UOB Appoints New CEOs for China and Hong Kong Branch
United Overseas Bank (UOB) announced senior leadership reshuffles in its Greater China franchise. Effective July 1, Adaline Zheng will move from CEO of the Hong Kong branch to lead UOB China, succeeding retiring veteran Peter Foo. George Tung, the bank’s country manager in South Korea, will replace Zheng as CEO of the Hong Kong branch. The appointments are framed as a push to deepen China‑ASEAN connectivity and expand cross‑border banking services.
STI Drops as Much as 1.7% as Asia Markets Hit by Tech Sell-Off
Asian equity markets slumped on Monday as a rotation out of technology stocks sparked a broad sell‑off. Singapore’s Straits Times Index fell up to 1.7%, touching 4,966.54 points, with semiconductor‑related stocks such as UMS Integration, CSE Global and AEM leading...
Airlines See Gains Wearing Off From Persian Gulf Rivals’ Absence
European airlines have temporarily captured Gulf‑region traffic after the Iran war forced Emirates, Qatar Airways and Etihad to ground many aircraft. IAG, Lufthansa and Air France‑KLM shifted long‑haul capacity to Asia and Africa, boosting bookings. Executives at IATA’s Rio meeting...
Industrial S-Reits Maintain Operational Resilience While Undertaking Portfolio Rejuvenation
Singapore industrial S‑Reits posted resilient Q1 2026 results, with occupancy hovering around 90‑97% and rental reversions ranging from 9.2% to 10.6%. Managers are actively rejuvenating portfolios through sizable acquisitions—Clar added S$1.6 billion ($1.2 bn) of assets, including a S$620.7 million ($459 m) Japan data centre—and...
Big Questions Loom as China’s Memory Chipmakers Prepare Blockbuster IPOs
China’s leading DRAM maker CXMT and NAND flash producer YMTC are set to list on Shanghai’s Star Market, seeking about 29.5 billion yuan ($4.1 bn) in proceeds. The IPOs arrive as AI‑driven demand has sparked a global memory‑chip shortage, lifting CXMT’s Q1 2026...
Indonesian Officials Vow Again to Steady Rupiah, Draw Funds
Indonesia’s finance ministry and Bank Indonesia pledged tighter coordination to stabilise the rupiah and lure capital after the currency slipped 8% and the stock index plunged 39% in five months, making it the world’s worst performer. Governor Perry Warjiyo announced...
AllianzGI in Exclusive Talks to Buy UOB Asset Management: Sources
Allianz Global Investors is in exclusive talks to acquire UOB Asset Management for up to S$600 million (approximately $444 million). The Singapore bank’s unit manages about S$41 billion ($30 billion) in assets across Southeast Asia. Rival bidders such as Amundi, KKR and Temasek’s Seviora...
Japan Warns of ‘Decisive Action’ to Defend Yen as FX Reserves Tumble
Japan’s finance minister warned of "decisive action" as the yen hovered around the critical 160‑per‑dollar line, a threshold that historically triggers official intervention. The warning follows a record‑size yen‑buying operation that shaved $77.1 billion, or 5.6%, off Japan’s foreign‑exchange reserves, bringing...
From CTO to CEO: Anext Bank Taps Financing AI Hardware to Grow SME Lending
Anext Bank, the Singapore‑based digital wholesale lender owned by Ant International, has doubled down on AI‑driven financing under CEO Qiu Kai, a former CTO. The bank is pioneering GPU financing, allowing firms to pledge AI hardware as collateral, while its...
China Speeds Past Japan in Australian Car Imports on EV Bonanza
China overtook Japan as Australia’s top car supplier, with 36,000 Chinese passenger vehicles arriving in April, driven largely by electric and hybrid models. BYD’s aggressive push, including the use of its own carrier to ship 5,000 EVs, helped it become...
Qantas Weighs Order for 20 Boeing or Airbus Wide-Body Jets, Sources Say
Qantas is in confidential talks with Airbus and Boeing about a potential order for roughly 20 additional wide‑body jets, adding to its ongoing 200‑aircraft fleet renewal program. The carrier already has firm orders for 12 Boeing 787s and 24 Airbus...
Record Singapore-US Rate Gap May Widen Further on Inflows and Hawkish Fed Outlook
The two‑year Singapore dollar swap is now 246 basis points below its U.S. counterpart, the widest gap recorded since 2020. Strong economic growth and safe‑haven inflows have kept Singapore’s liquidity ample, pushing its overnight rate to a nine‑month low and...
Marco Polo Marine Shares Plans to Unlock Value as Boutique Fund Manager Becomes Substantial Shareholder
Marco Polo Marine announced a S$139 million reverse takeover of Fuji Offset to spin off its shipyard business, a move that sparked a record‑high trading volume of 160 million shares. The company posted a 169% profit surge to S$58.5 million (≈$43 million) for FY2025...
IEA Sees Possibility of Critically Low Oil Stockpiles Ahead of Peak Summer Demand
The International Energy Agency warned that global oil inventories could reach historically low levels just before the peak summer demand period. About half of the 400‑million‑barrel emergency release pledged in March has yet to be delivered, leaving the market vulnerable....
UBS Offers Its First AT1 Since Swiss Authorities Paused Reforms
UBS is launching a dollar‑denominated AT1 offering of at least $500 million, its first since Swiss regulators paused a planned tightening of AT1 rules. The perpetual bonds will be first callable in late 2032 and carry a coupon of 7.25‑7.375%, slightly...
SK Hynix Plans to Double Capacity to Ease Memory Chip Crunch
SK Hynix announced a plan to double its memory‑chip wafer capacity over the next five years, aiming to alleviate a global AI‑driven shortage that could persist until 2030. The company will lift 2026 capital spending to roughly $23 billion, up sharply...
Euro’s Global Role Is up Slightly, but Still Distant From the US Dollar
The European Central Bank reported that the euro’s global share rose to about 20 percent in 2025, still far behind the US dollar’s dominance. Euro‑denominated debt issuance hit a record high and the currency led the market for green and sustainable...
Thomson Medical Group Names Cassandra Loh as Acting CEO for Its Singapore Operations
Thomson Medical Group announced that Cassandra Loh, currently chief commercial officer, will assume the role of acting CEO of its Singapore operations on 1 July 2026, succeeding Lee Suen Ming, who will step down on 31 August. Loh will retain her CCO responsibilities, creating tighter alignment...
US Dollar in Holding Pattern as Markets Await Progress on Middle East Peace Talks
The U.S. dollar held near a 99.05 index level on June 1 as markets waited for progress in Middle East peace talks and upcoming U.S. jobs data. A potential reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, which could lower oil prices, is...
BYD Sales Rise for First Time in 9 Months on Overseas Demand
BYD reported a modest 0.3% year‑over‑year increase in May deliveries, moving 383,453 vehicles and marking its first sales rise in nine months. Overseas demand drove the growth, with 160,644 units sold outside China. The automaker is targeting 1.3 million export deliveries...
SoftBank Group Overtakes Toyota as Japan’s Most Valuable Company
SoftBank Group’s market capitalisation surged past Toyota’s, making it Japan’s most valuable firm for the first time in over two decades. The technology conglomerate’s shares jumped 14% on the day, lifting its valuation to roughly ¥48 trillion (about $380 billion), while Toyota...
From Oil to Coffee Beans: Traders in Singapore Find Ways to Deal with Middle East Disruptions
Vitol, the world’s largest independent energy trader, reported roughly US$2 billion in Q1 profit despite early losses of billions of dollars caused by the Feb 28 Middle East conflict. The disruption to Gulf oil, product and LNG supplies forced traders to replace...
Yum Is in Exclusive Talks to Sell Pizza Hut to LongRange
Yum! Brands has entered exclusive talks to sell its Pizza Hut chain to private‑equity firm LongRange Capital, outpacing rival bidder Sycamore Partners. Pizza Hut’s contribution to Yum’s revenue has fallen to roughly 12% in 2025, with annual sales just above $1 billion, while...
Fed’s Bowman Says Too Soon to Judge Inflation Impact of Iran War
Federal Reserve Vice Chair Michelle Bowman warned that it is too early to assess the inflationary fallout from the U.S. war in Iran, urging policymakers to look through temporary energy‑price spikes. She backed the Fed’s decision to keep rate‑cut language...
Concord New Energy to Sell S$158.2 Million in Assets to Industrial Bank Financial Leasing
Concord New Energy (CNE) has signed a 840 million‑yuan (≈US$118 million) sale‑and‑leaseback with Industrial Bank Financial Leasing, selling equipment from its Fengning subsidiary and leasing it back for 14 years. The lease will generate about 1.04 billion yuan (≈US$146 million) in payments, and the deal...
Fed’s Schmid Says Officials Must Signal Commitment to Inflation
Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City President Jeff Schmid warned that inflation has stayed above the Fed’s 2 percent target for more than five years and urged officials to visibly commit to price stability. He highlighted that the renewed US‑Israeli conflict...
Singapore Stocks End Higher Amid Mixed Regional Showing; STI up 1%
Singapore's benchmark Straits Times Index jumped 1% (48.67 points) to close at 5,037.86, buoyed by a 5.9% rise in Wilmar International. A total of 390 gainers versus 204 losers traded 2.1 bn securities worth S$4.5 bn (≈$3.3 bn). Local banks split, with DBS...
Bank of England’s Bailey Says Allowing Inflation to Run Above Target Is Appropriate
Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey said the central bank will tolerate inflation running above its 2 percent target because of uncertainty from the Iran war and weak growth. He cautioned that this tolerance could tighten if second‑round price pressures emerge....
ST Engineering Names Its Group COO and Commercial Aerospace President as Group Deputy CEO
ST Engineering announced that Jeffrey Lam, its current COO and President of Commercial Aerospace, will become Group Deputy CEO on 1 June 2026, stepping down from his existing roles. The deputy‑CEO post has been empty since 2017, highlighting a renewed emphasis on group‑wide...
Chinese Dronemaker DJI Defends Security of Products
Chinese drone maker DJI told U.S. lawmakers that an independent security review found no evidence its drones transmit data outside the United States. The company used the findings to urge Congress to lift the Federal Communications Commission’s ban on its...
Koh Brothers Eco Engineering Proposes Transfer to SGX Mainboard
Koh Brothers Eco Engineering, a Catalist‑listed engineering solutions provider, filed a bourse application to transfer to the SGX mainboard. The move is intended to improve liquidity, visibility and access to institutional investors. The parent group holds a 54.8% stake and...
Bigger Is Better: Bank of Singapore Doubles Down on the Ultra-Wealthy – and the Bankers Chasing Them
Bank of Singapore (BOS) is sharpening its focus on ultra‑high‑net‑worth (UHNW) clients, aiming to boost the share of assets under management from this segment by 30% by 2028. The private bank has already surpassed its 2025 target of 500 relationship...
BlackRock ‘Sees Merit’ in More Large-Scale Mining M&A
BlackRock’s portfolio manager Olivia Markham said the firm supports further consolidation among large miners, arguing that bigger, liquid companies attract generalist investors and can fund complex projects. Recent talks between Glencore and Rio Tinto on a potential $240 billion merger fell...
Samsung’s Non-Chip Union Seeks Court Order to Block Vote on 40-Trillion Won Bonus Deal
Samsung Electronics’ smallest union, representing the Digital Experience (DX) division, filed a court injunction to block a vote on a proposed 40 trillion‑won (≈US$34 billion) bonus package for semiconductor workers. The tentative deal would give chip employees an average bonus of about...
Who’s Powering Next-Gen Nuclear Energy: AI Boom Drives Hybrid Financing Wave
Oklo’s SPAC debut in May 2024 valued the startup at $850 million; after securing NRC approval for its Aurora reactor, the company’s market cap surged to $13.9 billion. The rise of AI‑intensive data centres has drawn tech giants—Microsoft, Google and Amazon—into advanced nuclear...
MUFG Explores Options for Stake in Indonesia’s Danamon Including Take-Private Deal: Sources
MUFG is evaluating options for its 92.5% stake in Indonesia's Bank Danamon, including a take‑private or a partial sale to boost the public float required by new regulations. Danamon is valued at roughly 47 trillion rupiah (about $3.1 bn) and holds assets...
Property Group Lee Kim Tah Reaches Settlement with Ex-Director in Ongoing Misconduct Probe
Singapore property group Lee Kim Tah (LKT) settled its lawsuit with former director Edmund Cheah, securing his cooperation in ongoing investigations into the LKT‑Woh Hup joint venture and its subsidiary L&W Construction. The dispute stemmed from allegations that L&W’s former managing director accepted...
Firms Must Help Staff Plan as AI Job Cuts Become Inevitable, Top Australia Banker Says
Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) CEO Matt Comyn warned that artificial intelligence will inevitably cut jobs across the economy and urged firms to help employees plan for the transition. CBA, which employs over 50,000 staff, is rolling out AI‑driven services...
Indonesia Eyes Commodity Export Policy Detail Rollout in Coming Weeks
Indonesia is preparing to launch Danantara Sumberdaya Indonesia, a centralized agency that will take over export management of key commodities such as palm oil, thermal coal and certain nickel products. The government estimates the country loses up to $150 billion annually...
Aspial Lifestyle Raises S$84.8 Million at S$0.402 Apiece
Aspial Lifestyle completed a private placement of about 149.3 million new shares at S$0.402 each, raising roughly S$84.8 million ($62.8 million). The offering was more than twice covered and drew institutional investors such as Eastspring, JP Morgan Asset Management and Lion Global. An additional...
Nissan Unit Scraps Plan to Make EV Powertrains in UK: Nikkei
Nissan subsidiary Jatco has cancelled its £48.7 million (≈$62 million) Sunderland project that was slated to produce up to 340,000 electric‑vehicle powertrains a year. The move follows Nissan’s broader decision to cut its global assembly footprint from 17 plants to 10 after...
Uber Explores Delivery Hero Takeover to Fight DoorDash Globally: Sources
Uber is weighing a full takeover of Germany‑based Delivery Hero after raising its stake to 19.5% and securing 5.6% of options. The move, facilitated by Morgan Stanley’s derivative‑based buying, aims to give Uber a stronger foothold in more than 60 markets where...
Fed’s Waller Says Next Move as Likely to Be Rate Hike as Cut
Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller told a Frankfurt audience that the Fed’s next policy move is now as likely to be a rate hike as a cut. He cited the ongoing oil price shock from the Iran war and stubborn...
Wall St Rises at Open, Dow Hits Record High
Wall Street opened higher on Friday, May 22, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbing 149 points to 50,434.65, setting an intraday record. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq also posted modest gains, up 0.31% and 0.34% respectively. Market optimism was...
Philippine Central Bank Governor Says It Is Considering Off-Cycle Rate Hike
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) signaled it may raise rates before its June 18 policy meeting, after an April 25‑basis‑point hike to 4.50% proved insufficient amid a persistent supply shock. Governor Eli Remolona cited spiralling fuel costs and a weakening peso...
In 3 GIFs: How the Iran War Has Changed Tanker Traffic Through Hormuz, Malacca Straits
The Iran‑driven war forced the Strait of Hormuz to close on Feb 28, slashing daily tanker crossings from roughly 46 to fewer than two. Only three Chinese VLCCs, including the Yuan Hua Hu, have managed to transit the narrow waterway since the shutdown....
Bank CEOs’ AI Obsession Collides with Warning From Watchdogs
Bank CEOs across Europe and the U.S. are touting AI as a lever to slash middle‑ and back‑office staff, with Standard Chartered targeting more than a 15% reduction by 2030 and HSBC eyeing roughly 20,000 cuts. Regulators, led by the...
MAS Revokes Bsquared Crypto Permit over ‘Serious Breaches’
Singapore’s Monetary Authority (MAS) revoked Bsquared Technology’s major payment institution licence on May 14, citing “serious breaches” of regulatory rules. The regulator highlighted false or misleading statements, weak risk‑management, conflict‑of‑interest lapses, and non‑compliance with outsourcing guidelines. Bsquared, a crypto‑liquidity provider, must...
Chatbots Struggle with News Accuracy and Sourcing Ahead of US Midterms
A Forum AI study tested ChatGPT, Google Gemini, Anthropic Claude and xAI Grok with over 3,100 questions on elections, health and foreign affairs, finding that 90% of election‑related answers suffered from inaccuracy, bias or poor sourcing. Grok produced factual errors...
Grab to Consolidate Indonesia’s Superbank Into Financial Services Segment; Singtel Transfers Stake to GXS Bank
Grab announced it will consolidate Indonesia’s digital bank Superbank into its financial services segment after Singtel transferred its stake to GXS Bank, raising Grab’s ownership to over 50 percent. The move makes Superbank, a $1.6 billion market‑cap lender that posted its first...