Category: Business

A unit of defunct lender Credit Suisse will seek to overturn an order to pay US$743 million (S$1 billion) to a billionaire client over the actions of a notorious rogue banker at Singapore’s top court on April 8. The sum was awarded after a lower court earlier ruled that the bank’s trust had failed to safeguard the assets of Bidzina Ivanishvili, the former prime minister of Georgia. It was revised down from an initial US$926 million in a sprawling case…

  Shell and Saudi Aramco, which are competing to buy the assets of Temasek-owned liquefied natural gas (LNG) trading firm Pavilion Energy, are now locked in price negotiations after completing the due diligence process, three sources with knowledge of the matter said. The potential sale comes a decade after the Singapore state investment firm set up Pavilion Energy to focus on LNG-related investments. The assets could fetch more than US$2 billion (S$2.7 billion), two of the sources said. Pavilion Energy,…

Boeing’s latest 737 Max crisis has worsened an airline shortage of popular narrowbody aircraft, sending the cost of used-jet rentals to the highest level in years.  The US planemaker has slowed production of its bestselling model to address quality lapses tied to a near-disaster on a 737 Max 9 in January. With Airbus also struggling to lift output, available planes remain scarce. As a result, airlines are searching out leased ones – especially the largest single-aisle jets that carry more…

NEW YORK – US office vacancies hit a fresh peak in the first quarter as needs continue to evolve with hybrid work set-ups. Vacancies rose to a record 19.8 per cent, Moody’s Analytics said in a preliminary report on April 1, from 19.6 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2023. Despite the increase, the firm said that the early data points to a stable quarter for commercial real estate. Tenants continue to downsize with the hybrid work model showing…

NEW YORK – An executive at a Swiss holding company did not get prison time for participating in a scheme to help US taxpayers hide more than US$60 million (S$81 million) in assets in a fraudulent arrangement known as the “Singapore Solution”. Daniel Walchli, 56, pleaded guilty in 2023 to a single count of conspiracy to defraud the United States for his role in setting up a structure for American clients of Privatbank Ihag to evade scrutiny by tax authorities….

NEW YORK – Citigroup implemented a fresh round of job cuts in its US investment bank last week, according to people familiar with the matter, as the financial giant completed a planned restructuring. Technology, media and telecom were among the coverage areas hit hardest at the Wall Street lender, with several senior bankers as well as those in more junior roles affected, the people said. Managing directors Yaseen Choudhury and Abhi Singhal, who both belonged to the financial technology team,…

Chemical manufacturer 3M will begin payments starting in the third quarter to many U.S. public drinking water systems as part of a multi-billion-dollar settlement over contamination with potentially harmful compounds used in firefighting foam and several consumer products, the company said. St. Paul, Minnesota-based 3M announced Monday that last year’s lawsuit settlement received final approval from the U.S. District Court in Charleston, South Carolina. The agreement called for payouts through 2036. Depending on what additional contamination is found, the amount…

LONDON – Just as they first ventured to do over a century ago, the world’s largest oil companies are staking claims far from home – this time to swallow, rather than spew, planet-warming industrial emissions. Carbon dioxide (CO2) storage is emerging as a potential multi-billion-dollar revenue stream for companies like ExxonMobil, Shell and Chevron, which are under global pressure to rein in the unfettered burning of fossil fuels. In Asia, which will generate the majority of this century’s carbon emissions,…

NEW YORK (AP) — Amazon said Wednesday it is pouring an additional $2.75 billion into Anthropic, bringing its total investment in the artificial intelligence startup to $4 billion. Amazon will maintain a minority stake in San Francisco-based Anthropic, a rival of ChatGPT maker OpenAI. “Generative AI is poised to be the most transformational technology of our time, and we believe our strategic collaboration with Anthropic will further improve our customers’ experiences, and look forward to what’s next,” said Swami Sivasubramanian,…

  MONTREAL – Boeing’s board has begun the search for a big hitter to take the helm of the troubled plane maker following the turbulent tenure of chief executive Dave Calhoun, with many industry executives and analysts predicting it will seek an outside remedy. Facing mounting pressure from airlines, regulators and investors, Boeing on March 25 announced a broader than expected shake-up with Mr Calhoun, 66, stepping down by the end of 2024 on the heels of the company’s commercial…

  NEW YORK – Wall Street stocks retreated March 25 as a market rally showed signs of fatigue and tech heavyweights faced stepped-up regulatory scrutiny in Europe. Maris Ogg of Fiduciary Trust said the reticent start was unsurprising given the relatively light schedule this week as far as economic news. “It certainly wouldn’t be unusual” to have some kind of consolidation after last week’s highs,” Ogg said. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.4 per cent to 39,313.64. The broad-based…

NEW YORK – Boeing announced on March 25 that CEO Dave Calhoun will leave his post as the aviation giant faces increased scrutiny after a series of safety incidents and manufacturing issues. The company has been hit by problems including a near-catastrophic incident in January when a fuselage panel on a Boeing 737 MAX 9 Alaska Airlines jet blew off mid-flight. No one was seriously injured, but the plane was forced to make an emergency landing with a gaping hole…

SINGAPORE – Digital content production house Vividthree Holdings in an announcement on March 24 noted the arrest of its board chairman and independent director Ho Choon Hou by the Commercial Affairs Department (CAD) in relation to alleged breaches-of-disclosure obligations by private cord blood bank Cordlife Group. Dr Ho was arrested by the CAD in relation to an offence under the Securities and Futures Act. He has been released on bail and has surrendered his passport. The board of Catalist-listed Vividthree…

SHANGHAI – The Chinese authorities are examining the role of PricewaterhouseCoopers in China Evergrande Group’s accounting practices after the developer was accused of a US$78 billion (S$105 billion) fraud, ramping up pressure on the global accounting giant that audited a slew of developers before the sector’s meltdown. The country’s securities regulator this week accused Evergrande’s main onshore subsidiary Hengda Real Estate Group of recognising sales in advance and massively overstating its revenue in the two years through 2020, prior to…

  MUMBAI – India’s inequality gap has widened sharply under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s decade in power, with the richest 1 per cent of the population now owning 40 per cent of the country’s wealth, a new study found. The top 1 per cent, or about 9.2 million people, earn 22.6 per cent of total income – the highest share since data going back to the 1920s – and hold more than 40 per cent of the wealth in the…

SINGAPORE – Mr Mikkel Larsen, chief executive officer of Singapore’s Climate Impact X (CIX), a carbon credit exchange and marketplace, has announced his resignation, CIX said in a statement on March 21. Mr Larsen, 49, will remain in his role until a new or interim CEO is appointed. He will continue to serve as a member of CIX’s board thereafter, the company said, adding that Mr Larsen was stepping down to focus on his family. A company spokeswoman confirmed the…