Daily Briefing: OCBC expands private bank amidst surging compliance costs; Keppel unveils Corals at Keppel Bay

And here's how 1MDB scandal is affecting Singapore's finance sector.

OCBC CEO Samuel Tsien cited compliance burded as one of the factor spurring him to expand his Asian wealth-management business, at a time when some overseas competitors are retreating. This is due to the rapidly expanding costs of complying with anti-money laundering, tax-compliance and other regulatory requirements -- rising by 35 percent annually across the whole bank -- need to be spread out across as many fee-generating clients as possible, according to Tsien. Read the full story here.

Keppel announces the completion of the 366-unit condo Corals at Keppel Bay, further transforming the southern coast of Singapore. The project marks the second partnership between Keppel Land and world-acclaimed architect Daniel Libeskind, after the Reflections at Keppel Bay. The two developments are Libeskind’s only residential projects in Asia so far. Check out what the new condo has in store here.

It was only just recent when 1MDB money-laundering scandal shook the finance sector, involving agencies in seven countries. The Wall Street Journal reports that whenever 1MDB borrowed money, substantial amounts were misappropriated and routed through accounts in Singapore, Switzerland, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, the Seychelles, the British Virgin Islands and Curaçao in an intricate series of bank transfers. Find out how the scandal affects Singapore banking sector here.

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