Daily Debrief: What Happened Today

Noble Group on Wednesday said it has won support from its shareholder Goldilocks for its financial restructuring, with the commodities firm electing to raise the amount of equity that shareholders would hold in the newly restructured firm to 20 per cent from 15 per cent proposed previously.

The EU-Asean Business Council (EU-ABC) has re-elected Donald Kanak as its chairman for a second two-year term, the council said in a press statement on Wednesday. Mr Kanak is the chairman of Prudential's Eastspring Investments.

Business sentiment among Asian companies slipped for the first time in three quarters on mounting trade friction between China and the United States, a Thomson Reuters/Insead survey found. The Thomson Reuters/Insead Asian Business Sentiment Index, which surveys firms' six-month outlook, fell to 74 in the second quarter of this year, from a seven-year high of 79 in the previous quarter.

Carousell, which operates an online marketplace, on Wednesday announced the launch of its long-awaited mobile payment service, CarouPay, which will allow users to make payments to sellers without using third-party fund transfer platforms or meet-ups.

Resort operator Banyan Tree Holdings said late Tuesday evening French hotel chain operator Accor has not exercised an option to buy up to 10 per cent of Banyan. The option was granted in late April alongside an irredeemable convertible debt of S$24 million subscribed by Accor, and a collaboration agreement to co-develop hotels.

The STI Today

Local equities made a modest recovery on Wednesday from a five-day losing streak, tracking Asian markets' rebound from the recent tariff-fuelled sell-off. The Straits Times Index rose 14.55 points, or 0.44 per cent, to 3,315.90.