Household net worth grows further in Q2, rising 8.9% as liabilities fall
Singapore households’ net worth continued to grow in the second quarter of 2023, despite a slowing housing market weighing on residential asset values. This came as household debt dipped further, with mortgage loan value falling off amid the current higher interest rate environment.
According to data from the Singapore Department of Statistics, household net worth – that is, assets less liabilities – rose 8.9 per cent year on year to S$2.7 trillion at the end of Q2 2023. This outpaced the increase in Q2 2022, which came in at 7.5 per cent. In Q1 2023, the figure was 8.2 per cent.
Singapore Exchange’s Veteran ECM Head to Leave as Unit Revamps
Singapore Exchange Ltd.’s global head of equity capital markets is departing as the bourse merges the unit with its debt capital markets and corporate client coverage divisions.
Mohamed Nasser Ismail, who has worked at the exchange for the past 18 years, will leave at the end of October for other opportunities, the exchange said, in response to queries from Bloomberg News. The merged capital markets unit will be led by Koh Jin Hoe, currently executive director for global sales and origination, and Matthew Song, head of corporate and institutional client coverage, according to the bourse.
Foreign firms speeding up growth plans in Singapore and Asean: HSBC survey
International companies are more optimistic about their prospects in South-east Asia and are looking to scale up through mergers and acquisitions (M&A), a survey commissioned by HSBC Commercial Banking showed.
Foreign businesses expect sales in the region to grow by 23.2 per cent over the next 12 months, compared with 20.1 per cent in last year’s survey.
Nearly a quarter of foreign businesses said they were planning to significantly increase growth from M&A in 2023, with three in 10 expecting to do so in 2024.