Industry News

ANEXT Bank, a subsidiary of Ant International, has announced a significant change in its leadership. The current CEO, whose departure was confirmed by Ant International CEO Peng Yang, will be stepping down. The new CEO, Kai Qiu, has been designated to lead the bank, marking a new chapter for the financial institution.

The leadership transition comes amidst ANEXT Bank’s ongoing efforts to support micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in Singapore. The bank, which launched in June, has been focused on providing innovative financial solutions to bolster the growth of these enterprises. The change in leadership is expected to continue driving this mission forward.

In a statement shared on LinkedIn, Peng Yang expressed both regret and appreciation for the outgoing CEO’s contributions, highlighting the achievements made under their leadership. Kai Qiu, the incoming CEO, also shared his thoughts on the transition, acknowledging the challenges ahead and expressing enthusiasm for the opportunities to further ANEXT Bank’s objectives.

This leadership change is significant as it aligns with ANEXT Bank’s strategic goals to enhance its services and expand its reach within the financial sector. The bank’s commitment to supporting MSMEs remains a priority, and the new leadership is anticipated to bring fresh perspectives and strategies to achieve these goals.

As ANEXT Bank moves forward under new leadership, the financial community will be watching closely to see how these changes impact the bank’s operations and its role in supporting Singapore’s business landscape.

T. Rowe Price, a global asset manager, has partnered with Tokio Marine Life Insurance Singapore to offer two global funds to Singapore retail investors via investment-linked insurance plans. This marks the first time T. Rowe Price’s expertise in global equity and fixed-income investments is available to this market segment.

The partnership introduces two funds: the T. Rowe Price Funds SICAV – Global Focused Growth Equity Fund and the T. Rowe Price Funds SICAV – Diversified Income Bond Fund. The equity fund aims to build a high-conviction global portfolio by identifying “best ideas” across global markets, with an intended annual dividend of 8%. Meanwhile, the bond fund offers a 7.18% annualised dividend yield, investing in a diverse range of bonds from over 80 countries and 40 currencies.

Goh Kay Yiong, Chief Investment Officer at Tokio Marine Life Insurance Singapore, stated, “Our partnership with T. Rowe Price to introduce these new funds reflects Tokio Marine’s commitment to providing customers with a diverse and thoughtfully selected range of investment strategies.”

Glen Lee, Head of Intermediary Distribution for Asia ex-Japan at T. Rowe Price, added, “We are pleased to partner with Tokio Marine to curate best-in-class global equity and fixed income investment solutions for Singapore investors.”

This collaboration underscores T. Rowe Price’s commitment to expanding its presence in Asia, where it currently offers 25 recognised funds in Singapore. The partnership aims to enhance client offerings through strategic collaborations, providing innovative investment solutions for long-term wealth generation.

LHN, a real estate management services group, has emerged as the top performer amongst the latest companies transitioning from the Catalist board to the Mainboard, boasting a 41% annualised total return over five years. This achievement highlights the company’s strategic growth, particularly in its space optimisation business, which contributed to a 29% revenue increase in fiscal year ending 30 September 2024.

The five most recent Catalist-to-Mainboard graduates, spanning various sectors, have collectively achieved a median annualised total return of 9.4% over the past five years. LHN’s impressive performance was followed by Grand Venture Technology, which recorded a 28% annualised return. In contrast, Rex International experienced a 4% decline in annualised returns, despite recent gains in trading turnover.

LHN’s transition to the Mainboard on 13 December 2024, was marked by a 24% increase in net profit to S$47.3m, driven by its space optimisation efforts. The company also engaged in capital recycling initiatives, including the sale of a car park at Bukit Timah Shopping Centre and a joint venture investment in Wilmer Place.

The transition of these companies underscores the diverse opportunities within Singapore’s stock market. LHN’s success story, in particular, reflects the potential for growth and profitability in the real estate sector. As these companies continue to evolve, their performance on the Mainboard will be closely watched by investors and market analysts alike.

SGX-listed CapitaLand India Trust’s (CLINT) net property income (NPI) saw a significant rise in fiscal year 2024 (FY 2024), growing by 16% year-on-year (YoY) in Indian Rupee terms and 14% in Singapore Dollar terms.

The trust also recorded a 6% YoY increase in its distribution per unit (DPU) for FY 2024, reaching 6.84 Singapore cents.

The trust’s growth in NPI was attributed to income from recent acquisitions and higher rental income from existing assets. CLINT’s Chief Executive Officer, Gauri Shankar Nagabhushanam, highlighted the trust’s strategic acquisitions and proactive customer engagement, which improved portfolio occupancy to 95%. The net asset value per unit increased by 19% YoY

Key developments include the pre-leasing of MTB 6 at International Tech Park Bangalore to a major semiconductor tenant and progress in data centre assets, with revenue from a global hyperscaler expected by Q2 2025. CLINT is also planning to divest a partial stake in its data centre portfolio to enhance unitholder value.

Financially, CLINT’s total property income for FY 2024 rose by 21% YoY to INR17.4b, driven by contributions from newly acquired properties in Pune, Navi Mumbai, and Hyderabad. The trust’s assets under management grew by 20% YoY to S$3.7b, with a gearing ratio of 38.5% as of 31 December 2024.

Looking ahead, CLINT is focused on diversifying its portfolio and expanding its presence in India’s fast-growing IT and logistics sectors, with ongoing developments in data centres and industrial facilities. The trust remains optimistic about its growth prospects and aims to continue delivering enhanced returns to its unitholders.

In a startling revelation, language learning platform Preply has identified “123456” as the most commonly hacked password in Singapore, appearing in over 42.5 million data breaches. This finding underscores a significant lapse in basic cybersecurity practices among users, leaving countless individuals vulnerable to cyberattacks.

Preply’s analysis, conducted ahead of International Data Protection Day on 28 January, examined the most frequently used passwords in Singapore. The study found that 99% of the most commonly hacked passwords are under 12 characters, with “password” appearing in 10.4 million breaches. These simple, easily guessable passwords are prime targets for cybercriminals.

The research highlights the need for stronger, more secure passwords. Preply suggests using characters from different languages to enhance password complexity and uniqueness. However, users must ensure compatibility, as not all systems support every character type.

Globally, similar patterns emerge, with “123456”, “123456789”, and “qwerty” topping the list of most hacked passwords, appearing in over 71 million breaches. The use of country names as passwords also poses risks, with “Canada” leading the list of country-related passwords compromised in 185,000 breaches. “Singapore” ranks fourteenth, appearing in 45,757 breaches.

Preply’s findings serve as a crucial reminder of the importance of robust password security in safeguarding personal and sensitive information online. As digital connectivity continues to grow, adopting stronger password practices is essential to mitigate the risks of cyber threats.

MS Amlin, a Lloyd’s global specialist (re)insurer, renewed Singapore-based Phoenix Re sidecar for the fifth consecutive year, increasing its collateralised capacity to over S$151.21m (£90m). This marks a 12.5% increase from 2024, driven by strong performance and heightened investor interest in Asia’s catastrophe risks.

Phoenix Re supports MS Amlin’s reinsurance portfolio across the Asia-Pacific region. Since its inception in 2021, the vehicle has expanded significantly, doubling its capacity to address the region’s substantial protection gap. William Ho, CEO of MS Amlin Asia Pacific, highlighted the vehicle’s success, stating, “The successful renewal of our multiple Phoenix Re investment vehicles demonstrates the growing appetite amongst investors for Asian catastrophe risks.”

Phoenix Re has absorbed various regional loss events, including floods and super typhoons, whilst maintaining consistent returns. Last year, it achieved returns exceeding 11.5%, showcasing MS Amlin’s disciplined underwriting approach. The sidecar offers diversification through over 150 layers annually across Asia-Pacific and the Middle East and North Africa, functioning similarly to a portfolio of catastrophe bonds.

Tim Yip, Executive Director of HSZ Group, which co-invests in the vehicle, expressed satisfaction with the continued growth in interest for MS Amlin’s Asia Pacific portfolio. He noted that advances in data and modelling have bolstered investor confidence in navigating this challenging market.

Phoenix Re, established with an insurance-linked securities (ILS) catastrophe bond grant from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), remains the most established Asian-focused ILS sidecar, providing investors with exposure to Asian catastrophe risk without correlation to peak zones.

Condo resale prices in Singapore remained unchanged in December 2024, whilst the number of units sold decreased by 2.5% compared to the previous month, according to the latest 99-SRX Media Flash Report. The decline in sales volume is attributed to the typical year-end slowdown and competition from new project launches in November, which attracted many buyers.

Despite the dip, the resale market showed resilience, with overall prices increasing by 4% year-on-year. The Core Central Region (CCR) saw a slight price decrease of 0.2%, whilst the Rest of Central Region (RCR) and Outside Central Region (OCR) experienced increases of 0.1% and 0.5%, respectively. Luqman Hakim, Chief Data & Analytics Officer at 99.co, noted that demand remains robust, driven by interest in move-in-ready units and larger homes.

The report highlighted that 992 units were resold in December, with resale volumes 29.9% higher than in December 2023 and 10.1% above the five-year average for the month. The OCR accounted for 47.2% of sales, followed by the RCR at 34.4% and the CCR at 18.4%.

The highest resale price in December was S$19,750,000 at Eden Residences Capitol. The overall median capital gain for resale condos stood at S$370,000, with District 13 posting the highest gain at S$679,000.

Looking ahead, the resale market is expected to benefit from a significant rise in new unit completions and potential interest rate easing in 2025, which could further strengthen demand.

Bank of Singapore has announced six strategic appointments at its Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) branch to bolster its advisory specialisation and thought leadership in the region. These new hires aim to enhance the bank’s advisory and product solutions, aligning with its growth ambitions in the Middle East.

Ranjit Khanna, Head of Private Banking for Europe & Middle East and Chief Executive of the DIFC Branch, expressed enthusiasm about the new team members, stating, “Providing our clients with timely and relevant advice is our key deliverable and I am elated that our new colleagues will add to our already compelling global advisory and product proposition.”

Amongst the new appointees, Zeena Abou Elnaja joins the Investment Advisory team from Julius Baer, bringing her expertise from Standard Chartered Bank in the Middle East. Mehvish Ayub, previously with State Street Global Advisors, will serve as a Senior Specialist for Managed Solutions and Alternatives, focusing on Funds Advisory and mandate solutions.

Brandon Chee and Anish Mehta have also joined as product specialists, covering Equity and Structured Products advisory and FX Advisory, respectively. Chee brings over 15 years of experience from OCBC and CIMB, whilst Mehta, relocating from London, has a background with Rabobank.

Additionally, Yasmine Omari will lead Wealth Planning, and Fatima Al Zadjali will direct Marketing and Communications. Omari’s experience includes roles at Ernst & Young, PWC, and Deloitte, whilst Al Zadjali comes from Habib Bank AG Zurich.

These appointments underscore the bank’s commitment to building intellectual capital and thought leadership, particularly as it prepares for the Global CIO Advisory Summit in Dubai in February 2025. This annual event, initiated by the bank’s Chief Investment Office, aims to foster investment insights and strategies.

Singapore’s economy is set to experience moderate growth in 2025, with RHB Bank forecasting a 3% increase in both gross domestic product (GDP) and industrial production (IP). This projection comes from the latest Global Economics and Market Strategy Report, attributed to Barnabas Gan, Acting Group Chief Economist and Head of Market Research at RHB Bank.

The report highlights an upgrade in Singapore’s fourth quarter (Q4) 2024 and full-year GDP growth estimates, surpassing the Ministry of Trade and Industry’s (MTI) advance estimates for Q4 2024. December’s industrial production figures showed a significant year-on-year increase of 10.6%, exceeding market expectations of 6.4% and RHB’s own estimate of 3.3%. This growth, however, marks a slight moderation from November’s revised 10.8% year-on-year rise.

Gan’s analysis suggests that the robust performance in December’s industrial production is a positive indicator of the country’s economic trajectory in 2025. The report underscores the resilience of Singapore’s manufacturing sector, which continues to drive economic growth despite global uncertainties.

Looking ahead, RHB Bank’s forecast reflects cautious optimism, balancing the potential for growth with the challenges posed by the global economic environment. The bank’s projections are closely watched by investors and policymakers, as they provide insights into Singapore’s economic health and future prospects.

Mapletree Investments has announced the acquisition of its first logistics property in the United Kingdom and a portfolio of 10 logistics assets in Spain, valued at approximately $444.46m (€315.1m). These acquisitions will serve as the foundational assets for Mapletree’s second European logistics-focused fund, marking a significant expansion of the company’s logistics footprint in Europe.

The UK acquisition, Derby DC1, is strategically located in Derby Commercial Park, offering excellent access to major roads and proximity to East Midlands Airport. This site plays a crucial role in the supply chain of its tenant, who recently renewed their long-term lease. Meanwhile, the Spanish portfolio is spread across key logistics hubs in Barcelona, Valencia, and Madrid, providing immediate access to city centres and supporting last-mile delivery operations.

Ralph van der Beek, CEO of Commercial and Logistics, Europe at Mapletree, stated, “Logistics remains a highly attractive sector that has consistently enjoyed strong demand from occupiers as well as investors. E-commerce continues to thrive and companies are making efforts to secure and expand their supply chains.”