Daily Briefing: OCBC beats estimates with 21% profit gain; UOB profit barely rises

And Singapore turns colonial airstrip into hub.

Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp.’s fourth- quarter profit rose 21 percent, more than analysts estimated, on higher interest and trading income as well as gains from life assurance. Net income climbed to S$960 million ($683 million) in the three months ended Dec. 31 from S$791 million a year earlier, Singapore’s second-largest bank said Wednesday in a statement. That exceeded the S$877 million average of seven analysts’ estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Read more here.

United Overseas Bank Ltd.’s fourth-quarter profit barely rose as swelling expenses and provisions for bad loans capped gains in income. Net income gained 0.3 percent to S$788 million ($564 million) for the three months ended Dec. 31 from a year earlier, Singapore’s third-biggest bank said Tuesday in an exchange statement. That matched the average estimate of seven analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. Find out more here.

Asia’s ascent toward the top of the world’s aerospace market is being powered by a former colonial airbase in northern Singapore. Once known for making mosquito coils and hair wigs, Singapore is now a hub for manufacturing the massive engines propelling Airbus Group SE’s superjumbo A380 and Boeing Co.’s Dreamliner. Read more here.