Posts by Kim Browne
NTT Docomo to buy SBI’s net bank for 420 billion yen in cutthroat market
The move is part of a capital alliance between the state-backed telecom group and SBI Holdings Published Thu, May 29, 2025 · 05:35 PM [TOKYO] NTT Docomo is buying SBI Holdings’ online bank in a 420 billion yen (S$3.7 billion) deal to shore up the Japanese mobile carrier’s financial offerings in a hyper-competitive market. Nippon…
Read MoreNTT Docomo to buy SBI’s online bank for 420 billion yen in cut-throat market
[TOKYO] NTT Docomo is buying SBI Holdings’ online bank in a 420 billion yen (S$3.7 billion) deal to shore up the Japanese mobile carrier’s financial offerings in a hyper-competitive market. Nippon Telegraph and Telephone’s mobile unit will launch a tender offer for SBI Sumishin Net Bank, offering 4,900 yen a share – a 49 per…
Read MorePhillip Securities initiates coverage on dividend-focused Reit ETF trading at ‘attractive’ valuation
[SINGAPORE] Phillip Securities Research has initiated coverage on the Phillip SGX APAC Dividend Leaders REIT ETF (Pareits) with an “accumulate” call and a target price of S$1.095. In a report released on Wednesday (May 28), Phillip Securities analyst Helena Wang said that the exchange-traded fund (ETF) offers investors stable income at an attractive book value.…
Read MoreAs listcos head for the door, are private markets the answer for investors?
[SINGAPORE] Private markets have grown increasingly popular in recent times in South-east Asia, with Singapore accounting for 45 per cent of the private equity market in deal value and volume in 2024. On Mar 27, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) unveiled and sought feedback on a framework for retail private market investment funds in…
Read MoreToyota sales hit second monthly record on US demand, tariff rush
Japanese carmakers are heavily reliant on the US auto market and could suffer as much as a US$19 billion impact from the levies Published Thu, May 29, 2025 · 02:11 PM [TOKYO] Toyota Motor’s sales hit a record for the second month in a row as a strong showing in the US and Japan was…
Read MoreNIE, Amazon Web Services set up AI-focused innovation hub for edtech research
[SINGAPORE] The National Institute of Education (NIE) and Amazon Web Services (AWS) on Thursday (May 29) announced the launch of the Technology for Education Centre (TEC) – a new initiative aimed at driving applied innovation and research in the space of education technology. A three-year memorandum of understanding was signed between the two organisations for…
Read MoreAramco will keep borrowing, CEO says, as oil slump cuts cashflow
[DUBAI] Saudi Aramco is targeting more borrowings to finance growth and better leverage its balance sheet, chief executive officer Amin Nasser said, as the world’s biggest oil exporter raised US$5 billion in bonds this week. The Saudi state oil producer needs funds to plug a gap in finances as declining free cash flow amid weaker…
Read MoreVietnam’s AI ambitions hinge on one US$6.8 billion tech company
[HANOI] Four decades ago, Truong Gia Binh set up a technology company using a single computer in a room loaned by his then-father-in-law, general Vo Nguyen Giap, revered for leading Vietnamese troops in defeating the French and US militaries. That company, FPT, is now Vietnam’s biggest listed tech firm. It’s central to the government’s push…
Read MoreShopee’s SPX Express partners Frasers Property Vietnam to build automated sorting centre
Facility includes advanced two-storey automated sorting machines that can sort up to 7 million parcels a day, the highest for SPX Express in Vietnam [SINGAPORE] SPX Express, Shopee’s independent third-party logistics services provider, and Frasers Property Vietnam have signed an agreement to develop a 170,000 sq m sorting centre in Hung Yen province, Vietnam. It…
Read MoreMeta AI bot used a billion times monthly: Mark Zuckerberg
[SAN FRANCISCO] Meta chief Mark Zuckerberg touted the tech firm’s generative artificial intelligence (Gen AI) assistant on Wednesday, telling shareholders it is used by a billion people each month across its platforms. Zuckerberg noted the milestone anew at Meta’s annual gathering of shareholders and as the social media behemoth vies with Google, Microsoft, OpenAI and…
Read MoreSouth Korea central bank cuts rate, slashes 2025 growth forecast
Published Thu, May 29, 2025 · 10:17 AM [SEOUL] South Korea’s central bank cut interest rates on Thursday in a bid to cushion the export-dependent economy from US President Donald Trump’s tariff war, as it almost halved its annual growth forecast. The Bank of Korea lowered its benchmark interest rate “from the current 2.75 per…
Read MoreAI personal shoppers hunt down bargain buys
[NEW YORK] Internet giants are diving deeper into e-commerce with digital aides that know shoppers’ likes, let them virtually try clothes on, hunt for deals and even place orders. The rise of virtual personal shoppers springs from generative artificial intelligence (AI) being put to work in “agents” specialising in specific tasks and given autonomy to…
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