Singapore Dollar to Rise 10 Percent to Record $1.38, BNP Paribas Predicts

(Bloomberg) -- The Singapore dollar may rise 10
percent to a record in a year as an influx of tourists and
bankers supports economic growth, BNP Paribas SA said.

The currency may reach S$1.38 per dollar by June 30, passing
the record of S$1.3835 reached in 1995, as the Monetary Authority
of Singapore seeks gains to curb inflation, said Thio Chin Loo,
senior foreign-exchange strategist in Singapore at France's
largest bank by market value.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Singapore Petroleum Enters Oil, Gas Exploring Venture With China National

(Bloomberg) -- Singapore Petroleum Co., the only oil
refiner traded on the city state's stock exchange, will explore
for oil and gas with China National Offshore Oil Corp. in its
first venture off the Chinese coast.

Singapore Petroleum will operate and own 100 percent of
Block 26/18 in the Pearl River Mouth Basin in the South China Sea,
while China National has the right to take a stake of as much as
51 percent should a discovery be made, the Singapore company said
today in a statement.


Read more at Bloomberg Energy News

HK financier Francis Leung joins CVC as adviser

(Reuters) - Leung, a long-time banker to Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing with close China ties, was with Citigroup Global Markets as chairman of Asia until last year focusing on developing Citigroup's Greater China investment banking business, CVC said.




CVC, which is a major shareholder in global motor racing business Formula 1, owns interest in Australia's media group PBL Media, Japan's restaurant chain Skylark, Singapore's precision metals stamping firm Amtek, Malaysia's largest paper packaging firm GS Paper and Packaging, and Chinese wood fibreboards maker Plantation Timber Products.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Barclays Raises ABN Offer to $93.4 Billion With China, Singapore Funding

(Bloomberg) -- Barclays Plc, vying to buy ABN Amro
Holding NV in the biggest banking takeover, raised its offer to
67.5 billion euros ($93.4 billion) after securing investments
from the governments of China and Singapore.

Barclays's revised bid is worth 35.73 euros a share and
includes 37 percent cash, the London-based company said today,
4.3 percent more than its previous offer. The bid remains lower
than the 38.40 euro-a-share offer made last week by a trio of
banks led by Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc.


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News

Gold Little Changed in Asia After Reaching Two-Month High; Silver Advances

(Bloomberg) -- Gold was little changed in Asia after
reaching the highest in more than two months, supported by the
euro's gain to a record against the dollar and crude oil's
advance last week to near a one-year high. Silver rose.

Gold generally moves in the opposite direction to the U.S.
currency, which slid to a record low of $1.3845 per euro today
amid concern about U.S. loans to homeowners with poor credit.
Crude oil was little changed at $75.53 a barrel at 11:04 a.m.
Singapore time, after climbing to $76.13 a barrel on July 20, the
highest since Aug. 10.


Read more at Bloomberg Commodities News

New Zealand Dollar May Drop as Housing Boom Cools, Standard Chartered Says

(Bloomberg) -- New Zealand's dollar, the best
performing currency against the yen in the past year, may slide
from a 21-year high as the nation's property market cools,
according to Standard Chartered Bank.

The currency known as the kiwi may fall 3 percent to 93.94
yen and to 77 U.S. cents by Dec. 31, said Callum Henderson, head
of global currency strategy in Singapore. The central bank may
pause after raising its 8 percent benchmark rate on July 26,
because mortgage costs will be high enough to stifle housing
demand, a Bloomberg News survey shows.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News