logo
WRISE Group launches WRISE Capital to bolster Corporate Advisory Services

WRISE Group launches WRISE Capital to bolster Corporate Advisory Services

Malay Mail22-04-2025
New business unit leverages the Group's acquisition of Elstone Capital enabling the Group to deliver corporate finance and financial advisory services
HONG KONG SAR - Media OutReach Neswire - 22 April 2025 - WRISE Group today announced the launch of WRISE Capital, a new core business unit that specialises in comprehensive corporate finance and advisory services for listed companies, private and institutional clients. This strategic expansion follows the acquisition of Elstone Capital, a licensed financial advisory firm in Hong Kong managing deals such as IPOs, takeovers, privatisations and listing transfers. WRISE Capital will operate from Hong Kong, serving clients globally.Alongside WRISE Private and WRISE Prestige, WRISE Capital will serve as one of the three core business units in WRISE Group, solidifying the company's position as a comprehensive financial services provider for ultra-high and high-net-worth clients.This move strategically allows WRISE Group to capitalise on the unprecedented growth in Asia's dealmaking landscape which saw strategic mergers and acquisitions (M&A) growth of 20% (US$666 billion) in Asia alone, overshadowing counterparts such as North America (2%) and Europe (9%)."The acquisition of Elstone Capital and the formation of WRISE Capital represents a significant milestone in our Group's strategy to provide a comprehensive 360-degree wealth ecosystem for clients," said Derrick Tan, Executive Chairman, WRISE Group."With a rich history of successful transactions and a deep understanding of global financial markets, Elstone Capital's expertise aligns perfectly with WRISE Group's commitment to providing clients with tailored strategies across key global financial hubs. As investors and businesses seek financial advice today's dynamic market, WRISE Capital will continue to extend strategic expertise and innovative solutions to our clients," he adds.Headed by newly appointed CEO, Nicholas Cheng, WRISE Capital will provide a full range of corporate finance and advisory services, including M&A and takeovers advisory, Initial Public Offering (IPO) sponsorship and preparation, post-listing and compliance advisory services for Hong Kong listed companies."We are excited to join WRISE Group by providing collective expertise for seamless delivery of world-class corporate finance and advisory services," said Nicholas Cheng, CEO of WRISE Capital. "Our team's extensive experience, honed through years of navigating complex mergers, acquisitions, IPOs and other financial transactions, will translate into significant value creation for WRISE's global clientele as they navigate evolving market landscapes to achieve long-term strategic success."WRISE Capital's management team will also include Alan Au-Yeung, Chief Strategic Officer and Fanny Lee, Chief Operating Officer. Both executives each have over 20 years of experience across corporate finance and compliance advisory services.Hashtag: #WRISE
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
WRISE
WRISE is one of Asia's fastest-growing financial firms, driven by strategic acquisitions of companies with deep expertise and solid foundations. With a strong presence across key financial hubs including Singapore, Dubai, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Tokyo, WRISE is home to one of the largest network of independent qualified advisors.
With over 400 employees located globally, supported by an ecosystem of over 200 financial intermediaries and access to eight booking centres worldwide, WRISE ensures unparalleled service and expertise in navigating today's financial landscape.
WRISE Group of companies include WRISE Wealth Management (Singapore), WRISE Wealth Management (Hong Kong), WRISE Wealth Management Middle East Ltd (DIFC, regulated by the DFSA), WeWrise Services, and affiliated companies WRISE Prestige Securities (Hong Kong), WRISE Prestige Asset Management (Hong Kong) and WRISE Financial Services (Hong Kong).
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Air Canada halts flight restart as strike continues
Air Canada halts flight restart as strike continues

New Straits Times

time42 minutes ago

  • New Straits Times

Air Canada halts flight restart as strike continues

TORONTO: Air Canada on Sunday suspended its plan to resume flights over a strike by flight attendants that has effectively shut down the airline and snarled summer travel for its passengers around the world. The announcement came despite the country's industrial relations board ordering an end to the strike by around 10,000 flight attendants, which had prompted the airline to say it would resume flying on Sunday. "Air Canada... has suspended its plan to resume limited flying by Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge," citing a decision by the union representing the workers to continue with striking, despite the government directive. "The airline will resume flights as of tomorrow evening," the flag carrier said in a statement. Earlier, the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) "directed Air Canada to resume airline operations and for all Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge flight attendants to resume their duties by 14:00 EDT on August 17, 2025," the airline said. Air Canada cabin crew walked off the job early Saturday after rejecting an updated contract proposal. Hours later, Canada's labour policy minister, Patty Hajdu, invoked a legal provision to halt the strike and force both sides into binding arbitration. "The directive, under section 107 of the Canada Labour Code, and the CIRB's order, ends the strike at Air Canada that resulted in the suspension of more than 700 flights," the Montreal-based carrier said. The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), which is representing the workers, sought wage increases as well as to address uncompensated ground work, including during the boarding process. In a statement on Sunday, CUPE's Air Canada unit said the strike would continue. "CUPE National President Mark Hancock made it loud and clear that our members will NOT be returning to work until such time as the government orders Air Canada back to the bargaining table where we can reach an attempted agreement that our members can vote on," it said. "We will not have our rights and protections removed." The union urged passengers not to go to the airport if they had a ticket for Air Canada or its lower-cost subsidiary Air Canada Rouge. CUPE earlier slammed the Canadian government's intervention as "rewarding Air Canada's refusal to negotiate fairly by giving them exactly what they wanted." "This sets a terrible precedent," it said. The union also pointed out that the chairwoman of CIRB, Maryse Tremblay, previously worked as legal counsel for Air Canada. Tremblay's ruling on whether to end the strike was "an almost unthinkable display of conflict-of-interest," the union posted on Facebook. On Thursday, Air Canada detailed the terms offered to cabin crew, indicating a senior flight attendant would on average make CAN$87,000 (US$65,000) by 2027. CUPE has described Air Canada's offers as "below inflation (and) below market value." In a statement issued before the strike began, the Business Council of Canada warned an Air Canada work stoppage would exacerbate the economic pinch already being felt from US President Donald Trump's tariffs.

Gold's upward price momentum remains intact
Gold's upward price momentum remains intact

The Star

timean hour ago

  • The Star

Gold's upward price momentum remains intact

KUALA LUMPUR: Gold is consolidating between US$3,300 and US$3,400 an ounce on renewed US interest rate cut bets buoying sentiment, with analysts eyeing fresh highs by late 2025 and mid-2026. SPI Asset Management managing partner Stephen Innes described the current phase as a classic pause after a strong summer run. 'Gold right now is trading like a big position that's punched through resistance, retraced, but is happy to churn in a tight upper band while the market reloads. 'The US$3,300 to US$3,400 zone is classic consolidation – not the top of the book, just the market catching its breath after a strong summer leg higher,' he told StarBiz. Looking ahead, he expects the consolidation to give way to renewed gains. 'Into late 2025, I see gold pressing toward US$3,500 to US$3,600 once this range resolves, particularly if real yields drift lower and global growth stays uneven. 'By mid-2026, US$3,800 to US$4,000 is a clean technical and macro target if the same flows hold – steady central bank accumulation, portfolio hedging and a US dollar that can't get off the mat,' Innes said. 'The US Federal Reserve's (Fed) shift toward easier policy is like narrowing the bid-ask and inviting buyers back in size, while a limping dollar and steady central bank demand keep the long side well-supported.' OCBC Bank currency strategist Christopher Wong also sees an upward path for gold, though with a steadier pace than this year's rally. 'We expect gold to follow a mild upward trajectory into the end of 2025 and mid-2026, with prices projected at around US$3,570 by end-2025 and US$3,750 by mid-2026. 'The pace of gains is likely to be steadier than the sharp rally seen earlier this year, as some of the initial geopolitical and tariff-driven catalysts have somewhat faded,' he said in a written reply. Wong highlighted structural supports such as diversification away from the greenback, strong official-sector demand led by China and other emerging markets, and portfolio hedging demand. 'Broader portfolio demand for gold as a reliable store of value and portfolio hedge against both inflation and geopolitical risks should also help to underpin the constructive outlook,' he said. Looking further ahead, Wong said higher levels such as US$3,900 in 2026 or even US$5,000 by 2030 cannot be ruled out, though he cautioned against focusing on single-point forecasts. 'While such levels are not inconceivable, the path there would depend on a confluence of structural and macroeconomic shifts rather than a straight-line climb,' he said. He pointed out that gold has historically risen by about 10% annually since 2000. 'From a purely statistical perspective those price points are achievable over the next five to 10 years. 'To get there, we probably need to see a few things happening: a softer US dollar, coupled with nominal and real rates falling; continued demand from central banks amidst diversification or reallocation flows,' Wong said. 'Heightened geopolitical tensions, risk of stagflation and policy unpredictability are also other factors that could further drive safe-haven demand.' Still, he cautioned that any signs of the Fed pivoting to rate hikes would derail the momentum of gold bulls. Innes, meanwhile, was more cautious on the decade-long bullish calls. 'As for the US$5,000-plus calls into 2030 – that's still more of a gold bug fantasy than a base case. To get there, you'd likely need some serious structural damage in the bond market: a real break in market confidence on sovereign debt sustainability, not just cyclical Fed easing,' he said. 'That said, I don't think it's just a tail risk anymore. The geopolitical landscape is still littered with both metaphorical and real landmines. 'If even a few of them detonate, gold could find itself trading in price territory most people currently dismiss as implausible. Right now, it's not in blow-off mode – it's in quiet accumulation, with the chart slowly building the scaffolding for the next breakout,' Innes noted.

Canadian govt moves to end Air Canada strike
Canadian govt moves to end Air Canada strike

The Star

timean hour ago

  • The Star

Canadian govt moves to end Air Canada strike

OTTAWA: The Canadian government has moved to end a strike by Air Canada's cabin crews and require binding arbitration to break their contract impasse, an action that the country's largest carrier had sought but unionised flight attendants fiercely oppose. Thousands of Air Canada flight attendants walked off the job for the first time since 1985, just before 1AM Canadian time, after months of negotiations over a new contract. In anticipation of the stoppage, the airline cancelled nearly all of its 700 daily flights, forcing more than 100,000 travellers to scramble for alternatives or stay put. The most contentious issue in the contract negotiations has been the union's demand for compensation for time spent on the ground between flights and when helping passengers board. Attendants are now largely paid when their plane is moving. Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu said last Saturday at a news conference she had asked the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) to impose binding arbitration on both sides and order an immediate end to the strike. Still, she told reporters it may take 24 to 48 hours for the board to complete that work, while Air Canada has said restarting operations after a strike would take a week to complete. 'This is not a decision that I've taken lightly, but the potential for immediate negative impact on Canadians and our economy is simply too great,' Hajdu said. Air Canada had asked Prime Minister Mark Carney's minority Liberal government to make the request, but the Canadian Union of Public Employees (Cupe) said it wanted a negotiated solution, as binding arbitration would take pressure off the airline. The union said it has asked the CIRB's chairperson to recuse herself from hearing the case in a virtual session last Saturday afternoon because she has worked in the past as a senior counsel at Air Canada. The carrier declined comment on Hajdu's decision and hearing as the process is underway. Hajdu said the government preferred negotiated settlements to labour disputes, but the current impasse showed the two sides would not find a solution soon enough to spare the economy further damage. She said Canada had already experienced 'unprecedented attacks on trade,' referring to tariffs imposed by the Trump administration on US-bound shipments. Minutes after the announcement, the union blasted the government's decision. 'The Liberal government is rewarding Air Canada's refusal to negotiate fairly by giving them exactly what they wanted,' it said in a statement posted on X. Henly Larden, an Air Canada flight attendant and a vice-president at Cupe, called the government's move 'incredibly disgusting'. 'Air Canada should come and join us in good faith and address the matters that really resonate with our members,' a visibly emotional Larden said in a shaken voice at Vancouver airport. Cupe spokesperson Hugh Pouliot told Reuters that the strike will end only when the CIRB issues binding arbitration notice to the parties. The board is likely to grant the government's request. While passengers have generally voiced support for the flight attendants on social media, Canadian businesses – already reeling from a trade dispute with the United States – have urged the federal government to impose binding arbitration and cut short the strike. 'With both parties declaring an impasse in negotiations, with valuable cargo grounded and passengers stranded, the government made the right decision to refer the two sides to binding arbitration,' Matthew Holmes, chief of public policy for the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, said in a statement. While the most contentious topic was compensation for time spent on the ground, there was also disagreement over broader wage issues. The carrier had offered a 38% increase in total compensation for flight attendants over four years, with a 25% raise in the first year, which Cupe said was insufficient. The union has said Air Canada offered to compensate flight attendants for some work that is now unpaid at 50% of their hourly rate. A source close to the negotiations told Reuters the union was looking for parity on wages with Canadian leisure carrier Air Transat. Its flight attendants approved a contract last year that provided for total compounded increases of 30% over five years, making them the highest paid in the industry in Canada. According to union data, a Transat flight attendant would start at an hourly rate of C$40.38 or about US$29.22, effective November, compared with an entry level wage of C$26.42 at Air Canada's low-cost service Air Canada Rouge or around C$30 at the mainline carrier. Air Canada did not confirm if such a proposal had been put forth by the union. Earlier in the day outside Toronto Pearson International Airport – the country's busiest – hundreds of cabin crew waved flags, banners and picket signs. Union officials called on members to assemble outside all of the country's major airports, including in Toronto, Montreal, Calgary and Vancouver. Montreal-based Air Canada had said the suspended flights included those operated by Air Canada Rouge. Flights by Air Canada's regional affiliates – Air Canada Jazz and PAL Airlines – were operating as usual. Hajdu told reporters she had also asked the country's industrial relations board to extend the terms of the existing collective agreement until a new one is determined by the arbitrator. The Canada Labour Code gives the government the right to ask the industrial relations board to impose binding arbitration in the interests of protecting the economy. Under Justin Trudeau, Carney's predecessor, the government intervened quickly last year to head off rail and dock strikes that threatened to cripple the economy. — Reuters

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store