LONDON (BLOOMBERG) – Banks are putting the brakes on UK commercial real estate lending as the pandemic batters the economy and stokes fears about looming defaults. New loans declined in the first half by 34 per cent from a year earlier to £15.5 billion (S$27.30 billion), according to a report from The Business School in […]

BRUSSELS (BLOOMBERG) – Huawei Technologies, already getting squeezed out of Europe’s vast market for the next generation of telecom equipment, is under siege in another fast-growing business: cloud computing. US officials have been lobbying European lawmakers and industry leaders to use Western companies – while shunning Huawei – to build data centers and offer infrastructure […]

SYDNEY (REUTERS) – Virgin Australia Holdings CEO Paul Scurrah will be replaced within weeks by Jayne Hrdlicka, the former head of Qantas’ budget offshoot Jetstar, as new owner Bain looks to draw in more travellers with a “hybrid” strategy. The management change at Virgin, to be effective soon after its sale to Bain Capital is completed […]

SINGAPORE (BLOOMBERG) – Mr Kuok Khoon Hong is ready to pull off a remarkable second act. The billionaire sold shares of his China business in the biggest initial public offering (IPO) on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, thanks to the most popular cooking oil brand in the country. Mr Kuok’s Yihai Kerry Arawana Holdings will debut […]

SINGAPORE – CapitaLand’s wholly-owned lodging business unit, The Ascott Ltd, on Thursday morning (Oct 15) said it is seeing strong recovery in China on the operations front, with apartment revenue in September performing close to 95 per cent of its year-ago level. Ascott also said it has been maintaining a steady stream of openings as […]

SINGAPORE – Users of The Straits Times’ website on Thursday (Oct 15) will be greeted with a fresh new look, complete with a slew of new offerings that focus on multimedia content and trending topics. This revamp is part of ST’s continuing efforts to refresh its digital and print products, and includes an upcoming relaunch […]

A 13-year-old boy and a 10-year-old girl are the two new Covid-19 cases in the community reported by the Ministry of Health (MOH) yesterday. Both patients had last been at their respective schools on Oct 2. They were both quarantined from Oct 3, and were swabbed on that day but tested negative, MOH said in […]

Singapore households used on average more electricity and gas each month between April and July, compared with the same period last year. Their electricity consumption rose 16 per cent while that of gas went up 34 per cent, as people spent more time at home during the circuit breaker and the early stages of Singapore’s […]

Continued diplomatic ties between Singapore and Hungary for 50 years now have been underpinned by “mutual respect”, according to Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto, who noted there has been a practical side to the cooperation as well in an interview with The Straits Times yesterday. “We represent a similar kind of approach when it comes […]

A “Right to Disconnect” law would help employees have protected time to rest and recharge, said labour MP Melvin Yong (Radin Mas) yesterday, adding that it would help address issues such as burnout and lead to safer workplaces. Speaking during the debate on the Government’s strategy to emerge stronger from the Covid-19 pandemic, he cited […]

SINGAPORE – A 13-year-old boy and a 10-year-old girl are the two new Covid-19 cases in the community reported by the Ministry of Health (MOH) on Wednesday (Oct 14). Both patients are school students and had last been at their respective schools on Oct 2. They were both quarantined from Oct 3, and were swabbed […]

SINGAPORE – As Covid-19 continues to batter economies and decimate jobs, governments around the world are seeking to share the fruits of labour more widely, and ensure that their citizens are not exposed to unbearable losses. One strategy some societies have adopted to safeguard workers’ welfare is a minimum wage, calls for which surfaced in […]

SINGAPORE (THE BUSINESS TIMES) – Raffles Education Corp (REC) substantial shareholder Oei Hong Leong has discontinued his latest legal action against the company in relation to its plan to raise its stake in a Chinese property firm. In a statement to the bourse, the mainboard-listed REC announced that Mr Oei and his firm Oei Hong […]

SINGAPORE – A specialised children’s agency and beefed-up counselling resources were some of the proposals to help vulnerable individuals put forth by MPs on Wednesday (Oct 14). Mr Don Wee (Chua Chu Kang GRC) called for an equivalent of the Agency for Integrated Care (AIC) – which supports seniors and their caregivers – to supervise, […]

SINGAPORE – The plan to have 28,000 charging points for electric vehicles by 2030 is “not ideal”, said Transport Minister Ong Ye Kung on Wednesday (Oct 14), when he announced that commercial entities could be roped in to help build up this infrastructure. Currently, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) is working with various agencies to […]

SINGAPORE (THE BUSINESS TIMES) – Sovereign wealth fund GIC will integrate climate change into its investment portfolio, a report noted today (Oct 14). This will involve evaluating the way long-term capital market assumptions are affected by climate change drivers and under different climate change scenarios. GIC is also ensuring that its investment teams integrate climate […]

HONG KONG (REUTERS) – Huawei Technologies is in talks with Digital China Group and other suitors to sell parts of its Honor smartphone unit in a deal that could fetch up to 25 billion yuan (S$5.04 billion), people with knowledge of the matter said. Embattled Huawei is resetting its priorities in the face of US […]

SINGAPORE (THE BUSINESS TIMES) – Shares of medical products supplier Medtecs International advanced further on Wednesday (Oct 14), following its stellar third-quarter financial results that were boosted by explosive demand for personal protective equipment (PPE). The Catalist-listed stock climbed as much as 7.4 per cent or $0.11 to hit $1.59 at around 11.45am. It eased […]

JAKARTA (BLOOMBERG) – Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL) and LG Chem, two of the world’s top producers of batteries for electric vehicles (EV), have signalled they may join projects that could see US$20 billion (S$27.2 billion) more invested in supply chains in Indonesia, according to the country’s government. The firms signed separate heads of agreement with […]