Andrew Tjaardstra

The logistics and real estate business, which has operations in Singapore and Japan, raised S$1.2bn on the main exchange but listed in a difficult week for equities amid war in the Middle East.

The plan is to increase global oil supply while the Strait of Hormuz is essentially blocked. Russia is once again exporting oil to India and several Asian governments are introducing fuel subsidies; meanwhile the US is launching trade investigations into 12 Asian countries.

Payments, including remittances, across Australia, Bangladesh, Canada, China, Germany, India, Pakistan, Spain, Thailand, the UK and the US, will come with certainty of cost, end-to-end traceability, and faster speeds, with over 25 banks go live by the end of June.

AirTrunk’s TOK1 hyperscale data centre campus in East Tokyo is scalable to over 300MW of capacity towards Japan's overall cloud and AI investment ambitions; 12 banks were involved in the deal.

Mallela will join from JP Morgan in May and will be based in Singapore.

The stock exchanges in South Korea and Thailand were temporarily halted on March 4, while Iran has issued a stark warning for the Strait of Hormuz.

Under the MoU, the HKMA, the SDB, and the NTICB, will conduct research on digital technology such as the use of electronic bills of lading and promote it in areas such as cargo trade and finance.

Amid multiple attacks from Iran, and continued Israeli and US strikes, there is great uncertainty in the region. Gas and oil prices are rising as QatarEnergy has stopped liquid natural gas production while the Strait of Hormuz is increasingly dangerous.

The 0.25% cut comes as the Thai baht has been appreciating against the US dollar; the Bank also warned about elevated borrowing costs for SMEs.

After 3.5% GDP growth in 2025, finance secretary Paul Chan offered support for SMEs, residents, treasury centres, AI hubs and the Northern Metropolis; there is also stamp duty relief for the intra-group transfer of assets.

Marcelo is based in Manila and has relocated from a role in Hong Kong. The OECD estimates that Philippines' GDP will grow 5.1% this year.

MAS is expected to take a balanced monetary stance in the months ahead; the FY 2026 Budget included a 40% corporate income tax refund for the 2026 year of assessment.