Singapore

Singapore reopened to new data-centre capacity on 30 May, releasing 500 MW under its Green Data Centre Roadmap with a power-use effectiveness target of 1.3 or better and data halls run at 26 degrees Celsius. On 21 August the Economic Development Board and IMDA split a 200 MW tranche among Digital Realty, Equinix, Keppel and ST Telemedia at 50 MW each, and a liquid-cooling standard for tropical sites, SS 726:2026, followed on 27 August.

On 8 September the government tabled a Digital Infrastructure Bill for first reading. It would replace voluntary standards with licences covering security and energy efficiency, enforced by IMDA, making Singapore's metered approach to capacity a legal requirement.

On 29 April Hengli Petrochemical cut its stake in its Singapore trading Arm from 100% to 5%, with the remaining 95% passing to a Chinese local government entity. The Arm kept pre-positioned crude inventory and continued yuan-settled procurement, a structure that pushed residual exposure below the US Treasury's 50% ownership threshold.

The US wind-down licence expired on 24 May, by which time the Singapore Arm had begun laying off staff. On 25 May the US sanctions office posted no guidance on Dalian Changxing, the named holder of the 95% stake, leaving banks that clear dollar trades through Singapore to judge their own exposure.

Singapore's middle-distillate stocks rose 12% in July to 8.91m barrels, and fuel-oil stocks topped 19m barrels after a 105% jump in imports, figures reported on 20 July.

The build reflects Singapore's role as Asia's main oil storage and bunkering hub. With Gulf freight and war-risk insurance both higher, shipping diesel and fuel oil west to Europe stopped paying, so traders held the barrels in Singapore tanks instead. That leaves the city-state holding product that would normally have gone to the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp market.