Wall Street greeted new US President Joe Biden by climbing even higher on Wednesday, closing at records amid promises of big economic stimulus and relief that the inauguration was uneventful. All three major indices ended at all-time highs after Biden was inaugurated as the 46th president of the United States in a peaceful ceremony just two weeks after supporters of former president Donald Trump stormed the US Capitol in an effort to overturn the results of the November election. The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index led the charge, jumping 2.0 per cent to end the day at 13,457.25, fueled in part by a huge gain Netflix shares following a strong earnings report. The benchmark Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.8 per cent to close at 31,188.38, while the broad-based S&P 500 climbed 1.4 per cent to 3,851.85.

Singapore Exchange (SGX) has raised queries regarding New Silkroutes Group's wholly-owned oil-trading subsidiary, International Energy Group (IEG), which the group has not been successful in winding up. The agreement for the disposal of IEG to TK Energy lapsed on June 30 last year, after the buyer failed to disburse loans to New Silkroutes Capital and IEG. In a regulatory filing on Wednesday, New Silkroutes said that in view of the global pandemic and the challenging energy market, the management and the board believe that the energy business is not sustainable and that IEG will not be able to fulfil its debt obligations - and this is after taking into account the cash flow projections commencing in the second quarter of 2021.

SIIC Environment Holdings announced on Wednesday that it has been awarded a project involving the expansion of a wastewater-treatment plant. The water-treatment and environmental-protection company's indirectly owned subsidiaries, SIIC Environment Holdings (Weifang) Co and S.I. United Water Holdings, have signed a concessionary arrangement with the government of Zaozhuang City in Shandong province for a wastewater-treatment plant expansion project called the Yicheng Expansion Project.

Entertainment and content provider G.H.Y Culture & Media (GHY) announced on Wednesday that its indirect associate company has incorporated a firm in China through a joint venture (JV) limited partnership. The associate company, Tianjin Changxin Film & Media Co, has a 48.9 per cent stake in the incorporated firm known as Xiamen Kaimen Jianjun Film & Television Industry Investment.

ICP said in a regulatory update on Wednesday that it has terminated plans to acquire a 5 per cent trust-beneficiary interest in the b Osaka Midosuji Hotel in Japan. This comes as the conditions for the purchase-and-sale agreement could not be fulfilled in its entirety, said ICP. There is no financial impact on the company, because, according to the terms of the agreement, the deposit will be refunded in full. ICP added that it will continue to engage with the vendor in respect of revising the terms of the proposed acquisition.

SP Group has acquired Engie's stake in Sino-French Energy Services (SFES) in Chongqing for an undisclosed sum, the company said on Wednesday evening. Under the agreement, SP is acquiring Engie's 40-per-cent stake in the company, making this the group's first acquisition of energy assets in China, it said in a statement.

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