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Singapore for the first time became the most expensive city for goods and services for wealthy people, overtaking Hong Kong, London and New York, according to a report on Tuesday.

Cars and essential health insurance in Singapore are 133% and 109% more expensive than the global average, among 12 consumer goods and eight services that reflect the spending patterns of high-net-worth individuals, according to Julius Baer's Global Wealth and Lifestyle report this year.

The politically stable and tax-friendly city-state was one of the first Asian cities to significantly ease pandemic restrictions, and has started to see an influx of wealth.

Demand for accommodation is high, school places are at a premium, and the general cost of living for everyone is high in Singapore, the report added.

Shanghai, in first place last year, fell to second. Possible factors include longer pandemic restrictions than in other cities, the report said. Hong Kong was ranked third.

Johannesburg was at the bottom of the list, which covered 25 cities across the world. (Reuters)

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi heads to the United States this week for a visit billed as a turning point for bilateral relations, with deeper cooperation in defence industry and sharing high technology in sharp focus.

The visit is expected to give India access to critical American technologies Washington rarely shares with non-allies, strengthening a new bond that is underpinned by not just global politics but also business and economics.

Washington and New Delhi, whose relationship was marked by mutual suspicion during the Cold War, have been moving closer for over two decades now with successive U.S. presidents displaying bipartisan support for stronger ties with the emerging Asian economy and regional power.

President Joe Biden has built on that legacy and expanded cooperation as the United States sees India as a vital partner in its efforts to push back against China's expanding influence worldwide and strengthen security in the Indo-Pacific.

Washington also wants to wean India away from its traditional defence partner Russia. New Delhi continues to do business with Moscow and has increased its purchases of cheap Russian oil in the aftermath of the invasion of Ukraine, much to the frustration of the West.

India too has overcome its "hesitations of history" - as Modi put it in a 2016 address to U.S. Congress - and looked West amid its own military tensions and fraying ties with China.

Though Modi has made several previous visits to the United States, this will be his first with the full diplomatic status of an official state visit, just the third of Biden's presidency and third by any Indian leader.

"It’s a milestone in our relationship...It is a very significant visit, very important visit," India’s Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra told reporters on Monday.

A key achievement expected to be showcased is in the area of defence cooperation, especially between military industries of the two countries, Kwatra said, as India seeks to produce more weapons and equipment at home for itself and also for export.

JET ENGINES, DRONES, SEMICONDUCTORS

Major announcements expected during Modi's visit are U.S. approval to General Electric (GE.N) to manufacture engines in India for its domestically produced fighter jets, India's purchase of 31 armed MQ-9B SeaGuardian drones made by General Atomics worth $3 billion, and removal of U.S. obstacles that prevent smoother trade in defence and high technology.

"People will be looking back on this visit by Prime Minister Modi as a real springboard for the U.S.-India relationship, as it relates to defence ... issues in particular," Ely Ratner, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific Affairs, said at a June 8 event.

A stronger India that can defend its own interests and can contribute to regional security is good for the United States, he said, adding that there is an aspiration to see India as an exporter of security in the region.

Cooperation in semiconductors, cyberspace, aerospace, strategic infrastructure and communication, commercial space projects, quantum computing and the use of artificial intelligence in industrial and defence fields, will also be discussed, a senior Indian official said.

During the three-day visit that begins in New York on June 21, Modi will be hosted by President Biden for a state dinner and a private family dinner, attend lunch with Vice-President Kamala Harris and Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and address a joint session of Congress for the second time in nine years.

Modi will also meet American CEOs and lead an International Yoga Day event at the UN headquarters.

"This is not a routine visit, this is a fundamental turning point between India and the U.S.," C. Raja Mohan, Senior Fellow at the Asia Society Policy Institute in New Delhi.

"This is not a question of containing China or anti-China. This is about producing a new balance of power in Asia, which is a multipolar Asia, where there is no single power dominating it," he said. (Reuters)

The Philippine central bank will leave its key interest rate unchanged at 6.25% for a second straight meeting on Thursday and the remainder of the year as price pressures ease, a Reuters poll of economists found.

Inflation has steadily decreased from a 14-year peak in January and slowed for the fourth straight month in May to 6.1%, although still well above the 2-4% target range.

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Felipe Medalla said on Monday that expectations inflation will fall below 4% before year-end is "a good reason to pause."

All 24 economists polled June 13-19 forecast the BSP will hold its benchmark overnight borrowing rate (PHCBIR=ECI) at 6.25% at its policy meeting on June 22.

A strong majority of respondents, 14 of 17, forecast rates will stay at 6.25% for the rest of the year with the remaining three predicting a rate cut by end-2023.

The central bank, which had previously closely followed the U.S. Federal Reserve in hiking interest rates, is now charting a distinct course.

BSP Deputy Governor Francisco Dakila Jr. said last Thursday it may not move in complete lock-step with the Fed if domestic inflation warrants a different response.

"What the BSP will be affected by is the fact that they will not start cutting earlier if the Fed remains hawkish," said Shreya Sodhani, regional economist at Barclays.

"In later meetings if the Fed hikes, the BSP is likely to stay on hold. But when the Fed starts cutting, that's when the BSP will start to again replicate what the Fed is doing."

The Fed kept interest rates unchanged at 5.00%-5.25% last week but signaled it may still hike by as much as half of a percentage point by end-2023.

Among economists who had a longer-term view on rates, over 70% of respondents, 10 of 14, forecast the BSP will cut rates to 6.0% or lower in the first quarter of 2024, while the remaining four forecast rates to remain unchanged. (Reuters)

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi left for the U.S. on Tuesday on a state visit that has been projected as a milestone in ties between the two countries that would deepen and diversify their partnership.

Modi has been to the U.S. five times since becoming prime minister in 2014 but the June 21-24 trip will be his first with the full diplomatic status of an official state visit.

It is also only the third state visit of Joe Biden's presidency and the third by an Indian leader to the U.S., indicating the strengthening bond between Washington and New Delhi and the distance they have travelled since being on opposite sides of the Cold War.

The visit is expected to see the two countries expand cooperation in defence industry and high technology sectors, with India getting access to critical American technologies that Washington rarely shares with non-allies.

"This special invitation is a reflection of the vigour and vitality of the partnership between our democracies," Modi said in a statement ahead of his departure.

"I will also meet some of the leading CEOs to discuss opportunities for elevating our trade and investment relationship and for building resilient global supply chains," he said.

Washington sees India as a vital partner in its efforts to push back against China's expanding influence worldwide.

It hopes that a stronger India that can defend its own interests and can contribute to regional security in the Indo-Pacific is good for the United States.

U.S. lawmakers have invited Modi to address a joint meeting of Congress. It will be Modi's second such address, a rare honour for a leader once denied a visa to enter the United States over human rights concerns.

MEETING MUSK

Tesla (TSLA.O) Chief Executive Elon Musk is among business leaders Modi is scheduled to meet during the trip, Reuters TV partner ANI reported.

Senior Tesla officials met India's deputy minister for technology and other officials last month, making clear the electric vehicle manufacturer's ambitious plans to establish a production base in India.

The officials held discussions with the government about incentives being offered by India for car and battery manufacturing and proposed setting up a factory in India to build electric vehicles, Reuters reported in May.

Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment while India's foreign ministry was not available.

Indian Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra said on Monday that details of Modi's meetings in Washington would be shared as the visit unfolds.

Musk is also the executive chairman of Twitter, which has had run-ins with Modi's government.

Last week, Twitter's co-founder Jack Dorsey said India threatened to shut down the platform in the country unless it complied with orders to restrict accounts critical of the handling of farmer protests, a charge Modi's government called an "outright lie".

Modi's visit comes amid differences in the positions of Washington and New Delhi over Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

India has not condemned Russia's war in Ukraine and urged both sides to resolve their differences through diplomacy.

It remains dependent on old friend Moscow for its defence needs and has sharply increased its imports of cheap Russian oil, frustrating the West.

Asked in an interview with the Wall Street Journal about critical comments in the U.S. for not taking a more forceful stance against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Modi said: "I don't think this type of perception is widespread in the U.S."

"I think India’s position is well known and well understood in the entire world. The world has full confidence that India’s top-most priority is peace," he said in the interview published on Tuesday.

Modi called for changes to global institutions like the United Nations to adapt for an increasingly "multipolar world order", and make them more representative of the world's less-affluent countries, the Wall Street Journal said.

India would like to be a permanent member of the Security Council, he said.

"The world should be asked if it wants India to be there," Modi said. (Reuters)