Latest news with #Singapore-headquartered
Fashion United
a day ago
- Business
- Fashion United
Halara plots UK expansion and pop-up experience
Halara has its eyes on the UK. The Singapore-headquartered athleisure brand has revealed plans to expand to the region through a pop-up experience set to be hosted later this year. The physical retail space, which will open alongside the launch of an app and online platform, will incorporate the brand's 'digital-first, community-driven model', a press release said. Halara's intention is to 'deliver a more responsive, inclusive athleisure experience for UK consumers'. Founded in 2020 by Hong Kong-based entrepreneur Joyce Zhang, Halara has built up a global audience largely thanks to its presence on the social media platform, TikTok. Here, its content revolves around relatable videos and creator partnerships, the latter an integral part of the brand's existence, as influencers represent a large part of the brand's wider marketing framework. On the back of what it said has been a 'rapid rise', the brand is now looking to venture into new realms. Its plans to enter the UK market follows a similar announcement from earlier in the year when it revealed Australia as one of the regions it was targeting. In the US, meanwhile, where it already boasts a strong foothold, the brand has already explored the physical retail space via pop-ups, the first being in New York City in 2024 and, more recently, two in California.
Business Times
a day ago
- Business
- Business Times
Multiplier Holdings launches with US$27.5 million in funding to power AI support for professional services firms
[SINGAPORE] Technology company Multiplier Holdings announced on Thursday (Jun 19) its launch with US$27.5 million in seed and Series A funding, as it builds artificial intelligence (AI)-native professional services companies. The Series A round was led by Lightspeed Venture Partners with participation from Economic Development Board Investments, the investment arm of SG Growth Capital. Previous investors included SV Angel, and Ribbit Capital which led the seed funding round. Multiplier acquires professional services companies and onboards them into its AI-driven practice management platform. It helps them develop AI solutions that automate time-consuming tasks and deliver improved outcomes for their clients. The Singapore-headquartered company also provides hands-on technical support and continues to build new features in collaboration with its acquired companies, to improve scalability of the business. With regards to the funding, Multiplier will use it to expand its portfolio of businesses on a global stage, and capitalise on a pipeline of interest by companies in tax, accounting and similar professional service sectors. It will also accelerate the development of its AI automation platform, as it continues to hire engineering talent in Singapore and San Francisco. Founded by former Stripe executive Noah Pepper, Multiplier aims to offer a library of AI and workflow components that can be configured to fit the needs of each acquired company. 'Moving to Singapore for a globally oriented role and seeing the challenge and opportunity people and businesses face operating across borders is what originally inspired the idea behind the company,' said the Singapore-based chief executive and founder. 'We believe the market will reward players who deliver technology-enabled client service through an integrated platform of people and technology.'
Straits Times
2 days ago
- Business
- Straits Times
DBS aims to double Australian lending book in 5 years
DBS had signed a pact with trade agency Austrade which will help it finance more trade and investment between Australian and Southeast Asian businesses. PHOTO: REUTERS SYDNEY - DBS Group aims to double its Australian lending book in the next five years, its CEO Tan Su Shan said, as the Singapore-headquartered bank seeks to take advantage of trade links between Australia and Southeast Asia. The bank said on Wednesday it had signed a pact with trade agency Austrade which will help it facilitate and finance more trade and investment between Australian and Southeast Asian businesses, especially from Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam. Tan said that DBS's Australian lending book was currently worth about A$11 billion (S$9.2 billion) which, she said, could double to A$20 billion in the next five years. 'Australian companies have been more domestic-centric. We are trying to change that narrative,' Tan said at a press conference on Tuesday. Referring to its Australian client AirTrunk, a data centre operator that was bought by a Blackstone-led consortium for A$24 billion last year, Tan said the company was one of the first few to invest in data centers outside of Australia. 'We'd love to rinse and repeat that with the other big Australian companies,' she said. DBS posted in May better-than-expected quarterly results, boosted by wealth management fees that jumped 35 per cent on-year to a record quarterly high of S$724 million, which the bank attributed to strong market sentiment. Assets under management at the bank, Southeast Asia's biggest, climbed 13 per cent to a record high of S$432 billion in the first quarter. Tan said while the dollar and U.S. Treasury's safe-haven status was not yet being threatened, some of the bank's clients had started to diversify away from dollar-linked investments, which has benefited Japan, among others. 'You've seen also a lot more interest in the euro and the yen. The yen has strengthened as well. So we see people now looking at where do I invest in yen?,' she said. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Business Times
2 days ago
- Business
- Business Times
DBS aims to double Australian lending book in 5 years
[SYDNEY] DBS Group aims to double its Australian lending book in the next five years, its CEO Tan Su Shan said, as the Singapore-headquartered bank seeks to take advantage of trade links between Australia and South-east Asia. The bank said on Wednesday (Jun 18) it had signed a pact with trade agency Austrade which will help it facilitate and finance more trade and investment between Australian and South-east Asian businesses, especially from Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam. Tan said that DBS's Australian lending book was currently worth about A$11 billion (S$9.2 billion) which, she said, could double to A$20 billion in the next five years. 'Australian companies have been more domestic-centric. We are trying to change that narrative,' Tan said at a press conference on Tuesday. Referring to its Australian client AirTrunk, a data centre operator that was bought by a Blackstone-led consortium for A$24 billion last year, Tan said the company was one of the first few to invest in data centres outside of Australia. 'We'd love to rinse and repeat that with the other big Australian companies,' she 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 DBS posted in May better-than-expected quarterly results, boosted by wealth management fees that jumped 35 per cent on-year to a record quarterly high of S$724 million, which the bank attributed to strong market sentiment. Assets under management at the bank, South-east Asia's biggest, climbed 13 per cent to a record high of S$432 billion in the first quarter. Tan said while the US dollar and US Treasury's safe-haven status was not yet being threatened, some of the bank's clients had started to diversify away from US dollar-linked investments, which has benefited Japan, among others. 'You've seen also a lot more interest in the euro and the yen. The yen has strengthened as well. So we see people now looking at where do I invest in yen?,' she said. REUTERS
Reuters
2 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
Singapore lender DBS aims to double Australian lending book in 5 years
SYDNEY, June 18 (Reuters) - DBS Group ( opens new tab aims to double its Australian lending book in the next five years, its CEO Tan Su Shan said, as the Singapore-headquartered bank seeks to take advantage of trade links between Australia and Southeast Asia. The bank said on Wednesday it had signed a pact with trade agency Austrade which will help it facilitate and finance more trade and investment between Australian and Southeast Asian businesses, especially from Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam. Tan said that DBS's Australian lending book was currently worth about A$11 billion ($7.16 billion) which, she said, could double to A$20 billion in the next five years. "Australian companies have been more domestic-centric. We are trying to change that narrative," Tan said at a press conference on Tuesday. Referring to its Australian client AirTrunk, a data centre operator that was bought by a Blackstone-led consortium for A$24 billion last year, Tan said the company was one of the first few to invest in data centers outside of Australia. "We'd love to rinse and repeat that with the other big Australian companies," she said. DBS posted in May better-than-expected quarterly results, boosted by wealth management fees that jumped 35% on-year to a record quarterly high of S$724 million ($563.73 million), which the bank attributed to strong market sentiment. Assets under management at the bank, Southeast Asia's biggest, climbed 13% to a record high of S$432 billion in the first quarter. Tan said while the dollar and U.S. Treasury's safe-haven status was not yet being threatened, some of the bank's clients had started to diversify away from dollar-linked investments, which has benefited Japan, among others. "You've seen also a lot more interest in the euro and the yen. The yen has strengthened as well. So we see people now looking at where do I invest in yen?," she said. ($1 = 1.2843 Singapore dollars) ($1 = 1.5366 Australian dollars)
