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Business Times
6 days ago
- Business
- Business Times
China's second-largest fund house launches world's first renminbi tokenised money fund
[HONG KONG] The Hong Kong arm of China's second-largest fund firm China Asset Management (ChinaAMC) rolled out on Thursday (Jul 16) the world's first renminbi-denominated tokenised money fund. This is the first tokenised money market product giving exposure to renminbi-denominated assets, after rising demand for similar products based on US dollar funds. 'Our tokenised products are designed to welcome the arrival of stablecoins, whether it is Hong Kong dollars, renminbi or US dollar,' said Tian Gan, CEO of ChinaAMC HK at a press conference, referring to Hong Kong's new stablecoin rules poised to take effect on Aug 1. The firm aims to become among the first to offer yield-generating products catering to stablecoin users, Gan added. Stablecoin is a type of cryptocurrency designed to maintain a constant value, and it is usually pegged to a fiat currency such as the US dollar and is commonly used by crypto traders to move funds between tokens. China's tech giants are urging the central bank to allow the launch of stablecoins in Hong Kong pegged to its offshore renminbi to help promote the global use of the Chinese currency and fend off the US dollar's growing digital influence, Reuters reported citing sources earlier this month. Tokenisation turns traditional assets into digital tokens, enabling the creation of a digital central bank system that settles payments and securities trades faster and more cheaply by reducing manual checks. ChinaAMC Hong Kong also launched a tokenised US dollar money market fund, calling it the first such offering in Asia. The fund firm in February rolled out a similar product based on the Hong Kong dollar. The Hong Kong unit expects demand for such funds to keep rising in the near future, as regulated on-chain money such as regulated stablecoins, tokenised deposits and central bank digital currencies become more widespread. REUTERS
Borneo Post
16-07-2025
- Business
- Borneo Post
POIC Sabah reaffirms long-term development goals amid election season misinformation
Gan KOTA KIKNABALU (July 16): The Sabah public is advised to be wary of half-truths and outward lies in social media in the run up to the Sabah state elections. 'Much is at stake and understandably there are intensifying pitches by many hiding behind anonymity in the informal media spaces. 'While we see the expression of dissenting views as an indicator of our healthy democracy, we need to be on guard against lies and conjectures,' said Datuk Fredian Gan, the Group Chief Executive Officer of state-owned POIC Sabah Sdn Bhd, the developer of the POIC Lahad Datu industrial park. He was responding to a recent CGA-generated video that generalised a list of state-backed economic initiatives and billion-ringgit projects as mere 'stage acts' (pentas wayang) and 'white elephants'. The clip, among others, referred to POIC Sabah's intention to grow POIC Lahad Datu into a logistics hub, dismissing it as 'still remains just a signboard'. Describing this as 'unfair, premature conclusion', Gan said: We are looking to leverage POIC Lahad Datu's outstanding harbour, location and port infrastructure to make it into a logistics hub primarily for the BIMP-EAGA territories. 'A hub evolves slowly as economies in EAGA recognise our advantages and our usefulness for growth, which every EAGA territory aspires to. 'EAGA covers territories of four Asean countries each with their uniqueness and command of different sources and strengths. 'We at POIC Sabah have been promoting BIMP-EAGA's economic relevance to the global scene is best when we are viewed as one, combining our market (80 million people), resources (palm oil, oil and gas, timber, cocoa, minerals) and our collective influence, and our aim is to make POIC Lahad Datu the centre of a conversation,' he said in a statement on Wednesday. Gan clarified that he was in no position to comment on the video clip made about several other state initiatives, but he cautioned Sabah people to be alert to spins and conjectures aimed purely at putting the state government and its agencies in a bad place. He stressed that POIC Lahad Datu was created 20 years ago to lead the deepening of Sabah's massive oil palm industry via value adding industries. The industrial park has attracted investments totalling over RM13 billion. When fully operational, more than 3,200 people will be directly employed by these investors with thousands more benefiting from the spillover effects. POIC has successfully secured principal approval from the Ministry of Finance to establish a free zone spanning 3,000 acres in a newly earmarked area in Lahad Datu. In addition, the park has been awarded Halmas status, positioning it as a certified halal hub and enhancing its appeal to investors in the halal industry. Both initiatives are currently progressing and are key components of POIC's strategic growth plan. 'We are also involved in the plans for the relocation of Lahad Datu airport. We are in the move. But there is unfortunately no quick fixes. It is rhetorical to say that development and progress take time, but there's no other way of putting it,' said Gan.
Straits Times
10-07-2025
- Business
- Straits Times
Singapore tech firm NCS commits $130m to accelerate AI development, adoption
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong added there is a need to institutionalise the use of AI within companies big or small. SINGAPORE - Homegrown tech services firm NCS will invest $130 million over the next three years to develop AI intellectual property, pilot sector-specified AI projects and train its workforce. NCS can also help smaller firms benefit from artificial intelligence (AI), Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong said on July 10 at its flagship forum NCS Impact 2025 held at Marina Bay Sands Expo. 'Besides offering AI-enabled solutions, they can partner companies to co-develop use cases, re-design their workflows, and even transform their business models.' 'I am glad to note that NCS will invest $130 million over the next three years to support its clients in scaling AI adoption, through its proprietary suite of tools, methodologies and accelerators,' said Mr Gan. But as Singapore pushes ahead with innovations, it must ensure that the benefits of AI are shared broadly, he said. Mr Gan added there is a need to institutionalise the use of AI within companies big or small, even though larger companies tend to use AI more than smaller ones. Based on the Singapore Digital Economy Report released in 2024 , AI adoption has more than doubled among large enterprises over the past five years, from about 17 per cent in 2018 to 44 per cent in 2023. On the other hand, AI uptake among small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) increased from 3.5 per cent to 4.2 per cent over the same period. 'Despite the lower rate of adoption among SMEs, it is heartening to note that both SMEs and large enterprises alike saw benefits from using AI – in fact, more than 90 per cent of both types of companies that used AI reported that the technology had improved productivity and processes,' said Mr Gan. Under NCS' $130 million investment, the company will develop a suite of AI tools tailored for developers, IT operations teams and corporate users. It comprises an AI coding assistant that supports language conversion; a platform that automates system log analysis; and Sunshine Productivity, a suite of tools that enhance day-to-day tasks such as summarisation. Part of the $130 million will also be used to co-develop new concepts and pilots under new strategic partnerships. For example, NCS will work with analytics company Databricks to trial new AI solutions for the finance, energy and utilities sector. It will also work with Nvidia to expand the use of three agentic AI solutions: to enable faster video search and summarisation; to automate operations; and to make issue resolution more efficient. Agentic AI is able to make decisions on behalf of users. NCS chief executive officer Ng Kuo Pin said: 'With AI reshaping industries as it becomes more accessible than before, we're partnering government agencies and enterprises to help them harness the best of AI, not just for efficiency gains but to advance communities.' The company will also ensure that its workforce of 13,000 employees continue to get comprehensive training and industry certification in AI, it said. Mr Gan pointed out that AI can unlock a new frontier of economic growth for Singapore, and the country has made good progress in catalysing AI innovation within its economy. For example, more than 25 companies including American Express, Grab, Oracle and Prudential have set up AI centres of excellence to drive creation of AI solutions. Just as AI applications are customised for specific business contexts, there is also a need to localise AI models and solutions for specific linguistic and cultural contexts, said Mr Gan. To that end, he noted Singapore's development of Sea-Lion, a large language model to understand and generate human language from South-east Asia. He said that NCS is among the first companies to adopt Sea-Lion, and hopes that more businesses can leverage AI for operations in the region, through the use of locally relevant models and applications.
New Straits Times
10-07-2025
- Business
- New Straits Times
Singapore to roll out grant to assist businesses adapt to tariffs
SINGAPORE: Singapore is set to launch a new grant by October 2025 to help businesses adapt to the new tariff environment, the Singapore Economic Resilience Taskforce (SERT) announced on Thursday. Manpower Minister Tan See Leng said the Business Adaptation Grant will be capped at S$100,000 (S$1 = RM3.31) per company, with small and medium enterprises (SMEs) likely to receive a higher level of support. "The SMEs, we will be more generous in terms of allocation of the grant itself, because they actually account for about two-thirds of our workforce in Singapore, a significant proportion of them are Singaporeans," he told a media conference, alongside other members of SERT. The scope of the grant will enable enterprises that export to and/or operate in overseas markets and are impacted by tariff measures to conduct free trade agreements and trade compliance advisory, legal and contractual advisory, as well as supply chain optimisation and market diversification. It will also support enterprises with manufacturing operations overseas or locally, who may receive assistance for reconfiguration costs, such as logistics and inventory holding expenses. Tan said additional details on the grant will be announced in due course. Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong said the latest series of tariffs announced by the United States (US) will likely prolong uncertainty, volatility, and challenges for global economies. "We hope that negotiations and consultations will continue, and that the US will be able to reach deals with these countries to bring about lower tariffs and trade barriers," he said, adding that Singapore continued to be subject to a 10 per cent baseline tariff. Gan, who also serves as Trade and Industry Minister, shared that he will travel to the US later this month to continue discussions on potential US concessions on pharmaceutical tariffs and hold talks with the US administration on broader economic collaboration between the two countries. US President Donald Trump had previously stated his intention to introduce tariffs on imported pharmaceuticals. "We have not commenced a discussion on semiconductors. We will probably touch on semiconductors after we have settled the pharmaceuticals discussion with the Department of Commerce," Gan said. Meanwhile, Gan noted that the economy is likely to hold up relatively well in the first half of this year, as businesses have been preparing to adjust to the new tariff realities. "However, given the expectation of higher tariffs going forward, as well as the diminishing front-loading effect, we will likely see slower economic growth over the next six to 12 months," he said.
Bangkok Post
10-07-2025
- Business
- Bangkok Post
Call for deeper integration in Asean as tariffs menace
Southeast Asian nations have taken steps to deepen economic integration within Asean and broaden collaboration with other regional groupings amid ongoing global uncertainty and disruptions from US tariffs, says Gan Kim Yong, Singapore's deputy prime minister and minister for trade and industry. "Businesses must be prepared for exports to the US to cost more in that market. We cannot bet on the possibility that tariffs will go away. Given its rising fiscal deficit, tariffs will increasingly be an important source of tax revenue for the US government," said Mr Gan. "Therefore, exports to the US will result in more costly products for some time to come." He said businesses must also be prepared for greater scrutiny over their production and supply chains, potentially setting up separate lines for exports to the US. The US will likely extend preferential tariffs on imports of steel, vehicles and pharmaceuticals, said Mr Gan. Companies selling materials or components that are used by businesses in other countries that export to the US should expect similar requirements to be placed on them, he said. "In addition to differentiating their product and supply chains, companies must diversify into new markets, even new products and services," said Mr Gan. "There is a concerted effort among like-minded partners to preserve an open global trade environment, but we must be prepared for a more protectionist landscape ahead of us." In order to build a more resilient Asean Economic Community, he said Asean has moved to deepen economic integration within the region. The group recently concluded negotiations on upgrading the Asean Trade in Goods Agreement by enhancing collective commitments on non-tariff measures, as well as improving trade facilitation and transparency on areas such as customs proceedings. Negotiations on the Asean digital economy framework agreement have begun, targeting a conclusion by year-end, aligning digital rules and standards as well as promoting interoperability of digital systems such as digital identities and payment systems, Mr Gan told a regional conference co-hosted by United Overseas Bank (UOB). Asean also wants to broaden collaboration with partners and other trading groups, such as the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), including the possibility of establishing a free trade agreement between Asean and the GCC, he said. "We are also working on a dialogue between Asean and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership [CPTPP], which we hope will pave the way for Asean and the CPTPP to collaborate on areas of mutual interest, such as the digital economy, trade facilitation and supply chains," said Mr Gan. Together with dialogue partners such as Australia, New Zealand, China and Japan, Asean is exploring how to enhance and expand the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, he said. Asean is committed to strengthening the rules-based organisational trading system, with the World Trade Organization (WTO) at its core. "WTO remains an important institution and a foundation to build a better global rules-based trade architecture," said Mr Gan. "While the system is not perfect, Asean is committed to working together to strengthen the WTO and the global trading system." Wee Ee Cheong, deputy chairman and chief executive of UOB Group, said Asean member countries have committed to enhancing intra-Asean trade flows from the current level of less than 30%. "Trade remains a critical economic driver for Asean," he said. "Small businesses are the backbone of the Asean economy. Every global shift requires these small firms to adapt their business models to better compete."
