South-east Asia stays hot on investors’ radars; manufacturing, real estate among biggest draws
Crystal Heng - The prospects are also promising for the infrastructure and tourism sectors in 2025
Dollar gains on yen on bets of US growth, inflation
NEW YORK :The U.S. dollar hit a five-month high against the Japanese yen on Thursday on expectations the greenback would be boosted next year by policies by the incoming Donald Trump administration that are expected to boost growth and lift inflation.Trading volumes were light on Thursday with many ...
Dollar edges up on bets of US growth, inflation
NEW YORK : The U.S. dollar edged higher on Thursday on expectations the currency would be boosted next year by policies by the incoming Donald Trump administration that are expected to boost growth and lift inflation.Trading volumes were light on Thursday with many traders on holiday after Wednesday ...
US: Wall Street dips at open in holiday-thinned trading
Wall Street’s main indexes opened lower on Thursday (Dec 26) in light trading volumes after the Christmas holiday, as investors took stock...
Yangzijiang Financial Holding resumes share buybacks after one-month break
The Edge Singapore - Yangzijiang Financial Holding has resumed share buybacks after a one-month hiatus. On Dec 26, the investment firm, which was spun off Yangzijiang Shipbuilding Holdings f SO7 or its own separate listing, paid $3.03 million to buy 7.57 million shares, equivalent to 40 cents each. This brings its total ...
Most Asian forex trend lower in holiday-thinned trade
Most emerging Asian currencies weakened against a resilient dollar on Thursday (Dec 26) as investors focussed on the Federal Reserve’s rate outlook.
Geo Energy's US$150 mil project secures insurance backing from Sinosure
Samantha Chiew - Geo Energy Resources announced that its Integrated Infrastructure, comprising an approximately 92km hauling road and an associated jetty at the South Sumatera and Jambi Province, Indonesia, has secured approval from China Export & Credit Insurance Corporation (Sinosure) to provide full insuran ...
Singapore's prospects in turbulent times
Manu Bhaskaran - How the city-state can continue to prosper as peace, free trade and continued globalisation come under threat Andy Grove, the long-serving CEO of Intel, wrote that only the paranoid will survive. Given our times, his advice is probably a helpful starting point as we think about Singapore in the comi ...
Stronger construction sector to support slowing 2025 GDP
The Edge Singapore - When OKH Global announced it wanted to acquire the construction business of privately held Acrophyte (formerly known as Chip Eng Seng Corp) from its own controlling shareholders, it disclosed that the target’s construction order book as at June 30 was “in excess of $2 billion — a big jump from ...
Plans by Singapore banks to broaden product providers, offerings under SRS framework shelved
Renald Yeo - Competition watchdog ends review of proposed framework after DBS, OCBC and UOB withdraw joint application
Singapore’s private home market closes 2024 on a high; will late-year burst fizzle out?
Ry-Anne Lim - Sentiment looks to be improving, but this momentum may not sustain into the new year, say analysts
With its teleconsultation platform intact, revoking MaNaDr’s licence could have little impact
Renald Yeo - Telemedicine revenue accounts for about US$12.8 million or 90.4% of its parent company’s total sales
New restaurants opening in 2025, led by RWS’ mod-Spanish Sugarra with ex-Basque Kitchen chef
Jaime Ee - Notable entrants include those from the integrated resort’s aggressive F&B expansion; another Spanish outfit and a modern Chinese restaurant set to open...
Temasek appoints two new board directors
Samantha Chiew - Temasek Holdings has announced two new appointments to its board of directors. Jim Hagemann Snabe and Ong Pang Thye will join Temasek’s board with effect from Jan 1, 2025. Both are senior business leaders with extensive industry experience and track record from the private sector, says the invest ...
Fatigue, anxiety behind shifting jargon in sustainable investing
Jovi Ho - The tide is turning on sustainable investing, and Donald Trump’s second term as US president will only hasten that sea change. Already, the sector has taken on new names to escape scrutiny. Famously, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink said in June 2023 that he had stopped using the word “ESG” (environme ...
OTS Holdings disposes 50% equity interest in JV Co for $0.5 mil
Samantha Chiew - Food manufacturer OTS Holdings OTS announced that it has entered into a sale and purchase of shares and assignment of loan agreement with Valencier International to dispose of the company’s entire 50% equity interest in its joint venture company (JV Co) Delta Bridge for $500,000. The JV Co is ...
Singapore EV market getting crowded as government pushes sustainability agenda
Samantha Chiew - The automotive industry is shifting towards electric vehicles (EVs) after the Singapore government announced that all vehicles must run on cleaner energy by 2040. This will phase out internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles, which is a pivotal step towards achieving the country’s net-zero target. ...
Singapore’s integrated resorts get bigger and better to drive tourist arrivals
Samantha Chiew - By most measures, 2024 was a good year for Singapore’s tourism industry. Visa-free travel arrangement with China helped drive up numbers. Taylor Swift’s sellout concerts were a draw too. However, this high base makes it tough for the industry to repeat similar growth this coming 2025, says DBS G ...
Alibaba, E-Mart to create US$4 billion e-commerce JV in South Korea
AliExpress International and Gmarket are creating a 50-50 joint venture
Deloitte proposes allowing multinationals to pay taxes in interest-free instalments in Budget 2025 wish list
Tessa Oh - This will help businesses adapt to the upcoming minimum tax framework under BEPS 2.0, notes professional services firm
Deloitte calls for interest-free tax instalments for multinationals in Budget 2025 wish list
Tessa Oh - This will help businesses adapt to the upcoming minimum tax framework under BEPS 2.0, notes professional services firm
Investment philosophy of Tong’s Portfolio: Part 4 — Malaysian and global Absolute Returns portfolios outperform again
Tong Kooi Ong & Asia Analytica - We have spent the last three weeks discussing our approach or method in investing and how we have applied those principles to our stock selec tions. For readers who missed those articles, here is a brief recap. We will end this article with a review of the performance of the Malaysian Portfolio and ...
World Bank raises China's GDP forecast for 2024, 2025
The World Bank raised on Thursday (Dec 26) its forecast for China's economic growth in 2024 and 2025, but warned that subdued household and business confidence, along with headwinds in the property sector, would keep weighing it down next year. The world's second-biggest economy has strugg ...
South Korea's Shinsegae to set up joint venture with Alibaba International
SEOUL : South Korean retailer Shinsegae Group plans to set up a joint venture with Alibaba International, Shinsegae affiliate E-Mart said on Thursday.The joint venture will be formed partly by Shinsegae investing its 100 per cent stake in South Korean e-commerce platform Gmarket, it said in a regula ...
Bank of Thailand sees inflation in 1% to 3% range through 2026
Bloomberg - Bank of Thailand (BOT) expects inflation to stay within the 1% to 3% target range in the next two years, Governor Sethaput Suthiwartnarueput said, describing the band as appropriate and supportive of the nation’s growth potential. The central bank chief said the inflation target, which has been ke ...
Signify ordered by court to recall products infringing on patents, Seoul Semiconductor says
SEOUL : Signify, the world's biggest lighting maker, has been ordered by a German court to recall and destroy some of its products sold since 2017 that are seen infringing on patents of Seoul Semiconductor, the South Korean firm said on Thursday. The court in Düsseldorf, Germany, also ruled th ...
Court orders recall of Signify lighting products over patents, Seoul Semiconductor says
SEOUL :A German court has ordered the recall and destruction of some products from lighting maker Signify that infringed on the patents of Seoul Semiconductor, the South Korean firm said on Thursday. The court in Dusseldorf ordered distributor Conrad Electronic to take the actions and said there wou ...
Singapore Institute of Advanced Medicine says ‘no assurance’ it can turn profitable
Tan Weizhen - SGX RegCo had earlier asked for the company to give further clarity on its annual report for the financial year ended Jun...
Singapore Institute of Advanced Medicine says ‘no assurance’ it can turn profitable or sustain it
Tan Weizhen - SGX RegCo had earlier asked for the company to give further clarity on its annual report for the financial year ended Jun...
Japan's Nippon Steel revises closing date for US Steel acquisition
TOKYO : Japan's Nippon Steel said on Thursday it revised the closing date for its purchase of U.S. Steel, expressing confidence that the acquisition will protect and grow the American company.The estimated closing date was revised to the first quarter of 2025 from the third or fourth quarter of ...
Deloitte’s Budget 2025 wishlist: Fine-tune specific tax policies, expand R&D incentives
Khairani Afifi Noordin - Deloitte Singapore’s Budget 2025 key recommendations focus on enhancing business resilience, adapting to global tax reforms, advancing research and development (R&D) and promoting sustainability. As Singapore prepares to commemorate its 60 years of independence, Budget 2025 is a significant ...
S'pore-headquartered SP Manufacturing expands into Johor with new facility and acquisition of Ideal Jacobs Corporation
Nicole Lim - SP Manufacturing, an Electronic Manufacturing Services (EMS) company founded and headquartered in Singapore has announced its expansion into Senai, Johor. The firm opened a new manufacturing facility in October, and acquired Ideal Jacobs Corporation. Its Senai manufacturing facility is equipped ...
2024 review: News that made global headlines
Chong Xin Wei - POLITICAL drama, historic interest rate adjustments and crypto peaks. Major events in 2024 have caused some upheavals in certain corners of global...
2024 review: News events around the world that made headlines
Chong Xin Wei - POLITICAL drama, historic interest rate adjustments and crypto peaks. Major events in 2024 have caused some upheavals in certain corners of global...