Singapore Financial News

By Samuel Indyk

Global stock markets are higher as traders look ahead to the Federal Reserve’s summer conference for signs of whether the U.S. central bank thinks inflation is under control or more interest rate hikes are needed to cool inflation

Akasa Air, India's youngest airline, celebrates it... moreAkasa Air, India's youngest airline, celebrates its first year of operations with plans to launch international flights.

HDFC Bank Ltd. wants to use home lending as a gateway for the world’s sixth-largest lender to capture more consumer finance customers with loans on everything from air conditioners to cars and TVs. The Mumbai-based bank is converting about 530 offices that previously specialized in mortgages into ones with fully-fledged banking services in the coming months, said Kaizad Bharucha.

Asian stocks are mixed as traders look ahead to the Federal Reserve’s summer conference for signs of whether the U.S. central bank thinks inflation is under control or more interest rate hikes are needed to cool inflation

rupee is within a whisker of a record low, but it’s still a favored emerging-market currency with some investors. A reserves stockpile of $600 billion, more than $16 billion worth of foreign inflows for stocks this year and economic growth forecast at 6.5% are among the reasons behind the optimism for Neuberger Berman Singapore and Columbia Threadneedle Investments. “The reserve number is very comfortable right now,” said Prashant Singh, senior portfolio manager for emerging-markets debt at Neuberger Berman Singapore, who favors the rupee.

After six months in administration, there might finally be some movement at Balmaine Gold, the local subsidiary of Singapore-listed Shen Yao. The company’s main asset, a gold mine in Ballarat, has attracted at least one bid – London’s Acheron Capital wants to buy it for $42 million.

Narendra Modi had announced that India and France have agreed to use UPI payment mechanism. ALSO READ: Modi in France: UPI to start from Eiffel Tower.

NEW DELHI : Singapore, Indonesia and the Philippines, key diplomatic partners of India, have appealed to New Delhi to resume rice exports to their nations following India’s decision to suspend non-basmati shipments to check prices. Singapore has requested around 110,000 tonnes of rice from India. In June, Indonesia announced plans to import 1 million tonnes (mt) of rice from India to protect against disruptions caused by the El Nino weather pattern.

free trade agreement on goods between India and the 10-nation Asean bloc may be taken up during a meeting in Indonesia on Monday, an official said. The issue will come up for discussion and decision during the India-Asean economic ministers meeting on Monday. The meeting is being held on the sidelines of the ongoing meeting of the Economic ministers of ASEAN.

paperboard surged by 39 per cent at 409,000 tonnes in the first quarter of 2023-24 against 294,000 tonnes in the year-ago quarter, according to an industry body. In value terms, imports rose by 28 per cent to Rs 3,153 crore in the first quarter of FY2023-24 compared to the year-ago period, Indian Paper Manufacturers Association said citing Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics data. The surge in imports comes on the back of a 25 per cent increase in paper and paperboard imports in FY2022-23 over the previous fiscal, according to the official trade data. In FY23, paper and paperboard worth Rs 12,531 crore were imported. In the April-June period of FY24, imports from ASEAN jumped nearly three-fold and from China by 37 per cent in volume terms. Imports of all grades of paper accelerated in the first quarter with the highest jump of 214 per cent seen in imports of uncoated writing & printing paper, 28 per cent in coated paper and paperboard, 15 per cent in kraft paper and 65 per cent in tissue paper imports. The top import sources of uncoated writing & printing paper are Indonesia, Singapore and China. The top import sources of coated paper and paperboard are China, Japan and South Korea, the Indian Paper Manufacturers Association stated in a statement.

food and beverage packaging industry that is growing by 14.8 per cent annually is expected to reach USD 86 billion in 2029, following rapid urbanisation, rising disposable incomes and evolving consumption patterns, All India Food Processors Association said on Saturday. «Post-Covid-19, the demand for natural food ingredients has surged. FSSAI's new regulations for nutraceuticals and organic foods are driving growth in the sector.

Enforcement Directorate on Saturday seized an asset worth ₹36.80 crore from a Goa-based miner's son, identified as Rohan Timblo. The seizure was part of the investigation into the Pandora Papers Leak. The probe revealed his alleged undisclosed foreign exchange outside India.

Bitdeer Technologies Group (NASDAQ: BTDR), a leading technology company in the cryptocurrency mining community headquartered in Singapore, announced its unaudited mining and operations updates for July 2023 on August 7, 2023.

maritime domain. It signifies India’s increasing interest in building capacity and partnerships with Indo-Pacific militaries.

By Sudarshan Varadhan

South Indian Bank for a period of three years with effect from October 1, 2023. According to statement by the South Indian Bank, PR Seshadri is an accomplished banker with experiences spanning multiple businesses, functional lines and geographies.

Reserve Bank of India on Thursday approved for the appointment of P R Seshadri as Managing Director & CEO of South Indian Bank for a period of three years with effect from October 1, 2023. He has significant experiences in enterprise level management and in the management of all key commercial banking business lines and he has substantial experience in successfully managing investors, boards and regulatory relationships in multiple geographies, said the company's notification to Bombay Stock Exchange.

Dr Agarwals Health Care has raised about Rs 650 crore from the TPG Growth and Singapore's sovereign wealth fund Temasek, within a year of raising Rs 1,050 crore from them in an earlier round. The Chennai headquartered chain said they would use about Rs 1,200 crore to double their hospital count to 300 in the next 2-3 years. The company is mainly looking to open hospitals in Maharashtra, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh, a shift from its established ground in South India, company Chairman Dr.

Get your daily, bite-sized digest of cryptoasset and blockchain-related news – investigating the stories flying under the radar of today’s crypto news.__________

By Joice Alves and Rae Wee