Sunshine Oilsands Announces Grant of Share Options

HONG KONG /PRNewswire/ — The board of directors (the “Board”) of Sunshine Oilsands Ltd. (the “Corporation” or “Sunshine”, HK: 2012) today is pleased to announce that share options (the “Share Options”) to subscribe for shares in the capital of the Company (the “Shares”) were granted by the Corporation under its share option scheme adopted on January 26, 2012 to certain directors and eligible officers and employees of the Corporation (the “Grantees”), subject to acceptance by the Grantees, with details as follows:

Date of grant

:

December 10, 2012 (Hong Kong)
December 9, 2012 (Calgary)

Number of Shares in respect of which the Share Options were granted

:

36,054,908

Exercise prices of Share Options granted

:

Exercise prices range from HK$2.99 to HK$6.30 per Share
The average exercise price of the Share Options is HK$3.83 per Share

Closing price of the Shares on December 7, 2012

:

HK$ 2.67 (HKEx)
CAD 0.345 (TSX)

Closing price of the Shares on December 10, 2012 Morning Session

:

HK$2.83 (HKEx)

Validity period of the Share Options

:

Five (5) years

Included in the total Share Options granted are the following share options granted to directors and the Chief Executive Officer of the Corporation:
Name

Position*

Number of share
options Granted

Average
Exercise
Price

John Empey Zahary

President & CEO

4,500,000

HK$ 2.99

Michael John Hibberd

Director & Co-Chairman

4,610,000

HK$ 5.14

Songning Shen

Director & Co-Chairman

4,610,000

HK$ 5.14

Hok Ming Tseung

Director

360,000

HK$ 5.20

Haotian Li

Director

360,000

HK$ 5.20

Raymond Shengti Fong

Director

360,000

HK$ 5.20

Wazir Chand Seth

Director

360,000

HK$ 5.20

Gerald Franklin Stevenson

Director

360,000

HK$ 5.20

Gregory George Turnbull

Director

360,000

HK$ 5.20

Robert John Herdman

Director

360,000

HK$ 5.20

Other than the Chief Executive Officer and directors listed above, no substantial shareholder, chief executive, director or associate (as defined under the Listing Rules) of any of them were granted Share Options.
Pursuant to Rule 17.04(1) of the Listing Rules, the grant of the Share Options to each of the Chief Executive Officer and the directors listed above have been approved by the independent non-executive directors of the Corporation (excluding independent non-executive directors who are Grantees).
About Sunshine Oilsands Ltd.
Sunshine Oilsands Ltd. is one of the largest non-partnered holders of oil sands leases by area in the Athabasca oil sands region, which is located in the province of Alberta, Canada. Since the Company’s incorporation on 22 February 2007, Sunshine has secured over 464,897 hectares (1,148,785 acres) of oil sands leases (equal to approximately 7% of all granted leases in this area).
The Company’s principal operations are the exploration, development and production of its diverse portfolio of oil sands leases. Its principal operating regions in the Athabasca area are at West Ells, Thickwood, Legend Lake, Harper, Muskwa, Goffer, Pelican and Portage. Sunshine’s oil sands leases are grouped into three main asset categories: clastics, carbonates and conventional heavy oil.
For further enquiries, please contact:
Sunshine Oilsands Ltd.

Mr. John Zahary

Mr. David Sealock

President & CEO

Executive VP, Corporate Operations

Tel: +1-403-984-1446

Email: investorrelations@sunshineoilsands.com

Website: http://www.sunshineoilsands.com

Source: Sunshine Oilsands Ltd.

LIM Advisors and Metage Capital Thank MIIF Shareholders for Their Support Following the Results of the SGM Held in Singapore Yesterday

SINGAPORE/PRNewswire/ — LIM Advisors and Metage Capital today issued the following statement to Shareholders of the Macquarie International Infrastructure Fund (“MIIF”) following a Special General Meeting held yesterday in Singapore.
LIM Advisors and Metage Capital jointly said: “We thank all of MIIF’s Shareholders for the support they have shown us over the past weeks in trying to achieve our common objectives. We are glad to have been a catalyst for improving shareholder value and are pleased that the Board has accepted and acted on at least two of our primary recommendations, namely to engage an independent advisor to initiate a strategic review and to allow at least one new independent director to join the Board.”
They added: “We have been advocating hard for both of these outcomes for over 12 months now and they were part of our original formal requisition, served in September. It is a shame that so much time, effort and Shareholder money have had to be expended to get to this point. We are hopeful that we can now look forward to working with a Board that works constructively with all Shareholders, with a view to continuously improving value for all Shareholders.”
Source: LIM Advisors; Metage Capital

Beta Test of New Advanced WebTrader Platform Launched by Vantage FX

SYDNEY /PRNewswire/ — Leading Australian Forex provider Vantage FX has launched an exclusive closed beta-test of their new Vantage FX WebTrader Platform to a select group of traders. The new Vantage FX WebTrader platform is an improved version of their original WebTrader platform, which was discontinued earlier in the year by Vantage FX and various other brokers such as Alpari, GO Markets and Axitrader following third party provider Xogee’s dispute with MetaQuotes.
The new Vantage FX WebTrader Platform will allow traders to access their Vantage FX MT4 accounts from any web browser and computer in the world, including Apple Macs. This release of the WebTrader platform has been timed to coincide with the launch of Vantage FX’s newly designed website.
The platform is completely verified and connected to MetaQuotes’ MetaTrader 4 (MT4). The update has looked to improve connectivity, the user interface and customization abilities. Such favoured features as real-time charting and price monitoring are all still available.
Vantage FX’s WebTrader Platform provides:
Web trading for Mac, Linux & Windows
Secure access wherever an internet connection exists
Live price monitoring via an advanced market watch
Real-time charting with advanced technical analysis & indicators
Free customization with simple ‘drag & drop’ control
14 different language options
No installation of software required
“We’re excited to see the release of such a sophisticated WebTrader platform again,” says Antony Goddard, Managing Director at Vantage FX.
“Clients will be pleased to see that we have incorporated many of the popular features from our previous WebTrader Platform, which was originally developed by third party platform developer Xogee,” said Goddard. “We’d love to hear feedback from traders from all different countries, user capabilities, trader experience and especially those, always in transit. Our team has been working incredibly hard on the development of the new WebTrader platform and we look forward to hearing from our clients and users.”
Current Vantage FX MT4 account holders can simply log in using their existing Vantage FX MT4 demo account login details at: http://www.vantagefx.com/webtraderdemo
For new, invited beta-testers who are not holders of a Vantage FX MT4 account, they will be required to visit the site and set up a demo MT4 account by downloading MT4 at: http://www.vantagefx.com/get-trading/demo-account. Once they have an account via MT4, they will not require the software to trade or access the WebTrader Platform. This will be a one time, initial requirement.
A public open beta-testing will be made available in weeks to come. The current beta-test version of Vantage FX WebTrader Platform does not allow connection to live trading servers.
About Vantage FX
Vantage FX is an award winning Australian financial services firm providing online Forex trading capabilities to retail, high-net worth and institutional clients in globally. This year, Vantage FX are winners of Best Forex Execution (Asia Pacific IB Times Trading Awards), Best Forex Broker & Forex Execution House – South East Asia (The DealMakers Annual Banking Awards) and Best Forex Broker Australasia (World Finance Foreign Exchange Awards).
Vantage FX is continually striving to provide a client-friendly, totally interactive Forex experience. As a team we always look to innovate and take advantage of the latest technology, passing on benefits to our clients. Vantage FX is a Corporate Authorised Representative of Enfinium Pty Ltd (AFSL No. 322081 and regulated by Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).
For more information
Contact: Rom Revita
Phone: +61 1300 945 517
Email: rrevita@vantagefx.com
Source: Vantage FX Pty Ltd

LIM Advisors Limited and Metage Capital Limited Today Published an Open Letter to All Shareholders of Macquarie International Infrastructure Fund Limited (“MIIF”)

SINGAPORE /PRNewswire/ — Ahead of the upcoming Special General Meeting of MIIF due to take place on 5th December 2012, LIM Advisors Limited and Metage Capital Limited today published the following letter to all MIIF Shareholders:
Dear Shareholders,
Macquarie International Infrastructure Fund—-Upcoming Special General Meeting
LIM Advisors Limited and Metage Capital Limited are investment managers that largely manage the assets of global institutional investors such as pension funds. Both are patient value investors, managing funds which invest in the Macquarie International Infrastructure Fund (“MIIF” or the “Fund”). We have jointly decided to publish this letter to highlight to MIIF Shareholders why we believe we need to requisition a special general meeting (“SGM”), which has been done through Raffles Nominees (PTE) Limited, which holds our shares in MIIF. We urge you as MIIF Shareholders to formulate your own independent conclusions on the merits of this requisition and to cast your vote in favour of the resolutions to be put forward at the forthcoming SGM in order to bring about change.
As professional investors, we believe the most important issue facing Shareholders in MIIF today is the substantial discount to net asset value (“NAV”) that MIIF continues to suffer from. Since the end of 2007, the Fund has continually traded at an unacceptable discount to NAV, which was 24% as of 30th September 2012 according to the presentation on the third quarter results by Macquarie Infrastructure Management (Asia) Pty Limited (the “Manager”), a subsidiary of Macquarie Group Limited. As long as the stock market valuation of MIIF continues to trade so far below its published NAV, all Shareholders are penalised for entrusting their capital to be managed in this Fund.
During the past two years, both LIM Advisors and Metage Capital have made considerable efforts to work constructively with both the management of MIIF and the directors of the Board to ensure that the discount to NAV is narrowed and that the Fund focuses on returning more value to Shareholders. Since April 2011, we have:
Engaged in numerous meetings and calls with the Chairman and directors of the Board of MIIF.
Collectively written seven different letters to the Board putting forward initiatives for the Fund to address its discount to NAV.
Attended and spoken at MIIF’s annual general meetings in both 2011 and 2012 to highlight our concerns and urge more action by the Board.
Put forward repeated requests that the Board broaden itself through the addition of new independent directors with experience in tackling the issues the Fund faces.
Three of the four current independent directors of the Board have remained unchanged since the Fund was listed in 2005, and all four have presided over the Fund during the past five years when Shareholders have suffered from a considerable discount to NAV. During this time, the Board has pursued a strategy of refocusing MIIF into an Asian-focused infrastructure fund (which we support) and of acquiring a considerable additional interest in Taiwan Broadband Communications, including buying a stake from a related Macquarie fund. However, neither of these strategies has adequately addressed the discount.
For some months we have asked the Board to appoint an independent financial advisor not affiliated with MIIF’s Manager. We asked that this financial advisor conduct a strategic review of the options available for the Fund to maximise value for all MIIF Shareholders. Our original requisition for an SGM lodged in September 2012 asked that Shareholders be given the opportunity to vote on an advisory resolution on whether the new independent directors we have nominated, along with the Chairman of the Board, could be delegated the authority to appoint such an advisor.
On 10 October 2012, the current Board announced that it would conduct a strategic review using an advisor. We are encouraged that the Board has decided to appoint an independent financial advisor; however, we continue to believe that for such a strategic review to be effective, fresh thinking at the Board level and input from Shareholder representatives are required. The only member of the Board currently with a significant financial interest in the Fund is the Manager’s representative.
We highlight that since the Fund was launched in 2005 at S$1 per share, Directors remuneration has increased by 45%, despite the fact that the market capitalisation of the Fund has fallen significantly over that period. Given the legacy of the current Board, we believe it is now time for a change. Our requisition provides Shareholders the opportunity to elect three new candidates, all independent of the Manager, with the experience necessary to tackle the issues the Fund continues to face. Together we believe the three nominated directors have:
A track record of proactively engaging with the Manager to unlock value on behalf of all MIIF Shareholders.
A willingness to reach out to all Shareholders in the Fund and canvas their views on how best to realise Shareholder value.
A strong mix of closed-end fund, directorship and capital markets experience, all of which will complement the Board’s existing skill set and the findings of the strategic review for which we have advocated.
We urge all MIIF Shareholders to reflect on the current Board’s lack of success in addressing the Fund’s discount to NAV over the past 5 years, to formulate your own independent conclusions on the merits of this requisition, and to cast your vote at the forthcoming SGM.
In summary:
We believe all MIIF Shareholders deserve a better return on their investment in the Fund.
For 5 years, the current Board has failed to adequately address the discount from which Shareholders suffer.
After advocating a strategic review, we are encouraged that the Board has adopted this initiative; however, we question the Board’s timing and whether the Board would have done this without being pushed by us.
Given its failures to date, we believe that the Board requires additional competencies, energy and experience to tackle these challenges. Our nominees are firmly independent of the Manager, and we believe they possess the attributes the Fund urgently needs.
Should you have any questions or require any additional information, please contact our information line on +65 6631 3204.
In the event that you have already completed and returned the Depositor Proxy Form to the registered office of the Singapore Share Transfer Agent, and you now wish to alter your voting instructions, we recommend that you contact the Fund or the Singapore Share Transfer Agent for further instructions on how to do so prior to 2pm, 3 December 2012 (i.e., not less than 48 hours before the start of the SGM).
Yours faithfully,
LIM Advisors Limited and Metage Capital Limited
Source: LIM Advisors Limited

Kepner-Tregoe Introduces New Approach to Build Competitive Business Advantage: The Thinking Organization

54-year old firm refreshes organizational vision; launches new global website
PRINCETON, N.J. /PRNewswire/ — Can your organization think for itself? That’s what Kepner-Tregoe helps companies figure out and improve.
(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20121114/MM13944LOGO)
The global capability development and consulting company, based in Princeton, New Jersey, specializes in clear thinking solutions that enable organizations to run more efficiently, drive productivity and improve bottom-line results. Today, Kepner-Tregoe announced a new approach and vision to create a more sustainable competitive advantage — Building a Thinking Organization powered by KT Clear Thinking — and a relaunch of the company’s global website located at http://www.kepner-tregoe.com.
The proprietary KT Clear Thinking approach allows companies to resolve issues more effectively and efficiently by teaching employees at all levels of a company to follow the same thinking and problem resolution processes.
Simply put, KT Clear Thinking gives companies the ability to identify and resolve the critical issues that materially affect their business performance. KT Clear Thinking enables organizations to take complex situations and break them down into manageable tasks that can be assessed and improved. Thinking Organizations are smarter and more adept under pressure when consistent critical thinking approaches have been implemented across the organization to deal with constant change.
However, in a recent survey of approximately 100 companies worldwide, a majority of respondents indicated that their organizations had significant work to do when it came to formalizing and defining ownership of issue resolution strategies. More than 57 percent of respondents said that they “infrequently” or “never” utilize a formal process to address significant business issues, while 52 percent surveyed said that ownership for resolving these issues inside their organization was “not clearly defined or accepted.”
“Today’s leaders are expected to address the most complex business issues in the most efficient way possible. Implementing KT’s solutions in an organization helps a company and its people work together toward resolving the most critical issues that create the most value for the company,” said Ray Baxter, chief executive officer at Kepner-Tregoe. “The repositioning of our approach to KT Clear Thinking and the redesign of our website creates a more customer-centric conversation that clearly demonstrates Kepner-Tregoe’s value to organizations that have a desire to improve results.”
Baxter added: “Fundamentally changing the way an organization thinks requires a strategic view and strong commitment from senior leadership. Only then will a company be able to realize a meaningful difference in how their organization performs.”
Andy Fuge, operations manager at Griffin Foods, added, “KT empowered us with the skill and practical experience to sustain improvements and effectively implement step change projects ourselves. We now have a highly performing continuous improvement team.”
To accompany the KT Clear Thinking approach, Kepner-Tregoe’s new website complements and highlights the new positioning and allows existing and potential KT clients to identify their business needs in specific organizational functions including operations, customer support, IT, the project office, human resources and more. The site also provides the ability to quickly and easily find and understand each KT solution and the value it delivers.
Kepner-Tregoe processes are based on the work of Dr. Charles Kepner and Dr. Benjamin Tregoe, two researchers who conducted a study on breakdowns in decision making at the Strategic Air Command. They found that successful decision making by Air Force officers had less to do with seniority or career path and more with the process of gathering, organizing and analyzing information before taking action. They founded Kepner-Tregoe with the basic thesis that organizations can be taught to think critically.
“Our new vision and website demonstrates Kepner-Tregoe’s commitment to maintain leadership in the organizational improvement and critical thinking disciplines,” said Baxter. “We will continue to dedicate ourselves to bringing our customers only the best solutions that address their most pressing issues, and we look forward to many more decades of partnering with the best and brightest in businesses worldwide.”
About Kepner-Tregoe, Inc.
Kepner-Tregoe (KT) provides capability development and consulting solutions across the world to help build Thinking Organizations that resolve the most pressing issues with clarity and confidence. Founded in 1958 and based on ground-breaking research on how people think, solve problems and make decisions, Princeton-based Kepner-Tregoe is dedicated to helping organizations achieve Operational Excellence by improving quality, increasing efficiency and reducing costs. KT Clear Thinking is used at every level of client organizations: to implement strategy; achieve step-change improvements in operations; increase customer satisfaction in support organizations; and drive superior issue resolution throughout the organization. KT provides Clear Thinking for a complex world.
For additional information, visit the company’s website at http://www.kepner-tregoe.com or their social media platforms on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.
Contact:
Brad Russell or Sara Aschenbrenner
Pierpont Communications for Kepner-Tregoe
+1-713-627-2223
brussell@piercom.com, saschenbrenner@piercom.com
Source: Kepner-Tregoe, Inc.

The 112th Canton Fair “Sustaining Global Trade in Difficult Times”

GUANGZHOU, China /PRNewswire/ — Despite ongoing economic problems in Europe and America, the 112th session of the Canton Fair, which closed on November 4, has displayed a remarkable resilience. While the number of participants and turnover fell around 10 percent compared to the spring session, the percentage of repeat visitors rose over 8 percent, underlining the great commercial value of the event and its importance as a buttress for sustaining global trade.
The number of overseas buyers at the fair – taken to be a reliable indicator of China’s export situation – highlights weak global demand, as a lacklustre recovery is hampered by the eurozone debt crisis. However, the Canton Fair remains the best gateway into the Chinese market, and attendees continue to value the opportunities it presents, both in terms of business intelligence and the quality products on offer.
A German garden machinery supplier attending the fair said that although he hadn’t experienced a domestic decrease in sales, he was under pressure to cut prices. “I’m looking for good prices from suppliers in China because my customers have become far more price-conscious,” he explained.
Ulrik Fredrikson, an executive from a Swedish car-accessory company, said his company had also been feeling the pinch, with sales down 25 per cent year-on-year. “Instead of going through a middleman, who will hike prices by 20 per cent, I’d rather buy directly from manufacturers here at the fair,” said Fredrikson.
Companies from developing countries, especially BRICS nations, demonstrated a strong desire for economic cooperation at the fair. Many were optimistic that increasing trade between BRICS nations could counter the recent decline of sales in more traditional markets.
With Brazil set to host the World Cup and Olympics soon, opportunities now abound for Chinese companies in the Brazilian market. A forum at the Canton Fair to help Chinese companies familiarize themselves with Brazil’s business environment was attended by 400 visitors.
ChinaInvest, a Brazilian investment and consulting firm, purchased large quantities of building materials for South American construction contractors at the fair. The firm’s president, Thomas Machado, said he expected to buy 30% more materials from China this year, with a 15% rise in overall prices. “Better quality convinced me to buy Chinese goods, despite China’s rising raw material and labor costs,” said Machado.
For further information please visit: http://www.cantonfair.org.cn/en/index.asp
Source: China Foreign Trade Centre (CFTC)

Sunshine Oilsands Obtains Listing Approval from the Toronto Stock Exchange

HONG KONG /PRNewswire/ — Sunshine Oilsands Ltd. (the “Corporation” or “Sunshine”, HK: 2012) today is pleased to announce that further to the Company’s previous announcements on November 8, 2012, the Toronto Stock Exchange (“TSX”) has confirmed Sunshine has satisfied the conditions contained in the TSX’s previous conditional listing approval and that the TSX has now approved the listing of Sunshine’s Class “A” Common Voting Shares (the “Common Shares”) on the TSX. The Common Shares are expected to commence trading on the TSX on Friday, November 16, 2012 (Toronto time), at market open under the symbol “SUO”.
Mr. John Zahary, President and Chief Executive Officer of Sunshine stated, “We are pleased that the TSX was able to approve Sunshine for listing in an efficient manner. We believe this listing will help demonstrate the value inherent in our company and its securities as well as provide a convenient market for North American investors to participate in the Sunshine story.”
The TSX listing will be a secondary listing and Sunshine will not raise additional funds nor issue any new shares in connection with the listing as it is a listing by introduction. Sunshine will maintain its primary listing on The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong under the stock code “2012”.
About Sunshine Oilsands Ltd.
Sunshine Oilsands Ltd. is one of the largest non-partnered holders of oil sands leases by area in the Athabasca oil sands region, which is located in the province of Alberta, Canada. Since the Company’s incorporation on 22 February 2007, Sunshine has secured over 464,897 hectares (1,148,785 acres) of oil sands leases (equal to approximately 7% of all granted leases in this area).
The Company’s principal operations are the exploration, development and production of its diverse portfolio of oil sands leases. Its principal operating regions in the Athabasca area are at West Ells, Thickwood, Legend Lake, Harper, Muskwa, Goffer, Pelican and Portage. Sunshine’s oil sands leases are grouped into three main asset categories: clastics, carbonates and conventional heavy oil.
For further enquiries, please contact:
Sunshine Oilsands Ltd.

Mr. John Zahary Mr. David Sealock
President & CEO Executive VP, Corporate Operations

Tel: (1) 403 984 1446
Email: investorrelations@sunshineoilsands.com
Website: http://www.sunshineoilsands.com
Source: Sunshine Oilsands Ltd.

Re: Macquarie International Infrastructure Fund Limited (“MIIF”) – Requisition for a Special General Meeting

SINGAPORE /PRNewswire/ — LIM Advisors Limited and Metage Capital Limited would like to confirm the following. On 5 November, 2012, Raffles Nominees (Pte.) Limited lodged a valid requisition for a Special General Meeting of MIIF. This requisition was delivered on behalf of funds managed by LIM Advisors Limited and Metage Capital Limited.
The Requisition Notice included four resolutions.
Ordinary Resolution 1. Increase the maximum number of directors of the board of directors of MIIF to nine pursuant to Bye-law 56(a).

Ordinary Resolution 2. Elect Christopher Brader as a director of MIIF with effect from the date of the SGM.

Ordinary Resolution 3. Elect Nicholas Paris as a director of MIIF with effect from the date of the SGM.

Ordinary Resolution 4. Elect Miles Staude as a director of MIIF with effect from the date of the SGM.

The Requisition Notice included the following summary information on the proposed directors:
Christopher Brader, aged 62, is resident in Thailand and the British Virgin Islands. He is an Investment Consultant focusing on Asian markets and on Asian closed and open ended investment funds. In 2011, he founded his own investment consultancy and moved from London to Asia to advise several European based investors on their investments in Asia. Prior to that he spent 9 years in London as a Fund Manager at Advance Emerging Capital Ltd., a US$850m Emerging and Frontier Market fund of fund investor. During that time they invested in the shares of MIIF. From 1993 to 2000, Christopher Brader ran the Emerging Market closed ends fund broking teams at SG Securities and ING Baring Securities. During the 21 years prior to that, he was an Asian and Japanese institutional sales head for Cazenove & Co, Hill Samuel and BZW Securities working in London, Hong Kong, Tokyo and New York. He was an independent non-executive director of Beta Vietnam Fund Limited from 2000 to 2002, which was a closed end fund invested in unquoted Vietnamese equities, and of the Romania Investment Fund Limited from 2001 to April 2012, which was a closed end fund listed on the Cayman Islands Stock Exchange and invested in unquoted Romanian equities. He is a member of the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment in the UK. He is an independent non-executive Director of the LIM Japan Fund which is advised by LIM Advisors Limited and he owns 720,000 shares in MIIF.
Nicholas Paris, aged 52, is resident in England and is based in London and he is an investment adviser specialising in Asian closed end funds. He founded Purbeck Advisers LLP in 2006 which is an FSA authorised investment firm focused on advising, analysing and distributing Asian investment funds. In his investment advisory role, he provides investment advice on Asian closed end funds (including MIIF) to LIM Advisors Limited, who are based in Hong Kong and who are the investment advisers to LIM Asia Multi-Strategy Fund Inc and LIM Asia Special Situations Master Fund Limited. Prior to that he had worked for 5 years in the hedge fund marketing groups of American Express Asset Management and Coronation International and for a further 7 years as a closed end fund corporate finance adviser in the institutional stock broking teams of Credit Lyonnais Securities Asia, Peregrine Investments from Hong Kong and Baring Securities. He is an independent director of TAU Capital plc, a closed end fund listed on the AIM Stock Exchange in London, which invests in quoted and private equity investments in Central Asia, and between August 2006 and March 2009 he was an independent director of the India IT Fund Limited, a closed end fund listed on the Channel Islands Stock Exchange which invested in quoted Indian software companies. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales, a Fellow of the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment in the UK and a Member of the Chartered Alternative Investment Analysts Association.
Miles Staude, aged 35, is resident in England and is a London based investment manager at Metage Capital Limited, an investment firm specialising in closed-end funds who are the investment manager for Metage Funds Limited and GSS Offshore SPC. He has spent the last 6 years working at Metage managing many of the firm’s Asian investments, including its substantial investment in MIIF. Prior to joining Metage he spent 5 years at the Royal Bank of Canada working within their global equities team, first in Sydney and later in London. Before that he spent 2 years at an Australian investment bank, Hartley Poynton. He has considerable investment and capital markets experience and is a CFA Charterholder.
Source: LIM Advisors Limited

HTC and Apple Settle Patent Dispute

All Patent Litigation Between The Companies Dismissed
TAIPEI and CUPERTINO, Calif. /PRNewswire/ — HTC and Apple have reached a global settlement that includes the dismissal of all current lawsuits and a ten-year license agreement. The license extends to current and future patents held by both parties. The terms of the settlement are confidential.
“HTC is pleased to have resolved its dispute with Apple, so HTC can focus on innovation instead of litigation,” said Peter Chou, CEO of HTC.
“We are glad to have reached a settlement with HTC,” said Tim Cook, CEO of Apple. “We will continue to stay laser focused on product innovation.”
Source: HTC

FOREX CLUB Partners With BelSwissBank to Offer Currency Pairings

MINSK, Belarus/PRNewswire/ —
Eight currency pairings offered
FOREX CLUB, a leading[1] online broker, today announces that it has partnered with BelSwissBank, the CJSC Belarusian-Swiss Bank of The Republic of Belarus, to offer currency pairings on the bank’s website.
(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120517/533090 )
Visitors to the website and clients of BelSwissBank can now access quotes on eight currency pairings, which include EUR / USD, USD / JPY and GBP / USD, as well as rates for crude Brent oil, silver and gold. All the pairings and quotes can be found on the website’s homepage.
Eugene Mandrusov, Director of the Belarusian office forFOREX CLUB, commented: “We’re delighted that BelSwissBank has partnered with FOREX CLUB to provide their clients with the most competitive rates on currency pairs in the Belarusian market. Not only will this benefit their individual investors, but also their institutional participants in financial markets.”
Andrew Dirgin, Head of Research at FOREX CLUB, said: “As a leading broker, FOREX CLUB delivers a high level of service for our retail and institutional clients around the world. The Republic of Belarus is an important market for us and we are honoured that BelSwissBank, one of the premier banks in the country, is using our currency pairings on their website. This reaffirms our credibility and trustworthiness as the leading Foreign Exchange platform throughout the CIS countries and the Russian Federation.”
Notes to Editors
About FOREX CLUB Group of Companies
Please click on this link for more information FOREX CLUB.
About BelSwissBank
CJSC Belarusian-Swiss Bank BelSwissBank started its activities in Belarus on 7 October 2002. The Authorised Fund at the time of registration was 5 million. The Swiss capital constitutes 100% of the authorised capital of the bank’s capital. The three joint-stock company shareholders are Swiss companies: Swiss Investment Century, Alpin Professional Investment and Profinvest Professional and Financial Investment.
————————————————–
1. FOREX CLUB was ranked number 10 out of the 44 individually named global brokers by retail forex volume in Forex Magnates’ Q3 2012 Industry Report.
Source: FOREX CLUB