SINGAPORE (BLOOMBERG) – Hin Leong Trading, under judicial managers from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), has made an application to freeze assets, shares and funds held by its founder Lim Oon Kuin and his two children as efforts to recoup US$3.5 billion (S$4.6 billion) of debt from the collapsed oil trader continue. PwC is seeking to block the […]

TOKYO (BLOOMBERG) – SoftBank Group Corp plans to sell its first bond in more than a year, joining a rush by companies globally to tap credit markets while borrowing costs are low. The Japanese technology conglomerate is preparing to sell about 100 billion yen (S$1.28 billion) of hybrid bonds, according to co-lead underwriter Nomura Holdings. It […]

TOKYO (REUTERS) – Asian stocks were mixed on Wednesday (Jan 6) as investors anxiously awaited results of the United States run-off elections that would determine the legislative balance of power in the world’s largest economy, while oil prices rose on news of planned output cuts. Adding to broader uncertainty in markets was the latest twist […]

HONG KONG (BLOOMBERG) – The bigamy conviction got a lot of the attention but Lai Xiaomin received a death sentence on Tuesday (Jan 5) over a much more serious issue troubling China. Lai was chairman of China Huarong Asset Management from 2012 until he ran into trouble in 2018. He was found guilty of receiving […]

When Mr Anand Kumar was a lieutenant in the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF), one of his duties included overseeing Operationally Ready National Servicemen (NSmen) returning for their In-Camp Training (ICT).  “Some of them shared with me what their companies were doing to support them when they had to go for ICT, and that […]

In Singapore, 10 households are trialling an activity-tracking smart home device that could let people know what their elderly parents or family members with health problems are doing, giving them more peace of mind. When the device is installed in a home’s electrical distribution board, it tracks electricity use and identifies activities, such as people […]

The Covid-19 pandemic has hit the global economy hard. With job losses on the rise and pay cuts a reality for many, families have had to tighten their belts. Mr Alfred Chia, the chief executive of financial advisory firm SingCapital, and president of the Financial Planning Association of Singapore, tells The Straits Times’ Invest editor […]

Remember how people rushed to supermarkets island-wide to stock up on food when Singapore entered the state of Dorscon Orange and, subsequently, the circuit breaker?  Such incidences of panic food buying in Singapore, and also around the world, are an indicator of what is known as “low household food resilience”, says Dr Johannah Soo, a Food […]

SINGAPORE – Stores and eateries in Orchard Road are among places visited by Covid-19 patients while they were still infectious, said the Ministry of Health on Tuesday (Jan 5). On Dec 26, infected people visited Zara at 313@Somerset between 1.50pm and 2.30pm, and Mayoral at Paragon between 6.06pm and 6.40pm. The Orchard Road eateries added to the list were Prive […]

HONG KONG (BLOOMBERG) – The future of Ant Group remains up in the air after its dramatic fall from grace. Regulators seem to have stopped short of dismantling it and the company is considering a transition to a financial holding company, willing to be regulated like a bank. It’ll be tough. What could Ant ultimately […]

SINGAPORE (BLOOMBERG) – Indonesia’s ride-hailing and payments giant Gojek is in advanced discussions about merging with local e-commerce pioneer PT Tokopedia, ahead of a planned initial public offering of the combined entity, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The country’s two most valuable start-ups have signed a detailed term sheet to conduct due […]

TOKYO (REUTERS) – Asian shares edged lower on Tuesday (Jan 5) amid uncertainty about Senate runoffs in Georgia, which could have a big impact on incoming US President Joe Biden’s economic policies. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 0.12 per cent, pulling back from a record high hit in the previous session. […]

NEW YORK (BLOOMBERG) – Bitcoin fizzled in trading on Monday (Jan 4) as the famously volatile cryptocurrency pulled back after a spectacular new-year rally. Prices fell as much as 17 per cent in the biggest drop since March before recovering. The losses are small in the context of Bitcoin’s broader rally, with a 50 per […]

NEW YORK (BLOOMBERG) – For more than two decades Chinese companies have turned to the US stock market for capital and international prestige, raising at least US$144 billion (S$190 billion) from some of the world’s largest investors. Now this pillar of China’s integration with the global financial system is increasingly under threat. The latest blow […]

SINGAPORE – Investigating the offence of a person being naked at home cannot be compared to enforcing against smoking near windows and at balconies of homes, said Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu on Monday (Jan 4). “One can smell smoke even without having sight of the smoker, or the ability to pin-point […]

SINGAPORE – People who choose not to get the Covid-19 vaccine will not need to have a change of duties at their workplaces, unless there is a resurgence in the number of local cases, said Health Minister Gan Kim Yong on Monday (Jan 4). He was responding to Mr Yip Hon Weng (Yio Chu Kang), […]

SINGAPORE – Safety must be ensured for people receiving the Covid-19 vaccine, and that will include having a proper queuing and registration system, and ensuring their data is captured accurately. All of these will have a bearing on how quickly vaccinations can be rolled out, Parliament heard on Monday (Jan 4). “So it is quite […]

BEIJING (REUTERS) – Activity in China’s factory sector rose in December as the world’s second-largest economy sustained its recovery to pre-pandemic levels, a business survey showed on Monday (Jan 4), but increasing cost pressures slowed the pace of expansion. The Caixin/Markit Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) fell to 53.0 from November’s 54.9, with the gauge […]

SINGAPORE (THE BUSINESS TIMES) – Real estate management services group LHN is planning to launch a mixed-use development at 1557 Keppel Road by mid-February 2021. The integrated space, which is located at the fringe of the central business district, will be used for commercial and residential purposes. It consists of three blocks spanning over 96,299.05 […]

SINGAPORE (THE BUSINESS TIMES) – A third director of City Developments Limited (CDL) has stepped down in recent months in relation to its investment in China-based real estate developer Sincere Property Group. In a Singapore Exchange filing on Monday (Jan 4), CDL noted that independent non-executive director Tan Yee Peng “disagreed with the board and […]