SINGAPORE/HONG KONG, Dec 6 (Reuters) – Thai corporates armed
with cheap debt and record stock prices have spent a record $27
billion shopping for overseas assets this year, putting the
Southeast Asian nation firmly on the region’s M&A map for the
first time.

The land of exotic beaches has emerged as an unexpected fee
pool for deal-starved bankers in the region, with the nation
ranking No. 3 in Asian outbound deal volumes this year, behind
Japan and Greater China.

SINGAPORE, Dec 3 (Reuters) – Singaporean commodities trader
Olam International, under attack from short-seller
Muddy Waters, has raised $712.5 million through an issue of
bonds with warrants to buy shares, days after saying it had
enough cash.

The deal, to be offered pro rata to Olam shareholders, is
backed by Singapore state investor Temasek Holdings
which has a 16 percent stake and said on Monday it would buy
rights not taken up by other investors.

SINGAPORE, Nov 29 (Reuters) – Singapore commodity trader
Olam International Ltd, under attack by short-seller
Muddy Waters for its aggressive spending and debt levels, has
sufficient cash and does not expect to tap the debt markets for
at least five to six months, its chief executive said.

“We are very comfortable with our balance sheet position, in
terms of our equity position as well as our debt position,”
Sunny Verghese told Reuters in an interview on Thursday.

SINGAPORE, Nov 28 (Reuters) – Singapore commodity trader
Olam defended its record on accounting and
acquisitions and said it had the backing of a key state investor
as it seeks to counter criticism from a short-seller which has
hammered its shares.

Olam International Ltd, 16 percent owned by Singapore state
investor Temasek Holdings Pte Ltd, said in a 45-page
report on Wednesday it was not at risk of insolvency and had
enough liquidity to pursue its business and future investments.

SINGAPORE, Nov 20 (Reuters) – Singapore commodities trader
Olam International Ltd defended its accounting
practices after attacks by short-seller Muddy Waters which media
reports said questioned the way it keeps its books, sending its
U.S.-listed shares tumbling.

Singapore-listed shares in Olam, which is nearly 16
percent-owned by state investor Temasek Holdings, were
halted on Tuesday as the company accused Muddy Waters founder
Carson Block of making “baseless and unsubstantiated assertions”
against it.

SINGAPORE, Nov 14 (Reuters) – Singapore’s Global Logistic
Properties Ltd, one of the world’s largest warehouse
operators, is making its first foray into Brazil by teaming up
with large institutional investors to buy assets in the South
American country, as it looks to sustain its strong pace of
growth.

Developers such as GLP are looking to tap strong demand for
high-quality warehouses in Brazil. Last week, Australian
competitor Goodman Group also announced plans to
develop logistic assets in Brazil through a joint venture.

SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Southeast Asia is becoming one bright spot in a world of gloomy corporate earnings, with strong profit growth powered by a population of 600 million people increasingly willing, and able, to spend in their fast growing economies.

Southeast Asian companies are expected to report on average a 16.2 percent increase in quarterly profit from a year ago, Morgan Stanley said in a report this month.

SINGAPORE/NEW DELHI (Reuters) – Business sentiment among Asia’s top companies fell for the second straight quarter, dragged down by export-orientated economies such as China and Japan, while domestic spending helped boost Southeast Asia’s outlook, a Thomson Reuters/INSEAD survey showed.

Indian companies were more positive than they were in the previous quarter. Sentiment may have been lifted further last week by government reforms aimed at reviving growth in Asia’s third-largest economy, including opening up its supermarket sector to foreign chains.

SINGAPORE/NEW DELHI (Reuters) – Business sentiment among Asia’s top companies fell for the second straight quarter, dragged down by export-orientated economies such as China and Japan, while domestic spending helped boost Southeast Asia’s outlook, a Thomson Reuters/INSEAD survey showed.

Concerns over global demand are hurting Asia’s export engines, with autos, technology and shipping sectors among the least upbeat in the survey. Sectors more exposed to domestic growth were much more optimistic.

SINGAPORE, July 27 (Reuters) – Singapore Exchange Ltd
Chief Executive Magnus Bocker is facing a conundrum –
how to boost trading volume when global markets are battling a
slump.

Bocker, whose contract was renewed for three years in June,
has launched initiatives such as installing the world’s fastest
trading engine and signing agreements with foreign bourses to
enhance liquidity in Asia’s second-largest listed bourse by
value.