Malaysia, Singapore, deepen bilateral trade and investment push

Malaysia and Singapore have reaffirmed their commitment to deepen bilateral trade and investment relations. At the Third Annual Ministerial Dialogue (3rd AMD) held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on 1 October 2026, co-chairs YB Datuk Seri Johari bin Abdul Ghani, Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry, Malaysia and HE Gan Kim Yong, Deputy PM and Minister for Energy, Trade and Industry (Trade), Singapore discussed potentially greater collaboration in capacity building, technology and knowledge exchange, as well as stronger institutional linkages among relevant business chambers and industry associations.

Key Digital Economy achievements include the implementation of the Authorised Economic Operator Mutual Recognition Arrangement (AEO MRA); the launch of the cross-border DuitNow-NETS QR payment linkage, alongside PayNow-DuitNow real-time account transfers; as well as technical collaboration on cross-border e-invoicing.

Under the green economy pillar, key achievements include organising two capacity-building sessions for Malaysian and Singapore businesses to exchange knowledge and build sustainability capabilities to enhance export competitiveness; signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on Article 6 collaboration; and an MoU on cooperation in the field of cross-border carbon capture and storage.

With the successful completion of the three-year frameworks of cooperation (FoCs), both countries will carry this momentum forward through sectoral agency-to-agency cooperation, specific bilateral arrangements and relevant regional platforms, including the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone (JS-SEZ) and the ASEAN Digital Economy Framework Agreement (DEFA).

Both sides also agreed to explore opportunities for deeper cooperation, capacity building, and investment across halal-related sectors. Singapore is Malaysia’s second-largest halal export destination, with exports valued at RM7.1 B in 2025 according to the Halal Development Corporation*. 

The Ministers welcomed the progress of the Malaysia-Singapore Third Country Business Development Fund (MSBDF) since its update at the AMD two years ago. MSBDF supports Malaysian and Singapore businesses to tap complementary strengths and jointly explore new market opportunities. Beyond third-country business missions and feasibility studies, MSBDF also supported joint pilots between both countries for the first time – bringing businesses together to implement solutions in sectors of mutual interest. 

Both sides encouraged businesses and industry partners to leverage the MSBDF to develop commercially viable partnerships and undertake joint market-development activities in areas of mutual interest. They also looked forward to identifying further opportunities for Malaysian and Singaporean companies to collaborate and strengthen their competitiveness in regional and global markets.

On the sidelines of the 3rd AMD, the Ministers engaged the Malaysia-Singapore Business Council (MSBC) including the business community on practical measures to support more integrated cross-border business operations, including with the JS-SEZ. Recognising the private sector as an important partner in deepening bilateral economic integration, the Ministers welcomed their feedback and reaffirmed the importance of sustained public-private dialogue and address operational bottlenecks and translate policy cooperation into practical business outcomes.  

The 2nd AMD was hosted by Singapore in 2024. Singapore is Malaysia’s second-largest trading partner and an important source of foreign direct investment (FDI), while Malaysia continues to be Singapore’s third-largest trading partner. In 2025, Malaysia-Singapore total trade reached a record high of US$94.07 B, an increase of 8.5% compared to 2024 according to the Department of Statistics, Malaysia.

*October 1 2026. Presentation at the 3rd Annual Ministerial Dialogue between Malaysia and Singapore.

Singapore investors top in the world for AI adoption in finance

- More than three-quarters (76%) of Singapore mass affluent and high net worth (HNW) investors use AI for finance and investment tasks (73% global average)

- Gen X and Baby Boomer adoption in Singapore (both 72%) significantly outpaces global peers (65% and 59% respectively) 

- Despite high adoption, Singapore investors are among the most measured when it comes to acting on AI alone: 40% prefer a hybrid AI-then-adviser sequence before committing  

An HSBC survey from Ipsos* of 600+ Singapore mass affluent and HNW investors finds high AI use is paired with a strong preference for adviser-validated decisions. This group are using AI for finance and investment (76%) at a higher rate than the global average (72%), yet they continue to look to financial advisers to validate AI-generated insights before making investment decisions. 

The results point to an investor base that has embedded AI in its research workflow while placing a continued preference on expert human advice at the moment of decision, HSBC said.

These findings come as HSBC Singapore accelerates the roll-out of adviser-enabled AI, including Wealth Intelligence**, launched in September 2025, and AI Prepare***, launched in May 2026. Wealth Intelligence gives relationship managers access to insights and research from more than 10,000 sources, helping advisers arrive at client conversations better informed, while AI Prepare generates a client engagement pack in seconds. This reduces manual preparation for relationship managers, allowing them to focus on delivering personalised advice and strengthening client trust. 

HSBC and Google Cloud also announced a global multiyear AI partnership on 17 June 2026, with hyperpersonalised wealth management support among its three initial focus areas. The partnership is expected to enable more than 200 new AI use cases across HSBC's global operations within two years. 

The generational spread of that adoption is one of the more striking Singapore-specific findings. Gen X investors report AI use in finance at 72%, against a global equivalent of 65%. Among Baby Boomers, the gap is wider: 72% in Singapore versus 59% globally. AI engagement here is not concentrated among younger investors; it cuts across age groups in a way that distinguishes Singapore from most of the other nine markets surveyed. 

But AI adoption does not translate into reliance. Only 8% of Singapore investors say AI was the single most influential source in their last major investment decision, against 12% globally. And while 43% say AI has increased their appetite for taking calculated risks, that figure sits below the 49% global average, consistent with Singapore's positioning as a more measured market alongside the US (44%), UK (39%) and Taiwan (43%). 

Investors use AI to research and analyse (69%), for strategy support (44%), and to stress-test their own ideas (34%), then bring those findings to a professional adviser for reassurance (79%) and strategic expertise (71%). Four in 10 Singapore investors say their ideal approach is hybrid, with 57% preferring AI and advisers working together, above the global figure (50%). That preference holds across generations: 45% of Singapore Gen Z investors favour the sequence for generating new investment ideas, ahead of their global peers at 38%. 

Ashmita Acharya, Head of International Wealth and Premier Banking, HSBC Singapore, said: "Our new data tells us is that Singapore's investors are using AI in their financial decision-making with discipline. They are doing more of their own analysis, arriving at conversations better prepared, and expecting more of the professional advisers who help them as a result. That is not a challenge to the adviser relationship model; it is setting a higher bar for what good advice looks like.  

"Our investment in adviser-enabled AI, including Wealth Intelligence, AI Prepare, and our broader partnership with Google Cloud, gives our relationship managers the tools to work at the same level of rigour as the clients they serve, and to bring something to the conversation that AI alone cannot; deep experience, empathy, clear judgement and accountability for the outcome." 

Nine in 10 HNW investors in Singapore have embraced AI, compared with 82% globally. Singapore's wealthiest respondents attribute an average 40% of their investment returns over the past 12 months to AI influence, above the 31% average across all Singapore investors surveyed. At the same time, roughly two thirds (65%) say AI makes them feel more in control. These are clients who are already measuring AI's contribution to their portfolio performance; what they are looking for from their bank is a relationship that matches their level of sophistication. 

*HSBC's Human-AI Advantage study was conducted by Ipsos across 10 markets: Australia, Canada, France, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, UAE, UK, US and mainland China. A total of 9,993 mass affluent and high-net-worth investors participated, with fieldwork in January and February 2026. In Singapore, 609 respondents were polled (weighted). 'Mass affluent' is defined as having US$100,000 to US$2 million in investable assets. 'HNW' is defined as those with investable assets of US$2 million and above.

**Launched in Singapore and Hong Kong in September 2025, Wealth Intelligence is HSBC Private Bank's proprietary generative AI platform. It was built by in-house developers and is powered by OpenAI's large language model. The platform synthesises Chief Investment Office research and more than 10,000 external data sources to provide wealth management teams with real-time investment insights. It is being progressively scaled across HSBC's global markets.

***AI Prepare is HSBC’s AI-powered pre-meeting wealth engagement tool. It brings together a client’s financial overview, tailored talking points and investment insights into a single view. It helps wealth management teams prepare more efficiently for client meetings, supporting more informed and personalised client conversations. 

Look out for tokenised fund opportunities near you

A global survey by Calastone has uncovered a multi-billion dollar opportunity for tokenised funds, driven by a convergence between traditional asset management and decentralised finance (DeFi). 

The asset managers surveyed are increasingly tokenising their traditional funds – such as money market funds, private asset funds and mutual funds – and distributing them in tokenised form as the fastest route into digital assets, while the DeFi providers surveyed shared that DeFi platforms are seeking tokenised money market funds to manage their treasuries and retain investor capital. This alignment highlights tokenisation as the bridge between two financial ecosystems that have, until now, operated largely apart.

The research, conducted by ValueExchange for Calastone, surveyed asset managers worldwide and found:

• Tokenised fund assets under management (AUM) is projected to grow from US$4 B in 2024 to reach US$235 B by 2029, a 58-fold increase.

• Nearly a third (28%) of asset managers plan to distribute tokenised funds by 2030, up from 13% who plan to do so in 2026.

• Money market funds (MMFs) and private asset funds were the most favoured asset classes for tokenisation.

The study also surveyed DeFi and Web3 platforms to understand demand for tokenised products, and found that 50% expect their tokenised holdings will rise by at least 25% by 2030.

Today, most DeFi platforms still rely on traditional money market funds or bank deposits for their cash management, despite operating on decentralised rails. At the same time, the research reveals that DeFi investors are looking for access to these products on the venues where they already trade crypto, creating a dual layer of demand. 

Tokenised MMFs offer an attractive alternative, combining the safety, liquidity and yield of traditional products with Blockchain-native benefits such as on-chain settlement, integration with digital wallets, and the ability to transact in stablecoins.

In the Asia Pacific region (APAC):

• APAC is the region set for biggest growth in tokenised funds 

• At least eight in 10 (85%) APAC asset managers embrace tokenisation, compared to 77% globally

• Two thirds of APAC asset managers expect to use digital distribution platforms and exchanges to distribute their tokenised fund

• A third of Web3/DeFi platforms in APAC view tokenised funds as a future priority, rather than one that commands immediate strategic importance, whereas respondents from Europe and North America unanimously viewed tokenised funds as an immediate strategic priority

Adam Belding, CTO, Calastone said: “DeFi has created a new class of platforms and investors who want to access the same trusted products that underpin traditional markets - but in a way that fits their digital-native infrastructure. Our research shows treasuries are eager for tokenised money market funds to manage cash efficiently, while investors want access to them on the same venues where they hold and trade their digital assets. 

"Tokenisation provides the bridge, enabling asset managers to meet both needs with products that are immediately usable within the DeFi ecosystem. This is where supply and demand finally converge; we have reached a turning point where asset managers can leverage tokenisation to compete and win new customers in the DeFi space now.”

Calastone offers a Tokenised Distribution Solution that enables asset managers to bring tokenised versions of their existing funds to market quickly and efficiently, without needing to change their underlying infrastructure.

Dalio Market Principles Online Program launched globally

The Wealth Management Institute (WMI) has launched the Dalio Market Principles (DMP) Online Program globally in a move to democratise access to premier, practice-based investment management education worldwide.

Based on the research and insights developed by the investor Ray Dalio over five decades, the programme is designed to help learners understand the universal links driving markets and economies. Cutting-edge technology such as generative AI is used to provide an immersive digital learning experience that is accessible anytime and from any location.

“The world is changing in ways that we’ve not experienced in our lifetimes but have happened many times in the past,” said Dalio, who is Founder, CIO Mentor and Member of the Board, Bridgewater Associates. 

Source: WMI. A fireside chat at the global launch of the Dalio Market Principles (DMP) Online Program with Ray Dalio (left) moderated by Foo Mee Har (right).

“To deal with these changes well, investors need to recognise the deeper patterns of history and the underlying timeless and universal principles driving markets and economies. My hope for this course is that it provides this knowledge as well as an opportunity for investors to further refine their own investment principles." 

Foo Mee Har, CEO of WMI said: “With Singapore being a leading global wealth management hub, we are thrilled to introduce this first-of-its-kind investment education initiative. The Dalio Market Principles Online Program is designed to empower finance professionals and investors with a strong foundation for understanding the forces driving markets, enabling participants to build investment portfolios tapping drivers of differential asset returns, economic and currency cycles, and paradigm shifts. 

"Most importantly, this programme is designed to fully equip those aspiring to establish successful careers in various sectors of the finance industry.”

Participants will be able to ‘live through’ major market events as an investor or policymaker, assess how their expectations for the future and investment decisions measure up, and learn from mistakes. A Portfolio Simulator will enable them to create and stress-test portfolios, evaluating their investment performance across different macro scenarios with data from up to 40 major economies over the last 120 years.

Providing participants with a personalised learning experience, the Program’s Generative AI Tutor will guide learners through the curriculum. The Tutor can answer questions, generate quizzes, get feedback, and search through Dalio’s writings over the past decades to help participants to learn at their own pace.

In addition, participants will also gain opportunities to learn, network and thrive with peers and leaders from the industry. Through cohort-based activities such as discussion forums and live online workshops, participants will be able to glean multiple perspectives on investments and the financial markets from industry players from diverse backgrounds. There will be opportunities to apply for a Dalio Fellowship in the future.

Ideal participants include investors seeking to sharpen their insights, as well as finance professionals focused on asset management, wealth management, family offices, reserves management, and policy. The Program is accredited by the Institute of Banking and Finance (IBF), and eligible participants may receive up to 70% course fee subsidies. The Program is also SkillsFuture Credit claimable.

Economy affects retirement and rainy day plans in Singapore: OCBC

Source: OCBC. Average retirement ages by age cohorts.

Retirement planning and crisis plans have been pushed back in Singapore. With Singaporeans feeling the urgency to better manage their debt, 'planning for retirement’ was the indicator that saw the sharpest decline (40 compared to 47 in 2022), according to research from OCBC. The annual OCBC Financial Wellness Index which is in its 5th edition this year, surveyed 2,000 working adults in Singapore aged between 21 and 65 in August 2023.

Nearly eight in 10 (79%) Singaporeans either do not have a retirement plan or are not on track with their retirement plans – an increase from 71% in 2022, OCBC found. While it is not surprising that younger people in their 20s and 30s are further behind in retirement planning, one in three (34%) of those in their 50s and 60s are on track – a drop of 8 percentage points from 2022.

In addition, people are planning for their retirement later, even if they are older. Those in their 50s who have not started planning for their retirement stated that they intend to start preparing for retirement at age 60, which is 2 years later than the age this group quoted in 2022. Those in their 20s said they plan to start at 42 on average, 8 years later than their estimates in 2022.

At the same time, more are considering alternative retirement strategies. Nearly four in 10 (37%) of those who have not started on a retirement plan said they would work beyond retirement age, while 28% said they would retire overseas where the cost of living is lower. Nine percent said they would rely on their children to support them in their later years.

Singaporeans also fell behind on their ‘rainy day’ plans such as being able to defray major medical expenses or being able to meet their family’s financial needs for the next year. For example, only 42% of Singaporeans with dependents have accumulated enough funds to meet their family’s financial needs for at least the next one year – a drop from 50% in 2022.

More Singaporeans in their 50s (48%) and 60s (43%) with dependents had saved enough for this purpose. But these two groups also took a much bigger hit compared to younger Singaporeans, with a 14- and 24-percentage point drop respectively from 2022. This is most likely because they are sandwiched between tertiary institution-going children and ageing parents.

In contrast, this year, 31% (vs 41% in 2022) of those in their 20s and 46% (no change from 2022) of those in 30s with dependents had saved enough. Additionally, 84% of Singaporeans are putting aside at least 10% of their salary, a drop from 2022’s 91%. The average savings rate – the average percentage of monthly income saved – fell 5 percentage points, to 25% of one’s monthly income.

A larger proportion of Singaporeans also do not have at least 6 months’ salary as funds to overcome a crisis (53% this year compared to last year’s 46%).

Not surprisingly, fewer are investing this year, with only 79% of Singaporeans having investments versus 85% a year ago. The average rate of returns for Singaporean investors was slashed by half for another year running, to 0.4%.

Gen Zs and young Millennials had the highest proportion of investors who had losses – 40% of those in their 20s had negative investment returns. Taken in totality, the proportion of Gen Zs and young Millennials on track with their investment goals plummeted from 75% in 2019 to 32% this year. This could be attributed to a lack of rigorous research. One in five investors in their 20s (22%) seek investment-related advice and news only from social media channels and chat groups like TikTok and WhatsApp – the highest among all age groups, OCBC said.

"Many young investors in their 20s who lost money may not realise they have a blind spot either, with more than a third (35%) of them actively managing investments on their own, trading daily to profit from short-term price fluctuations," the bank stated.

At the same time, Gen Z and young Millennial investors were likely to have been impacted by international stocks investments, which have taken a pounding this year. Thirty percent of investors in their 20s invested in such stocks, the highest among all the age groups.

Non-traditional investments such as cryptocurrency and NFTs – once popular among young investors – have declined in popularity this year. In 2022, close to one in five (18%) of respondents in their 20s invested in cryptocurrency. Of these young crypto investors, two in five said that they would still be willing to invest in crypto within the next year, despite the volatility of the asset class in 2022. Yet just 6% of respondents in their 20s invested in cryptocurrency in 2023, likely due to adverse news including the collapse of a notable cryptocurrency exchange (FTX).

Qualified financial advice and the use of digital tools can uplift financial wellness, OCBC suggested. The Index found that getting proper help, whether in terms of advice or tools, had a positive impact on improving scores.

For instance, almost half (46%) of investors who seek qualified financial advice from financial institutions are on track with their investments. This is in contrast with those who do not seek advice from financial institutions, of these, only 35% are on track.

On average, investors who had sought qualified financial advice had a 3.3 times higher rate of return on overall investments compared to the national average. Those who did not seek advice, on average, reported a loss.

From the personality perspective, Singaporeans with ‘Emotional’ as their most dominant financial
personality trait have the lowest average Index score (54), performing especially poorly in areas such as having sufficient passive income, investing regularly and planning for one’s retirement.

Conversely, those with ‘Conscientious’ as their most dominant financial personality trait have the highest average Index score (64). While the average annual rate of return on investments for Singaporeans was 0.4%, this plunged to -0.8% for those who were dominant in the ‘Emotional’ trait but jumped to 1.4% for those who were ‘Conscientious’.

That said, the use of financial tools helped to uplift scores significantly for those with 'Emotional' as their dominant financial trait, OCBC shared. For example, the average score for a person who is dominant on the 'Emotional’ trait and who used a digital tool that provides an overview of their finances across the financial institutions they used, was 57. A similar person who did not use such a tool had the lower average Index score of 51.

OCBC’s Head of Group Wealth Management Tan Siew Lee said: “2023 has been yet another tough year, with the continuation of high interest rates, inflation and turmoil in the financial markets. All of these are reflected in this year’s results, with the Index at its lowest since we started in 2019.

"The silver lining is that Singaporeans are managing their debt better this year and are still saving well. These are virtues that Singaporeans must continue to practise, especially given the challenging outlook.

“Another simple step that Singaporeans can take is to understand themselves better. Our survey this year found that personality traits have a bearing on financial wellness. Taking the time to understand what traits they have, and the strengths and weaknesses associated with these traits, is therefore important. Only then can they find the right digital tools and solutions to bridge their shortcomings.”

AC Ventures: Investing in women-led business in Indonesia is worth US$421 B

Source: AC Ventures. Wong speaks at the Women’s CEO Forum.

Early-stage venture capital firm AC Ventures’ Managing Partner Helen Wong has called for actionable steps in supporting female investors, calling investment in Indonesia’s female founders an annual opportunity worth more than US$421 B.

Wong was speaking at the Women’s CEO Forum in Jakarta, an official sideline event of the ASEAN Business & Investment Summit (ABIS) 2023. Indonesia represents around 40% of ASEAN’s economy at large, and hosts over 64 million micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), representing 98% of all businesses in the nation. According to AC Ventures, more than half of these are estimated to be women-owned.

"In a market as vibrant as Indonesia's, women entrepreneurs are not just fulfilling a social role; they are key economic drivers. Our research indicates that investing in women-led businesses is not just the right thing to do, it's the smart thing to do," said Wong.

"Given that these businesses contribute significantly to the local economy – and keep it resilient during times of crisis such as the pandemic – we're looking at an untapped yearly opportunity worth hundreds of billions of dollars. As such, we need more female investors who understand this and are willing to take concerted action to back more female founders."

Wong added that AC Ventures has learned that diversity is a business imperative. "A balanced team brings diverse perspectives, leading to smarter investment decisions and more robust portfolio performance,” she said.

AC Ventures has a 50:50 gender-balanced team and 41% female leadership across its investment portfolio, reflecting its core ethos of promoting an equitable business environment for a better future in Indonesia.

PwC: Cambodia is ripe for foreign investment

Source: PwC. Aerial view of Phnom Penh.

A new outlook study titled Cambodia’s Infrastructure Market Update and Outlook, jointly produced by PwC Singapore and PwC Cambodia, highlights that Cambodia is poised for growth and remains attractive for foreign investment despite global economic headwinds.

The report aims to provide investors and financiers with insights into the potential for infrastructure investments in Cambodia, focusing on the latest market developments in key infrastructure subsectors. The report also highlights issues around connectivity between its economic nodes, integration with ASEAN and global transportation and economic networks – in ports, logistics, transportation and construction sectors – and outlines the potential pipeline for the players in these subsectors.

The Council for Development of Cambodia has identified six priority development sectors as drivers for future growth:

- Agrifood

- Automotive

- Electronics

- Textile and apparel

- Bike and parts

- Furniture and plywood

For Cambodia to fulfil its investment potential, PwC said that significant investment in infrastructure is required - US$28 B is estimated to be required between 2016 and 2040. Although the economy contracted due to COVID-19, the country is expected to grow at a CAGR of around 6% in the medium term - making Cambodia one of the fastest growing economies in the ASEAN region. Plus points for existing and future players include:

Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Law of 2021

The new Law on Public-Private Partnership is a step in the right direction as the country seeks greater private capital and efficiencies in infrastructure creation. With the enactment of the PPP Law, many bottlenecks in the infrastructure project pipelines could be eased by using incentive mechanisms.

Joint ventures with local players

The ability to find the right local partner is key to help foreign investors navigate various local factors including bureaucracy, business culture, and more. Cambodia has seen good growth in the asset portfolio of local players who have joined hands and diversified into new sectors.

Affordable long-term financing

The ability to raise affordable long-term capital to finance infrastructure projects remains a challenge. The combination of an increasingly competitive financial sector, larger play by multilateral financing institutions, willingness of local players to access capital markets, availability of guarantee products will enable supply to meet the expected growing demand.

Jennifer Tay, Infrastructure Leader, PwC Singapore said: “With significant development plans underway in the neighbourhood and geopolitical shifts potentially altering the capital flows within the ASEAN region, Cambodia is in a good position to capitalise on potential opportunities for sustained growth, further backed by the Royal Government of Cambodia’s commitment to reforms and growth.”

Singtel’s Dash and UOB Asset Management offer mobile robo-adviser with ESG option

Source: Singtel. Poster for UOBAM Robo-Invest.

Singtel has launched a new digital adviser by UOB Asset Management (UOBAM) on its Dash e-wallet platform. The launch enhances Dash’s suite of financial services offerings, which range from payments, mobile remittance, insurance and savings to investments.

UOBAM Robo-Invest is Singapore’s first robo-adviser on a mobile wallet and includes sustainable investing solutions among its offerings which are created by UOBAM exclusively for Dash customers. The robo-adviser aims to optimise and generate stable long-term portfolio returns through a hybrid investment strategy.

Dash customers can start investing with UOBAM Robo-Invest from as low as S$1 and at competitive annual advisory rates of 0.60% to 0.80%. Through the robo-adviser, they will be able to build a personalised, dynamic portfolio based on their risk profile, aggregate financial goals and investment horizon. 

UOBAM Robo-Invest currently offers two exclusive portfolio options – the Global and Global Impact portfolios that invest in a combination of actively-managed funds and passively-managed exchange-traded funds across diverse industries and geographies. In particular, UOBAM’s Global Impact portfolio is designed for customers seeking to grow their wealth in a smart and sustainable way. It provides them with investment opportunities in companies that integrate environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations into their strategies and operations. 

Based on insights from a recent UOB survey*, eight in 10 respondents in Singapore want more ESG-focused investment solutions so that they can help create a positive impact on the environment or society, while achieving financial returns.

Singtel’s collaboration with UOBAM, an Asia-based asset manager with more than 30 years of investment experience, gives consumers convenient access to affordable wealth management solutions using technology and furthers Dash’s goal to empower them to grow their wealth simply and smartly.

Gilbert Chuah, Head of Financial and Lifestyle Services at Consumer Singapore, Singtel said, “We hope to democratise finance by harnessing technology to offer an inclusive suite of high quality services. This new investment service delivers on our commitment to make it simple, affordable and convenient for Dash customers to manage their finances and build their wealth. Customers can also tap on the investment expertise of an asset manager with a strong track record of optimising returns.

"We look forward to working with UOBAM as well as other established ecosystem partners to introduce more relevant and related financial and lifestyle products on Dash in the coming months.”

Faizal Gaffoor, Group CMO, UOBAM, said, “Our collaboration with Singtel represents a step forward in the way we offer robo-advisory solutions to consumers. By embedding UOBAM Robo-Invest in the mobile wallet, we are providing Dash customers with easy access to professional investment expertise and experience that we have built over more than three decades. They can create their portfolios with just a few clicks and start their journey to achieve their personal financial goals.

"In forging a sustainable future, we are also glad to work with our likeminded partner, Singtel, to help their customers invest for both profit and purpose. We will continue to expand our range of services and solutions and to work with more partners to make investing more accessible and sustainable.”

Dash presently has some 1.2 million users and is available to everyone regardless of their telco or banking relationship.

Explore:

To register for UOBAM Robo-Invest, Dash customers have to first set up a UOBAM investment account within Dash which will be used to hold the investment capital. Customers can top up the account through eNETS or PayNow. The top-up mode will also be extended to include auto deduction via the Dash wallet by the first quarter of 2022.

*Source: UOB ASEAN Consumer Sentiment Study, December 2021. The study aims to provide a better understanding of ASEAN consumers at a time when the region is undergoing deep social and economic transformation. This is the second edition of the study that was completed in July 2021. Approximately 3,500 respondents from five ASEAN countries were interviewed, including 1,000 from Singapore and more than 600 each from Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam.

Nigel Green, deVere CEO: Bitcoin is better than gold

The Bitcoin rally stalled on heightening global worries about inflation, but, says the CEO of a financial advisory, asset management and fintech firms, it remains “a better shield than gold.” 

Nigel Green, founder and CEO of deVere said: “Bitcoin is perceived by many investors as a hedge against inflation due largely to its strict supply controls. 

“As such, it would be assumed that its price would automatically rise when the US central bank suggests that it would consider speeding up the reduction of its asset purchase policies that have boosted the stock markets. 

“But for other investors, including some major institutional investors who have piled into Bitcoin in recent months, the cryptocurrency is still perceived as a risky asset. 

“So when they sell-off riskier assets, despite the longer-term outlook and based on short-term hawkish policies from the world’s de facto central bank, Bitcoin, like equities, also becomes vulnerable.” 

On gold Green said: “Gold has always been regarded as the ultimate inflation hedge – but the world is a much different place now. Our lives and the global economy is increasingly run on tech and digital solutions and this megatrend is only set to become more dominant. 

“Gold is likely to be dethroned within a generation as millennials and younger investors, who are so-called ‘digital natives’, are going to be more comfortable with Bitcoin as a hedge than a physical metal,” he said.

According to Green, Bitcoin is also superior to gold as a medium of exchange or form of payment. 

“Unlike gold, it is a fixed unit of account and easily divisible and transportable. Gold is not easily immediately divisible, and there are potential issues with purity and verification. Whereas Bitcoin is easily traced on blockchain technology and this is going to be a considerable advantage, especially in cross-border transactions,” he pointed out. 

Green recommended that portfolios feature gold complementing Bitcoin. “But as the world continues to pick up momentum in its shift towards tech, and as millennials become a more dominant part of the world economy, we should expect Bitcoin to also take an increasingly influential role in financial markets, including in regards to being an inflation hedge,” he concluded.

Investors show confidence in crypto investment platform CoinMENA

Bahrain-headquartered CoinMENA has secured US$9.5M in its first seed funding round from investors such as BECO Capital, Kenetic, Arab Bank Switzerland, Bunat Ventures, Alameda Research, Rua Growth Fund and Girnas Capital.

Launched in early 2021 by Dina Saman, Talal Tabbaa, and Yazan Barghuthi, CoinMENA was built primarily to address a market gap that existed for easy and safe access to crypto investing. The onshore crypto exchange is licensed by the Central Bank of Bahrain, and has inked an agreement with the Dubai World Trade Centre to build the next Blockchain and crypto hub in the UAE.

CoinMENA's co-founders said, "With growing awareness about crypto assets and their transformative potential, appetite from both retail and institutional investors in the MENA region is growing at a rapid pace. Our strategic capital partnerships provide support for our vision to increase the adoption of crypto assets in the region in a regulated and seamless manner. We believe that this is a positive outlook for the crypto assets sector over the coming years both locally and globally."

Dany Farha, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of BECO Capital, stated, "We had been searching for a while for the combination of the strength of the team and depth of vision that the team at CoinMENA set out to build. We are very excited to partner with this stellar team in delivering financial inclusion, investing, and saving in a crypto native manner, in a hyper-local manner, all whilst being regulated and adhering to the highest levels of governance and compliance for all stakeholders."

Rani Jabban, MD, Arab Bank Switzerland, the sister company of Arab Bank, commented, "As a pioneering bank in digital assets with a strong foothold in the Middle East, we believe that our strategic partnership with CoinMENA will pave the way forward for greater adoption in the region."

Jehan Chu, Founder of Kenetic, said, "CoinMENA is positioned for explosive growth, and Kenetic is excited to lend our extensive experience and deep network to support them as they provide superior crypto liquidity and user experience in a new era of digital finance throughout the MENA region."

CoinMENA's investor BECO Capital is a technology-focused venture capital whose investments include MENA's three unicorns: Swvl, Kitopi, and Careem. Hong Kong's Kenetic is known for its investment in BlockFi, a crypto lending platform, and Securitize, a digital asset securities firm. Bunat Ventures is a venture builder and venture capitalist (VC) firm focused on incubating and investing in promising regional startups. Alameda Research, owned by crypto billionaire Sam-Bankman Fried, is a quantitative cryptocurrency trading firm that provides liquidity in cryptocurrency and digital assets markets.

CoinMENA's sign-up process can be done on its mobile app. The exchange's services are currently available to residents of Bahrain, UAE, KSA, Kuwait, and Oman.

2021 timing for annual Berkshire Hathaway Shareholders Meeting announced

A livestream of the annual Berkshire Hathaway Shareholders Meeting will be available exclusively on Yahoo Finance for the 6th year running. It will be the 2nd year that the event is hosted remotely due to the pandemic.

Source: Yahoo Finance. Berkshire Hathaway's Annual Shareholder's Meeting will be streamed live by Yahoo Finance.

This defining event for the business community worldwide features Berkshire Hathaway Chairman and CEO Warren Buffet, Vice Chairman Charlie Munger, Vice Chairman of Non-Insurance Operations Greg Abel and Vice Chairman of Insurance Operations Ajit Jain share their candid outlook on economic recovery, today’s markets, the company, and more.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has again led us to make changes to the annual meeting, but we’re delighted to be in Los Angeles with Charlie Munger and pleased to know that anyone who wants to watch the meeting can do so thanks to the worldwide streaming provided by Yahoo Finance,” said Warren Buffett, Chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway.

The global livestream will be available in English and Mandarin, with 100% closed captioning, and video on demand (VOD) replays available following the meeting. Audio replays will also be available via podcast on iTunes and other podcast stores.

Also for the first time, Yahoo Finance will also livestream the event on TikTok.

Details:

Yahoo Finance is available on desktop and mobile web via finance.yahoo.com, the Yahoo Finance app, Android TV, Apple TV, Fire TV, Samsung TV+, Roku and additionally on linear broadcast via Fios. 

The Berkshire Hathaway Shareholders Meeting will be livestreamed on 1 May ET (Sunday 2 May GMT+8) from:

• 12:30 pm ET (12.30 am next day GMT +8) Yahoo Finance pre-show
• 1:30 pm ET (1.30 am next day GMT+8) Q&A with Warren Buffett, Charlie Munger, Ajit Jain, and Greg Abel
• 5 pm ET (5 am next day GMT +8) Berkshire Hathaway business meeting
• 5:30 pm ET (5.30 am next day GMT +8) Yahoo Finance post-show

Hashtag: #YFBuffett

Top investment migration programme options for high net worth individuals

In response to the unprecedented global demand among affluent investors for residence- and citizenship-by-investment programmes as a means of overcoming the limitations and risks of being restricted to a single jurisdiction in the wake of COVID-19, Deep Knowledge Analytics and Henley & Partners have partnered to produce the Investment Migration Programs Health Risk Assessment

Source: Henley & Partners website. Illustration for the Investment Migration Programs Health Risk Assessment.

This digital publication features systematic analysis, interactive tools, and exclusive insights into how efficiently the countries that offer these programmes have performed during the global pandemic and the likelihood of them being oases for longevity in future.

Considering over 4,000 data points and 140 different parameters, the Investment Migration Programs Health Risk Assessment ranks the economic, social, and health stability achieved by 31 countries that host residence- and/or citizenship-by-investment programmes as well as the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats or risks that they face in the battle against the global health and economic crisis triggered by COVID-19.

Dr Juerg Steffen, CEO of Henley & Partners, said the report is an invaluable resource for those considering investment migration as a means of creating optimal value and mitigating risk in terms of where they live, work, study, and invest. “Understandably, the chaos and disruption that has been experienced worldwide over the past year has seen access to health security become a chief concern, and our high-net-worth clientele is no exception in this regard,” he said.

Dmitry Kaminskiy, Co-founder and Managing Partner of Deep Knowledge Group, agreed and pointed out that as the ‘health as the new wealth’ paradigm gains prominence among the global investment community, along with the notion that health, rather than wealth, is the most valuable asset class, we will see the ascendance of regions that promote both individual and institutional migration and relocation on the basis of prioritising wellbeing rather than capital.

“Within the next decade, we will witness the tax and wealth preservation havens of today transform into the longevity and healthtech havens of tomorrow, with citizens, investors, and companies alike choosing to relocate to longevity-progressive regions,” he said.

While the results reveal that Canada is the top-performing investment migration country out of 31 countries and territories studied in terms of health management and risk readiness. New Zealand is in 2nd position, and Australia narrowly behind in 3rd place. The UAE is in 6th place, ahead of Singapore, which is in 7th place and Hong Kong, which is 8th. Turkey is a joint 11th with Ireland.

Dr Parag Khanna, Founder and Managing Partner of FutureMap, said many countries can learn from the COVID experience and improve their health security while also undertaking other reforms to attract the next wave of investor migrants. “The investment migration programme options in the future may well grow rather than recede. Many countries have cleverly amended their visa policies on the fly during the pandemic, allowing tourists to become classified as nomads, nomads to convert into entrepreneurs, and entrepreneurs into residents.”

Kevin Bürchler, Head of Key Accounts at the Swiss Insurance Partners Medical Family Office, says it is evident that you can no longer rely on access to only one healthcare system, no matter how well developed it might be. “Securing residence through investment migration programmes in countries that rank highly when it comes to their government’s risk management and healthcare readiness is certainly a viable mechanism to improve your access to quality healthcare and therefore enhance your possible longevity,” he said.

Former US Ambassador to the Asian Development Bank and MD of advisory firm RiverPeak Group Curtis S. Chin said, “It is little wonder that entrepreneurs and investors looking to diversify their domiciles have also looked to this most dynamic region of the world. In the short term, borders are largely likely to remain closed, and governments are moving forward with vaccination programmes at a slow pace. But the long-term economic opportunity and quality of life of numerous Asia-Pacific nations remain key draws.”

The UAE has the highest emergency preparedness score of all 31 countries. Turkey was bolstered by its impressive government efficiency score - the second highest of all the citizenship-by-investment countries.

Regional tensions in the Middle East have been easing in the first few months of 2021, with governments moving towards cautious cooperation. Dr Robert Mogielnicki, a Resident Scholar at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington, said, “Rather than engaging in direct and costly disputes, governments with available resources are jockeying for regional influence in the COVID era. In the UAE, governments at the federal and emirate levels have rolled out several long-term visa schemes and a legal pathway to citizenship in an effort to retain and attract the talented expatriates needed for robust economic growth.”

Kaminsky said, “We can expect to see a ‘new normal’ of small, technocratic nations that selectively promote both personal and institutional citizenship to individuals, companies, and investors committed to advancing longevity-related technologies in exchange for access to some of the world’s most sophisticated and progressive healthcare, life insurance, medtech, healthtech, longevity fintech, agetech, and wealthtech ecosystems.”

Dr Steffen concluded, “Participating in a residence- and citizenship-by-investment programmes can be seen as an investment in physical and financial longevity — one that can provide a safe passage to health security in an alternative location should the need arise. By investing in a suite of programmes, investors and their families are also automatically endowed with an extended range of options for themselves and their families, including healthcare.”

Goldbell Evolution Network sees nearly S$1 million in funds for floor stock financing

Goldbell’s private debt investment platform, Goldbell Evolution Network (GEN), has raised S$900,000 for the launch of its new floor stock financing product. GEN, pronounced as “ghern”, provides alternative investment opportunities into private debt for accredited investors, family offices, business owners and professionals.

Floor stock financing is a short-term asset-backed revolving line of credit used by automotive dealers to finance the purchase of vehicles displayed on showroom floors (or lots). This pre-approved facility limit allows dealers to request for multiple drawdowns on the credit line and as the inventory is sold, the loan is repaid. Until then, the inventory remains as collateral for the loan.

According to Goldbell, floor stock financing provides greater security to investors as 100% of the loan is collateralised through a transfer of title and ownership to Goldbell Financial Services (GBFS), the arm of Goldbell that runs and managed GEN. GBFS is nominated as the co-insured and loss payee of all insurance policies on all floored vehicles. In addition, the GEN platform allows a short-term loan investment tenure of six months and investors have the option to receive their principal in full or rollover their loan investments in full or in part upon each loan maturity.

Launched in November 2019, 90% of GEN’s loans are secured against property-related assets in Singapore. Over the last six months, GEN has expanded their asset-backed verticals to include other assets like equipment. With the successful launch and fund raising for their first floor stock financing vertical, GEN has now added vehicle-backed assets to their list of offerings for investors.

CEO of Goldbell Financial Services Alex Chua attributes the well-received launch of their first stock financing product to several factors. He said, “Investors are looking for more secure and yet alternative investments during this pandemic, to diversify their portfolios. Floor stock financing is such an option. However, floor stock financing was traditionally offered by credit companies directly to vehicle companies. Through GEN, private investors are now able to take part in such investments.”

GEN sends details of potential investments to GBFS’ base of pre-approved and accredited investors and opens up investment opportunities for these investors to take part in with the purchase of “investment lots” of a predetermined amount per lot. GEN’s technology tracks individual investments and aggregates them to create this peer-to-peer (P2P) lending network which is a speedy and powerful way for investors to take part in numerous business deals that would traditionally be unattainable or unavailable to individual investors. P2P also helps business owners with additional access to funding, providing this opportunity of raising credit for their businesses and helping them to ride through the pandemic.

GEN’s first floor stock financing deal company, Bell Auto*, will now have access to a new line of credit to finance their business operations through the pandemic. Founded in 2018, Bell Auto is a commercial vehicle wholesaler in Singapore.

“Bell Auto’s business approach is centred on constant innovation. We’ve opted to raise credit through GEN a P2P platform because it allows greater flexibility and a longer loan tenure with the same interest rate as other private financing companies. We see this as an opportunity to help us ride through the pandemic, create even more value for our customers and emerge stronger,” said Ong Kheng Kwang, Bell Auto’s Sales Director.

“We intend to expand our range of used vehicles to help more local SMEs access to affordable secondhand vehicles.”

“Floor stock financing is a great way for investors to take part in the development of better industry practices in the automotive industry. With access to funds, automotive dealers will be able to invest in longer-term, more sustainable and profitable solutions for their businesses,” added Chua.

“With our GEN platform, we allow many more investors to play a meaningful role in the betterment of society by giving them access to a wider range of responsible investments. GEN will continue to seek for investment verticals that we can restructure with GEN technology and methodology to create more of such impactful investment options.”

Goldbell is Singapore’s largest industrial vehicle leasing company, with a fleet size of up to 8,700 vehicles in Singapore. GBFS has disbursed over S$777 million as of 31 July 2020, with a non-performing loan rate of less than 0.15%.

Goldbell Financial Services dedicates itself to providing clients with new and innovative financial solutions. It supports automotive, asset-backed and working capital loans. Currently available in Singapore and Malaysia, plans are also under way to offer Goldbell Financial Services in other markets, such as Cambodia.

Goldbell Group is Singapore’s largest player in leasing and distribution of commercial and industrial vehicles. Literally a driving force behind Singapore’s growing economy, Goldbell has been providing industry-wide transport and logistic solutions – passenger and commercial vehicles, as well as material handling equipment – for nearly four decades. The company’s diversified business portfolio operates under three main business pillars: distribution, leasing, and financial services, which deliver vehicle and equipment sales, leasing, financing, aftersales service, spare parts, insurance, and equipment usage training, as well as fleet management services.

*Permission has been obtained from Bell Auto to share their profile in the announcement.

ICBC term deposits offered via Alipay

The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), the world’s largest bank in terms of assets, is now offering three-year term deposit services via Alipay, the digital lifestyle platform.

Alipay and ICBC have been collaborating since 2005 to offer online payment services to users. In January 2020, ICBC launched a one-year term deposit service via Alipay, enabling customers to purchase one-year term deposits directly through the platform. As of May, the bank has witnessed a sevenfold increase in the scale of the service.

The new three-year term deposit service has an annual interest rate of 3.79% and can be found on the Alipay platform under the name of Anxin Cun (Secure Deposits). The font size of the landing page has also been enlarged to ensure the service is easily accessible to elders.

ICBC is accelerating its digital transformation process to integrate more use cases for its users and provide more comprehensive services. In December 2019, ICBC, Alibaba Group and Ant Financial Services Group sealed a partnership to deepen their cooperation in fintech and financial services. Under the agreement, the three parties will work together more closely and improve the quality of fintech offerings by using smart technologies and product innovation.

Tiger Trade app to help users invest in US, HK stocks

· Tiger Brokers offers commission rates from US$0.99 excluding brokerage and exchange fees

- Tiger Brokers Singapore is offering new users a chance to win free stocks

Tiger Trade, a mobile trading application by Tiger Brokers, has launched in Singapore. The mobile trading application helps users invest in US and Hong Kong securities, futures and options.

Tiger Trade provides access to the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), the world's biggest stock exchange with a market cap of US$23.3 trillion (S$32.28 trillion) and NASDAQ, which has a market cap of US$13 trillion (S$18.09 trillion). The app also provides access to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, the third-largest Asian stock market with a market cap of US$4.9 trillion (S$6.81 trillion), with plans to enter the Singapore Exchange in the next quarter.

Targeting the mobile-savvy younger generation of retail investors, Tiger Trade offers commission rates from US$0.99 excluding brokerage and exchange fees. This lowers the barrier of entry to help investors better diversify their portfolio, the company said.

Wu Tianhua, CEO of Tiger Brokers shared, “With Tiger Brokers’ rich broker-dealer experience and Tiger Trade’s dynamic mobile application, our investors will be able to make more informed decisions and better manage their investment portfolio anywhere, anytime.

“We take pride in our proprietary technology. Tiger Trade's efficient and robust interface creates a user-friendly and seamless experience for our users from account opening to trading right at the fingertips.”

The app features complimentary real-time stock quotes, a dedicated multilingual customer service during trading hours, and 24x7 finance news updates. The application also includes artificial intelligence-driven data screeners*, and easy-to-analyse trading charts.

Eng Thiam Choon, CEO of Tiger Brokers Singapore said, “As Singapore positions itself to be the fintech hub in Asia and beyond, Tiger Brokers could be the solution to address Singaporeans’ appetite for investment, helping them to diversify their portfolio into international markets at competitive cost rates.

“Having the platform in the form of a mobile application aligns with the mobile-savviness of our users. Coupled with a high per capita income and Singapore’s excellent telecommunications infrastructure, it is an opportune time for Tiger Brokers to enter the Singapore market.”

Tiger Brokers has over 600,000 customer accounts as of 30 September 2019 worldwide, in countries such as Hong Kong and New Zealand, with almost US$26.8 billion in trading volume over the period of July to September 2019. 2020.

Details

The Tiger Trade mobile application is available for download at the Apple App store and Google Play store. New users have a chance to win free stocks valued between S$2.50 to S$1,000 by opening a trading account from now till 31 March.

*A data screener is software that acts like Google for stocks. This helps traders pinpoint suitable equities out of the many available stocks according to user-defined criteria.

Is it time to invest in cryptocurrency?

Source: Statista. Bitcoin price index from November 2016 to November 2018 (US$).

Cryptocurrencies underwent a lot of growth in 2017, but not so much in 2018. Is that boom and bust? A number of cryptocurrency players weigh in:

Source: Dash. Taylor.

“The market cap of the entire sector is now the same as it was in September of 2017. What is often overlooked is that use continues to grow and innovation remains robust by nearly any measure. Bitcoin’s transaction count is now the highest it’s been since January. Dash - the project I support - has seen transaction counts double over the past year even as prices have declined. Silently, speculation is ceding to real-world use.

“Nonetheless, speculation and price volatility abound in the cryptocurrency space, and yes, quite a number of questionable projects will fail next year. The same could be said of the dotcom bubble at the turn of the century. Yet even as the market prices of internet stocks were crashing, Internet traffic continued to rise and businesses continued to build better online experiences. I believe we are witnessing a similar story play out in cryptocurrency today. If cryptocurrency truly were a 'flash in the pan' Ponzi scheme, as many detractors would have you believe, transactions would not have continued growing when encountering the headwinds of a falling market.

“I believe that 2019 will see a continuation of adoption, innovation, and exploration of new use cases. There will be a massive number of failures and a handful of incredible successes along the way. Many painful lessons, and many new models for success will emerge from these results. Digital assets are clearly not for the faint of heart, but they are aren’t going away as long as people value financial freedom, privacy, and independence. Needless to say, I don’t think cryptocurrencies are going away anytime soon.”

- Ryan Taylor, CEO of Dash Core Group

"There were significant technological advances throughout 2018, particularly in the privacy space – where we saw the first implementations of bulletproofs in cryptonote coins result in a 90% reduction in transaction size and a 95% reduction in fees.

Source: Loki. Jeffreys.

"In 2019, treasury management is going to become a very important aspect of all cryptocurrencies’ outlooks. Projects that raised at the all time high of the cryptomarkets and did not liquidate into fiat or diversify into stablecoins will now be feeling the pinch as their initial raise will have seen a loss of up to 90% of its initial value.

"We have already seen prominent projects in the space cut staff, with Steemit having to let go 70% of its employees due to the bear market hitting new lows. If the bear market continues, many ICOs will have to face the same reality. It's unclear if this will stifle innovation, perhaps what ICOs need the most is not money, but the conviction and clear ideologies which often produce the most innovative ideas.”

- Kee Jeffreys, Co-founder and Tech Lead at Loki

“Regardless of the upcoming advent of tokenised securities, I see a promising future for utility tokens. Utility tokens will play an important role in capital raising for censorship-resistant, and distributed applications, with prediction markets and distributed computing being some of the applications already underway.

Source: Brave New Coin. Delfin.

“With regards to market saturation, both evolutionary and market dynamics will dictate the fate of the cryptocurrency ecosystem. Crypto assets with the strongest network effects will certainly dominate the space, while undifferentiated assets could fade away. These are still the early years of a nascent asset class.

“2019 is poised to be the year of tokenised securities, meaning that the underlying technology might be the one taking the centre stage next year. However, it would be unwise to leave the first killer app, cryptocurrency, of the underlying technology out of the picture.”

- Raphael Delfin, Head of Research at Brave New Coin

“There is a future for utility tokens, but such tokens will come from protocols with broad possibilities and large infrastructure, not so much on the niche utility-for-a-single-service side. The next bull run will likely be built on securities token offerings (STOs) in which regulated businesses tokenise large swaths of known asset classes, or even equity in small to medium size ventures that enter the crowdfunding space.

Source: Horizen. Viglione.

“The dominant pressure will be less stable projects going away until we see a broad market recovery. This is already happening with smaller projects simply ceasing any development and closing shop. Some big projects are announcing large reductions in personnel and growth activities, so everyone is affected. Consolidation in terms of mergers and acquisitions would be an interesting new dynamic in this industry. Maybe in the next market cycle we’ll have more mature organisations that can use mergers and acquisitions (M&A) to grow in such a downturn.

“Bitcoin has already changed the world as a currency, that realisation is just not so evenly distributed! What we’ll see in 2019 is continued development of a new type of public infrastructure. The private applications of Blockchain technology will continue development, but expect rather limited marginal impact. We still need to make all these systems more secure, scalable, and better governed.”

- Robert Viglione, CEO and Co-Founder of Horizen

“The future of cryptocurrency is certainly a dynamic one; despite current conditions, 2018 saw endorsements from traditional financial powerhouses such as Fidelity and Nasdaq, which will naturally provide a huge push for cryptocurrencies in the new year.

“As institutional investors, high net worth individuals, and family offices continue to monitor and take cryptocurrency seriously, and with regulators working to improve standards and guidelines for adoption, I expect that the market will mature in parallel. If the industry can continue to shift gears and direct its attention towards this narrative of growth, I think it’s very likely that we will see a comeback in 2019.

Source: NGC. Lim.

“In a bull market, there’s always a greater opportunity for quick wins, so naturally more cryptocurrencies and Blockchain-based projects emerged in the market at its peak, with companies and investors acting in fear of missing out.

"However, the benefit of operating in today’s bear market is that, more often than not, projects now come with good intentions and understand the importance of developing compelling use cases, building strong leadership teams, and making continued improvements in order to demonstrate their validity. With competitiveness rising, the Blockchain industry is bound to undergo some sort of consolidation and the projects best equipped with a 'survival of the fittest' mentality are the most likely to succeed.

“We will also see increased commitment to academia. Higher education institutes such as the University of California, Berkeley and National University of Singapore’s CRYSTAL (cryptocurrency strategy, techniques, and algorithms) Centre, are already involved in R&D and nurturing developers needed to propel the entire Blockchain ecosystem.”

- Roger Lim, Founding Partner at NEO Global Capital (NGC)

“I think 2019 will be a more stable year for cryptocurrencies, I expect that some of the regulatory uncertainty will be resolved, opening the door to companies who’ve been interested but reluctant to get involved with cryptocurrency and Blockchain previously.

“I expect that the major cryptocurrencies will make advancements in both on-chain and layer 2 scaling, improving their usefulness and reducing the need for altcoins, the number of which I expect to massively decline over the next 12 months. In terms of price, I’ve been in the space for over five years and couldn’t call it. I would hope that as use cases and capacity increases, so too does adoption.”

- Oliver Carding, Co-Founder of Crypto Kaiju

Source: Zilliqa. Dong.

“On the cusp of every new year we ask ourselves ‘will this be the year we witness mainstream adoption?’ Although I would not promise that 2019 is the year, we will see a wave of widespread use cases in 2019 as organisations looking to implement and develop Blockchain applications become more focused. So it is very likely that we will see some compelling use cases emerge.

“I envision tokens that bring real value-add for users to lead the charge in 2019. For example, I think tokens that award users for content generation and community participation, tokens that enable decentralised payments, and tokens that drive low-cost smart contracts have huge potential.

“As entrepreneurs and enterprises introduce and implement Blockchain technology, a major stumbling block the industry faces is the balance between scalability and security. 2019 may indeed be the year we address the existing challenges, see traction for the technology beyond the testnet phase, and welcome many far-reaching dApps.”

- Xinshu Dong, CEO of Zilliqa

Source: Wachsman. David Wachsman.

“We will see consumer-grade dApps deployed far beyond the traditional borders of the crypto ecosystem and mainstream financial services institutions going into production with well-tested Blockchain infrastructure.”

- David Wachsman, CEO & Founder of Wachsman

Glossary:

Altcoin: cryptocurrency that isn't Bitcoin.

Bear market: a bear market is one where prices are falling or on their way down. In contrast, a bull market is a market where the prices are rising or on their way up.

Bulletproof: a way to shrink the size of confidential transactions in cryptocurrencies.

DApp: a decentralised application, typically run on a decentralised network with trustless protocols.

ICO: an initial coin offering, similar to an initial public offering (IPO), where investors help a cryptocurrency issuer raise funds by buying tokens. Tokens can change in price after the ICO. They can serve different uses, depending on the issuer of the ICO, but only after they decide that the project has prospered enough to do so.

Layer 2: a wave of advanced solutions that would allow many more cryptocurrency transactions to take place in real-time without the whole system slowing to a crawl or making transactions cost much more.

Network effect: A cryptocurrency can be valued in terms of the number of network nodes it can command. Such a node can be a user of that cryptocurrency. If only one person holds that cryptocurrency, it is useless. There need to be enough users so that transactions in that cryptocurrency can take place meaningfully. The more users there are, the more valuable the service is to everyone using it, and the more attractive it is to potential users – the number of users on Facebook is an example of this. At some point enough users attract more users and more places which are willing to accept the cryptocurrency and so on, which could make it difficult for other cryptocurrencies to gain marketshare.

On-chain transactions: transactions that are recorded on the Blockchain.

Ponzi scheme: a scam which sounds too good to be true. Early investors are paid high returns from the money invested by later investors, as opposed to actually growing the investment.

Stablecoin: a cryptocurrency that is designed to have a more stable price, for example by being pegged to the value of something else, like a conventional currency.

STO: Security token offerings have been proposed as a better way to raise funds compared to ICOs. A security token promises some form of ownership in the issuing company or its assets.

Trustless: The distributed, secure and transparent nature of Blockchain means that there is no need to trust individual parts of the system while trusting that the transactions will occur and be verified.

Utility token: Utility tokens are sold during an ICO and come with a promise that they can be used to buy goods and services offered by the company behind the ICO. The tokens can end up useless if the cryptocurrency project fails.

Singapore, Kazakhstan promote bilateral trade

Singapore and Kazakhstan have exchanged a bilateral investment treaty to support greater investment flows between both countries.

The treaty protects the interests of investors from Singapore and Kazakhstan and gives them more confidence to leverage investment opportunities in either country. Under the terms of the treaty, Singapore companies operating in Kazakhstan will enjoy protection on their investments on top of that already accorded under Kazakhstan’s domestic laws, and vice versa. The Kazakhstan-Singapore treaty will also grant investors from both countries:

 Non-discriminatory treatment compared to other foreign investments (most favoured nation treatment);

 Fair and equitable treatment and full protection and security based on customary international law;

 Protection from illegal expropriation*;

 Non-discriminatory compensation for losses arising from war, armed conflict and civil strife;

 Freedom to transfer capital and returns in and out of country; and

 Access to international arbitration for investment disputes.

Singapore's Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry Dr Koh Poh Koon commented that there is still headroom for bilateral trade growth. “Emerging markets such as Kazakhstan have strong potential for growth. Kazakhstan’s rapidly improving economic reforms, highly literate workforce and growing urban middle class present opportunities for Singapore companies. I strongly encourage our companies to venture into Kazakhstan and the rest of Central Asia,” he said.

2018 marks 25 years of bilateral relations for the two countries, Dr Koh revealed in a speech at the Kazakhstan-Singapore Business Forum. "Kazakhstan’s forward thinking leadership embraced globalisation early on, participating in the ebbs and flows of shifting global supply chains, and linking markets from Europe to Asia. Kazakhstan stands at the crossroads between the East and West, and the North and South. As the world’s economy moves East, Kazakhstan can be a key node connecting China, Central Asia, Europe and possibly even Southeast Asia," he said.

"The opening of the Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC) in July this year is a notable step that could help build up Kazakhstan as a Eurasian commercial and financial node that would eventually serve as the pathway for investments and other economic opportunities in the region." 

Kazakhstan is Singapore’s most significant economic partner among the five Central Asian states of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Tajikistan. Minister Koh said bilateral trade in goods amounted to S$133.6 million last year, while bilateral trade in services grew 16% over the last five years to reach S$40 million in 2016. Bilateral investment grew approximately 30% over the same five-year period.

Kazakhstan is also part of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), a customs union formed by Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan. Singapore is in the process of negotiating a free trade agreement with the EAEU and will build on the current agreement as a foundation to the negotiations.

*This refers to a public sector authority taking property from a private sector owner for public use or benefit.

MoneySense steps up financial education initiatives in Singapore

MoneySense, Singapore’s national financial education programme has rolled out new initiatives to encourage the public to check if their finances are in good shape.

A Financial Planning Attitudes Survey commissioned by the MoneySense Council (chaired by MAS and the Ministry of Manpower) found that only three in five Singapore residents have started planning for their future financial need. Those who have not done so felt that it was still early to start, did not know where or how to start, or did not think they had enough money to start. This finding was common across respondents from all ages.

To equip Singaporeans with the knowledge and skills to plan and manage their finances effectively, new initiatives will be implemented under the MoneySense programme:

- An online financial health check tool on a refreshed MoneySense website to help Singaporeans assess their financial health, identify gaps, and take steps to plug these gaps

The Financial Health Check questionnaire enables Singaporeans to assess their financial health in the areas of money management, insurance, investment, as well as retirement and estate planning. Customised recommendations will be provided to help them address the gaps identified.

For example, Singaporeans who want to improve their savings habits can take part in the Pledge to Stash initiative. Pledge to Stash is a commitment to themselves to save before they spend, by setting up a recurring transfer to automatically save into a dedicated savings account every month.

Singaporeans will also be able to able to access “starter packs” on the refreshed MoneySense website to work on identified weak areas to improve their financial health.

Enhanced services at government touchpoints

HDB will provide more information for home buyers and owners to consider different home loan financing and repayment options to help them save on interest payments while the CPF Board has strengthened its existing Retirement Planning Service - one-on-one sessions aimed at helping CPF members understand the CPF schemes and to plan ahead - to help CPF members who are turning 55 years old to understand their options in unlocking the value of their HDB flats for retirement.

These are 

- MoneySense annual campaign and roadshows. The MoneySense annual financial education campaign will run from November 2018 to February 2019. The focus is of this year’s campaign is to encourage Singaporeans to take the MoneySense Financial Health Check. Visitors to the MoneySense roadshows will find out how to put their Financial Health Check recommendations into action. Complimentary one-to-one financial health clinics are also available for those who would like more detailed discussions on their Financial Health Check recommendations.

Details:

Roadshows will run at:

8–9 December 2018: HDB Hub, Toa Payoh
12–13 January 2019: Canopy@J-Link, Jurong East
26–27 January 2019: Kampung Admiralty