https://www.scmp.com/rss/523245/feed The latest news and top stories on Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation, headquartered in Singapore. OCBC is involved in commercial banking, wealth management and insurance services, serving individuals, large corporates, SMEs and high-net-worth clients across Southeast Asia and Greater China. OCBC is the second largest bank in Southeast Asia by assets. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Peggy Ye Peggy Ye Escalating tensions in the Middle East could redirect global wealth flows and support demand for Hong Kong property, as investors seek stable financial hubs amid rising geopolitical uncertainty, analysts say. The shift comes as global wealth migration increasingly reshapes luxury property markets from Sydney to Dubai and Hong Kong. Citigroup said in a report released on Monday that prolonged instability in the region could prompt capital and talent to move out of the Middle East. The report said... https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3346217/hong-kong-property-could-gain-middle-east-turmoil-reshapes-global-wealth-flows?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3346217/hong-kong-property-could-gain-middle-east-turmoil-reshapes-global-wealth-flows?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 11 Mar 2026 09:00:08 +0000 Mark Footer Mark Footer The Hong Kong International Literary Festival is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year (March 1 to 8), marking a quarter of a century of bringing some of the most famous – and in some cases, most quirky – authors to the city. Among those with more than one story to tell have been: Bonnie Tsui: most recent book: On Muscle: The Stuff That Moves Us and Why It Matters (2025) It was perhaps inevitable that Tsui would publish her 2020 book Why We Swim, which explores the global history and... https://www.scmp.com/postmag/culture/article/3344849/hkilfs-literary-legend-visits-through-years?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/postmag/culture/article/3344849/hkilfs-literary-legend-visits-through-years?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 27 Feb 2026 07:16:56 +0000 Bloomberg,Reuters Bloomberg,Reuters Indonesian Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa pushed back at Moody’s Ratings’ decision to lower the country’s outlook, saying that the nation’s improving growth and controlled deficit were unlikely to result in a credit rating downgrade. “Our economy is improving, deficit is still under control – compared to other countries, we are still in a better position,” Purbaya told reporters in Jakarta on Friday. “There are not strong enough reasons for a downgrade. In fact, we should gradually see... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3342597/danantara-indonesia-urges-reform-policy-consistency-after-moodys-warning-shot?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3342597/danantara-indonesia-urges-reform-policy-consistency-after-moodys-warning-shot?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 06 Feb 2026 04:01:02 +0000 Cheryl Arcibal Cheryl Arcibal Surging mainland Chinese investment in Hong Kong’s commercial real estate sector has helped set the stage for a “measured recovery” in 2026, according to Colliers. Investment from the mainland rose to the highest level in five years in the last quarter of 2025, and deal value in 2026 was set to increase by 10 per cent, Colliers said. In the luxury residential segment, mainland capital accounted for about 80 per cent of transactions exceeding HK$100 million on The Peak and in Southern district,... https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3339783/mainland-chinese-money-drive-10-rise-hong-kong-commercial-property-deals-colliers?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3339783/mainland-chinese-money-drive-10-rise-hong-kong-commercial-property-deals-colliers?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 14 Jan 2026 03:00:14 +0000 Peggy Ye Peggy Ye Major financial institutions, including Citi and Bank of America, are increasingly optimistic about Hong Kong’s residential property market this year, as lower mortgage rates and strong leasing demand change buying behaviour. Citi raised its home price forecast to 8 per cent this year, up from 3 per cent in October, citing a faster-than-expected rebound last year. “[There will be] further acceleration in 2027 under a multi-year upcycle,” said Griffin Chan, an analyst at Citi Research, on Friday.... https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3339616/hong-kong-property-citi-lifts-forecast-after-morgan-stanleys-upgrade?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3339616/hong-kong-property-citi-lifts-forecast-after-morgan-stanleys-upgrade?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 12 Jan 2026 10:47:59 +0000 Enoch Yiu Enoch Yiu Wealthy families will continue to use Hong Kong to set up family offices for succession planning and diversifying their investments in 2026, thanks to its vibrant market and government incentives, according to the Hong Kong CEO of Bank of Singapore. The bank, which is the private banking unit of Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation (OCBC), has a bullish outlook after it reported very strong performance in 2025, according to Rickie Chan, who is also the bank’s head of private banking for Greater... https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3338709/hong-kong-gains-favour-platform-wealth-planning-family-offices-2026-bank-ceo?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3338709/hong-kong-gains-favour-platform-wealth-planning-family-offices-2026-bank-ceo?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 05 Jan 2026 23:30:09 +0000 Enoch Yiu Enoch Yiu Leading banks from Southeast Asia and the Middle East – including OCBC, Bangkok Bank, First Abu Dhabi Bank and Qatar National Bank – have joined the Hong Kong Monetary Authority’s (HKMA) expanded yuan liquidity facility, underscoring the city’s push as a global offshore renminbi (RMB) business hub. The HKMA said on Monday it had doubled the quota it allocated to banks under the Renminbi Business Facility to 100 billion yuan (US$14 billion) from December 1, the maximum allowed under the... https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3338044/ocbc-bangkok-bank-first-abu-dhabi-join-hong-kongs-us14-billion-offshore-yuan-scheme?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3338044/ocbc-bangkok-bank-first-abu-dhabi-join-hong-kongs-us14-billion-offshore-yuan-scheme?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 29 Dec 2025 10:30:54 +0000 Ushar Daniele Ushar Daniele In dark blue suits, the elders of the Khoo clan gathered outside the prayer halls of the Leong San Tong Khoo Kongsi, a grand 190-year-old clanhouse in George Town, the capital of the Malaysian state of Penang. One by one, they stepped inside for the Tung Chen ceremony, held annually on the first day of the winter solstice, a ritual that draws together members of the Khoo clan, one of the oldest Peranakan communities, from far beyond Penang. As smoke filled the air, Khoo Kay Hock, a senior... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3337783/honouring-ancestors-shaping-empires-story-southeast-asias-peranakan-chinese?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3337783/honouring-ancestors-shaping-empires-story-southeast-asias-peranakan-chinese?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 27 Dec 2025 08:00:16 +0000 Kolette Lim Kolette Lim After finishing his postgraduate studies in May, Tan Kwan Ann expected the job hunt to be difficult, but not so disheartening. The 33-year-old, who specialised in structural biology at Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University (NTU), sent out more than 600 applications while waiting for the formal conferment of his doctorate, but heard back from almost none of them. “It seemed like I was excluded from society and made me feel very lousy. It made me question if it was my fault that I chose to... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3337546/singapores-young-graduates-feel-heat-draining-job-hunt?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3337546/singapores-young-graduates-feel-heat-draining-job-hunt?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 24 Dec 2025 05:00:14 +0000 Bloomberg Bloomberg Singapore police have arrested a US-sanctioned man who operated a superyacht for the alleged mastermind of one of Asia’s largest scam networks. Nigel Tang Wan Bao Nabil was taken into custody on December 11 after he returned to Singapore, according to a police statement on Thursday. Tang is currently out on bail, according to people familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified for sharing non-public information. Tang was arrested for his “suspected involvement in money laundering... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3336990/singapore-arrests-us-sanctioned-yacht-captain-linked-tycoon-chen-zhi?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3336990/singapore-arrests-us-sanctioned-yacht-captain-linked-tycoon-chen-zhi?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 19 Dec 2025 02:54:05 +0000 Bloomberg Bloomberg An options market gauge showing the cost to hedge against declines or advances in the yuan has turned neutral for the first time in more than 14 years. So-called one-year risk reversals for the offshore yuan-dollar currency pair have fallen below zero to the lowest since July 2011, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The level indicates that traders are now paying about the same amount to hedge against yuan strength as they are against its weakness. The turnaround has taken place as China’s... https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3334055/yuans-long-term-hedge-costs-equalise-first-time-2011?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3334055/yuans-long-term-hedge-costs-equalise-first-time-2011?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 25 Nov 2025 06:35:54 +0000 Jean Iau Jean Iau Under the floodlights of a street football pitch dotted with cement-covered potholes, 69-year-old retiree Lilian Sek beams as she whacks a hollow orange plastic ball through the night sky in the southern neighbourhood of Telok Blangah in Singapore. Behind her, a laminated sign on the back of the court reads “Please lower your volume” and reminds players of the quiet hours between 10.30pm and 7am for those living in the public housing flats that overlook the court. Sek, a former administrative... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3331988/fun-or-nuisance-singapores-pickleball-fever-leaves-neighbours-edge?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3331988/fun-or-nuisance-singapores-pickleball-fever-leaves-neighbours-edge?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 08 Nov 2025 05:30:08 +0000 Jean Iau Jean Iau Every month, Rachel Tan, a 53-year-old Singaporean tutor, boards a bus across the 1km (0.6 mile) causeway for a day trip to Malaysia’s Johor state, where she stocks up on groceries and treats herself to lunch and a film. Thanks to streamlined immigration procedures, she rarely needs to present her passport, using a QR code to pass the checkpoint before catching a complimentary shuttle bus that whisks her to R&F Mall. The entire day out, including shopping, typically costs her about 300 ringgit... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3329452/why-singaporeans-are-flocking-malaysias-johor-food-and-leisure?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3329452/why-singaporeans-are-flocking-malaysias-johor-food-and-leisure?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 19 Oct 2025 00:00:15 +0000 Aidan Jones Aidan Jones Thailand’s protracted political crisis has taken another messy turn as the conservative establishment, seeking to break a parliamentary deadlock after the ousting of yet another prime minister, reaches out to the very reformists it once sidelined. The People’s Party, whose bold pro-democracy agenda electrified voters at the last general election but unnerved the country’s elite, now seemingly holds the keys to the country’s next government. The ruling Pheu Thai party, meanwhile, was on Tuesday... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3324027/thailands-next-pm-will-pro-democracy-peoples-party-reformists-decide?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3324027/thailands-next-pm-will-pro-democracy-peoples-party-reformists-decide?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 02 Sep 2025 07:38:35 +0000 Bloomberg Bloomberg Ora Beach on Indonesia’s Seram Island is framed by tropical vegetation and dramatic limestone cliffs, the waters are aquarium-like, and there is nary an influencer with a smartphone in sight. It is a Maldives experience for a fraction of the price. Some 1,600 kilometres (990 miles) away in Bali – not that there is any direct flight – traffic snarls around temple corners, the air is thick with noise pollution from motorbikes, plastic rubbish is matted into gutters, and the surge of visitors has,... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3321426/want-cheap-maldives-holiday-indonesia-problem-getting-there?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3321426/want-cheap-maldives-holiday-indonesia-problem-getting-there?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 11 Aug 2025 23:15:12 +0000 Bloomberg Bloomberg At Singapore’s universities, undergraduates are fighting for the golden ticket they believe will get them a coveted banking job years later: membership in a campus finance club. Lengthy interview rounds and days of working on PowerPoint slides have become de rigueur as a gloomier job market in the banking and trading hub raises the stakes for college students seeking a career in finance. “It’s low-key crazy – it’s quite absurd how competitive it is,” said Maya, a social sciences graduate from... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3317657/inside-singapores-cutthroat-campus-finance-clubs-where-10-get-and-stress-runs-high?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3317657/inside-singapores-cutthroat-campus-finance-clubs-where-10-get-and-stress-runs-high?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 10 Jul 2025 06:03:52 +0000