Following reporting higher-than-expected quarterly revenue, a higher-than-expected quarterly profit, and a strong demand for its ride-share services, Grab Holdings increased its full-year profit forecast on Wednesday ( May 15 ). A major restructuring at Grab, including the reduction of 1, 000 jobs and some of the costs associated with technologies,Continue Reading
Singapore Airlines reported its highest-ever annual profit on Wednesday ( May 15 ), citing a rebound in the demand for air travel, and said it anticipates this trend to continue into the first quarter of fiscal 2024. As China’s international travel recovers from the crisis at a slower rate thanContinue Reading
.jpg "Idzham Mohd Hashim, President/CEO of IIB (4th from left) and GBS Iskandar growth partners strengthening the GBS ecosystem in Medini, Iskandar Puteri, Johor to reinforce IIB’s commitment to position Medini as the region’s first net zero carbon CBD 2030 focusing o")
Through two important Memoranda of Understanding ( MOUs ) with GBS Malaysia and iTrain Asia, Iskandar Investment Berhad ( IIB ) has expanded its partnership with Global Business Services ( GBS ) Iskandar@Medini. Additionally, it collaborates with Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation ( MDEC ) to enhance its GBS ecosystem in Medini, Iskandar Puteri.  ,
This program reinforces IIB’s devotion to place Medini as the state’s second net zero carbon CBD by 2030 focusing on modernization, innovation, and GBS, the company said, in a statement.  ,
It added that in line with this commitment, the firm aims to achieve a target investment of US$ 212 million ( RM1 billion ) by 2030 in Medini. According to the investment target, Medini’s position as Johor’s online and innovation hub will also be supported by the creation of at least 2,500 jobs in the modern economy sector.
Idzham Mohd Hashim, President/CEO of IIB, stated,” The GBS Iskandar programme has achieved US$ 552 million ( RM2.6 billion ) of investments and 6, 500 jobs in Medini since its inception in 2016. As we embark on the next chapter of the GBS Iskandar initiative, IIB reaffirms our commitment to fostering growth and innovation within Malaysia’s GBS sector” . ,
He added that Medini’s GBS Iskandar’s success is attributed to its strategic location, which serves as a gateway for multi-modal vehicles with smooth connection by property, air, and sea.  ,
Medini, which is 40 minutes from Singapore and is situated between two major seaports and three international airports, offers unmatched availability and administrative advantages, making it an ideal location for GBS companies to prosper. By leveraging on mix collaborations within the double helix framework of industry, academia, government and civil society, we are poised to help tailored solutions spanning incentives, proper initiatives, talent development, and government liaison efforts, ensuring the GBS companies thrive in Medini’s attractive landscape”, Idzham said.
By leveraging Medini’s proper place and friendly ecosystem, the collaboration between IIB and GBS Malaysia aims to establish the region’s top regional hub for GBS procedures. This partnership demonstrates our shared responsibility to positioning Malaysia at the vanguard of the world’s modern business.
Additionally, the partnership between IIB and iTrain Asia focuses on empowering and mentoring initiatives designed to help businesses in the GBS industry advance the benefit chain through AI, automation, and sustainability initiatives, ensuring the workforce is equipped with the most recent knowledge that is necessary for success in the modern economy.
In order to make Medini a top destination for high-value jobs and sustainable growth, this collaboration will foster an environment conducive to continuous learning and innovation in order to meet the changing needs of GBS companies.
The upcoming partnership with MDEC, which aims to encourage foreign direct investments for the GBS industry, is anticipated. This partnership, slated to be announced in Q3 2024, aims to target new companies seeking a strategic and well- supported environment for expansion.
Mahadhir Aziz, CEO of MDEC said,” Our partnership with IIB underscores MDEC’s steadfast commitment to driving digital transformation, fostering talent development, and boosting economic growth in the GBS sector. This sets the stage for Johor to become a key destination for global investments” . ,
He added that this collaboration is in line with Malaysia’s national strategic initiative to advance Malaysia’s digital infrastructure, provide comprehensive business support, and strengthen Malaysia’s position as Asean’s digital hub.
Chairman of GBS Malaysia, Anthony Raja Devadoss, emphasised,” The strategic partnership with IIB marks a significant milestone in our collective efforts to grow the GBS industry in Malaysia. We are committed to unlocking Medini’s full potential and positioning Malaysia as a powerhouse in the global GBS landscape by leveraging strategic advantages and creating a dynamic ecosystem for growth and innovation.
In addition, due to its favorable environment for innovation and learning, Eric Ku, executive director of iTrain Asia, added that” Medini stands as the ideal location for talent development within the GBS sector.” With its strategic positioning as a hub for technology, innovation, and global business services, Medini offers a dynamic ecosystem that fosters collaboration and skill enhancement. It provides an unparalleled opportunity for individuals to upskill and reskill, preparing them to thrive in the digital economy, in combination with the robust support provided by initiatives like the GBS Iskandar.  ,  ,
We are appreciative of our partners and stakeholders for their unwavering support throughout this transformative journey, Idzham once more stated. Together, we are advancing our strategic goals for Medini and supporting the development of the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone. Let us all reaffirm our commitment to making Medini the preferred gateway to Southeast Asia, in the interests of Johor and the country as we move forward.
Annual demand of gold in 2023 fell by 5 %, compared to that in 2022, to 4, 448 tonnes, excluding over the counter ( OTC ) transactions. According to data from the World Gold Council ( WGC), central banks contributed to 1, 037 tonnes of the gold demand last year, which is the second-highest on record.
In the first fourth of 2024, world gold demand, including OTC, was off 3 % year- on- year to accomplish 1, 238 tonnes, marking the strongest second quarter since 2016. Excluding OTC, first quarter’s demand fell by 5 % to 1, 102 tonnes.
China, India and Singapore were among the Asian markets that added the most to their golden getting during the first quarter, with an increase of 27.06, 18.51 and 6.57 kilograms both. These include both key banks and financial transactions.
The story is also about the skyrocketing metal price, which rose by as much as$ 2,300 per ounce in April and remained at its all-time high despite a minor decline at the beginning of May.
One of the main causes of a rising interest rate in gold is Shaokai Fan, mind of central bankers at WGC, who quoted Shaokai Fan as saying, is because of the confidence in the US Fed’s future rate cuts.
” Gold has reached a new all-time higher thanks to a number of different things. Although interest rate reduction anticipation are most definitely raising interest, he said there is a solid real demand for silver underlying this.
Fan claimed that the central banks that have purchased “historic levels” of silver over the past two centuries have remained significant customers this time. For instance, the curiosity in China is related to the landscape of investors ‘ attempts to expand in response to weak performance in other asset classes.
Retail traders now have greater access to the business. Using distributed ledger technology ( DLT), HSBC in Hong Kong has created the first bank-issued tokenized gold. It is supported by vaults in London that are owned by HSBC.
Flee for surety
At the end of next year, market was first expecting nearly six 25- basis- point cuts within a 12- month timeframe. Christian Scherrmann, US economist at DWS, expects two rate cuts by the US Fed by the end of the year. Curbing inflation in the world’s largest economy has proved to be slower than expected, with the consumer price index ( CPI ) for March seeing a 0.4 % month- over- month core inflation increase.
Lower interest rates generally benefit the gold market because they lower the opportunity cost of holding gold, according to Fan. In a more volatile environment, the team anticipates inflows into gold exchange-traded funds ( ETFs ).
In Q1 2024, the global gold ETF holdings dropped by 114 tonnes, primarily as a result of an outflow from European and North American funds.
Asian gold ETFs, on contrast, witnessed an increase in assets under management by 16 % to$ 11 billion, mainly generated by participants in China, due to a weakening yuan and other domestic assets.
Meanwhile, global geopolitical risks are rising: tensions between China and the US are stillrounding, and global supply chains and general market sentiment are being affected by ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East. Gold, as a’ safe have n’, has therefore attracted wide interest.
The People’s Bank of China purchased more gold from the central bank in Asia in 2023, according to Fan. The PBOC currently has 2, 262.45 tonnes of gold reserves, followed by Japan and India, which have each over 800 tonnes.
The PBOC has added gold for the first 18 months in a row, but the price increase has slowed as the price rises have slowed.
The Reserve Bank of India’s ( RBI ) gold reserves, as of March this year, saw a 34 % increase compared to that in March 2019, reaching a total holding of 822 tonnes of gold. In addition, the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s ( MAS ) gold reserves increased by 2 tons in the first quarter.
The shift in geopolitical attitudes following the Russian’s attempted invasion of Ukraine and the subsequent sanctions placed on Russia’s foreign exchange reserves have resulted in a significant increase in central bank gold buying, according to Fan.
” We anticipate that central banks will continue to be gold’s main sources of income this year,” he continued. The US Fed’s rate cuts decisions, however, will still have the biggest immediate impact on the price of gold.
¬ Haymarket Media Limited. All rights reserved.
JAKARTA: As Indonesia’s president- choose Prabowo Subianto prepares to enter workplace in October, he looks set to take a more confrontational stance in international policy, saying that diplomacy, negotiations, and the” Eastern way” have helped to relieve tension. Prabowo, 72, won February’s public vote by a large percentage along withContinue Reading
In the blistering oven of Vietnam’s anti- problem campaign, the flames have raged strongly, engulfing Communist Party officials like dried tinder. Some people were quickly sacked, while people saw their social occupations smoldering beneath the surface.
First, this circumstance appeared to convey a management problems with the termination of five out of 18 Politburo members, two presidents, one National Assembly chair and two prime ministers. However, Vietnam’s improved economic prospects are inevitably boosted by less corruption.
Nguyen Phu Trong, the 80- yr- old secretary- standard of Vietnam’s Communist Party, has relatively spared none in tackling the state’s widespread level of corruption.
The foreign investors who benefit from the reduced costs of conducting business, simplified administrative procedures, and the dissolution of ensnared, frequently crooked interest groups are among the beneficiaries of his “burning furnace” law to boost transparency and good governance.
In Vietnam’s political system, the principles of “democratic authoritarianism” and” shared leadership, personal duty” remain as important pillars governing the organization and functioning of the Communist Party of Vietnam.
The 13th National Congress passed a resolution outlining the nation’s developmental trajectory for the 2021- 2030 period. The high-ranking officials ‘ rotation neither alters the flow of business nor departs from Vietnam’s policy direction.
Instead, it advances the implementation of crucial policies that the Congress ratified and strengthens the political system.
After all, Vietnam’s dynamic economy, the envy of all of Southeast Asia, has been on a stable growth path, driven by robust domestic demand and export- oriented manufacturing for over two decades.
Many economists predict that Vietnam will join ASEAN and the Greater Mekong Subregion in achieving rapid economic growth, making the acclaimed” Asian Tiger” the 20th-largest economy in the world by 2050.
Trong’s swift and defensible actions in the removal of discredited Party officials merit praise. The Party is well-known for its commitment to promoting a conducive and equitable business environment, including for international investors.
Vietnam recently vigorously pursued the property developer Van Thinh Phat Group. Although the US$ 12 billion fraud scandal has sparked some immediate and long-term effects and gained some attention in the public and abroad, it will ultimately encourage a more healthy financial system.
In response to the scandal, which saw the chairwoman of Van Thinh Phat Group receive a death sentence for her role in the massive banking fraud, the State Bank of Vietnam has taken action quickly to reassure depositors, improve control, and improve transparency in the banking system.
Building on earlier efforts to combat corruption, the burning furnace campaign builds on them. More than 800 corruption cases have been investigated and prosecuted by the Central Anti-Corruption Steering Committee ( CACSC), which was founded in 2013, according to a study.
That does not, however, mean that politically connected businesses gain more from the anti-corruption campaign than non-connected ones. However, recent analysis has revealed that the anti-corruption initiative is generally boosting investor efficiency in the public sector.
The problem, to be sure, is n’t new: the concept of corruption was recognized officially in the documents of the 6th National Congress in 1986. Then, corruption was viewed as a social evil that could be eradicated through strict inspection procedures.
Vietnam had signed the UNCAC by 2003. Although the nation had already ratified the Corruption Action Plan for Asia, the process was finished in 2009.
According to the 2021 Provincial Competitiveness Index (PCI) survey completed by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the rate of businesses paying unofficial fees or what is sometimes referred to as “red envelopes”, had dropped from 70 % in 2006 to 41.4 % in 2021.
The Communist Party’s standing both domestically and abroad has been strengthened by Trong’s most recent anti-corruption initiative, which builds on that success. And as the government continues to implement policies that promote the growth of the economy, capital markets, and banking sector, it is arguably had little to no effect on Vietnam’s commitment to liberalizing reforms.
Meanwhile, Vietnam continues to scale the value- added ladder. High-tech products are now the focus of Vietnam’s primary exports to the United States, with many Apple products now being produced in Vietnam.
The nation’s exports of high- tech goods increased from 13 % in 2010 to 42 % in 2020, according to Long S Le, a lecturer at the Leavey School of Business at Santa Clara University.
The World Bank projects that Vietnam’s economy will continue to grow by 5.5 % in 2024 and 6.6 % in 2025 despite the conflict between Israel and Gaza and the global geopolitical strains caused by the war in Ukraine and the Gaza conflict.
Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam’s president at the time, issued a warning to citizens about greed in advance of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam’s establishment, warning that it might turn into a serious national issue.
” Doi Moi“, or Renovation, the nation’s path toward creating a socialist- oriented market economy first initiated in 1986, created many new opportunities for bribery and fraud.
The public and private sectors ‘ salaries were significantly impacted by the transition from centralization to free trade and a market economy.
Now, bribery is still rampant across Vietnamese society, with payoffs often made to police, school admissions departments and for employment opportunities.
Among public officials, there’s one clear reason for corruption: stubbornly low salaries. For example, the basic monthly salary for a provincial judge is$ 253 while a school teacher earns only$ 100 a month. Researchers have highlighted how corruption is still a result of low wages.
The real estate sector and related industries, which make up at least 16 % of GDP, have now experienced a significant cooling effect as a result of Trong’s anti-corruption campaign. Real estate markets across Vietnam have been impacted significantly by the country’s unrestrained criminal justice system.
However, a boom in factory land demand has been caused by changes in the global supply chain that favor Vietnam, including the US’s decision to decouple from China.
Vietnam’s ambitious anti- corruption efforts have prompted top- level resignations, spurred renewal among Party officials and ultimately are building confidence in the Party and Vietnam’s broad business environment.
Effectively, the campaign has reassured the sclerotic bureaucracy that overarching authorities are closely monitoring their actions. The resultant unease among officials and the general public may help to encourage further political reform and end corruption’s long-standing root causes.
James Borton is the author of Dispatches from the South China Sea: Navigating to Common Ground and a non-resident senior fellow at Johns Hopkins/SAIS Foreign Policy Institute.
SINGAPORE: Singapore’s second- largest bank Oversea- Chinese Banking Corp ( OCBC ) reported on Friday ( May 10 ) a 5 per cent rise in net profit to a record high in the first quarter from a year earlier, driven by stronger operating profit. OCBC, which is also Southeast Asia’sContinue Reading
With the Chinese economy facing huge obstacles, there have been concerns over its development possible, at least in the fast coming.
Local hospitality is one of the few notable exceptions that are emerging.
According to statistics released by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, 295 million journeys were made within China during next week’s five-day public holiday to indicate Labor Day. This was 28 % higher than the 2019 pre-pandemic images.
The Transport Ministry’s figures are even remarkable: 92 million road trips, almost 10 million atmosphere outings and 1.25 billion bridge journeys.
However, this comes as international visitors continue to trail, with foreigners already entering China at little 30 % of 2019 levels. Why the gap?
The lovely historic river town of Wuzhen, a little push from Shanghai, is considered one of China’s major user places for tourists of all kinds.
Customers flocked to the small waterways’ small pathways and old bridges when we arrived.
Posing for photos in conventional Hanfu attire is a popular activity in Wuzhen, as if you had been transported back in time by centuries.
Two 20-year-old people who have been friends since high institution are coming to visit from northern Jilin Province.
They spend an hour getting their hair done in the complex imperial-era style and are praised for Wuzhen’s classic beauty after arriving.
We inquire as to whether some of their friends and family have been on a lot of travel since Covid’s entry.
” Of course, after the pandemic, we’re all visiting different sites”.
Local business owner who sells ice creams in the local area also claims that tourist numbers have not decreased significantly recently.
As good as before Covid?
” About the same”, he replies.
Wang Ying, a storekeeper of conventional snacks, shares this attitude with a happy experience.
” Business is going well, and it’ll only get better”.
All of this will be welcomed by the Chinese authorities. It has been suggested that a boost to home use would help to stabilize the country’s fragile economy.
Major players in the once-mighty property industry are struggling to stay afloat, regional government loan is rising, and unqualified graduates from highly-qualified universities are uncertain of their future.
Amid all these issues, the Communist Party has set a target of “around 5 %” GDP growth for this year. Academics are also curious about how such a goal can be reached, in any real feeling, in 2024 without significant additional stimulus, despite the fact that analysts have long questioned the accuracy of the nation’s official growth numbers.
A more upbeat go picture could be the only lifeline, opening up new business opportunities and employment in the service sector.
According to Schubert Lou, chief operating officer of travel agency Trip.com, “we’ve seen very strong domestic travel demand, with search volumes in hotels rising by 67 % from last year and flying by 80 %.”
Travel Daily’s Peng Han, a specialist for the hospitality industry, is following the investment landscape to learn how the sector’s potentials are actually perceived.
” With prominent global resort brands- like Intercontinental, Marriott and Hilton- you just have to appear at their progress in China in 2023″, he says. Check the performance targets for these sizable hotel chains in 2024, which have also been set reasonably high. They are very optimistic about the Chinese market’s potential for growth, according to this.
However, Mr. Peng does raise the issue of per capita consumption, which is persistently low, despite the increase in local traveler volume.
He claims that people are searching for good value options because of the Chinese economy’s general uncertainty. They are spending money on vacation and paying for things, but they also do so much more sparingly.
An increase in foreigners ‘ big spending might be a good thing for this.
They simply do n’t travel to China in the same numbers as they once did. In 2019, nearly 98 million international visitors came to the country. Last year it was only 35 million- including business trips, students and the like.
The domestic and international markets are “uneven,” according to Mr. Lou.
For many in the tourism industry here specialising in services for foreign travellers, “uneven” would be an understatement.
Immigration from other nations decreased after three years of harsh Covid prevention measures, but that alone cannot account for the current situation.
Huang Songshan, the head of the Centre for Tourism Research in the School of Business and Law at Australia’s Edith Cowan University, blames this weakness in part to” the shifting geopolitical landscape globally”.
He cited a 2023 survey conducted by the Pew Research Center in his peer-reviewed East Asia Forum, which stated that” Most people in Western nations have unfavorable views toward China. Travelers from other countries may find the Chinese government’s tightening grip on societal regulations unsettling.
Official travel advice from some governments echo this sentiment, at times quite harshly.
Washington advises potential travelers to “revisit travel to Mainland China because of the arbitrary enforcement of local laws, including those relating to exit bans, and the possibility of wrongful detentions.”
Australia advises” a high degree of caution,” warning that” Australians may be at risk of arbitrary detention or harsh enforcement of local laws, including broadly defined National Security Laws.”
Flight availability and cost have also been affected by the political environment.
Particularly relevant are connections to and from North America. Last month’s 332 scheduled round trips between China and the US contrasts with 1, 506 in April 2019.
Finding seats on a direct flight can be very challenging, and those that are are also very expensive.
Last November, President Xi Jinping addressed this issue during a dinner held on the occasion of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation conference in San Francisco.
” Today, President Biden and I reached important consensus”, he told the crowd.
” Our two countries will introduce more steps to facilitate travel and promote people-to-people exchanges, including launching direct passenger flights, holding a high-level dialogue on tourism, and streamlining visa application procedures. In the new era, our two countries will make more visits, exchanges, and visits. We also hope to find new friendship stories.
Since then, Washington has reduced the number of flights on Chinese airlines from 35 per week to 50. It is still well short of the 150 weekly trips pre- Covid.
The Biden administration is coming under pressure from unions and US airlines to not increase this any further because, they argue, Chinese airlines have an unfair advantage over them as they have state support, do n’t face the same onerous Chinese regulations, and, crucially, can fly over Russian airspace, making trips shorter and cheaper.
A letter to the US government from the Chair of the House Committee on China, Mike Gallagher, and the committee’s top Democrat representative, Raja Krishnamoorthi, reads:” Should the US- China passenger carrier market expand without the US government addressing these significant issues, US aviation workers, travellers and airlines will pay a hefty price tag”.
According to Mr. Lou, international flight connections are definitely occurring more frequently.
” What we are seeing right now, based on civil aviation data, is that inbound flight capacity wo n’t get back to even 80 % of 2019]levels ] by the end of 2024″.
Additionally, there are other potential drawbacks for those who are considering visiting China, such as the country’s state-of-the-art phone app payment and booking systems, which are simple for Chinese residents and residents but can be a real pain if they have just arrived.
There are certain sites, transport options, and purchases which can only be accessed via Chinese electronic apps which are, at times, only available in Chinese.
Expert on China’s tourism economy is Professor Chen Yong of the Swiss EHL Hospitality Business School. He believes that difficulties can arise from apps for booking and payment.
” Technologies such as social network websites, online maps, payment apps, among others, which foreigners have long been accustomed to using, are either unavailable or inaccessible when they travel to China”, he says.
” On the other hand, due to language barriers and user preferences, Chinese alternatives to these technologies are still accessible to foreigners.” Because of how severely it impacts the tourism sector, we must bridge this gap.
There are still a few foreign faces in the crowd, but they are much smaller than in previous years when international travelers arrive in Wuzhen.
An Italian couple says the process of linking up to and using China’s payment apps was a challenge but that it was not insurmountable, though they add, with a laugh, that it is “much, much, much easier” if you have a Chinese friend to help you.
Californian Eliseo claims he has trouble making payments to local businesses that no longer deal with cash and do n’t accept credit cards. His home bank, which has blocked some payments and flagged them as potentially fraudulent coming from China, has also created an additional challenge for him.
Chinese officials have acknowledged that there are n’t as many foreign travelers, but they are now attempting to change this.
Increase the number of nations where citizens who do n’t require a visa to enter is one way they’re trying to draw in more foreign visitors.
According to Trip.com, this led to a nearly immediate rise in Southeast Asian arrivals.
Transit travelers from more than 50 nations can also stay for a few days visa-free in 23 Chinese cities with an onward ticket.
Hotels with three-star hotels in Shanghai have been instructed to prepare for dealing with foreign credit cards, and a first batch of 50 taxis has also begun accepting them.
However, Professor Chen says “it would be too optimistic to envision a long- term growth in China’s inbound tourism”.
The trick is to create a culture that adapts to the needs of foreign tourists. They should picture themselves as a foreigner who has access to payment apps, mobile devices, and other forms of communication without having a Chinese phone number or native language.
He says that the culture around this ca n’t be changed overnight.
However, in places like Wuzhen, where locals have already returned, tourism companies are hoping that foreigners will eventually find their incredible sites to be too much.
As the United States narrows its focus on funding militant groups that are routed through Southeast Asia, a US Treasury official issued a warning about environmental risks from illegal transfers of Iranian oil off Malaysia, according to Malaysiakini news on Thursday ( May 9 ). A senior US Treasury nationalContinue Reading
Japanese singer , A- Mei may be up in Singapore to excitement fans this July. The pop culture icon is embarking on her tenth , significant- level single musical tour,  , ASMeiR Max, and Singapore will be the only South Eastern stop.
On July 27, A-Mei’s approaching performance will take place at the Singapore Indoor Stadium for between S$ 148 and S$ 328.
