Macquarie is said to weigh sale of Singapore petrochemical asset
Macquarie Asset Management is working with a financial adviser on the potential disposal of the stake in Advario Singapore Chemical, which may attract interest from infrastructure-focused funds and industry players, the sources said, asking not to be identified because the deliberations are private. A stake sale could fetch several hundred million US dollars, the sources said.
Sale considerations are at a preliminary stage and no final decisions have been made, they added.
A representative for Macquarie declined to comment, while Advario did not immediately respond to a request seeking comment.
Advario Singapore Chemical is a joint venture between Macquarie and Rotterdam-based liquid storage logistics firm Advario BV. The terminal has about 409,000 cubic metres of storage capacity and more than 80 tanks, according to a presentation on Advario's website.
It handles products including clean petroleum, gases, lubricants and petrochemicals, and offers services such as cooling & heating, blending, pipeline connection tank-to-tank transfer, truck and vessel loading and unloading.
A potential deal for Advario Singapore Chemical would follow other recent ones in Singapore. In September, Advario said it took full control of Advario Helios Singapore, acquiring the remaining stake in the terminal from Macquarie Helios Holdings. The facility has 503,000 cubic metres of storage capacity for a range of fuels and industrial gases. BLOOMBERG
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Business Times
28 minutes ago
- Business Times
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GE VERNOVA may have been spun off from General Electric (GE) just last year, but the global energy business has more than five decades of heritage in Singapore under its belt. Today, the Republic is home to 700 employees and houses a country office with regional operations that's crucial to fuelling the ongoing energy revolution in the region and around the world. As more vehicles are electrified and more data centres are built, Asia's power demand is on the rise. Increasingly, governments and businesses are also asking for clean power. GE Vernova is poised to support those demands from here, while also growing in tandem with Singapore's needs. 'Singapore, as a hub for logistics, technology and talent, is going to be a very important player in GE Vernova's Asian growth story,' Ramesh Singaram, president and CEO of GE Vernova's gas power business in Asia-Pacific, tells The Business Times. High-tech home base Today, all of GE Vernova's business segments – covering power, wind and electrification – can be found in Singapore. Indeed, the business, which was formed last year out of GE's energy arm, has built up a major footprint here over the years. 'If you look at the evolution of our energy operations, they have closely mirrored the growth of Singapore as a technology hub – a place where talent and excellence combine to offer a high standard of services for customers within the region,' Ramesh says. GE opened its first manufacturing plant in Jurong in 1969. It began offering marine and offshore repairs at a service centre in 1970 and opened a gas turbine repair facility in 1975. More recently, GE Vernova unveiled a US$60 million (S$81.4 million) investment in a repair and service centre in 2019. 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High-tech operations at this facility already include the use of robotics to spray-coat and polish gas turbine parts, and plans are under way to incorporate artificial intelligence on the shop floor. Such innovations are being rolled out across the entire business, and are helping GE Vernova keep pace with the growing demands for its products and services. GE Vernova technology already supports close to half of Singapore's installed power generation capacity – excluding industrial applications – and roughly a quarter of the country's grid transformer monitoring network. Meanwhile, Singapore's electricity demand is pegged to cross 10,600 megawatts (MW) in 2030. This is up from 7,300MW a decade prior, according to the Energy Market Authority. 'This is partly driven by economic growth; but it is also being driven by the electrification of vehicles, the digitalisation of work processes and the adoption of AI,' says Ramesh. 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Business Times
28 minutes ago
- Business Times
Same mission, new millennium
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Members span financial services, corporates, academia, non-governmental organisations and industry bodies – discussing everything from blended finance to sustainable finance taxonomies. HSBC partnered with Temasek Holdings to launch sustainable infrastructure debt financing company Pentagreen Capital in 2022, and invested in electric vehicle charging operator SP Mobility in 2025. For Wong, this emphasis on sustainability is not just about opportunity, it is also about accountability. 'We see it as our responsibility to help companies transition, to navigate new technologies and new requirements for financing.' Environmental stewardship extends beyond green finance. The bank's 30-year partnership with Singapore's National Parks Board (NParks) has supported conservation from Chek Jawa to the Botanic Gardens' seed bank, and earned it NParks' appreciation with the 'Papilionanda Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank' orchid – now featured in an art installation at HSBC's Singapore headquarters. Sports is another way the bank invests in its communities. Globally, HSBC partners five Olympic sports – golf, rugby, badminton, football and tennis – using its international reach to showcase the best of Singapore to the world. It has presented the HSBC Women's World Championship in Singapore since 2008, the Singapore Rugby Sevens since 2016, and the Badminton World Federation Series in Singapore since 2019. Junior golfers attending a kids' golf clinic conducted by top golfers, on the sidelines of the HSBC Women's World Championship 2024. PHOTO: HSBC 'Sports can be transformative for Singapore's youth, inspiring young people to aspire to professional sporting careers,' Wong explains. Stewarding legacy Legacy is what's on the minds of Wong and his leadership team. 'We see ourselves as stewards; how do we leave this business in a better place than when we first received it?' he says. 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'HSBC's strength has been understanding that global connectivity is not just about moving capital – it is about building bridges between ambition and opportunity, such that in an increasingly fragmented world, doors to growth stay open.' The first century: 1880s – 1990s HSBC provided instrumental support to Singapore's early trade and post-war industrial development. The Singapore office issued banknotes in six languages from 1881 to 1909. From its headquarters along the Singapore River, the bank quickly expanded its branch network across the island. The next century: 2000s – present The HSBC lions, Stephen and Stitt, named after former senior executives, symbolise security and protection. As part of its long-term commitment to the Lion City, HSBC subsidiarised its Singapore retail banking and wealth management business in 2016. In 2022, HSBC moved to its new head office at Marina Bay Financial Centre and in 2025, opened three new wealth centres. 148 years since it first set up an office in Singapore, HSBC continues to connect customers to global opportunities.
Straits Times
2 hours ago
- Straits Times
Two Chinese nationals in California accused of illegally shipping Nvidia AI chips to China
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox Nvidia H100s are advanced chips that can be used to train large language models, and develop self-driving cars. LOS ANGELES, California - Two Chinese nationals were arrested in California and charged with illegally shipping tens of millions of dollars' worth of AI chips to China, including Nvidia H100s, the US Justice Department said on Aug 5. Chuan Geng, 28, of Pasadena, and Shiwei Yang, 28, of El Monte, exported the advanced Nvidia chips and other technology to China from October 2022 through July 2025 without obtaining the required licenses from the US Commerce Department, a criminal complaint says. According to the complaint, Geng and Yang's El Monte-based company, ALX Solutions Inc, was founded in 2022, shortly after the US imposed sweeping export controls on technology to China and began to require licenses for the chips. A spokesperson for Nvidia declined comment. Over 20 shipments from ALX solutions went to shipping and freight forwarding companies in Singapore and Malaysia, which are often used as transshipment points for illegal goods to China. ALX received a US$1 million (S$1.3 million) payment from a China-based company in January 2024 and other payments from companies in Hong Kong and China, not the freight forwarding companies. Nvidia H100s are advanced chips that can be used to train large language models and for other applications, such as developing self-driving cars and medical diagnosis systems. Records show that from at least August 2023 to July 2024, ALX Solutions bought over 200 Nvidia H100 chips from San Jose, California-based server maker Super Micro Computer, declaring that the end users were in Singapore and Japan. Super Micro did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In addition to Nvidia's H100s, the pair are accused of illegally shipping Nvidia video graphics cards known as PNY GE Force RTX 4090, which also require a license for export to China. Geng and Yang appeared in US District Court in Los Angeles late Aug 4, according to the Justice Department. Geng, a permanent resident, was released on US$250,000 bond. Yang, who overstayed her visa, has a detention hearing on Aug 12. REUTERS
