MaNaDr Clinic loses licence, found to have ‘entrenched culture of disregard’ for ethical and clinical standards: MOH
Renald Yeo - The clinic can no longer operate at its permanent premises at 371 Beach Road, nor temporary locations such as patients’ residences, or...
Philippine Stock Exchange plans to launch global depositary receipts in 1Q2025
Bloomberg - The Philippine Stock Exchange plans to introduce trading of global depositary receipts in the first quarter of next year, in an effort to lure demand from local investors seeking better equity returns offshore. There’s “significant interest” from prospective issuers and custodian banks in the ...
Asian bonds outlook for 2025: Schroders
Samantha Chiew - The Asian bond market is set for a boost in 2025, driven by favourable macroeconomic conditions, according to asset manager Schroders. In 2024, the market displayed resilience, with the JPMorgan Asia Credit Index returning 6.3% and the Markit iBoxx Asia Local Bond Index delivering 2.7% in USD terms ...
Bitcoin pullback deepens as US ETFs suffer record outflows
Bloomberg - A Bitcoin slide from a record high earlier this week extended to more than 10% at one point, as reduced scope for looser US monetary policy crimped speculative zeal. The price of the original cryptocurrency dropped as low as US$95,885 ($130,245.39 ) on Friday after setting an all-time peak just abov ...
China's horrible year
Daryl Guppy - In 1992, Queen Elizabeth described the year as an annus horribilis (Latin for "horrible year"), citing a series of personal and public crises, including the breakdown of royal marriages and a fire at Windsor Castle. The same description will often be applied to the Chinese economy and mark ...
Beansprout's Wong sees favourable risk-reward ratio for REITs, singles out OUE REIT, Elite UK REIT and AIMS APAC REIT
The Edge Singapore - The Singapore market — as measured by the benchmark Straits Times Index — has performed strongly today, rising by around a fifth year-to-date to reach a 17-year high, outpacing nearly every other regional bourse. The gains were powered by the three banks, which make up half the index’s weighta ...
Slovak battery maker InoBat raises 100 million euros in latest funding round
Slovak battery maker InoBat has raised 100 million euros ($104 million) in its latest funding round backed by its Chinese partner, battery cell maker Gotion High Tech, it said on Friday.The funding round, the largest ever for a technology company in Slovakia, also included contributions from the cou ...
Honda and Nissan merger talks: What's at stake
Japanese auto giant Honda and its struggling rival Nissan will reportedly begin talks on a merger to boost their strength in electric vehicles,
Twelve days of Christmas
Chew Sutat - Epiphany, also known as Three King’s Day, is a Christian holiday that celebrates the revelation of baby Jesus to the world. Celebrated on Jan 6, the 12th day after Christmas marks the end of the season and taking down the Christmas tree. Orthodox Christians in Europe celebrate with different tradi ...
How Asian investors should look at US stocks in 2025
Assif Shameen - This time last year, I wrote a column about how I saw the US stock market performing in 2024 after its spectacular 26.3% total return in 2023. Given the strong earnings growth, robust capital expenditure around AI and anticipated interest rate cuts in 2024, I concurred with the consensus view at the ...
Asean's second renaissance is now
Anwar Ibrahim - Next year heralds a pivotal chapter for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), with Malaysia assuming the chair. In a world increasingly divided into competing blocs, Malaysia is advancing the Asean Community Vision 2045, a strategic long-term plan that aims to guide the region’s grow ...
China's economy has not peaked
Nancy Qian - What happens to the world economy and global geopolitics in 2025 will depend significantly on China, the world’s largest exporter and second-largest consumer market. However, prevailing assessments of China’s economic health are deeply flawed. The headlines in 2024 have been mixed. China’s GDP ...
Will the second Trump boom go bust?
Kenneth Rogoff - What could Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential election mean for the American and global economies? In a December 2016 commentary titled “The Trump Boom?”, I argued that despite concerns about Trump’s personality and economic policies, it was entirely plausible that the US could ex ...
The world needs a pro-human AI agenda
Daron Acemoglu - These are uncertain and confusing times. Not only are we contending with pandemics, climate change, societal ageing in major economies, and rising geopolitical tensions, but artificial intelligence (AI) is poised to change the world as we know it. What remains to be seen is how quickly things will c ...
Singtel, regional telcos partner Grab, Trip.com to offer discounted hotel, flight bookings in 2025
Nicole Lim - A consortium of regional telco partners, including Singapore Telecommunications Z74 (Singtel), has announced a partnership with Grab and Trip.com on their regional cross-border rewards programme, according to a Dec 20 announcement. The regional telcos, which comprise Singtel, AIS, Globe, HKT, Op ...
China’s hottest stock, Pop Mart, rockets 370% on craze for collectibles
Pop Mart is likely the first homegrown Chinese consumer brand to achieve significant global success by attracting consumers via intellectual property, design...
SCCCI calls for Budget 2025 to help SMEs ease business costs, improve workforce productivity, build green capabilities
Paige Lim - It also hopes the government will provide more support for trade associations and chambers to drive internationalisation and upskilling among SMEs
‘Twas the week before Christmas
And all through Santa’s workshop
Bank of Japan bids final farewell to Kuroda’s radical policy experiment
The findings of the review will reinforce the BOJ’s resolve to steadily normalise monetary policy and be rid of the remnants of...
China’s overseas investment adds to cash exodus weighing on renminbi
CHINESE firms from carmakers to miners are ramping up their overseas spending, adding to pressure on the renminbi amid an accompanying exodus...
Top Glove swings back to black with RM5.5 million Q1 net profit
Chong Xin Wei - Increased inflows of US orders ahead of 50% tariff on glove imports from China contributed to higher sales volume
Ukraine collects vast war data trove to train AI models
KYIV : As the future of warfare pivots towards artificial intelligence, Ukraine is sitting on a valuable resource: millions of hours of footage from drones which can be used to train AI models to make decisions on the battlefield.AI has been deployed by both sides on the battlefield during Russia� ...
Beijing woos AstraZeneca for investment while probe continues
BEIJING’S mayor called on AstraZeneca to expand its research and development investment in the Chinese capital, signalling that a probe against some...
Intel shortlists suitors for programmable chip arm Altera
Salamat Sanwan - INTEL has shortlisted a number of buyout firms for the next round of bidding for its Altera unit, according to sources familiar...
AI data centres to bolster renewable energy demand even under Trump, says MUFG Americas CEO
TOKYO : The broad shift towards renewable energy in the U.S. will continue even under the incoming administration of Donald Trump, said the head of the Americas arm of Japan's largest banking group, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group.President-elect Trump's anti-renewables rhetoric has not pro ...
Apollo says private credit may reach US$40 trillion by 2030
APOLLO Global Management said that a booming part of private credit is already a US$20 trillion industry and that the market as...
Analysis:BOJ bids final farewell to Kuroda's radical policy experiment
TOKYO : In rare criticism of its past policies, the Bank of Japan said former governor Haruhiko Kuroda's stimulus didn't change consumer psychology as much as planned, continuing a symbolic shift away from his decade of policy radicalism.The review, released on Thursday, also warned that t ...
Amazon delays return-to-office mandate for thousands of employees amid lack of office space
SINGAPORE: Tech giant Amazon is delaying its five-day return-to-office policy, slated to start in January, for thousands of workers due to a lack of office space. The company recently informed som
Japan's government 'alarmed' by recent forex moves, top officials say
TOKYO : Top Japanese finance officials said on Friday the government is "alarmed" by recent foreign exchange moves and is ready to intervene if speculative moves were deemed excessive, as the yen resumed its rapid downturn.Against the Japanese yen, the dollar rose to a top of 157.93 on Fri ...
SK Hynix completes deal for US$958 million in US chips grant, loan
THE Biden administration has cemented a deal to give SK Hynix as much as US$458 million in grants and US$500 million in...
Tokyo inflation likely accelerated on suspended energy subsidies: Reuters poll
TOKYO : Consumer inflation in Tokyo likely accelerated in December on higher food costs and after the government's suspension of its gas and electricity subsidies, a Reuters poll showed on Friday.The expected pickup could prod the Bank of Japan, which decided to keep interest rates unchanged at ...
Indonesia weighs deep cuts to nickel mining to boost prices
INDONESIA is considering deep cuts to nickel mining quotas as it seeks to boost slumping prices of the battery metal, according to...
Where to put your money in 2025
The goal is to maximise returns and minimise risk via the cheapest and most effective hedge available, diversification
Cathie Wood predicts a wave of start-up M&A after Trump election
Bloomberg - The election of Donald Trump will usher in a wave of private-company purchases that had previously been slowed by red tape, investor Cathie Wood said in an interview in which she also reiterated her ultra-bullish view on Bitcoin. Wood, the founder of ARK Investment Management, said changes at the Fe ...
