The News Journal

 Standard Chartered plans to cut half of its existing office space in Singapore’s financial district in what is set to be the biggest floor reduction by a bank in the city-state in recent years. The London-based lender is giving up nine of the floors it leases at Marina Bay Financial Tower 1 in the business district. Bloomberg previously reported that the bank was considering slashing its office space by at least four floors. With the downsize, bankers may not have their own desks and may have to reserve their spots before coming to the office, sources said. The lender’s current lease expires in October this year. “With 80 per cent of our Singapore-based employees adopting flexible work arrangements, we are reinvesting in and refreshing our premises to create a more open, conducive and collaborative environment,” a Standard Chartered representative said. Singapore is a critical global centre for the bank and it retains a significant presence in buildings in the city, including Mari...

  Banks in the UAE and Saudi Arabia remain relatively insulated from the fallout of the Russia-Ukraine conflict due to their limited dealings with the region, according to S&P Global Ratings. “The conflict will have a limited effect on the UAE’s banking sector, for now. Rated UAE banks have minimal direct exposure to Russian or Ukrainian counterparties. We do not expect to see any significant direct effects of the conflict on their asset quality indicators,” the rating agency said in a report this week. “The government has significant capacity and willingness to provide support if needed,” it said. Lenders in Saudi Arabia, the Arab world's largest economy, share a similar outlook. “Rated Saudi banks have little direct exposure to Russian or Ukrainian counterparties. We do not expect to see any significant direct effects of the conflict on their asset quality indicators,” the report said. “The banking system growth is fuelled by mortgages and corporate lending linked to Vision ...

 Nearly half of the European companies in Hong Kong plan to fully or partially relocate operations and staff out of the city, a survey suggests, in the latest sign that the world’s toughest Covid-19 travel and quarantine restrictions are eroding the appeal of Asia’s main finance hub. About 25 per cent of responding companies said they planned to fully relocate out of Hong Kong in the next year, a survey by the European Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong revealed, while another 24 per cent said they are planning to partially move out of the city. A pedestrian crosses an empty street in Hong Kong's central business district.  And about 34 per cent of firms said they were uncertain about their plans, while only 17 per cent said they had no desire to relocate over the next 12 months. The negative results, which come amid a surprisingly chaotic coronavirus outbreak, are the latest measure of declining business confidence in a once freewheeling city that has been increasingly isolated...