Posts by Mark Darwin
CK Hutchison reviews options for European telco assets: sources
HONG Kong conglomerate CK Hutchison is reviewing options for its European telco unit with a view to reducing its holdings in the overall business, six people with knowledge of the situation said. The company – reviewing its options as recently as this year – has discussed a potential spin-off with a view that its European…
Read MoreHSBC will reshape investment banking to look more like rivals
HSBC Holdings is revamping parts of its investment bank in a move that will make it look more like rivals such as Citigroup. Executives in HSBC’s global banking business are combining several of its industry coverage groups, according to people familiar with the matter. Such moves would allow bankers to work more efficiently, the people…
Read MoreSats restructures gateway services business to form two new units
GATEWAY services and in-flight catering solutions provider Sats has restructured its gateway services business to form two new business units, Singapore Hub and Gateway Services Asia-Pacific. On Wednesday (Jul 10), the group said its restructuring of its gateway services business reflects its strategic decision to continue investing in Singapore, while scaling its international presence to…
Read MoreBarclays plans major hiring spree to serve ultra-rich and family offices in Singapore and India
BARCLAYS plans a major hiring spree in Asia to expand client assets over the next few years, focusing on the ultra-rich and family offices in India and Singapore, according to the head of the bank’s wealth business for the region. The lender aims to quadruple its private banking assets in the region by the end…
Read MoreTwo Hong Kong IPO debutants sink 15% as mood remains negative
TWO Chinese companies sunk by 15 per cent in their Hong Kong initial public offerings (IPO) debuts on Wednesday, while a small Chinese petroleum refiner soared nearly 30 per cent as sentiment towards new share sales in the city remains volatile. Chenqi Technology opened down 14.3 per cent and Shanghai Voicecomm sunk 15.4 per cent…
Read MoreNew Zealand central bank maintains cash rate, signals potential for future easing
NEW Zealand’s central bank held the cash rate steady at 5.5 per cent on Wednesday, but opened the door to monetary policy becoming less restrictive over time should inflation slow as expected. The decision was in line with expectations from all 32 economists in a Reuters poll that forecast the Reserve Bank of New Zealand…
Read MoreMusic catalog fund Hipgnosis sold to Blackstone
SHAREHOLDERS of Hipgnosis Songs Fund, which in recent years made waves by helping popularize music rights as an asset class, have voted to accept a US$1.6 billion takeover from US private equity firm Blackstone, filings showed on Tuesday. A regulatory filing showed shareholders overwhelmingly voted to approve the deal, which caps a tumultuous year for…
Read MoreGlobal oil market will be in supply deficit next year: EIA
GLOBAL oil demand will outpace supply next year, the US Energy Information Administration said on Tuesday, reversing a prior forecast for a surplus. The change came after Opec and its allies, collectively known as Opec+, extended most of their deep oil output cuts into next year at a meeting last month. The producer group has been restricting output since…
Read MoreEurope: French stocks drag shares lower on political concerns
EUROPEAN shares dropped for a third straight session on Tuesday, dragged down by weakness in French stocks as political uncertainties lingered, while investors analysed Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s testimony. The continent-wide Stoxx 600 index ended 0.9 per cent lower, its biggest daily percentage decline in nearly a month. France’s benchmark CAC 40 index underperformed the…
Read MoreUS: S&P 500, Nasdaq edge to records on better inflation sentiment
THE S&P 500 and Nasdaq edged to fresh records on Tuesday as Federal Reserve Chief Jerome Powell reported “modest” progress in countering inflation ahead of the publication of influential US pricing data. “More good data would strengthen our confidence that inflation is moving sustainably toward two percent,” Powell told a Senate panel in remarks that…
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