gaza, Lebanon, Yemen and Iraq threatened stability in the Middle East and could cause economic spillovers.

The United States is using financial sanctions to isolate Iran and disrupt its ability to fund proxy groups and support Russia’s war in Ukraine, Ms. Yellen said.

Treasury has targeted more than 500 individuals and entities connected to terrorism and terrorist financing by the Iranian regime and its proxies since the start of the Biden administration in January 2021, Ms. Yellen said.

That has included targeting Iran’s drone and missile programs and its financing of the Palestinian militant group Hamas, the Houthis in Yemen, Hezbollah in Lebanon, and Iraqi militia groups, she said.

“From this weekend’s attack to the Houthi attacks in the Red Sea, Iran’s actions threaten the region’s stability and could cause economic spillovers,” Ms. Yellen said, without giving details.

Iran on Saturday launched more than 300 drones and missiles against Israel, its first direct attack on the country, in retaliation for a suspected Israeli air strike on its embassy compound in Damascus on April 11 that killed elite military officers.

Israel’s military said that it shot down almost all the drones and missiles, and that the attack caused no deaths, but the situation has increased fears of open warfare between the longtime foes.

In Gaza, more than 33,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Israeli offensive launched against Hamas after the group attacked Israel on Oct. 7, killing 1,200 people and taking 253 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.

Ms. Yellen said Washington was continuing to use economic tools to pressure Hamas, but said Treasury was emphasizing that its sanctions should not impede life-saving aid.

She called for urgent action to end Palestinian suffering in the narrow enclave, noting that Gaza’s entire population of more than 2 million people was facing acute food insecurity and that most of the population had been displaced.

“It is incumbent on all of us here at these meetings to do everything in our power to end this suffering,” she said.

Ms. Yellen noted that Washington was also using sanctions to target extreme settler violence in the West Bank, while working to ensure a functioning banking system there and supporting IMF programs in Jordan and Egypt. — Reuters

Blinken to raise China’s support for Russia’s defense industrial base during visit

U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE ANTONY BLINKEN — PPA POOL/MARIANNE BERMUDEZ

WASHINGTON — US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on an upcoming visit to China is expected to raise US concerns Beijing is helping Russia build up its defense industrial base to fight the war in Ukraine, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said on Tuesday.

The US has warned China not to aid Moscow’s war effort since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, which came just weeks after Russia and China declared a “no limits partnership.”

“What we have seen over the past months is that there have been materials moving from China to Russia that Russia has used to rebuild that industrial base and produce arms that are showing up on the battlefield in Ukraine,” Mr. Miller said at a press briefing. “And we are incredibly concerned about that.”

US officials briefed reporters last week on materials China was providing to Russia, including drone and missile technology, satellite imagery and machine tools, that fall short of providing lethal assistance but were helping Russia build up its military to sustain its two-year-old war in Ukraine.

A Chinese embassy spokesperson told Reuters last week that China was not a party to the Ukraine crisis and that normal trade between China and Russia should not be interfered with or restricted.

President Joe Biden raised the issue with Chinese President Xi Jinping in a phone call earlier this month, after which US officials said Blinken would travel to China in the coming weeks. Details of Blinken’s trip have not yet been announced.

“Without getting too far ahead of those meetings, you can certainly expect that that is an issue that he would be expected to raise,” Miller said.

Blinken raised the issue with NATO foreign ministers in Brussels earlier this month and would also discuss it when he meets counterparts from the Group of Seven (G7) advanced economies in Italy this week, he added. — Reuters

Taiwan submarine project chief quits; ministry says plans to proceed

XANDREASWORK-UNSPLASH

TAIPEI — Taiwan’s homegrown submarine program will remain on track, its Defense minister said on Wednesday, after the head of the program resigned due to what he said were unfair attacks against him and the military.

Taiwan, which China views as its own territory, has made the submarine program a key part of an ambitious project to modernize its armed forces as Beijing stages almost daily military exercises to assert sovereignty claims Taipei rejects.

Taiwan unveiled the first of eight new submarines in late September, though it won’t enter service until next year. The program has drawn on expertise and technology from several countries — a breakthrough for diplomatically isolated Taiwan.

In a statement late on Tuesday, Huang Shu-kuang said he had resigned as head of the submarine project as he and the program had been subjected to unfair attacks from people he did not name.

Mr. Huang told Reuters that the submarine task force, which includes the navy and shipbuilder CSBC Corp 2208.TW, will continue to operate despite his departure.

“It’s impossible that the team will be dismissed due to one man’s departure,” he said.

Defense Minister Chiu Kuo-cheng told reporters on Wednesday that Mr. Huang was a “conscientious” person but added: “The members of the task force are all on active duty and can work for a long time. It will not change due to a single personnel change.”

Mr. Huang has previously described the submarines as a “strategic deterrent” that can also help maintain the island’s “lifeline” to the Pacific by keeping ports along Taiwan’s eastern coast open.

Taiwan hopes to deploy at least two such domestically developed submarines by 2027, and possibly equip later models with submarine-launched anti-ship missiles. — Reuters

Investors summit to unveil the ‘power of ESG investing’

With the recent local and global events placing greater pressure on responsible investing, ESG is shifting with more mandatory disclosures and increased stakeholder scrutiny. As the momentum around ESG continues to grow, so does the challenge of keeping up to date with increasing regulatory and market demands.

Taking place on May 14, 2024 at Solaire Resort Entertainment City, the 2nd Philippine ESG Investors Summit aims to convene over 150 senior-level executives and stakeholders to engage in discussions about the challenges facing the industry, and to share solutions and collaborate with sustainably focused investors to come away with actionable insights on current trends that are shaping the ESG landscape.

The 2nd Philippine ESG Investors Summit is also set to showcase interactive panel discussions and engaging keynotes covering core themes of the ESG space including:

  • Critical role of ESG investing in biodiversity preservation
  • Effects of ESG quality disclosure in both voluntary and mandatory regimes
  • ESG in the new normal of volatile global supply chains
  • Importance of index providers, standard-setting and green indices for the creation of sustainability impact
  • Key drivers of ESG within the context of geopolitics, energy crisis and inflation
  • Leveraging ESG frameworks towards a just transition
  • Net-zero pathway and the role of investors
  • Rapid growth of sustainable finance in emerging markets
  • Regulators’ perspectives on ESG disclosure for funds and corporates
  • Understand investor engagement trends and rise of investor proxy activism

For more information, you may visit https://pcm-asia.org/2esgph.

 

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US defense chief speaks with Chinese counterpart, Pentagon says

REUTERS

WASHINGTON – US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke with China’s defense minister on Tuesday, the first engagement the two have had in more than a year as the two countries seek to restore military ties.

The phone call comes as US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping have sought to manage tensions; the two leaders last year resumed direct military talks.

In a readout after the call, the Pentagon said Mr. Austin “underscored the importance of respect for high seas freedom of navigation guaranteed under international law, especially in the South China Sea.”

An escalating diplomatic dispute and recent maritime run-ins between China and the Philippines, a US treaty ally, have made the highly strategic South China Sea a potential flashpoint between Washington and Beijing.

China and US should explore ways to “get along” and “gradually accumulate mutual trust” by building a “non-conflict, non-confrontation”, pragmatic and cooperative relationship between their militaries, the Chinese defense ministry cited its minister as saying during the phone call.

Minister Dong Jun said the US should recognize China’s position on South China Sea, and respect China’s territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests there.

He also stressed that the Taiwan issue is “core of China’s core interests.”

The Pentagon said the two also discussed Russia’s war in Ukraine, North Korea, and Washington’s commitment to the so-called one China policy.

Austin last spoke with his Chinese counterpart in 2022, when he met China’s defense minister at the time, Wei Fenghe, on the sidelines of a gathering of Southeast Asian countries in Cambodia.

Before the November meeting between Mr. Biden and Mr. Xi, relations between the superpowers had become increasingly acrimonious, with friction over issues from Taiwan to China’s military activity in the South China Sea.

In October, the US military said Chinese military aircraft had carried out risky or reckless maneuvers close to US aircraft nearly 200 times since 2021.

Since then, the United States’ top military general has spoken with his Chinese counterpart.

This month, US military officials met their Chinese counterparts for meetings in Hawaii focused on how the two countries can operate safely.

US military officials have long sought to maintain open lines of communication with their Chinese counterparts to mitigate the risk of potential flare-ups or deal with any accidents.

“Secretary Austin emphasized the importance of continuing to open lines of military-to-military communication between the United States and the PRC,” the Pentagon said, using an acronym for the People’s Republic of China. – Reuters

Vietnam mounts ‘unprecedented’ $24 billion rescue for bank engulfed in giant fraud, documents show

A VIETNAM DONG note is seen in this illustration photo May 31, 2017. — REUTERS

HANOI – Vietnam has mounted an “unprecedented” rescue of Saigon Joint Stock Commercial Bank (SCB), a lender engulfed in the nation’s biggest financial fraud, according to three bank documents and new official information provided to Reuters by a person with access to the documents.

“Without lending, SCB will collapse,” according to the new information provided to Reuters. “If the lending continues, the national treasury will gradually dry up.”

Reuters is not identifying the source more specifically due to the sensitivity of the matter.

The new information also described the situation as “unprecedented” for the massive volume of the cash injections, the complexity of the operation and the scale of existing and potential damage to Vietnam’s financial system.

Reuters was unable to establish whether the conclusions about the impact on state coffers were broadly shared by other officials currently involved with monitoring SCB.

Vietnam’s public debt was stable last year at 37% of gross domestic product, while the budget deficit widened slightly to 4.4% of GDP. Foreign reserves were around $100 billion at the end of the year, according to the central bank. That is up from about $90 billion at the end of October, according to the independent regional watchdog ASEAN+3 Macroeconomic and Research Office.

As of the start of April, the Southeast Asian nation’s central bank had pumped $24 billion in “special loans” into SCB, according to one of the bank documents seen by Reuters, which provides daily updates since March 29 on overall injections from the central bank.

Lending has slowed slightly but averaged more than $900 million a month in the past five months, according to that document, a second document with updates from March 15 to March 20, and a third document from November with monthly updates from October 2022 to October 2023.

The central bank did not reply to requests for comment about the rescue effort. The finance ministry referred a question to the central bank. SCB initially told Reuters it would circulate the news agency’s request for comment, but did not respond to subsequent emails. An SCB official declined to comment when contacted by phone.

 

RUN ON BANK AFTER TYCOON’S ARREST

The State Bank of Vietnam’s previously unreported cash injections into SCB amount to 5.6% of the nation’s annual economic output, or about one-fourth of Vietnam’s foreign-exchange reserves.

The central bank placed SCB under its supervision to stem a run on the bank sparked by the October 2022 arrest of real estate tycoon Truong My Lan. Since then, SCB has been using the injections to cover cash withdrawals, according to one of the bank documents, which SCB sent to the central bank in November to account for its use of the loans.

After the central bank stepped in, SCB’s deposits plunged 80% to about $6 billion by December 2023, according to the new official information from the source. SCB could run out of deposits by mid-year at the current pace, and bad loans had surged to 97.08% of SCB’s credit balance as of October, it said.

Lan, the tycoon whose October 2022 arrest sparked the bank run, was sentenced to death on Thursday after being found guilty of masterminding the fraud. She had pleaded not guilty to embezzlement and bribery for allegedly siphoning off $12.5 billion in loans from SCB to shell companies while effectively controlling SCB through proxies.

Lan, formerly a prominent figure in Vietnamese finance, will appeal the verdict of the People’s Court of Ho Chi Minh City, one of her lawyers said.

Despite the official support, as of December SCB continued to face liquidity problems and at times struggled to settle payments on time when its customers transferred money to other banks, and to process payments via the country’s main clearing system, according to the new information. This affected customer “psychology” and created risks to the entire banking and financial system, it said.

The central bank had provided SCB, previously one of the country’s largest commercial lenders by deposits, with 592.7 trillion dong ($23.72 billion) in “special loans” as of April 2, according to a recent update produced by the bank on the matter, seen by Reuters.

That was up from 478 trillion dong at the end of October, according to the SCB document that was sent to the central bank. That indicates injections of 23 trillion dong ($910 million) a month since November.

This has slowed from the initial average of $3.7 billion a month the central bank initially injected in October and November 2022 and the monthly pace of nearly $1.2 billion from then until October 2023, the bank document shows.

 

BANK RESTRUCTURING SOUGHT

Vietnam’s banking sector is already facing heightened risks from prolonged turmoil in the real estate sector. The fraud prosecution is part of the authorities’ “blazing furnace” anti-corruption campaign, which triggered the real estate crisis, weighing on the economy and clouding the outlook for banks.

The central bank and the government have repeatedly sought help for SCB from the private sector, specifically calling on foreign investors, state media say, despite restrictions such as a 30% cap on combined foreign ownership of Vietnamese banks.

Late last year the central bank assigned private real estate company Sungroup to craft a plan to restructure SCB, according to the recent information from the source and three people familiar with the plan. Sungroup did not reply to a request for comment.

Reuters could not determine whether the Sungroup plan has been approved.

Any restructuring plan would hinge on the evaluation of real estate assets used by Lan and her companies as collateral for loans, but the legal status of those assets is often unclear, as many are still seeking permits while some violated rules on public land or permits, according to the new information.

Some of the assets include valuable properties in high-end districts in Ho Chi Minh City but most are unfinished projects.

The Lan family estimated the assets at $30 billion, a family representative told Reuters this month, while the market appraisal firm Hoang Quan, hired by the central bank for an assessment, valued them around $12 billion, according to a November public document from the police, which detailed Lan’s alleged wrongdoing.

Some of Lan’s Hong Kong business partners have expressed interest in the assets, Reuters reported earlier this month. They did not respond to requests for further comment about their interest in the assets after Lan’s trial verdict. – Reuters

UN committee unable to agree on Palestinian bid for full membership

SANJITBAKSHI-FLICKR

UNITED NATIONS – A United Nations Security Council committee considering an application by the Palestinian Authority to become a full U.N. member “was unable to make a unanimous recommendation” on whether it met the criteria, according to the committee report seen by Reuters on Tuesday.

The Palestinian Authority is still expected to push the 15-member Security Council to vote – as early as Thursday – on a draft resolution recommending it become a full member of the world body, diplomats said. Security Council member Algeria circulated a draft text late on Tuesday.

Such membership would effectively recognize a Palestinian state. The Palestinians are currently a non-member observer state, a de facto recognition of statehood that was granted by the 193-member U.N. General Assembly in 2012.

But an application to become a full U.N. member needs to be approved by the Security Council, where Israel ally the United States can block it, and then at least two-thirds of the General Assembly.

The United States said earlier this month that establishing an independent Palestinian state should happen through direct negotiations between the parties and not at the United Nations.

The U.N. Security Council has long endorsed a vision of two states living side by side within secure and recognized borders. Palestinians want a state in the West Bank, east Jerusalem and Gaza Strip, all territory captured by Israel in 1967.

Little progress has been made on achieving Palestinian statehood since the signing of the Oslo Accords between Israel and the Palestinian Authority in the early 1990s.

The Palestinian push for full U.N. membership comes six months into a war between Israel and Palestinian Hamas militants in Gaza, and as Israel is expanding settlements in the occupied West Bank.

The Security Council committee on the admission of new members – made up of all 15 council members – agreed to its report on Tuesday after meeting twice last week to discuss the Palestinian application.

“Regarding the issue of whether the application met all the criteria for membership … the Committee was unable to make a unanimous recommendation to the Security Council,” the report said, adding that “differing views were expressed.”

U.N. membership is open to “peace-loving states” that accept the obligations in the founding U.N. Charter and are able and willing to carry them out. – Reuters

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