Posts by Mark Darwin
China’s economic rescue plan leaves commodities stuck on pause
GLOBAL commodities markets are stuck in a holding pattern after China’s latest effort to revive its economy focused on the much-needed restructuring of local government debt, but stopped short of stimulus measures that would directly boost domestic demand. Delivered by the finance ministry on Friday (Nov 8) afternoon, Beijing ’s move amounted to a hefty…
Read MoreShakeup of Indian airlines boosts competition, business seats
INDIA’S airlines are set for a landmark week, with two milestones days apart, that will redefine the competitive landscape in one of the world’s fastest-growing aviation markets. Vistara operates its final flight on Monday (Nov 11) before its planned merger with Air India kicks in the following day, marking the end of a complex and…
Read MoreMUFG is bullish on India and seeking M&A deals to drive growth
MITSUBISHI UFJ Financial Group (MUFG) is bullish on India, where it’s actively looking for acquisition targets that will help boost its presence in the world’s most populous nation. The goal for Japan’s largest lender is to push up its buyouts and investment in India, and increase annual returns from them to 20 per cent in…
Read MoreBangladesh faces reduced power supplies even after Adani payment
BANGLADESH faces a continuing shortage of electricity, increasing the risk of blackouts, even after making a partial payment to a power plant in India that slashed supply because of unpaid bills. Adani Power has received a letter of credit for US$170 million, easing pressure from lenders, two officials said, declining to be identified as internal…
Read MoreYTL Power and Sembcorp Industries among power firms likely to benefit from South-east Asia data centre boom
THE heating up of data centre growth in South-east Asia has been drawing investor interest. Now, analysts are turning the spotlight on one of the key beneficiaries of the booming industry: power companies. The investment thesis is simple: power-hungry data centres will drive demand for electricity. And this demand will continue to grow as more…
Read MoreIndonesia’s GoTo, China’s Tencent, Alibaba agree on cloud infrastructure development
INDONESIAN tech firm GoTo Gojek Tokopedia signed agreements with China’s Tencent and Alibaba on Sunday (Nov 10) to develop cloud infrastructure and digital talent in Indonesia, GoTo said in a statement. The agreements were reached at the Indonesia-China Business Forum in Beijing and witnessed by Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, who is visiting China, GoTo said.…
Read MoreCordlife says directors committed to waive fees for FY24; defends choice of auditor ahead of EGM
EMBATTLED cord-blood bank Cordlife said that its remaining directors have committed to waive their directors fees for the financial year ended Dec 31, 2024, in response to questions raised ahead of the company’s extraordinary general meeting (EGM) on Nov 14. The EGM is being called to appoint new auditors and approve its directors’ fees. In…
Read MoreUnion Square Residences sells 20% of units on launch day
PROPERTY developer City Developments (CDL) sold 75 units of the 366-unit Union Square Residences at Havelock Road on Saturday (Nov 9). In a press release from the company on Saturday, it said that the average selling price of the 99-year leasehold property stood at S$3,200 per square foot (psf). This included the 2,476 sq ft…
Read MoreOpenAI’s ChatGPT back up after brief outage
MICROSOFT-backed OpenAI popular chatbot ChatGPT was back up after an outage affected thousands of users, the company said on Friday (Nov 8). “Issues with ChatGPT have now been resolved,” OpenAI said in a statement on its website. Access was restored to most users by 4.34pm PT (0034 GMT on Saturday), OpenAI said, adding that a…
Read MoreDollar on track for weekly gain after Trump election win
THE dollar rose on Friday (Nov 8) and was heading for a weekly gain as investors evaluated the likely impact on the American economy of Tuesday’s election of Republican Donald Trump as US president. Analysts expect Trump’s policy proposals – including more trade tariffs, a clampdown on illegal immigration, lower taxes and business deregulation –…
Read More