China's AI large model usage volume has exceeded that of the U.S. for five consecutive weeks | Chief Information Daily Report

Commentary: China leads the world in AI application scale, with its technological implementation and ecosystem advantages becoming increasingly evident. 2. Soaring fuel costs prompt Asian airlines to raise long-haul fares and cut capacity AirAsia X, Malaysia’s low-cost long-haul carrier, stated it must raise fares and reduce capacity to offset supply shocks linked to the Middle East conflict. Tony Fernandes, co-founder and advisor of AirAsia X, said at a press conference that fare adjustments would be made as needed—but the airline would “keep them as low as possible”—and unprofitable routes would be cut to compensate for high fuel expenses. Despite these challenges, Fernandes affirmed the airline’s commitment to establishing its planned hub in Bahrain, with the inaugural flight scheduled for June 26. 3. State Administration for Market Regulation deploys safety production work for the Qingming holiday and near-term period On April 3, the Safety Production Committee of the State Administration for Market Regulation convened a special meeting to thoroughly implement the spirit and deployment of relevant meetings and directives issued by the State Council’s Work Safety Committee, analyze the current safety production situation, and deploy safety production work in the market regulation sector during the Qingming holiday and the near term. The meeting required focusing on key areas and reinforcing accountability to ensure robust safety production work across the market regulation sector during the Qingming and May Day holidays and beyond. Special attention must be paid to special equipment safety—particularly passenger ropeways, large-scale amusement facilities, off-road tourist sightseeing vehicles, and elevators in public places—to guarantee their safe and stable operation. 4. Galaxy Securities: Civil aviation travel volume maintained growth in March; the 'off-season-but-busy' trend is expected to continue into April amid policy stimulus According to Galaxy Securities’ research report, domestic civil aviation passenger volume rose 12% year-on-year in March (per FlightMaster), with business-travel passenger volume up 8.3% year-on-year. Overall air travel demand growth is expected to remain primarily driven by leisure travel. 5. Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) may tighten policy by 50 basis points in April Markets anticipate that the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) will tighten monetary policy in April by raising the slope of the Singapore dollar nominal effective exchange rate (SGD NEER) policy band by 50 basis points to 1.0%, potentially followed by another 50-basis-point tightening in July. Rising energy prices have intensified inflationary pressures, while strong economic growth momentum provides further justification for policy tightening. Singapore’s GDP grew 5% in 2025, with this growth momentum projected to extend into 2026. Core inflation rose 1.4% year-on-year in February—above the median forecast—while headline inflation stood at 1.2%. 6. Neurocrine Biosciences nears $2.5 billion acquisition of Soleno Therapeutics It is reported that pharmaceutical company Neurocrine Biosciences is poised to acquire rare-genetic-disease drug developer Soleno Therapeutics for over $2.5 billion. Soleno’s potential deal value is estimated to fall in the mid-to-low $50-per-share range, with an announcement possibly as early as Monday. Based on calculations, Soleno’s stock closed at $39.49 per share, giving it a market capitalization of approximately $2.04 billion. 7. U.S. media: NASA Administrator says probability of extraterrestrial life is 'quite high'

Stabilizing livelihoods domestically, expanding energy access externally: Singapore accelerates strategic hedging amid multiple pressures

This week, Singapore navigates simultaneous domestic and external challenges while actively pursuing strategic initiatives. Against the backdrop of an ongoing Middle East energy crisis, the government has introduced temporary transport subsidies for students and healthcare users to stabilize livelihoods, while Deputy Prime Minister Gan Kim Yong personally traveled to the U.S., and Prime Minister Lawrence Wong signed a joint energy supply declaration with Australia—demonstrating senior leadership’s intensive diplomatic efforts to hedge against geopolitical risks. At the financial market level, a Reuters survey found that 11 out of 13 analysts expect MAS to tighten monetary policy on April 14—the first such adjustment in over two years—while the Kallang Lorong GLS site attracted four bidders and sold for S$610 million, indicating developers retain interest in scarce waterfront land, albeit with relatively cautious bidding. Additionally, Nanyang Technological University (NTU) announced it will mandate AI literacy education starting in August—a significant signal for international student families regarding institutional capability development. Below is a detailed breakdown by sector. 1) MAS Monetary Policy Meeting on April 14: Market Expectations for Tightening Key Content: A Reuters survey of 13 economists found that 11 anticipate the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) will adopt a tighter policy stance in its April 14 monetary policy statement—likely by increasing the appreciation slope of the Singapore dollar nominal effective exchange rate (S$NEER) policy band. If realized, this would mark MAS’s first policy adjustment since October 2022, following a series of consecutive hikes and a subsequent pause of over two years. Key drivers behind this expectation include persistently elevated oil prices stemming from the Iran–Middle East conflict, which are feeding through to local energy and inflation costs; MAS’s January monetary policy statement, which raised its 2026 inflation forecast; and narrowing room for inflation to decline due to combined trade friction and oil-price pressures. In contrast, the minority of analysts holding a 'hold' view argue that deteriorating global growth prospects may prompt MAS to maintain its current stance. MAS has not yet officially released its statement during this reporting period; the final decision will be announced on April 14, with direct implications for SGD exchange rates and asset pricing. Rui Rui’s Insight: Should MAS confirm tightening, the Singapore dollar faces upward pressure against both the U.S. dollar and the Hong Kong dollar—benefiting high-net-worth families holding Singapore-based assets or earning SGD-denominated income in the short term. However, rising local mortgage and corporate financing costs warrant close attention. The April 14 statement represents the most critical policy window this quarter. 2) MAS Joins Major Banks in Reviewing GIRO Payment Authorization Safeguards Key Content: The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) announced it will collaborate with major banks to review existing safeguards governing GIRO (bank direct debit) authorization—specifically targeting novel fraud tactics where perpetrators exploit victims’ GIRO authorizations to initiate direct debits. This review covers current authorization setup procedures, consumer notification mechanisms, and standards for detecting anomalous transactions. Background: Recent fraud cases in Singapore involved perpetrators gaining victims’ online banking access and then setting up recurring GIRO debits to siphon funds—an approach causing losses that are harder to detect and recover than one-time transfers. MAS stated it will issue industry guidance upon completing the review, likely mandating enhanced authorization verification and real-time notifications. Rui Rui’s Insight: Households using GIRO for automatic payments (e.g., utility bills, insurance premiums, loan repayments) should regularly audit their list of active GIRO authorizations and delete outdated or unnecessary ones—a low-cost yet highly effective account security measure.

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Singapore’s Monetary Authority is expected to slightly tighten monetary policy amid persistent inflation risks driven by oil prices and energy costs. Economists predict a steeper exchange rate band slope to curb import-price pass-through.

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Singapore’s MAS to Tighten ‘Very Slightly’ as Price Risks Linger

Singapore’s MAS to Tighten ‘Very Slightly’ as Price Risks Linger

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