Daily Briefing: Why traditional firms may not be replaced by tech startups; Aspial Corp to list property arm in Singapore

And EU court ruling unlikely to derail Singapore trade deal.

From Motley Fool Singapore: New technology startups have been all the rage in recent years. Computers defeated a human champion at the complex ancient Chinese board game, Go, for the first time ever last year. Some companies are making strides in artificial intelligence and virtual reality. Traditional businesses in the taxi and hotel industries are being threatened by relatively new companies such as Uber and Airbnb. These developments raise the important question for investors: Are traditional businesses doomed to fail? Not necessarily. Here are three reasons why traditional businesses are still here to stay.

From PropertyGuru via Yahoo!: In an effort to raise funds for working capital as well as property purchase and construction, Aspial Corporation Limited plans to spin off its property development division by floating it on the Catalist board of the Singapore Exchange (SGX). Aspial Corp, which operates pawnshops and jewellery stores, carries out its property development business in Malaysia and Australia through World Class Global, whose Non-Executive Chairman Koh Wee Seng is also the CEO of the parent firm. Koh’s brother-in-law Ng Sheng Tiong is the Chief Executive of the subsidiary.

From Bloomberg Markets: A ruling by the top European Union court that all national parliaments should ratify a free-trade agreement with Singapore is not expected to kill the pact, even if the added hurdles delay its implementation. The EU Court of Justice said approval from national legislatures was needed in addition to support from top European bodies to enact the pact with the Southeast Asian city-state. That’s because the court found that several provisions in the agreement -- such as dispute settlement -- applied to matters shared between the bloc and its member states.