Posts by Mark Darwin
US: Wall Street opens higher as US-China trade talks begin
Published Mon, Jun 9, 2025 · 09:44 PM WALL Street’s main indexes opened higher on Monday as investors watched a fresh round of negotiations between the United States and China aimed at mending a trade rift that has rattled financial markets for much of the year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 23.3 points, or…
Read MoreKim Heng inks deal with Singapore Energy Interconnections on submarine power projects
This comes after Singapore Energy Interconnections’ other project to enable low-carbon electricity imports from Indonesia to Singapore [SINGAPORE] Offshore marine services contractor Kim Heng has inked an agreement with a newly incorporated government-linked energy company to cooperate in submarine power projects, the Catalist-listed company said in a bourse filing said on Monday (Jun 9). Kim…
Read MoreHong Kong to maintain US dollar peg despite geopolitical tensions
Published Mon, Jun 9, 2025 · 03:02 PM [SHANGHAI] Hong Kong will maintain its currency peg to the US dollar, the financial hub’s leader said in an interview published on Monday (Jun 9), despite escalating geopolitical tensions and some calls to shift to a Chinese yuan peg. The Hong Kong dollar has experienced sharp volatility…
Read MoreBank of England risks repeat of Brexit pessimism as growth signals diverge
[LONDON] Bank of England (BOE) rate-setters risk underestimating the strength of the UK economy by placing too much faith in downbeat business surveys over official growth data. Governor Andrew Bailey revealed last week he is putting more emphasis on indicators such as S&P Global’s purchasing managers’ index, warning that “we have had more volatile, short-run…
Read MoreIncome Insurance chairman Ronald Ong to retire from role after seven years at helm
[SINGAPORE] Income Insurance chairman Ronald Ong will retire from his role after seven years at the helm, the company announced on Monday (Jun 9). The board has begun a succession process to appoint a new chairman and further details will be shared at the upcoming annual general meeting on Jun 24, the company said in…
Read MoreCapitaLand Investment expands fund with Japan asset acquisition at 30 billion yen
[SINGAPORE] CapitaLand Investment (CLI) on Monday (Jun 9) announced that it secured additional capital commitments from new and existing institutional investors for its value-add lodging private fund, CapitaLand Ascott Residence Asia Fund II (Clara II). The latest fundraising includes the acquisition of a prime mixed-use asset in Tokyo at more than 30 billion yen (S$267.2…
Read MoreBYD unleashes an EV industry reckoning that alarms Beijing
[BEIJING] The price war engulfing China’s electric vehicle (EV) industry has sent share prices tumbling and prompted an unusual level of intervention from Beijing. The shakeout may just be getting started. For all the Chinese government’s efforts to prevent price cuts by market leader BYD from turning into a vicious spiral, analysts say a combination…
Read MoreChina’s copper boom under threat as miners test bargaining power
[BEIJING] The unrelenting expansion of Chinese copper processing capacity over the past few years has now become a global headache, as smelters scramble to secure the ore they need to produce the vital industrial metal. Output in the world’s top producer of the refined metal has ballooned to a record this year, even in the…
Read MoreGeely chairman says global auto industry faces ‘serious overcapacity’
Chinese automakers that have been building plants abroad include BYD, Chery Auto and Great Wall Motor Published Mon, Jun 9, 2025 · 07:29 AM [SHANGHAI] Geely’s chairman and founder Li Shufu said on Saturday (Jun 7) that the global automotive industry was facing “serious overcapacity” and that the Chinese automaker had decided not to build…
Read MoreLittle known sweet potato producer Zixin Group could be a treat for investors
[SINGAPORE] Catalist-listed Zixin Group is hardly considered a household name on the Singapore Exchange (SGX). The company describes itself as “a leading biotech-focused sweet potato integrated industrial value chain operator in China” – which is a mouthful, and hard for investors to digest. In essence, Zixin Group researches and produces sweet potatoes, as well as…
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