Top Stock Market Highlights of the Week: Grab, StarHub, the US Federal Reserve and Alphabet
Top line
This week's market highlights cover Grab's multi-billion-dollar fintech acquisition, Singapore telecoms consolidation, the Federal Reserve's first rate hike since 2023, and growing AI safety concerns.
Summary
This week's financial highlights feature major corporate and macroeconomic developments, including Grab's US$1.5 billion acquisition of a 60% stake in buy-now-pay-later platform Atome Financial, alongside upgraded 2028 financial targets. In Singapore, StarHub further consolidated the telecommunications market by migrating all MyRepublic Mobile subscribers to its network. In the United States, the Federal Reserve enacted its first interest rate hike since 2023, raising rates by 25 basis points to 3.75%-4% amid persistent inflation. Additionally, mounting concerns over artificial intelligence safety prompted high-profile researcher departures from Google DeepMind and renewed calls for safer development across the tech industry.
Highlights
- Grab Holdings announced a US$1.5 billion cash acquisition of a 60% stake in buy-now-pay-later platform Atome Financial from Advance Intelligence Group on 15 September.
- Atome Financial brings 25 million transacted users across Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, Indonesia, and Thailand into Grab's financial ecosystem.
- The acquisition will occur in two phases, with the initial 60% stake closing by Q3 2027 and the remaining 40% acquired two years later based on performance valuations.
- Alongside the deal, Grab raised its 2028 targets, forecasting adjusted EBITDA of US$1.7 billion and annual revenue growth exceeding 30% between 2025 and 2028.
- StarHub and MyRepublic expanded their partnership, migrating all MyRepublic Mobile subscribers onto StarHub's network.
- StarHub CEO Nikhil Eapen noted the move aligns with ongoing Singapore telecoms consolidation, which has seen seven MVNOs close since 2020.
- The US Federal Reserve raised interest rates by 25 basis points to a range of 3.75% to 4% in a unanimous decision, marking its first hike since 2023.
- Fed Chair Kevin Warsh cited inflation exceeding the central bank's 2% target for over five years as the reason for the rate hike, which prompted major US banks to raise prime lending rates to 7%.
- A Google DeepMind AI safety researcher, Bilal Chughtai, resigned and warned of existential risks from AI development, subsequently joining BlueDot Impact.
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