Blackstone and GIC strike new sort of partnership 3 Dec 2014 The buyout firm is offloading U.S. industrial property rollup IndCor to the Singaporean fund for $8.1 bln, a year after the two shook hands on a $2.8 bln London sale. Divergent investment goals could mean both sides prosper and that Blackstone exits through GIC’s door yet again.
Chip deal slots into China’s tech dominance plan 7 Nov 2014 Semiconductors have long been rival Taiwan’s forte, but the People’s Republic is muscling in. A $1.8 billion Chinese offer for a Singaporean chip-packager is the latest attempt to bring tech know-how to the mainland. More buys are likely to follow.
Asia’s top-down corporate reforms vary in promise 25 Aug 2014 Newish leaders across the region are pushing to change the way companies work. Although the mechanisms and targets vary between countries, increasing efficiency appears to be a common theme. But investors eyeing improved returns will find not all reforms are equal.
Asia’s solid exterior hides internal weakness 17 Jul 2014 While more competitive currencies and improving trade balances are making the region externally resilient, sputtering GDP growth is enfeebling it from within, especially since the slowdown is occurring amidst a large debt overhang. Monetary stimulus is an option – but a risky one.
Singapore confronts peril of please-all economics 12 Jun 2014 Ageing workers are demanding bigger nest eggs. People also want more healthcare and housing subsidies, without paying higher taxes or having more foreign labour crowd the city-state. Responding to all of society’s wishes will be a challenge for a fiscally prudent government.
Aussie property bet cements risk for Thai tycoon 5 Jun 2014 The billionaire who broke up Fraser & Neave last year is back on the M&A trail with a $2.4 bln bid for Australand. Buying down under would dilute exposure to Singapore, but pile debt onto a group still digesting its last deal. Managing the risk will require fancy footwork.
Missing inflation could make Asian bonds frothier 21 Apr 2014 Prices of goods in the region are rising more slowly than expected. Inflation drives bond yields up; a lack of it could send them downward, even though the U.S. Fed is threatening to edge up rates around the world. Asian debt is already pricey – it may get yet more expensive.
Singapore’s love affair with trusts looks worn out 9 Apr 2014 Companies that pay out most of their income to shareholders have dominated stock offerings in the city. Yet rising interest rates and poor performance makes them a harder sell. Though Indian trusts may prop up activity in the short term, Singapore’s IPO prospects are bleak.
Noble China joint venture still faces market test 2 Apr 2014 The Singapore trader is selling 51 pct of its agri business to a group led by state-backed COFCO. Noble gets $1.5 bln in cash and shrugs off some debt. China’s desire to control food supply should secure volumes. What’s less clear is whether that translates into healthy margins.
Temasek buyout throws sovereign weight behind Olam 14 Mar 2014 The Singapore state investor is taking the commodities trader private with a $4.3 bln offer. Though Olam saw off short-sellers in 2012 its shares never fully recovered. Temasek’s ownership will shield it from public scrutiny – and remove any questions over its creditworthiness.
Singapore is not the world’s most expensive city 5 Mar 2014 A survey that labelled the city-state the world’s costliest place to live suffers from a flawed methodology. Measuring the price of bread or petrol in U.S. dollars is not the right comparison. Consumers care about quality of life - in the currency in which they earn their living.
Singaporean bank growth defies domestic slowdown 14 Feb 2014 The city-state’s two largest lenders both boosted loans by 18 percent last year, even as regulators cooled the housing market. DBS and OCBC are countering slower growth at home by expanding. The risk is that rising interest rates could test the wisdom of that strategy.
Singapore toughens up with overdue market overhaul 10 Feb 2014 The city-state has proposed new trading rules after last year’s painful penny-stock crash. Plans include an independent body to vet listings, minimum trading prices, collateral requirements, and disclosure of short positions. Mostly, it looks like playing catch-up with Hong Kong.
Not all Asian countries need to fear the Fed 5 Sep 2013 Plunging currencies have raised contagion concerns. But not all nations are equally vulnerable to receding tides of dollar liquidity. A Breakingviews interactive map shows that while no Asian economy is entirely immune, none is as badly exposed as India.
Minzhong reprieve doesn’t dispel short-seller risk 3 Sep 2013 A bid from the Chinese food group’s largest shareholder has neutralised questions about the company’s accounts. It’s a reminder of the risks for short-sellers going after Asian targets. But the ongoing slide at commodities trader Olam shows concerns aren’t easily dismissed.
Edward Hadas: Rate rigging costs more than money 19 Jun 2013 In cash terms, the manipulation of supposedly objective reference rates and prices is a petty crime: relatively small gains for a few and microscopic losses for many. Ethically, though, the tolerance of untrustworthy behaviour makes the industry look particularly bad.
Singapore’s creative bank penalty may be a one-off 17 Jun 2013 The city-state is forcing lenders to set aside up to $9.6 bln in extra reserves as punishment for rate-rigging offences. With rates low, the costs will be smaller than recent mega-fines. And proposed new rules mean future misbehaviour will be met with more conventional justice.
Bank rate-rigging was pretty big business 14 Jun 2013 When traders got caught fiddling Libor, their employers blamed a few bad apples. Singapore has found 133 people at 20 banks trying to rig three rates. That sounds more like a rotten barrel. The group announcement spares each bank some headlines, but makes the industry look worse.
Temasek’s $500 mln investment times Markit just so 21 May 2013 Financial “Big Data” is a running theme and the Singapore investor can open doors across Asia for Markit any time. But with Bloomberg on the defensive, it’s a good moment to suggest there’s potential for another competitor – perhaps, before long, another publicly traded one.
Wage subsidy could blunt Singapore’s edge 26 Feb 2013 The city-state’s plan to subsidise 40 percent of pay increases for low-wage earners is the wrong answer to growing inequality and falling margins. Companies will be left with bloated wage bills when the subsidies end in 3 years. A small economy can’t afford such distortions.