UOB’s latest results contain an apparent contradiction. The bank’s second-quarter net profit rose 10 per cent to S$1.48 billion and slightly beat expectations. Yet investors marked the shares down after management reduced its 2026 fee-income growth guidance from high single digits to low single digits. At first glance, this looks like a fairly ordinary bank
Singapore’s three major banks have delivered the kind of earnings growth investors like to see: profits are rising, wealth-management businesses are expanding and loan growth remains resilient. Yet the more important message from the latest results is not that DBS, OCBC and UOB are making more money. It is that the traditional engine of Singapore
Artificial intelligence is no longer simply improving how banks interact with customers. Increasingly, it is reshaping how banks generate profits. DBS’ latest rollout of agentic AI across hundreds of thousands of corporate customers—and its planned expansion across retail banking—signals more than another technology upgrade. It represents another step in the bank’s ambition to embed AI
Every trading day, thousands of investors check one familiar number—the Straits Times Index (STI). Some celebrate when it rises. Others worry when it falls. Analysts dissect its movements. Fund managers benchmark their performance against it. Financial headlines report whether it closes in the green or the red. To most people, it is simply Singapore’s benchmark
More Than An Index: How the Straits Times Index Tells Singapore’s Extraordinary Story Read More »
Singapore’s commercial property market appears to be entering a new phase. After several years of cautious investment activity driven by higher interest rates and economic uncertainty, billions of dollars’ worth of premium office buildings are now being marketed or negotiated for sale. From Marina One and Frasers Tower to Lazada One and 30 Raffles Place,
Singapore’s newest exchange-traded fund (ETF) is generating considerable interest—not because it tracks the familiar Straits Times Index (STI), but because it ventures into an area that has long been overlooked by many investors: Singapore’s small- and mid-cap (SMID) companies. The CGS Fullgoal Singapore Next 50 Active ETF (SGX: Q50) is the first ETF built around
At first glance, Sembcorp Industries’ decision to acquire a 20% stake in Aster Power looks like another corporate investment. In reality, it may represent something much more significant. The transaction highlights how Sembcorp continues to position itself at the centre of Singapore’s evolving energy landscape—one increasingly shaped by decarbonisation, industrial electrification and cleaner fuels. For
Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust (MPACT) delivered another quarter that appears disappointing at first glance. Distribution per unit (DPU) slipped 2.5%, while revenue and net property income also declined as overseas assets continued to face challenging conditions. On the surface, the results suggest another difficult period for one of Singapore’s largest commercial REITs. Yet the
A single land tender rarely changes the investment landscape. But sometimes it reveals how sophisticated developers are positioning themselves years before buyers recognise the opportunity. The record-breaking bid for a residential site at Berlayar Drive is one such example. On the surface, investors may see only another Government Land Sales (GLS) tender that attracted just
For years, Singapore’s stock market has carried an unfair reputation. Ask many international investors about Singapore equities and the answers are often predictable: “Great dividends.” “Stable banks.” “REITs.” “But not much growth.” That perception may finally be changing. The launch of Eastspring Investments’ new Singapore Income and Growth Equity Fund isn’t merely another product announcement—it