elean

Company briefs: Hyflux

elean 16 12 月

2 minutes

Hyflux The judicial managers of water treatment firm Hyflux and its unit Hydrochem are in talks with 14 new potential investors, and aim to identify a suitable investor by the end of next month. But these managers - from Borrelli Walsh - said yesterday that they are unable to disclose the identities of the investors, many of whom had contacted them only recently. They also said they have contacted five investors who previously expressed interest in Hyflux and Hydrochem, and continue to work with some of them. THE BUSINESS TIMES Keppel Land Keppel Land has taken a strategic minority stake in Cove Living as the lead investor in the co-living start-up's US$4.6 million (S$6.1 million) Series A funding round. Headquartered in Singapore, Cove has about 300 bedrooms and studios in Singapore and about 250 in its new market of Jakarta. It expects to double its offering to around 1,000 rooms by the first half of next year. Keppel Land did not disclose the size of its stake in the company, which was founded in 2018. SBS Transit SBS Transit has partnered France's RATP Dev to explore new business prospects in the Singapore rail industry. They will set up a company to be run by a team of experie...

Goldman, Citi, Nomura see 20% earnings growth for Asia stocks in 2021

elean 15 12 月

2 minutes

HONG KONG (BLOOMBERG) - While Asia's equity rally may be ending the year looking a tad stretched, a bright earnings outlook for 2021 is giving strategists all the more reason to stay upbeat. No less a trio than Citigroup, Goldman Sachs Group and Nomura Holdings have penciled in earnings growth of more than 20 per cent for Asian shares next year. Citi and Nomura are joined by Societe Generale in expectations for between a 5 per cent and 7 per cent rise in the MSCI Asia ex-Japan Index, while Goldman sees a 9 per cent jump in the Asia Pacific equivalent in 2021. "We remain optimistic about 2021 prospects driven by the macro and earnings recovery and would be buyers of any market pullbacks," a team of Goldman strategists including Timothy Moe wrote in a note published on Sunday. Asian stocks are finishing an unprecedented year in strong fashion with the MSCI Asia ex-Japan erasing its pandemic-related losses in the summer and surging to a 18 per cent year-to-date rise through Monday (Dec 14). Benchmarks in technology-heavy South Korea and Taiwan have led the way. For next year, the prospects for profit growth looks strongest in South Korea, Citi analysts including Robert Buckland wrote ...

Air India employees bid for 51% stake in struggling carrier

elean 15 12 月

3 minutes

MUMBAI (BLOOMBERG) - A group of 219 Air India employees submitted a bid to purchase 51 per cent of the loss-making state-owned carrier. The remaining 49 per cent will be held by a financial partner, according to Meenakshi Malik, who is Air India's commercial director and has been with the airline for about 30 years. Each employee will have to contribute at least 100,000 rupees (S$1,812) toward the bid, she said. Air India has been on sale since 2017 when Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's cabinet signed off on a plan to sell all or part of the debt-ridden carrier. The government sweetened the deal earlier this year when it extended the bid deadline to Dec 14 from Oct 30, saying potential suitors will be allowed to decide how much of the flag carrier's debt they want to take on as part of the transaction. The rules before that required bidders to take over the carrier's US$3.3 billion (S$4.4 billion) of aircraft debt, deterring buyers. "We always believed Air India can be a profitable set up," said Ms Malik. "The government has removed a huge part of the debt, so we thought who better than us? We know the airline inside out, we know where the problems are. We're not bidding to wi...

S&P 500 ends down as Walt Disney weighs

elean 15 12 月

3 minutes

NEW YORK (REUTERS) - The S&P 500 ended lower on Monday (Dec 14), weighed down by Walt Disney, while Alexion Pharmaceuticals jumped on a $39 billion buyout offer from AstraZeneca in one of the year's biggest deals. The Dow Jones Industrial Average hit a record high before ending lower, pulled down by Walt Disney. US officials began to administer the vaccine developed by Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech on Monday following emergency-use approval from federal regulators last week. Shares of Disney, down 3.65%, and Pfizer, down almost 5%, weighed more than any other stocks on the S&P 500. The index's four-day losing streak was its longest since Sept 21. The S&P 500 consumer discretionary index was the strongest gainer among sector indexes, up 1% and lifted by a rise in Amazon, up 1.4%. The energy index tumbled over 3%. The S&P 500 gave up earlier gains of almost 1%. The index has surged about 13% to record highs in 2020, despite the pandemic, which has wrought economic devastation and killed more than a million people. "While the entire market is pleased, is optimistic, is bullish about the arrival of the vaccine this morning into the US, I think the average investor is realising...

Citi hiring 330 relationship managers for new wealth hub

elean 15 12 月

3 minutes

Citibank Singapore will be hiring 330 relationship managers over the next five years for its newly opened wealth hub here. The hub was officially opened at 268 Orchard Road yesterday and is the bank's largest wealth advisory hub globally. Citibank has moved 300 relationship managers, advisers, specialists and staff from other branches to the wealth hub. "With a rapidly growing affluent client base in Singapore, the bank's strategy is to further enhance its ecosystem of digital tools and wealth hubs, deliver more innovative mobile solutions and expand its talent pool," Citi said in a media statement. The bank also aims to double its assets under management here and triple the number of its affluent clients by 2025. "Citi has an enormous opportunity to serve the growing affluent segment in Singapore. In line with our growth aspiration and despite a uniquely challenging year, we grew qualified clients by close to 5 per cent in 2020 compared with 2019," said Mr Brendan Carney, chief executive of Citibank Singapore and Asean cluster head of the global consumer banking division. "Citi Wealth Hub at 268 Orchard will further enhance our capacity to serve our clients and bring best-in-class...

Top Glove shares sink on news of whistle-blower’s dismissal

elean 15 12 月

3 minutes

Shares of Top Glove sank to a three-month low yesterday following news that the world's biggest glove maker had fired a whistle-blower before the Covid-19 outbreak at its factories. The mainboard-listed counter tumbled as much as 5.7 per cent to $2.15 at around 9.57am on the Singapore bourse. The last time the counter closed below this level was on Sept 10 at $2.13. The stock recovered slightly to close at $2.19 yesterday, or 3.95 per cent lower with 5.37 million shares changing hands. A Top Glove employee in Malaysia had taken two photos in May of his co-workers crowding into one of the company's factories, but was fired in September for sharing them, Reuters reported on Sunday. The photos showed dozens of workers lined up less than 1m apart to have their temperatures checked before starting their night shift. Although the company required everyone to wear masks and gloves, the whistle-blower and five other workers told Reuters that social distancing was not enforced or followed outside the factory. Almost three months later, Top Glove's complex of factories and dormitories in Klang has become Malaysia's largest Covid-19 cluster with more than 5,000 infections, the authorities sai...

Japan business sentiment improves as economy emerges from pandemic hit

elean 14 12 月

2 minutes

TOKYO (REUTERS) - Japanese business sentiment improved for the second straight quarter in October-December, a key central bank survey showed on Monday (Dec 14), a welcome sign for the economy as it continued to emerge from the initial hit of the coronavirus pandemic. But companies slashed their capital expenditure plans for the year ending in March, as a recent resurgence of infections reinforce expectations any recovery in the world's third-largest economy will be fragile. The headline index for big manufacturers' sentiment improved to minus 10 in December from minus 27 in September, the Bank of Japan's closely watched "tankan" survey showed. It compared with a median market forecast for a reading of minus 15. Big non-manufacturers' sentiment also recovered to minus 5 from minus 12 in September, roughly matching a Reuters poll of minus 6, the survey showed. Big firms plan to cut their capital expenditure by 1.2 per cent in the current business year to March 2021, a sign slumping profits and uncertainties over the outlook were discouraging firms to ramp up spending. It was a downgrade from their plan to raise capital spending by 1.4 per cent made in the September survey and compare...

Crown Resorts faces class action over October share plunge

elean 14 12 月

2 minutes

BENGALURU (REUTERS) - Law firm Maurice Blackburn has launched a second class action lawsuit against Crown Resorts, it said on Monday (Dec 14), alleging that the Australian casino giant's corporate failings caused a massive share price plunge in October. Shares of Crown had fallen 10 per cent on Oct 19, when Australia's financial crime agency started investigating the company over suspected failings to comply with anti-money laundering protocols. Over October and November, Crown acknowledged the possibility of money laundering taking place at casinos in an Australian regulatory inquiry that touched on its government failings and its dealing with gambling tour - or "junket" - operators. Since then, the company's gaming license has been suspended, delaying its plan to open a $1.6 billion resort in Sydney. Crown did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. "It's been very disappointing to learn how badly Crown has behaved," lead plaintiff Greg Lieberman, a father of four from Sydney, who invested in Crown, said he law firm's statement. The new lawsuit also alleges Crown managed operations that were not in the best interest of shareholders between December 2014 and Octo...

Investors swap China holdings from Wall Street to Hong Kong as delisting threat brews

elean 14 12 月

4 minutes

SHANGHAI (REUTERS) - Global fund managers are reducing their holdings in US-listed Chinese companies such as Alibaba, Netease and JD.com as risks grow they will be forced off American exchanges, switching instead into shares of the companies listed in Hong Kong. Delisting risks surfaced last September, when US President Donald Trump's administration explored moves to kick Chinese companies off Wall Street unless they abide by US accounting standards, part of an escalating standoff between the world's top two economies. The threat is now real. The Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act has been passed by both Chambers of the US Congress and should soon be signed into law by Trump. Once law, foreign issuers in the United States which decline a review of their audits for three years can be delisted. Since most Chinese companies are prohibited by mainland laws from disclosing information that might be considered state secrets, they are often unable to comply with such audit reviews, making them vulnerable to delisting. "It's always something you're aware of as a potential risk. Now that risk is really becoming a reality," said Brian Bandsma, a New York-based portfolio manager at Von...

Shaping the future of banking: Making your financial future a reality

elean 14 12 月

1 minute

Income inequality is widening across the world with rapidly ageing populations and the pandemic exacerbating the situation. Low-income groups tend to be highly dependent on deposit savings, which leaves them vulnerable to inflation, especially when interest rates are low. Please subscribe or log in to continue reading the full article. Get unlimited access to all stories at $0.99/month Latest headlines and exclusive stories In-depth analyses and award-winning multimedia content Get access to all with our no-contract promotional package at only $0.99/month for the first 3 months* Subscribe now *Terms and conditions apply.

Fed meeting may convey optimism on US economy

elean 14 12 月

4 minutes

WASHINGTON • After a year in which the Federal Reserve pushed out unprecedented lending to support the US economy while pleading for government stimulus that never came, central bankers could show signs of optimism this week. The policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) will open its final meeting of this year tomorrow, capping a year that saw the world's largest economy contract massively due to Covid-19, and Mr Joe Biden oust President Donald Trump in last month's presidential election. The Fed and its chair Jerome Powell likely will, as usual, steer clear of making any political statement, but experts expect them to update their view on how the economy will fare next year as vaccines against the virus are rolled out. However, the outlook is not entirely clear. "This is actually a pretty difficult FOMC to analyse," Mr Steven Englander of Standard Chartered Bank said. "Picking up the pieces is going to be more complicated and will kind of look more complicated in six months than it does now." Looming over the meeting is the continued failure of Congress to pass another spending package to help the virus-struck economy recover - something Mr Powell and other central bank...

Covid-19 turned me into a serial online bargain hunter

elean 13 12 月

1 minute

9.9, 10.10, 11.11 and 12.12. For those who have switched to online shopping in a big way, these numbers have become part of their lingo. The same goes for a technophobe Generation X-er like me, who is missing the oniomania gene. But thanks to the coronavirus pandemic, these four super shopping days on Asia's e-Commerce calendar are now part of my vocabulary. Please subscribe or log in to continue reading the full article. Get unlimited access to all stories at $0.99/month Latest headlines and exclusive stories In-depth analyses and award-winning multimedia content Get access to all with our no-contract promotional package at only $0.99/month for the first 3 months* Subscribe now *Terms and conditions apply.

Investing in new skills at all ages to stay current

elean 13 12 月

1 minute

Rapid technological disruption in recent years has caused disruption and decimation of jobs across industries, but it has also created new ones. The Covid-19 crisis has hastened the changes. Reskilling has greater exigency than ever - and this is true for workers of all ages. Please subscribe or log in to continue reading the full article. Get unlimited access to all stories at $0.99/month Latest headlines and exclusive stories In-depth analyses and award-winning multimedia content Get access to all with our no-contract promotional package at only $0.99/month for the first 3 months* Subscribe now *Terms and conditions apply.

Steadily improving the lot of investors with a steady hand

elean 13 12 月

0 min

All investors have their weak points and often think they are smarter than they actually are, so a steady temperament is critical when putting your money on the line, says asset management executive Omar Slim. "We often can be emotional, greedy, hasty, scared or deceived. That's all normal," he says. Please subscribe or log in to continue reading the full article. Get unlimited access to all stories at $0.99/month Latest headlines and exclusive stories In-depth analyses and award-winning multimedia content Get access to all with our no-contract promotional package at only $0.99/month for the first 3 months* Subscribe now *Terms and conditions apply.

Yes, you can make a personal budget in just 25 minutes

elean 13 12 月

5 minutes

NEW YORK (BLOOMBERG) - Now is a great time to develop a serious budgeting habit. The next year might bring changes to your annual income and you should look at your finances now so that you are prepared for them. A nation can run deficits; households should avoid them. People without budgets are more likely to fall into debt - and anxiety. But search for "how to create a budget" and most results are inadequate. Much advice focuses on those with low or no incomes, ignoring other barriers to budgeting such as unexpected layoffs and expenses. And almost everyone underestimates the rewards of budgeting. Budgeting takes effort and psychological steel. A personal budget will not give you immediate gratification. It will not get you more money. But a budget will give you power. That is the main payoff for the tedious trouble of maintaining a budget. Lots of Internet applications offer tips and motivation (for example, Debt.org and The Balance) but I suggest budgeting free-hand. I started my budget with a piece of paper, a cup of coffee and some optimism. I eventually migrated it to my own Excel spreadsheet. You may be starting with debt hanging over your head. Put that debt, along with sa...

Lifelong learning enables retiree to try a different sector

elean 13 12 月

1 minute

Clients occasionally fire highly technical questions at regional sales manager Lawrence Low that can leave him stumped, which is no great surprise given he joined the precision tooling sector only a couple of years ago. Mr Low certainly jumped into the deep end, having come out of retirement and with no engineering background. Please subscribe or log in to continue reading the full article. Get unlimited access to all stories at $0.99/month Latest headlines and exclusive stories In-depth analyses and award-winning multimedia content Get access to all with our no-contract promotional package at only $0.99/month for the first 3 months* Subscribe now *Terms and conditions apply.

US stocks end mostly down on stimulus stalemate

elean 12 12 月

2 minutes

NEW YORK (AFP) - Wall Street stocks finished mostly lower Friday on disappointment over the lack of progress on a US stimulus Bill, while Disney shares skyrocketed on higher streaming demand. Major indices concluded a choppy week of trading modestly lower following the session, but remained near all-time highs. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.2 per cent at 30,046.37. The broad-based S&P 500 declined 0.1 per cent to 3,663.46, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index shed 0.3 per cent to 12,377.87. In Washington, the US Senate approved a one-week budget stopgap that avoids a government shutdown, but the outlook for a long-awaited coronavirus relief package, without which analysts fear a renewed downturn in economic activity, remained uncertain. A bipartisan group of lawmakers has been working to win support for a US$908 billion (S$1.2 trillion) plan that includes new unemployment aid, help for state and local governments and limited liability protections for businesses. But party leaders remain at loggerheads over the package, as Americans face the worst economic downturn in decades amid the greatest public health crisis in a century. "The two big factors that pushed the m...

G.H.Y Culture & Media’s IPO shares priced at 66 cents

elean 12 12 月

2 minutes

Entertainment company G.H.Y Culture & Media Holding lodged its final prospectus yesterday ahead of a mainboard listing. It is offering 21.7 million shares at 66 cents each in its initial public offering (IPO), comprising 18.7 million placement shares and three million under the public offer. Its market capitalisation will be about $708.7 million after the IPO. The public offer opened yesterday and closes at noon next Wednesday, with trading expected to start next Friday. Cornerstone investors have also struck agreements with the firm for around 162.7 million cornerstone shares, of which 141.2 million will be newly issued and 21.5 million will be vendor shares owned by investment holding firm Taiho Holding and group adviser John Ho. The cornerstone investors include Osim International founder Ron Sim, brand developer V3 Brands and investment firm Yinson Capital. The IPO and issuance of new cornerstone shares will generate about $115.1 million in net proceeds, of which $101 million will be due to the company. Proceeds will be used to invest in production, acquisitions and alliances to expand its TV and film productions and concert segments. G.H.Y's core business is producing and prom...

Hyundai to buy Boston Dynamics for up to $1.1b

elean 12 12 月

3 minutes

SEOUL • Hyundai Motor units and its chairman have agreed to buy an 80 per cent stake in robot-maker Boston Dynamics from SoftBank Group for around 800 billion won to 900 billion won (S$1.1 billion), a person familiar with the matter told Reuters yesterday. Hyundai can leverage the robot technology to expand automation at its unionised car factories, as well as design autonomous vehicles like self-driving cars, drones and delivery robots, analysts said. The move comes after newly promoted chairman Chung Eui-sun pledged to reduce reliance on traditional car manufacturing, saying robotics will account for 20 per cent of the company's future business, with carmaking taking up 50 per cent, followed by urban air mobility at 30 per cent. Mr Chung will own a 20 per cent stake in Boston Dynamics, while Hyundai Motor and its affiliates, Hyundai Mobis and Hyundai Glovis, will hold a 60 per cent stake, two people said, asking not to be identified because the matter is confidential. One of the sources confirmed the value of the deal. Hyundai Motor and SoftBank declined to comment. "The acquisition would help Hyundai offer a seamless approach to goods delivery with the help of delivery robots an...

MAS expands mandate of steering committee to drive Sibor transition

elean 12 12 月

3 minutes

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) is expanding the mandate of the steering committee that is overseeing the Swap Offer Rate (SOR) transition to Singapore Overnight Rate Average (Sora). MAS yesterday said the expansion of the mandate for this Steering Committee for SOR's Transition to Sora (SC-STS) is to enable it to oversee the interest rate benchmark transition from the Singapore Interbank Offer Rate (Sibor) to Sora. The move follows a joint industry report published yesterday, announcing the discontinuation of the remaining Sibor tenors in phases in the next four years. The six-month Sibor will be discontinued three months after the six-month SOR is discontinued, while the widely used one-and three-month Sibor will be discontinued by the end of 2024. In July this year, the Association of Banks in Singapore, the Singapore Foreign Exchange Market Committee and the SC-STS published recommendations to discontinue Sibor and shift to the use of Sora as the main interest rate benchmark for Singapore dollar (SGD) financial markets. Sibor is a key interest rate benchmark in Singapore that is widely used in retail mortgages and corporate loans. Sora is published by MAS, and is base...

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