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Bitcoin tops US$60,000, a six-month high, on US ETF expectations

elean 18 10 月

4 minutes

LONDON/NEW YORK/HONG KONG (REUTERS)- Bitcoin topped US$60,000 for the first time in six months on Friday, nearing its all-time high, as hopes grew that United States regulators would allow a futures-based exchange-traded fund (ETF), a move likely to open the path to wider investment in digital assets. Cryptocurrency investors have been waiting for approval of the first US ETF for Bitcoin, with bets on such a move fuelling its recent rally. The world's biggest cryptocurrency rose to US$61,869.05, its highest since mid-April, and was last up 6.9 per cent at US$61,346. It has risen by more than half since Sept 20 and is closing in on its record high of US$64,895, hit in April. The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is set to allow the first American Bitcoin futures ETF to begin trading next week, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday. Such a move would open a new path for investors to gain exposure to the emerging asset, according to traders and analysts. "Crypto ETFs are inevitable. A product like this will eventually come to fruition since there is a demand for it," said Mr Chris Kline, chief operating officer and co-founder of Bitcoin IRA. "It seems clear that regulators wil...

PBOC’s Yi says China can ‘contain’ the risk from Evergrande

elean 18 10 月

3 minutes

LONDON (BLOOMBERG) - People's Bank of China (PBOC) governor Yi Gang said the authorities can contain risks posed to the Chinese economy and financial system from the struggles of China Evergrande Group. The property developer's trouble "casts a little bit of concern," Mr Yi said at a virtual meeting of the Group-of-30 on Sunday (Oct 17). "Overall, we can contain the Evergrande risk." Concerns have grown that the cash crunch at Evergrande is spilling over to other developers as Chinese President Xi Jinping maintains strict measures to cool the property market. Contagion fears intensified over the past two weeks after a surprise default by Fantasia Holdings Group and a warning from Sinic Holdings Group that its default was imminent. On Friday, PBOC official Zou Lan said that the authorities and local governments are resolving the situation based on "market-oriented and rule-of-law principles". Mr Yi said Evergrande's liabilities were spread across "hundreds" of entities in the financial system so that there is "not much concentration". "The rights and interests of creditors and shareholders will be fully respected in strict accordance with the law. And also the law has clearly indica...

Russian billionaire eyes modular housing take-off

elean 17 10 月

1 minute

(BLOOMBERG) - Russian billionaire Sergey Gordeev, whose PIK Group surged nearly 140 per cent this year to become Europe's most valuable home builder, thinks his industry is due for a disruption or risks going the way of petrol-guzzling cars and brick-and-mortar stores. He has ambitions to transform his company, now worth about US$13 billion (S$17.5 billion), into a global leader in modular housing that can build towering apartment blocks in weeks and establish a platform that makes buying and renting apartments more like shopping for groceries online. 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.

Singaporeans looking at bigger electricity bills as price hikes bite, amid work from home

aseanpr 16 10 月

9 minutes

SINGAPORE - After tutor Roy Chan made the switch from national grid operator SP Group to an Open Electricity Market (OEM) retailer in 2018, he saved, by his estimate, more than 30 per cent on his electricity bill. When his fixed-price plan with Senoko Energy expires this month, the 35-year-old will have to renew it at a rate of 24.9 cents per kilowatt hour (kwh) - nearly 60 per cent more than the rate of 15.89 cents per kwh he was previously paying. Consumers like Mr Chan are sitting up and taking notice of rate hikes by OEM retailers driven by soaring electricity prices and fuel costs. This is especially as Singaporeans settle into a new normal of working, learning and recovering from home, with a sustained, significant increase in power consumption expected. Those needing to recontract told The Straits Times that they are mulling over their options as the gap continues to narrow between regulated tariff rates and OEM rates - from as high as 30 per cent three years ago to around 10 per cent today. Observers also warned that more OEM retailers would shut down as their profit margins shrink and market consolidation takes hold. Singapore's fourth-largest electricity retailer iSwitch ...

StrongNode Partners with Blockpass for KYC Provision

indie 15 10 月

4 minutes

HONG KONG, Oct 15, 2021 - (ACN Newswire via SEAPRWire.com) - Blockpass and StrongNode are proud to reveal a collaboration that will see StrongNode employ Blockpass' KYC services to ensure customer compliance.StrongNode has positioned itself to be the next generation of edge computing by leveraging blockchain to create a global Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) distributed Edge Network. The StrongNode mission is to leverage people's personal devices directly or through their incubated gaming, entertainment, lifestyle, and social impact platforms, and reward users for powering and scaling up real-world industries in a cheaper, faster, and more secure way. To be green and reduce e-waste, especially with chip shortages, StrongNode uses your devices to their fullest extent - phones, tablets, computers, and other devices can provide compute resources instead of filling up landfills. StrongNode IDO is coming up in a little less than two weeks and they are excited to have the BlockPass community and cryptosphere come along on the journey.Blockpass is a digital identity verification provider which provides a one-click compliance gateway to financial services and other regulated industries....

S’pore’s revised carbon tax rate for 2024 to be announced in Budget 2022: Lawrence Wong

aseanpr 15 10 月

6 minutes

SINGAPORE - Singapore's revised carbon tax rate for 2024 will be announced in next year's Budget, which will also indicate what to expect up to 2030. Speaking at the 35th Singapore Economic Roundtable on Friday (Oct 15), Finance Minister Lawrence Wong said the Republic's carbon price today is too low. This is why the Government is reviewing the level and trajectory of its carbon tax, so that it reflects the cost of carbon and influences investment decisions effectively, he said. And as it introduces higher carbon taxes, it will also enhance U-save rebates to help lower- and middle-income households with the transition, Mr Wong added. Singapore was the first South-east Asian nation to introduce a carbon tax in 2019, but its rate of $5 per tonne is considered to be on the low end of the spectrum. Mr Wong said the carbon price is a key lever for the green transition of Singapore's economy, and the Government is mindful that businesses will need predictability and time to adjust. The most promising options today are clean hydrogen and carbon capture, but these technologies are not available for immediate deployment. And that is why Singapore is investing heavily in research and develop...

S’pore must strengthen revenue resilience to ensure no citizen is excluded from benefits of growth: Lawrence Wong

aseanpr 15 10 月

9 minutes

SINGAPORE - The lives of Singaporeans and that of their children will become progressively better, and nobody - and no group - will stagnate or feel excluded from the benefits of growth, said Finance Minister Lawrence Wong on Friday (Oct 15). Investments in these efforts to mitigate inequality and improve social mobility entail regular spending, and in order to cope with rising spending needs, Singapore will have to strengthen the resilience of its revenue base, he added. "We must continue to reduce inequality and promote greater social mobility among all segments of society and throughout (people's) working lives... All these efforts will require more recurrent funding. "But these are areas that the Ministry of Finance (MOF) will not hesitate to spend on - to invest in the progress and well-being of our people, to temper inequality and improve social mobility, and to counter the tendency for a mature society to stratify. "These are fundamental tenets of our commitment to Singaporeans." He gave this assurance to all Singaporeans, as he outlined Singapore's fiscal strategies and the thinking behind them, at the 35th Singapore Economic Roundtable organised by the Institute of Policy ...

Price pinch: Global economy caught in perfect storm

elean 15 10 月

5 minutes

LONDON/TOKYO (REUTERS) - From beef bowls in Tokyo to fried chicken in London, consumers are starting to feel the pinch from the surge in costs coursing through the global economy. The rebound as Covid-19 restrictions are eased has exposed supply chain shortages, with firms scrambling for workers, ships and even fuel to power factories, threatening the fledgling economic recovery. Britain's biggest chicken producer said that the country's 20-year cheap food binge is ending and food price inflation could hit double digits. "The days when you could feed a family of four with a £3 (S$5.50) chicken are coming to an end," Ranjit Singh Boparan, owner of the 2 Sisters Group, said. Shortages of warehouse workers, truckers and butchers as the world's fifth-largest economy deals with Brexit as well as Covid is exacerbating strains being felt globally by international business. Ikea is leasing more ships, buying containers and re-routing goods as the world's largest furniture brand seeks to mitigate a "perfect storm" of disruptions. Jon Abrahamsson, chief executive at Inter Ikea, told Reuters Ikea warns supply chain disruptions likely to last into 2022 he expects the crisis to extend into 2022...

Welcome to Britain, the bank scam capital of the world

elean 15 10 月

6 minutes

LONDON (REUTERS) - It was an e-mail offering a discount on an electric toothbrush that began the sequence of events that ruined Anna's life. Within minutes of entering her card details, she got a call from her bank telling her fraudulent transactions were being made. The next day a Robert Clayton from Britain's Financial Conduct Authority called to say they were pursuing the criminals responsible but that her savings were at risk. There was no toothbrush, though. No fraud department, no Robert Clayton. They were all part of a scam to gradually siphon off Anna's life savings, and within a few weeks the plot had succeeded, to the tune of about £200,000 (S$368,900). "I am still in shock, the guilt and shame are impossible to convey," said the 78-year-old widow from central England, who did not want her full name to be used in this story. She is one of thousands of people who have seen savings swept away this year by an unprecedented wave of online bank fraud hitting Britain, where you're more likely to be a victim of online fraud than any other crime. The country is the global epicentre for such attacks, according to five of the biggest British banks and more than a dozen security exp...

Sales exec, 29, develops multi-function security system

elean 15 10 月

6 minutes

A 29-year-old sales executive is behind the creation of a security system that measures your temperature, recognises your face and, among other things, scans your body. And the company behind her is a small but bold homegrown outfit. Ms Betty Huang works for TT Innovation and Technology (TTIT). She joined the company only two years ago and has no experience in research and development. Yet she was picked to lead the development of a potentially game-changing security tech system. Why? “Betty was the best fit in the company to lead the project because she handles the sale of many of the core products in the system, and is the most familiar with the factory and suppliers we needed to work with,” says TTIT director Thomas Ting, 59, who co-founded the company in 2014 with a partner. His belief in empowering his people reflects the company’s culture. It encourages each individual to think big and develop beyond their job scope. The result: TTIT has consistently punched well above the weight of its lean 22-member team, growing quickly and widening its reach globally. The team believes in seizing opportunities and innovating, says Mr Ting, whose approach stems from his years of experien...

Indonesia Develops Blue Economy to Boost National Manufacturing Industry Growth

indie 14 10 月

4 minutes

JAKARTA, Oct 14, 2021 - (ACN Newswire via SEAPRWire.com) - The Ministry of Industry (Kemenperin) is currently preparing a long-term blue economy development plan. Blue economy is a series of sustainable commercial activities, products, services and investments that depend on the sea as well as impact coastal and marine resources. The blue economy plan is co-developed with The Spectrum Solution Group (TSSG), a boutique strategy consulting and financial services firm headquartered in New York, N.Y.TSSG's Edward Chang explained that the blue economy is attracting global interest due to the impact it can have on the world economy and presents an important opportunity that must be optimized by Indonesia to further increase economic growth. Ocean-related and blue economy activities have always been essential to Indonesia environmentally, economically, and socially and are especially important since economic growth in the country continues to be under pressure from the COVID-19 pandemic. "Therefore, the blue economy is a great opportunity to harvest economic benefits and help Indonesia to develop sustainable energy and resilient food sources. It is with these objectives in mind that we cr...

Scammers posing as tech support try to cheat 2 people of their life savings, police issue alert

aseanpr 14 10 月

2 minutes

SINGAPORE - Scammers impersonating tech support staff from local telecommunication companies or government agencies are on the prowl and the police have issued an alert to the public on Thursday (Oct 14). In September, two people almost lost their life savings to the criminals, who gained access to their computers and tried to transfer more than $300,000 from each victim's bank account. Fortunately for these two people, vigilant bank officers and a fraud surveillance system from OCBC, the bank involved, detected the suspicious transfer requests and contacted the victims. The bank then stopped the transactions when it found out they were not authorised. The scammers operate by calling their victims and claiming to be from either a government agency or a telecommunication company. These "tech support staff" would tell the victims that their Wi-Fi routers are being used for illegal purposes. They may also tell the victims that their mobile devices have been infected with viruses. The scammers would then instruct the victims to install remote access software, such as TeamViewer or Anydesk, to grant them access to the devices. Once the scammers gain access to the computers, they would r...

Top AI Experts Shed Light on the Need to Accelerate AI, RPA to Support Businesses and Enterprises in The Philippine Market

indie 13 10 月

5 minutes

MANILA, Oct 13, 2021 - (ACN Newswire via SEAPRWire.com) - The Philippines played host to a content-rich virtual conference on Artificial Intelligence and Robotic Process Automation on Thursday, 16 September 2021. Hosted by Trescon, World AI & RPA Show convened over 250 online participants that included major stakeholders of the Philippines' AI ecosystem including government authorities, top AI experts and solution providers. The virtual conference featured leading AI organizations such as Oracle and Denodo coming together to discuss the Philippines' AI and RPA prospects.An image from World AI & RPA Show - Philippines' panel discussion streamed live on 16 September 2021The conference was themed on highlighting the next steps driving the Philippines' plans for the future through the use of emerging technologies.The event focused on key topics such as preparing for the next evolution of AI as a driver for business success; Building the business strategy for AI across the enterprise; Aligning organizational structure to deploy at scale; RPA and AI implementation: Challenges and Opportunities; Leveraging Intelligent Automation to tackle issues of compliance and big data; Improvi...

Fed policymakers hone in on November taper timeline

elean 13 10 月

5 minutes

WASHINGTON (REUTERS) - Three United States Federal Reserve policymakers on Tuesday (Oct 12) said the economy has healed enough for the central bank to begin to withdraw its crisis-era support, cementing expectations the Fed will start to taper its monthly bond purchases as soon as next month. "I myself believe that the 'substantial further progress' standard has more than been met with regard to our price-stability mandate and has all but been met with regard to our employment mandate," Fed vice-chair Richard Clarida told the Institute of International Finance virtual annual meeting. He was referring to the Fed's promise to keep buying US$120 billion (S$162.8 billion) of Treasuries and mortgage-backed securities each month until the economy had met that standard on both its mandates. Fed policymakers at their last meeting agreed that tapering "may soon be warranted" and would likely conclude in the middle of next year, he said. Mr Clarida's upbeat assessment likely echoes the sentiments of his boss, Fed chair Jerome Powell, who previously said that he only needed to see a "decent" September US jobs report to be ready to begin to taper bond buys in November. The economy has strength...

Mostexpensive Platform Official Launch on WOW Summit

pandora 12 10 月

3 minutes

London, UK / SEAPRWire / October 12, 2021 / – In mid-October, the world’s first hybrid NFT (NFTH) platform Mostexpensive will be launched at the largest NFT and crypto market event in the MENA region – WOW summit. The official launch of the platform is linked with the off-line event taking place at Palm Atlantis, Dubai.. The two NFTHs available on the platform – a real ball and a tennis racket connected with NFT of the world’s second tennis player Daniil Medvedev with his signature ( https://www.instagram.com/p/CRBKrH7JQCp ). The initial price of the ball is 5,000 USD, the initial price of the racket is 10,000 USD. Mostexpensive launch scheduled on October 14 at 10 AM (GMT+4). What is hybrid NFT? NFTH is undivided non-fungible tokens backed by real items. It is an item and its digital certificate that proves the right of its ownership. Mostexpensive is the world’s first platform that offers NFTH. Over the past six months, drastic fluctuations took place on the NFT market – mainly because it is pretty complicated to determine the actual value of such tokens. The Mostexpensive platform offers real rare items that will be of collectors and investors interest and definitely will not lo...

Two-thirds of BTO projects completed during Covid-19 outbreak delayed by 6 months or less: HDB

aseanpr 12 10 月

5 minutes

SINGAPORE - Buyers of flats in 17 Build-To-Order (BTO) projects completed and delivered during the Covid-19 pandemic faced additional waiting time of six months or less, said the Housing Board on Tuesday (Oct 12). The 17 projects make up about two-thirds of the 25 BTO projects delivered since January last year. The remaining eight BTO projects were delayed by between seven and 10 months, said HDB. In total, more than 16,000 new homes have been delivered to Singaporeans since January 2020. Including pandemic-induced delays, the waiting time for the projects ranged from 2.4 years to 5.3 years, with an average waiting time of 4.1 years, said HDB. Last Saturday, HDB said it is on track to complete another five more BTO projects by the end of this year, barring unforeseen circumstances. This comes as National Development Minister Desmond Lee said in Parliament earlier this month that the average waiting time for ongoing BTO flats is between four and five years, even after taking into account delays brought about by the pandemic. He was clarifying the misconception that waiting times for BTO flats have risen to six to seven years, given the impact that Covid-19 has had on the constructio...

Singapore said to canvass wealth circles on tax ideas

elean 12 10 月

6 minutes

SINGAPORE (BLOOMBERG) - Singapore's government has been soliciting feedback on its tax regime, including having conversations around wealth taxes, as discourse grows around this potentially sensitive topic. While the government regularly consults various industry groups on fiscal policies, the talks around such taxes appear to have picked up pace following comments by Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) chief Ravi Menon in July that expanding levies on the rich may be needed to address wealth disparity. Officials from the administration have met with members of Singapore's business elite and advisers to the rich to gauge their reactions and understand concerns, according to people familiar with the discussions, who asked not to be identified because of the delicate nature of the topic. The discussions took place through official feedback sessions as well as unofficial meetings over meals, they said. Singapore's low taxes and stability have long attracted the world's wealthiest, from Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin to James Dyson, the billionaire founder of the eponymous vacuum cleaning giant, making the city-state a hub for private banking, family offices and asset management...

Bitcoin pierces US$57,000 as traders resume push for record highs

elean 12 10 月

3 minutes

NEW YORK (BLOOMBERG) - Bitcoin climbed above US$57,000 for the first time since May as speculators bet that the largest cryptocurrency will retest the record highs reached earlier this year. The digital currency rose as much as 4.3 per cent to US$57,829 on Monday (Oct 11) in New York before paring gains. It reached almost US$65,000 in April, and has roughly doubled this year. The Bloomberg Galaxy Crypto Index increased as much as 2.4 per cent on Monday. As in past rallies, a myriad of reasons are being cited for the latest surge, from an easing of concern about regulatory efforts in the United States and China, as well as renewed optimism about a possible US Securities and Exchange Commission approval of a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund. Investors are particularly excited that a Bitcoin futures ETF may be soon green-lighted by the US regulator, as SEC chair Gary Gensler has signaled openness to a fund focused exclusively on the derivatives-based product. "A lot of investors and advisors have had crypto on their to-do list, and are finally making the move with allocations that start with Bitcoin," or crypto funds like the Bitwise 10 that invest heavily in Bitcoin, said Hunter Horsley,...

Fire extinguisher company in S’pore ordered to stop unfair trade practices

aseanpr 11 10 月

3 minutes

SINGAPORE - A company that sells fire extinguishers has been ordered to stop its unfair trade practices by the State Courts, after investigations by the Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (CCCS). Fire Safety & Prevention (SG) had made false and misleading claims while carrying out unsolicited door-to-door visits to sell fire extinguishers, said CCCS in a media release. This included quoting buyers an initial price of $17.90 for a fire extinguisher and then charging them $179 for the same product. The company had also led consumers to believe that it was affiliated with or approved by the Government, the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) or various community centres. To sell the extinguishers, it told consumers that there was a new law requiring each household to own a fire extinguisher by a certain date. It also told buyers that Passion or NTUC card holders, Pioneer Generation members or Singaporeans could get a discount on the fire extinguishers, when there was no such discount. Furthermore, it said its fire extinguishers were non-refundable even though under consumer laws, buyers have the right to cancel a purchase and get a refund. The company also told customer...

Aircraft engine manufacturer Pratt & Whitney to hire 250 people in S’pore over a year after Covid-19 layoffs

aseanpr 11 10 月

3 minutes

SINGAPORE - Aircraft engine manufacturer Pratt & Whitney will hire 250 new staff by the end of the year, in a move that shows the aviation and aerospace sector is slowly getting back on its feet. The United States-based firm had retrenched 400 staff at five of its six facilities here in August last year due to the impact the Covid-19 pandemic had on the industry. It had employed about 2,000 workers in Singapore. Mr Tim Cormier, Pratt & Whitney's vice-president of aftermarket operations in Asia-Pacific, told The Straits Times on Friday (Oct 8) that the firm had started hiring workers in the last few months. Most of the new hires will be hourly workforce technicians and production associates, said Mr Cormier, but they will be complemented by salaried workforce made up of degree and diploma holders as well. Asked whether the new staff are filling up the roles left by those who were retrenched or if they are taking on new roles, Mr Cormier said they are doing both. "There is some volume-related hiring we need to do, which would lend itself to bringing back some of the employees, or at the very least, some of the same skill sets that we have. "But our eyes are trained on the future... t...

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