Singapore stocks ended in the black on Friday and The Straits Times Index (STI) climbed 0.23% this week, as the rebound of regional bourses, especially the Chinese stock market. The implementation of visa-free policies in China and Singapore has driven up tourism-related stocks. Singapore Airlines and Genting Singapore jumped 2.8% and 2.5% this week, respectively.
Singapore's central bank is widely expected to leave its monetary policy unchanged this month and hold off from easing its settings until it sees more evidence that inflation is falling consistently.
Here are the things to pay attention to this week:
Singapore Inflation Unexpectedly Quickens as Pressures Linger
Singapore's core inflation unexpectedly picked up pace in December yet authorities retained their 2024 outlook, a signal that while price pressures in the city-state prove persistent, they remain manageable.
The core measure, which excludes housing and private transportation costs and is tracked by the Monetary Authority of Singapore, accelerated to 3.3% last month from a year ago, according to the Department of Statistics on Tuesday. The MAS is scheduled to decide on policy on Jan. 29.
The print exceeded all estimates in a Bloomberg News survey where the median was for a 3% gain and compares with 3.2% in November. It also beat the Ministry of Trade and Industry’s outlook last month for core inflation to come at the upper end of the 2.5–3% range at the year-end.
Singapore's central bank will likely keep its tight monetary policy settings for a third straight review while retaining its sharp focus on still-elevated inflation.
Singapore Home Rents Fall for First Time in Over Three Years
Singapore rents dropped for the first time in more than three years on the back of increased housing supply and expectations for an economic slowdown.
An index of rents for private homes in the financial hub fell 2.1% in the fourth quarter compared with a 0.8% rise in the previous three months. That’s the first decline since the third quarter of 2020, according to figures published Friday by the Urban Redevelopment Authority.
Singapore-China Mutual Visa-Free Travel to Start on Feb 9, in Time for CNY
Singapore and China will kick off their mutual 30-day visa-free arrangement on Feb 9, in time for the Chinese New Year holidays.
The agreement, signed on Jan 25 by officials from both sides, will allow ordinary passport holders from Singapore and China to enter each other’s country without the need for a visa, and for a stay of up to 30 days.
The exemption was announced in December 2023 when Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong was in China for an annual top-level meeting between the two governments on cooperation and joint projects.
Keppel DC Reit's H2 DPU Drops 16.1% to S$0.04332 on Higher Finance Costs, Property Expenses
Keppel DC Reit's distribution per unit (DPU) for the half year ended Dec 31 has fallen 16.1 per cent to S$0.04332.
This came as its H2 distributable income fell 18.5 per cent to S$76.4 million on higher finance costs and loss allowances for the uncollected rental income from its three Guangdong Data Centres, said the manager on Friday (Jan 26).
Finance costs for the period rose 43.5 per cent to S$25.8 million, from S$18 million a year ago.
FCT to Buy 24.5% Stake in Nex From Frasers Property, to Raise S$200 Million in Placement
Frasers Property is selling its stake in retail mall Nex for an estimated price of S$523.1 million to Frasers Centrepoint Trust (FCT), said the manager Frasers Centrepoint Asset Management on Thursday (Jan 25).
The trustee of FCT, HSBC Institutional Trust Services, has entered into the share purchase agreement on behalf of FCT with the sponsor of FCT, Frasers Property.
Richard Ng, chief executive of the FCT manager, said: “The acquisition follows from our initial acquisition of 25.5 per cent in Nex in February 2023 and will raise FCT’s effective interest to 50 per cent on completion.”
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