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
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...
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...
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...
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...
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 ...
The Asian boardroom reset: Why the CEO-chair relationship needs a new social compact
Ang Wan May - As Singapore and Asia Pacific (Apac) business leaders close the books on 2025, the focus is rightly on external strategies like regional expansion, AI integration, and navigating a complex global landscape. But in our recent conversations with local and regional leaders, we are seeing a growing sent ...
Is crypto an opportunity or a threat?
Jean Tirole - The fascination with cryptocurrencies shows no sign of fading. With the passage of the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins (Genius) Act in July, US lawmakers added to the sense that crypto is here to stay. But look beyond the hype and an uncomfortable issue remains unreso ...
Trump praises Fed Governor Waller as ‘great’ after interview for Fed Chair
[WASHINGTON] US President Donald Trump said on Thursday he interviewed Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller a day earlier as a candidate to succeed Jerome...
Boards in the digital age: rethinking independent oversight in a world of complexity and risk
Danny Ong - Corporate governance stands at a defining crossroad. In an era shaped by digital disruption, fractured geopolitics and rising stakeholder scrutiny, the traditional playbook for boards and independent directors is no longer sufficient. The future of governance lies not in regulatory catch-up, but in ...
Suntory rebuilds its data backbone to move from AI hype to foresight
Nurdianah Md Nur - When a company operates across 88 markets, diversity can be both an advantage and a burden. For the 126-year-old Suntory Beverage and Food International, that tension surfaced in the gradual build-up of data silos. Its 11 business units had developed a patchwork of systems, each holding its own view ...
Hainan Free Trade Port set to shake up logistics
Daryl Guppy - China is launching the Hainan Free Trade Port (FTP). It is, in essence, a special economic zone that covers the entire island and not just the port area. Its location is significant from a sea lane perspective, but it also defines the southernmost reach of China. Hainan, located opposite Vietnam bet ...
Private credit under the spotlight
Ezien Hoo and Veron Ong - Private credit, also commonly known as private debt, is an alternative form of debt financing that borrowers may access outside of traditional sources. As the name suggests, these loans are provided through private channels, typically by end-investors through vehicles set up for lending. This distin ...
How to invest if you have an hour or two
Thiveyen Kathirrasan - This will be the second article in the “How to invest if you have time constraints” series. To recap, a 30-minute time allocation was discussed in the previous article in this series. 30 minutes is not the time an investor has daily to analyse stocks; rather, it is for a specific investment stra ...
DFI Retail’s Mannings joins retail exodus after two decades in mainland China
Chloe Lim - Mannings is also known as Guardian in South-east Asia
DFI Retail’s Mannings join retail exodus after two decades in mainland China
Chloe Lim - Mannings is also known as Guardian in South-east Asia
DFI Retail’s Mannings shutters in mainland China
Chloe Lim - Mannings is also known as known as Guardian in South-east Asia, including Singapore
Fullerton’s FSGV top five holdings in STI, 30% in small- and mid-caps
Kwan Wei Kevin Tan - Different fund managers will focus on different asset classes and markets and adopt different investment styles. For Fullerton Fund Management’s new Singapore Value-Up fund (FSGV), portfolio manager Shawn Ang says he looks at three fundamental indicators. “At the end of the day, what we are look ...
New airports, high-speed rails, Olympic complex: Vietnam shifts into top gear
Jamille Tran - The once-in-a-decade fiscal splurge for infrastructure build-out is a key driver for the country’s 10% growth goal
From Swift to space, here are Saxo’s outrageous predictions for 2026
Samantha Chiew - Saxo has released its Outrageous Predictions 2026, a set of “low probability, high impact” scenarios that test investors’ assumptions about the next two years. These are not Saxo’s base case forecasts but thought experiments designed to “stretch the imagination and sharpen debate about wha ...
Morgan Stanley declares the end of the US recession and eyes early-cycle gains in 2026
Samantha Chiew - The US equity market has moved out of a three-year “rolling recession” and into the early stages of a new cycle that should favour laggards and small caps into 2026, says Mike Wilson, chief investment officer and chief US equity strategist at Morgan Stanley. Wilson argues that a capitulation in ...
