Daily Update — October 21, 2025
Singapore’s Clean Energy; Grid Congestion; and Private Equity in Sports Services
Today is Tuesday, October 21, 2025, and here’s your curated selection of Essential Intelligence on global markets from S&P Global. Subscribe to be notified of each new Daily Update.
Energy Transition & Sustainability
Cross-border clean energy imports: Powering Singapore’s future
Singapore is securing its energy future through cross-border electricity imports. On June 13, Singapore and Indonesia signed a landmark agreement to establish policies and regulatory frameworks that will enable cross-border electricity trade within the next 12 months.
The agreement is a significant milestone for seven projects in Riau Islands and Sumatra in Indonesia, which have a combined capacity of 3.4 GW, and supports Singapore's ambition to import up to 6 GW of clean power by 2035. Imports are estimated to represent one-third of Singapore's electricity mix by 2035, according to the country’s Energy Market Authority.
Artificial Intelligence
Grid congestion remains key issue as data center load growth stresses system
Despite rising electricity demand from AI data center expansions, wind and solar generation is being increasingly curtailed across multiple independent system operators because of insufficient grid infrastructure to transport excess renewable generation to load centers. This is partly due to a disconnect between areas of high renewable output and large load concentrations, including data centers.
Planned transmission projects in the US have increased 25% from 2024 levels. Regions such as the area covered by the Midcontinent ISO and the non-ISO West are leading in planning substantial transmission projects to accommodate new generation anticipated to power data centers. Utility investment in transmission and distribution infrastructure is rapidly increasing, with combined utility capital expenditure expected to increase $12 billion year over year to $84.9 billion in 2025. This reflects a significant rise in spending, driven by the need to support the expanding data center market and the overall demand for reliable energy infrastructure, despite some uncertainties in federal support for grid upgrades.
Private Markets
Private equity deal value in sports services hits 8-year high of $6B
Private equity and venture capital-backed transactions in sports services totaled $6.33 billion globally in the first three quarters of 2025, the highest in at least eight years, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence data. The analysis includes sports teams, agents, promoters, sports nutrition services, instruction services and professional sports clubs. Private equity involvement helped drive overall sports team acquisitions to record highs in 2025, with the aggregate deal value at $23.60 billion through August, according to Market Intelligence.
"The valuations [are] getting so incredibly high and frothy that select few can invest. There are rules on the amounts and thresholds that they can invest. It creates a very closed market," Dan Malone, cohead of M&A and private equity at law firm Haynes and Boone, said in an interview.
In case you missed it
- Malaysia's state-owned Petronas offered up to five spot LNG cargoes for November and December delivery in the week of Oct. 13–17, Asian LNG traders said.
- US managed care insurers have traded down since Oct. 8, ahead of the earnings season, as the release of Medicare ratings and federal tax credit uncertainty weighed on stock prices.
- Volatility-controlled indices continue to gain popularity among index-linked insurance products, with underlying asset class components and index mechanisms expanding.
Upcoming events
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