Finance

IFRS 16 puts leased equipment on a lessee's balance sheet

Under IFRS 16 and its Singapore and Malaysian equivalents, a lessee records most equipment leases as an asset and a debt, so the lease expense runs higher in the early years and lower in the later ones. IRAS usually allows a deduction for the contractual lease payments instead, and a SaaS contract that gives only access to the software is a service contract.

7 Oct 2026 · 6 min read

ASEAN Tech

Singapore Will Not Demand Early Access to Frontier AI Models, but Signals Tougher Rules for Risky Uses

A written reply to Parliament says a rigid requirement could backfire. Essential services may face independent testing and tighter oversight. No agent attack on government has been reported.

7 Oct 2026 · 4 min read

ASEAN Tech

Singapore Will Offer Hereditary Breast Cancer Gene Testing From December

The health minister also set out an AI tool for family doctors next year and a planned law on genetic data in insurance and employment, as the national genome programme moves toward patients.

3 Oct 2026 · 3 min read

ASEAN Tech

Singapore's Crypto Activity Grew 55% as Its Region Shrank, and Trading Firms Drove It

Chainalysis puts Singapore at $284 billion in the year to June, with institutional platforms up 94%. The Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam made 14.4% of the world's small peer-to-peer transfers.

3 Oct 2026 · 4 min read

Finance

Taiwan's bigger child exemption for 2026 income, and the families it leaves unchanged

From 2026 income, Taiwan's exemption for each minor child rises to NT$151,500. For a salaried couple with two school-age children on the standard deduction, the basic living expense floor absorbs that increase, so their tax does not change. Families with preschool children, renters and people who itemise can still gain.

3 Oct 2026 · 6 min read

ASEAN Tech

Southeast Asians Are Split on AI's Environmental Cost, and One in Six Say They Use It Less

AI tools use a lot of electricity but may aid climate work. Asked to weigh the two, 47.9% of 3,706 people across ASEAN called AI good for the environment and 30.2% bad, in an ISEAS poll.

3 Oct 2026 · 4 min read

Finance

Hong Kong salaries tax for 2026/27, with the allowances that changed this year

Hong Kong's 2026/27 salaries tax, as legislated so far, takes HK$790 more from many single taxpayers than 2025/26 did, despite a higher basic allowance. The new allowances, the newborn rule, the pending Policy Address change, the standard-rate threshold and the 16% tier.

3 Oct 2026 · 5 min read

Finance

Hong Kong has charged every flat buyer the same stamp duty rates since 2024

Since 28 February 2024 every buyer of a Hong Kong flat pays the same ad valorem stamp duty rates. The 2026 table, what an HK$8 million flat cost a buyer without permanent residency before and after, the steep relief zones, who is liable and the lease rates.

3 Oct 2026 · 8 min read

ASEAN Tech

GCash Priced Its IPO a Third Below the Ceiling. It Can Still Be the Philippines' Biggest.

Mynt set P6.60 a share, valuing the e-wallet operator near P442 billion. About four in five base shares are sold by existing holders, so most proceeds are not new capital.

2 Oct 2026 · 4 min read

Finance

The notes that can go in an ang bao for Lunar New Year 2027

Lunar New Year 2027 falls on 6 February. Which notes you can get for an ang bao, lai see or 紅包 in Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Taiwan, the one written set of amount rules we found, and why HK$88 needs coins.

1 Oct 2026 · 6 min read