Market Snapshot
Singapore stocks opened higher on Friday. STI rose 0.8%; DBS rose 2.2%; OCBC and Sats rose 0.9%; UOB rose 0.8%; Singtel fell 1.7%; UOB Kay Hian rose 4.4%.
Stocks to Watch
CapitaLand Investment (CLI): Its wholly owned unit CLI Treasury has priced the offering of S$350 million worth of senior notes due 2035 at a fixed rate of 3.58 per cent. The group said net proceeds from the issue will be used to refinance existing borrowings and fund the investments and general corporate purposes of CLI and CLI Treasury. Shares of CLI ended Thursday at S$2.51, up 0.8 per cent or S$0.02, before the announcement.
Paragon Reit: Unitholders of the real estate investment trust will receive S$0.0185 per unit from a special distribution, following the completion of The Rail Mall divestment on Thursday. The special distribution is expected to be paid on Oct 7, after the record date of Aug 28. Units of Paragon Reit climbed 0.6 per cent or S$0.005 to end at S$0.87, before the announcement.
UOB Kay Hian: The brokerage reported a net profit of S$113.9 million for the six months ended Jun 30, up 64.3 per cent from S$69.3 million in the previous corresponding period. The increase was attributed to strong equity market performance and higher trading volumes in the US, which sustained improved investor activity for the period. Shares of UOB Kay Hian ended at S$1.35 on Thursday, down S$0.02 or 1.5 per cent.
SingPost: The national postal service provider’s operating profit for the first quarter of the fiscal year rose 105.2 per cent year on year to S$24.4 million from S$11.9 million. Its revenue increased 22.4 per cent to S$494.8 million from S$404.1 million, said the group on Friday in a business update. The counter closed 2.3 per cent or S$0.01 higher at S$0.44 on Thursday.
RE&S Hldg: Its shareholders present at the group’s scheme meeting agreed to a proposed acquisition by Relish Investments that would take the company private. Shareholders who accept the offer can opt for either a cash payout of S$0.36 a share, or a combination of S$0.33 a share in cash and 0.083143 new share in the special purpose vehicle. The counter closed flat at S$0.36 on Wednesday before a trading halt. It will resume trading on Friday.
Cordlife: The embattled cord-blood bank posted a net loss of S$12.4 million for the six months ended Jun 30, compared with a net profit of S$2.2 million the same period last year. This came as revenue fell 67.5 per cent to S$9.2 million, largely due to the suspension of the group’s Singapore activities. In a separate announcement, Cordlife said it lost its accreditation for cord-blood activities. Shares of Cordlife fell 2.7 per cent or S$0.004 to end at S$0.143 on Thursday, before the filings.
Thomson Medical, OUE Healthcare: Their subsidiaries – FV Hospital and O2 Healthcare – have partnered to establish a surgical centre in Vietnam. The tie-up will enable more Singapore doctors to offer specialised treatments in an underserved part of the region, said both parties. Shares of Thomson Medical closed 2 per cent or S$0.001 higher at S$0.05, and shares of OUE Healthcare ended flat at S$0.027 on Thursday, before the news.
SG Local News
Singapore's July Exports Rise 15.7% Y/Y, Stronger Than Forecast
Singapore's non-oil domestic exports rose 15.7% in July from a year earlier, data on Friday showed, with both electronics and non-electronics exports growing.
The rise compared with a Reuters poll forecast of a 1.2% increase in shipments, and followed a downwardly revised 8.8% contraction in June.
On a month-on-month seasonally adjusted basis, non-oil domestic exports increased by 12.2% in July, stronger than the forecast rise of 2.2% in the Reuters poll.
Singapore's Grab Misses Quarterly Revenue Estimates
Grab Holdings missed second-quarter revenue estimates due to slower growth in its mainstay food-delivery business and foreign exchange headwinds, sending its U.S.-listed shares down 7.4% on Thursday.
Growth has been slowing at the Southeast Asian tech company after the pandemic-era surge in food-delivery demand, with Grab laying off 11% of its workforce last year in a major restructuring aimed at narrowing losses.
Sales from the deliveries business - its largest - grew 11% to $356 million, lower than Visible Alpha estimates of $362.1 million. That compares to growth of 19% in the first quarter, and a doubling of the business in certain quarters of 2023 and 2022.
Ride-share revenue grew a worse-than-expected 14%.
Temasek Spent Billions on US Tech Stocks Before July Sell-off
Singapore’s investment company Temasek spent billions of dollars in the second quarter buying shares in US technology giants, just before the sector dropped in July.
Temasek increased the value of its holdings in 11 big tech firms by US$3.3 billion (S$4.35 billion) in the three months ended June 30, according to an analysis of its two most recent filings.
The vast bulk of the increase – some US$3.2 billion – went into six of those firms: Microsoft, Apple, Nvidia, Alphabet, Amazon.com and Meta Platforms.
Singapore Tech Pioneer Lim Kia Hong Dies at 67
Mr Lim Kia Hong, 67, a pioneer in Singapore’s information technology sector with a career spanning more than four decades, died on Aug 12 in Oregon, where he and his family attended his youngest son’s graduation ceremony.
A co-founder of SIS Technologies, he started the business bringing in big brands from more advanced markets and selling both the hardware and software to businesses and institutions in Singapore and the region.
Among the listed companies that Mr Lim was instrumental in setting up were SIS International Group, as well as SIS Mobile Holdings on the Hong Kong Exchange; SIS Distribution on the Stock Exchange of Thailand; and Information Technology Consultants on both the Dhaka and Chittagong bourses.
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