RHB Initiates ‘Buy’ on iFast on Rising Asia-Pacific Wealth Management Demand
RHB has initiated a “buy” rating on iFast, setting a target price of S$12.20 (≈$9.00) – a 36.7% upside from the recent close of S$8.94 (≈$6.60). The broker highlights the rapid expansion of Asia‑Pacific wealth management, projected to reach $41.8 trillion by 2031, and iFast’s asset‑light model that can scale assets under administration with minimal cost. RHB forecasts profit‑before‑tax margins rising to 39‑42% by FY2028 and AUA growth at a 22% CAGR, driven by its ePension business and a profitable digital‑banking arm that posted $1.16 billion in digital deposits in FY2025. Risks include earnings dependence on AUA, regulatory changes and foreign‑exchange exposure.
S-Reits Pursuing Growth as Iran War Escalates Risk Poorly Timed Equity Raising Exercises
L‑Reit’s $145 million equity raise to fund a 30% PLQ Mall stake was badly timed, with the offering undersubscribed and the unit price slipping below the S$0.558 ($0.41) offer. Meanwhile, CapitaLand Ascendas Reit (Clar) is pursuing a $1.0 billion asset purchase, raising...
DBS Joins Buzzing India IPO Space with Mandate in US$1 Billion Offering
DBS Group has entered India’s equity capital market by winning its first IPO mandate from Manipal Health Enterprises, a $1 billion offering. The Singapore‑based lender is establishing a full‑service investment‑banking platform under its merchant‑banking licence, with an on‑shore ECM team led...
Oil Prices Gain as Traders Doubt Prospects of Ceasefire in Iran War
Oil prices jumped on March 27 as traders grew skeptical about a cease‑fire in the month‑long Iran conflict. Brent crude rose 4.2% to $112.57 a barrel and WTI gained 5.5% to $99.64. Since the February 27 strikes, Brent is up...
Fullerton Fund Management, 65 Equity Partners to Manage Second Anchor Fund Tranche
Singapore’s Ministry of Trade and Industry and Temasek have appointed Fullerton Fund Management and 65 Equity Partners to manage the second tranche of the Anchor Fund, a S$1.5 billion ($1.1 billion) pool launched to anchor high‑quality listings. Fullerton will serve as a...
SoftBank Secures US$40 Billion Loan to Boost OpenAI Investments
SoftBank Group announced a $40 billion unsecured bridge loan to fund its OpenAI stake and broader corporate needs. The loan, arranged with JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, Mizuho, Sumitomo Mitsui and MUFG, matures in March 2027. This financing follows a prior $30 billion commitment...
Sembcorp Chairman Tow Heng Tan to Retire; Andreas Sohmen-Pao to Succeed Him From Jun 1
Sembcorp Industries announced that chairman Tow Heng Tan will retire on June 1 after a 50‑year corporate career, having served three years as chairman and five on the board. Andreas Sohmen‑Pao, the long‑time head of BW Group, has been named chairman‑designate and...
Jardine Cycle & Carriage Appoints Freddy Lee as CEO From May 1
Jardine Cycle & Carriage announced that Freddy Lee will assume the chief executive officer role on May 1, 2026, succeeding Ben Birks. Lee, currently the group finance director, joins the CEO post after a year in the finance function and a...
China’s Big Banks Post Flat 2025 Profit on Margin Squeeze
China’s four biggest state‑owned banks reported essentially flat earnings for 2025 as record‑low net interest margins and rising loan‑impairment provisions squeezed profitability. ICBC’s net income edged up 0.7% to ¥368.6 billion (≈$51 billion), while the sector’s combined profit rose 2.3% to ¥2.38 trillion...
Singapore Stocks Rebound on Friday, STI up 0.2%
Singapore’s Straits Times Index nudged up 0.2% to 4,898.18 points, driven by modest gains in the three major banks and a 5.7% jump in UOB Kay Hian (S$3.53, about $2.61). The iEdge Singapore Next 50 fell 0.7%, with Yanlord Land losing...
Low Tuck Kwong Sues Peter Kwee for A$9.6 Million over Alleged Material Defects
Indonesian coal billionaire Low Tuck Kwong and Energy Resource Investment sued Peter Kwee and Chan Kok Choon for roughly $6.3 million USD over alleged material defects in Australian golf‑club and hotel assets. The dispute arises from a June 2025 share‑purchase agreement valued...
RHB Downgrades S-Reits to ‘Neutral’ as Middle East Conflict Dims Hope for Rate Cuts
RHB downgraded its call on Singapore REITs to neutral from overweight, citing the Iran‑Israel conflict’s impact on global bond yields and delayed rate‑cut expectations. Analysts now see the U.S. Federal Reserve postponing its first cut until 2027, while European and...
Singapore Ramps up Push to Become Asia-Pacific’s Gold Trading Hub Amid Rising Investor Demand
Singapore is accelerating its bid to become the Asia‑Pacific gold‑trading hub, with the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Singapore Bullion Market Association (SBMA) outlining four strategic focus areas: capital‑market products, vaulting standards, a dedicated clearing system, and vault...
Bank of Korea Flags Financial Stability Risks as Iran War Fallout Persists
The Bank of Korea says South Korea’s financial system stayed broadly stable in March but warns that Middle‑East tensions, uneven growth and persistent housing price gains could spark volatility. Board member Lee Soohyung highlighted the risk of foreign‑exchange swings, capital...
Sert Invests 50 Million Euros in Data Centre Development Fund AiOnX
Stoneweg Europe Stapled Trust (Sert) has committed €50 million (≈ $54 million) to AiOnX’s data‑centre development fund through a mandatory convertible loan. The loan carries a 7.25% cash coupon, equating to roughly €3.6 million ($3.9 million) per year, and is expected to lift AiOnX’s distribution...
Aspex Demands Delivery Hero CEO Exit and Audit over 1.5 Billion Euro Legal Risk
Aspex Management, which owns more than 9% of Delivery Hero, has sent a letter to the supervisory board demanding CEO Niklas Östberg’s exit and the appointment of a special auditor to investigate a €1.5 billion (≈$1.6 billion) legal liability. The fund set an...
Nasa to Spend US$20 Billion on Moon Base, Cancel Orbiting Lunar Station
NASA announced it will cancel the Lunar Gateway orbital station and redirect its resources to build a $20 billion lunar surface base over the next seven years. The decision was made by new NASA chief Jared Isaacman, who said the agency...
Wall St Opens Higher After Trump Postpones Strikes on Iranian Power Plants
Wall Street opened higher on Monday after President Donald Trump announced a postponement of U.S. strikes on Iranian power plants, easing geopolitical tension. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 226.3 points (0.5%) to 45,803.82, the S&P 500 gained 68.5 points (1.05%)...
ST Engineering, Asian Defence Peers Rally as Middle East Conflict Deepens, but War Not Seen as a Spending Catalyst
Asian defence stocks have rallied sharply as the Middle East conflict entered its fourth week, with Singapore’s ST Engineering up 27.6% year‑to‑date and leading the Straits Times Index. Analysts say the surge reflects investor optimism about longer‑term structural drivers—U.S. “America...
DBS Downgrades Singtel to ‘Hold’ on Weaker Valuation of Bharti Airtel
DBS Group Research downgraded Singapore Telecommunications (Singtel) to a “hold” and cut its target price to S$5.36 (about $4) after trimming the valuation of its Indian associate Bharti Airtel by 13% to 2,000 rupees (≈ $24). The analyst warned that Singtel’s FY2027...
Singapore Stocks Fall on Monday; STI Down 2.2%
Singapore's benchmark Straits Times Index fell 2.2% (107.57 points) to 4,841.30 on March 23, 2026. Trading activity reached 2.1 billion securities worth S$2.8 billion (≈ $2.07 billion). Sembcorp Industries was the only blue‑chip gainer, up 2.6% (S$0.16 ≈ $0.12), while Singtel slumped 5.4% (S$0.28 ≈ $0.21) amid service disruptions. Regional...
Singtel Says Network ‘Operating as Expected’ After Latest Internet Service Disruption
Singtel experienced a fresh Internet service disruption on March 23, with over 9,700 user reports logged on Downdetector within a few hours. Roughly half of the complaints involved broadband connections and about a third concerned mobile Internet. The company identified...
Berkshire Hathaway to Invest 287.4 Billion Yen in Tokio Marine
Berkshire Hathaway, via its National Indemnity subsidiary, is investing roughly ¥287.4 billion (about $1.85 billion) for a 2.49 percent stake in Japan’s largest insurer, Tokio Marine Holdings. The deal includes a ten‑year collaboration on reinsurance, joint mergers and acquisitions, and a reciprocal share‑buyback...
Sinopec Posts 36.8% Drop in 2025 Net Profit on Weak Petrochemical Margins, New Energy Substitution
Sinopec reported a 36.8% plunge in 2025 net profit to 31.8 billion yuan, driven by weaker petrochemical margins and accelerating substitution by new‑energy sources. Refinery throughput slipped 0.8% to 250.33 million tonnes, while petrol and diesel output fell 2.4% and 9.1% respectively....
Tencent Integrates WeChat with OpenClaw AI Agent Amid China Tech Battle
Tencent unveiled ClawBot, an integration that embeds the OpenClaw AI agent as a contact within WeChat, China’s messaging platform with over one billion monthly active users. The move lets users issue commands and receive AI‑generated responses directly through the chat interface....
Most Hospitality and Lodging S-Reits Post Higher H2 Revenue, Payouts
Singapore hospitality and lodging S‑Reits delivered solid H2 performance, with four of the five trusts reporting higher revenue and stable or increased distributions. CapitaLand Ascott Trust saw a 4% revenue rise to S$439.1 million and a modest DPS uplift, while Far...
Insider and Institutional Positioning for the Week
During the week of March 13‑19, institutional investors were net buyers of Singapore equities, injecting S$365 million and bringing the first‑quarter cumulative net inflow to S$60 million. The same period saw 21 listed companies execute share buybacks totaling S$86 million, while directors and CEOs...
Iran Crisis: Government Reassurances Should Not Blunt the Need for Singapore to Save Energy
Singapore’s Energy Minister Tan See Leng stressed that despite diversified LNG sources and months‑long stockpiles, the nation must still curb energy use as the Iran conflict underscores long‑term fuel‑supply risks. He warned that rebuilding Qatar’s Ras Laffan plant could take up...
Blackstone Private Credit Fund Has First Monthly Loss Since 2022
Blackstone’s flagship private‑credit vehicle, BCRed, recorded a 0.4% loss in February, marking its first monthly decline since September 2022. The $83 billion fund had delivered flat performance for the first two months of 2026 after an 8% gain in 2025. Blackstone...
China to Allow More Banks to Handle Digital Yuan: Sources
China's central bank will add twelve new banks to the e‑CNY programme, expanding the roster from ten to twenty‑two institutions. The new participants include major joint‑stock banks such as China Everbright and city commercial banks like Bank of Ningbo. The...
Singapore-Based Crypto.com Lays Off 12% of Staff, Third Cut in Four Years
Crypto.com announced a 12% reduction of its global workforce, cutting roughly 180 jobs in a third round of layoffs within four years. The cuts focus on growth and customer‑relationship teams as the firm restructures around new AI‑driven tools and efficiency...
JPMorgan’s First Taiwan ETF in over Decade Faces Crowded Market
JPMorgan Asset Management is launching its first Taiwan‑focused ETF since 2010, entering a market valued at about US$260 billion. The fund will employ an active strategy that combines cash equities with covered‑call options to boost cash distributions. Taiwan’s ETF sector is...
DBS Lifts China Aviation Oil Target Price to S$2.50 on Arbitrage Opportunities
DBS lifted China Aviation Oil's target price to S$2.50 from S$1.75 after the jet‑fuel trader posted FY2025 net profit of US$110.6 million, beating forecasts by 14%. Gross profit per tonne surged 77% to US$4.70, driven by heightened market volatility and backwardated...
Stocks to Watch: Singapore Airlines, Singtel, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding
Singapore Airlines reported a 17.4% YoY jump in Scoot’s passenger traffic for February, contributing to a 3.8% increase in total group traffic to 12.3 billion RPK. Singtel’s shares rose after the telco restored mobile services following an eight‑hour outage, which it...
Asian Container Liners See Turnaround as Red Sea Remains Shut
Asian container liners are seeing a earnings turnaround as the Red Sea remains closed due to the Iran‑Israel conflict. Spot freight rates climbed 8.4% to $2,123 per 40‑foot container, marking the second week of gains after two months of declines....
NTUC, Employers Split on Retrenchment Notice Lead Time; Workers Say Timely Support Matters More
Singapore’s Ministry of Manpower is reviewing the Employment Act amid a clash between the National Trades Union Congress, which wants employers to give advance notice before retrenchments, and the Singapore National Employers Federation, which warns of confidentiality breaches and implementation...
EQDP’s Expansion to Pre-IPO Private Firms Could Boost Listing Pipeline: Observers
Singapore’s Monetary Authority is weighing an expansion of the Equity Market Development Programme (EQDP) to include pre‑IPO private firms, a move seen as a catalyst for a stronger IPO pipeline. To date, MAS has allocated roughly S$4 billion to nine asset...
Asia Investors Shift From Money Market Funds to Active Funds, Alternatives: Wellington Management Head of Apac
Asia investors are moving capital from money‑market funds into actively managed equities, fixed‑income and alternative strategies, according to Wellington Management’s APAC head Janet Perumal. In Singapore and Hong Kong, active‑fund net inflows have outpaced passive funds each month since September,...
Labubu Mania Is Over. Pop Mart Bets It Can Survive with New Toys
Pop Mart, the Chinese pop‑toy giant, is moving beyond its flagship Labubu dolls as demand for newer characters such as Twinkle Twinkle, Crybaby and Skullpanda surges. Twinkle Twinkle generated 390 million yuan in the first half of 2025 and now accounts for half...
Trump Administration to Announce Coalition to Escort Ships Through Strait of Hormuz: WSJ
The Trump administration is set to unveil a multinational coalition to escort commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz, according to a Wall Street Journal report. The coalition, reportedly involving several Gulf and allied nations, will coordinate naval patrols and...
UBS Set to Face Swiss Government Decision on Capital in April
The Swiss Federal Council will decide in April how much additional capital UBS must hold, with proposals ranging up to US$26 billion. New regulations will require the bank to fully deduct software and deferred‑tax assets from its regulatory capital, a move...
GE Vernova, Hitachi to Explore South-East Asia for Small Reactors
GE Vernova and Hitachi signed a memorandum to explore deploying their BWRX‑300 small modular reactor across Southeast Asian markets. The joint venture will assess partnerships with Japanese suppliers and target nations seeking clean, reliable power for growing AI and data‑center...
Wall Street Drops, Set for Weekly Loss as War on Iran Fuels Inflation Worries
Wall Street closed lower on Friday, with the Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq all in the red, putting the week on a negative trajectory. The decline was driven by heightened tensions in the war on Iran, which pushed crude oil above...
Demand for Analysts Grows as Equities Market Gains Momentum: Industry Players
Singapore’s equity market reforms by SGX and MAS are reviving analyst demand, prompting banks and brokerages to expand research desks. Maybank Securities, OCBC, iFast and others have added headcount to deepen small‑ and mid‑cap coverage. Job postings show salaries between...
Yen Hits New Low Against Singapore Dollar as Middle East Crisis Jolts Oil Prices
The Japanese yen slipped to a fresh low of 124.78 per Singapore dollar, driven by a sharp rise in oil prices linked to the escalating Middle East crisis. Oil breached the $100‑a‑barrel threshold, pushing Japan’s import bill higher and prompting...
Amazon Plans to Shift Annual Prime Day Sale to June From July
Amazon is advancing its flagship Prime Day event from July to late June, shifting the promotional window by roughly six weeks. The timing change means the massive sales boost will now be recorded in the second quarter rather than the...
PBOC Employs Volatile Renminbi Fixing to Manage Iran War Fallout
China’s central bank has allowed the renminbi’s daily fixing volatility to surge to its highest level since December 2024, signalling a tolerance for two‑way price swings. The People’s Bank of China set the reference rate at 6.89 yuan per U.S. dollar,...
Morgan Stanley Hires Contract Staff in Hong Kong as Deals Surge: Sources
Morgan Stanley has begun hiring one‑year contract bankers in Hong Kong to support a wave of IPO listings, marking the first Wall Street bank to adopt such a model in the region. The move aims to keep costs low while...
Indonesia Lawmakers Grill Candidates for Top Regulator Jobs After Market Turmoil
Indonesia’s parliamentary financial commission is set to vet ten candidates for five top posts at the Financial Services Authority (OJK) after an equity‑market rout in January forced the agency’s chair, deputy chair and capital‑market supervisors to resign. The rout, sparked...
TikTok Gets Green Light to Stay in Canada, Reversing Earlier Ban
Canada has overturned its 2024 order to wind down TikTok’s Canadian subsidiary, allowing the platform to continue operating nationwide. The decision follows a fresh security review and new legally binding commitments requiring TikTok to install security gateways, privacy‑enhancing technologies, and...