Latest news with #KennethTang
Malay Mail
28-04-2025
- Business
- Malay Mail
GE 2025: How markets and investors are preparing in Singapore
SINGAPORE, April 28 — Assurances of policy continuity and economic support will be critical for investors ahead of Singapore's general election as markets face pressure from US-imposed tariffs. According to Bloomberg, Saturday's vote could boost shares of domestically-driven companies in sectors like retail, construction, and infrastructure due to potential policy support. The Singapore dollar may also strengthen, as it typically trends higher during election periods, according to DBS Bank Ltd. The stakes are high for the city-state as trade uncertainty threatens an economic slowdown and deepens cost-of-living concerns among voters. Since peaking in March, the benchmark Straits Times Index has fallen about 4 per cent, lagging behind a broader regional gauge. Investors will closely watch how policymakers respond to global headwinds and whether they introduce timely fiscal interventions. 'Should global conditions deteriorate, the Singapore government has a track record of timely fiscal intervention to buffer the economy,' Kenneth Tang of Nikko Asset Management, was quoted saying. Such measures could include job protection, wage support, and investments in infrastructure to counteract negative sentiment and reduced business confidence, Tang added. Sectors that benefited from Singapore's February budget announcement, which included household handouts and green energy incentives, are expected to perform well. Retailer Sheng Siong Group Ltd. and companies in construction and infrastructure may see gains from public transport and coastal flood protection projects.
Reuters
24-04-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Singapore's high-yield stocks gain from tariff-induced flight to safety
April 24 (Reuters) - As reverberations from U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs are felt across markets, investors are increasingly gravitating toward Singapore's high-yield, defensive companies, including telecom firms, pivoting away from old favourites such as banks. Singapore's benchmark index has proved resilient in the face of the back-and-forth tariff salvos, eking out a small gain for the year and faring better than regional peers as investors hunt for safe bets during the market tumult. "Singapore is a high-yield market, which is going to be interesting and defensive in these times," said Kenneth Tang, senior portfolio manager at Nikko Asset Management. "It has characteristically been a lot more defensive and yield focused, and that will work in its favour." Singapore's telecom, industrials, and utilities stocks - viewed by investors as defensive sectors during extreme volatility - have become hot favourites, attracting the most institutional money, opens new tab in the last two weeks. Telecommunications firm Singtel ( opens new tab pulled in S$343.6 million ($261.6 million) in the past two weeks alone from institutional investors, more than the S$297 million it received in the first three months of the year, exchange data showed. That compares with S$259 million net institutional outflows from the three Singapore banks - DBS ( opens new tab, OCBC ( opens new tab, and United Overseas Bank ( opens new tab - over the last two weeks, and combined outflow of S$2 billion this year. Financials comprise nearly half the Straits Times Index (.STI), opens new tab and powered the market surge in 2024. But the three big banks have underperformed the broader market this year due to worries over a slowdown in earnings growth and macroeconomic headwinds. In contrast, Singtel has gained more than 22% this year and was last near an eight-year high, while ST Engineering ( opens new tab has advanced 54% to record highs. The tariffs have refocused investors' attention on Singapore equities - previously overlooked due to limited growth prospects - for their high capital returns, alongside the city-state's stable political environment, steady currency and deep fiscal reserves that can help it weather trade headwinds. "A lot more corporations are paying out even more yields or more dividends, and that is a perfect narrative at a time when there is a flight to safety and investors are focusing more on the certainty of income," Tang said. Foreign investor interest, as reflected by the BlackRock-managed iShares MSCI Singapore ETF , has also returned, though it remains far below where it was before Trump's April 2-tariff announcements. Singapore stocks have risen more than 14% in the past two weeks and clocked an eight-session rally, following a sharp drop in the immediate aftermath of the reciprocal tariffs announced in early April. The dividend yield of Singapore stocks was at 4.93, higher than the yield for Malaysian (.KLSE), opens new tab and Thai (.SETI), opens new tab equities, LSEG data showed. ($1 = 1.3135 Singapore dollars)
Axios
25-02-2025
- Health
- Axios
Oakland's Black, Asian seniors working to redefine public safety
Across the water in Oakland, Black and Asian American communities are reimagining public safety, one senior at a time. State of play: At the height of the pandemic, Asian seniors were seeing reports of local attacks on their own every day. Their fear led to calls for increased law enforcement that put them at odds with Black community leaders who'd worked to deprioritize policing during the Black Lives Matter movement. Narratives that painted Black people as the main perpetrators of anti-Asian violence furthered the divide. Catch up quick: Asian Health Services (AHS) and Asian Pacific Environmental Network (APEN) decided to launch a community education series last year for Chinese seniors after recognizing the need for them to have a voice in policy decisions amid ongoing public discourse around community safety. The goal was to unpack the root causes of crime and make space for dialogue about alternatives for public safety because "the current narrative was not working," APEN Oakland organizing director Kenneth Tang told Axios. Driving the news: Their experiences are documented in the short film " Love Has Two Meanings," and a new photo exhibition in the Oakland Asian Cultural Center that's on display now through April 22. Context: Despite perceptions of conflict, AHS and Baywell Health, a west Oakland clinic started by four Black women during the civil rights movement, had identified shared sentiment among Asian and Black Oaklanders in a previous survey: violence was a very serious problem. "It was different than what you were hearing as a popular narrative," Robert Phillips, CEO and president of Baywell Health, told Axios. "They weren't saying that somebody was doing something to me. They were saying violence is a problem." At the same time, "the fight over scarcity of resources, by neighborhood, by race, by ethnicity ... pitted [communities] against each other," noted AHS director of special initiatives Ben Wang. Friction point: 74% of respondents felt that public officials had taken more action to tackle anti-Asian hate crimes while giving less attention to violence against Black Oaklanders. How it worked: 12 Chinese elders participated in the workshops across roughly three months in 2024. They learned about Asian American history in San Francisco's Chinatown, toured Oakland's Black Panther Party Museum, spent time at Baywell Health and met with incarcerated men at San Quentin state prison, among other activities. Zoom in: Meeting young people at San Quentin was a particularly moving experience for the seniors, 70-year-old participant Lily Zhu told Axios in Mandarin last week. Some had suffered domestic violence as children, while others faced discrimination and turned to gang activity in an effort to find support, she said. The experience helped her understand the need to tackle public safety in an integrated manner instead of simply relying on law enforcement. Social services, community groups and government must be "interdependent to have a sense of security in the community," she added. The intrigue: At the beginning of the series, when asked about community safety solutions, many participants had emphasized law enforcement, Wang said. But by the end, the conversation had changed. "Nobody actually mentioned more law enforcement, but everyone talked about more mental health resources, re-entry resources, better schools and education for young people," Wang noted. What's next: AHS and APEN are looking to replicate the series annually and hope to screen "Love Has Two Meanings" in more cities, according to Wang.
