Rounding up top investing articles from around the web, including articles shared on Twitter.
Enhanced anti-money laundering laws proposed; Govt agencies to share more data with each other (Straits Times)
The Anti-Money Laundering and Other Matters Bill was read for the first time in Parliament on July 2.
The Bill proposes amending existing laws to allow the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore and Singapore Customs to share tax and trade data with the Suspicious Transaction Reporting Office (STRO).
STRO is Singapore’s Financial Intelligence Unit, and is under the Commercial Affairs Department of the Singapore Police Force.
It receives suspicious transaction reports (STRs) and other reports which are then analysed to detect money laundering and other serious crimes.
Is Raffles Medical Group in the crosshairs of a potential buyer? (Straits Times)
Since February this year, Dr Loo Choon Yong, the owner and founder of Raffles Medical, has spent almost $35 million of his own money to buy back shares in his company. His purchase price averages about $1.03 per share, according to analysts who track the company.
Admin error resulted in scam-related ‘gov.sg’ SMSes being sent to wrong recipients: Police (Straits Times)
A new initiative to use only the gov.sg “sender ID” for SMSes from government agencies from July 1 ran into hiccups on the first day after a message from the police got some recipients’ names wrong.
On July 1, an SMS from the police under the “gov.sg” banner was sent out with a warning about the re-emergence of a fake bulk order scam, in which about 60 victims have lost at least $831,000 since April 12.
However, the messages were sent with the wrong recipient names because of an “administrative error”, said the police in response to queries.
Despite the wrong names, the anti-scam message sent out was authentic and not fake, the police added. Also, no personal data was compromised.
The police said follow-up messages were sent to those who were originally meant to receive the message, in a bid to clarify the situation. The police did not provide details on how many people were affected by the administrative error.
Ninja Van cuts 5% of Singapore workforce (Straits Times)
Logistics technology company Ninja Van has laid off 5 per cent of its workforce in Singapore, it said on July 1, as the firm retools itself for its expansion into new logistics segments that was announced in April.
There are about 450 staff based at its Singapore corporate headquarters in Kay Siang Road, near the Tanglin area, with those working in technology numbering over 100 in the Republic overall.
180 more coffee shops to offer budget meals by end-July and accept CDC vouchers (Straits Times)
Around 180 coffee shops will start offering budget meals by end-July under a scheme to provide Singaporeans with more affordable food options, more than doubling the pool of participating coffee shops to 330.
These newest participants of the budget meal scheme will also start accepting CDC vouchers progressively from July 1, said the Ministry of National Development and Housing Board.
The 180 coffee shops are run by nine private chain operators: Badaling, Broadway, De Tian, Chang Cheng, FoodFare Kopitiam, Kimly, Kim San Leng, Koufu and Select. They comprise 60 rental HDB coffee shops that will voluntarily offer budget meals ahead of their lease renewal, as well as 120 privately owned coffee shops.
This means almost a third of privately owned coffee shops will offer budget meals by end-July 2024.
Revolut CEO confident on UK bank license approval as fintech firm hits record $545 million profit (CNBC)
- Nikolay Storonsky, Revolut’s CEO and co-founder, said the company is feeling confident about securing its British bank license “soon”, after overcoming some key hurdles.
- Revolut first applied for a U.K. banking license in 2021, but it has faced lengthy delays.
- Revolut released annual accounts Tuesday showing its full-year pre-tax profit rose to $545 million in 2023; the company cited strong user growth and revenue diversification.
China’s young people are ‘revenge saving’ even as Gen Zers around the world are piling up debt (CNBC)
- Revenge saving has become a trend on Chinese social media websites, with Chinese youth setting extreme monthly savings targets.
- Savings measures also include dining at community canteens usually for the elderly, where fresh meals are sold at relatively cheap prices.
- Others are finding “savings partners” on social media, forming circles that ensure members stick with their savings goals.
UK polls point to a massive win for Labour. The party doesn’t want voters to think victory is a done deal (CNBC)
- There’s been one main narrative since the U.K.’s Conservative Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called a general election back in May — that the opposing Labour Party would win the vote by a landslide.
- UK voter polls have more or less pointed in one direction, giving the center-left Labour Party around a 20-point lead on the Conservatives.
- The party has been reluctant to reference the polls, telling CNBC it did not comment on projections, as they “vary and fluctuate.”
Illegal remote betting syndicate busted: 43 arrested in joint Singapore-Malaysia raids (CNA)
Singapore and Malaysia police foiled an organised criminal group believed to be behind illegal remote betting operations, arresting 43 people aged between 34 and 82 for their suspected involvement.
Japan interest rates could rise to 0.5% by March 2025, says Mizuho Bank CEO (CNA)
The Bank of Japan (BOJ) could hike interest rates twice by the end of March 2025 to reach 0.5 per cent, reflecting the real growth rate of the Japanese economy, the head of Mizuho Financial Group’s banking arm said.
But rapid rate hikes won’t be a tool to arrest the weakening yen, which has plunged to a 38-year low against the dollar, Masahiko Kato, chief executive officer of Mizuho Bank, said in an interview with Reuters.
“If (the BOJ) raises rates too strongly, the economic growth that has finally set in will deteriorate,” Kato said. “I don’t have the impression they’ll raise interest rates too hastily.”
The central bank ended negative interest rates after eight years in March, and economists are split over whether another rate increase will come at the next monetary policy later this month.
While inflation translates to higher costs for companies who have to hike wages, this in turn spurs them to adopt new growth strategies such as mergers and acquisitions (M&A), carve-outs, and expansion abroad to boost earnings, Kato said.
Mizuho Bank has identified mid-cap listed companies as a new customer base for its financing and advisory services, as Japan’s acute labour shortage means many such firms lack the specialist knowhow to pursue growth, for instance, through M&A.
The fact that so many companies struggle to raise their corporate value after listing lies behind activist investors’ growing involvement in Japanese firms, as well as the Tokyo Stock Exchange’s campaign to boost corporate value, Kato said.
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