Posts by Stephanie Irvin
Resolving succession at Kwek Leng Beng’s Hong Leong Finance
[SINGAPORE] Succession troubles surfaced recently at local-listed property and hotel group City Developments Limited (CDL), when executive chairman Kwek Leng Beng clashed with his son and CDL’s group chief executive officer Sherman Kwek over corporate governance issues. Billionaire Kwek Leng Beng, 84, joined CDL’s board in October 1969 and has been the group’s executive chairman…
Read MoreJapan debt deals pulled as tariffs hit deals outlook across Asia
[TOKYO] Three Japanese companies have postponed the sale of 100 billion yen (S$916.7 million) worth of yen-denominated bonds in the wake of global financial market volatility induced by US tariff announcements, according to a source and the companies. Japan’s largest beer maker, Asahi, was due to issue 50 billion yen this month, but shelved the…
Read MoreAlibaba chases international AI users with new Qwen upgrades
The expansion, through its Singapore availability zones, shows Alibaba ramping up an aggressive campaign to lure AI users and developers both at home and abroad [BEIJING] Alibaba Group Holding’s cloud division is upgrading its suite of artificial intelligence tools available overseas in a push for more global customers. Alibaba Cloud is expanding its platform-as-a-service options…
Read MoreClean power offers safety to China investors rattled by tariffs
Investors traditionally turn to utilities during times of market upheaval thanks to their relatively stable revenue sources [NEW YORK] China’s clean power generators are emerging as a safe haven for investors amid trade war turmoil. Wind generator China Longyuan Power Group and hydro-dam operators China Yangtze Power and Huaneng Lancang River Hydropower are three of…
Read MoreUOB Kay Hian downgrades DBS to ‘sell’, OCBC to ‘hold’; cuts target prices
[SINGAPORE] UOB Kay Hian (UOBKH) downgraded Singapore banks DBS and OCBC to “sell” and “hold”, respectively, citing forecasts of higher credit costs and “anaemic” loan growth resulting from US President Donald Trump’s tariffs. It downgraded DBS from “hold” to “sell”, cutting its target price from S$49.80 to S$40. It maintained a “hold” rating for OCBC,…
Read MoreFrasers Centrepoint Trust launches preferential offering at S$2.05 apiece
[SINGAPORE] The manager of Frasers Centrepoint Trust on Tuesday (Apr 8) announced the launch of a preferential offering at S$2.05 per unit. The issue price represents a 7.4 per cent discount to the volume-weighted average price of S$2.2136 apiece. This preferential offering will be made on the basis of 54 units for every 1,000 existing…
Read MoreBlue-chip listcos scoop up more shares; Singapore market shows signs of recovery on pause to Trump tariffs
[SINGAPORE] Constituent companies on the Straits Times Index (STI) lost no time in picking up their own shares after the benchmark index tanked on US President Donald Trump’s tariffs. The baseline 10 per cent tariffs, which kicked in over the weekend, caused major markets in the West and the region to collapse when trading started…
Read MoreBinance founder Zhao to help Pakistan boost crypto trading bid
Crypto trading is steadily gaining traction among Pakistan’s 230-million population despite its central bank’s warning over the risks posed by the industry [CHITTAGONG] Pakistan has roped in Zhao Changpeng ( CZ), the co-founder of the world’s largest crypto exchange Binance, to set up a globally competitive platform for digital finance in the South Asian nation.…
Read MoreTokyo: Nikkei ends 6% higher on market recovery hopes
[TOKYO] Japan’s Nikkei share average closed 6 per cent higher on Tuesday (Apr 8), recovering from a 1½ -year low hit in the previous session, as investors scooped up stocks, encouraged by signs of a recovery on Wall Street. The Nikkei index climbed 6.03 per cent to 33,012.58, marking its sharpest daily percentage gain since…
Read MorePBOC set to reveal hand on yuan as depreciation talk mounts
[NEW YORK] A dramatic escalation in the trade war has brought China to a crossroads, with policymakers set to decide if they should retain a tight grip on the yuan or let it weaken to counter some fallout from US tariffs. On Monday (Apr 7), Beijing weakened yuan’s daily reference rate to just 0.03 per…
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