Daily Debrief: What Happened Today

Grab, Singapore Airlines announce reward points conversion, booking partnership

Grab and Singapore Airlines (SIA), in a joint announcement said that starting Oct 3, members of Grab's GrabRewards programme will be able to convert their GrabRewards points into SIA Krisflyer miles.

Acra may gain powers to inspect firms in Accountants Act review: Indranee

The Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (Acra) may be empowered to conduct firm-level inspections of public-accounting firms and mete out sanctions as part of a review of the Accountants Act, Senior Minister of State for Law and Finance Indranee Rajah said on Tuesday at the Singapore Accountancy and Audit Convention 2017.

GuocoLand joint venture wins Beach Rd site bid; promises 'futuristic' mixed development

A 70:30 joint venture between GuocoLand and Guoco Group has been awarded a 99-year leasehold commercial site at Beach Road, Singapore's Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) announced on Tuesday.

Ezion lays out refinancing terms for S$575m notes, perpetuals

Ezion Holdings before trading hours on Tuesday, sought support from security holders towards pushing out principal redemption for notes and cutting coupon rates on notes and perpetuals (see amendment) totalling S$575 million in principal values.

Local firms' promptness in paying bills slips in Q3 2017

Local firms' payment performance improved in Q3 2017 compared to a year ago, but their quarter-on-quarter performance has dipped, according to data from the Singapore Commercial Credit Bureau (SCCB).

GIC consortium cements earlier geothermal energy investment with tie-up

A consortium of investors including an affiliate of GIC has tied up with the parent company of the geothermal energy producer it earlier invested into. The consortium, known as Philippines Renewable Energy Holdings Corp (PREHC), had in August launched a voluntary offer to acquire up to 31.7 per cent of Energy Development Corporation (EDC) for about US$1.3 billion.

Singapore regulator, OCBC, HSBC, MUFG create 'Know Your Customer' blockchain prototype

OCBC Bank, HSBC and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG), along with the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA), have become the first consortium in South-east Asia to develop a prototype for a Know Your Customer (KYC) blockchain, the parties said in a joint release on Tuesday.

Jaya calls off Heduru Moni reverse takeover; to be delisted from SGX

Cash company Jaya Holdings will be delisted from the Singapore Exchange (SGX) after calling off a reverse takeover deal that failed to receive regulatory approval.

The STI Today

Singapore stocks finish lower; traders switch out of local banks into China banks in HK

Despite a jump in the Dow futures, the Straits Times Index (STI) was weak throughout Tuesday's session, most likely due to traders switching out of Singapore banks and into China banks trading in Hong Kong (or H-shares as they are known), following news over the weekend that the People's Bank of China has cut its reserve ratio requirements for banks that provide loans for small businesses.