Rounding up top investing articles from around the web, including articles shared on Twitter.
Asia inflation has peaked, region’s growth to overtake U.S. and Europe, Morgan Stanley says (CNBC)
- Asia’s growth is set to outpace that of the U.S. and Europe’s by the end of this year as the region was not as buffeted by rate shocks as its western counterparts were, said Morgan Stanley.
- “By the fourth quarter of this year, we think Asia’s growth will be outperforming U.S. and Europe by about 450 basis points,” the investment bank’s Chief Asia Economist.
TikTok to invest billions of dollars in Southeast Asia, CEO says (CNBC)
Southeast Asia, a region with a collective population of 630 million — half of them under 30 — is one of TikTok’s biggest markets in terms of user numbers.
“We’re going to invest billions of dollars in Indonesia and Southeast Asia over the next few years,” TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew said at a forum it organised in Jakarta to highlight the social and economic impact of the app in the region.
S’pore showing signs of cooling labour demand as job vacancies drop for 4th straight quarter (Straits Times)
Singapore showed signs of cooling labour demand in the latest market data released on Thursday as total employment expanded at a slower pace, retrenchments rose and job vacancies, while still high, dropped for a fourth straight quarter.
Retrenchments also rose for the third consecutive quarter to 3,820 from 2,990 in the fourth quarter of 2022, according to the Ministry of Manpower’s (MOM) labour market report for the first quarter.
But testifying to the still tight labour market, 71.7 per cent of retrenched Singaporeans and permanent residents (PRs) – or about than 7 in 10 – were able to find a job within six months. Unemployment rates also remained low.
George Goh defends his eligibility to run for president, says he formed team to gauge qualifications (Straits Times)
“Mr Goh did not enter the contest on a whim. It was a decision made seven years ago after he saw that changes to the Constitution stacked the chances against a private-sector candidate, especially businessmen, contesting the election,” Mr Goh’s media team said.
According to market data from The Wall Street Journal, Ossia International, which distributes and retails consumer products, averaged about $50 million in shareholders’ equity from 2021 to 2023.
Mr Goh’s team said on Monday that he has owned more than 100 companies over the past four decades, including five that he listed on the stock exchanges of Singapore and the United Kingdom. He also acquired two other companies, which were publicly listed as well. In all, they have a collective market capitalisation value of $3.15 billion.
China’s youth unemployment hits a fresh record high in May, major data disappoint (CNBC)
China’s youth unemployment rose to a record in May, while major data missed expectations, according to data released Thursday by the National Bureau of Statistics.
The unemployment rate for young people ages 16 to 24 rose to 20.8% in May, a record and above the high set in April. The jobless rate for people of all ages in cities was 5.2% in May.
Retail sales for May rose by 12.7% in May from a year ago, below expectations for 13.6% growth forecast by a Reuters poll.
Industrial production rose by 3.5% in May from a year ago, slower than the 3.6% expected by the Reuters poll.
Analysts predicted a 4.4% increase in fixed asset investment for the first five months of the year from a year ago. Fixed asset investment for the first five months of the year rose by 4% from a year ago, slower than the 4.4% predicted by Reuters.
“The national economy sustained the recovery momentum,” the statistics bureau said in a release in English.
LTA buys 44 new trains for Cross Island Line for $589 million (Straits Times)
The Land Transport Authority (LTA) has bought 44 six-car trains for the Cross Island Line (CRL) that will be delivered from 2027, ahead of phase one of the rail line opening in 2030.
On Wednesday, LTA said it awarded a $589 million contract to CRRC Sifang – a consortium of CRRC Qingdao Sifang Co and Singapore CRRC Sifang Railway Vehicles Service. The contract includes the option to buy up to 11 additional trains and an option for the provision of long-term service support.
The new fleet of fully automated CRL trains will be designed and manufactured in Qingdao, China, said LTA.
BYD zooms past Tesla to become S’pore’s best-selling electric vehicle brand (Straits Times)
According to fresh statistics from the Land Transport Authority (LTA), BYD registered 303 electric cars from January to May, followed by Tesla (283) and BMW (249).
About 20 per cent of BYD sales were to private-hire operators.
Newcomers to the top 10 bestsellers’ list were Opel and Volvo.
Chinese student in Singapore rescued from kidnappers in Cambodia after falling for scam (Straits Times)
The student was contacted on June 2 by scammers, who told him that he was wanted by the authorities.
They instructed him to fly to the coastal city of Sihanoukville in Cambodia and go into hiding. But once he arrived there, the scammers held him captive and took a video for his parents.
They then sent the footage to the student’s parents, and demanded a ransom of 3 million yuan (S$562,000) for his release.
The Chinese Embassy in Singapore said after the parents filed a police report on June 4, it contacted the Chinese Embassy in Cambodia to organise rescue efforts with the local police.
China to see the world’s biggest millionaire exodus this year, new study shows (CNBC)
- Data showed that a net 10,800 high-net-worth individuals migrated out of China in 2022, and another net 13,500 are expected to leave this year.
- This is not an issue that started with during the coronavirus pandemic, however, and has been going on for the last 10 years.
- Australia could outrank the United Arab Emirates this year in welcoming the highest net number of millionaires this year.
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