Singapore Tonight - Jun 2025 - CNA Singapore Tonight Wed 25 Jun 2025
47:58 Min
Singapore Tonight
From business to politics, health to technology, we bring you up-to-date with the latest news on Singapore and analyze how these events may affect you tomorrow.
Singapore Tonight
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From business to politics, health to technology, we bring you up-to-date with the latest news on Singapore and analyze how these events may affect you tomorrow.
Daily at 10pm (SIN/HK)
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Business Times
41 minutes ago
- Business Times
Asian markets in full swing as investors shake off trade jitters
[HONG KONG] Trading desks across Asia are buzzing with excitement again, as the region shakes off tariff shocks and attracts investors with its solid growth prospects. From stocks to currencies to credit, the rebound from the depths of the April market turmoil has been impressive. MSCI's Asia equities index has jumped 25 per cent to a four-year high, while a slump in the US dollar has powered a regional currency gauge to the strongest since October. Companies are rushing to raise money to capitalise on the market's reawakening. It marks a sharp reversal from the jitters that prevailed just a couple of months ago, when fears of a full-blown trade war and concerns that runaway inflation will limit central banks' policy room weighed heavily on Asian assets. Instead, a weakening US dollar has created space for interest-rate cuts across the region, with the Federal Reserve's widely-expected easing likely to provide additional tailwinds. 'Stocks have bounced back strongly from their April bottom, and investors are realising they might have been too pessimistic about Trump's tariffs,' said Tomo Kinoshita, global market strategist at Invesco Asset Management. 'Trump is showing more flexibility around his trade policies, and that's driving optimism.' Take the demand for blockbuster share sales from Hong Kong to Tokyo as an example of the palpable excitement. So far, such deals across the region including initial public offerings have raised more than US$90 billion, a 25 per cent jump from this time last year, data compiled by Bloomberg show. While Hong Kong has dominated larger deals, Japan's capital market has also hummed along with this week, seeing the highest IPO volume since mid-March. BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up Debt capital markets have also roared back to life after a dearth of deals at the height of volatility. Yield premiums on Asian investment-grade US dollar bonds have narrowed to about 75 basis points, edging closer to a record low reached in February, a Bloomberg index shows. The tightening of Asian spreads is all the more impressive given a surge in US dollar bond sales from the region, with this week seeing the largest volume of deals since March. Asia-Pacific offerings in the US currency have climbed by about 47 per cent this year to US$197 billion, and the total is set to rise on Thursday after several issuers price notes. To be sure, the recent rebound has been global, as markets around the world enjoyed a relief rally to varying degrees. US stocks have also regained their mojo as the 'sell America' trade lost steam. The Nasdaq 100 is at a fresh record and the S&P 500 is nearing its February peak. The extent of resurgence in Asia is nonetheless notable, given that the export-reliant region was among the hardest hit by US President Donald Trump's tariffs. A softer US dollar has bolstered the case for owning Asian assets. A Bloomberg US dollar index is set for a sixth straight month of losses, the worst streak since 2017. Asian sovereign bonds have enjoyed a surge in inflows as investors looked to diversify and the region's central banks embarked on interest-rate cuts. South Korea has especially stood out, receiving over US$39 billion so far in 2025, according to Bloomberg-compiled data. Local factors such as the removal of political uncertainty following the election of a new president have helped. 'When I think about allocating to Asia, I think about the balance and defensiveness that it offers to the portfolio,' said Leonard Kwan, portfolio manager for T Rowe Price in Hong Kong. 'It's a region that has got better fiscal and external positioning for the countries.' BLOOMBERG
CNA
an hour ago
- CNA
China hosts Iran, Russia defence ministers against backdrop of 'turmoil'
QINGDAO: China hosted defence ministers from Iran and Russia for a meeting in its eastern seaside city of Qingdao on Thursday (Jun 26) against the backdrop of war in the Middle East and a summit of NATO countries in Europe that agreed to boost military spending. Beijing has long sought to present the 10-member Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) as a counterweight to Western-led power blocs and has pushed to strengthen collaboration between its member countries in politics, security, trade and science. The Qingdao meeting of the organisation's top defence officials comes as a fledgling ceasefire between Israel and Iran holds after 12 days of fighting between the arch-foes. It is also being held the day after a summit of North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) leaders in The Hague, where members agreed to ramp up their defence spending to satisfy US President Donald Trump. Beijing's ties with Moscow are also in the spotlight. China has portrayed itself as a neutral party in Russia's war with Ukraine, although Western governments say its close ties have given Moscow crucial economic and diplomatic support. Russian Defence Minister Andrei Belousov painted a bleak picture of a world seeing "worsening geopolitical tensions" when he addressed his counterparts at the meeting. "The current military and political situation in the world remains difficult and shows signs of further deterioration," he said, according to a Russian defence ministry statement. His Chinese counterpart Dong Jun also framed Thursday's meeting in Qingdao, home to a major Chinese naval base, as a counterweight to a world "marked by intertwined turmoil and changes". "It is all the more important for the Shanghai Cooperation Organization to play its role as an anchor of stability," he said, according to state news agency Xinhua. BACKING FOR IRAN? Recent fighting between Israel, Iran and the United States was also likely discussed in Qingdao. Beijing refrained from offering anything more than diplomatic support to its close partner Tehran throughout that conflict, reflecting its limited leverage in the region and reluctance to worsen relations with the United States. "Public backing for Iran will come in the form of words, rather than deeds," James Char, an expert on the Chinese army at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, told AFP. "Other than condemning the US strikes on Iran, Beijing can be expected to continue treading cautiously in the Middle East's security issues and would not want to be dragged into the region's security challenges," he said. Iran's defence minister will likely "discuss with China the supply of weapons but I doubt China would agree", said Andrea Ghiselli, an expert in China foreign policy and a lecturer at Exeter University. "It would be seen as provocative by both Israel ... and, even more important for China, the US, with which Beijing is trying to stabilise relations," Ghiselli said. India's Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, also in attendance in Qingdao, said SCO members should "collectively aspire to fulfil the aspirations and expectations of our people as well as tackle today's challenges". "The world we live in is undergoing a drastic transformation. Globalisation, which once brought us closer together, has been losing momentum," he said in comments his office posted on social media. "As momentous changes of the century accelerate, unilateralism and protectionism are on the rise," Dong said as he welcomed defence chiefs from Russia, Iran, Pakistan, Belarus and elsewhere on Wednesday, according to state news agency Xinhua. "Hegemonic, domineering and bullying acts severely undermine the international order," he warned. He urged his counterparts to "take more robust actions to jointly safeguard the environment for peaceful development". Meeting Dong on the sidelines of the summit, Belousov hailed ties between the two countries as being "at an unprecedentedly high level".
CNA
an hour ago
- CNA
WEF on global economy's resilience amid geopolitical challenges
CNA's Olivia Siong speaks to Borge Brende, WEF President and CEO, about this year's World Economic Forum in Tianjin, China against the backdrop of tensions between Israel and Iran.
