[Hawaii Inc.]
NEW JOBS
>> Pauline Osborne has been named vice president and chief financial officer of Rehabilitation Hospital of the Pacific. She was most recently CFO at the University of Hawaii Foundation.>> T.J. Oesterling has been hired as the vice president of the condominium resort division at Outrigger Hotels & Resorts. He most recently opened the Hilton Grand Vacation Club as general manager and was regional vice president of Shell Hospitality Management Inc.
>> Summit Lending of Hawaii has hired John Johnston as vice president of business development. He oversees Summit's retail and wholesale lending divisions and is responsible for creating new business accounts and recruiting loan officers. He also manages the firm's marketing department. Cindy Baricuatro has joined Summit's operations division as product maintenance officer. She has nearly 17 years of experience in the mortgage industry, most recently as a processing supervisor for Pacific Financial Mortgage.
PROMOTIONS
>> Kenneth L. Miller has been appointed to vice president and senior equity analyst of Bishop Street Capital Management, a subsidiary of First Hawaiian Bank. Also at Bishop Street, M'Liss Moore was appointed to vice president and Ryan Ota was promoted to compliance and information director.
RECOGNITION
>> Shelly M. Freitas of Coldwell Banker Pacific Properties has received her broker's license. She has been a real estate sales associate for 16 years and with Coldwell Banker for three.BACK TO TOP
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N.Z. economy expands in first quarter
WELLINGTON >> New Zealand's economic growth accelerated in the first quarter as consumers spent more and the nation attracted extra tourists, increasing expectations the central bank will raise interest rates next week.Gross domestic product grew 1.1 percent in the three months through March after the economy expanded 0.7 percent in the fourth quarter. Economists expected 1.1 percent growth in the first quarter, according to a Bloomberg News report. The economy expanded 3.2 percent in the year to March 31 from a year earlier.
Taiwan's China exports rose 28% in April
TAIPEI >> Taiwan's exports to China rose by more than a quarter in April as manufacturers shipped more parts to their factories in the mainland, where they're shifting production to cut costs.Exports to China rose 28 percent from a year earlier to $2.6 billion, Taiwan's Board of Foreign Trade said. Imports from the mainland rose about 21 percent to $682 million, according to a Bloomberg News report.
Almost a quarter of Taiwan's exports in April went to the mainland, the board said. Because direct links between Taiwan and China aren't permitted, trade is indirect, mostly through Hong Kong.
Microsoft to invest $750 million in China
BEIJING >> Microsoft Corp. has signed an agreement to invest $750 million in China.The money will go toward education and training, manufacturing and strategic investments in software companies in China, Microsoft said.
The Redmond, Wash., company signed a memorandum of understanding with China's top economic-planning body, the State Development Planning Commission, promising to form a committee to review and discuss Microsoft's investment strategy.
S. Korea factories post disappointing growth
SEOUL >> South Korean factory production unexpectedly slowed in May as a strengthening currency and a flagging U.S. economic rebound damped demand for the country's mobile phones and other goods.Production rose 0.5 percent from April, seasonally adjusted, the National Statistical Office said. That was less than the 2.2 percent gain economists expected and April's 1.8 percent increase, according to a Bloomberg News report. Manufacturers increased production 7.7 percent from a year earlier.
Export growth slowed in May, suggesting the Korean won's 9.2 percent rally against the U.S. dollar this year is making the country's goods less competitive overseas.
Disney unveils design for Hong Kong park
HONG KONG >> The Disney theme park being built here will look like other Disneylands, including a main thoroughfare depicting America at the turn of the 20th century. But there is one difference: The Walt Disney Co. said it is consulting a feng shui master as it builds the park in Hong Kong. It is scheduled to open in 2006.