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SGX cuts board lots to 10 shares for DBS, OCBC, UOB as push to widen retail participation deepens

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Lower entry costs will open the door to more investors, but understanding what they buy matters more than ever, says Singapore and Regional CEO, Longbridge Securities

SINGAPORE, Oct. 7, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Retail investors can now buy shares of DBS, OCBC and UOB in lots of 10 instead of 100, after the Singapore Exchange’s (SGX) smaller board lot sizes took effect on Monday (5 October). The change cuts the minimum capital needed to own some of the market’s most traded stocks by 90%.

The first 11 counters to qualify are DBS Group, OCBC, UOB, Keppel, Singapore Exchange, Jardine Cycle & Carriage, Jardine Matheson, Great Eastern, Haw Par, Venture Corporation and Prudential. Together, they accounted for about 35% of SGX trading activity in the first half of 2026, according to the exchange.

Under SGX’s revised framework, stocks priced above S$10 and up to S$100 trade in lots of 10 shares, while those above S$100 will trade in lots of a single share. None of the first 11 falls into the single share category. Once a stock’s lot size is reduced, it stays reduced even if its price later falls.

SGX will review eligibility every quarter. The next review, based on closing prices from July to December 2026, takes place in January 2027, with changes taking effect in February.

For a stock trading at S$40, a standard lot now costs about S$400 before fees, compared with S$4,000 previously.

Part of a wider push

The move is the latest in a series of measures to strengthen Singapore’s equity market following the Equities Market Review Group’s final report in November 2025.

As of 29 September 2026, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) had allocated S$5.4 billion of its S$6.5 billion Equity Market Development Programme (EQDP) to 14 asset managers. The latest batch added Amundi, Franklin Templeton, HSBC Asset Management, M&G and Natixis.

MAS has also committed S$20 million under the Grant for Equity Market Singapore (GEMS) to support market making in around 80 small and mid-cap stocks, as well as new listings, until the end of 2028. In its financial year ended June 2026, SGX welcomed 21 new listings.

“Cheaper to access, not cheaper to own”

Industry players say the board lot change addresses a long-standing practical barrier for retail investors, but caution that lower minimums do not change what a stock is worth.

“The cost of access has just fallen by 90%. The cost of a poor decision has not,” said Mr Gavin Chia, chief executive of Longbridge Securities Singapore and regional CEO.

“This is not a stock split. A stock that is expensive at 100 shares is just as expensive at 10. What has changed is how easily investors can get in, not the investment case.”

Mr Chia, who entered the industry about two decades ago when Singapore shares commonly traded in lots of 1,000 units, said the bigger benefit was flexibility. SGX cut the standard lot from 1,000 shares to 100 in 2015.

With smaller lots, investors with modest capital can spread their money across several companies, build positions gradually and keep cash in reserve, he said. That could matter particularly for those building dividend portfolios around Singapore’s banks and blue chips.

But he warned of a new temptation. “Smaller lots should lead to more deliberate portfolios, not more scattered ones. The risk is buying a little of everything without knowing why you own any of it.”

Investors should also note that minimum commissions charged by some brokers can weigh more heavily on smaller trades, making costs a larger share of each purchase.

What investors should check first

Mr Chia said five questions still apply whatever the lot size:

What drives the company’s earnings, and are they sustainable?How is it valued against its own history and its peers?How reliable is the dividend, and what could put it at risk?What are the key risks, from interest rates to regulation?How does the position fit with the rest of the portfolio?

From capital to judgement

Twenty years ago, individual investors faced two main barriers: limited access to information and high minimum capital, Mr Chia noted. Technology has largely removed the first, and SGX has now lowered the second for some of the market’s most traded stocks.

“What remains is understanding,” he said. “Investors today are surrounded by earnings reports, analyst notes and social media commentary. The challenge is no longer finding information but making sense of it.”

Brokers are increasingly turning to artificial intelligence to help investors do that. Longbridge, which is headquartered in Singapore and licensed by MAS through Longbridge Securities Singapore, launched its AI-native investing platform in July. Its assistant, Longbridge AI, analyzes and answers plain language questions about stocks and shows the reasoning and sources behind each answer.

“AI can help an investor work through those questions in minutes rather than days,” said Mr Chia. “But the principle matters as much as the technology. AI proposes, and the investor decides. Its purpose should be better judgement, not more trading.”

He added that easier access does not remove investment risk, and that the industry has a responsibility to match wider participation with better understanding.

“If the last decade was about lowering the price of entry to Singapore’s market, the next should be about raising the quality of participation,” he said. “Smaller board lots open the door. Judgement is what keeps investors in the room.”

What changed on 5 October 2026

Board lot: cut from 100 shares to 10 for SGX stocks priced above S$10 and up to S$100, and to one share for stocks above S$100.First 11 stocks: DBS Group, OCBC, UOB, Keppel, Singapore Exchange, Jardine Cycle & Carriage, Jardine Matheson, Great Eastern, Haw Par, Venture Corporation and Prudential.Not a stock split: share prices and company valuations are unchanged.Next changes: SGX reviews eligibility quarterly, with the next batch taking effect in February 2027.

This article is for general information only and does not constitute investment advice. This article is attributed to Gavin Chia, Singapore and Regional CEO, Longbridge Securities

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SOURCE Longbridge Group

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OutSystems Agent Experience Is Now Generally Available, Bringing Governed AI Development to Any Coding Agent

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October 8, 2026

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Now generally available, OutSystems Agent Experience modernizes AI development across any coding environment—giving enterprises control while cutting costs

SINGAPORE, Oct. 8, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — OutSystems, a leading Agentic Systems Platform for the enterprise, today announced the general availability of the Agent Experience at OutSystems World Tour Las Vegas. Agent Experience opens the OutSystems platform to any AI coding agent including Claude Code, Cursor, Codex, and Kiro.

With Agent Experience, AI works at the level of system design on an open, unified platform, so that companies like Yesco, Lowenstein Sandler, and Normal can tackle their most complex enterprise software and AI projects at scale with confidence.

OutSystems Agent Experience means even the most regulated enterprises can now use any AI coding tool and still get the security, reliability, integrated lifecycle management and architectural coherence they need to reduce complexity and risk.

OutSystems Agent Experience unlocks platform capabilities including:

Build with any AI agent: Empower developers to build and run agentic systems with their preferred coding agents while maintaining architectural integrity. Now, every agent automatically enforces system dependencies, data relationships, and existing business logic—minimizing technical debt, maximizing code reuse, and eliminating fragmented AI generated code in production.

Stay in full control: By working at the level of system design, Agent Experience enforces strict security, automated testing, and governance guardrails out-of-the-box, so software quality, reliability, scalability and performance remain fully predictable.

Deploy anywhere. Cloud, hybrid, or on-premise: Maintain operational sovereignty with the flexibility to deploy applications and AI agents across public cloud, private cloud, on-premise, or hybrid environments to meet strict regulatory and security requirements.

Recent developer survey data shows that 74% of AI-generated code requires significant post-generation rework or is never deployed to production. Agent Experience eliminates this bottleneck for regulated enterprises by letting external AI coding agents shape the architecture, while OutSystems generates the code deterministically to radically minimize the risk, and accelerate the path to production.

“Coding agents have unlocked unprecedented velocity, but the real friction is operational overhead and fragmented code,” said Woodson Martin, CEO of OutSystems. “OutSystems Agent Experience gives AI leaders the speed of coding agents with the compliance, security and scalability required for mission-critical systems. With sovereign deployment options and architectural coherence built in, Agent Experience delivers reliable, production ready software for even the most heavily regulated industries.” 

With increasing AI regulation across all enterprises, early access customers such as YESCO, Lowenstein Sandler and Normal are already compressing their deployment timelines, and scaling governed, cutting-edge agentic systems, with OutSystems Agent Experience:

Internationally acclaimed sign manufacturer builds a governed and secure agentic SDLC

By adopting OutSystems Agent Experience, YESCO, a leading sign company, safely combines AI-driven productivity with enterprise-grade governance to deliver rapid business outcomes. Using this secure platform layer to develop applications with Claude Code, YESCO has compressed software release cycles to two weeks, while maintaining quality and compliance. This accelerated pace enables the company to safely deploy cutting-edge agentic apps that save hours of design time, provide customers with instant pricing, and drive business growth within a trusted, fully governed environment.

US law firm builds agentic legal apps in under three hours while maintaining full enterprise governance

Lowenstein Sandler, a prominent national US law firm, is building on OutSystems with Claude Code and Agent Experience — leveraging the Enterprise Context Graph to pioneer agentic legal applications. The firm’s development team is closing the vulnerability gaps of standalone AI tools by using Mentor’s governance framework. Using this approach, Lowenstein Sandler built a production-ready Litigation Matter Tracker in under three hours. The new workflow slashed application finishing times from one hour down to just 5–10 minutes, all while maintaining the strict enterprise security, compliance, and auditability required in the legal industry.

Expanding European retailer slashes software development time from six to two weeks using governed AI agents

Normal, a fast-growing Danish retailer, is leveraging OutSystems Agent Experience to bring governed agentic AI directly into its software development lifecycle. By combining external coding agents like Claude with the Enterprise Context Graph and built-in architectural guardrails, developers can analyze full application dependencies without re-specifying prompt context—delivering higher-quality analytics and automated documentation. By feeding process markups directly into OutSystems Mentor to make applications production-ready, a single developer built an application in just two weeks—slashing development time from a month and a half while maintaining strict enterprise security and governance.

“OutSystems Agent Experience is game-changing,” said Mike Neyman, Director of Software Integration and Operations, YESCO. “The platform’s open, model-independent approach, lets us keep using our coding agents of choice, and helps us delight executives and customers with AI innovation while maintaining the governance and security required for enterprise use.”

OutSystems also announced Agentic First Notice of Loss—a new insurance offering in its Agentic Industry Solutions portfolio—launching in November. Starting today, insurers can access the Insurance Agent Kit on OutSystems Forge, complete with pre-built claims agents. Along with the recently launched Agentic Loan Applications for banking, these insurance offerings accelerate AI adoption in regulated industries. Using Agent Experience, anyone can easily customize any of these components using their preferred coding agents.

OutSystems Agent Experience is generally available as of today. To learn more, visit the OutSystems Agent Experience page. To watch the OutSystems World Tour Las Vegas keynote, and catch up on additional OutSystems news coming out of the conference, visit the on-demand hub.

About OutSystems

OutSystems is the Agentic Systems Platform built for the enterprise. Global organizations trust OutSystems to rapidly build mission-critical apps and agents, modernize legacy processes with agentic systems, and govern their entire AI portfolio across complex regulatory environments, all on a unified platform.

OutSystems is consistently recognized as a leader in enterprise software development and agentic enterprise orchestration by Gartner, IDC, and Forrester, and ranked #1 in Customer Satisfaction by users on G2. Business leaders, IT executives and developers choose OutSystems to accelerate internal innovation without compromising reliability and security.

Founded in 2001, the OutSystems ecosystem includes more than 90 million end users, over 600 partners, and thousands of active customers in 75+ countries across 20+ industries. Learn more at www.outsystems.com.

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The Art Basel and UBS Survey of Global Collecting 2026 reveals Gen Z as the highest-spending generation

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October 8, 2026

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This year’s survey explores how high-net-worth collectors begin building their collections, highlighting the influence of family, rise in younger generations’ purchasing activity, evolving attitudes toward privacy, and the growing use of digital and AI-enabled tools for researching their purchases

NEW YORK, Oct. 8, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — The Art Basel and UBS Survey of Global Collecting 2026 by Arts Economics, reveals fresh insights into the evolving behaviors and motivations of high-net-worth (HNW) collectors. Conducted by Arts Economics in collaboration with UBS, the survey draws on responses from 3,100 HNW individuals across 10 key markets: the US, UK, Mainland China, Hong Kong, France, Australia, Germany, Japan, Brazil and Singapore.

Dr Clare McAndrew, Founder, Arts Economics: “This research let us look beyond what high-net-worth collectors buy to how they use their collections and what really matters to them about owning art. Attitudes towards privacy and access varied widely, challenging some established assumptions. Many purchases are driven less by the conspicuous consumption traditionally linked to the market than by a desire to build connections within close networks, where status comes less from price than from rarity, provenance, originality, and discovery. Restricting access does not remove a collection’s signaling power; exclusivity can be part of the signal. Perhaps surprisingly, the youngest collectors were the most private, both in person and online. Gen Z collectors were the least likely to share details of their collections publicly online, preferring invitation-only spaces, with privacy central to their personal and cultural identity.” 

John Mathews, Head of Private Wealth Management for the Americas at UBS: “The Art Basel and UBS Survey of Global Collecting 2026 by Arts Economics  highlights how collecting is becoming increasingly connected to broader family and wealth planning in the United States. With 86% of US collectors having inherited artworks and significant numbers planning family gifts and charitable donations, collections are increasingly being viewed through a multi-generational lens. Collectors are thinking not only about what they acquire today, but about the cultural, philanthropic and family impact those collections can have in the future.”

Key findings of the survey:

Gen Z emerges as the highest-spending generation of HNW collectors: In 2025 and the first half of 2026, Gen Z spent more on fine art than any other generation surveyed, with spending levels more than twice as high as those of older generations. Gen Z also made up nearly half of all collectors buying artworks priced above USD 1 million in 2026.Family remains an important foundation for collecting: The survey offers the first dedicated analysis of how HNW collectors begin building their collections and finds that family is the most common route to starting a collection. While 28% of collectors reported family as their primary route into collecting, the share rose significantly to 40% among Gen Z. Almost 90% of Gen Z collectors who inherited works retained them, underscoring the enduring role of family legacy in shaping collections across generations.Uniqueness and rarity stands out as the leading priority in owning art: Across generations, uniqueness and rarity ranked as the most important aspects of ownership (43%), ahead of owning works respected by experts (23%) or owning something admired in collector circles (22%). Uniqueness mattered more to Gen Z collectors (48% versus 38% of Baby Boomers).Collectors have become strongly research-driven in their purchasing decisions: 72% of HNW collectors conducted moderate or significant independent research before purchasing art, up from 62% in 2025, and  rising to 80% among Gen Z collectors.Digital sources and AI-enabled research tools continue to gain ground: 58% of HNW collectors used online resources for advice and recommendations, while the use of apps and AI tools rose to 22%, up from 4% in 2024.Collectors continue to diversify their interests across art and collectibles: Fine art accounted for 33% of total spending across art and collectibles categories in 2026. Gen Z collectors were the highest spenders across virtually every category and, together with boomers, displayed the broadest collecting interests, with 42% of Gen Z collectors and 39% of Baby Boomers purchasing across at least two additional collecting categories outside of fine and decorative art in the last year.Philanthropy and legacy planning remain important priorities: The report found that 23% of HNW collectors said they planned to donate works to museums in the coming year, while many others said they intended to support artist prizes, residencies, foundations, or private museums. Family legacy continues to play a central role in both building and preserving collections, with many collectors focused on passing collections to future generations.  

Links
www.ubs.com/artmarket

About UBS and contemporary art
Global Lead Partner of Art Basel, UBS has a long history of supporting contemporary art and artists. UBS seeks to advance the international conversation about the art market through its global lead partnership with Art Basel, and as co-publisher of the Art Basel and UBS Global Art Market Report and the Art Basel and UBS Survey of Global Collecting. UBS also supports some of the world’s most important arts institutions, events, and fairs. The firm also has one of the world’s most significant corporate collections of contemporary art. The UBS Art Advisory supports the firm’s UHNW and family offices clients with impartial advice across the lifecycle of collecting. To meet growing client demand in the US, UBS has expanded its specialty lending capabilities to include dedicated art lending services for select Ultra High Net Worth clients, complementing its Art Advisory offering.

About UBS
UBS is a leading and truly global wealth manager and the leading universal bank in Switzerland. It also provides diversified asset management solutions and focused investment banking capabilities. UBS manages 7.3 trillion dollars of invested assets as per the second quarter 2026. UBS helps clients achieve their financial goals through personalized advice, solutions and products. Headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland, the firm is operating in more than 50 markets around the globe. UBS Group shares are listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).
www.ubs.com/media

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SOURCE UBS Business Solutions AG

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Hanwha recognized on Fast Company’s 2026 Next Big Things in Tech list

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October 8, 2026

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SEOUL, South Korea, Oct. 7, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Recognition honors EnergyFluo™, an agentic AI energy management system that orchestrates power from multiple sources, inclusive of grid, battery storage and on-site generation, and optimizes facility load so data centers can flexibly run more IT capacity within the power they already have.

Hanwha announced that EnergyFluo™, an agentic AI Energy Management System (EMS) engineered by TransGrid Energy, a Hanwha Group company, has been named to Fast Company’s 2026 Next Big Things in Tech, an annual list recognizing breakthrough technologies driving meaningful innovation and shaping the future of technology.

Hanwha was selected in the Applied AI category for its innovative new product designed to help data centers and large-load facilities navigate increasingly complex power environments. Using agentic AI, physics-based equipment models, and digitized operating procedures, EnergyFluo™ analyzes real-time data across power generation, battery storage, cooling, and IT loads to help operators optimize energy use, with targeted operational cost savings of 5% to 25% depending on site configuration. Human operators remain in control of critical decisions, and the technology behind the system was among the first AI-enabled products globally to receive certification under UL 3115, the Outline of Investigation for Safety of AI-Based Products, in March 2026.

Fast Company highlighted EnergyFluo™’s machine learning and large language model (LLM)-driven capability to autonomously monitor data center operations, analyze potential causes of issues, and determine how to respond to optimize power consumption. It also pointed to Prime Group’s adoption of the technology for a nationwide deployment of edge data centers as an example of its real-world application.

“Data centers have become some of the most complex energy systems on the grid, and they can no longer be managed one site at a time,” said Dr. Youngchoon Park, CEO of TransGrid Energy. “EnergyFluo™ orchestrates grid, storage and on-site generation as one system and optimizes the load behind them, so operators can put more megawatts to work for IT and run their entire fleet from one intelligent view.”

Fast Company’s Next Big Things in Tech recognizes innovative technologies developed by established companies, startups, and research teams that are making meaningful progress toward transforming the lives of consumers, businesses, and society. This year’s honorees span industries, with each innovation demonstrating the potential to create significant impact in the years ahead.

 “The most exciting technology innovations are the ones that move beyond promise to demonstrate real potential for impact,” said Brendan Vaughan, editor-in-chief of Fast Company. “The companies and teams recognized on this year’s list are tackling ambitious problems with new ideas, products, and approaches that have the potential to fundamentally shape the years ahead.”

For more information or to view the complete list, visit: Fast Company’s 2026 Next Big Things in Tech

About Hanwha

Hanwha is South Korea’s fifth-largest business group, with innovative businesses in aerospace & defense, energy & maritime solutions, finance, and tech & life solutions. As a multinational company with a robust global network of affiliates, Hanwha designs, builds, and operates foundational systems that secure societies, strengthen industries, and drive future resilience. Through continuous investment in technology, talent, and trusted partnerships, Hanwha delivers integrated solutions that enable sustainable growth and create long-term value for industries and communities.

For more information, visit: www.hanwha.com

About TransGrid Energy

TransGrid Energy is an energy infrastructure platform advancing the transition from traditional independent power producer models to AI-enabled, data-driven energy systems. A wholly owned subsidiary of Hanwha FutureProof, TransGrid develops, owns, and operates grid-connected generation, battery storage, and distributed energy resources while integrating Grid & Energy Services technology to optimize performance, reliability, and value across the asset lifecycle.

TransGrid is building a scalable platform that connects physical energy infrastructure with software intelligence to support utility-scale, distributed, and behind-the-meter energy applications. As a member company of Hanwha Group, a global leader in renewable energy solutions, TransGrid combines deep energy expertise, proven project execution capabilities, and significant capital to support the evolving energy needs of its customers.

For more information, visit: transgridenergy.com

About Fast Company

Fast Company is the only media brand fully dedicated to the vital intersection of business, innovation, and design, engaging the most influential leaders, companies, and thinkers on the future of business. Headquartered in New York City, Fast Company is published by Mansueto Ventures LLC, along with fellow business publication Inc.

For more information, visit: fastcompany.com

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SOURCE Hanwha

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