Reset with Lynlee

Singapore’s reputation as a hub for luxury living and investment has been growing steadily. A stable political environment and a robust economy are just some of the factors that have attracted affluent buyers and investors from around the globe. To that end, Christie's International Real Estate, a global leader in luxury real estate, has recently launched operations in Singapore, marking a significant milestone in its Southeast Asia expansion strategy.  At the helm of this new venture is Himmat Singh, joint Managing Director, Christie’s International Real Estate Singapore. Himmat shares more about the luxury real estate market in the region and Christie's plans in the near future.

Former Transport Minister S. Iswaran has been sentenced to 12 months’ jail, in a high-profile trial that has gripped Singapore. This was more than what the prosecution had asked for. He had pleaded guilty to accepting gifts worth more than S$403,000 while in public office, as well as obstructing the course of justice. Linette Lai, Assistant News Editor from The Straits Times tells us more.

Sustainability may be a top business priority, BUT would it surprise you to know that only 6% of business leaders report that their organisation has completed at least one round of sustainability implementation according to  NTUC Learning Hub’s Sustainability for Business Resilience Report 2024. Holding back efforts seems to be a gap between management and employee expectations when it comes to sustainability training and implementation.  Rachel Kelly speaks to Mr Low Choon Chye Head, Sustainability, NTUC LearningHub to get the details.

Singapore has positioned itself as a hub for deep tech ventures, leveraging its knowledge-intensive economy and world-class research institutions. Skilled deep tech entrepreneurs receive increased support through grants, subsidies and investments.  On Industry Insight, Associate Professor Benjamin Tee, Vice President (Ecosystem Building) at the National University of Singapore, who has founded and sold a medtech startup, sheds more light on Singapore’s deep tech innovation and investment landscape and the current state of Singapore’s deep tech start-up ecosystem.

Vice-president candidates JD Vance from the Republican Party and Tim Walz from the Democratic Party engaged in a vice-presidential debate today in what could be the last  face-to-face showdown for both camps, before the November 5 US election.  How did both VP Candidates perform? What's the outlook for the final 5 weeks before the election? Do Vice-President debates even matter? Samuel Garrett, Research Associate at the United States Studies Centre at theUniversity of Sydney weighs in on the Veep debate and gave his take on the impact of such debates. 

The technology industry is at an exciting juncture. Cloud services provider Akamai launched an initiative earlier this year, to help companies deliver better experiences by moving their workloads closer to end-users. Akamai aims to increase its cloud-computing network with an additional 10 regions worldwide in the first quarter of this year and then another 75 throughout the rest of the year. Jay Jenkins, CTO, Akamai, shares insights into edge computing and the company's current efforts to interweave cloud computing capabilities into its large-scale edge network to become the preferred cloud computing platform. 

The Singapore dollar is trading at its strongest level in almost a decade against the U.S. dollar amid lower U.S. interest rates coupled with investors' confidence in its resilient economy. The recent rate cut by the Federal Reserve and announcements by the People’s Bank of China have caused movements among many major currencies. How is the Singapore dollar faring against the US dollar, the sterling pound, the yuan, the Australian dollar and the Malaysian ringgit?  Yeap Junrong, Market Strategist at IG, gives his take on the state of play at the current levels and shares a trade idea. 

The Singapore Academy of Law (SAL) and the Infocomm Media Development Authority, recently launched LawNet AI, an AI service designed to help lawyers in Singapore do research more efficiently. Similarly, AI tools are transforming conflict resolution, helping mediators by providing data-driven recommendations and possible solutions based on historical data and prediction models.  However, while AI is set to revolutionise law, how are issues of confidentiality and data privacy being addressed? Is the billable hour still relevant with AI-driven services? Ms Eliza Jiang, is the CEO and co-founder of Lawdify, a company that provides legal professionals AI-first Software as a Service solutions, focusing on high-profile and reputable dispute teams across major legal hubs such as Singapore, Hong Kong, London, and Toronto. Eliza who is a disputes lawyer, shares more insights.

Chinese stocks rallied for a ninth straight day in one of most remarkable turnarounds in history after the central bank unveiled its biggest stimulus since the Covid 19 pandemic. On Monday (Sep 30), China's CSI300 Index surged more than 8%, extending last week's 16% jump. Shanghai stocks shot up more than 7% while Shenzhen shares soared more than 10%, with combined turnover of 2.6 trillion yuan exceeding the bull run a decade ago. While investors are celebrating, economists say the jury is still out on China's economy.  On Market View, Gary Ng, Senior Economist at Natixis, weighs in on the country's bold stimulus measures and explains why Chinese markets may not be out of the woods so soon. 

Chinese tech stocks are hitting highs not seen in more than a year after China’s central bank announced measures to stimulate the world’s second-largest economy. The central bank on Friday lowered interest rates and injected liquidity into the banking system as Beijing assembled a last-ditch stimulus assault to pull economic growth back towards this year's roughly 5 per cent target. More fiscal measures are expected to be announced before China's week-long holidays starting on Oct. 1. The CSI 300 rallied nearly 15% this week and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index is set for its best week since 1998. Dan Chang, Investment Specialist and Trading Representative at PhillipCapital, tells us about the Chinese stimulus measures' impact on the Singapore market and what he is looking forward to in the days ahead.