Banks are pooling resources to break growth ceilings with the planned development of a blockchain-powered trade finance platform.

Thailand’s ambitious plan to roll out a shared trade finance platform powered by blockchain technology is expected to significantly accelerate trade processes in a move that brings the Southeast Asian country at par with the developed trade hubs of Hong Kong and Singapore.

Fourteen Thai banks have teamed up to develop a shared trade finance blockchain platform, with the country’s big four, Bangkok Bank, Krung Thai Bank, Siam Commercial Bank, and Kasikornbank, planning to launch electronic letters of guarantee that will be tested in a regulatory sandbox in a few months to improve product commercialisation.

The partnership, which runs parallels with the European Digital Trade Chain consortium, is a welcome development to boost trade finance in the country especially as most funding rounds have been focused on the e-commerce and market space than fintech, Natixis chief economist Alicia Garcia Herrero told Asian Banking & Finance.

“As for the next stage of development for Thai banks would be to incorporate the most successful fintech and regtech players with the banking platforms so as to avoid the fragmentation of banks’ value chain,” she added.

The Thailand Blockchain Community Initiative enhances interoperability in the financial services sector, suggested Jason Ekberg, partner, Corporate and Institutional Banking Practice at Oliver Wyman.

“Overall I think it’s a net positive for the industry because it brings standards to how blockchain will be used to drive supply chain… versus allowing 14 banks to develop 14 different standards that are not interoperable,” he pointed out.

Whilst M&As would be hard to achieve in the short term, the shared platform demonstrates that banks are setting aside competitive pressures and pooling scarce resources in a bid to cut costs and maintain margins, said Maybank Kim Eng research analyst Tanawat Ruenbanterng.

Growth prospects in trade finance
Thailand’s exporting sector accounts for over 70% of GDP which gives rise to a massive market and demand for trade finance. If the new platform can deliver on its promise to reduce costs like money transfer fees should be welcomed by exporters and banks alike, analysts say.

“Anything that can improve their margin (like this lower-fee money transfer services), there is no reason for failure,” added Ruenbanterng, adding that less fees would entail more profit for Thailand OEM exporters who largely profit based on margin.

Digital alternatives could also solve sluggish toplines that continue to plague Thai banks as they face limited room for growth, Ruenbanterng noted, with major lender Siam Commercial Bank targeting a drastic cutting bank branches from 1,100 to 400 and 27,000 employees to 15,000.

“Digital banking is one field that can help improve the margin. Domestic banks like SCB/KBANK have already started embracing digital banking technology,” he stressed. “Winners in the next era should be one that can adopt with fast-changing technology. That one should have efficient cost control (in order to change/adapt faster).”

The effect of blockchain could allow for greater inclusion because lower costs could bring trade financing more effectively to a broader set of audience like SME clients or micro merchants that want to do trade but are hampered by expensive costs of documentary trade, added Ekberg.

“A relatively advanced fintech development in Thailand should clearly help financial inclusion and financial sophistication with better financial services for the already banked population,” echoed Garcia Herrero.

The technology would provide the necessary digital boost for Thai banks who have long been trailing their regional peers in trade financing. Research from East and Partners Asia shows that digital channel engagement for trade solutions such as letters of guarantee remain less than 5% compared with the regional average of 6.3%.

“Notably, none of the Thai banks stand out in their e-trade offerings, falling behind other international and regional providers on most measures whether these be market share, wallet share, mind share or customers satisfaction,” said East & Partners analyst Sangiita Yoong.

“If the Thailand Blockchain Community Initiative succeeds in harmonising with other trade platforms in the region, similar to plans by MAS and that HKMA is looking to achieve with the Hong Kong Trade Finance Platform (HKTFP), the initiative will bring us a further step closer to achieving a regional digital ecosystem for trade finance,” concluded Yoong.

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Most companies are still trying to understand how they might leverage AI to meet their primary business goals. 

BUSINESS, IT and data centre leaders need to know the difference between projections about artificial intelligence (AI) over the next few decades, and what is happening now.

Amid the excitement and chatter we’ve seen on the topic over the last 12-18 months, it’s important to understand where progress is being made.

I’ll look at how AI is being used in business currently, what the implications are for data centre managers, and how IT leaders can put AI to use in the data centre now. How we moved from AI theory to practice; What is AI and how is it affecting our professional and personal lives?

AI, like cloud computing, has a number of definitions, so depending on who you talk to, a different answer can be expected.

In my view, it is the combination and application of two computing disciplines: “machine learning” and “deep learning”, (its subset). Both of these areas have been in research and development for decades (since the 1950s and 1980s, respectively) and comprise a field of computer science which provides computers with an ability to “learn” without being explicitly programmed. However, until very recently, this potential hasn’t resulted in any real applicability due to the enormous amounts of computing power needed to show tangible proof of AI in action.

This is what has changed: excitingly, technology has now advanced enough for us to realise the promise of our AI predictions. With the advancements of high performance computing (HPC) and the application of powerful graphics processing units (GPUs), it’s now possible to train deep neural networks more efficiently for usable outcomes. Add to this the enormous amounts of data available today; and we’re now able to access massive unstructured information types and use machine learning to extract useful, actionable information from otherwise unusable data.

And of course, it’s data centres which form the infrastructure backbone housing these huge sets of information.

I’ll give you a simple example from outside the tech industry, in the medical field: Scientists from Australia’s University of Adelaide are using a deep learning AI in the analysis of CT scans and X-rays to help predict the life expectancy of patients and develop appropriate treatments.

The implications are manifold: any patient regardless of location in the world can have access to an expert service like this, which increases the likelihood of identifying organ or tissue problems ahead of patient symptoms. This infers an example of what I call a “synthetisation of experience”, where we can “download” the experience and expertise of our best specialists and teach a system this knowledge, which can then be duplicated and deployed in other locations and situations, bypassing the limited availability of a human specialist.

AI in the data centre

The medical industry isn’t alone in using AI today, manufacturers are using it to model scenarios for long-term planning, and the financial sector uses AI-enhanced game theory to predict how markets will react to certain announcements. Some of these same deep learning strategies can also be used by IT leaders in the data centre.

One area is energy efficiency, power and cooling. Data centre managers can apply an algorithm to self-optimise energy consumption, so that a data centre can autonomously adjust its power and cooling systems. This is traditionally a manual process, and a daunting task when the data centre can have hundreds of air-con units with thermostats. Usually a human being needs to monitor the effects of temperature changes on various IT workload levels with regard to the energy usage and the utility bill.

But if an AI handles this vital task, it can start to learn what the ideal temperatures are at various times of the day, and for varying workloads. It can adjust power and cooling accordingly, and analyse the data over time, continually refining the algorithm so the system becomes more and more efficient.

The cost saving implications are significant. For example, Google is using AI currently to reduce power consumption across its entire data centre infrastructure, lowering energy usage by 15 per cent.

The company says it will save hundred of millions of dollars over the next few years alone.

A parallel trend being deployed now in data centres is the use of AI-enabled robotics technology. This area has the benefit of automating the management of the physical connections across a network infrastructure, resulting in improvements like increased reaction time to security issues, lowered operational costs, and increased productivity and more time for IT staff. It’s all about reducing human intervention, making operational gains and allowing IT managers to more proactively run the data centre to better meet the needs of the business.

AI will continue to impact enterprise IT and data centre operations in the near term. When IDC points to worldwide spending on cognitive systems and AI climbing from US$8 billion in 2016 to more than US$47 billion in 2020, we know the impact to data centre infrastructure will be profound, and not just because of the exponentially increasing need for hardware to crunch huge data volumes. Obviously, organisations will be looking beyond the data centre alone to leverage AI.

While many companies understand AI’s potential, most are still trying to understand how they might leverage it to meet their primary business goals.

To help our customers, Lenovo has developed a AI strategy for organisations based on three steps: Discover, Develop, Deploy. It’s all about helping our customers through each of these stages in their AI journey, bringing together our experts along with industry partners as needed on a case by case basis. Our strategy is underpinned by three new AI Innovation centres we have recently announced in Morrisville in the US, Stuttgart in Germany, and in Beijing, China.

In the meantime, data centre operators should look for the low hanging fruit right now, and plan for an array of AI-enabled operational efficiencies over the next few years.

• The writer is president of Lenovo’s data centre group for the Asia-Pacific.

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CAGR from 2009 to 2016 clocked in at 12%.

Although corporate banking has been slowing down in much of the developed world, emerging Asian markets have been picking up the slack to take charge of the global growth in corporate banking as CAGR hit 12% from 2009 to 2016, according to a report from management consultancy firm McKinsey.

Emerging Asian markets include Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.

Compare this with much of the developed world like in Western Europe where CAGR has fell 1% as well as North America whose CAGR inched up by a marginal 1%.

“Whilst transaction banking in Asia and Europe continues to see decreasing margins, increasing volumes particularly in Asia still fueled revenue growth,” McKinsey noted.

Growth has also been decent in EEMA and Latin America after clocking in at 9% and 10% respectively.

From an ROE perspective, developed markets also trailed their emerging market peers as they struggle with more stringent oversight and higher costs.

Western European ROEs in 2016 were 4 to 6%, whilst Latin American banks achieved ROEs of 14 to 16%. There have been recent signs of improvement in developed markets more broadly: ROE was around 8 %in 2016 which represents a four-fold increase over four years, amid a benign risk environment and progress on efficiencies.

Returns in emerging markets have tapered off slightly but potential remains vast even as rising risk cost contain growth in Chinese markets, the report added.

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Cairo: Egypt needs to embrace policies that strengthen the private sector and promote job growth in order to cement the gains realised from sweeping economic revival efforts, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said.

At the same time, the government can’t afford to delay in moving ahead with cuts in costly energy subsidies or risk straining the budget at a time of higher global oil prices, David Lipton, the IMF’s first deputy managing director, said late Saturday. The comments, to an audience that included Finance Minister Amr Al Garhy, came as an IMF mission is conducting the third review for the $12 billion (Dh44 billion) loan programme it granted Egypt in 2016.

“More than anything else, Egypt cannot delay on jobs,” Lipton said, noting that by 2028, Egypt’s working age population will increase by 20 per cent — putting the labour force at 80 million. “Creating jobs for all those people has to be Egypt’s biggest economic challenge.”

Key to dealing with this issue, Lipton said, is a “less heavy footprint of the public sector in the economy, especially in business and commerce, to clear away room for the growth of the private sector and to relieve entrepreneurs from the unwinnable matchup of competing with the public sector.”

Growth could rise to 6-8 per cent “if this country can tap the potential of its young people” — by bringing unemployment and labour force participation to the level of many other emerging market,” he said. “That would be a transformation. It would mean improving living standards for large segments of the population.”

With the IMF’s support, Egypt in 2016 has floated its currency, raised taxes, slashed subsidies and nearly halted increases in public wages — measures the government said were necessarily to avoid economic meltdown in 2016.

Investor confidence

Growth has since recovered to more than 5 per cent, the budget deficit has dropped, and over $23 billion in foreign money has flowed to the country’s high-yielding Treasury bills, highlighting the return of investor confidence. The benchmark EGX30 equities index rose 20.44 per cent since the beginning of 2018, the third-best performer of more than 100 gauges tracked by Bloomberg.

Even with the gains, the government needs to push ahead.

Under its IMF-backed economic overhaul plan, Egypt aims to completely scrap the bulk of energy subsidies in the nation of over 96 million by mid-2019. The target, however, was set in 2016, when the price of Brent crude was significantly lower than $68.59 per barrel it averaged in the past four months.

“Public finances certainly are on a firmer footing, but public debt remains very high,” Lipton said. “Delays in following through on the reform of energy subsidies could again leave the budget at risk from higher global oil prices.”

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[SYDNEY] An index of Australian business conditions jumped to record-matching highs in April as firms reported broad-based strength in sales, profits and employment, suggesting the economy started the second quarter in healthy shape.

Monday’s survey from National Australia Bank showed its index of business conditions rose 6 points to +21 in April, far above the long-run average of +5.5 and matching the highest reading since the survey began in 1997.

The survey’s measure of profitability gained 6 points to +22 in April, while its sales index firmed 7 points to a very high +28. The employment index added 4 points to +13, while the often volatile measure of business confidence rebounded 2 points to +10.

Conditions increased in all industries except for manufacturing and retail and were strongest in mining, finance, business & property, construction and recreation & personal services.

“The strength in business conditions and leading indicators suggest economic growth will strengthen and that over-time we should see strong jobs growth and falls in the unemployment rate,” said NAB group chief economist Alan Oster.

The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) highlighted the upbeat outlook of businesses last week when it forecast economic growth would top 3 per cent this year and next.

Despite the robust readings on activity, the NAB survey found little evidence of faster inflation with retail prices subdued and labour costs around their average level over the last year. REUTERS

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NEW YORK, May 4 (Reuters) – Oil prices rose about 2 percent on Friday with U.S. crude hitting its highest in more than three years as global supplies remained tight and the market awaited news from Washington on possible new U.S. sanctions against Iran.

Bob Yawger, director at Mizuho, noted the looming May 12 deadline that U.S. President Donald Trump set for Europeans to “fix” the deal with Iran over its nuclear program or he will refuse to extend U.S. sanctions relief for the oil-producing Islamic Republic.

“You have the May 12 Iran and Trump headlines that support the market,” he said.

U.S. light crude settled up $1.29 at $69.72 a barrel. It touched a session high of $69.97, its highest since November 2014. It was on track to gain just over 2.3 percent on the week.

Brent crude oil settled up $1.25 at $74.87 a barrel. The global benchmark was set to end the week up 0.3 percent.

Iran’s foreign minister said on Thursday that U.S. demands to change its 2015 agreement with world powers were unacceptable. Trump has said European allies must rectify “terrible flaws” in the international accord by May 12.

European powers want to hand Trump a plan to save the Iran nuclear deal next week. But they have also started work on protecting EU-Iranian business ties if Trump makes good on his threat to withdraw.

Iran resumed its role as a major oil exporter in January 2016 when international sanctions were lifted in return for curbs on Tehran’s nuclear program.

ANZ analysts Daniel Hynes and Soni Kumari said Brent could reach $80 a barrel by the end of this year, attributing recent strength to rising geopolitical risks and tighter global supply.

“We expect the market to tighten even further in second half 2018,” they wrote in a note to clients.

Still, growing U.S. crude supplies have been capping price gains.

Surging production in the Permian shale basin is outpacing pipeline capacity, while local refining issues have exacerbated oversupply.

The United States now produces more crude oil than top exporter Saudi Arabia, and two weeks of U.S. inventory builds have limited the oil markets upside. U.S. energy companies added oil rigs for a fifth straight week, with higher crude prices boosting profits and pushing nationwide production to record highs.

Drillers added nine oil rigs in the week to May 4, bringing the total to 834, the highest since March 2015, General Electric Co’s Baker Hughes energy services firm said.

(Additional reporting by Meng Meng in BEIJING and Henning Gloystein in SINGAPORE and Christopher Johnson in LONDON; Editing by Marguerita Choy and David Gregorio)

Copyright 2018 Thomson Reuters.

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Truck fleet operators who not long ago rejected the idea of bringing in electrified commercial vehicles are starting to open up — but doubts still need to be resolved, according to a new study.

There’s also the question over which alternative technology will take the lead in commercial trucks — battery powered or hydrogen fuel cell. That’s been playing out as a growing battle between Tesla and its Semi Truck and Nikola’s hydrogen fuel cell-powered Nikola One.

“Electric Trucks — Where They Make Sense,” was released this week by The North American Council for Freight Efficiency (NACFE) during the Advanced Clean Transportation (ACT) Expo in Long Beach, Calif. It was of much interest to fleet operators and industry suppliers as government mandates are pushing for adoption of low-emission vehicles.

The new study shows how it’s been a polarizing issue among truckers, and it also shows signs of where electric trucks are making gains. Commercial battery electric vehicles are gaining interest as an alternative to traditional diesel, alternative fuels, and hybrid powertrains. But the subject matter has been confusing for fleet operators and manufacturers attempting to bring the technology over to commercial truck operations. This dilemma inspired NACFE to compile the report.

The report identifies 10 common arguments for and against electric Class 3 through 8 commercial vehicles, and delves into vehicle weight, technology, cost, and charging.

Tesla, Daimler, and other manufacturers are taking the electric truck space very seriously, and the study shows how that may play out in the market. One of the manufacturers, Peterbilt, launched its all-electric Model 579 during ACT Expo. It was built by the truck maker in collaboration with Transpower, the California Air Resources Board, and the Port of Long Beach.

The heavy-duty Model 579 truck has been designed as a drayage application tractor that will go into service soon at the Port of Long Beach. It’s got 490 horsepower with a 200-mile range through its battery pack with the options of 350-to-440 kWh of power. The recharge takes up to five hours.

The NACFE report forecasts that a rapid pace in battery energy density improvements will increase range and efficiency in commercial battery electric vehicles that most likely won’t be matched by trucks powered with internal combustion engines. The transition over to electric trucks will probably take several decades.

Mixed fleets using trucks powered by diesel, natural gas, battery electric, hybrid, and hydrogen optimized for specific routes and duty cycles may be the norm through 2050, according to the study.

The earliest adopters of commercial electric trucks are likely to be providing urban delivery in Class 3 through 6 trucks, the study says. These trucks travel over consistent routes and payloads, and vehicles that run on shift and return to the same base location.

Daimler may see earlier gains than Tesla with its medium-duty Fuso eCanter all-electric trucks. Tesla so far only has plans, on the truck side of the business, to roll out the heavy-duty Tesla Semi.

In December, Daimler Trucks announced it will be delivering the first units of its all-electric Fuso eCanter to European customers. Logistics companies DHL, DB Schenker, Rhenus, and Dachser will use the all-electric truck in their fleets.

The German automaker is also preparing to enter the heavy-duty electric truck market with its eActros model.

On the hydrogen side, Nikola Motor Co. is showing how important clean trucking technology is nowadays by landing an order this week for 800 of its Nikola One fuel cell semi-trucks to be delivered to beer giant Anheuser-Busch.

The fuel cell truck startup had already landed an order for 1,000 of its trucks from freight hauler, Tennessee-based US Xpress.

Anheuser-Busch had previously ordered 40 Tesla Semi electric trucks. Tesla had also secured electric truck purchases from FedEx, UPS, Walmart, and DHL.

Tensions between the two vehicle manufacturers have flared even more this week with Nikola filing a lawsuit in Arizona claiming that Tesla has been infringing on its patents. The suit alleges Tesla copied the patents through similarities between the Nikola One and Tesla Semi in front fenders, windshield, mid-entry doors, and aerodynamic fuselage that have similar drag coefficients.

Nikola is seeking $2 billion in damages, but Tesla is downplaying the validity of the suit.

“It’s patently obvious there is no merit to this lawsuit,” a spokesperson for Tesla said.

Nikola also claims that spy shots shown on the internet weeks before Tesla’s November 2017 reveal of the Semi could be another sign of infringement. The startup company said that it sent a cease and desist letter to Tesla in early November asking that the electric carmaker delay the Semi announcement until the issue was resolved.

Tesla had not responded to the letter, which had been included as an exhibit in Nikola’s lawsuit.

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Fintech, or financial technology that powers banking and financial services through the application of technology and innovation, has gone from virtually non-existent to a US$120 billion (S$160 billion) industry last year – all in just a few years. And UBS estimates that explosive growth still awaits, with global fintech revenues poised to rise three times as fast as traditional banking, reaching US$265 billion by 2025.

As with storied industries like media, retail and automobiles, technology is now threatening to reshape the competitive landscape and upend market shares in global banking and finance. In the coming decade, fintech is set to touch all areas of finance, stirring the next major stage of disruption throughout much of the banking value chain.

In today’s world of smartphones, big data analytics and blockchain, fintech’s rising ubiquity will fast extend beyond the early application of Internet banking. The rise of cashless technology in our day-to-day lives, for example, is a sign of the times. Cash’s reign as a medium of exchange looks set to dwindle as consumers, especially in Asia, increasingly choose to replace their wallets with digital modes of payments. In China, payments via mobile phones topped 82.2 trillion yuan (S$17 trillion) last year, over 60 per cent year-on-year increase, according to the Payment & Clearing Association of China. Singaporeans too are making less use of old-fashioned cash. According to Euromonitor Passport, cash transactions accounted for a little over 40 per cent in Singapore last year, down from nearly 60 per cent in 2007.

With its nascence and growth potential, the time is right for investors to begin positioning for the digital disruption that the fintech era is now ushering in.

FINTECH’S DRIVING FORCES

The rapid rise in fintech adoption will continue to be driven by favourable supply and demand factors.

On the supply side, financial institutions are being pushed to innovate due to the pressing need for cost savings and the obvious efficiency gains accorded by technological innovations. This, coupled with a strong pipeline of ideas from technology start-ups and an eager ecosystem of venture capital (VC) financiers, should drive the rapid accessibility of fintech services.

Still, tech companies are only just starting to scratch the surface of potential fintech solutions.

The rate of disruption in financial services should continue to surge as more financial technology solution providers enter the market. Over the past five years alone, fintech firms have received around US$60 billion in cumulative investments, with Asian companies accounting for one-third.

On the demand side, rapid urbanisation and the quest for financial inclusion is expected to drive the uptick of fintech services centred on digital areas like mobility, cloud, analytics and social as well as emerging technologies, such as blockchain and artificial intelligence (AI). The rising economic power of millennials, who are set to control an even greater share of global wealth, and favourable regulations, such as policies aimed at encouraging financial inclusion, are other supportive factors.

Singapore is particularly well placed to become a regional hub for fintech development thanks to its advanced digital and financial infrastructure, and its progressive policy framework and priorities.

The city’s Smart Nation vision, for example, should have a wide-ranging impact on its ability to produce fintech-related innovation, with notable emphasis on cashless payment solutions.

Against this promising backdrop, UBS estimates of rising fintech penetration from low single digits currently to mid-single digits by 2025 may in fact be conservative, especially considering the potential for rapid adoption among emerging markets.

INVESTING IN THE FINTECH WAVE

A rising number of fintech public listings is expected in the next 12 to 18 months, with the sector and related companies gaining greater investor traction as fintech services become more mainstream.

Investors will likely be best rewarded by investing in a diversified way in fintech champions, with a focus on payment industry leaders, technology companies launching disruptive fintech services and incumbent financial corporations with a clear fintech strategy.

In our six-month tactical asset allocation, for example, we are overweight Singapore equities, with a preference for Singapore banks whose fintech strategies are clearly ahead of their Asean peers.

Additionally, companies that are able to create platforms with network effects around emerging technologies like AI, blockchain and analytics are also likely winners. Areas of particular potential include digital payments, insurtech (insurance), wealthtech (wealth management), capital markets tech and online lending.

That being said, with fintech companies still mostly in the start-up stage, at present, private investing through VC funds remains the purest way to gain exposure. Such funds are best equipped to identify promising companies and provide the necessary capital to help fintech firms grow revenues and achieve profitability, before exiting their investments via an IPO or a sale at higher valuations. They also offer access points to a company’s technology life cycle, with the flexibility to invest at an early, mid or late stage.

Using VC investments to gain direct exposure to fintech can provide access to high growth potential companies across all stages of their development. But such investments naturally come with risk. After all, VC is essentially an opaque and illiquid market with asymmetric information flows and long gestation periods for investments.

Securing access to the best fund managers to mitigate these risks remains paramount to maximising the chances of success. For investors, UBS continues to advocate that around 20 per cent of one’s long-term investments should be allocated to alternatives, which encompass private markets and hedge funds.

• The writer is the Asia-Pacific regional head at the chief investment office of UBS Wealth Management.

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• Oil Minister Zanganeh says Iran supports ‘reasonable’ prices
• Saudi Arabia is said to desire crude closer to $80 a barrel

Iran, faced with a possible restoration of U.S. sanctions, came out against higher oil prices, signaling a split with fellow OPEC member Saudi Arabia, which is showing a willingness to keep tightening crude markets.

A “suitable price” for crude is $60 to $65 a barrel, Amir Hossein Zamaninia, deputy oil minister for international and commercial affairs, said in an interview Sunday in Tehran. Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh said earlier in the day that Iran supports “reasonable” oil prices and is not an advocate of costlier crude.

Brent crude futures surged to almost $75 a barrel on Friday as traders braced for the possible re-imposition of U.S. restrictions on Iran. The Persian Gulf country’s regional arch-rival Saudi Arabia is said to want crude closer to $80 a barrel, in part to support a stake sale in state energy giant Aramco. The OPEC nations continue to clash in proxy conflicts from Syria to Yemen.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries will meet next month in Vienna. Together with allied producers, OPEC began reducing oil production last year in a drive to clear a global glut. The curbs have all but eliminated surplus oil inventories, and prices are near a three-year high. Even so, Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest crude exporter, is urging fellow members to keep curtailing output.

The constant fluctuation in oil prices is destabilizing for future investment and security of supply, Zanganeh said. He made no mention of the multiparty nuclear accord that eased sanctions on Iran starting in January 2016, but he warned that the insertion of politics into the energy market will hurt producers and consumers alike.

“We strongly believe the oil market should not be political,” Zanganeh said. “Political interference will disrupt the process of development and exchange in the market.”

Renewed U.S. sanctions on Iran may disrupt more than the Gulf nation’s oil exports. Iran holds the largest proven reserves of natural gas, and its gas and petrochemical industries have continued to grow since sanctions curbs were eased more than two years ago.

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SINGAPORE – Be wary of e-mails asking for sensitive information related to bank accounts, the Monetary Authority of Singapore has warned consumers in a statement on Sunday (May 6).

The authority said consumers should “exercise utmost caution” when dealing with such e-mails, as it has seen a rise in the number of phishing attempts over the past week.

Phishing is a way of obtaining sensitive personal information such as one’s banking account details, PIN, one-time passwords (OTP), credit card number, user ID or password through the Internet, in order to perform unauthorised banking transactions.

These e-mails are purportedly from banks, asking consumers to update their personal particulars including information on their bank accounts, online banking user names and passwords, said MAS.

Some of these e-mails also claim that it is an MAS requirement for bank customers to do so.

• Steps to protect against phishing

  – Your bank will never send you e-mails asking you to divulge any confidential or personal information.
  – Never reveal your PIN or OTP to anyone. No bank would ever ask for your PIN or OTP via e-mail or phone.
  – Do not click on any link to log on to bank websites or open attachments in e-mails purportedly sent to you by your bank, credit card issuer or service provider. Instead, always enter the full URL or domain name into your address bar.
  – Check your bank’s website regularly for more information on announcements and advisories related to Internet security.

  Source: Monetary Authority of Singapore

However, the MAS said: “Customers who receive such e-mails should not follow the instructions of the senders and should report them promptly to their banks.”

The authority added that all financial institutions are expected to take action to protect their consumers, and promptly alert their customers of any phishing activity and remove phishing websites that target their customers.

Those who suspect that their user name, personal identification numbers or security tokens have been compromised, or if they identify any suspicious activities on their banking accounts, should contact their banks immediately, said MAS.

Consumers can refer to the MoneySense website, the Government’s national financial education programme, for more tips to guard against phishing activities, MAS added.

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