Bank of Singapore

Rising geopolitical tensions, increasing trade restrictions, commodity supply shocks, concentration risks, weather and environmental concerns have driven the need for global companies and governments to diversify their supply chains and bring back “near-shore” production capabilities. Global investors are now looking to Mexico as a means of hedging trade risk, given its geographic proximity and am...

In an environment where interest rates are expected to stay high for an extended period, how will this impact Singaporean companies? Furthermore, given the geopolitical tensions and the sizzling interest in Generative AI, is there a role for Singapore in this ever-changing landscape? Singapore is an open economy and can be vulnerable to economic fluctuations in the surrounding region. However, Sin...

In our latest episode of  Bank of Singapore Unplugged , our specialists deep-dive into the outlook ahead for China. After a challenging past few years, global investors now appear to be revisiting risk assets in China. The most commonly cited reasons behind this renewed interest include more concrete and concerted policy action, potential bottoming in earnings revisions and attractive valuations....

In our latest episode, we take a closer look at China’s property sector, and how recent policy changes have brought about renewed optimism amongst investors. Notably, the biggest highlight, was the provision of up to CNY500b of loans to local governments for the purchase of unsold completed properties to be converted into affordable housing. 60% of this will be funded by a low cost 1-year PBoC rel...

At the end of last month, the JPY fell to a 34-year low at 160 against the USD before rebounding sharply. The Ministry of Finance, responsible for exchange rate policy in Japan, appears to have instructed the Bank of Japan to sell greenbacks from its USD1 trillion of FX reserves on April 29 and again on May 2 to stop the JPY weakening further. Though officials have not confirmed yet whether Tokyo...

In our latest episode of  Bank of Singapore Unplugged , our specialists deep-dive into the outlook for sustainability and corporate governance in Asia. Lately, governments across the region are introducing more incentives to get companies across various industries “sustainability-ready”. Investors are becoming increasingly focused on sustainability, not just for altruistic reasons, but also becaus...

In the ever-evolving landscape of global markets, UK equities often find themselves in the shadows of their counterparts. However recent signs show that the UK may at last be at a major turning point, after a dismal decade of political disorder, economic instability, and lengthy market underperformance. The bear case for UK assets is well known, but there are reasons to believe that the UK’s econo...

The US Federal Reserve’s (Fed) FOMC meeting in March conveyed important dovish signals which will continue to set off powerful reflationary tailwinds for risk assets. Despite risks of near-term volatility, we believe the broader tailwinds behind the market rally remain intact. Bank of Singapore remains overall overweight in equities, and we expect the maturing rally to broaden out from the “Magnif...

In our latest episode of  Bank of Singapore Unplugged , our specialists deep-dive into the outlook for developed market banks. The woes in commercial real estate, especially in the US are well documented, however, concerns are now spreading to lenders of some distressed assets, putting global financial companies in the spotlight. More recently, one of the banks in the US reported a larger-than-exp...

Japan’s stock market is off to a roaring start this year, up almost 20% ytd, with the benchmark Nikkei 225 index just shy of the 40,000 level last week. Japan has been breaching new 34-year highs over the past 12 months, thanks to a combination of positive macro and micro factors. For investors who are “ Big in Japan ”, the question would be, what’s next for this buoyant market when Spring comes?...

The world is in a global water crisis, where more regions are facing the reality of a parched future. Growing freshwater demand is expected to exceed supply by 40% by the end of this decade, which will have wide-ranging implications across economic growth, geopolitics, and human health. A rising tide does not lift all boats, and water scarcity is a very real threat that could impact portfolio perf...

In this episode, we hear from our Global Chief Investment Officer  Jean Chia , Chief Economist,  Mansoor Mohi-uddin  and Chief Investment Strategist,  Eli Lee , as they share our investment strategy for 2024, including the outlook for the global economies ahead, and what the future has in store as structural trends unfold.

2024 will be one of the most intense election years in modern history, with national elections to be held in more than 40 countries, representing just under half of the world’s GDP and population. How will an uncertain US Presidential election affect global markets? Will we see a further continuation of deglobalisation and populism trends in 2024? What are the risks and opportunities for Asian and...

Will quantum computers really transform our world, cure cancer, and solve the climate crisis? Globally renowned theoretical physicist, New York Times bestselling author, futurist and populariser of science,  Dr Michio Kaku  thinks so. For our closing keynote segment, Dr Kaku gives us a glimpse into the future of technology-driven progress. His latest book,  Quantum Supremacy: How The Quantum Compu...

In our latest episode of  Bank of Singapore Unplugged , our specialists deep-dive into the latest outlook for China, with the country crossing its 1-year anniversary since the scrapping of the zero-Covid policy. Whilst there had been significant enthusiasm in China’s reopening, especially at the end of 2022 and start of 2023, this has all petered out quite quickly since. Woes in the property secto...

Looking ahead into 2024, how should investors think about alternatives investments against a backdrop of still elevated financing costs, slowing growth and the ‘there are real alternatives’ aka TARA regime? Are private markets a compelling option at this point of the cycle and for those with a long-term investment horizon in mind? In this episode of Conversations on Alternatives, join our investme...

The 2020s are proving to be a disorderly decade for investors. Frequent shocks are shortening fund managers’ horizons. Investors have spent the last few years dealing with the pandemic, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, a violent attempt to overturn America’s elections, and now, war in the Middle East. But the crises are also giving rise to new longer-term trends, benefiting investors with longer-term...

Historically, most markets have often closed the final quarter of the year with good gains. This trend has been observed since the past two decades for the Straits Times Index, the Hang Seng Index and the S&P 500. Will this trend play out in the fourth quarter of 2023? Can investors expect a strong rally to end this challenging year on a positive note? Tune in to our latest podcast with Bank o...

In recent months, investors have been witnessing a surge in oil prices. Brent crude has crossed 97 dollars per barrel in late September, reaching a new year to date high, before easing closer to 90 dollars per barrel more recently. Geopolitics, lower inventory levels and demand for petroleum distillates, such as diesel and jet fuel all seem to be creating a favouble backdrop for near term oil stre...

Private credit is expected to grow and become a bigger part of the debt capital market, particularly in the US. Post 2021, the attractive yields and its floating rates nature have attracted many investors to increase their allocation to private credit. Structurally, fund managers and investors are looking at this sector to continue to gain market share in the overall debt capital market. Tune in t...

In this episode, Peggy Liu , Chairperson of the Joint US-China Collaboration on Clean Energy, shares her insights on green tech developments, as well as her outlook on future trends and potential impacts in achieving environmental sustainability. [About the speaker] Peggy Liu is an internationally recognised expert on China’s energy landscape and a Hillary Laureate. The organisation she chairs, JU...

While public market equities rebounded swiftly this year, the overall sentiment and volume of transactions in private equity remain downbeat. Investors have also been hesitant to allocate into the private equity, given lower distributions and concerns of how the higher interest rate environment could impact the asset class. As we approach peak interest rates and slower growth, what can investors e...

Oil prices have reversed higher since June and are now at their highest levels in 2023. In our latest podcast,  Eli Lee , our Head of Investment Strategy, reviews the outlook for oil, and how this could impact investors. Tune in to find out more. Crude oil prices have broken out to their highest levels in 2023, and could rise towards USD100/bbl in the near term before some consolidation in 2024. E...

Over the past few years, even the most ardent China bulls have had their conviction dented by the economic and market impact from China’s strict Covid-19 measures, geopolitical risks, domestic regulatory uncertainties that struck the real estate, internet platform, education and most recently healthcare sectors. The ailing real estate sector and credit defaults by high-profile Chinese developers e...

Hospitality players posted a stellar performance in the first half of the year, as the global travel recovery remained well underway. In the second quarter however, we see that the global travel growth momentum remains positive, even though the pace of recovery has started to moderate. A bright spot to look forward to may be the more meaningful outbound travel recovery from China on the back of su...