To The Moon

Market Snapshot

Singapore stocks opened higher on Thursday. STI rose 0.4%; SIA and UOB rose 0.5%; DBS and OCBC rose 0.4%; Seatrium and SGX rose 0.5%; Sats rose 1.3%; Nio fell 4.8%.

Stocks to Watch

$SGX(S68.SI)$: Total securities market turnover value on the bourse increased 75 per cent year on year to S$30.38 billion in September, marking a 5.6 per cent increase from August’s S$28.76 billion. The growth in securities trading activity comes amid easing monetary policies and China’s stimulus package, which fuelled optimism and portfolio repositioning. Shares of SGX closed 1.8 per cent or S$0.21 higher at S$11.61 on Wednesday.

$Metro(M01.SI)$: The department-store operator has acquired a freehold prime office property in Sydney, Australia, for A$196.4 million (S$172.3 million), with its joint venture partner, Sim Lian Group of Companies. Metro and Sim Lian now hold 18 freehold properties in Australia, including five office buildings and 13 retail centres. Shares of Metro closed flat at S$0.475 on Wednesday, before the announcement.

$NeraTel(N01.SI)$: The Securities Investors Association (Singapore) is advising shareholders to reject the offer from Taiwan-listed Ennoconn Corp to acquire the communications and network solutions provider at S$0.075 a share. This sentiment is also shared by the appointed independent financial adviser SAC Capital – which believed that the price was “not fair and not reasonable” – and NeraTel’s independent directors. The counter closed flat at S$0.075 on Wednesday, before the news.

SG Local News

COE Premiums for Passenger Cars Hit 2024 High; Mainstream Car Premium Crosses S$100,000

Certificate of Entitlement (COE) results for October’s first round of bidding saw the mainstream and large passenger car categories set new highs for 2024 to date, as premiums for all vehicle categories rose.

The premium for Category A rose 5.4 per cent or S$5,275 to S$103,799.

This marks the first time the category has breached the S$100,000 mark in 2024, with the previous high of S$98,524 set in September 2024’s second round of bidding.

It was last at a similar level a year ago: S$106,000 in October 2023’s second round of bidding.

October’s 8,573-Unit BTO Launch to Include Prime Flats in Crawford and Plus Flats in Bayshore, Ang Mo Kio, Kallang

The Housing and Development Board (HDB) will offer 8,573 flats across 15 projects next week under its new flat classification framework, in one of its largest Build-To-Order (BTO) launches to date.

New flats will be offered in nine estates – Ang Mo Kio, Bedok, Bukit Batok, Jurong West, Geylang, Kallang/Whampoa, Pasir Ris, Sengkang and Woodlands – and classified as Standard, Plus or Prime based on location, HDB said on Wednesday (Oct 9).

The October batch will make up more than 40 per cent of the new HDB supply for 2024.

Singapore to Mandate Digital Bunker Notes Starting April 2025

Marine fuel suppliers at Singapore, world's largest bunker hub, will be required to provide digital bunkering services and issue electronic bunker delivery notes starting April 1, 2025, Amy Khor, Singapore's senior minister of state for transport, said at the SIBCON 2024 conference.

The move aims to streamline ship fuelling, or bunkering, processes by making data sharing between buyers and sellers more efficient and transparent, saving the industry close to 40,000 man-days per year and reducing the risk of fraud.

The announced mandate followed pilot trials with various bunker suppliers since November 2023.

Singapore will be the first port globally to implement digital bunkering at scale for all bunker operations, according to the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore.

Singapore Mansion on Sale for Record $236 Million, BT Reports

A luxury mansion in Singapore’s most exclusive neighborhood is being put on the market for S$308 million ($236 million), according to the Business Times.

If met, the asking price for the so-called “good class bungalow” at Nassim Road would make it the biggest transaction in absolute price for such assets, the report said.

The property, with a total land area of more than 58,000 square feet, is owned by Hong Fok Corp. Ltd. joint chief executive Cheong Pin Chuan and his wife. It was previously up for sale at a price tag of S$175 million in 2019.