Market Forecast
The Singapore stock market on Wednesday snapped the six-day winning streak in which it had jumped almost 70 points or 2.3 percent. The Straits Times Index now sits just above the 3,220-point plateau although it's looking at steady start on Thursday.
The STI finished barely lower on Wednesday following losses from the financials and industrials and a mixed performance from the property sector.
For the day, the index dipped 2.87 points or 0.09 percent to finish at 3,220.22 after trading between 3,214.89 and 3,239.70.
Among the actives, Ascendas REIT climbed 1.09 percent, while CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust advanced 1.06 percent, CapitaLand Investment jumped 1.62 percent, City Developments was up 0.30 percent, Comfort DelGro added 0.79 percent, DBS Group skidded 0.63 percent, Genting Singapore and Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation both dropped 0.56 percent, Hongkong Land retreated 0.84 percent, Keppel Corp fell 0.29 percent, Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust slumped 0.65 percent, Mapletree Industrial Trust spiked 1.77 percent, Mapletree Logistics Trust gained 0.60 percent, Seatrium Limited declined 0.69 percent, SembCorp Industries eased 0.18 percent, Singapore Technologies Engineering rose 0.52 percent, Thai Beverage rallied 1.75 percent, Wilmar International improved 0.84 percent, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding tumbled 1.14 percent and Emperador, SATS, SingTel and Yangzijiang Financial were unchanged.
Local News to Watch
HDB, condo rents continue to climb in July, with more units leased
Rents for Housing Board flats rose for the 37th straight month in July, climbing by 2 per cent, after a 1.4 per cent increase in June.
On the whole, public housing rents went up by 24.1 per cent between July 2022 and July 2023, based on flash data from real estate portals 99.co and Singapore Real Estate Exchange (SRX) released on Wednesday.
Separately, condominium rents headed north in July for the second consecutive month, rising 1.1 per cent, after a 0.2 per cent climb in June. Year on year, rents climbed by 21.6 per cent.
India allows rice exports to Singapore: Ministry
India’s Ministry of External Affairs said on Tuesday (Aug 29) the country had decided to allow rice exports to Singapore.
India and Singapore enjoy a very close strategic partnership, characterised by shared interests, close economic ties and strong people-to-people connection, the ministry said in a statement.
“In view of this special relationship, India has decided to allow export of rice to meet the food security requirements of Singapore. Formal orders in this regard will be issued shortly," a spokesperson for the ministry said in a statement.
Ng Kok Song taking extra security precautions after disruption at campaign walkabout
Presidential candidate Ng Kok Song said he is taking extra precautions for the final day of campaigning, after he was heckled at a walkabout on Tuesday night.
“I'm getting my campaign team to have more people who can be in charge of security,” he told reporters on Wednesday (Aug 30) before starting his walkabout at Hougang Hainanese Village Centre. Mr Ng later spent around an hour speaking and posing for photos with members of the public at the hawker centre.
“Sadly, even in a place like Singapore, that this is happening so even today, I’m taking some extra precautions.”
DBS, OCBC are creditors to alleged launderers’ Singapore firms
Two of the biggest local banks in Singapore are creditors to suspects in a major money laundering scandal involving over S$1 billion ($741 million) of assets.
DBS Group Holdings Ltd, the city-state’s largest bank, and Bank of Singapore Ltd., the private-banking arm of Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp., are both creditors to investment firms linked to individuals arrested and charged earlier this month, according to business filings seen by Bloomberg News. The documents show the firms have a relationship with the banks stretching back about one to two years before the arrests.
DBS registered four charges — generally referring to a form of security interest usually taken by a lender to secure repayment of a loan — on Aug. 18, 2021 to Aiqinhai Investment Pte. The firm’s director and sole shareholder Su Haijin is among the 10 individuals who have been indicted in a Singapore court for offenses including money laundering and forgery.
Bank of Singapore registered a charge on Jan. 7, 2022 for Xinbao Investment Holdings Pte. One of the firm’s two directors is Su Baolin, who was also among the individuals charged.