Daily Briefing: Singapore's January exports fall; OCBC rallies on earnings surprise

And Oxley to launch 207-room hotel in Kuala Lumpur.

The decline in Singapore’s exports deepened in the first month of the year, clouding the economic outlook before the next monetary policy decision due in April. Non-oil domestic exports fell 9.9 percent in January from a year earlier, worse than the median estimate of a 7.6 percent drop in a Bloomberg News survey and the 7.2 percent decline in December, a government report showed Wednesday. Read more here.

Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp.rallied after fourth-quarter profit rose more than analysts anticipated. Shares of its two large Singapore rivals fell. The bank’s stock surged Wednesday by the most in almost six months following the release of an exchange statement showing net income climbed 21 percent on higher interest and trading income as well as gains from life insurance. Find out more here.

Singapore-listed Oxley Holdings will launch a 207-room hotel and 590-key serviced residences in Kuala Lumpur under the So Sofitel brand. Both the So Sofitel Kuala Lumpur Hotel (pictured)and the So Sofitel Kuala Lumpur Residences will be part of a mixed-use development which include a retail mall, office tower and two luxury hotels with residences. Read more here.