United Overseas Bank

United Overseas Bank (UOB) launched a pan-regional Engagement Lab (eLab) yesterday to personalise the way in which it converses and serves customers of its upcoming Digital Bank services.

In August, the bank said it plans to introduce a Digital Bank for Asean customers that will use a data-centric business model to understand individual customer banking needs and habits through their digital interactions with the bank.

The eLab will use technology and behavioural insights drawn from the Digital Bank to design, test and trial ways to encourage customers to save and spend more wisely.

UOB plans to set up eLabs in countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

"Mobile-first" and tech-savvy customers will expect digital services to be instinctive and responsive, said Mr Dennis Khoo, head of UOB's Digital Bank and Digital Banking.

Aside from designing a simple and intuitive app interface, the bank will strive to prompt customers to make better financial decisions through real-time digital conversations.

FibreChem Technologies

The provisional liquidators of FibreChem Technologies announced yesterday that they are making arrangements to delist the company, as directed by the Singapore Exchange in a Nov 2, 2017 letter.

They added that on April 20, the court of Bermuda - where the firm is incorporated - gave approval for a further adjournment of the petition for the company's liquidation until Oct 19. The liquidators said that as at the announcement date, based on information currently available to them, "none of the company and its controlling shareholders is in the financial position to propose a cash exit offer to existing shareholders".

The liquidators will be applying to the Bermuda Court to proceed with liquidation of FibreChem's assets in connection with the delisting.

"However, there can be no assurance that there will be distributions available for cash back to the company's shareholders following such liquidation," they added, saying that they will update shareholders as and when appropriate.

Since being appointed, the liquidators had sought to improve recovery efforts from FibreChem's available assets and debtors and actively pursued potential restructuring opportunities, they said.

The company has been suspended from trading since Feb 25, 2009.