Daily Briefing: SIA keeps 'open mind' on Air India bid; Bank of Singapore eyes family office business expansion

And the worst could be over for Singapore's banking blue chip stocks.

From Reuters:

Singapore Airlines said it has an open mind about making an initial bid for a stake in state-run Air India, SIA general manager for India David Lim said in an interview with Reuters.

"India said last week it would invite initial bids this month for a stake in the flag carrier. The cabinet approved the sale last year after successive governments poured billions of dollars into the indebted airline.

'India is a strategic market for Singapore Airlines. We have an open mind,' David Lim, general manager for India, said in an interview when asked whether Singapore Airlines would bid."

Read more here.

From Bloomberg Finance:

In an interview with Bloomberg, Bank of Singapore CEO Bahren Shaari said the company is eyeing the expansion of its family office business as Singapore welcomes more ultra-rich investors.

"'We are seeing increasing demand for families moving into the next generation to set a proper structure in place to manage family wealth,' Chief Executive Officer Bahren Shaari said in an interview Thursday. 'Singapore is promoting that, to let families use it as a base to manage their investment activities globally.'

Bank of Singapore’s expansion will heighten competition with European firms like UBS Group AG and Credit Suisse Group AG, who’ve long dominated this space. Singapore family offices had average assets under management of $857m in 2017, nearly double the Asia-Pacific average of $445m, according to a survey of 262 such offices in a UBS/Campden report."

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From ZUU Online via Yahoo! Finance:

ZUU Online discussed the possible outcomes of investing in Singapore's banking blue chip stocks in 2018 as the worst is finally over for the three banks.

"Robust economic growth and rising interest rates have helped DBS Group, OCBC, and UOB post better than expected financial results, and in turn strengthening investors’ confidence in the capital markets. With the three stocks trading near all-time highs, expectations are high among investors and analysts that the stocks will continue to power high as rising wealth continues to boost net income. Accelerated economic growth and rising U.S interest rate should help support the three bank’s performance in 2018.

Rising rates should allow the banks to charge more on loans thus boosting their net interest income. Rising wealth is another factor that should help support and sustain a move by the banks to raise interest on loans."

Read more here.