Singapore

Bowtie Life Insurance's digitalized services allow policyholders to complete an application to receive insurance money in five minutes. (Source image from Bowtie website)
Insurance

Emerging Hong Kong insurer to take on Singapore, other Asia areas

Online-exclusive Bowtie takes advantage of connection with Japan's Mitsui & Co.

10 March 2023
The Sedona Hotel Yangon shuttered its doors during the coronavirus pandemic. (Photo obtained by Nikkei)
Property

Singapore's Keppel sells upscale Myanmar hotel for $57m

Hospitality industry hammered by pandemic and military takeover

10 March 2023
Primaya owns and operates 15 hospitals that have a combined 1,400 beds in the Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi and Kalimantan regions of Indonesia. (Screenshot from Primaya Hospital's website) 
DealStreetAsia

Singapore's GIC lifts stake in Indonesian hospital chain

Wealth fund invests another $191m in Primaya Hospital

9 March 2023
A Keppel Corporation infrastructure center in Singapore. The company invests in energy projects, urban development and data centers. (Photo courtesy of Keppel Corporation)
Property

Singapore's Keppel targets Vietnam amid 'China plus one' shift

Temasek-backed asset manager eyes clean energy, data centers for new investment

9 March 2023
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim speaks at the Invest Malaysia conference in Kuala Lumpur on March 8. (Photo by Norman Goh)
Economy

Malaysia keen on resuming high-speed rail project with Singapore

Government also commits to $2.2m seed fund to advance goal of net-zero by 2050

8 March 2023
Sea laid off about 10% of its total workforce over six months through late 2022.
Technology

Singapore's Sea posts 1st quarterly profit after drastic cost cuts

NYSE-listed tech giant's e-commerce arm swings into black, while gaming shrinks

8 March 2023
Grab scored a coup by being featured as a miniprogram on the WeChat app.
Companies

Grab leans on Tencent and Amazon in rush to turn profit

Singaporean superapp cuts sales promotions to focus on monetization

4 March 2023
Telemedicine is gaining a foothold in Indonesia and other Southeast Asian countries for services ranging from consultations to delivering prescriptions. (Source photos by Getty Images)  
Business Spotlight

Indonesia and its ASEAN neighbors take to telemedicine

Growing populations, fewer physicians spur apps like Alodokter, Doctor Anywhere

3 March 2023
Binance is hoping that Singapore will give a license for its custody arm to offer services to corporate clients in the Asian finance hub.
Cryptocurrencies

Binance revives Singapore crypto permit bid despite U.S. pressure

World's biggest exchange hires experts to help it navigate global regulators

2 March 2023
Una Brands says it is the only active multichannel e-commerce aggregator in Southeast Asia. (Screenshot from Una Brands' website) 
DealStreetAsia

Singapore e-commerce aggregator Una Brands raises $30m

Private equity group Northstar leads the pre-Series C funding round

1 March 2023
The Philippines and Malaysia's startup ecosystems are emerging as lesser-known hot spots in Southeast Asia for investors seeking solid returns from young tech companies. (Source photos by Akira Kodaka and AP)
Startups

Philippines, Malaysia emerge as startup hot spots, says investor

500 Global doubles down on regional tech investment as valuations cool

28 February 2023
The Tim Hortons coffeeshop chain, based in Canada, has over 5,600 locations worldwide.
Food & Beverage

Tim Hortons coffee chain expands to Singapore, Malaysia in Marubeni pact

Japan trading house to open hundreds of shops in Southeast Asia, including Indonesia

28 February 2023
GXS' app looks more like a music-streaming service than a banking app. (Photo by Tsubasa Suruga) 
Finance

From Grab to Ant, Singapore's digital bank race picks up pace

Standard Chartered and other incumbents take lead in push for virtual lending

27 February 2023
Soitec's factory expansion project, scheduled for completion in 2024, will add 45,000 square meters of floor space, including an office space, to the plant. (Illustration courtesy of Soitec)
Semiconductors

Chip industry doubles down on Singapore as production hub

Soitec, Applied Materials diversify supply chains to mitigate risks

26 February 2023
About 80% of Singaporeans live in public housing, and home prices are soaring.
Society

Singapore fertility rate hits new low, putting focus on housing prices

At 1.05 in 2022, demographic indicator is lower than Japan's

25 February 2023
Khaosan Road, a popular tourism spot in Bangkok. Thailand looks to boost tourism by making casinos legal. (Photo by Kosuke Inoue)
Travel & Leisure

Thailand weighs bet on legalizing casinos to draw more tourists

Las Vegas Sands among the players interested in potential new gambling destination

25 February 2023
Fee earnings this month of ASEAN's largest banks -- United Overseas Bank, DBS Group Holdings and Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp. -- all dropped.
Finance

ASEAN banks feel fee earnings pinch amid choppy markets

Some investors pulling back, hitting noninterest incomes of lenders

24 February 2023
A commercial building in Beijing that a CapitaLand fund has invested in will be remodeled into a luxury office building. (Photo courtesy of CapitaLand)
Property

Singapore's CapitaLand bets $1bn on China's real estate

State-backed firm targets commercial properties and data centers

24 February 2023
Revenue from Grab's delivery services surged in 2022, with help from a Malaysian acquisition.
Technology

Singapore's Grab speeds up profit outlook as cost cuts pay off

Nasdaq-listed tech group expects to break even sooner after annual loss halves to $1.74bn

24 February 2023
The NYSE already has a presence across key Asian cities, which it hopes to expand as it targets India, Indonesia and Vietnam.
DealStreetAsia

New York Stock Exchange sets sights on Southeast Asia, India

U.S. bourse looking to encourage more share offers from Asia

22 February 2023
The new Singapore-India payment link is set up to allow real-time virtual transfers of money across borders in seconds, and has been billed as a means to reduce the cost and inefficiencies of remittances between both countries.
Finance

Singapore links digital payments with India after Thailand

Prime Ministers Lee and Modi laud connection of finance infrastructure

21 February 2023
Huobi's Asia headquarters will be moved to Hong Kong from Singapore.
Cryptocurrencies

Justin Sun to move crypto exchange Huobi's Asia HQ to Hong Kong

Decision comes as city looks to become regional leader in digital assets

20 February 2023
The challenge for startups in the recycling sector is raising money at a time when investors are being held back by global macroeconomic uncertainties, rising interest rates and inflationary pressures. (Photo courtesy of The Incubation Network)
Business Spotlight

ASEAN's garbage economy: Startups turn plastic waste into consumer goods

Trash is transformed into chairs in Indonesia, floor tiles in Vietnam

17 February 2023
Singapore is looking to cushion inflation, among other priorities, with its next budget.
Economy

Singapore budget aims to cushion 'brutal' inflation with subsidies

Wary of deficit, city-state is also seeking to beef up its tax revenues

14 February 2023
DBS Group has no exposure to any of Adani’s shares and thus is unaffected by changes in the Indian group's stock, CEO Piyush Gupta says.
Finance

Singapore's DBS unfazed by Adani exposure of around $1bn

Bank CEO Gupta defends asset quality of Indian conglomerate's cement units

13 February 2023