Grab CEO will step into 2021’s tech limelight 21 Dec 2020 Anthony Tan has steered his $15 bln super-app through the pandemic. With growth in digital payments booming across Southeast Asia, Grab is now charging into wealth management and digital banking. A mooted merger with rival Gojek will only cement Tan’s rising star status.
Viewsroom: Davos in Singapore, Bob Dylan sells out 10 Dec 2020 The World Economic Forum’s decision to hold its annual chinwag in Southeast Asia instead of Switzerland this coming spring isn’t as simple as it sounds, Davos vets Peter Thal Larsen and Una Galani tell Rob Cox. Meantime, Anna Szymanski breaks down the folk bard’s catalogue deal.
Davos set can easily make do in Singapore 7 Dec 2020 The city state makes for a decent approximation of the Swiss enclave to host the annual World Economic Forum gathering. It’s clean, safe, a private wealth hub and neutral enough. With the future billionaire class emerging from Asia, it might even suit as more than a stopgap site.
Subpar Asian trade deal shines in splintered world 16 Nov 2020 Fifteen nations accounting for 30% of global GDP will slash tariffs and ease the movement of goods in the region. India’s absence is among the disappointments of the long-awaited pact. Even modest progress counts for a lot considering the sad state of U.S. and UK trade affairs.
Singapore’s bid for insolvency tourism is at risk 8 Oct 2020 The city-state picked elements of both U.S. and UK bankruptcy law to boost its attractiveness for hosting corporate workouts. But the glacial resolution of water treatment giant Hyflux could discourage the creditors the city needs to support its campaign to become a genuine hub.
Nippon Paint’s $12 bln makeover uses semi-gloss 21 Aug 2020 The Japanese company is ceding control to its biggest shareholder, Singapore's Wuthelam, by acquiring its JVs for stock. It's a clever cleanup, but also dilutes minority investors in the process. They have enjoyed a good run, however, and the growth strategy looks promising.
Temasek MAC attack draws Singapore’s bailout line 12 Aug 2020 The sovereign fund escaped a $3 bln deal for rig-builder Keppel, citing a “material adverse change”. It avoids setting an unrealistic valuation that would complicate consolidation. Singapore’s offshore sector can get its fix without turning patient capital into reckless capital.
Hong Kong will be lucky to end up like Singapore 11 Aug 2020 Media mogul Jimmy Lai has been arrested. Press freedoms are being curtailed; elections are postponed. Businesses hope the territory will settle on a model resembling its rival city state, with politics separated and commercial rule of law upheld. That looks far-fetched.
Sea’s $55 bln valuation can rise with the tide 3 Jul 2020 The Tencent-backed tech outfit’s market cap has risen eight-fold in the three years since its New York debut. A virus-related boom in games and e-commerce in Southeast Asia has helped justify a rapid rise, and expansion plans are on. Its payments unit may provide an extra buoy.
Sovereign funds are having their rainy-day moment 23 Jun 2020 Temasek is stepping in to support Singapore Airlines and a marine group. It makes sense to shore up strategic assets at home when global valuations are high and cash is on hand. Peers from Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala to Malaysia’s Khazanah are likely to follow.
Singapore oil trading mess creates a long slick 20 Apr 2020 The founder of Hin Leong Trading, O.K. Lim, fessed up to hiding $800 million in losses. That’s bad for auditors and the banks holding $3.9 bln of related debt. It’s also tricky for the city-state’s status as an energy hub, and perceptions of privately held commodities firms.
Viewsroom: Lingering lockdowns 2 Apr 2020 Breakingviews journalists around the globe check in with Editor Rob Cox to discuss Silicon Valley’s response to the coronavirus, how European regulators are forcing banks to hoard dividends, and one of the biggest corporate rescues yet of the crisis: Singapore Airlines.
Singapore Airlines secures business-class bailout 27 Mar 2020 State investor Temasek is supporting a whopping $13 bln funding package. Deeply discounted equity and a zero-coupon convertible bond provide other shareholders a chance to bet on a post-crisis recovery. The hard-to-copy playbook could even give the carrier a longer-term edge.
Hong Kong is ripe for more tycoon-led buyouts 23 Mar 2020 The Fung clan wants to take Li & Fung private. Online retail, the trade war and Covid-19 have battered the supply-chain group, making a $1.4 bln valuation look generous. As such opportunistic deals gather pace, investors in the Asian hub may start to demand more of buyers.
Super-app M&A would be sign of more rational times 25 Feb 2020 A mooted merger of Gojek and Grab could create a $23 bln Southeast Asian food-delivery-to-ride-hailing giant. Strategic investors are still keen to write cheques, but easy money from SoftBank and others is drying up fast. Consolidation is the best path to continued rapid growth.
Thailand’s capital markets are anything but sick 10 Jan 2020 Central Retail is raising up to $2.7 bln in a record IPO, putting the country on course to be top for new issues in Southeast Asia for a fourth year. As Thai Inc looks abroad for growth, helped by a strong currency, it’s a reminder that the market’s relative maturity has upsides.
The Exchange: The Asianisation of the world 17 Sep 2019 A splintering West and increasingly interconnected East is creating a newly powerful mega-region, according to Parag Khanna, author of “The Future is Asian.” He swung by the Breakingviews office in Hong Kong to break down the economic and geopolitical rationales behind his idea.
Singapore is an imperfect global barometer 12 Jul 2019 The Lion City grew 0.1% in the second quarter, the slowest pace in a decade. It’s a perturbing signal from the first big open economy to report, and a sharp contraction in manufacturing will worry other tech exporters. But the volatile numbers can set off false alarms elsewhere.
Singapore Airlines reroutes back to Malaysia 28 Jun 2019 The $8 bln carrier is deepening ties with its struggling Kuala Lumpur rival, from code-sharing to maintenance. It may be a precursor to merging again nearly 50 years after the two split. Reuniting would benefit both, but politics and regulation will be hard to navigate.
Uber and Lyft create Asian valuation conundrum 30 May 2019 U.S. ride-hailing exuberance faded into lacklustre market debuts. At the same time, Singapore’s $14 bln Grab, for example, recently raised capital privately at 7 times expected revenue, compared to Uber’s 5 times. Fast-growing payment units can only justify some of the gap.