Singapore

Singapore’s anti-ageing cure will take time

10 Aug 2015

A shrinking labour force and voters’ desire to limit foreign workers could mean slow growth and not enough tax revenue for welfare. The city-state is trying to beat its demographic destiny by boosting productivity. The payoffs will only come when global demand perks up.

Singapore at 50 ought to loosen up

7 Aug 2015

Pragmatic policy and hard work helped the city-state attain a level of prosperity unimaginable five decades ago. Future success depends on dialling back state capitalism and paternalism, and spawning more entrepreneurs. Few will bet against Singapore continuing to defy the odds.

Singapore’s creaking home prices have solid floor

6 Aug 2015

After a breathless rise, property values have dipped. Interest rates are rising even as the economy slows. But prices are unlikely to fall too much further. Population growth plus liberal public spending on infrastructure will boost long-term value, and the supply glut will fade.

Noble could use new backer for confidence shortcut

4 Aug 2015

Attracting a heavyweight investor would show faith in the commodity trader’s accounts. Better yet if this signals Noble is neither desperate for funds nor fully valued by the market. A convertible bond would achieve those aims while minimising the pain for existing shareholders.

Singapore’s easiest days as a finance hub are over

4 Aug 2015

The city remains a gateway to Asia: great for regional HQs, settling lawsuits, and parking money. But investment banks are struggling and IPOs are scarce. From its up-and-coming neighbours to China’s new trade push, the risks that Singapore will be bypassed are mounting. 

Singapore could use a fresh approach to water

3 Aug 2015

The city-state built its economic success partly on carefully managing scarce H2O and reducing reliance on foreign sources. Now Singapore wants to be self-sufficient. But with the population set to double, the quest for water independence risks becoming a distracting pipe dream.

Numbers add up to HSBC leaving London

31 Jul 2015

The global bank is reviewing its head office location based on 11 criteria such as economic importance, transparency and tax. A ranking based on data compiled by Breakingviews shows Singapore, Hong Kong and even Toronto are more attractive than HSBC’s current home base.

Singapore’s war on deflation hobbled by bubble

14 Apr 2015

The city-state’s decision to hold back on monetary easing appears squeamish for a small economy battling low prices. But there are good reasons for caution. Singapore property has been pumped up by a multiyear credit boom. If air escapes too quickly, the damage could be greater.

Why silencing short-sellers is futile

8 Apr 2015

Asian companies and regulators are coming down hard on authors of negative research reports. Though it’s possible to track down even anonymous assailants, it’s tougher to prove the attacks were wrong or reckless. Executives have little choice but to face up to their critics.

Founding father made Singapore rich but not happy

22 Mar 2015

Lee Kuan Yew, who has died aged 91, turned a malarial dump into a super-wealthy small economy. His authoritarian style and single-minded pursuit of economic growth are now outmoded. Singapore’s next challenge is to strike a balance between being a global city and a caring nation.

Singapore’s immigration squeeze brings extra risks

16 Mar 2015

The government won’t ease curbs on foreign workers even though local labour will hardly expand. Its motivation is only partly political. If the crowded, ageing city-state can’t grow without enlarging the workforce, future incomes will stagnate. But cutting the cord may be messy.

Singapore Exchange’s next CEO faces ho-hum job

25 Feb 2015

Departing chief Magnus Bocker’s successor will inherit a business suffering from existential angst. Trading volumes are static and big listings scarce. The outlook is brighter for derivatives, but given the absence of M&A targets it will be hard for debt-free SGX to grow.

Piketty meets pragmatism in Singapore tax hike

24 Feb 2015

The top rate for high earners will rise to 22 percent by 2017. The symbolic end to three decades of lower levies is a nod to economist Thomas Piketty’s inequality polemic. It’s also a shrewd bet that Singapore’s wealthy value clean air and social stability as well as money.

Commodity rout adds new stress to valuation debate

17 Feb 2015

Noble Group’s market value dropped $820 mln amid questions about the trading house’s appraisal of a $670 mln coal investment. Falling prices are forcing resources groups to rethink what assets are worth. It’s another case where accounting standards and market signals diverge.

Singapore needs a new IPO story

19 Jan 2015

The city remains a gateway to Asia, but not when it comes to new listings. Singapore is losing its traditional lion’s share of initial public offerings to its up-and-coming neighbours. It’s hard to see what Singapore can do to arrest what looks like a long-term decline.

Cheaper oil no friend to Asia’s households

24 Dec 2014

Real wages are growing 2 percentage points below their long-term average, reflecting labour’s weak bargaining power amidst slowing growth. Falling oil prices and low inflation could prompt employers to be even more tight-fisted in 2015. Household finances might wobble.  

Blackstone and GIC strike new sort of partnership

3 Dec 2014

The buyout firm is offloading U.S. industrial property rollup IndCor to the Singaporean fund for $8.1 bln, a year after the two shook hands on a $2.8 bln London sale. Divergent investment goals could mean both sides prosper and that Blackstone exits through GIC’s door yet again.

Chip deal slots into China’s tech dominance plan

7 Nov 2014

Semiconductors have long been rival Taiwan’s forte, but the People’s Republic is muscling in. A $1.8 billion Chinese offer for a Singaporean chip-packager is the latest attempt to bring tech know-how to the mainland. More buys are likely to follow.

Asia’s top-down corporate reforms vary in promise

25 Aug 2014

Newish leaders across the region are pushing to change the way companies work. Although the mechanisms and targets vary between countries, increasing efficiency appears to be a common theme. But investors eyeing improved returns will find not all reforms are equal.

Asia’s solid exterior hides internal weakness

17 Jul 2014

While more competitive currencies and improving trade balances are making the region externally resilient, sputtering GDP growth is enfeebling it from within, especially since the slowdown is occurring amidst a large debt overhang. Monetary stimulus is an option – but a risky one.