Singapore Financial News

By Tom Westbrook and Ankur Banerjee

(Reuters) — Chinese electric car-maker BYD (SZ:002594) has held talks with Brazil's Sigma Lithium (TSXV:SGML) over a possible supply agreement, joint venture or acquisition, the Financial Times reported on Sunday.

By Julie Zhu and Anirban Sen

NEW DELHI : The Supreme Court has put on hold a Delhi High Court ruling that had allowed foreign investors to benefit from zero or reduced tax rates in India based solely on possessing a tax residency certificate. Foreign investors can avail these certificates, known as TRCs, based on treaties between India and tax haven countries such as Singapore and Mauritius. This Supreme Court’s decision on Friday was in response to a petition by tax authorities challenging the Delhi High Court’s decision in a case involving Blackstone Capital Partners, a Singapore-based company facing a tax notice of about ₹108 crore.

Aribam Syam Sharma's masterpiece, "Ishanou", is all set to grace the prestigious Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) 'To Save and Project Festival' in New York this month. Manipur State Film Development Society achieves international acclaim with the restoration of Aribam Syam Sharma's masterpiece, «Ishanou» (1990).

Prosecutors in the United States have made the decision not to proceed with a second trial against Sam Bankman-Fried, the co-founder of the cryptocurrency exchange FTX, which has since gone bankrupt. The FTX drama has reached a turning point with this judgment, which comes after the company was found guilty of stealing from clients a month ago. Bankman-Fried was found guilty on all seven counts of fraud and conspiracy on November 2 by a jury. The charges were on the theft of $8 billion from FTX customers. As a result of this conviction, the former billionaire, whose personal wealth had earlier reached a staggering $26 billion, experienced a huge economic setback.

By Stella Qiu

(Reuters) — The United States and Britain launched strikes from the air and sea against Houthi military targets in Yemen in response to the movement's attacks on ships in the Red Sea, a dramatic escalation of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.

This year’s scores on the Henley Passport Index, which tracks how easily people can travel abroad, are out. For the past five years, Singapore and Japan have been contenders for the honour of issuing the most powerful passports, granting their holders access to more of the world’s countries without a prior visa than others.

By Sudarshan Varadhan

Real estate company TARC Ltd, listed on NSE & BSE, has announced the launch of its ultra luxury residential project in New Delhi. The company plans to invest close to Rs 1200 crore in this high-rise project, named TARC Kailasa, which will be centrally located on main Patel Road.

India is poised to play a pivotal role in the post-pandemic world order. As the world’s fastest growing large economy, India’s strong fundamentals have positioned it to move from fifth place to third in terms of economic size by 2030. Therefore, it is no surprise that it has built strong commercial relationships with countries across the world and has become a magnet for inbound investments.

Moneycontrol report. “Unfortunately, owing to local market conditions, we can no longer continue to serve users of Resso in India. We have therefore decided to shut down Resso and its associated operations on January 31.

₹10 billion ($120 million) to commit to giving away a quarter of their wealth. Governments are doing their part to encourage giving, too. In Singapore, a financial hub where many well-off Asians store their wealth, the government has used a series of tax incentives to promote the city-state as a centre for philanthropy.

With a significant presence already established in key locations such as New York, London, Sydney, Singapore, Dubai, San Francisco, Detroit, Washington D.C, and Stockholm, the addition of Mumbai to [INVNT GROUP]'s global footprint marks another step in bolstering its services to both local and multinational clients. "We are excited to extend our reach and expertise to South Asia, a region that is rapidly emerging as a hub for technological and marketing communications innovation. Establishing a base in Mumbai is not solely a strategic decision but also a response to our client's growing needs to engage and build wider and deeper communities. It reinforces our commitment to delivering impactful brand stories globally and locally, catering to the unique challenges and opportunities in the region. Our goal is to create unparalleled brand experiences that resonate deeply with local audiences and set new standards in creativity and strategic execution on the global stage.

By Elizabeth Howcroft and Alun John

Nicolas Kopitsis (pictured), joined PineBridge in 2021 as head of wealth management for Asia.

cross-border linkage is active for the major UPI apps such as BHIM, PhonePe and Paytm. The new functionality is set to enable Indians to receive remittances from Singapore-based Indian diaspora directly into their bank accounts. This facility can be accessed by users of BHIM, PhonePe, and Paytm apps.

Henley Passport Index, released on Tuesday, India's passport has ascended to the 80th position worldwide. This elevated ranking now affords Indian citizens the privilege of unhindered exploration across 62 countries, alleviating the burden of intricate visa application procedures. The assessment of this ranking aligns with visa regulations effective as of January 11, as sourced from data provided by the International Air Transport Association (IATA). A cornerstone in displaying, organizing, and ranking global passports, the Henley Passport Index, reveals six countries — France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Singapore, and Spain — jointly holding the prestigious title of the world's most potent visa. Citizens from these nations enjoy the unprecedented freedom to traverse over 194 countries without dealing with pesky visa requirements. On the flip side, Afghanistan sits at the bottom rung of the list, granting its passport holders access to a mere 28 countries without a visa. Syria closely follows with visa-free entry to 29 destinations, trailed by Iraq with 31, and Pakistan with 34. Indian passport bearers can now revel in the liberty of visiting 62 countries, including Oman and Qatar, without the encumbrance of a visa. These destinations extend either visa-free entry or the convenience of visa-on-arrival for Indian travelers, as elucidated by the Henley Passport Index 2024. Here is the full list of destinations Indians can visit without getting a visa before travel:

Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and PayNow cross-border connection makes it possible for Indians to receive instantaneous, safe, and affordable remittances from the Indian diaspora residing in Singapore straight into their bank accounts. This facility can be accessed by users of BHIM, PhonePe, and Paytm apps. Additionally, banks such as Axis Bank, DBS Bank India, ICICI Bank, Indian Bank, Indian Overseas Bank, and State Bank of India provide this functionality through their respective apps, stated a press release issued by National Payments Corporation of India. All About Tax-Saving Which banks app are supporting the linkage According to the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) press release, “More Third-Party Application Providers (TPAPs) and bank apps such as Bank of Baroda, Bank of India, Canara Bank, Central Bank of India, Federal Bank, HDFC Bank, IDFC First Bank, IndusInd Bank, Karur Vysya Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Punjab National Bank, South Indian Bank, and UCO Bank are expected to be added to the linkage soon. This expansion will broaden the range of choices offered to customers.” Key benefits of receiving funds via UPI-PayNow:

Worldcoin has recently announced the launch of its World ID verification services in Singapore. This marks a significant milestone in the expansion of the company's identity verification technology. Utilizing the Orb, a custom hardware device, participants can now easily verify their unique humanness. This launch is particularly notable as it comes after Worldcoin scaled back its operations in India​​​​​​.