Latest news with #AndreaTan
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Singapore's MAS says chief didn't say US dollar assets are irreplaceable
By Andrea Tan (Bloomberg) – Singapore's central bank said both cyclical and structural factors can affect the pricing and confidence in US dollar assets, adding that its managing director didn't say earlier this week that dollar assets are irreplaceable. The Monetary Authority of Singapore's Managing Director Chia Der Jiun cited the factors among three points he made at the Qatar Economic Forum on Tuesday, the central bank said in a statement that included an extended transcript of his comments. 'Markets are pricing in slower growth, the prospect of higher inflation and questions over the fiscal trajectory in the US, as well as rotation into other regions and hedging of overweight exposures,' the MAS said. 'The outlook for the structural advantage of USD assets is relatively stable for now,' and whether this changes depends on the fiscal trajectory and policies in the US. Speaking in Qatar on May 20, Chia said that dollar-based assets are 'the dominant, safe assets for use in the financial system, deeply embedded. The $28-trillion Treasury market is fundamental and systemic to the global financial system and there is no alternative for this point.' More stories like this are available on ©2025 Bloomberg L.P.
Yahoo
07-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Singapore PM flags tariff alarm, opposition calls It fear tactic
By Andrea Tan (Bloomberg) – Singapore's political leaders warned of a tough road ahead after the US unveiled sweeping global tariffs, a move described by an opposition party as scaremongering. Prime Minister Lawrence Wong sounded the alarm, warning that the likelihood of a full-blown global trade war is growing. The city-state is subject to the minimum 10% universal tariff on all exports to the US, among the lowest in Southeast Asia, where other nations have countered with offers to lower their own levies in exchange for leniency from the Trump administration. 'It will spell trouble for all nations especially small ones like Singapore,' Wong said in a five-minute video posted on social media Friday evening. 'We risk being squeezed out, marginalised and left behind.' Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong, who stepped aside as prime minister in May after two decades in the job, followed with remarks of his own at a community event on Sunday. 'It's going to affect our trade, it's going to affect our economy, it's going to affect our region and it's going to affect our future,' Lee said. 'It's not good news.' Singapore's benchmark Straits Times Index tumbled as much as 8.7%, the most since October 2008, amid a tariff-spurred global rout. The city's highest-ranking trade official on Thursday said Singapore will have to re-evaluate its economic forecast, which was expected to grow 1%-3% this year even before Donald Trump announced the new levies. That's down from 4.4% in 2024. 'This call by the government ministers about the tariff, in my opinion, is partly to instil fear in the voter,' Tan Cheng Bock, chairman of the opposition Progress Singapore Party said on Sunday. 'Don't just make statements of this kind and scare everybody.' Singapore is scheduled to hold a national vote within a few months, with cost of living pressures top of mind for citizens. The People's Action Party, which has ruled since the island's independence in 1965, won 89% of the parliamentary seats in its worst showing in 2020 due in part to concerns about the economy. More stories like this are available on ©2025 Bloomberg L.P.
Yahoo
26-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Billionaire Ong Beng Seng's guilty plea postponed pending doctor's report
By Andrea Tan (Bloomberg) — Billionaire Ong Beng Seng will plead guilty at a later date than originally expected in a case related to a former Singapore government minister who was jailed for obtaining gifts from the property tycoon. 'Mr. Ong has requested for more time to obtain more detailed reports from his doctors on his medical condition, and the ongoing monitoring and treatment required,' a spokesperson for Ong said in a statement on Wednesday (26 March). Prosecutors didn't object to the delay, court documents show. Ong, 79, was scheduled to plead guilty on 2 April to one charge of obstructing justice. Another charge of abetting a public servant in obtaining valuables will be taken into consideration for sentencing. Ong, the managing director of Hotel Properties Ltd., was charged in October and is out on a bail of S$800,000 (US$598,000). The next closed door hearing is set for 25 April. The real estate firm has said Ong 'continues to be suitable to carry out his duties and responsibilities.' More stories like this are available on ©2025 Bloomberg L.P.
