04/02/2026

BIZ & FINANCE WEDNESDAY | FEB 4, 2026

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Singapore air show kicks off amid supply chain strains, regional demand surge SINGAPORE: Singapore kicked off Asia’s biggest aviation gathering yesterday as the industry looks to meet ambitious regional growth targets despite widespread supply chain shortages that have delayed many aircraft deliveries. More than 1,000 companies are participating in the 10th edition of the biennial Singapore Airshow, from industry giants like Airbus and Boeing to local champion ST Engineering and a new wave of drone-focused defence firms like Anduril Industries and Shield AI. Close to 60,000 people attended the four trade days of the prior show in 2024, and organisers have said they are expecting even better numbers this year after the debut of an accompanying space summit where Singapore said on Monday it would launch its own space agency. The Asia-Pacific region is the world’s fastest-growing region for air travel, propelled by China and India, with passenger traffic growth of 7.3% projected for 2026, but plane makers and engine manufacturers are struggling to keep up with demand for fleet expansions. “As the aviation market continues to grow, there is a mismatch of demand-supply,” said Jeffrey Lam, president of ST Engineering’s commercial aerospace division, the world’s largest airframe maintenance and repair services provider. “And I think the mood (at the show) would reflect that there’s a lot of expectations, a lot of anticipation of how the industry can continue to recover to meet market demand, whether from the airlines or from flight passengers.” Boeing announced a deal with Air Cambodia for 10 of its 737 MAX jets, while Chinese planemaker Comac is among those vying for attention with its homegrown C919 passenger jet, which is making its second appearance at the show this year after dominating headlines two years ago. Earlier yesterday, the Chinese company’s smaller C909 regional model received the show’s first plane order when China’s Shanxi Victory General Aviation signed a letter of intent for six firefighting aircraft. The passenger version of the C909 has begun to gain some traction in Southeast Asia, where Indonesia’s TransNusa, Lao Airlines and Vietnam’s VietJet Aviation have operated the model on over 20 routes carrying more than 700,000 passengers, according to Comac data. The Singapore Airshow has accounted for just 5% of global air show orders since 2012, according to calculations by Jefferies analysts, lagging far behind Paris, Farnborough and Dubai, which are held later in the year. Nevertheless, it serves as a key meeting point for regional airline executives and their counterparts at plane makers and engine manufacturers as they look to meet growing demand for air travel in the Asia-Pacific region, which is home to about 35% of global air traffic. – Reuters

Trump announces trade deal with New Delhi

o India agrees to stop buying Russian oil, US tariffs lowered to 18%

MUMBAI: exporters yesterday hailed Donald Trump’s announcement of a US-India trade deal and a pledge to slash tariffs on the nation’s goods that brings an end to months of uncertainty but analysts urged caution citing a lack of clarity. The US president said that the agreement came together after Prime Minister Narendra Modi promised to stop buying Russian oil over the war in Ukraine, adding that he would lower levies to 18% from the 25% imposed last year. He also said New Delhi had agreed to purchase more than US$500 billion (RM1.9 trillion) worth of US energy, technology, agricultural, coal and other goods. An extra 25% toll imposed over India’s Russian oil purchases was also removed, a White House official told AFP. While Washington had struck deals with most governments since he unveiled sweeping tariffs in April last year, Indian officials had struggled to follow suit. The lack of a pact had rattled investors for much of last year and prompted foreign funds to pull more than US$20 billion from Indian markets, while hammering the rupee. Indian

stumbled over India’s refusal to expose its politically sensitive agriculture sector to greater US access. “We will gain from this deal. But I’m actually worried that there is a bigger picture and that is not very clear,” economist Biswajit Dhar told AFP. He added that the commitment from the Indian government was that it would not open up agriculture, but Trump’s post “gave initial indications that the US was getting access to agriculture”. Others sought more clarity on the timeline for Trump’s claims that New Delhi would ramp up purchases of US energy and tech. “The headline figure of US$500 billion in purchases is unclear,” said Ajay Srivastava of the Global Trade Research Initiative, a Delhi-based thinktank, in a note. “India currently imports less than US$50 billion a year from the US. This looks more like an aspiration than a commitment. Until there is a joint statement, negotiated text and clarity on enforcement, this should be seen as a political signal – not a final deal. “Caution, not celebration, is needed.” – AFP Speaking to reporters, Lai reiterated an offer to speak to Beijing, based on parity and equality. Taiwan’s opposition has also blocked Lai’s US$40 billion (RM157 billion) special defence budget, instead pushing their own proposal that provides funding only for certain US arms, not the full package Lai wants. On Monday, US Senator Roger Wicker, chairman of the Armed Services Committee and one of the strongest advocates for Taiwan in the Congress, wrote on X that he was “disappointed” to see Taiwan’s opposition parties slash Lai’s defence budget. “The original proposal funded urgently needed weapons systems. “Taiwan’s Parliament should reconsider – especially with rising Chinese threats,” added Wicker, who met Lai in Taipei last August. In response, the KMT said it had always supported the defence budget, and regretted Wicker’s remarks “made without sufficient information”. It asked, “Would the US Congress ever pass a blank-cheque budget for eight years with no specifics?” renewing previous criticism of the government that the party could not blindly pass spending without having more details. – Reuters

But Trump’s announcement late on Monday was welcomed by markets, with Mumbai’s benchmark Nifty index jumping nearly 5% at the open. The Federation of Indian Export Organisations called the agreement the “father of all deals”, adding that several sectors would see a “rapid surge in orders”. “It is extremely good news,” FIEO director general Ajay Sahai told AFP. “Indian exporters will now be equally competitive compared to Southeast Asian and South Asian rivals. “If you look at a lot of our rivals in the region, it is mostly above 19%.” Sahai said apparel and footwear manufacturers, who had seen orders delayed because of the high US duties, would feel immediate relief. “Normally orders for the upcoming (summer) season are finalised by December. “But a number of orders were put on hold due to the tariffs.

“Now that will start moving back to India.” Despite resilient shipments of smartphones and generic drugs – which were exempted from the original tolls – labour intensive sectors such as marine products and gems and jewellery had been hit hard. G. Pawan Kumar of the Seafood Exporters Association of India estimated Trump’s earlier 50% tariff had led to a 15% year-on-year drop in export volumes to the US between April and November. “We are confident that with the conclusion of the trade deal and lowering of tariffs to 18%, the quantum of export of seafood from India to USA will show an increase and soon reach back to the previous levels,” he said in a statement. But analysts pointed to the lack of clarity on several aspects of the deal – including Trump’s claim that India would “move forward” to cut its tariffs on US goods to “zero”. Negotiations had repeatedly “Taiwan has both the capability and the confidence to work with its democratic partners to lead the next generation of prosperity,” he said. Lai was speaking as the deputy chairman of Taiwan’s main opposition party the Kuomintang (KMT), Hsiao Hsu-tsen, was in Beijing for a think-tank exchange with China’s Communist Party on ostensibly non-political issues like AI and tourism. Lai said Taiwan’s opposition “had their own positions”, and pointed to the differences of Taiwan’s slower economic growth under the previous KMT government, which signed a landmark trade deal with China, or the much faster growth since the Democratic Progressive Party took office in 2016. “Do we want to continue collaborating with the US, Japan, Europe and other allied nations, or again lock ourselves into China?” he added. Hsiao told the opening of the forum in Beijing that “peaceful development” serves the interests of both sides, according to a read out of his remarks provided by the party. “We should cooperate across the Taiwan Strait to earn money from the world, rather than oppose each other across the strait and let foreign

Taiwan doubles down on partnership with America TAIPEI: Taiwan must look to fellow democracies, not China, for trade and economic cooperation, President Lai Ching-te said yesterday, as his government mapped out how the island plans to work with the United States on areas like AI and critical minerals. administration of Donald Trump, with the US State Department praising Taipei as a “vital partner”. The two sides signed statements on cooperation on economic security and on the Pax Silica Declaration – a US-led initiative aimed at securing AI and Speaking at a news conference at the presidential office about the US-Taiwan Economic Prosperity Partnership Dialogue, Lai lauded the outcome of those talks. “Taiwan is on the right economic path and is striding confidently onto the world stage. countries reap the benefits, exploiting Taiwan and hollowing it out,” he said. China refuses to speak to Lai, calling him a “separatist”. He says only Taiwan’s people can decide their future.

semiconductor supply chains amid intense competition from Beijing, Washington’s main strategic rival and which claims Taiwan as its own territory.

Senior Taiwanese and American officials last week discussed cooperation in artificial intelligence, tech and drones at a high-level forum launched during the first

Lai speaks at a press conference on the latest round of economic talks with the US in Taipei. – REUTERSPIC