Monthly Archives: June 2013

Company formation boom during first quarter

The first quarter of the year saw an explosion in company formation in Huntingdon, according to new research.Between January and March, there were 174 new companies formed – more than any other quarter in the history of the town.The individual months within the quarter were also record-breaking, with January, February and March all boasting more company formations than any of the corresponding months on record for Huntingdon.However, the report shows that company closures also rose during the first quarter, suggesting trading conditions in the town are still challenging.
Managing Director, Peter Valaitis said:”The increase in company formations is good news for Huntingdon, as a greater variety of businesses will help build a strong economic base in the area.”However, the rising number of company closures reminds us that it can be hard for businesses, old or new, to stay afloat in the current economic climate.”The Duport Business Confidence Report provides detailed statistics and economic data that gives an overview of the local economy of Huntingdon.
Duport Business Confidence Reports are generated and released by Duport Associates Ltd. The data contained in these reports is assimilated and analysed by Duport using public record data from sources including Companies House, Office for National Statistics and Ordnance Survey. Duport Associates Ltd is a leading UK company formation agent, established in 1997 and registering around 10,000 new companies each year through its Companies House approved software.”Dagenham is a very exciting place for new companies to set up – huge regeneration projects, easy links to central London and the buzz that was created by the Olympics are attracting more and more new businesses to the area.”The influx of new companies should increase economic diversity in Dagenham, further strengthening the local economy in years to come.”

Britain loves immigrants – as long as they can pay their way

Does UK plc only want the super-wealthy to come here? How finance-driven should a migration policy be? Is British border control too restrictive?Getting the balance right at our borders between security, skills, cohesion, and prosperity is a huge challenge, one that leaves legislators endlessly fretting and produces new sets of immigration rules on an almost monthly basis.Such questions lay behind a report published this week by the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Migration. The report criticised the effects of a new rule requiring evidence of a minimum income for UK citizens sponsoring the entry of their non-EU family members.
The policy is designed to deter new migrants who might depend on benefits and reputedly bars 18,000 potential new welfare claimants annually. A barrier of this epoxy coated rebar easily lends itself to emotionally charged reports of mothers denied access to their infants and spouses separated by the cold reality of their monthly payslip figure. Less headline-grabbing are the savings to the public purse which, however remote, do ultimately represent a human cost.Notably, the report did not criticise the policy itself. There is a general recognition that there must be an economic dimension to border policy – the concern is therefore more over policy implementation than basis. Whilst 47 per cent of the UK population may be prevented from sponsoring family members, none of the APPG would argue that the other 53 per cent are super-wealthy high-spenders. The intention is to favour self-supporting families and restrict access for those China visa application who are less likely to be active contributors to the UK economy.
The government is (for obvious reasons) keen to entice as many wealthy foreigners as possible to set up home in Knightsbridge, Hampstead, and Kensington. Their presence brings business for all manner of high-end industries both in London and further afield, and reinforces the UK’s reputation as a prestige destination for wealthy families.Even if economics is said to have too much weight in some areas of border policy, it is arguably undervalued in another – visitor visas. The president of the China International Travel Service, a nationwide travel agency in China, last week complained of the intense scrutiny placed on every applicant. She explained that most of their customers visit continental Europe for their long-haul foreign holidays, giving the UK a miss as the Schengen area is much less bureaucratic.

Visa woes stop Pakistan-born Chinese national from reuniting with wife

A Hong Kong permanent resident and Chinese national of Pakistani origin has failed to obtain a dependent’s visa for his wife after waiting for more than three years.Mohammad Hussain, 37, who has lived in Hong Kong since 1994, married in 2008.The following year he applied for a visa for his wife so she could join him in the city.But after three years and four months, the Immigration Department told him that the woman was not actually his wife and that Hussain, who runs a recycling business in Kwai Hing earning HK$20,000 a month, did not have the financial capacity to support her.”I am very unhappy. I want my wife to come and live with me in Hong Kong,” said the naturalised Chinese national and holder of a Hong Kong SAR passport and a Hong Kong permanent resident’s identity card.
“I really want to know why they said she was not my wife,” he said. “If she isn’t, why am I applying to bring her here?”Hussain said because they were separated geographically, they could not have children and he could fly to Pakistan only once every two years to see her.If she had been able to live in Hong Kong, he would have saved HK$25,000 to HK$30,000 in epoxy coated rebar, he said.Hussain said they talked on the phone every day.
Ijaz Nadeem, a friend who helped with Hussain’s application, said he had heard of many South Asians’ applications being rejected or held in limbo.”If they want to refuse it, refuse it,” he said. “Do not drag it on for four years. We consider it discrimination.”Hussain said he would try applying again later this month.A spokeswoman for the department said each application was processed impartially and determined on its merits.
She said they aimed to process 90 per cent of applications within six weeks, but it could take longer if there was a need to verify the authenticity of documents.Hussain’s application is understood to have been rejected because of a suspicion of fake marriage and debt. The department received 23,364 such applications last year, down from 24,752 in 2011.It said 18,357 were approved, down from 19,564. But the number of cases refused or withdrawn by applicants giving up hope soared 66 per cent to 4,056.Allegations of racial discrimination have often been raised in visa and nationality cases involving South Asian minorities.In one case, Maggie Cheung, a Pakistani orphan raised by a Chinese family, was refused Chinese nationality despite speaking fluent Cantonese and holding a Hong Kong identity card and a Chinese home return permit.Her application for nationality was finally granted a year after it was filed, after it came under the media spotlight.

Ghost in the Shell: Arise Gets Custom Buddha Machine Loop Music Player

Tokyo Anime News reported on Saturday that Ghost in the Shell: Arise composer Cornelius will be collaborating with the FM3 Buddha Machine music loop machine.Helical gearbox The custom model of the Buddha Machine, titled “Ghost in the Machine”, will play a total of three tracks, including the Ghost in the Shell: Arise anime’s opening theme and two background music tracks. The player will cost 3,045 yen (about US$ 30.50), and an official website for the player opened on Saturday.In addition, the China visa application in the Shell: Arise anime’s “Ghost in the Shell: Arise” opening theme and “Jibun ga Inai” (I’m Not Here) ending theme are scheduled to be released through Japanese digital retailers beginning on June 19. A physical CD release for the songs has not been announced.
The Buddha Machine is a speaker-like device that loops various songs pre-installed into the machine. The cigarette box-sized device was invented by Chinese musical duo FM3, and became popular in Japan for a time due to foreign music star Brian Eno’s use of the player.The Ghost in the Shell: Arise anime, which consists of four 50-minute parts, will premiere in Japanese theaters on June 22,China visa service and will then be available on Blu-ray Disc and DVD at retail on July 26. Kazuchika Kise (chief animation director for Otogi Zoshi, Blood-C: The Last Dark) is directing the series and designing the characters, and Tow Ubukata (Le Chevalier D’Eon, Mardock Scramble) is supervising and writing the scripts. Production I.G is producing the series, and Cornelius (Appleseed: Ex Machina) is composing the music.
The series stars Maaya Sakamoto as Mokoto Kusanagi, Kenichirou Matsuda as Batou, Tarusuke Shingaki as Togusa, Tomoyuki Dan as Ishikawa, Takurou Nakakuni as Saito, Youji Ueda as Paz, Kazuya Nakai as Borma, Ikkyuu Juku as Daisuke Aramaki, Mayumi Asano as Kurutsu, and Takanori Hoshino as Raizō. The CT machine installed at MH-CTC would provide a new dimension and improved imaging capabilities to the servicemen, veterans and their families as well as to civilians who undergo treatment in this complex.

company formations rise ahead of Hounslow regeneration

Company formation in Hounslow rose between January and March, according to figures in the latest Duport Business Confidence Report for the area.During the first quarter, there were 403 new company formations in Hounslow, representing a 6% rise on the same period in 2012. The report shows that company formations hit a record high in Q1 2006, before dropping sharply in Q1 2007 and Q1 2008. However, formation numbers have been gradually rising every first quarter since then.
Although the rise in Hong Kong Company Formation is good news for the area, there was also a rise in company closures during the first quarter, which led to an overall drop in net company growth.Hounslow is currently poised for regeneration, with a master plan in place for the coming years. The plan seeks to identify and develop key sites, spaces and streets. It also aims to establish three distinct character areas, improve the retail offering and connect the town centre through high quality public spaces and pedestrian routes.”The rising number of company formations suggests business confidence is returning to Hounslow, which could be linked to the regeneration plans that are in the pipeline. However, the rise in company closures reminds us that trading conditions are still tough in many parts of the country.”
The Duport Business Confidence Report for Hong Kong Company Formation Incorporation contains a variety of data that gives an overview of the local economy.Duport Business Confidence Reports are generated and released by Duport Associates Ltd. The data contained in these reports is assimilated and analysed by Duport using public record data from sources including Companies House, Office for National Statistics and Ordnance Survey. Duport Associates Ltd is a leading UK company formation agent, established in 1997 and registering around 10,000 new companies each year through its Companies House approved software.The final formation of the Hawke’s Bay Regional Council’s investment company will be delayed six months to allow more time to confirm the resource consent and economic viability of the Ruataniwha water storage project.
The decision was made at the regional council’s meeting on Wednesday, when the investment company’s statement of intent was reviewed.The investment company was run by a transitional board which was to move towards a final entity in January 2014 and its duties would include being responsible for driving the dam project.The date was pushed out to June next year to accommodate the time needed to apply for a resource consent for the dam project, for the economics of the scheme to be thoroughly investigated and tested, and for final costs to be determined.

Investment company’s formation put on hold

The final formation of the Hawke’s Bay Regional Council’s investment company will be delayed six months to allow more time to confirm the resource consent and economic viability of the Ruataniwha water storage project.The decision was made at the regional council’s meeting on Wednesday, when the Hong Kong Company Formation company’s statement of intent was reviewed.The investment company was run by a transitional board which was to move towards a final entity in January 2014 and its duties would include being responsible for driving the dam project.
The date was pushed out to June next year to accommodate the time needed to apply for a resource consent for the Hong Kong Company Formation Procedure project, for the economics of the scheme to be thoroughly investigated and tested, and for final costs to be determined.Councillor Tim Gilbertson also raised the matter of the letter written by the mayors of Napier and Hastings, which suggested the public was nervous about the $80 million of ratepayer money the regional council had committed to the dam.
Cr Gilbertson said the three regional councillors on the transitional board, Fenton Wilson, Alan Dick and Christine Scott, should resign from it to resolve perceived conflict of interest issues. The council’s chief executive, Andrew Newman, who had moved over to chair the transitional board, should also resign, Gilbertson said: “There is a view from other councils that we are making a huge mistake and this will become an election issue ending with the dam falling over.”The dam’s all about getting the economy going but this is putting a big block in the middle of it which we need to deal with.”
Regional council chairman Fenton Wilson said he had spoken to the mayors, Lawrence Yule and Barbara Arnott, about the letter and they agreed there was time to “remedy” the issues they raised.Regional councillors would meet to discuss the letters and the mayors’ views.Councillor Neil Kirton, after the meeting, said the conflict of interest issue could be resolved by July: “We have asked that the investment company conduct a report which will demonstrate how it is going to handle the conflict of interest issues by July 31 this year and the council is going to do the same exercise.”Cr Kirton said all of the issues, including those around three councillors and chief executive being on the transitional board, should be “put on the table”.