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Straits Times
13 hours ago
- Sport
- Straits Times
Singapore Vandas look to learn from UAE Netball Cup final loss for a crucial year ahead
World No. 26 Singapore lost 62-53 to 18th-ranked Namibia in the UAE Netball Cup final on June 21. PHOTO: NETBALL SINGAPORE Singapore Vandas look to learn from UAE Netball Cup final loss for a crucial year ahead SINGAPORE – Despite falling short of a title in their first international outing of the year, the Singapore Vandas took heart from their United Arab Emirates (UAE) Netball Cup campaign, which ended in a 62-53 loss to Namibia in the final on June 21. This was the first tournament under new head coach Tara Steel, who was appointed in March, and offered several positives as world No. 26 Singapore look to build towards a pivotal year that includes November's Singlife Nations Cup and the SEA Games in Thailand in December. Steel said: 'The final outcome was disappointing because we weren't at our best today but all credit to Namibia. 'But I'm really happy with the fact that we were in a top-two final. 'We had a really strong week in terms of our execution in games consistently and still searching for a full 60-minute performance and we still didn't hit that today, but it bodes well in terms of SEA Games and our own Nations Cup in Singapore.' Both teams were undefeated heading into the final, having dropped points only in their 49-49 draw earlier in the week, with Namibia topping the six-team table on goal difference. This time, world No. 18 Namibia started strongly, showing discipline in defence as they closed down spaces and dictated the tempo. While their attackers were clinical, Singapore's took some time to settle into the game. Leading 4-3 early on, Namibia pulled away with a seven-goal run to go 11-3 up, eventually taking the first quarter 16-10. The second quarter was more closely contested, but Namibia maintained their advantage by outscoring the Vandas 17-16 for a 33-26 half-time lead. Returning to the court, the Vandas outscored Namibia in the third quarter, with crucial interceptions by defenders Jamie Lim and K. Mishalenee creating key turnovers. However, Namibia responded with a strong defensive display in the final quarter, limiting Singapore's opportunities in the shooting circle. In a bid to break through, Steel introduced 1.81m goal shooter Priscilla Wong to counter Namibia's height advantage, but the opposition remained resolute, stretching to a nine-goal lead to seal the title. Reflecting on the final, co-captain Toh Kai Wei, who was voted Singapore's Most Valuable Player of the tournament, acknowledged the challenge of facing a dynamic Namibian side who had changed their approach since the round-robin stage. 'Namibia played a really different game from what we played in the round-robin games, so the structure itself, we weren't really prepared for it,' said Toh, who plays goal attack and wing attack. 'There was a lot of movement from them, but we tried our best to adjust and re-adjust and counter back. 'It was not the result that we wanted but I'm proud of my team for putting up a good fight.' Just the day before, the Vandas had bagged the Team of the Year (event) accolade at the Singapore Sports Awards, with Yeo Mee Hong, who led them to their first Asian triumph in 10 years, named Coach of the Year. Looking ahead, Steel noted that while there were positives in their execution, fitness and consistency remain key areas for improvement. The Australian said: 'We did execute our game plan and, when we did that it was effective, but we had moments where we stopped doing that – individually or as units. 'For us, it's probably about improving our fitness and conditioning for the game we want to play. 'Physically, we are smaller than our opponents, so it requires a lot of running and footwork to get free in attack. We've got plenty of time to build on that for the style of game that will be successful for us.' Kimberly Kwek joined The Straits Times in 2019 as a sports journalist and has since covered a wide array of sports, including golf and sailing. Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
7 days ago
- Sport
- Straits Times
Singapore's artistic swimmers gear up for home World C'ships with bronze in World Cup series
Team Singapore's Kiera Lee (from left), Debbie Soh, and Yvette Chong took home third place in the Duets for World Aquatics Artistic Swimming World Cup 2025 series PHOTO: SINGAPORE AQUATICS SINGAPORE – In their final international outing ahead of the July 11-Aug 3 World Aquatics Championships in Singapore, the Republic's artistic swimmers earned a confidence-boosting overall bronze medal at the World Aquatics Artistic Swimming World Cup Super Final in Xi'an, China. Debbie Soh, 27, Yvette Chong, 17, and Kiera Lee, 16, won the bronze in the duet category of the World Aquatics Artistic Swimming World Cup Series, which also came with a US$10,000 (S$12,800) prize money. Soh and Lee scored 183.6818 during their duet free routine at the Super Final in China on June 14, which placed them eighth out of 11 pairs in China. Chinese twins Lin Yanjun and Yanhan won the gold medal with 266.1442 points to finish ahead of duets from Spain and Japan. But Spain took the overall gold and US$15,000, while Kazakhstan bagged a silver as well as US$12,000 in the duet category of the World Cup Series. Chong said: 'It is a huge confidence boost ahead of the World Aquatics Championships. It reassures us that we're on the right track and gives us momentum for a strong showing as the host country.' For Soh, it is a milestone in a long campaign. 'It felt like our season began in December 2024, right after the exam period. Since then, we've been training six days a week, for about five to 10 hours a day, and have gone through multiple intensive training camps. It's been a challenging and hectic few months, but we stayed focused and motivated to rise above the challenges we faced along the way,' said Soh. The youngest of the trio, Kiera added: 'We feel very fulfilled that our efforts were rewarded. It wasn't in our expectations at all. We were more focused on hitting personal bests at every stop of the World Cup series, so we were taken aback by the final world ranking.' Final rankings are calculated based on the score from the Super Final and the top two scores from the rest of the series. To be ranked in the world series, teams must participate in at least two out of its three legs, plus the Super Final. The first three legs were in Paris, France (Feb 28-March 2), Somabay, Egypt (April 11-13) and Markham, Canada (May 1-3) before the June 13-15 Super Final in Xi'an. The artistic swimming national team's performance director Anastasia Goutseva said that the bronze was an 'incredible recognition for the athletes and the hard work they have put in throughout the year'. She added: 'The third-place overall ranking came as a bit of a surprise, but it shows that you have to dream big. It is a historic result for Singapore, and we are very happy that the team's effort has paid off.' Goutseva said that the duet (technical) score in Paris, the duet (free) in Egypt and their performances in the Super Final in Xi'an earned them the bronze. In Egypt, Chong and Soh had combined for 184.8755 points in the duet free to place 14th out of 23 and in Paris they scored 238.3992 to finish sixth out of 21 in the duet technical. Meanwhile, on the final day of competition on June 15, Rachel Thean scored 195.3688 to finish eighth out of 10 competitors in the women solo free while Singapore finished eighth out of nine teams in the team acrobatic event with a score of 144.2251. On the artistic swimmers' performance in the series, Goutseva said: 'Overall, we are very satisfied. There has been clear improvement from one world series to the next. After each competition, we make the necessary changes and modifications to our routines based on feedback from the judges and technical controllers. 'We had set specific goals for this year, and we can definitely see the progress here in Xi'an.' Ranked second only to the Olympics in prestige for water sports, the July 11-Aug 3 world championships will see over 2,500 athletes from more than 190 countries compete in six aquatic disciplines – swimming, water polo, diving, artistic swimming, open water swimming and high diving – across various venues in Singapore. As they make their final preparations ahead of the home showcase, Goutseva said: 'Singapore is committed to raising the level of artistic swimming, and while there is still a lot of work to be done, we are positive and motivated. Our focus is to push the team as far as we can and help them achieve their fullest potential on home soil.' Deepanraj Ganesan is a sports journalist at The Straits Times focusing on football, athletics, combat sports and policy-related news. Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Business Times
04-06-2025
- Business
- Business Times
More Chinese corporates eyeing deals in Asean, secondary listings on SGX
[SINGAPORE] Chinese corporates are increasingly looking for deals in South-east Asia amid rising uncertainty from US trade policies, said Jason Saw, head of investment banking at CGS International. Saw expects CGSI will see eight to 10 major deals in the coming months, in its four key markets in Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand, with many of these transactions coming from Chinese and Hong Kong-based companies. These companies are in the infrastructure, green energy, manufacturing, and healthcare sectors. 'Essentially, our focus is to look for companies that have growth – they're not your old-school economy ideas where growth is in the single digits; a lot of the opportunities we bring are new thematics,' said Saw in an interview with The Business Times. Particularly in Singapore, Saw said he sees interest from Chinese companies to make secondary listings on the Singapore Exchange (SGX). 'If you have monitored the markets this year, A+H share listings have been very hot... So if we can replicate a bit of that success in Singapore, I think it'll be a very big win,' Saw said. BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up He raised the example of Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL)'s dual listing in Hong Kong and Shenzhen. A+H share listings refer to Chinese companies that list their shares on the Shanghai or Shenzhen Stock Exchange, known as A-shares, and the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, known as H-shares. In May, Shenzhen-listed CATL listed in Hong Kong in the world's biggest initial public offering (IPO) this year, signalling strong prospects for Chinese equities despite global market uncertainty. These Chinese corporates like that Singapore can give them international recognition, and that the SGX is a transparent neutral ground. They can also have a shorter time to market if they list in Singapore, given that the queue for IPO listings in Hong Kong or mainland China is 'quite long', Saw said. Deglobalisation After US President Donald Trump's 'Liberation Day', Saw said he saw rising engagement from corporates, especially from Chinese companies. The escalation in the trade war between US and China has increased the appetite for diversification, he noted. Saw said: '(Chinese corporates) seem to understand the need to diversify from the US and into other markets, and South-east Asia is clearly on their radar.' Chinese companies are also interested in building distribution channels in the region. Saw said the South-east Asian consumer distribution is 'under appreciated' because the markets are fragmented. 'What they want to do is to export that product out into this region, find local partners and grow the business to cater for the local population – Asean has 600 million consumers; if every head count consumes one item, that's a huge market for each and every Chinese product out there.' Much of the conversation that he has with Chinese companies also revolves around serving the local markets. 'Beyond capital market equities, we are driving a lot of conversations in terms of foreign direct investment (FDI) as well,' he said. 'Iff anything, the last (few months) taught you that you cannot rely on one country as your end market and you cannot depend on one location as your manufacturing.' Asean-China growth For CGSI, Saw sees the biggest opportunities from the growth of China-Asean business relations. He noted that the securities company has a unique position – it has been present in South-east Asia for decades, yet its parent company is Chinese state-owned brokerage and investment bank China Galaxy Securities. 'Because we are state owned, (Chinese companies) are even more comfortable to work with us to share information and their strategy,' he said. Nevertheless, Saw said the firm services 'anyone that comes into South-east Asia' – around 90 per cent of its revenue from IPOs today are still intra-Asean. 'We are just starting this journey of people wanting to come to South-east Asia in a more aggressive manner, and there's a lot of sectors that require investments and have growth opportunities,' he said. In the past two years, CGSI has obtained investment banking business licenses in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand – allowing it to participate in activities including IPOs, corporate financing and fundraising. Saw expects China flows will have a greater part to play in the business in the years ahead, given that most deals need time to progress. 'I'm quite excited about the future…because there are deals that we're trying to do now, and if they materialise, that fits into the Asean-China (trend) that we are seeing.'
Al Etihad
03-06-2025
- Business
- Al Etihad
Shares cautious, dollar slips as trade concerns persist
3 June 2025 13:40 SINGAPORE/GDANSK (Reuters)European shares slid on Tuesday, along with US stock futures, while the dollar lingered around a six-week low as erratic US trade policies clouded market sentiment and investors turned defensive ahead of key developments later in the President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping will probably speak this week, the White House said on call between the two leaders will be closely watched by markets, which have been roiled by tariff-induced trade tensions between the world's two largest economies that continue to on Monday showed US manufacturing contracted for a third straight month in May and suppliers took the longest time in nearly three years to deliver inputs amid factory activity in May also shrank for the first time in eight months, a private-sector survey showed on Tuesday, indicating US tariffs are starting to hurt gloomy global trade situation left US futures falling, failing to sustain the slight gains made during the cash session on Wall Street futures and S&P 500 futures were both down about 0.5%. In Europe, the STOXX 600 index fell 0.45%, while London's blue-chip FTSE 100 was down 0.36%."Trump really does have sentiment in the palm of his hands once again," said Matt Simpson, senior market analyst at City Index."I suspect we'll hear about 'a really great call' or words to the effect," he said, referring to the expected call between Trump and Xi."But we'll need to wait for confirmation from China, who tends to take their time on these matters. Until we get concrete confirmation, price action could be shaky and vulnerable to false breaks ... we also have the June 4 deadline for 'best trade deals' from US trading partners to factor in."The Trump administration wants countries to provide their best offer on trade negotiations by Wednesday as officials seek to accelerate talks with multiple partners ahead of a self-imposed deadline in just five weeks. PAYROLLS ON DECK The dollar fell to a six-week low against a basket of currencies early on Tuesday, ahead of US job openings data later in the day and Friday's US nonfarm payrolls, which will offer a timely reading on the health of the US economy.A rise in unemployment, among others, could get the Federal Reserve to start thinking of easing policy again, with investors having largely given up on a cut this month or next.A softer US jobs report would be a relief for the Treasury market, where 30-year yields continue to flirt with the 5% barrier as investors demand a higher premium to offset the ever-expanding supply of Senate will start considering a tax-and-spending bill this week that would add an estimated $3.8 trillion to the federal government's $36.2 trillion in dollar index was last marginally higher at 98.89, trimming some of its losses from earlier in the currency edged higher to 0.8181 Swiss francs after Swiss inflation turned negative in May, marking the first decline in consumer prices for more than four years and adding pressure on the Swiss National Bank to cut its interest rate steeply later this euro scaled a six-week top before trading lower on the day at $1.1416, while sterling dipped 0.2% to $ zone inflation eased below the European Central Bank's target last month, data showed on Tuesday, underpinning expectations for another interest rate cut this commodities, oil prices rose on concerns about supply, with Brent crude futures up 0.34% to $64.85 a barrel, while US crude gained 0.46% to $62.81 per barrel. Spot gold retreated from a four-week high and last stood at $3,361 an ounce. Stock Markets Continue full coverage
Cision Canada
03-06-2025
- Business
- Cision Canada
Experimental Drug Development Centre Announces the Presentation of Updated Data from the Phase 1 Study of Antibody-Drug Conjugate EBC-129 at the 2025 Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO)
EBC-129 is an antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) that selectively targets a novel, tumour-specific N-glycosylated epitope found on both CEACAM5 and CEACAM6. The expansion cohort for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) in the ongoing Phase 1 trial has completed enrolment. Notably, 82% of patients had tumours expressing the antigen at levels considered treatable with EBC-129. EBC-129 demonstrated positive overall response rates and prolonged progression-free survival in PDAC patients that have been heavily pre-treated, including those that have received prior treatment with standard of care (SoC) typically containing taxanes. The US FDA also recently granted Fast Track Designation for EBC-129 in the treatment of PDAC patients. SINGAPORE, June 3, 2025 /CNW/ -- The Experimental Drug Development Centre (EDDC), Singapore's national platform for drug discovery and development, has announced the presentation of updated clinical data for the ongoing Phase 1 trial for EBC-129 at the 2025 Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) in Chicago. EBC-129 is a first-in-class antibody drug conjugate (ADC) targeting a novel, tumour-specific N256-glycosylated epitope on CEACAM5 and CEACAM6. The updated findings showed promising efficacy data from 21 heavily pre-treated pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) patients across the dose escalation and the dose expansion portions of the Phase 1 study. Patients received EBC-129 at doses between 1.8 and 2.2 mg/kg, given once every 3 weeks. 17 out of 21 patients (81%) of the patients had received prior treatment with taxanes. 82% of patients had tumours which expressed the EBC-129 antigen at ≥1% at 3+ intensity and were therefore considered treatable. The overall response rates (ORRs) were 25% and 20%, with disease control rates (DCRs) of 87.5% and 63.6% and progression-free survival (PFS) of 19 and 12 weeks for 1.8 mg/kg and 2.2 mg/kg, respectively. "Pancreatic adenocarcinoma remains one of the most challenging cancers to treat, particularly in the metastatic setting where resistance to standard therapies is common. The clinical signals observed with EBC-129 in refractory pancreatic adenocarcinoma, including tolerability, prolonged disease control and a confirmed response in a heavily pre-treated patient, are encouraging and clinically meaningful. Continued prioritisation of biology-guided trials targeting EBC-129 will be key to sustaining momentum in this important therapeutic effort," said Assistant Professor Robert W. Lentz, MD, Division of Medical Oncology, Department of Medicine, University of Colorado Anschutz School of Medicine. This presentation follows the recent Fast Track Designation granted by the U.S. FDA for EBC-129 in the treatment of PDAC patients. This designation supports EDDC's efforts to accelerate the advancement of the programme through increased regulatory engagement and the potential for expedited review pathways. Other Results to Date The dose escalation study of the Phase 1 trial was open to all patients, while the ongoing dose expansion study comprises of three cohorts in PDAC, gastroesophageal adenocarcinoma (GEA) and tumour-agnostic patients with other immunohistochemistry (IHC)-positive solid tumours. Recruitment for the GEA and IHC-positive cohorts is still ongoing. EBC-129 showed a manageable safety profile in the 58 patients treated so far, with uncomplicated neutropenia and infusion-related reactions as the main treatment-related adverse events (TRAEs) observed. The EBC-129 antigen was also found to be highly expressed, with 52% to 100% of tumour tissues assessed during the trial showing moderate to high expression levels of ≥20% at 2+ and/or 3+. This included samples from gastroesophageal, appendiceal, colorectal and lung cancer patients, making EBC-129 a potentially viable treatment option for these cancers. "We have seen encouraging signs of efficacy of EBC-129 as a single-agent therapy, even in heavily pre-treated patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer. This, combined with the observed safety profile, underscores the promise of EBC-129 as a possible treatment option for PDAC patients. As a first-in-class ADC that targets both CEACAM5 and CEACAM6, EBC-129 has also shown potential against a range of other solid tumours, and we look forward to expanding clinical evaluations with the ongoing dose expansion cohorts and accelerating the development of EBC-129 to address critical unmet needs in cancer," said Professor Damian O'Connell, CEO of EDDC. About EBC-129 EBC-129 is an ADC that targets a tumour-specific N256-glycosylation site conserved on CEACAM5 and CEACAM6. CEACAM5 and CEACAM6 are known to have functional importance in tumour formation, migration and metastasis. In the ongoing trial, the tumour-specific marker is found to be widely expressed in multiple solid tumour types, including gastric, oesophageal, pancreatic, lung, colorectal, and appendiceal cancers, based on an analytically validated immunohistochemistry (IHC) assay. The payload used in EBC-129 is monomethyl auristatin E (MMAE), which has been extensively tested and approved for clinical use in other marketed ADCs, and has demonstrated synergy with PD-1 inhibitors. The ongoing Phase 1 trial of EBC-129 is assessing the safety and tolerability of EBC-129 as a single agent and in combination with pembrolizumab in patients with advanced solid tumours. Enrolment for the PDAC cohort in the Phase 1 dose expansion study is now complete, while recruitment continues for the gastroesophageal adenocarcinoma (GEA) and IHC-positive cohorts. About the Experimental Drug Development Centre The Experimental Drug Development Centre (EDDC) is Singapore's national platform for drug discovery and development, formed from the integration of the Experimental Therapeutics Centre (ETC), Drug Discovery and Development (D3), and Experimental Biotherapeutics Centre (EBC) in 2019. EDDC aims to develop therapeutics and diagnostics that save and improve the lives of patients in Singapore, Asia and around the world. Hosted by the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), EDDC works collaboratively with public sector and industry partners to translate the great science arising from Singapore's biomedical and clinical sciences R&D into innovative healthcare solutions. For more information about EDDC, please visit
