Private consumption in Thailand expanded 0.6% month over month in May, according to data from the Bank of Thailand released Tuesday.
The reading, measured via the Private Consumption Index (PCI), compared with a 2.1% month-over-month decrease recorded in the previous month.
Analysts polled by Trading Economics predicted a 3% month-over-month expansion in May.
More than half of Singapore real estate investment trusts, or S-REITs, have yet to plan for sustainability assurance readiness despite greater investor scrutiny and their role in the city's built-environment transition, PwC Singapore said in a report Monday.According to a survey of 20 S-REITs representing 48% of the sector's total assets under management, 60% had no plans to obtain external assurance over sustainability-related information.Meanwhile, only 25% of the S-REITs surveyed had made plans for sustainability assurance readiness, while another 15% had already done so.The sustainability assurance readiness ensures S-REITs' environmental, social, and governance data, internal controls, and reporting processes can pass an independent, third-party audit."Our study highlights that external assurance amongst S-REITs remains limited, alongside ongoing challenges in obtaining complete, audit-quality data, particularly where data relies on third parties such as tenants and service providers," PwC Singapore said in its report.
BHP Group (ASX:BHP) said Tuesday it is modifying blast furnaces for lower carbon intensity steelmaking, with efficiency improvements and incremental process optimization able to deliver up to about 20% reductions in carbon dioxide emissions intensity.The company said in a statement that a step change in abatement to about 80% reduction requires top gas recycling and carbon capture, with BHP having set a medium-term Scope 3 emissions goal to support the steel industry to decarbonize.BHP said it is pursuing this goal by supporting multiple technology pathways, including the blast furnace, partnering with steelmakers to trial, de-risk, and scale carbon capture, utilization, and storage processes, while supporting studies on carbon dioxide transport and storage infrastructure and policy enablers.The company's shares fell almost 1% in recent Tuesday trade.
Sanan Optoelectronics (SHA:600703) extended the usable date of its Hubei Mini/Micro LED industrialization project to June 2028 from June 2026, according to a Tuesday filing with the Shanghai bourse.The semiconductor and optoelectronics company cited macroeconomic volatility, sluggish markets and slower-than-expected progress in critical Micro LED processes for the extension.With only 51% of the 6.9 billion yuan invested so far, Sanan Optoelectronics aims to avoid premature capacity buildup amid market uncertainty.Shares of the company rose 1% in recent trade.