Market Snapshot
STI flat, SingPost rose 5.3%, Nio fell 3.8%, Genting Singapore fell 0.6%, SingTel rose 0.8%.
Stocks to Watch
Singapore Post (SingPost) : The national postal service provider on Tuesday announced the completion of its strategic review which was initiated in May 2023. Among the new plans that its board has approved to be executed over the next three years, the group said it will reorganise its corporate structure into three business units. It also endeavoured to pay out 30 to 50 per cent of underlying net profit from FY2024 to FY2025. Shares of SingPost closed flat on Monday at S$0.38.
Manulife US Real Estate Investment Trust (Reit) : Its manager on Tuesday said its chief executive officer, deputy CEO, chief financial officer (CFO) and chief investment officer (CIO) will step down from their positions on Jun 30, 2024. John Anthony Casasante will replace Trip Gantt and Patrick Arthur Browne as CEO and CIO, respectively. Meanwhile, Mushtaque Muhammad Ali will take over as CFO from Robert Wong. Units of Manulife US Reit closed 5 per cent or US$0.003 lower at US$0.057 on Monday.
SG Local News
Singapore deal activity falls 13.2% YoY in the first 2 months of 2024
Singapore’s total deals in the first two months of 2024, including mergers & acquisitions, private equity and venture financing deals, fell 13.2% YoY.
Data from GlobalData showed that deal activity also fell for the whole of Asia-Pacific (APAC) by 19.6% YoY to 1,843 deals.
Apart from Singapore, China (-23%), India (-12.9% YoY), Japan (-23.5%), Australia (-3.2%), South Korea (-12.2%), Malaysia (-32.4%), Hong Kong (-28.3%), Indonesia (-38.1%) and Thailand (-28.6%) saw declines in deal volume.
No competition: Dubai complements Singapore’s fight for family offices, industry watchers say
Dubai’s position as a rising financial hub for wealthy families may translate into competition for Singapore, where scrutiny of family offices has tightened in recent months amid the Republic’s largest anti-money laundering probe.
But the majority of industry players polled by The Business Times say Dubai can provide complementary benefits to Singapore, even as competition spurs both on to become leading financial hubs in Asia.
“When we speak to our clients, the conversation is increasingly not about Dubai versus Singapore, but Dubai and Singapore,” said DJ Sengupta, chief executive of Wrise Wealth Management Middle East.
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