Daily Debrief: What Happened Today (Amended)

Average Singaporean saves 9 years more for retirement than predecessor did, says report

The average Singaporean starts saving for retirement at 32 and continues for another 29 years, nine more years than their predecessors who saved an average of 20 years and started later at age 39.

Malaysia central bank surprises by cutting benchmark rate by 25 basis points

Malaysia's central bank surprised markets by cutting its key interest rate by 25 basis points to 3.00 per cent on Wednesday, saying uncertainties in the global environment could weigh on the country's growth prospects.

Private home rents flat, HDB rents dip 0.3% in June: SRX

Rents for private non-landed homes were flat in June compared to May, while that for public housing flats dipped 0.3 per cent from a month ago, according to SRX Property.

Ex-CEO of BSI Bank in Singapore sues firm over bonus amid 1MDB probe

Hanspeter Brunner, BSI's former Asia chief who's under scrutiny from Singapore prosecutors over the bank's ties with Malaysian state firm 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB), has sued the Swiss private bank after his bonus was frozen.

NEA and NTU to develop new waste-to-energy incineration research facility

To support the research and commercialisation of waste-to-energy (WTE) technologies here, the National Environment Agency (NEA) has signed a collaboration agreement with Nanyang Technological University (NTU) to co-fund the development of a S$40 million WTE research facility.

GIC invests in real estate fund which has acquired Hyundai Logistics Distribution Centre for US$130m

Singapore sovereign investor GIC has invested in a real estate fund which acquired the newly built Hyundai Logistics Distribution Centre, located in the city of Icheon, South Korea, for US$130 million from LogisKoel, the developer of the asset.

Corporate Earnings

The STI Today

Singapore stocks close higher as STI gains for third straight session

With markets in "risk on" mode, the Straits Times Index (STI) on Wednesday added more distance between itself and its 2016 starting point of 2,882 when it closed with an 8.83-point gain at 2,910.65, thus bringing its rise for the year so far to 28 points or about one per cent. It was the STI's third consecutive gain for the week.

Amendment note: An earlier version of an excerpt in this debrief incorrectly stated that Hyundai Logistics Distribution Centre is located in the city of Incheon, South Korea. GIC has since corrected its news release and said that the centre is located in Icheon. The excerpt in the debrief has been revised to reflect this.