Five debt hotspots in the AI data centre boom
LONDON, Dec 12 : As AI fever has propelled global stocks to record highs, the data centres needed to power the technology are increasingly being financed with debt, adding to concerns about the risks.A UBS report last month said AI data centre and project financing deals surged to $125 billion so fa ...
Foxconn to invest US$510 million in Kaohsiung headquarters in Taiwan
[TAIPEI] Foxconn, the world’s largest contract electronics maker, said on Friday (Dec 12) it will invest US$509.94 million to build its Kaohsiung...
CGSI sticks with ‘add’ but cuts TP, JPMorgan downgrades to ‘neutral’ for SCI after Alinta deal
Lin Daoyi - CGS International (CGSI) analysts Lim Siew Khee and Meghana Kande are maintaining their ‘add’ call for Sembcorp Industries (SCI), albeit with a reduced TP of $7.77 from $8.02, after the company announced its acquisition of Australia’s Alinta Energy for A$5.6 billion ($4.8 billion). They believ ...
RHB maintains ‘buy’ call and 85 cents target price for HRnetGroup
Kwan Wei Kevin Tan - RHB Bank Singapore analyst Alfie Yeo has maintained his “buy” call and 85 cents target price for the Asia-based recruitment agency, HRnetGroup. According to Yeo, HRnetGroup is attractive because of its “strong cashflow generation abilities and net cash balance sheet.” “With growth anticipa ...
French Interior Ministry's e-mail servers hit by cyber attack, minister says
PARIS, Dec 12 : The French Interior Ministry's e-mail servers were the target of a cyber attack this week, Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said on Friday, adding an investigation was under way."There has been a cyber attack. An attacker was able to access a number of files ... there is no ...
Ringgit hits three-year high against Singdollar, four-year high versus greenback
Shikhar Gupta - It is Asia’s best-performing currency this year as Malaysia’s robust macro fundamentals drive optimism for unit
Foxconn to invest $510 million in Kaohsiung headquarters in Taiwan
TAIPEI, Dec 12 : Foxconn, the world’s largest contract electronics maker, said on Friday it will invest T$15.9 billion ($509.94 million) to build its Kaohsiung headquarters in southern Taiwan.That would include a mixed-use commercial and office building and a residential tower, it said. Constructi ...
Nippon Steel aims for 100 million tons annual global crude steel capacity by 2030
TOKYO, Dec 12 : Nippon Steel, Japan's biggest steelmaker, expects its global crude steel production capacity to rise to 100 million metric tons per year or more by 2030, it said on Friday.In June, Nippon Steel closed a $15 billion deal to buy U.S. Steel and pledged to invest $11 billion, to be ...
Exclusive-BOJ to pledge more rate hikes at next week's policy meeting, sources say
TOKYO, Dec 12 : The Bank of Japan will likely maintain a pledge next week to keep raising interest rates, but stress the pace of further hikes will depend on how the economy reacts to each increase, said three sources familiar with its thinking.Markets have almost fully priced in the chance of a rat ...
Broadcom falls as margin pressures add to AI payoff jitters
Dec 12 : Broadcom shares fell nearly 5 per cent before the market open on Friday after the chipmaker said its margins would fall due to a higher mix of AI revenue, adding to worries about the payout from AI.Investor optimism over the nascent technology has recently cooled amid bubble concerns, wipin ...
Broadcom shares fall as margin warning sparks AI payoff worries
Dec 12 : Broadcom shares fell nearly 6 per cent before the market open on Friday after the chipmaker warned growing sales of lower-margin custom AI processors were squeezing profitability, sparking worries that the business may be less lucrative.The warning on margin impact deepened investor jitters ...
AI bellwether Broadcom shares fall 5% a day after results
LONDON, Dec 12 : Broadcom shares dropped 4.7 per cent in Frankfurt on Friday a day after the company projected first-quarter revenue above Wall Street estimates, but said margins would fall due to a higher mix of AI revenue. That fall was broadly in line with its U.S. after-hours move. Broadcom ha ...
Private finance structures to drive bumper Japan M&A into 2026, Goldman says
TOKYO, Dec 12 : Japan's mergers and acquisitions market is set to maintain buoyant growth momentum into 2026, with increasing deal sizes supported by innovative financing structures involving private capital, a Goldman Sachs executive said.As Japan's largest companies streamline business p ...
Pilates is fast becoming big business in Singapore – and it’s not just Gen Z driving it
Ry-Anne Lim - Demand is booming on the back of a stronger focus on health and wellness, but operators warn of competition and rising costs
Malaysian ringgit hits highest in four years on growth optimism
It rose 0.3% versus the greenback to 4.0955 on Friday, the highest since May 2021
As SGX enters its new phase of growth, analysts are upbeat
Samantha Chiew - The Singapore Exchange Group (SGX) saw the bellwether Straits Times Index (STI) gaining 2.2% m-o-m, taking ytd calendar gains to 19% and total returns to 25% for November. See more: SGX Group’s bellwether STI gain 2.2% m-o-m in Nov; y-t-d calendar gains at 19% Total traded value for securities ros ...
Sumitomo to put US$1.3 billion into India renewable power projects
It wants to take advantage of rapid growth in demand from major industrial users
Gold clings to 7-week high as investors gauge Fed trajectory; silver near record peak
GOLD prices held near a seven-week high on Friday, supported by expectations of more interest rate cuts next year after the US...
Japan's core inflation likely held at 3.0% in November: Reuters poll
TOKYO, Dec 12 : Japan's core inflation rate likely held well above the central bank's 2 per cent target in November, a Reuters poll showed on Friday, although moderating food price hikes have taken some pressure off consumers ahead of an expected rate hike next week.The nationwide core con ...
Thai assets face mixed outlook on early election: analysts
THAILAND’S early election is expected to bolster local shares, while the baht may see limited impact after a strong performance this year...
Seatrium back on track with estimated S$2 billion TenneT order: analysts
Shikhar Gupta - This lifts the value of its new contract wins in FY2025 past S$4 billion
Asian markets track Wall Street record after Fed cut
ASIAN equities rose on Friday as investors tracked a record day on Wall Street in the wake of the Federal Reserve’s latest...
Seatrium’s BalWin5 contract brings Christmas cheer to analysts
Lin Daoyi - In their research notes issued on Dec 12, DBS Group Research and CGS International (CGSI) reiterate their “buy” call for Seatrium with TP of $2.96 and $2.67 respectively, after the company announced the previous day that it had bagged a contract with partner GE Vernova to deliver a “major part ...
Philippine central bank chief tempers hawkish view, sees one more cut
PHILIPPINE central bank Governor Eli Remolona said monetary authorities may cut the benchmark interest rate one more time in the current easing...
Briefs: Fed cuts rates with three dissents; Intel and AMD accused of allowing chips in Russian missiles
The Edge Singapore - Fed cuts rates with three dissents, projects one cut in 2026Federal Reserve officials delivered a third consecutive interest-rate reduction and maintained their outlook for just one cut in 2026. The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) voted 9-3 on Dec 10 (Wednesday) to lower the benchmark federal f ...
Singapore plans to revamp its equities post-trade custody model after two years of rapid market growth
Lin Daoyi - Investors in Singapore Exchange (SGX)-listed stocks may soon have greater ability to exercise their rights from broker custody or nominee accounts as part of efforts to promote the use of this account type and modernise the post-trade custody model. The initiative forms part of a broader set of reco ...
Indonesia’s new FX lock-up rule could tilt the field – supercharge state banks, squeeze private lenders
Elisa Valenta - Starting Jan 1, exporters of coal, palm oil and nickel must keep all export proceeds in state-owned banks for at least a...
Singapore’s largest fresh noodle-maker taps capital markets to drive expansion and future-proof business
Lin Daoyi and Samantha Chiew - Ever wondered who supplies the noodles for everyday staples and hawker favourites like char kuey teow and bak chor mee? Chances are, these dishes use noodles from Singapore’s largest fresh noodle manufacturer, Leong Guan Holdings. Established in 2003, the company started out as a general food dist ...
Sasseur REIT: A mall partner that works with every sale, brand and consumer
Julian Wong - When picturing their investments, many who invest in REITs might call to mind office space in the business district, suburban malls in the heartlands, or industrial buildings and data centres clustered away from cities and urban areas. Rent is collected, leases are managed, occupancy is kept stable, ...
Pakistan central bank likely to hold rate at 11% as IMF flags inflation risks
KARACHI, Dec 12 : Pakistan's central bank is expected to retain interest rates at 11 per cent on Monday, a Reuters poll showed, as analysts push back rate-cut forecasts to late 2026 after the IMF warned inflation risks persist and policy must stay "appropriately tight".All 12 analysts ...
SoftBank eyes data centre group Switch as Son hunts for AI
Acquiring Switch would allow SoftBank to own a large portfolio of data centres outright
GSH Corporation’s pivot to Bitcoin mining: bold reinvention or risky detour?
Frankie Ho - GSH Corporation’s recent diversification into digital asset mining marks a key turning point for the Singapore-listed property group. Long focused on residential developments and hotels in Malaysia and China, GSH is now staking part of its future on a sector far removed from its core competencies. ...
‘Code red’ at OpenAI as the Google empire strikes back
Assif Shameen - Artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot ChatGPT officially turned three late last month. There was no uncorking of champagne bottles at its creator OpenAI’s headquarters in Mission Bay, San Francisco. Indeed, the mood was also sombre 72km away in Santa Clara, the home of the world’s largest firm, c ...
Why traditional identity checks are falling short in Asia Pacific’s digital economy
Nurdianah Md Nur - The one-time identity check that has anchored digital commerce for decades is cracking under the pressure of fraud driven by AI. Entrust’s 2026 Identity Fraud Report reveals that 82% of payment fraud attempts now occur after onboarding. Rather than breaching defences with forged documents, crimina ...
