Singapore

A port terminal in Singapore. The city-state's exports jumped 24% on the year in November, the fastest rise in a decade.
Economy

Southeast Asia's soaring exports fuel hopes of recovery in 2022

Central banks seen shifting to rate hikes to protect home currencies

4 January 2022
Singapore's skyline: The city-state hopes to continue its economic recovery in 2022 but omicron poses a threat.
Economy

Singapore GDP rebounds 7.2% in 2021 as omicron looms

New COVID variant clouds outlook, with Q4 growth slowing to 5.9%

3 January 2022
The Front Office at Swissotel The Stamford Singapore. Where's the receptionist? That's you.
Life

COVID hastens the end of hotel service extras

From check-in to laundry, guests will have to become more self-sufficient

31 December 2021
Passengers from Amsterdam arrive at Singapore's Changi Airport via a vaccinated travel lane in October.
Coronavirus

Singapore halts bookings for quarantine-free entry due to omicron

Air tickets, as well as buses from Malaysia, hit by one-month sales suspension

22 December 2021
Xi Jinping on screen at the Museum of the Communist Party of China in Beijing, pictured on Nov. 12: the future price China's 1.4 billion people will pay for Xi's myth-building campaign rose exponentially in 2021.
Opinion

Asia's 2021 bull market in emperor-has-no-clothes moments

Xi Jinping happier than most to see this year stagger to a close

22 December 2021
Sea's e-commerce unit Shopee is allowing users to use its app to hail taxis from Blue Bird, Indonesia's leading taxi operator. (Source photo by Reuters)
Technology

Singapore's Sea enters mobility market with Indonesia taxi tie-up

Offering via Shopee unit and local company reflects super app competition

20 December 2021
Cryptocurrency companies are keen to break into the Singapore market, but local regulators are taking a cautious approach to giving their approval. (Source photo by AP)
Market Spotlight

Crypto entrepreneurs find Singapore is not so hospitable after all

Scores of businesses fail to win licenses from city-state's financial regulator

20 December 2021
Shiok Meats co-founders CEO Sandhya Sriram, left, and Chief Technology Officer Ling Ka Yi pose with their lab-cultured seafood product. (Photo courtesy of Shiok Meats)
Nikkei Asia Award

Singapore cultured seafood startup wins Nikkei Asia Award

Shiok Meats takes on food security with lab-grown shrimp, crab

20 December 2021
Singapore-based startup Nansen helps users protect their crypto assets.
DealStreetAsia

Singapore crypto startup Nansen raises $75m to fund expansion

Blockchain data analytics company to accelerate hiring, acquisitions

17 December 2021
Grab's delivery segment grew more than 60% on the year last quarter, far outpacing its ride-hailing business.
Business deals

Grab expands reach into retail with purchase of Malaysian supermarket

Deal for Jaya Grocer puts focus on thriving delivery business after rocky Nasdaq debut

16 December 2021
An employee of GlobalFoundries holds a 300-millimeter wafer at the company's chip factory in Dresden, Germany on July 1.
Supply Chain

Chipmakers' nightmare: Will shortages give way to a supply glut?

Expansion plans raise fears of another boom-to-bust cycle within the industry

15 December 2021
A nurse in Singapore prepares a COVID-19 vaccine shot in early 2021: The city-state aims to step up boosters in the coming weeks.
Coronavirus

Omicron-wary Singapore eyes 3-shot 'full vaccination' regimen

City-state aims to administer 2.1m doses from December to January

14 December 2021
India’s used-vehicle marketplace CARS24 is establishing its Southeast Asian foothold in Thailand and Indonesia. (Photo courtesy of CARS24) 
Startups

India used-car unicorn takes on ASEAN's Carro and Carsome

SoftBank-backed CARS24 eyes Thailand and Indonesia as 3-way battle heats up

14 December 2021
Binance operates one of the world's biggest cryptocurrency portals but has come under scrutiny from regulators around the world.
Cryptocurrencies

Binance shuts down Singapore cryptocurrency exchange

Provider of Bitcoin trading to refocus on blockchain tech in city-state

13 December 2021
Growthwell Foods is gearing up to sell its alternative meats, such as the Fishiee patties pictured here, in Singapore's supermarkets. (Photo by Takashi Nakano) 
Food & Beverage

ASEAN countries poised to experience alternative protein boom

Desire for healthy lifestyles, environmental awareness seen driving growth

10 December 2021
Southeast Asian central banks are forecasting subdued inflation. (Source photos by AP and Akira Kodaka)
Economy

Subdued inflation in ASEAN countries augurs central bank inaction

Indonesia and Thailand experience weak price rises amid slow recovery from COVID

9 December 2021
Cryptocurrency companies are keen to secure a foothold in Singapore in part to use as a base for regional expansion. (Source photo by Reuters and Akira Kodaka)
Cryptocurrencies

Crypto players jockey for Singapore position amid Binance clampdown

Luno, Matrixport and Cabital eye licenses to operate in the city-state

6 December 2021
A worker walks past a carbon capture facility in Canada. ExxonMobil plans to build a network of such facilities across Southeast Asia.
Climate Change

ExxonMobil plans carbon capture network in Southeast Asia

Oil giant seeks to utilize region's depleted oil fields as storage space

4 December 2021
Grab's CEO Anthony Tan and co-founder Tan Hooi Ling celebrate as they attend the Grab Bell Ringing Ceremony at a hotel in Singapore on Dec. 2. 
Startups

Grab's dismal Nasdaq debut a wake-up call for ASEAN startups

'Realistic valuation' now key after Singapore superapp dives 21% in first day

3 December 2021
Laox shoppers in Tokyo before the pandemic: The duty-free store operator is looking to adapt to the travel slump. (Photo by Wataru Ito)
Business deals

Singapore fund takes top stake in Japanese duty-free chain Laox

Acquisition shifts control of struggling retailer from China's Suning group

3 December 2021
Grab CEO Anthony Tan celebrates on stage during the Grab Bell Ringing Ceremony at a hotel in Singapore on Dec. 2.
3 December 2021
Grab has been grappling with intensifying competition and the multiyear impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. (Photo by Dimas Ardian)
Startups

Singapore's Grab faces latest test in Nasdaq debut

Big in Southeast Asia, the 9-year-old startup goes public in U.S. amid pandemic

2 December 2021
Grab provides users throughout Southeast Asia with one app to access ride-hailing, food delivery and mobile payments.
Startups

Singapore superapp Grab to debut on Nasdaq via SPAC on Dec. 2

Altimeter Growth approves $40bn merger with ride-hailing tech unicorn

1 December 2021
Employees take a photo with their company's new name and logo outside its headquarters in Menlo Park, Calif., on Oct. 28: at Meta, one of the core innovation principles is "don't surprise people."
Opinion

The metaverse is neither utopian nor dystopian

Virtual world is an opportunity to build a new paradigm together

30 November 2021
A bus operator speaks to a passenger at a station in Johor Bahru, Malaysia, on Nov. 29, as the country's land border with Singapore reopens under a vaccinated travel lane program. 
Coronavirus

Singapore-Malaysia land, air lanes open amid omicron COVID fears

City-state orders tests on arrival; PM Lee says variant may require 'steps back'

29 November 2021