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HONG KONG (BLOOMBERG) - DBS Group Holdings, South-east Asia's largest lender, is expanding its fixed-income business in China in a bid to bring more first-time bond issuers to the offshore market. The Singapore bank recently set up a debt capital market product and advisory team in China to focus on getting more local clients, Clifford Lee, head of fixed income at DBS Group, said in an interview. It will be run by three bankers in Shanghai and Beijing led by Cleaven Yu, who was appointed head of its China fixed-income origination team in June, he said. "We expect that China's need for debt financing will only continue to grow, driven by factors such as the country's rising bank capital and infrastructure financing needs," said Mr Lee. Chinese borrowers have been the dominant force for Asia's dollar bond issuance, making up about 60 per cent of the US$198 billion of notes sold so far this year, Bloomberg-compiled data show. DBS currently ranks 10th among the bond managers with 81 bonds, … [Read more...] about DBS sets its sights on China for debt capital markets push

SINGAPORE - Keppel Corp is considering a potential transaction of its stake in logistics and data centre arm Keppel Telecommunications & Transportation (Keppel T&T) and has asked Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) to take part in a possible transaction involving their stakes in listed telco M1, according to filings with the Singapore Exchange on Monday morning (Sept 24). No specific deal terms were announced. There is no certainty or assurance that any transaction will occur, Keppel Corp and SPH said in concurrent announcements. In March 2017, SPH, Keppel T&T and Malaysian telco Axiata Group jointly appointed Morgan Stanley Asia as a financial adviser to undertake a strategic review of their stakes in M1, with a view to a possible sale. In July that year, the three parties, who together controlled more than 60 per cent of M1, decided not to proceed further with the review, saying that proposals from interested parties did not meet their minimum criteria and parameters despite a … [Read more...] about Keppel looking into possible transaction involving Keppel T&T interest; also considering M1 stake with SPH

COLOMBO (AFP) - Maldives opposition legislator Ibrahim Mohamed Solih won the country's bitterly fought presidential election with 58.3 per cent of the popular vote, official results showed on Monday (Sept 24). Results released by the Elections Commission showed Solih securing 133,808 votes compared to the 95,526 for incumbent Abdulla Yameen. The voter turnout was over 88 per cent out of the 262,000-strong electorate. There were no other candidates at Sunday's election which was held with all key dissidents either in jail or exile. The campaign was also marred by severe restrictions on the opposition and the independent media. Solih had the backing of a united opposition trying to oust Yameen but struggled for visibility with the electorate, with local media fearful of falling afoul of heavy-handed decrees and reporting restrictions. "I call on Yameen to respect the will of the people and bring about a peaceful, smooth transfer of power," Solih said on television, shortly after interim … [Read more...] about Maldives opposition leader Ibrahim Mohamed Solih wins presidency with 58.3%: Official

Good morning! Here are our top stories to kick-start your Monday, Sept 24. Secretive chicken cartel brought down by whistleblower For years, a close-knit group of executives from firms that supply 90 per cent of Singapore's fresh chicken would gather to make verbal agreements to increase prices in tandem and avoid competition with one another, leaving little paper trail of their misdeeds. READ MORE HERE Higher charges at Changi have not kept travellers away Despite the passenger departure charge increasing by $13.30 to $47.30 from July 1, that month proved to be the busiest for the airport so far this year, with a total of 5.72 million passengers handled. READ MORE HERE Longer than usual power shutdown at Plaza Singapura halts business of 80 tenants for hours As part of scheduled maintenance, the power was shut down after the mall closed at 10pm on Saturday night and was supposed to be restored from 8am the next morning. However, power returned gradually only from 2.15pm. READ MORE … [Read more...] about Top stories from The Straits Times on Monday, Sept 24

I am cheered by the recent movement to steer beyond PSLE grades because I believe the scores do little to provide a comprehensive report of a child's elementary education (A look at PSLE scores - to get parents to look beyond grades; Sept 17). I am a stay-home mum with three children, each with different educational inclinations. My eldest thrived in the system, simply because she has a flair for mathematics and science. Supported by a great Chinese tutor, she fared well enough to be given a wide array of secondary school choices. Now in secondary school, she had to hand in a project that constituted of an essay, a presentation and a hand-made model. She fared badly in the last component, because she "was not good at art". This was despite the fact that she had taken art as a subject in primary school. Could it be that the primary school let her off even when she handed in inadequate work? Would it be different if the subject were graded? My second child has a great interest in art. … [Read more...] about Four-subject academic score does not do justice to a child’s strengths