Market Snapshot
Singapore stocks opened lower on Friday. STI down 0.2%, No Signboard fell 14%, SIA rose 0.3%, SingTel fell 0.8%, OCBC fell 0.3%, UOB rose 1%, Keppel fell 0.1%.
Stocks to Watch
Marco Polo Marine : The shipyard and marine logistics company on Thursday said that its Taiwanese subsidiary, PKR Offshore, has secured the Asia-Pacific Crew Transfer Vessel framework agreement with wind turbine manufacturer Siemens Gamesa. The agreement is expected to contribute positively to its revenue and profits, but will not be material to its results and performance in the current financial year ending Sep 30, 2024. Shares of Marco Polo Marine were up S$0.003 or 5.1 per cent at S$0.062, before the announcement.
Cordlife Group : Four of its directors and its former group chief executive, Tan Poh Lan, were arrested and released on bail by the Commercial Affairs Department, said the cord-blood bank on Friday. On Thursday, the company had just announced that two of the company’s substantial shareholders were also requisitioning to remove directors from Cordlife’s board. The counter was down 6.3 per cent or S$0.015 to S$0.225 before a trading halt took effect on Mar 14. It resumes trading on Friday.
No Signboard : The restaurant operator will sell its trademarks under a settlement agreement with its former executive chairman Lim Yong Sim, former controlling shareholder GuGong, and Mattar Road No Signboard Seafood Restaurant. No Signboard further announced on Thursday that it will sell its “No Signboard” trademarks to GuGong. The company intends to conduct a rebranding exercise within the next three months. Its shares closed flat at S$0.016, before the announcement.
SG Local News
Singapore is the happiest country in Asia for the second year in a row
In Singapore news today, the country has taken pole position yet again for Asia when it comes to happiness. The 2024 World Happiness Report, released on Mar 20 (Wednesday), shows that the Little Red Dot came up on top in the continent for the second year in a row.
Worldwide, however, Singapore has ranked 30th out of 143 countries, with countries in Scandinavia taking top spots.
UOB chief Wee Ee Cheong’s 2023 pay up 11.9% to S$15.9 million
UOB chief executive Wee Ee Cheong received S$15.9 million in total remuneration for the financial year ended Dec 31, 2023, implying an 11.9 per cent increase from his annual salary of S$14.2 million in 2022.
The jump in pay came in tandem with UOB’s FY2023 financial results release. Net profit for the full year rose 24.9 per cent to a record high of S$5.7 billion despite missing a S$6 million consensus forecast.
Based on the bank’s annual report released on Thursday (Mar 21), Wee’s annual remuneration included a base pay of S$1.2 million, a bonus of S$14.7 million and benefits-in-kind, and other transport-related benefits amounting to S$39,701.
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