Centurion Corp’s David Loh acquires 200,000 ordinary shares in company for $1.28955 apiece
Nicole Lim - Centurion Corporation’s executive director and joint chairman David Loh has acquired 200,000 ordinary shares in the company via market transaction for $1.28955 a piece on Dec 18. The shares were purchased for a total price of $257,910, bringing the director’s total interest in the company to 59. ...
uSMART initiates ‘buy’ on Jumbo Group with target price of 34 cents
Nicole Lim - uSMART has initiated a “buy” on Jumbo Group with a target price of 34 cents. Analyst Ng Xin Yang says that Jumbo presents a compelling quality-value opportunity, currently trading at a valuation discount relative to regional F&B peers. The group is one of Singapore’s most recognisable F&am ...
Property is Yoma Strategic’s ‘core earnings and cash flow generator’, says PhillipCapital
Felicia Tan - Yoma Strategic’s property arm, Yoma Land, is the group’s core earnings and cash flow generator, although finance costs are pushing the group into losses, says PhillipCapital’s Paul Chew in an unrated report dated Dec 18. Yoma, which had announced its 1HFY2026 ended Sept 30 results on Nov 11, r ...
LG Chem submits petrochem restructuring plan to government
SEOUL, Dec 19 : LG Chem submitted a plan to restructure its petrochemical business to the South Korean government, the company said on Friday.The plan is in response to the government's request for the industry to restructure, LG said, adding that it could not disclose details. DL Che ...
Macquarie upgrades Sembcorp to ‘outperform’, raises TP
Lin Daoyi - In a seemingly contrarian analysis, Macquarie Equities Research analyst Foo Zhiwei upgraded Sembcorp Industries (SCI) to ‘outperform’ from ‘neutral’ after SCI announced the acquisition of Alinta Energy. He raised the counter’s target price by 40 cents from $6.64 to $7.04 in his research no ...
GLP picks investment banks for 2026 Hong Kong IPO: sources
Deliberations are ongoing and details such as the offering size and timing have not been finalised
Nidec says founder and chairman Nagamori resigns from board
TOKYO, Dec 19 : Japanese electric motor maker Nidec said founder and chairman Shigenobu Nagamori has voluntarily left the board as of Friday to assume the title of chairman emeritus.CEO and President Mitsuya Kishida would succeed Nagamori, 81, as chairman of the board, it said in a statemen ...
Nidec founder and chairman Nagamori resigns from board, company says
TOKYO, Dec 19 : Japanese electric motor maker Nidec said founder and chairman Shigenobu Nagamori has voluntarily left the board as of Friday to assume the title of chairman emeritus.CEO and President Mitsuya Kishida would succeed Nagamori, 81, as chairman of the board, it said in a statemen ...
Will the AI bubble pop in 2026? Why South-east Asia won’t shake if it does
In South-east Asia, AI startups raised over US$2.3 billion as of June 2025
Najib Razak’s court rulings to seal ex-premier’s political fate
FORMER Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak heads into a pivotal week in court, with two rulings that could reopen his path back to power.
UK government was hacked in October, minister confirms
LONDON, Dec 19 : British trade minister Chris Bryant said the government had been hacked in October, partly confirming a report in the Sun newspaper, which said a Chinese group had breached systems to access foreign office data. "There certainly has been a hack," Bryant told Times ...
PhillipCapital downgrades Sats to ‘neutral’ but increases TP on removal of De Minimis exemption
Felicia Tan - PhillipCapital analyst Hashim Osman has downgraded his call on Sats to “neutral” but with a higher target price of $3.84 from $3.66. Shares in Sats have traded past Osman’s previous target price, closing at $3.75 on Dec 18. “Our higher target price reflects our expectation that the removal o ...
Sunway Healthcare gauges interest for Malaysia IPO in January: sources
The health-care arm of conglomerate Sunway Bhd plans to list in Kuala Lumpur as early as March
The Chinese-made DJI drones used by US police face a MAGA-fuelled reckoning
If DJI fails to get FCC clearance by Christmas, it could join Huawei and ZTE on the agency’s list
BOJ Governor Ueda's comments at news conference
Dec 19 : The Bank of Japan raised its interest rates on Friday to levels unseen in three decades and signalled its readiness for further hikes, taking another landmark step in ending decades of huge monetary support and near-zero borrowing costs.In a widely expected move, the BOJ raised short-ter ...
Japan's MUFG to buy 20% stake in India's Shriram Finance for $4.4 billion
MUMBAI, Dec 19 : Japan's MUFG will pick up a 20 per cent stake in Shriram Finance for $4.4 billion, the Indian non-bank lender said on Friday, marking the largest cross-border investment in the India's financial sector. The sector has struck deals worth nearly $15 billion so far t ...
OpenAI inks deals with US colleges, seizing early lead in education market
The company has sold more than 700,000 ChatGPT licences to about 35 public universities
Seeing gold in decaying leases: Yield, affordability draw property investors to likes of Hotel Miramar
Kalpana Rashiwala - It can be financially feasible to buy properties on sites with declining balance land tenures. As leases near expiry, the path to...
Seeing gold in decaying leases: Yield, unlocked potential draw property investors to likes of Hotel Miramar
Kalpana Rashiwala - It can be financially feasible to buy properties on sites with declining balance land tenures. As leases near expiry, the path to...
The art of investing in spite of melting asset values as leases decay
Kalpana Rashiwala - It can be financially feasible to buy properties on sites with declining balance land tenures. As leases near expiry, the path to...
The art of investing in spite of melting asset values
Kalpana Rashiwala - It can be financially feasible to buy properties on sites with declining balance land tenures. As leases near expiry, the path to...
US reportedly launches review of advanced Nvidia AI chip sales to China
Concerns remain over chips boosting China’s military and AI capabilities
Morning Bid: Japan's savers get to party like its 1999
A look at the day ahead in European and global markets from Wayne Cole.It's taken 30 years, but Japanese savers can finally get 0.75 per cent for their money - just don't spend it all at once. The Bank of Japan did what everyone expected, because it had been telegraphed by the bank itse ...
Toyota to import US-made cars after Trump gripe
JAPANESE car giant Toyota said on Friday it will begin importing three of its US-manufactured models into its home market next year,...
Bank of Japan raises interest rates to 30-year high, signals more hikes
In a widely expected move, the BOJ raises short-term interest rates to 0.75%
BOJ raises interest rates to 30-year high, signals more hikes
It offers a slightly more upbeat view on the economy than at its previous meeting in October
Bank of Japan hikes interest rates to 30-year-high of 0.75%
THE Bank of Japan on Friday hiked interest rates to 0.75 per cent, marking the first increase since January and its highest...
Asian markets rise as US inflation eases, Micron soothes tech fears
ASIAN markets rose on Friday as a below-forecast read on US inflation boosted hopes for another interest rate cut next month, while...
Sembcorp’s acquisition of Alinta met with worries over impact on balance sheet
Goola Warden - At first glance, Sembcorp Industries’ announcement to acquire Alinta Energy at an enterprise value of A$6.5 billion ($5.6 billion) has elicited scathing remarks from the Australian media. According to The Australian, KKR had valued Alinta for A$4 billion to A$4.5 billion. Australian media have not ...
Manulife US REIT receives unitholder approval for disposals and new acquisition mandate
Felicia Tan - Manulife US REIT (MUST), under pressure to reduce its debt, has received approval from its unitholders to proceed with the disposal of three existing properties and to acquire assets beyond the US office sector. As at Dec 1, MUST had raised nearly US$273.1 million ($352.6 million) from its dispositi ...
ComfortDelGro's autonomous driving plans shift a gear up
Felicia Tan - ComfortDelGro, long the dominant transport operator in Singapore, has been actively building its presence abroad, acquiring other transport companies, bidding for train operating contracts and renewing bus operating contracts. Its revenue profile, unsurprisingly, has transformed significantly, with ...
Baht soars to 3-year high against Singdollar – but can its strength persist?
Therese Soh - Thai currency’s rise is fuelled by a soft US dollar, recent Fed easing and sharp acceleration in gold prices
Emerging markets: The forgotten asset class makes its case for a comeback
Ernest Yeung - After years of relative neglect, emerging markets are quietly staging a comeback. However, even as the asset class demonstrates improving fundamentals and resilience in the face of macroeconomic uncertainty, global portfolio allocations remain well below historical averages. In a world where traditi ...
Hong Kong’s identity quandary
Stephen S Roach - The sign at Hong Kong International Airport still says: “Welcome to Asia’s World City.” Usually worth nothing more than a sideways glance, this time the sign gave me pause for thought as I disembarked from the plane on a recent visit. On the surface, Hong Kong seems to have bounced back in the ...