The Business Times

Singapore retail sales up 6.2% on the year in November The higher online retail sales proportion was mainly due to more sales during the year-end online shopping events such as Singles’ Day (11.11) and Black Friday.

HDB resale prices up 0.2% in December, the lowest gain in 30 months: SRX, 99.co Property cooling measures, high interest rates and resistance to high prices continue to weigh on demand.

Evergreen Marine, Hyundai Oilbank staff get up to 52-months bonus Hyundai Oilbank handed to employees 10 times their base salaries as bonuses in 2022, reported local media.

Sim Wong Hoo, Singapore’s pioneering tech titan, dies In a statement on Thursday, Creative said he “passed away peacefully” and paid tribute to Sim’s “immense contributions” to the company. Creative shares rise 17.7% to…

Government likely to achieve balanced budget in current term despite Covid deficit No revenue measure has been planned or implemented to make good on reserves drawn for fight against Covid-19 said the Ministry of Finance…

Asean tech IPO drought likely to remain, startups may choose M&A instead “There are some decent companies below US$50 million (in valuation) that are struggling to raise but have an attractive business in the hands of th…

Malaysia to tighten covid screening for all arrivals, PM says “We are going to tighten screening but we won’t discriminate against any country,” said Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim at a post-Cabinet briefing.

5 Questions with John Tan, angel investor and edtech founder John Tan has lost tons of money, dealt with rogue founders, and backed notable companies such as Ninja Van and Chope. Today, he runs edtech company, Doyobi and…

Appetite for food delivery dipped after Singapore’s reopening, but still above pre-pandemic levels Consumers in South-east Asia made 1.5 times more orders on GrabFood in 2022 as compared with 2019.

Indonesia rail company gets 3.2 trillion rupiah capital top up for China-backed project The total project cost was initially estimated at US$6 billion, but last year Jakarta said an additional US$1.45 billion was needed.

EY’s Budget 2023 wish list prioritises business growth and innovation, upskilling, sustainability To help businesses invest in staff training, EY suggested that small and medium enterprises should receive an enhanced 300…

#BTOpinion: On workers’ safety, tone is set at the top People’s safety is at stake, and lives are not an acceptable cost.

Ex-CFO pleads guilty to stealing from SPACs to trade meme stocks, cryptocurrencies Cooper Morgenthau has pleaded guilty to embezzling more than US$5 million from multiple special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs).

TikTok-owner ByteDance cuts hundreds of jobs in China: SCMP The job cuts have been implemented at Douyin, the Chinese equivalent of TikTok with about 600 million daily users.

Economists hopeful China’s reopening may cushion Singapore’s economic slowdown Singapore’s services sector may see “sustained recovery” from the continued rebound in air travel and visitor arrivals, as well as in tourism…

Singapore PMI resumes downward trend, slides deeper into contraction This is the fourth consecutive month of contraction in overall activity, after the PMI expanded for 26 straight months between July 2020 and August 202…

Singapore Savings Bond opens for Feb issuance with interest rates under 3% The interest rates for the latest Singapore Savings Bond (SSB) have further slipped to 2.84% for the first year and 2.97% for the 10-year average…

Higher cost of capital a challenge for SGX IPO landscape as Reits, Spacs face lower valuations “We do have quality deals in the pipeline, but the macro environment and the resulting increased market volatility were just…

Market cap of Singapore stocks dips 0.4% in December as investors turn risk-off All three banks returned negatively in the month with DBS’ market cap loss of S$3.3b making it the top loser.

Over 5,000 new private residential units set to be launched in H1 2023 Six projects lined up for a Q1 launch will yield around 2,700 units - more than half the number of units launched in the Jan-Nov 2022 period.

Frustrations abound as delays in condo completions persist post-pandemic Four years, two postponements, and countless frustrations - that was what one buyer faced before she could collect the keys to her home. She also h…

Operator of Yew Kee Duck Rice, Chicha San Chen franchise seeks Catalist listing The group is looking to raise capital for business expansion and bolstering its franchising and sub-franchising operations.

#BTOpinion: The HDB BTO flat as a generous wedding gift If allowing couples to make a few hundred thousand dollars from a BTO unit is the "Singapore way" of encouraging locals to get hitched, then whether or not BTO flat…

Government exploring more measures in Budget 2023 to support Singaporeans Every Singaporean household will receive S$300 in CDC vouchers to spend at participating hawkers, heartland merchants, and supermarkets from Jan 3…

🏠 BT strengthens property coverage with new premium newsletter Property done properly. With that in mind, The Business Times has launched its weekly property newsletter featuring exclusive analysis to provide investors…

Banks, resilient plays are top picks for 2023; China’s reopening also a bright spot Banks have cheaper-than-historical dividend yields, and are expected to post above-trend earnings and dividend growth, say analysts.

Sats directors recommend shareholders vote in favour of WFS acquisition at Jan 18 EGM Sats directors believe that Worldwide Flight Services was the “right asset of scale and reach” for the company to acquire.

Growth in Singapore Q4 private home prices slows to 0.2% from Q3 as suburban prices drop Prices of non-landed private residential properties in the outside central region (OCR) fell by 2.6%, compared to the 7.5% increase…

HDB resale prices climb at slower pace of 2.1% in Q4: flash estimates Growth of HDB resale prices has slowed slightly compared with the 2.6% growth recorded in Q3 2022.