Lion City Life

HONG KONG (BLOOMBERG) – When she ran a company that sold American clothing labels in China, textile heiress Veronica Chou was a globe-trotting executive who made headlines for her socialite lifestyle and lavish 2012 wedding in Hong Kong. Now, she’s trying to clean up the fashion industry. A member of the US$2.7 billion (S$3.7 billion) […]

NEW YORK (BLOOMBERG) – PayPal Holdings is exploring acquisitions of cryptocurrency companies including Bitcoin custodian BitGo, according to people familiar with the matter, a move that would expand its embrace of digital coins. PayPal has been holding talks with BitGo, a company that helps investors store Bitcoin securely, and could reach a deal within weeks, […]

SINGAPORE (THE BUSINESS TIMES) – Rents of retail space in Singapore’s central region dropped 4.5 per cent from the previous three months in the third quarter of 2020, after declining 3.5 per cent in the previous quarter. However, the latest data released by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) on Friday (Oct 23) also showed that […]

SINGAPORE – Private home prices in Singapore rose 0.8 per cent in the third quarter from the previous three months, defying a Covid-19 recession, according to final data from the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) on Friday (Oct 23). The 0.8 per cent gain in the third quarter of 2020 was unchanged from URA’s flash estimate […]

FRANKFURT (REUTERS) – German sportswear company Adidas is planning to sell its Reebok division, Germany’s manager magazin reported on Thursday (Oct 22), as the group seeks to put an end to its ill-fated investment in the US-focused brand. Adidas chief executive Kasper Rorsted plans to complete the sale by March 2021, the magazine said, without […]

SINGAPORE – Singapore should guard itself against nativist tendencies that can harm its potential to boost economic growth and the prosperity of its people, said Mr S. Iswaran, Minister for Communications and Information and Minister-in-charge of Trade Relations. He said in spite of the coronavirus-induced recession, the Republic should continue to persevere with its strategy […]

LONDON (REUTERS) – Over half the small and medium-sized companies which together provide jobs for two-thirds of European workers fear for their survival in the coming 12 months, according to a survey released by management consultancy McKinsey on Thursday (Oct 22). The survey was conducted in August, before the current acceleration in new coronavirus cases […]

TOKYO (BLOOMBERG) – Ripple Labs has formed a shortlist of countries to move to should the blockchain payment services company leave the US amid a lack of regulatory clarity there, its top executive said. Japan, Singapore, Switzerland, the UK and the United Arab Emirates are potential destinations, chief executive officer Brad Garlinghouse said in an […]

HONG KONG (BLOOMBERG) – Alibaba Group Holding has agreed to subscribe to more than a fifth of Ant Group’s imminent initial public offering, propping up its part-owned fintech giant’s potentially US$35 billion (S$48 billion) debut. Asia’s largest corporation will buy 730 million of about 1.67 billion Shanghai-listed A shares as part of a placement to […]

SINGAPORE (THE BUSINESS TIMES) – Suntec Real Estate Investment Trust (Suntec Reit)’s distribution per unit (DPU) fell 21.9 per cent to 1.848 cents for its third quarter ended Sept 30, from 2.365 cents a year ago. This came as distributable income from operations dropped 12.6 per cent year on year to $52.2 million, from $59.7 […]

HONG KONG (BLOOMBERG) – Macau casino operators are expected to post a combined loss of more than US$800 million (S$1.08 billion) in earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) for the quarter ended Sept 30, according to a Bloomberg survey of analyst estimates. Each of the six operators, which start reporting earnings in the […]

SINGAPORE (THE BUSINESS TIMES) – CDL Hospitality Trusts (CDLHT) is selling its 4.5-star hotel Novotel Brisbane in Australia for A$67.9 million (S$66.4 million) to an independent third-party buyer, ADFA Brisbane, its managers said on Wednesday (Oct 21). The sale price is 6.9 per cent higher than the original purchase price of A$63.5 million on Feb […]

SINGAPORE (THE BUSINESS TIMES) – The trust scheme for the merger of CapitaLand Mall Trust (CMT) and CapitaLand Commercial Trust (CCT, along with an expanded investment mandate, became effective and binding on Wednesday (Oct 21). Accordingly, CCT unitholders will receive payment of the scheme consideration – comprising 25.9 cents in cash and 0.72 new CMT […]

SEATTLE (REUTERS) – Amazon.com on Tuesday (Oct 20) told employees whose work can be done from home that they can do so until June, extending the timeline on a return to office due to the Covid-19 pandemic. “Employees who work in a role that can effectively be done from home are welcome to do so […]

NEW YORK (BLOOMBERG) – Shares of Snapchat parent Snap surged more than 20 per cent after the social-media company reported quarterly revenue and user growth that topped estimates, lifted by advertisers’ stepped-up spending and consumers’ increased use of their phones for messaging and entertainment during the pandemic. The company, which makes the popular Snapchat mobile […]

SINGAPORE (THE BUSINESS TIMES) – Mapletree Logistics Trust (MLT) announced on Monday (Oct 19) that it is seeking to acquire nine logistics properties in China, Malaysia and Vietnam, and also the remaining 50 per cent interest in 15 properties in China for a total of $1.09 billion. The aggregate agreed property value of the properties […]

TOKYO • Japan’s exports fell last month at the slowest pace in seven months as US-bound vehicle shipments rose from lows brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic, indicating easing pressure on the world’s third-largest economy. Official data yesterday showed exports fell 4.9 per cent in September against the same month a year earlier, more than […]

Around 1,900 jobs have been made available since April in Singapore’s fast-growing electronics industry, which has outperformed other segments of the economy amid the coronavirus-induced recession. The industry as a whole reaped $5.7 billion in fixed assets investment in the first nine months of the year and recorded $376 million in total business expenditure. Just […]

SYDNEY • Crown Resorts’ stock yesterday slumped the most since March after the casino operator said it is being investigated for possible breach of anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing rules. Australia’s financial crimes regulator has started an enforcement probe into compliance at Crown’s flagship Melbourne casino, the company said. Austrac’s concerns arose during an assessment […]

The sale of 6,050 telecommunication towers by Singtel’s Indonesian joint venture company for 10.3 trillion rupiah (S$954 million) will likely support the Singapore telco’s dividends, said DBS Group Research. Jakarta-based Telekomunikasi Selular (Telkomsel), in which Singtel has a 35 per cent stake, is selling the towers to Dayamitra Telekomunikasi (Mitratel), Singtel said last Friday. In […]