Daily Briefing: Luxury apartment sales hit 11-year high in January-August; Advance.AI raises $80m in series C round

And Mitsubishi may slash its earnings forecast after US$320m loss by a rogue oil trader.

From CNBC:

Sales of Singapore apartments worth at least $10m (US$7.3m) have hit an 11-year high, fuelled by increased demand from Chinese millionaires seeking safe-haven assets, say property consultants OrangeTee & Tie.

In the first eight months of 2019, 68 condominium units in the wealthy Asian city-state were sold for $10m and more, the highest tally since the corresponding period of 2008.

Sales of such apartments also exceeded the numbers racked up for each full year from 2011 to 2018, the consultants’ analysis of transaction data shows.

Read more here.

From DealStreet Asia:

Singapore-based artificial intelligence and big data company Advance.AI, which uses AI technology to assist banks and other businesses in e-KYC, fraud detection, and credit scoring, has raised $80m in its Series C funding round led by Temasek-backed Pavilion Capital and Banyan Capital.

The round was also joined by Unicorn Venture, eGarden Ventures and existing investors like GSR Ventures and Vision Plus Capital.

According to a statement, the funds will be invested in research and development (R&D) and driving its expansion across Asia.

Read more here.

From Bloomberg:

A US$320m loss by a rogue oil trader at Mitsubishi Corp.’s Singapore unit will likely prompt the Japanese company to cut its full-year net income forecast, SMBC Nikko Securities Inc. said.

"While the losses should be one-off, they will weigh on earnings in the second quarter," analyst Akira Morimoto wrote in a note dated Sept. 20. Against a backdrop of recent declines in coking coal prices, it seems likely that the firm will have to cut its full-year net income guidance of JPY600b (US$5.6b), he said.

Read more here.

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