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Indian spice-mix products of MDH and Everest on Friday due to quality issues, following in the footsteps of Hong Kong and Singapore. Nepal’s Department of Food Technology and Quality reported that the ban is due to the suspicion of ethylene oxide contamination. The banned spices include madras curry powder, sambhar mixed masala powder, mixed masala curry powder of MDH, and fish curry masala of Everest. The importers and traders are requested to recall these products from the Nepalese market. “As residue contents of ethylene oxide are found to be exceeding the prescribed limit in these four products, the import and sale of these products are banned within the country as per Article 19 of the Food Regulation 2027 B.S.,” Nepal's Department of Food Technology and Quality Control, in a notice said.

Top news of the day: On 18 May, a series of events are set to take place right from politics to business. Several foreign students, including those from Pakistan, are reportedly still facing threats from locals in Kyrgyzstan. Singapore is experiencing a new wave of COVID-19, as authorities recorded more than 25,900 cases from May 5 to 11.

Singapore is seeing a new COVID-19 wave as the authorities recorded more than 25,900 cases from May 5 to 11 even as Health Minister Ong Ye Kung on Saturday advised the wearing of masks again. «We are at the beginning part of the wave where it is steadily rising,» said Ong. «So, I would say the wave should peak in the next two to four weeks, which means between mid- and end of June,» The Straits Times newspaper quoted the minister as saying. The Ministry of Health (MOH) said the estimated number of COVID-19 cases in the week of May 5 to 11 rose to 25,900 cases, compared with 13,700 cases in the previous week.

Jain Global, the hedge fund founded by Bobby Jain, the former co-chief investment officer at Millennium, is finally launching in July. 

Thames Water Utilities Ltd.’s biggest shareholder has written off its investment in the utility in a sign of the escalating financial crisis at the United Kingdom‘s largest water company.

Gauri Shankar Nagabhushanam is the Chief Executive Officer, designate CapitaLand India Trust (CLINT), with effect from 16 May 2024. He will assume the position of the Chief Executive Officer of CLINT around August 2024. Gauri is responsible for driving the growth of CLINT, Asia’s first India-focused property trust listed in Singapore. Prior to this appointment, Gauri was Chief Executive Officer, India Business Park at CapitaLand Investment, where he was responsible for growing the company’s business parks portfolio in India. This includes investments, development, operations, asset management, and strategic planning for business parks in the country.

Economist Lawrence Wong was sworn in as the fourth prime minister of Singapore on Wednesday. He was administered the oath of office by President Tharman Shanmugaratnam.

Deutsche Bank, a German multinational investment bank, joined Singapore’s Monetary Authority of Singapore’s (MAS) Project Guardian on asset tokenization Tuesday in a press release.

Liminal, a leading Singapore-based custody services provider, has achieved a significant milestone in its global expansion journey with regulatory approval in Abu Dhabi.

Air India is on track to finalize its merger with Vistara by the end of this year, with plans to commence the integration of over 7,000 employees starting in June, as reported by The Indian Express.

Flipkart has begun active discussions to move its domicile back from Singapore to its country of origin, said people aware of the matter. The 17-year-old company is the country’s biggest consumer internet firm with a foreign domicile. The homecoming for India’s best-known technology startup, which is now valued at around $33 billion, could also potentially deliver a handsome tax gain for the Indian government. Flipkart Pvt Ltd is the holding company based in Singapore.

Tim Cook and Satya Nadella, who last month embarked on their biggest tours across Southeast Asia in years. The investments they pledged are set to help turn the region into a major battleground between the likes of Amazon, Microsoft and Google in future frontiers such as artificial intelligence and the cloud. The region’s growing workforce is making it a viable alternative to China as a center of talent to support companies’ global operations.

human consumption and a cancer risk with long exposure. According to reports, the health authorities in Singapore and Hong Kong found cancer-causing pesticide “ethylene oxide" in these masalas above the acceptable limits.

Mint looks at the issue and analyses what it could mean for the $4-billion export sector. On 5 April, Hong Kong’s food regulator suspended the sale of MDH spice mixes saying they contain high levels of ethylene oxide, a carcinogenic. Singapore followed suit with Everest, another top Indian spice brand.

global economic landscape, certain cities stand out as magnets for success, attracting wealthy investors seeking abundant opportunities. Henley and Partners, a leader in residence and citizenship planning, recently unveiled a list of the World's Wealthiest Top 10 cities and Rising Wealth Hubs, highlighting cities that attract high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) with liquid investable wealth of USD 1 million or more. Mumbai and Delhi's Rise Mumbai and Delhi's inclusion in the top 50 wealthiest cities underscores India's economic progress and urban development. On the list they ranked above, Washington, DC the capital city of the World's richest country. These cities have become magnets for HNWIs, offering a blend of economic opportunities and cosmopolitan lifestyles.

QCP Capital, a prominent options trading desk for digital assets, has received initial approval to operate in Abu Dhabi, marking its expansion into the Middle East. 

Singapore isn’t the hedge fund heaven that Hong Kong is usually seen as, but things seem to be taking a turn. Funds in the city – both headquartered and present there – have been busy adding Portfolio Managers (PMs) in the city.

SICCI is to help Singapore businesses and fellow trade associations and chambers of commerce deepen their ties with India, ever since the ‘India fever’ caught on during the tenure of then Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong," Parekh elaborated. Under SICCI’s guidance, there have been numerous business missions to various Indian states, building strong relationships with major Indian business associations such as the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII), the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM), and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI).

Dabur India on Thursday said that all its spices comply with the regulations set up by FSSAI for Indian markets. «All our spices comply with the regulations set up FSSAI for Indian markets and by the Spice Board of India for the overseas markets,» said Mohit Malhotra, CEO of Dabur India. All export consignments are tested by the Spice Board and shipped only once they comply with their regulations and specifications, he said.

GTRI) Wednesday said that nearly $700 million worth of India’s spice exports to critical markets are at stake due to cascading regulatory actions in many countries, as concerns are being raised about the quality of Indian spices. It cautioned that if the EU follows suit with a rejection across the bloc, it could impact an additional $2.5 billion of India’s spice exports. The US, Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia, and Malé have raised questions on the quality of spices supplied by leading Indian firms MDH and Everest. India exported spices worth $692.5 million to these countries in FY24. “This issue demands urgent attention and action to uphold the storied reputation of India’s fabled spice garden,” it said, adding that so far the response from Indian authorities has been tepid and formulaic.

Singapore Airline to pay nearly two lakh rupees to an Indian couple. A police chief from Telangana, Ravi Gupta, along with his wife, sued the airline after he had to manually adjust seats with an automatic recline feature, despite paying 66,750 rupees (about $800) each for a business class seat, according to a New York Post report. Delhi School Bomb Threat live Disappointed with their poor flight experience despite paying a hefty amount for a ticket, Gupta sued the airline for the incident that took place in May last year.