U.S. futures had modest gains early in Asia after Wall Street stocks plunged the most since 1987, with President Donald Trump warning that the economic disruption from the virus could last into summer.

Futures pointed to declines of as much as 4% in Tokyo, with Hong Kong contracts also lower after the S&P 500 Index sank 12% and erased its gain for 2019. Australian equities advanced after tumbling almost 10% Monday. U.S. stocks closed near their lows after Trump said the economy could tip into recession. Global central bank stimulus failed to mollify investors worried about the damage the coronavirus is inflicting on businesses. Treasuries rallied. Crude oil traded near $29 a barrel after plunging almost 10% in New York. The yen slipped.

CANCER diagnostics company Biolidics on Monday said it will undertake a share placement to raise about S$3.1 million to fuel its business expansion and pursue new growth opportunities. The Catalist-listed company will issue about 17.9 million new ordinary shares at 17.5 Singapore cents each.

MAINBOARD-LISTED Yangzijiang Shipbuilding has inked a new US$1.15 billion shipbuilding contract for up to 10 vessels. These orders for dual-fuel 14,000 TEU (20-foot equivalent unit) container ships have a contract value of US$115 million each, said Yangzijiang in a regulatory filing on Monday. Two of these vessels are firm orders, while the remaining eight are options. They are scheduled to be delivered from mid-2022.

MAINBOARD-LISTED Ho Bee Land's subsidiary, HB Universal, has been awarded the concept and price tender to build, own and operate Biopolis Phase 6 at one-north by JTC Corporation, said Ho Bee in a statement on Monday. Ho Bee's S$223.6 million tender to JTC was the winning bid among four submissions. The tender closed on Dec 4, 2019.

A SUBSIDIARY of water treatment firm SIIC Environment has commenced commercial operation of a wastewater treatment plant project in Guangxi, China, while another subsidiary signed seven operation and maintenance (O&M) projects for other plants, the company said on Monday.

SEMBCORP Industries will be appointing a new group president and chief executive officer (CEO) to take over from Neil McGregor, who will retire on June 30, said the firm in a statement on Monday.

Wong Kim Yin, CEO of leading utilities provider SP Group, will assume Mr McGregor's role from July 1, 2020. Mr Wong has more than 20 years of experience in the energy sector and in investment management. Formerly the senior managing director of investments at Temasek International, he was responsible for investments in various sectors, including the energy, transportation and industrial clusters.

Source: SGX Masnet, The Business Times, Bloomberg, Channel NewsAsia, Reuters, PSR