CNA938 Rewind - Mind Your Money - Journeying from the Navy to a banker
CNA938 Rewind
From being conscripted in the Yugoslavian Navy to a banking career in Singapore, Cheryl Goh hears about Tibor Pandi, Citi Country Officer (CCO) and Banking Head for Singapore's unlikely career journey.
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CNA
an hour ago
- CNA
Singapore Airlines cancels all flights to Dubai until Wednesday amid Middle East conflict
SINGAPORE: Singapore Airlines (SIA) has cancelled all flights between Singapore and Dubai until Wednesday (Jun 25) as the conflict between Israel and Iran continues. In a notice on its website, the Singapore carrier announced that the cancellations followed 'a security assessment of the geopolitical situation in the Middle East'. The six cancelled flights are: The airline had earlier cancelled flights between Singapore and Dubai on Sunday as a result of the conflict. 'SIA will be contacting all affected customers to inform them about the flight cancellation,' said the airline. 'Customers affected by the flight cancellations will be reaccommodated on alternative flights or can seek a full refund of the unused portion of their ticket.' It added that customers who booked their flights directly can use the airline's Assistance Request Form to seek a refund. 'For bookings made through travel agents or partner airlines, customers are advised to contact their travel agent or purchasing airline directly for assistance,' said SIA. 'As the situation remains fluid, other SIA flights between Singapore and Dubai may be affected,' it added. Commercial airlines around the world are weighing how long to suspend Middle East flights as a conflict which has already cut off major flight routes entered a new phase after the US attacked key Iranian nuclear sites and Tehran vowed to defend itself. The usually busy airspace stretching from Iran and Iraq to the Mediterranean has been largely empty of commercial air traffic for 10 days since Israel began strikes on Iran on Jun 13, as airlines divert, cancel and delay flights through the region due to airspace closures and safety concerns. New cancellations of some flights by international carriers in recent days to usually resilient aviation hubs like Dubai, the world's busiest international airport, and Qatar's Doha, show how aviation industry concerns about the region have escalated. With Russian and Ukrainian airspace also closed to most airlines due to years of war, the Middle East had become a more important route for flights between Europe and Asia. Amid missile and air strikes during the past 10 days, airlines have routed north via the Caspian Sea or south via Egypt and Saudi Arabia. Added to increased fuel and crew costs from these long detours and cancellations, carriers also face a potential hike in jet fuel costs as oil prices rise following the US attacks. AIRSPACE RISKS Proliferating conflict zones are an increasing operational burden on airlines, as aerial attacks raise worries about accidental or deliberate shoot-downs of commercial air traffic. Location spoofing and GPS interference around political hotspots, where ground-based GPS systems broadcast incorrect positions which can send commercial airliners off course, are also a growing issue for commercial aviation. Flightradar24 told Reuters it had seen a "dramatic increase" in jamming and spoofing in recent days over the Persian Gulf. SkAI, a Swiss company that runs a GPS disruption map, late on Sunday said it had observed more than 150 aircraft spoofed in 24 hours there. Safe Airspace, a website run by OPSGROUP, a membership-based organisation that shares flight risk information, noted on Sunday that US attacks on Iran's nuclear sites could heighten the threat to American operators in the region. This could raise additional airspace risks in Gulf states like Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, it said. In the days before the US strikes, American Airlines suspended flights to Qatar, and United Airlines and Air Canada did the same with flights to Dubai. They have yet to resume. While international airlines are shying away from the region, local carriers in Jordan, Lebanon and Iraq are tentatively resuming some flights after widespread cancellations. Israel is ramping up flights to help people return home, and leave. The country's Airports Authority says that so-called rescue flights to the country would expand on Monday with 24 a day, although each flight would be limited to 50 passengers. From Monday, Israeli airlines will start to operate outbound flights from Israel, the authority said.
Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
Wilmar expands in Nigeria as nation's currency crisis ebbs
Wilmar last week announced a plan to acquire all the shares in a palm oil venture with PZ Cussons for US$70 million. PHOTO: AFP Lagos - Wilmar International, the Singapore-listed agribusiness, plans to boost its palm oil business in Nigeria, wooed by policies that have helped stabilise the naira and bolstered the availability of US dollars in Africa's most populous nation. The company, led by billionaire Kuok Khoon Hong, last week announced a plan to acquire all the shares in a palm oil venture with PZ Cussons for US$70 million (S$90 million). Wilmar also acquired 8,500 hectares of old rubber plantations to grow crop that will produce edible oil, according to Santosh Pillai, chief executive officer of Wilmar's African unit. The investment shows confidence that the steps Nigerian President Bola Tinubu has taken to revive economic growth and improve government finances may be working. Nigeria's foreign exchange reserves have increased, inflation has moderated and the naira has stabilised. In May, Moody's upgraded the country's foreign currency debt rating. It raised its credit rating for the nation to B3, six notches below investment grade, from Caa1, and changed the outlook to stable. 'The landscape is beginning to shift,' Mr Pillai said in an email response. 'Policy changes, particularly greater stability in the naira and improved access to foreign exchange – are creating a more viable environment for long-term investment. Wilmar remains committed to driving sustainable growth in Nigeria's palm oil sector.' Wilmar is growing its palm oil plantations in Nigeria's Cross River state as it focuses on supplying the local market with the edible oil that's used to cook everything from jollof rice to yam porridge. The West African nation – with a population of more than 200 million – has a palm oil supply gap of 1.25 million tons annually, according to the Central Bank of Nigeria, which in 2019 introduced a financing programme to increase production by farmers and boost economic diversification. Still, Nigeria has struggled to boost output while rivals including Thailand and Colombia have seen production jump. The African nation has also been trying to solve farmer-herder clashes in its main food-growing regions and Islamist extremists in the northeast seem to be making a comeback. 'A significant portion of Nigeria's palm oil production still comes from small-holder farmers,' Mr Pillai said. 'Many of these plantations are over 25–30 years old, and yields are steadily declining. If these older plantations are replanted with high-yielding seedlings' Nigeria could increase its oil palm production even faster, he said. For years, Nigeria's struggle with an acute dollar shortage deterred investors, with the central bank rationing the greenback to businesses even as international companies including GSK, Bayer and Sanofi shrank their operations in the country or left altogether. President Tinubu's move to devalue the currency and allow it trade more freely, scrap fuel subsidies and boost revenue are now helping to brighten the outlook. BLOOMBERG Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
CNA
an hour ago
- CNA
Japan's yen sinks as spike in crude oil overpowers safe-haven appeal
TOKYO :The Japanese yen, normally one of the most sought after safe havens in times of geopolitical stress, has dropped 2.4 per cent against the U.S. dollar and 1.4 per cent against the Swiss franc since Israel launched missile attacks against Iranian nuclear and military targets on June 13. CONTEXT Japan imports almost all its oil, meaning the spike in crude since the start of the conflict threatens to worsen the country's trade balance, diminishing the yen's appeal. When Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, the yen weakened against the dollar on the same day and then lost some 11.5 per cent over March and April. WHY IT'S IMPORTANT Speculative positioning is still heavily skewed towards a stronger yen, potentially foreshadowing a major shift by hedge funds as they cover those positions. The yen exchange rate has a knock-on effect for Japanese stocks as well, with a weaker yen tending to support the market because it increases the value of overseas revenue for the country's heavyweight exporters. However, the effect may be short-lived because of the jump in manufacturing costs from higher energy prices. For Japan's unpopular government too, a weak yen fans inflation when people are already struggling with higher prices, particularly for rice. That's not a good omen ahead of crucial upper house elections next month. KEY QUOTES "A rise in crude oil prices causes a deterioration not only in Japan's trade balance but also its terms of trade, so it fundamentally acts to weaken the yen," Citi analysts wrote in a recent client note, while reiterating forecasts for the yen to weaken to 150 per dollar by September. With the Bank of Japan also striking a dovish posture at last week's policy meeting, the compounded downward pressure on the yen from oil's rally could be amplified, they said.
