STOCK MARKET
Two exchanges to connect
Malaysian and Singaporean regulators yesterday said that the two will establish a link to connect their stock markets by the end of the year to cut trading costs and woo cross-border investments. The “Malaysia-Singapore Connect” will allow investors to trade and settle shares listed on each other’s stock market in a more convenient and cost-efficient way, benefiting retail investors, the Monetary Authority of Singapore and the Securities Commission Malaysia said in a joint statement. The initiative might be expanded later to include other stock markets in the region, the statement said. It was unclear how the new system might differ from a previous attempt to link their markets. The two in 2012 launched a regional trading link that was later joined by Thailand, but the system was quietly shut down last year without any explanation.
MEDIA
Saudi inks soccer deal
State-run Saudi Telecom Co has signed a tentative deal with the Saudi government’s General Sports Authority for 6.6 billion riyals (US$1.8 billion) to broadcast Saudi professional soccer matches over 10 years, the authority said yesterday. The deal appears to take rights to broadcast Saudi soccer away from regional broadcaster MBC Group, which in July 2014 signed a 4.1 billion riyal, 10-year deal to obtain them. Saudi Arabian businessman Waleed al-Ibrahim, who has management control of MBC, was detained for nearly three months in a sweeping crackdown on corruption and released late last month. Dozens of suspects in the crackdown agreed to hand over more than US$100 billion of assets to the state in financial settlements of allegations against them, officials said.
BANKING
BNP Paribas profits up
French bank BNP Paribas yesterday said that its profits rose last year as good business performance in all divisions helped cushion it against a “lackluster interest rate and market environment.” Net profit edged up 0.7 percent to 7.8 billion euros (US$9.7 billion) last year, BNP Paribas said in a statement. Underlying or operating profit declined by 4.3 percent to 10.3 billion euros as revenues slipped by 0.6 percent to 43.2 billion euros. Nevertheless, the bank insisted that it “got off to a good start” to its 2020 business development plan. “In a lackluster interest rate and market environment, the business activity of the group developed vigorously sustained by a gradually stronger European growth,” it said.
COMMODITIES
EU steel demand to rise
European steel demand is set to rise this year with continued strength in most steel-using sectors, European steel association Eurofer said yesterday, while warning of a threat of rising imports. Apparent steel consumption, which excludes the effects of inventory changes, is set to rise by 1.9 percent in the 28 countries of the EU this year, the same rate as last year, with solid demand seen from manufacturers and in construction. Eurofer sees consumption growth dipping to 1.4 percent next year. The group said it saw a risk to exports from the rising euro, but focused more on imports. Steel imports into the EU last year dipped by about 1 percent because of trade defense measures to counter what the bloc considers to be dumping and unfair subsidies and because Chinese prices picked up, making it less lucrative to export to Europe. Over the year, Chinese steel exports to the EU declined by 41 percent, those from Russia by 32 percent and from Ukraine by 31 percent, Eurofer said.
Among the rows of vibrators, rubber torsos and leather harnesses at a Chinese sex toys exhibition in Shanghai this weekend, the beginnings of an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven shift in the industry quietly pulsed. China manufactures about 70 percent of the world’s sex toys, most of it the “hardware” on display at the fair — whether that be technicolor tentacled dildos or hyper-realistic personalized silicone dolls. Yet smart toys have been rising in popularity for some time. Many major European and US brands already offer tech-enhanced products that can enable long-distance love, monitor well-being and even bring people one step closer to
Malaysia’s leader yesterday announced plans to build a massive semiconductor design park, aiming to boost the Southeast Asian nation’s role in the global chip industry. A prominent player in the semiconductor industry for decades, Malaysia accounts for an estimated 13 percent of global back-end manufacturing, according to German tech giant Bosch. Now it wants to go beyond production and emerge as a chip design powerhouse too, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said. “I am pleased to announce the largest IC (integrated circuit) Design Park in Southeast Asia, that will house world-class anchor tenants and collaborate with global companies such as Arm [Holdings PLC],”
Sales in the retail, and food and beverage sectors last month continued to rise, increasing 0.7 percent and 13.6 percent respectively from a year earlier, setting record highs for the month of March, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday. Sales in the wholesale sector also grew last month by 4.6 annually, mainly due to the business opportunities for emerging applications related to artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing technologies, the ministry said in a report. The ministry forecast that retail, and food and beverage sales this month would retain their growth momentum as the former would benefit from Tomb Sweeping Day
Thousands of parents in Singapore are furious after a Cordlife Group Ltd (康盛人生集團), a major operator of cord blood banks in Asia, irreparably damaged their children’s samples through improper handling, with some now pursuing legal action. The ongoing case, one of the worst to hit the largely untested industry, has renewed concerns over companies marketing themselves to anxious parents with mostly unproven assurances. This has implications across the region, given Cordlife’s operations in Hong Kong, Macau, Indonesia, the Philippines and India. The parents paid for years to have their infants’ cord blood stored, with the understanding that the stem cells they contained