Singapore

Trafigura Group’s head of power trading in Asia has left the commodities giant, Bloomberg News reported. Ben Ernst, who managed a team of traders out of Trafigura’s Singapore office, left after almost two years in the role, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing private information. He had previously spent 13 years at ERM Power, now Shell Energy Australia. Trafigura’s Asia power book is said to have struggled in turbulent conditions, according to the people.

Singapore on Monday announced new work visa rules to woo foreign talent as the Asian financial hub looks to bolster its recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, Reuters reported. The measures include a new five-year visa for people earning at least S$30,000 ($21,445.42) a month that allows holders to job for multiple companies at one time and grants their spouses eligibility to work. The new visa will be available from January.

Three Arrows Capital Ltd.’s liquidators secured a key court decision in Singapore that may give them greater insight into the collapsed crypto hedge fund’s remaining assets in a major jurisdiction, Bloomberg News reported. The Singapore High Court on Monday granted a petition by advisory firm Teneo, which in June was appointed by a British Virgin Islands court to liquidate Three Arrows, to recognize the liquidation order in the country, the people said, asking not to be named as the proceedings were private. Teneo is trying to round up and preserve the hedge fund’s assets.

Commodity trader Noble Group Ltd will pay a S$12.6 million ($9.03 million) penalty for releasing 'misleading' information in its financial statements between 2012 and 2016, the Monetary Authority of Singapore said on Wednesday, Reuters reported. The company, which was once the biggest commodity trader in Asia, saw its market value all but wiped out from $6 billion in 2015 after accusation of inflating its assets, forcing it to sell billions of dollars of assets, taking hefty writedowns and cut hundreds of jobs.

Cryptocurrency lender Hodlnaut, which is mired in financial woes, said that there are “pending proceedings” between the firm and the Singapore authorities, although it did not reveal more, the Straits Times reported. In a statement issued on Friday, it said the proceedings involve the Attorney-General’s Chambers and the Singapore Police Force, adding that it is unable to disclose any further information on the matter. In response to queries, the police said they are "unable to comment on the case as the matter is before the courts".

Asia cryptocurrency exchange Zipmex Pte Ltd was granted more than three months of protection from creditors by Singapore’s High Court, giving the troubled firm breathing room to come up with a funding plan, Bloomberg News reported. Justice Aedit Abdullah gave each of the five Zipmex entities a moratorium until Dec. 2. That will shield the companies from potential creditor lawsuits. The firm operates out of Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia and Australia and was seeking a five-month protection from creditors to form a restructuring plan.

Crypto exchange Zipmex will release Ethereum and Bitcoin tokens from this week, a spokesperson said on Monday, allowing 60% of its customers to retrieve their digital assets after a suspension of withdrawals from its Z Wallet product, Reuters reported. The Singapore-based Zipmex, which also operates in Thailand, Australia and Indonesia, in July halted withdrawals from Z Wallet, which it said had $53 million worth of cryptocurrencies exposed to Babel Finance and Celsius. Ethereum will be released on Thursday and Bitcoin on Aug. 16, the company said.

Hodlnaut, a Singapore-based crypto currency lender and borrower, has suspended withdrawals, swaps and deposits, the company said on Monday, the latest sign of stress in the cryptocurrency industry, Reuters reported. The crypto lender also said it would withdraw its application for a licence from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) to provide digital token payment services, for which it received in principle approval in March. Hodlnaut said the move was "due to recent market conditions" and was "to focus on stabilising our liquidity and preserving assets".

Crypto lender Vauld, which halted withdrawals earlier this month, is facing hostile action from multiple creditors, according to a new affidavit reviewed by Moneycontrol. As per the affidavit, Vauld has received two demand letters and two civil claims from four creditors. One of the letters demanded $340,000 in payment plus interest from Vauld, while the claim amounts of the other creditors were not mentioned in the affidavit. The lender owes $402 million to creditors, of which, $363 million belongs to individual retail investors.

Singapore's key consumer price gauge rose at its fastest pace in more than 13 years, official data showed on Monday, increasing pressure on the central bank to consider tightening monetary policy again later this year if inflation pressures persist, Reuters reported. The data showed inflation rising across a broad set of categories including services, food, retail and utilities. The core inflation rate — the central bank's favoured price measure - rose to 4.4% in June on a year-on-year basis. A Reuters poll of economists had forecast a 4.2% increase in June.