Trump unveils new tariffs for dozens of trading partners
The order capped off a hectic day as nations sought to continue negotiating with Trump, as his trade agency continues to test the global economy.
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Straits Times
16 minutes ago
- Straits Times
China to offer free pre-school education from autumn
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox The announcement comes a week after China said it would offer parents the equivalent of US$500 (S$644.44) a year for each child under the age of three. BEIJING - China said on Aug 5 it would introduce free pre-school education from the autumn, as the world's second most populous nation seeks to boost childbirth in the face of a looming demographic crisis. China's population has declined for three consecutive years , with United Nations demography models predicting it could fall from around 1.4 billion today to 800 million by 2100. There were just 9.54 million births in China in 2024, half the number in 2016, when Beijing ended its one-child policy after more than three decades. The population declined by 1.39 million in 2024, and China lost its crown as the world's most populous country to India in 2023. Marriage rates are also at record low levels, with many young couples put off having babies by high child-rearing costs and career concerns. On Aug 5, China's Cabinet, the State Council, announced: 'Starting in the fall semester of 2025, childcare and education fees will be waived for children attending public kindergartens in the year before school'. The policy aims to 'effectively reduce the cost of education, improve the level of public education services, and provide education that satisfies the people', the State Council said. Beijing described it as an 'important measure that concerns thousands upon thousands of households and relates to long-term development'. Funding for the new measure would be shared between the central and local authorities, while children attending approved private kindergartens would also be eligible for fee reductions. The announcement comes a week after the country said it would offer parents the equivalent of US$500 (S$644.44) per year for each child under the age of three. At a news conference in Beijing last week, National Health Commission (NHC) official Wang Haidong acknowledged that the country had 'gradually shifted from a phase of population growth to a phase of population decline'. 'The childcare subsidy system can directly increase people's cash income,' Mr Guo Yanhong, vice-minister of the NHC, said. Chinese leaders have in recent years struggled to breathe life into the economy, beset by a years-long property crisis that has spooked would-be homebuyers and dissuaded many people from having children. China's shrinking population is also ageing fast, sparking worries about the future of the country's pension system. There were nearly 310 million people aged 60 and over in 2024. AFP
Business Times
16 minutes ago
- Business Times
Chinese firms set for record US listings, undeterred by geopolitics
[SHANGHAI / HONG KONG] A record number of Chinese companies are seeking a US listing this year as onerous domestic listing rules and the prospect of better valuations convince them to brave volatile Sino-US relations and US calls for strict oversight of Chinese firms. In the first half of 2025, 36 mostly small and mid-sized Chinese companies went public in the US, following a record-breaking year of 64 in 2024, said law firm K&L Gates. Many of those firms went public through special purpose acquisition companies (Spacs) – listed companies set up to buy mainly startups, making the startups public without them having to go through the lengthy initial public offering process. Waiting to list on the Nasdaq are more than 40 Chinese companies, including a mobile advertising service provider and a traditional Chinese medicine maker, Chinese disclosure showed. That number, which excludes confidentially filed listing applications, will take the annual tally of Chinese firms going public in the US to a new high if all materialise this year. 'I think it's a healthy year for Chinese IPOs. It will probably be a record year or near that,' said David Bartz, partner at K&L Gates, who has built a 'robust' pipeline of Chinese clients seeking first-time share sales in the US 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 Chinese firms have had a harder time going public at home since the government tightened listing rules in 2023, raising the appeal of listing via Spacs in the US, as well as that country's deeper pool of capital. Pursuing a US listing amounts to a bet that calls from US lawmakers aimed at diminishing Chinese access to the world's largest capital market can only go so far, bankers and lawyers said. One listing hopeful is racing car manufacturer Xinghui Car Technology, whose head raised a toast at a Shanghai hotel in June to celebrate a major step towards going public in the US 'The US capital market is one of the world's biggest. It's liquid and allows easy access to funding,' said Xinghui chairman Song Wenfang upon signing a preliminary agreement to be acquired by Nasdaq-listed Spac UY Scuti. Since Xinghui's celebrations, investors have pushed US share prices to record highs, expecting trade deals to be the beginning of the end of uncertainty wrought by months of US President Donald Trump threatening to impose steep tariffs. The China Securities Regulatory Commission, which oversees Chinese firms' offshore sales of securities, did not respond to a request for comment. Spac surge Over 100 Chinese firms, including technology leaders Alibaba, and Baidu, are US-listed, boasting a combined market value of about US$1 trillion as of March, showed data from the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission. In April, tearoom chain Chagee debuted on the Nasdaq after raising US$411 million in the biggest IPO of a Chinese firm in the US this year. Of those seeking to list, a growing number are pre-profit or even pre-revenue startups, mainly in the tech sector, aiming for a quicker means of raising capital through a Spac listing, said Karen Mu, managing director at Alliance Global Partners. That demand has contributed to the total number of firms listing in the US via Spacs almost doubling last year to 57 and climbing to 76 so far this year, showed SPACInsider data. The increased Chinese interest, however, has caught the attention of US lawmakers who called for the delisting of Chinese firms from US exchanges as recently as May citing national security concerns. In June, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) singled out China as it sought to raise disclosure requirements for listing hopefuls. A spokesperson for SEC declined to comment on the Chinese listing trend beyond saying the regulator gathers information on the number of all foreign companies listed on US exchanges. Spokespersons for the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq declined to comment. Domestic hurdles The rush of Chinese listing hopefuls heading West is being fuelled by high regulatory thresholds for listing at home as well as criteria skewed to spur growth of sectors in line with national interests. In China, a company needs to exceed a certain size or be profitable to qualify for a main-board listing. Alternatively, to list on tech boards, firms need to align with government self-sufficiency goals or achieve set levels of productivity. 'In the US, as long as you can meet objective rules set by regulators, you can go public,' said Steve Markscheid, managing partner of Aerion Capital, who also serves as independent director of several US-listed Chinese companies. 'Things are more subjective in China. The regulator needs to analyse whether the company is good or not. Only companies judged as good can go public.' It takes nine to 12 months on average for an IPO candidate in China to secure regulatory approval, compared to six to nine months in Hong Kong and four to six months in New York, showed an analysis from Merits & Tree Law Offices. The lengthy approval process and high listing thresholds means that for startups, 'listing in China becomes mission impossible,' said Xinghui deal adviser Ronald Shuang of Shanghai-based investment company Balloch Holding. REUTERS
Business Times
16 minutes ago
- Business Times
Cybersecurity: a strategic investment in a dangerous, uncertain world
[SINGAPORE] As digital transformation accelerates, the need for cybersecurity has become more critical than ever. The rise of cloud-based services, advanced technologies such as generative artificial intelligence (GenAI), and intensifying geopolitical tensions have all contributed to a more complex and dangerous threat environment. Data from Check Point Research shows that the global average number of weekly cyberattacks per organisation has more than doubled from 818 in the second quarter of 2021 to 1,984 in Q2 2025. Data breaches have also become more costly, with the average cost climbing 26 per cent from US$3.9 million in 2020 to US$4.9 million in 2024. As threats intensify, businesses and governments are stepping up their cybersecurity spending. According to Grand View Research, the global cybersecurity market is projected to grow from US$245.6 billion in 2024 to US$500.7 billion by 2030, at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12.6 per cent. AI: threat and driver of cybersecurity demand The rise of GenAI is reshaping both the threat landscape and the demand for modern security solutions. Cybercriminals are now using large language models to research targets, craft highly convincing phishing messages, and write malicious code. Even more alarmingly, AI tools can create realistic deepfakes of voices and videos, which are increasingly used to defraud businesses. In Hong Kong last year, a financial worker at engineering firm Arup was deceived into transferring HK$200 million (S$32.8 million) to criminals during a video call populated entirely by deepfakes of senior executives. The advent of agentic AI adds a new layer of complexity to the threat landscape. Autonomous and adaptive in nature, AI agents can be used by attackers to bypass traditional defences more easily and enable even less-skilled threat actors to carry out highly effective and large-scale campaigns. 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 As businesses themselves increasingly deploy AI agents to boost efficiency, they inadvertently introduce new security vulnerabilities. These agents can be manipulated through prompt injection attacks, where malicious prompts masquerade as legitimate commands, leading to the unintended disclosure of sensitive data or execution of harmful actions. These evolving threats are driving greater demand for advanced cybersecurity solutions. Identity security tools are becoming essential for managing not only human but also machine identities. Additionally, new GenAI-specific protections are emerging, such as prompt-level visibility features that monitor and block policy-violating prompts in real time. Meanwhile, the shortage of cybersecurity professionals is also fuelling demand for AI-powered automation tools that help analysts respond to threats faster and more effectively. Despite the escalating threat landscape, AI adoption in cybersecurity remains limited. A Ponemon Institute survey found that nearly 70 per cent of organisations are either not using AI at all or are doing so only to a limited extent. This highlights a significant, untapped opportunity for vendors capable of delivering effective AI-driven security solutions. Cybersecurity spending is resilient across economic cycles Cybersecurity is mission-critical; that does not change even in an economic downturn. A Q2 Morgan Stanley survey of chief information officers found that security software is considered the area least likely to face budget cuts if macroeconomic conditions worsen. This is unsurprising given that cyberthreats persist in any economic environment. Breaches can lead to massive financial losses, reputational damage, and the undermining of critical infrastructure and national security. In a recent example, Microsoft accused hackers linked to the Chinese government of exploiting vulnerabilities in its SharePoint system to steal confidential data from hundreds of businesses and government agencies, including the US National Nuclear Security Administration. Looking ahead, governments are expected to continue increasing their cybersecurity budgets, benefiting cybersecurity companies that government agencies outsource projects to. Furthermore, strict enforcement of cybersecurity regulations such as the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation and Singapore's Cybersecurity Act will compel businesses to invest more in security solutions to ensure compliance. Meanwhile, long-term structural trends such as digitalisation, AI and cloud adoption, will continue to underpin demand for cybersecurity, even in a slowing or uncertain economy. Scalable business model Many cybersecurity firms operate on a subscription-based model, which provides predictable recurring revenue. Their business is also supported by high switching costs, as changing security vendors can be complex, disruptive and risky. This leads to high customer stickiness, with leading firms consistently reporting gross retention rates of more than 95 per cent, implying a customer lifespan of about 20 years. Firms offering a broad range of solutions, such as CrowdStrike and Palo Alto Networks, can also upsell and cross-sell, leading to net retention rates above 110 per cent. Finally, the software-based nature of the industry makes it less vulnerable to supply chain disruptions and tariffs. Overall, the combination of high customer stickiness and innovative solutions allows these firms to build substantial annual recurring revenue and sustain robust growth. Defensive growth In conclusion, the cybersecurity industry presents a compelling investment case, offering a rare combination of growth and resilience. As digital transformation accelerates and threats grow more complex, demand for advanced protection will only rise. We favour platform providers with diversified offerings. Their integrated solutions are well-positioned to capitalise on the trend of vendor consolidation, where businesses seek to streamline their security operations and reduce costs. For investors who want to gain broad exposure to this fragmented industry without picking individual winners, a cybersecurity exchange-traded fund is a good option. The writer is a research analyst with the research and portfolio management team of FSMOne Singapore, the B2C division of iFast Financial
