Posts by Stephanie Irvin
Meituan launches AI agent to boost food delivery business
[HONG KONG] Meituan has launched a new artificial intelligence (AI) agent app that aims to boost its food delivery and local services business, as its battle with Alibaba Group Holding for Chinese consumers heats up. The Xiaomei agent, powered by Meituan’s own LongCat-model, allows users to order meals via voice command and help them book…
Read MoreStocks to watch: CapitaLand Investment, CapitaLand China Trust, Frasers Hospitality Trust, TalkMed, Low Keng Huat, IReit Global
[SINGAPORE] The following companies saw new developments that may affect trading of their securities on Friday (Sep 12): CapitaLand Investment (CLI) ; CapitaLand China Trust (CLCT) : CapitaLand Commercial C-Reit’s (CLCR) public offer was 535.2 times subscribed, said CLI on Friday. CLCR also achieved a subscription coverage of 254.5 times from institutional investors during the…
Read MoreApple analyst sentiment hits five-year low after two downgrades
[NEW YORK] Apple was hit with a pair of downgrades on Thursday (Sep 11), in the latest sign of caution towards the iPhone maker, which has sharply underperformed its large-cap tech peers this year. With the downgrades, Apple’s recommendation consensus – a proxy for the ratio of buy, hold, and sell ratings – has dropped…
Read MoreECB holds rates unchanged, offers no clues about next move
The ECB halved its key rate to 2% in the year to June but has been on hold ever since [FRANKFURT] The European Central Bank left interest rates unchanged on Thursday (Sep 11) as expected but offered no clues about its next move, even as investors continue to bet that more support will be needed…
Read MoreChinese carmakers may keep price advantage despite Mexico levies
[MEXICO CITY] Mexico’s plan to levy tariffs of up to 50 per cent on vehicles from China may not unduly impact the Asian nation’s auto manufacturers whose inherently lower production costs mean their cars are still competitive. BYD, the world’s biggest maker of electric cars based in Shenzhen, sells its Dolphin Mini, a small hatchback…
Read MoreAlibaba dumps 151.3 million SingPost shares, slashing its stake to below 5%
This means the Chinese e-commerce giant is no longer a substantial shareholder of the national postal service provider [SINGAPORE] Alibaba Investment, a subsidiary of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group, sold off 151.3 million shares in Singapore Post (SingPost) for S$64.4 million on Tuesday (Sep 9). The transaction lowers its stake in the national postal service…
Read MoreRussia export slide forcing a rethink at some Chinese carmakers
[HONG KONG] Russia turned into a lucrative market for Chinese automakers after the invasion of Ukraine, as they rushed in to fill the void left by foreign brands. That easy access may be over. In late 2024, Moscow started raising a “recycling fee” on imported vehicles that’s seen the price of passenger cars with one-…
Read MoreCEOs eyeing tech deals record flock to key Goldman confab
[NEW YORK] CEOs, investors, analysts and even some bankers gathering for one of the tech industry’s biggest summits this week in San Francisco will likely spend time whispering about how 2025 could go down as the best year ever for deals in their sector. Such chatter would have been nearly unthinkable just six months ago,…
Read MoreFrom vision to action: Global Asia Insurance Partnership’s new CEO targets greater coverage in Asia
[SINGAPORE] As the Global Asia Insurance Partnership’s (GAIP) new chief executive officer, Cheng Min Hung is on a mission to tackle one of the region’s most pressing challenges: a growing insurance protection gap. This gap means much of Asia lacks adequate insurance coverage for major risks, including healthcare expenses, financial protection for families in the…
Read MoreDon’t be fooled by gold’s recent gleam
Will gold keep running? It is outshining most liquid assets in 2025. Up 20 per cent through Aug 22 and 56 per cent since the end of 2023, its gains top US, Singapore and world stocks – to say nothing of Singapore and global bonds’ puny returns. Singapore’s status as a global finance and…
Read More