OCBC's Lim maintains 'hold' call on First REIT following planned $471.6 mil divestment
The Edge Singapore - First REIT has announced the sale of assets worth some $471.6 million to linked party Siloam International Hospitals, as part of its strategic review. The assets to be sold consists of 8 hospitals and 3 non-hospital assets, which is a slight premium of 2.1% over valuations. First REIT has also been ...
Share buybacks driving OCBC’s stock into new territory: analysts
Chloe Lim - Investors also like lender’s robust wealth business and net new money momentum in Q4
Share buyback scheme has helped OCBC’s recent sector outperformance: analysts
Chloe Lim - Broader investor discussions also note positives such as lender’s robust wealth flows and net new money momentum in Q4
Treasury yields spike as Trump offers no respite for inflation fears amid Middle East crisis
[SYDNEY] - Treasury yields were jerked higher in Asia on Thursday (Apr 2) as dashed hopes for an early end to the...
Global central banks mostly on hold as war muddies economic outlook
NEW YORK, April 2 : Major central banks pointed to uncertainty linked to the war in the Middle East as they largely kept interest rates steady in March, with concerns over higher inflation and weaker growth clouding the global economic outlook.Policymakers across both developed and emerging markets ...
Nvidia chips probe in S’pore: CFO of local tech firm becomes fourth executive to be charged
Jenny Lim of Aperia Cloud Services was handed one charge for fraud by the District Court in Singapore on April 2.
CapitaLand Investment to speed up divestments, capital recycling in China portfolio
Deon Loke - Market softness in China triggers higher revaluation losses in FY2025
High order backlog, global ‘defence inflexion point’: Analysts positive on ST Engineering’s contract win
Shikhar Gupta - Views on the company’s outlook, however, are mixed
High order backlog, global defence inflection point: Analysts positive on ST Engineering’s contract win
Shikhar Gupta - While analysts are mixed on the company’s outlook, the contract win is seen positively
CGSI downgrades ST Engineering to ‘hold’ on potential de-escalation of Middle East conflict
Shikhar Gupta - Still, its and Citi’s analysts view its increasing foothold in the Middle East positively
Crisis contractor for OpenAI, Anthropic eyes a move to combat extremism
SYDNEY, April 2 : People who show violent extremist tendencies on ChatGPT will be directed to human and chatbot‑based deradicalisation support through a new tool in development in New Zealand, the people behind it said.The initiative is the latest attempt to address safety concerns in the face of ...
Will the new IP changes help with medical inflation?
Felicia Tan - Growing up, I’d often hear my grandmother say it’s better to die than to fall ill in Singapore. With the country’s medical cost inflation — having stayed below 10% in 2024, had shot up again and is seen to hit a new high of 16.9% in 2026, up from 2025 — she may be right. On Nov 26, 2025, t ...
Market reform and opportunities within Singapore’s equity market
Teo Zheng Long - On March 24, The Edge Singapore and State Street Investment Management organised Shaping Tomorrow’s Markets: ETF Strategies and Economic Outlook to help investors understand the need for portfolio diversification and risk mitigation at a time of geopolitical tensions and shifting trade policies. H ...
Asean still ‘safe’ for business despite Middle East conflict: UOB
Lin Daoyi - From the perspective of UOB head of research Suan Teck Kin, the Middle East conflict between the US, Israel and Iran highlights Asean as a “stable” and “safe” region for doing business. Speaking at the Shaping Tomorrow’s Markets: ETF Strategies and Economic Outlook event hosted by The Edge ...
HSBC chief signals confidence in Asia despite retail banking scale-back
Adeline Paul Raj - HSBC Holdings plc’s possible sale of its Indonesian retail assets, following its exit from retail operations in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka last year, has fuelled speculation that the UK-based banking giant may be planning a broader retreat from retail banking in Asia. Last year, it closed its retail ...
Timely and accurate disclosures by listed issuers beneficial to Singapore’s equity market
Teo Zheng Long - For years, listed companies have operated under a cautious mindset, providing at most vague forward-looking views of their businesses. At the same time, certain companies have breached listing requirements by failing to promptly disclose material developments. Singapore’s blue chips and REITs tend ...
China drains cash from economy in rare move during oil shock
The central bank withdraws a total of 890 billion yuan worth of liquidity via short-term open market operations in March
China drains cash from economy in rare pullback during oil shock
CHINA’S central bank withdrew cash from its financial system for the first time in a year, a cautious signal that keeps its...
US escalation is the most likely scenario in Iran
Nouriel Roubini - The financial and economic implications of the US-Israeli war with Iran will depend on the war’s duration. The longer it goes on, the longer we can expect oil, gas, fertiliser, helium and other prices to remain elevated. The greater the damage done to the Gulf’s oil production and export facilit ...
The sad demise of China’s economic debate
Stephen S Roach - A few years ago, I had a hunch that China’s long-standing culture of spirited debate over economic policy would disappear. And now that has come to pass. That is the message sent by the sad demise of the China Development Forum (CDF), a gathering that I had the privilege of attending since its inc ...
Weave Living to open 99-key serviced apartment in Novena on April 15
Jovi Ho - Hong Kong-headquartered rental accommodation operator Weave Living will open Weave Suites – Novena on April 15, marking its fourth property in Singapore and the third under the Weave Suites brand. Located at 12 Shan Road, the newly revamped property brings the company’s total Singapore portfolio ...
Value Unlock: A good start. But is it enough?
Lee Ooi Keong - Approximately 120 Singapore-listed companies have engaged with the Value Unlock programme since applications opened on Jan 16 this year. The programme, a $30 million package designed to help listed companies strengthen investor engagement and sharpen their focus on shareholder value creation, repres ...
Frasers Hospitality to open 18 new serviced and hotel residences across Asia by 2028
Jovi Ho - Frasers Hospitality plans to open 18 new serviced and hotel residences across Asia by 2028, reinforcing its focus on serviced living in the region. The expansion pipeline is anchored by a new Fraser Suites flagship in Bangkok, set to open in 2H2026, says the business unit of Frasers Property in an A ...
How much AI-driven productivity growth do we want?
Michael R Strain - Since OpenAI’s ChatGPT burst onto the scene in late 2022, economists and commentators have been discussing generative AI’s possible effects on productivity. But from a cultural and political perspective, it is useful to ask a normative question: How much productivity growth should society desire ...
Gold falls as Trump gives no clarity on ending Iran war
It has dropped 11 per cent in March, its worst monthly loss since 2008
Much ado about nothing? Understanding Singapore’s high gross public debt
Tee Koon Hui - Singapore’s gross public debt stands at around 170% of GDP — among the highest of advanced economies. Among the OECD countries, only Japan’s debt is higher at around 220%, while Singapore’s debt exceeds that of Greece, Italy and the US. Yet this striking headline figure has not triggered fin ...
The Taco trade in a Trumpian storm
Goola Warden - The Iran War has disrupted global energy markets, prompting some countries to accelerate investment in renewables. Europe, China, and the US are all diversifying their energy sources to include more low-carbon options. Although President Donald Trump (referred to as ‘Taco’ for ‘Trump Always Ch ...
Health & wealth: Thakral Corporation develops Gurugram
Samantha Chiew - Thakral Corporation is betting on a healthcare-led project to unlock long-term value from a 21-acre site in northern India Thakral Corporation is moving to build up and unlock value in a 21-acre site in Gurugram, India, as it shifts the project from land banking to execution. Located just southwest ...
The global economy’s many chokepoints
Michael Spence - Iran’s effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, through which about a fifth of the world’s oil and a quarter of its fertiliser passes, has highlighted a well-known vulnerability of our complex networked global economy: a single point of failure can create massive and costly disruptions. Yet su ...
Unearthing mining companies of value
Thiveyen Kathirrasan - Investing in commodities can be challenging, as they vary significantly in nature. This difference refers to what drives the demand and supply of the specific commodity, which causes varying levels of volatility in its price. In this issue, mining companies will be discussed, and the purpose of this ...
Malaysia Aviation Group reports higher profits in 2025
KUALA LUMPUR, April 2 : Malaysia Aviation Group, the operator of national carrier Malaysia Airlines, said on Thursday that its 2025 profits increased compared to the previous year amid sustained travel demand and better network optimisation. MAG, owned by Malaysian sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nas ...
China: the 21st century’s gravity well
Tan Kong Yam - Partial market liberalisation was a key success of China’s Deng Xiaoping era, which preserved party control even as the Soviet system collapsed under technological stagnation. This served as the crucial catalyst for a structural reversal of the Industrial Revolution’s “Great Divergence”. Thi ...
Workplace trends under the economic slowdown in 2026
Paul Saville-King - Design and productivity at the workplace have always worked hand in hand, and in 2026, this connection has become more prominent. Despite economic stagnation driven by global geopolitical developments, companies are willing to invest in creating workplaces that foster ideas and innovation while ensu ...
How to position for China’s next economic expansion
Wenli Zheng - Global markets have turned more jittery recently, though the drivers of volatility vary across asset classes. In China, selling in several large-cap technology stocks has unsettled sentiment. Yet, in our view, short-term swings do not alter the medium- to long-term investment case. China appears to ...
