FROM BUSINESS TIMES

AZALEA Asset Management, an indirect subsidiary of Temasek Holdings, is launching a new series of bonds backed by private equity (PE), of which S$250 million is expected to be open for retail subscription.

RHB on Thursday upgraded OCBC to "buy" from "neutral", with a higher target price (TP) of S$12.50 from S$9.50 previously. At least two other research houses also raised their targets on the counter.

UOB, a strong player in the small- and medium-sized enterprises space, does not see concentrated risks in its loan book, estimating credit costs for the year at 30-40 basis points. 

UOB, a strong player in the small- and medium-sized enterprises space, does not see concentrated risks in its loan book, estimating credit costs for the year at 30-40 basis points. 

VACCINATIONS and steady moves by the United Kingdom government to relax the lockdown measures in the coming weeks have boosted the sterling.

SINGAPORE'S second-largest lender OCBC joined DBS in an improved outlook on asset quality, on the back of an "orderly and very well-managed" exit from Covid-19 relief programmes that is "better than expected", said its top executive on Wednesday.

DBS has partnered with global fashion retailer Inditex, which owns brands such as Zara, Pull&Bear and Bershka, in a cotton-procurement financing programme, in an effort to scale India's organic-cotton industry.

OCBC'S net profit for its fourth quarter fell on a drop in overall income, which more than offset an 11 per cent reduction in expenses, it said on Wednesday.

THE impact of climate change is continuing unabated, and Singapore and South-east Asia stand at the point end of its impact. HSBC Global Research recently reported that of the 20 global cities most vulnerable to rising sea levels, 15 are in Asia - including five in Asean.

THE Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has not found significant funds from Myanmar companies and individuals in banks in Singapore as part of its regular surveillance of the banking system, it said on Tuesday.

EUROPEAN asset manager Amundi has launched three flagship funds for retail investors in Singapore. All three funds hold either four or five-star Morningstar ratings as at Jan 31, 2021.

GREAT Eastern Holdings on Tuesday reported a 19 per cent increase in net profit to S$341.3 million for the fourth quarter ended Dec 31, 2020, from S$287 million a year ago.

THE maximum central clearing tenor for over-the-counter Singapore Overnight Rate Average (Sora) derivatives by global clearing house LCH has been extended to 21 years from 5.5 years previously.

WHILE the applause gets louder for the rising interest in sustainable investing - that is, investing according to environmental, social and governance (ESG) principles - calls for safeguards against greenwashing are also growing in volume.

WONG Kee Joo, most recently HSBC's Asia-Pacific head for global liquidity and cash management, will take over as the bank's Singapore CEO from June 1, according to an internal memo seen by The Business Times on Monday.

GLOBAL logistics property player GLP has obtained its first sustainability-linked (SL) loan of US$658 million from 10 undisclosed banks that participated in the deal.

DIGITAL payments services firm MC Payment made its Catalist debut on Monday morning following the successful completion of the reverse takeover (RTO) of Artivision Technologies on Feb 18.

THE maximum central clearing tenor for over-the-counter Singapore Overnight Rate Average (Sora) derivatives by global clearing house LCH has been extended to 21 years from 5.5 years previously.

INVESTMENT into the region may be down thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic, but UOB's foreign direct investment (FDI) advisory team still sees strong interest from companies according to Ian Wong, head of group international management at UOB.

INCOME from lower-risk investments is a highly prized attribute, but it is elusive. As at mid-December an estimated US$18 trillion of government debt is negative yielding globally, of which investment grade debt's share is 27 per cent.