Posts by Mark Darwin
Apple offers iPhone discounts in China as competition intensifies
APPLE is offering rare discounts of up to 500 yuan (S$93) on its latest iPhone models in China, as the US tech giant moves to defend its market share against rising competition from domestic rivals such as Huawei. The four-day promotion, running from Jan 4 to 7, applies to several iPhone models when purchased using…
Read MoreThai government says Bank of Thailand chair appointment won’t take too long
THAILAND’S government expects a selection panel to quickly conclude the process to pick a new chairman for the nation’s central bank after its previous nominee was deemed unsuitable for the job due to his ties with the ruling party. The seven-member panel of former civil servants and regulators will need to decide on the best…
Read MoreThai economic uncertainty has increased, central bank minutes say
UNCERTAINTY around the Thai economy has significantly increased primarily due to the unclear impact of possible US economic policies, minutes of the Bank of Thailand’s (BOT) Dec 18 monetary policy meeting showed on Thursday (Jan 2). At the meeting, the BOT’s monetary policy committee (MPC) unanimously voted to leave the one-day repurchase rate unchanged at…
Read MoreCapitaLand Investment foresees heightened macro, geopolitical uncertainties in 2025
MACROECONOMIC and geopolitical uncertainties are likely to “weigh heavily” on CapitaLand Investment’s (CLI) business in the coming year, according to group chief executive Lee Chee Koon’s New Year message to employees on Thursday (Jan 2). These include the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict and the Middle East crisis, which have significantly disrupted global trade, food security and…
Read MoreRHB cuts IReit target to S$0.34; flags potential privatisation on further unit price declines
RHB Research has lowered its target price on IReit Global to S$0.34 from S$0.40 previously, as it expects the real estate investment trust’s (Reit) near-term distribution per unit (DPU) to be negatively impacted by the upcoming redevelopment of its largest asset, Berlin Campus. In a report on Thursday (Jan 2), analyst Vijay Natarajan nonetheless believes…
Read MoreChina faces first FX test of 2025 with yuan’s red line in focus
THE offshore yuan’s year-end slide to its weakest since 2022 is set to put the China’s daily reference rate for the currency in focus as the market assesses policymakers’ potential red line for defence. The offshore yuan fell as much as 0.7 per cent to 7.3695 per US dollar in the last session of 2024,…
Read MoreBillionaire Li Ka-shing’s Hutchmed in US$608 million health unit stake sales
HUTCHMED (China), controlled by tycoon Li Ka-shing, is selling stakes in its health subsidiary for around US$608 million as the billionaire and his flagship conglomerate look to ramp up capital and pivot towards core operations at the drugmaker. Hutchmed will sell a total 45 per cent stake in Shanghai Hutchison Pharmaceuticals to Chinese firms GP Health…
Read MoreSingPost says all contracts have clauses that cover delivery failure in dangerous situations
ALL Singapore Post (SingPost) contracts with its customers include clauses to cover situations where it is too dangerous for SingPost to render its services, a spokesman for the company said. “All our contracts have a force majeure clause to cover situations where it is too dangerous to deliver, and customers are aware of these conditions,”…
Read MoreBYD chalks up new record as it narrows EV sales gap with Tesla
CHINA’S BYD enjoyed a year-end surge to push total sales to 4.25 million passenger cars last year, narrowing its gap with Tesla as the two vie for the crown of top-selling electric-vehicle (EV) maker of 2024. The Shenzhen-based carmaker, which stopped making vehicles entirely powered by fossil fuels in 2022, hit a new monthly sales…
Read More‘Bleisure’ accommodation and more – 4 travel trends to watch in 2025
THE global tourism sector is approaching a full recovery to pre-pandemic levels, but some demand for travel could taper off. Still, there are some bright spots in tourism as certain themes could take hold this year. The latest tourism data from United Nations agency UN Tourism, titled World Tourism Barometer, indicated that tourist arrival numbers…
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