The Business Times Telegram Channel Link

Anthropic works to bring frontier AI models ‘on soil’ in Singapore, signs government pactThe Claude developer is building its team here, but there are no plans for a research operation – for now.https://bt.sg/spMq

Malaysia court rejects Najib’s bid to suspend additional 15-year sentence in separate 1MDB caseNajib may soon be transferred to house arrest following a royal pardon in a separate case.https://bt.sg/w4cVU

AI is moving faster than the infrastructure powering it, panellists sayMicrosoft, Keppel executives say the AI boom is forcing new approaches to power and data centre investment.Brought to you by Shellhttps://bt.sg/Bc4p

Singapore growth to stay firm, but AI boost to moderate in 2027: MASIn the near term, strong orders for AI products and an increase in production capacity “should sustain firm growth in the technology-related sectors”, says MAS.https://bt.sg/L3fp

Asean companies keen on AI for business benefits, despite its energy costsAlmost four in five South-east Asian businesses believe AI’s benefits outweigh its energy demands, despite rising costs and infrastructure pressures.The Business Times Insights: Powering Asean’s Future 2026 – the second regional survey by BT and Kantar – found that businesses in Singapore, Vietnam and Thailand were the most optimistic.https://bt.sg/vR2N

Hongkong Land in talks with Ong Beng Seng’s HPL for stake in Orchard Road buildings: sourcesA potential deal may involve the voco Orchard hotel, Forum mall and HPL House.https://bt.sg/xHFd

Singapore to build digital bunkering data ecosystemThe system will reduce intermediary handling and provide greater assurance over the integrity of transactions.https://bt.sg/oYBQq

Microsoft hits first record in a year after US$1.4 trillion rally; shares soar 54% from June lowThis caps a dramatic rebound for the firm that months ago was among the S&P 500 Index’s worst performers.https://bt.sg/5jEei

Vietnam’s race for growth tests pace of energy transition: experts“When you grow very fast, you need much more growth in energy than in GDP (gross domestic product),” says an industry watcher, underscoring the urgent demand for more renewables and cleaner technologies.https://bt.sg/KSaD

DBS downgrades SGX to ‘hold’, lowers target price to S$20On Tuesday (Oct 13), analyst Rui Wen Lim said the downgrade reflected easing growth momentum in both equities and derivatives after two years of record performance, leaving the stock’s valuation looking “lofty” ahead of SGX’s first-half results.https://bt.sg/bnH5

Family offices ‘kept captive’ by relationship managers turn to independent advisers, direct dealsThe extent of this shift largely depends on a family office’s scale, say industry players.https://bt.sg/Fmc7

Start your day with BT ☕️:Stocks to watch: Kore, Parkway Life Reit, Raffles Education, Vin’s Holdings https://bt.sg/8AHqTop stories:1. Companies: Private banks intensify efforts to build Singapore talent bench as wealth sector booms https://bt.sg/ubaL2. Opinion: Looking beyond looming CEO succession, should UOB potentially pursue a transformative merger? https://bt.sg/dPN43. Singapore: IMDA expands digital support for SMEs https://bt.sg/oeVi6

MAS holds policy settings, pausing after two straight tighteningsCore inflation forecast for 2026 narrowed to 1.5 to 2% as MAS sees price pressures easing from mid-2027.https://bt.sg/g89u

Singapore’s GDP grows 5.4% in Q3, supported by electronicsManufacturing sector up by 7.5% year on year in 3 months to September, from 12.9% in Q2.https://bt.sg/Cmcg

“Three hours queuing just to get fuel”: Bali runs low on fuel, sparking long lines at pumps“It is exhausting and frustrating, especially when you depend on your bike to get to work,” said Christine Nababan, a Sanur-based catering business owner who spent nearly three hours queuing to refuel her motorbike, disrupting her work transporting food around the island.https://bt.sg/pCDX

AI agent platform Drylab AI raises US$3 million seed round from Vertex Ventures and PatSnap“This funding will help us accelerate adoption and build powerful, locally deployed intelligence that enables scientists to move from biological questions to validated discoveries faster,” John Phan, co-founder and CEO of Drylab tells BT's Benjamin Cher.https://bt.sg/aeoZA

City Plaza owners in private talks after close of S$970 million en bloc tenderThis is the third en bloc attempt by the freehold development.https://bt.sg/oymBH

People are just wasting money: Intel, Broadcom CEOs on companies tokenmaxxing“Today, most companies out there cannot find any bloody return on investment on AI. I’m telling you people are just wasting money,” said Broadcom CEO Hock Tan at the DBS Asia Future Forward Conference, during a dialogue with Intel CEO Tan Lip-Bu on where the next trillion dollars of AI investment will come from.https://bt.sg/KrCY

Gridlock or growth? The Asean Power Grid faces a critical window of opportunityMore than 70% of business leaders say progress on the Asean Power Grid would make them more willing to invest and expand in the region, according to a BT-Kantar survey of more than 500 regional decision-makers.However, the bloc faces a critical window of opportunity to agree on standards and frameworks that can actually turn vision into action.https://bt.sg/HHQN

PODCAST: Investing for a 100-year life? Genevieve Cua speaks with Pictet’s Victor Aerni about the endowment model, private markets, and why time — not timing — is your greatest investment advantage.This episode is produced in collaboration with Pictet Wealth Management.🎧 Listen here: https://bt.sg/id4Mf#btpodcasts #wealthbt #btcorrespondents