Posts by Mark Darwin
Amazon says it injected S$2 billion into its Singapore businesses in 2023
AMAZON on Thursday (Nov 28) announced that it injected more than S$2 billion into its retail and cloud businesses in Singapore in 2023. The outlay comprised capital expenditure, including improvements to existing infrastructure such as fulfilment centres, delivery stations and data centres. It also covered operating expenditure, such as expenses related to technology, safety, the…
Read MoreBlackRock has deal to buy private credit manager HPS: report
BLACKROCK has a handshake deal to buy private credit group HPS Investment Partners, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday (Nov 27). The final deal value would be closer to US$12 billion, which offers a significant premium over HPS’s post-IPO valuation of US$10 billion, the report said, citing two sources familiar with the matter. The two…
Read MoreChina’s EV boom threatens to push petrol demand off a cliff
From Tesla chargers in the ancient alleys that surround the Forbidden City in Beijing to lonely highway rest stops with charging posts in the western deserts, signs of the electrification of China’s transport fleet – and the demise of petrol – are everywhere. Chinese sales of electric vehicles (EVs) and hybrids have reached a tipping…
Read MoreChina keeps buying US soy in surprise move after Trump’s win
CHINA is continuing to buy US soybeans, confounding some traders who had expected the flow of shipments to slow down ahead of a potential trade war between both countries. A Chinese state buyer picked up at least eight cargoes last week to build national reserves, according to traders familiar with the sales. Sales equivalent to…
Read MoreFirst Sponsor to increase stake in Netherlands’ NSI for 18.9 million euros
Acquisition will be funded by net proceeds from a rights issue of perpetual convertible capital securities in September FIRST Sponsor is proposing to lift its stake in Dutch property developer NSI to about 22 per cent from around 17.5 per cent with a proposed share purchase amounting to 18.9 million euros (S$26.6 million), or 20.50…
Read MoreCitadel, Pimco set to own stakes in Spirit Airlines post-bankruptcy
KEN Griffin’s Citadel Advisors, Pacific Investment Management Company (Pimco) and Western Asset Management are among the investment firms poised to own equity in Spirit Airlines after the budget carrier restructures its balance sheet in bankruptcy. The three firms are part of a group that owns Spirit’s 8 per cent senior secured notes due in 2025…
Read MoreBritish insurer Direct Line rejects Aviva’s £3.3 billion takeover bid
BRITISH insurer Direct Line Insurance on Wednesday (Nov 27) rejected a takeover offer of £3.3 billion (S$5.6 billion) from bigger rival Aviva, saying it “substantially undervalued” the company. On Nov 19, Aviva made a 250-pence-per-share offer, which represented a nearly 60 per cent premium to the stock’s close a day earlier. If the deal went…
Read MoreSamsung gets first woman CEO outside founding family in 86 years
FOR Samsung Group, this has been a year of milestones. First, a rare public apology from its flagship Samsung Electronics, followed by a bumper share buyback. And now, South Korea’s biggest conglomerate has named a woman that’s not member of its founding family as chief executive officer of a group company for the first time…
Read MoreStandard Chartered mulls sale of wealth, retail operations in Africa
STANDARD Chartered is exploring a potential divestment of its wealth and retail banking operations in Botswana, Uganda and Zambia, it said on Wednesday (Nov 27), as the banking giant restructures its operations in a bid to trim costs. The Asia-focussed lender, like rival HSBC, is shaking up its business to focus more on affluent individual…
Read MoreOpenAI allows employees to sell US$1.5 billion stock to SoftBank: sources
CHATGPT-owner OpenAI is allowing its employees to sell roughly US$1.5 billion worth of shares in a new tender offer to Japan’s SoftBank Group, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Wednesday (Nov 27). SoftBank’s billionaire CEO Masayoshi Son has been persistent in seeking a larger stake in the startup after investing in the…
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