Market Snapshot
The Singapore stock market down 3.54% this week.
In terms of individual stocks, Seatrium fell 15.48%, NIO down 15.25%, Top Glove dropped 8.33%; HongKong Land gained 3.09%, Cromwell REIT rallied 2.97%.
SG Local News
Singapore to “Redouble Efforts” to Keep Costs of Living Stable
Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong pledged to “redouble efforts” to combat high living costs, including by strengthening social safety nets for the most vulnerable citizens.
“We recognise how rising prices are impacting Singaporeans,” he said on Thursday in his first National Day message since taking over from Lee Hsien Loong in May. While the city-state cannot control global prices, “we can and we have shielded Singaporeans from the worst effects of global inflation by keeping the Singapore dollar strong.”
With cost of living ranked as the top concern among Singaporeans, Wong pledged to boost safety nets and a program to re-skill workers as part of a strategy to lift incomes and address wealth inequality. That’s especially crucial to win over voters ahead of a general election, which must be held before November 2025.
DBS Names CEO Successor, Raises Guidance After Profit Beat
Singapore banking heavyweight Group named a successor to its long-serving chief executive after raising guidance and reporting a quarterly profit beat on record fee income.
DBS on Wednesday appointed Tan Su Shan as its deputy chief executive, paving the way for her to lead one of Southeast Asia’s largest lenders by assets. Tan, who will retain her current position as group head of institutional banking, will succeed Piyush Gupta when he retires as chief executive in March 2025, the bank said.
Gupta has been CEO of DBS since 2009. Tan, 56, joined the bank in 2010, working in its wealth management, consumer banking and institutional banking businesses.
The succession plan came hours after DBS said its net profit in the second quarter climbed 6.1% from a year earlier to 2.79 billion Singapore dollars, equivalent to US$2.11 billion, beating a S$2.69 billion consensus estimate from analysts surveyed by FactSet.
Total income rose 8.7% to S$5.48 billion, helped by growth in loans and deposits following the acquisition of Citibank assets in Taiwan, DBS said.
Net interest income grew 5.2% to S$3.77 billion, while commercial book net fee income climbed 27% to a record S$1.05 billion. The Citi deal also helped boost wealth-management fees and card fees by 37% and 32%, respectively, DBS said.
Singapore Exchange Posts Higher Earnings on Currency, Commodities Business Strength
Singapore Exchange posted a rise in annual profit on Thursday and raised its dividend, buoyed by higher revenue from its currencies and commodities businesses amid growing transactions in foreign exchange futures.
Higher currency and commodity derivatives volumes helped counter a decline in market turnover in the equity unit, as uncertainty in the global interest rate outlook and a slowing Chinese economy weighed on market sentiment.
The bourse operator posted annual adjusted net profit of S$525.9 million ($396.10 million), a 4.5% rise over the year earlier. The company also declared a final quarterly dividend of 9 Singapore cents per share, compared with 8.5 cents apiece last year.
ThaiBev Reports Higher Revenue and Ebitda for 9MFY2024
Thai Beverage (ThaiBev) has reported sales revenue of 217.06 billion baht ($8.16 billion) for the 9MFY2024 ended June 30, 0.5% higher y-o-y.
The higher revenue was supported by revenue growth in the group’s beer, non-alcoholic beverages (NAB) and food segments, and offset by its spirits segment.
Ebitda for the 9MFY2024 rose by 2.2% y-o-y to 38.6 billion led by growth in beer, NAB and offset by lower ebitda for spirits and food.
Emperador Reports 1HFY2024 Earnings of $87.6 Mil, 19.6% Lower YoY
Brandy and whisky group, Emperador, which has a secondary listing on the Singapore Exchange, has reported earnings of 3.81 billion Philippine pesos ($87.6 million) for the 1HFY2024 ended June 30, 19.6% lower y-o-y. The group's primary listing is on the First Board of the Philippine Stock Exchange.
For the 2QFY2024, the group’s earnings stood at 2.07 billion pesos, 14.3% lower y-o-y.
1HFY2024 revenue fell by 7.9% y-o-y to 28.64 billion pesos as both brandy and whisky revenues fell on a y-o-y basis.
Profit before tax fell by 17.6% y-o-y to 4.6 billion pesos.
Geo Energy Posts 12% Drop in 1HFY2024 Earnings to US$26.7 Mil
Geo Energy Group announced that its earnings for the 1HFY2024 ended June 30 period dropped by 12% y-o-y to US$26.7 million ($35.7 million) from US$27.1 million a year ago. This brings basic earnings per share to 1.91 cents, 2% lower y-o-y.
This came on the back of revenue dropping by 29% y-o-y to US$169.4 million from US$239.8 million, despite maintaining stable coal sales of 3.2 million tonnes. The revenue decrease was mainly due to lower ICI4 prices averaging at US$56.13 per tonne in 1HFY2024, compared to US$70.46 per tonne in 1HFY2023.
Singapore Addresses Concerns About $1.7 Billion Allianz Deal
Singapore ministers addressed concerns about Allianz SE’s plan to buy a majority stake in Income Insurance Ltd., saying it would be held to account on its commitments and that the potential deal isn’t expected to adversely impact competition in the sector.
Europe’s biggest insurer plans to buy at least 51% of Income Insurance from NTUC Enterprise Co-operative Ltd. to strengthen its presence in Asia. The proposed S$2.2 billion ($1.7 billion) transaction has drawn a firestorm of comments since it was announced last month, including from veteran Singaporean diplomat Tommy Koh and the former chief executive officer of both Income Insurance and NTUC Enterprise, Tan Suee Chieh.
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