Market Snapshot
Singapore stocks opened flat on Thursday. STI fell 0.01%, SIA rose 1.25%, ESR-Logos Reit fell 1.67%, Banyan Tree fell 1.3%, UOB fell 0.47%, OCBC fell 0.36%.
Stocks to Watch
Singapore Post (SingPost) completed a strategic review of the group last week, which has resulted in the creation of five initiatives for the next three years. With SingPost striving to transform from a postal organisation into a major logistics player, its board has now approved various measures which will keep its growth strategy active and competitive.
Singapore Airlines is giving Tropical North Queensland an aircraft supercharge this month, with the current five-times-weekly Boeing 737 MAX 8 to Cairns switching out for a larger, more spacious Airbus A350 on March 31.
Second Chance Properties: The developer posted a 52.8 per cent year-on-year fall in its net profit to S$4.3 million for its first half ended Feb 29, 2024, due to lower contributions from its properties and securities businesses. The group’s revenue declined across all its segments, which are apparels, gold, properties and securities. The counter ended flat at S$0.23 on Wednesday, before the results were released.
ESR-Logos Reit: Its manager on Thursday said it obtained a S$200 million sustainability-linked unsecured revolving credit facility agreement. The loan will be used for general corporate funding purposes, and is due to mature two years from the utilisation date. Units of ESR-Logos Reit closed S$0.01 or 3.4 per cent higher at S$0.30 on Wednesday.
Banyan Tree: The resort operator on Wednesday said it obtained its first sustainability-linked loan. Worth S$70 million, the senior unsecured syndicated loan is led by Maybank, with the Singapore branches of Bank of India and Hua Nan Commercial Bank as lead arrangers. Shares of Banyan Tree closed S$0.005 or 1.3 per cent down at S$0.385, after the news.
Trading halt: Seatrium requested a trading halt on Thursday morning, pending the release of announcements. The counter ended Wednesday down S$0.002 or 2.5 per cent at S$0.079.
SG Local News
PM Lee, Senior Chinese Diplomat Liu Jianchao Reiterate Commitment to Cooperation
Senior Chinese diplomat Liu Jianchao called on Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on March 27, with both reiterating a shared commitment to continue expanding bilateral cooperation.
Mr Liu, who is Minister of the International Department of the Communist Party of China, is in Singapore from March 25 to 28 at the invitation of Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan. The department is in charge of cultivating and maintaining relations with foreign political parties.
PM Lee and Mr Liu expressed satisfaction that the relationship between Singapore and China had continued to strengthen, following the upgrading of bilateral ties to “all-round high-quality future-oriented partnership” in April 2023, Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) said in a statement.
Singapore Prime Office Rents Jump to Highest Since 2008
Office rents in Singapore reached a 15-year high in the first quarter, defying the commercial property slump plaguing other major financial hubs.
Gross effective monthly rents for premium office space in the city’s central business district jumped to $11.42 per square foot in the first three months of the year, according to data released on March 27 by Jones Lang LaSalle. That’s the most since the last quarter of 2008 and reverses a drop of 0.5 per cent in the prior two quarters.
Singapore has so far avoided a major downturn in the commercial real estate market, which is hitting the largest Western cities and regional rivals like Hong Kong. The strength is underpinned by a widespread return-to-office push and a boom in private wealth.
Singapore's Port Authority to Cooperate with U.S. Authorities on Baltimore Bridge Incident
Singapore's Maritime and Port Authority (MPA) on Tuesday said it was in contact with the U.S coastguard and the management company of a Singapore-registered ship involved in a bridge collapse incident in Baltimore.
"As the flag state, MPA will provide full cooperation to the U.S. Coast Guard in its investigations," it said in a statement. "MPA will also be investigating the incident." It said there were 22 crew aboard the Dali at the time of the incident.
Latest Singapore 6-Month T-Bill Offers Cut-off Yield of 3.8%
The cut-off yield on the latest Singapore six-month Treasury bill (T-bill) rose slightly to 3.8 per cent, according to auction results released by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) on Wednesday (Mar 27).
The previous auction, which closed on Mar 14, offered 3.78 per cent yield.
Demand continued to rise in the latest tranche. The auction received a total of S$15.6 billion in applications for the S$6.1 billion on offer, representing a bid-to-cover ratio of 2.55.
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