When Melvyn Pun agreed to take his former boss to Myanmar in 2012, little did he know that the trip would cause him to quit his high-profile job at Goldman Sachs Group Inc.Melvyn had wanted to stay as head of corporate sales for Asia excluding Japan at Goldman, rather than join his father Serge’s empire – a sprawling conglomerate that runs businesses from real estate to the KFC chicken franchise in Southeast Asia’s poorest nation.

Indonesia’s stock exchange is having trouble luring retail investors. Their solution? Target the millennials.While the participation of individual investors in Indonesia is low compared with other Asian countries, those aged between 21 and 30 account for 26 percent, the biggest share of any age group, according to data from Indonesia Central Securities Deposit.

Xiaomi Corp., the Chinese smartphone maker that was once the most valuable startup in the world, is in talks with investment banks about a possible initial public offering and seeking a valuation of at least $50 billion, according to people familiar with the matter.The Beijing-based company is considering an offering as soon as next year with banks suggesting Hong Kong as the most likely destination, said the people, requesting not to be named because the matter is private.

Singapore’s stock market is finally getting some love again.With almost two months of the year to run, the Straits Times Index has already notched up its best annual performance since 2012 amid an economic recovery and a stronger currency.The city-state’s equity funds received some two billion dollars in 10 straight months of inflows, the most annually since 2007, according to data from asset allocation tracking company EPFR Global.

Just as the term suggests, Virtual Reality (VR) technology combines both "reality" and "virtual" experiences using a three-dimensional, computer generated environment which can be explored by a user. The user becomes part of this virtual world or is immersed within this environment and whilst there, is able to manipulate objects or perform a series of actions. While some may be unfamiliar with this technology, VR has in fact been around for decades.

DBS Group Holdings reported a surprise drop in third-quarter profit as Southeast Asia’s largest bank boosted bad-loan allowances more than sixfold in an effort to deal with its problem lending to the regional oil and gas services sector.The bank reported a 23 percent drop in net income to S$822 million (602 million dollars), worse than even the most pessimistic of analyst forecasts, but indicated it now hopes to draw a line under the bad-debt issues by recognising more of its energy services

Sea Ltd. shares fell for the third day in a row and dropped below their initial public offering price, a rocky start as a public company for the Singapore games startup.Sea’s stock slipped 9.9 percent in New York trading Wednesday to close at 13.73 dollars.

Singapore is experiencing a surge in venture capital fundraising, reflecting growing interest in Southeast Asia’s startups.This month, Vertex Ventures and two other venture-capital firms completed fundraising efforts in the city, each with their largest fund yet.

For technology stock investors, it sometimes pays to buy the companies that make the parts.Take Techfast Holdings, a small Malaysian supplier of everything from screws and self-clinching fasteners to materials for light-emitting diodes.

Dymon Asia Capital (Singapore), the hedge fund manager that made its name betting on macro-economic themes, plans to raise an additional 600 million dollars for a stock fund as it expands its equity business, said President Jay Luo.The Dymon Asia Equity Fund oversees more than 400 million dollars, made up of mostly internal capital and money from Singapore state-owned investment company Temasek Holdings, Luo said.