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Tag: Singapore

  • UOB Legally Demands $4 Million Debt Payment From Equipment Supplier

    UOB Legally Demands $4 Million Debt Payment From Equipment Supplier

    Singapore-listed heavy equipment supplier, Hoe Leong, said it received a statuary demand from a law firm acting on behalf of UOB, seeking payment of about 5.7 million Singapore dollars.

    The statutory demand, issued by law firm Allen & Gledhill on behalf of UOB, seeks payment within 21 days from the date of receipt. The payment relates to a loan borrowed by logistics firm Arkstar Voyager, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hoe Leong which is also its guarantor.

    Whilst Hoe Leong had said in July that a letter of demand from UOB would not affect the group’s business, it said this week that «with the statutory demand from UOB, the company is unable to reasonably assess its financial position»

    The company is presently seeking legal advice and is engaging with UOB to remedy the situation, it added.

    Hoe Leong’s board made a voluntary request to suspend the trading of its shares «with immediate effect, pending resolution of the situation.

    It assured investors that it currently has sufficient funds in its UOB account to settle outstanding payments up to August 31, 2019. It added that the group’s viability was dependent on continued support from creditors and adequate cash flow generation to repay debt obligations due in the next 12 months, barring any material external headwinds.

  • BreadTalk Group to buy Food Junction

    BreadTalk Group to buy Food Junction

    Listed Singapore food-and-beverage company BreadTalk Group is to buy foodcourt operator Food Junction Management (FJM).

    A subsidiary of BreadTalk, Topwin Investment, has signed a sale and purchase agreement to pay S$80 million for FJM, which operates 12 foodcourts in Singapore and three in Malaysia. A fourth is on track to open next year at The Mall in Johor Bahru.

    BreadTalk Group sees synergies between the FJM business and its own foodcourt operations – it owns Food Republic and Food Opera-branded sites in Singapore, Greater China, Thailand, Cambodia and Malaysia. The combined operation could share support services and rationalise supply arrangements.

    FJM is owned by Singapore investment company Auric Pacific Group Limited.

  • Luxiee secures six-figure funding from Singapore angel

    Luxiee secures six-figure funding from Singapore angel

    Singapore-headquartered online diamond marketplace, Luxiee, has raised a six-figure investment in a private seed-funding round.

    The team secured financier Kewee Kho, also vice-chairman of Roadbull Logistics and independent director of Courts Asia, as the leading investor.

    Luxiee, launched in January, bills itself as the world’s first online diamond marketplace that connects consumers directly to established suppliers in a transparent matching model that removes the middle-man, resulting in better value for customers. The funds raised will be channeled towards marketing, branding, public relations, and media placement, as well as building the business’ staff.

    “It’s about time a traditional industry like diamonds experience a new way of delivering real value to customers. It is a disruption to an old school economy,” said Kho in a statement. “The impressive background of Luxiee’s solid management team, with experts coming together from the creative, digital marketing, and precious gems industries, reinforces my belief in this new and current business model. Transformative growth awaits, and I look forward to an exciting and rewarding journey with the team.”

    Luxiee CEO Nicholas Lim said it was exciting to have an experienced investor like Kewee Kho on board.

    “We look forward to his strategic direction and advice. His confidence in the business is added assurance to the formula of our business model, and we are driven by opportunities to accelerate our growth.”

    Luxiee says the direct connection between supplier and consumer through its platform allows consumers to enjoy up to a 300-per-cent reduction in the diamond price compared with those sold at luxury retail outlets. For example: a 1.0 Carat, F Color, VS2 Clarity, Excellent Cut diamond can sell for as low as SG$7000 (US$5000).

  • Art meets fashion at The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands, Singapore

    Art meets fashion at The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands, Singapore

    The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands has created a host of activities for shoppers to “rediscover luxury” in celebration of the Fall-Winter 2019 fashion season.

    A chic installation will be located at the Grand Colonnade Bay Level of The Shoppes until September 17, housing an immersive art showcase by local artists @Lioncolony and Esther Goh.

    Both artists, who have made their own marks in the visual arts and fashion scene, will illustrate their interpretations of fashion and its influence on society.

    Here, shoppers may also view the latest Fall-Winter collections by brands including Balmain, CH Carolina Herrera, Chloe, Ferragamo, Gentle Monster, Gianvito Rossi, Kenzo, Longchamp, and Tom Ford.

    Following the recent opening of Paul Smith’s second boutique in Singapore, The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands continues to welcome a host of luxury brands this year. Italian luxury labels Missoni and Pomellato will be opening their first flagship boutiques in Singapore, bringing The Shoppes’ flagship assembly to more than 40 stores and counting. Luxury watchmaker Panerai will add to the mall’s line-up of luxury watch brands, while French luxury label Celine will further expand its current single unit store into a duplex by next year, offering both men’s and women’s collections.

    Other anticipated premium fashion and lifestyle brands slated to join The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands this year include Aesop, CK Calvin Klein, Evisu, as well as La Mer’s first standalone boutique in Singapore which will house an exclusive facial cabin.

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  • Zhang Yong Tops the latest Forbes Singapore Rich List

    Zhang Yong Tops the latest Forbes Singapore Rich List

    Hotpot-restaurant tycoon Zhang Yong has topped the latest Forbes Singapore Rich List.

    Zhang, the founder of the Haidilao restaurant business, has an estimated net worth of US$13.8 billion (US$19.2 billion) – enough to push last year’s richest Singaporeans, property magnates Robert and Philip Ng into the second spot with their combined wealth of US$12.1 billion. This year is the first in a decade the Ngs, who own Far East Company, have not headed the rankings.

    Zhang, a native of China, has become a naturalized Singaporean citizen and resident, who was previously featured among China’s richest, is now a naturalized Singapore citizen and resident.

    Third place on this year’s list went to Eduardo Saverin, a founder and shareholder of Facebook, who lives in Singapore. His net worth was estimated at $10.6 billion, down $1.2 billion on last year.

    Haidilao opened 130 new restaurants in the first half of this year, boosting sales by 59.3 percent to RMB 11.7 billion (US$1.66 billion).

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  • Decathlon moving into old Metro store at Singapore’s The Centrepoint

    Decathlon moving into old Metro store at Singapore’s The Centrepoint

    After five years at The Centrepoint, Metro Department Store will shutter its flagship next month.

    The announcement heralds the latest in a series of closures at the 36-year-old mall, which has close to 10 vacant units with more already expected to come.

    However, Frasers Property has since confirmed that sports-goods retailer Decathlon will take over at least part of the Metro space, scheduled to open in the first part of next year once fitout is complete.

    Metro’s September 15 withdrawal from the mall will leave only two of its Singapore outlets open, at Paragon and Causeway Point respectively. Staff of the store have yet to be briefed as to whether or not they can expect to be employed at the other outlets.

    “In recent years, Metro has been rationalising its retail business in response to changing market conditions,” said a spokesperson for the firm. “Metro continues to focus on its core businesses of retail in Singapore and Indonesia, together with property investment and development.”

    Adding Decathlon to the tenant mix will provide a significant drawcard to the troubled mall which is seeking to morph into a lifestyle destination with experiential retail concepts targeting younger consumers.

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  • Toddler dies at Urban Revivo store in Jewel Changi

    Toddler dies at Urban Revivo store in Jewel Changi

    An 18-month-old girl has died following an accident at Urban Revivo fashion store at Jewel Changi Airport, according to reporting in The Straits Times.

    The toddler suffered fatal injuries after a standing mirror fell on top of her. She died in hospital after staff at the store administered first aid while paramedics were en route. Police stated that the child was unconscious while being transported to Changi General Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

    “We are working closely with the tenant to ascertain the details of the incident,” said an airport spokesperson. “Out of respect for the privacy of the family, we are unable to comment further.”

    Urban Revivo stated that it was “deeply saddened by the tragic accident”. It is currently assisting police in investigating the incident.

    Media reports say the parents of the child are visitors from Mainland China.

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  • CDF Beauty duty-free megastore opens at Citygate

    CDF Beauty duty-free megastore opens at Citygate

    A CDF Beauty duty-free megastore has opened in Hong Kong’s Citygate Phase II.

    Spanning more than 10,000sqft, CDF Beauty houses 45 beauty brands, including cosmetics, skincare products and beauty appliances. Citygate is located near Hong Kong International Airport.

    The CDF Beauty concept store is a merging of two adjacent stores with an open facade presenting international skincare and cosmetics. Its Colour cosmetics store invites shoppers to try makeup products among its showcase of top designer and make-up artist brands, including the latest seasonal palettes and textures from Giorgio Armani, Tom Ford Beauty and Mac with fragrances by Jo Malone London and Burberry.

    Central to the CDF Beauty duty-free megastore’s strategy is its Best Price Offer, a collection of leading beauty brands selected for discount on a monthly basis.

    Promotions for the store feature the CDF Beauty Bestie Gang – Carol, Donna, Frank and Bella – virtual brand ambassadors created with distinct personalities and favourite makeup styles.

    The store’s opening is being celebrated with a range of privileges and deals.

  • Wave House moves away from Sentosa after 10 years

    Wave House moves away from Sentosa after 10 years

    Wave House Sentosa is set to celebrate its 10th year anniversary with a line-up of activities and promotions – and a new home.

    Wave House was one of Singapore’s first integrated surfing-and-lifestyle destinations. The facility, which includes an enclosed surfing space, eatery and surfwear store, will be relocating to the main island of Singapore after 10 years on Sentosa.

    Wave House made a splash in Singapore back in October 2009, featuring high-adrenaline flow boarding and 10-foot Flowbarrel wave rides. A large population of local Singaporean surfers, skaters and skimboarders flock to Wave House Sentosa every year.

    “We are proud to celebrate a decade as Wave House Sentosa has always been the top location choice for surfers as well as the ultimate beach front dining, drinks, parties and event space venue in Singapore,” said Wave House Sentosa cofounder Tan Xu Teng.

    “Wave House Sentosa has established a reputation for delivering world-class thrills with a Singapore touch. Over time, it has also evolved into an iconic lifestyle attraction and recreation space for both locals and tourists.”

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  • Swiss Fintechs to Showcase Expertise at Singapore Fintech Festival

    Swiss Fintechs to Showcase Expertise at Singapore Fintech Festival

    Switzerland Global Enterprise and the Swiss Business Hub ASEAN announced that they will showcase the best of the country’s fintech ecosystem and expertise under its Swiss Pavilion in the upcoming Singapore FinTech Festival 2019.

    Returning for the third year, the Swiss Pavilion will host close to 30 companies involved in cutting-edge innovation in financial services technologies that encompass regulation technology, blockchain solutions, Big Data and analytics, algorithm trading and cybersecurity among others. The Swiss Pavilion, one of the larger national pavilions taking part at the Singapore festival, will present opportunities for co-innovation, collaborations, partnerships, and deal-making.

    The Switzerland Global Enterprise (S-GE) is pleased to showcase the Swiss ecosystem of top financial institutions and leading Fintech players at the Singapore Fintech Festival 2019.  As one of the Top 10 Financial Centres of the world, Switzerland offers the ideal combination of dense and diverse ecosystem in the fintech space, a regulator addressing the needs of the industry and a great pool of talents to create new solutions for the future, said Patrik Wermelinger, Member of the Executive Committee of Switzerland Global Enterprise.

    Besides demonstrating the expertise of Swiss companies to international audiences, the other goal of the Swiss Pavillion is to enable Swiss fintechs to use Singapore as a hub to grow in the Southeast Asia (ASEAN) region, Wermelinger added.

    Interest from Swiss fintech enterprises in Singapore has been growing rapidly. Over the past few years, we have seen escalating interest from Swiss fintech companies to spread their winds into ASEAN using Singapore as a hub.  There is potential for more Swiss-Singapore exchanges and it is my wish to see more of such collaborations.  Together, we can explore more markets and help the financial institutions grow rapidly, said H.E. Fabrice Filliez, Switzerland’s Ambassador to Singapore.

    Switzerland is home to over 1,000 fintech companies, deeply active in Investment Management, Payment solutions, Banking infrastructure and Deposit & Lending. Their interest to a greater presence in Singapore arises from the republic’s fintech cooperation framework and agreements with ASEAN, China, India, Japan, and South Korea.

    Singapore’s annual FinTech Festival is organized by MAS, in partnership with The Association of Banks in Singapore, and in collaboration with SingEx Holdings. The 4th edition of the Singapore FinTech Festival will attract a global array of speakers and exhibitors.

    The upcoming event will carry four major underlying themes that are driving the financial ecosystem: Sustainability and Climate Finance; Future of Finance; Exponential Technologies and FinTech and Beyond.

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  • Bank of Singapore Expands UHNW Shelf with Senior Hire

    Bank of Singapore Expands UHNW Shelf with Senior Hire

    Continued growth from its ultra-high net worth clients business has led Bank of Singapore to bolster its product capabilities with the addition of a new head of bespoke investments for Greater China and North Asia.

    Kelvin Teo joins the bank in the new Hong Kong-based role to source unique and exclusive investment opportunities for UHNW clients in Greater China and North Asia, particularly with regards to buyout funds and real estate. Teo reports locally to Derrick Tan, Hong Kong branch CEO and global market head of Greater China and North Asia; and functionally to Carolyn Tham, head of UHNW bespoke investments.

    Teo was most recently a Hong Kong-based director of equity capital markets for Credit Suisse. He was responsible for the origination of capital market transaction for corporate and institutional clients. Previously, he had 15 years of experience in investment banking across various areas including IPO, pre-IPO financing, acquisition financing and more.

    Since 2017, the bank’s number of UHNW clients has doubled and assets from the client segment grew nearly 40 percent. The UHNW segment aside, Bank of Singapore is also boosting its Greater China business, which reportedly nearly tripled assets under management in five years.

    Teo’s hire follows a number of senior appointments for the regional business including the hire of Richard Hu earlier this year as market head for Greater China. Last year, the bank also hired Phonda Chan and Anne Song as market heads, alongside Jacqueline Lee as head of risk.

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  • Shell Debuts Electric Vehicle Chargers In Singapore

    Shell Debuts Electric Vehicle Chargers In Singapore

    Royal Dutch Shell is launching electric vehicle chargers at petrol stations in Singapore, its first such foray in Southeast Asia, the company said on Monday. The electric vehicle charging service, ‘Shell Recharge’, will be available at 10 Shell petrol stations in Singapore by October, this year or about 20% of its retail network in the city-state, the company said in a statement. It added that the chargers typically provide from 0% to 80% charge in about 30 minutes, and are compatible with most electric vehicles in Singapore.

    A Shell-commissioned study on electric vehicle consumer behavior showed that 52% of Singaporeans are deterred to buy or use an electric car as they think there are not enough charging stations in Singapore, the company said.

    “To meet the country’s climate action goals, Singapore needs more and cleaner energy solutions to power lives, businesses, and transport sustainably,” said Aw Kah Peng, country chairperson of Shell Companies in Singapore. Shell plans to make more of such low-carbon energy solutions available in Singapore in the following months and years, she added.

  • HSBC Singapore Adds Directors to Board

    HSBC Singapore Adds Directors to Board

    The two new board members will help the bank accelerate its business transformation in Singapore and deepen its foray into the digital space.

    HSBC Bank (Singapore), the local subsidiary of HSBC that includes retail banking and wealth management businesses, is adding Penny Goh and Josh Bottomley to its board of directors, the firm said in a press release on Wednesday.

    Goh is a co-chairman and senior partner of Allen & Gledhill, and leads the law firm’s corporate real estate practice. With the appointment, she will become a member of HSBC Singapore’s Audit and Risk committees. Bottomley is HSBC’s global head of Digital, Retail Banking and Wealth Management, a role he has held since May 2013. He has also held various senior appointments at Google and LexisNexis.

    HSBC said in June 2018 that Singapore was one of eight priority markets globally. In September 2018, HSBC Singapore said it would double the overall combined retail and private banking total wealth and hire more than 400 retail and private banking customer-facing employees over five years.

    Singapore is a growth market for HSBC and one where we want to build scale, and both appointments have a very strong and significant connection in support of delivering the strategy, Mukhtar Hussain, HSBC Singapore chairman and HSBC’s Asia Pacific head for Belt and Road Initiative, said about the appointments.

    Together, both will bring a very strong blend of experience, expertise and ambition in the oversight of HSBC’s Retail Banking and Wealth Management business in Singapore. Moreover, the appointment of such high-caliber individuals reflects the importance and rising prominence of the Singapore franchise for HSBC globally, Hussain added.

    Earlier this month, HSBC CEO John Flint, 51, announced his sudden departure after being at the helm for only 18 months, saying the bank needed a change at the top to address the «challenging global environment.» In the meantime, Noel Quinn, HSBC’s head of global commercial banking is holding the role of interim CEO.

  • Singapore retail sales slip in June

    Singapore retail sales slip in June

    Singapore retail sales – excluding motor vehicles – decreased by 2.7 percent in June, according to Statistics Singapore.

    The headline figure, which includes motor vehicles, was down 8.9 percent, reflecting the high volume of cars sold in June last year and a lower COE quota for May to July this year.

    Month-on-month, Singapore retail sales were down 0.4 percent, excluding vehicles.

    Online accounted for 5.5 percent of the S$3.5 billion in retail spending for June.

    Sales of furniture & household equipment declined 15.1 percent year on year, attributed to higher sales in the sector during last year’s Hari Raya festive season. Similarly, the computer & telecommunications equipment and watches & jewelry sectors reported sales down by 7.7 percent and 4.8 percent respectively, driven in part by lower demand for handphones and jewelry.

    Sales of medical goods & toiletries and of apparel & footwear both grew by 1.4 percent.

    Compared to the same period last year, sales of food & beverage services grew by 5.3 percent in June, estimated at $864 million, compared to $820 million in June last year.

    Sales by fast-food outlets grew by 10.6 percent compared to June last year, due partly to the opening of new outlets by some major fast-food chains. Food caterers, restaurants and other eating places (such as cafes)were up by between 3.2 percent and 5.7 percent during the period.

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