With the performance of stars such as Singapore Airlines, UOB, Genting Singapore and more failing to bring good news to the stock market, STI fell 1.2% this week. Singapore's key inflation rate rose at a slower pace than markets had expected last month, official data showed on Friday, opening the door for the central bank to potentially start easing monetary policy settings sooner than many anticipate.
Faster cooling in Singapore's inflation puts focus on monetary outlook
Singapore's key inflation rate rose at a slower pace than markets had expected last month, official data showed on Friday, opening the door for the central bank to potentially start easing monetary policy settings sooner than many anticipate.
The core inflation rate - which excludes private road transport and accommodation costs - came in at 3.1% year-on-year, well below the 3.6% forecast in a Reuters poll of economists and compared with 3.3% seen in December.
Headline inflation in January was up 2.9% from the same month last year, but also much lower than the 3.8% forecast in the poll.
"That’s an unexpectedly sharp drop in inflation pressures, given the hike in sales tax, carbon taxes and other administrative prices," said Maybank economist Chua Hak Bin.
Chua said the central bank could move to ease monetary policy as soon as July if core inflation continues to fall quickly to 2%. He had earlier pencilled in an easing in October.
Record Numbers at Singapore Airshow As Post-COVID Boom Raises Hopes
Record numbers attended the trade section of the first fully post-pandemic Singapore Airshow this week, with exhibitors and delegates optimistic about the aviation industry despite suppliers' struggles to keep up with rebounding travel demand.
Close to 60,000 people attended the four trade days of the show, nearly four times as many as in 2022 when foreign visitors required daily rapid tests for COVID-19, and more than the 54,000 who visited in 2018. The 2020 edition was rocked by last-minute cancellations as the virus spread around the world.
More than 1,000 commercial and defence companies from 50 countries participated in the show, organisers said.
Delegates stepped into the tropical heat for around an hour of aerial displays each day, including demonstration flights by air force teams from Singapore, South Korea and India, among others, and a fly-by by the C919, made by China's COMAC. It was the first flight outside Chinese territory for COMAC's homegrown jet.
Singapore Lures Taylor Swift With Grant for Sold-Out March Concerts
Singapore has awarded Taylor Swift a grant to perform in the city-state, government authorities said on Tuesday, acknowledging efforts to persuade the pop superstar to perform on the island - her only stop in Southeast Asia - and the potential boon to the economy from her concerts.
Swift is set to perform six sold-out shows in Singapore early in March.
The tourism board and culture ministry did not disclose the amount of the grant, but in a statement referred to the economic benefits brought by Swift's concerts around the world due to her popularity, and said the ministry had worked with concert promoter AEG Presents to get Swift to perform in Singapore.
Singapore Airlines Misses Q3 Profit View, Flags Competition Concerns
Singapore Airlines Ltd reported a quarterly net profit on Tuesday that missed estimates and flagged concerns of increased competition as the airline industry made the most of a rebound in air travel following the end of Covid-related curbs.
The city-state's flagship carrier said passenger yields continued to come under pressure from competitors as airlines globally hiked up the number of flights and routes to meet increased travel demand.
Geopolitical and macroeconomic concerns, inflationary pressures, and supply chain constraints are likely to pose headwinds to the industry, it added.
Net profit rose nearly 5% to S$659 million ($490.4 million) helped mainly by a lower tax expense as well as a share of profits from associated companies and a surplus from the disposal of aircraft and spare parts.
Even then, however, it missed analysts' average estimate of S$777.8 million, as per LSEG IBES data.
Grab Forecasts Weak 2024 Revenue After Profitable Quarter, Buyback Plan
Grab Holdings reported its first quarterly profit on Thursday and unveiled a maiden share repurchase program, but the ride-share and food-delivery firm's weak annual sales forecast fanned growth worries and weighed on its shares.
While the Singapore-based company's ride-share growth hit pre-pandemic levels in 2023, its food-delivery services is rebounding from a slowdown following a boom during the lockdown.
The company forecast fiscal 2024 revenue between $2.70 billion and $2.75 billion, compared with analysts' average estimate of $2.80 billion, according to LSEG data.
Grab said on Thursday it would repurchase $500 million worth of class A ordinary shares, and announced an early payment of the remainder of a term loan. This followed global peer Uber announcing its first-ever share buyback last week.
UOB Revises Down 2024 Loan Growth, Q4 Profit Beats Forecasts
Singapore's United Overseas Bank (UOB) on Thursday cut its 2024 loan growth projections to low single-digits from mid-single digits after posting a stronger-than-forecast 22% jump in fourth quarter net profit.
UOB maintained its 2024 guidance for double-digit fee growth while projecting total income to see positive growth, UOB CEO Wee Ee Cheong said in a briefing on the bank's earnings.
Wee said UOB focuses "on high quality customers" for loan growth while it expected double-digit fee growth would be led by its retail franchise in cards and wealth.
Credit costs for 2024 are expected to be at the lower end of its previous 25 to 30 basis points guidance range, he added.
Genting Singapore Slumps Most in Four Years After Earnings Miss
Genting Singapore Ltd. tumbled the most in four years after a surprise increase in impairments dragged on the resort operator’s fourth-quarter earnings.
The shares slid as much as 10% on Friday, the most since March 2020, after the company reported adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization of S$228 million ($170 million), 34% drop from the previous quarter. That trimmed a rebound in the stock price since an October trough to just 13%.
“One of the negative surprises came from the S$92m bad debt provision in 2H23,” and the “resulting lower-than-expected net profit has led to the board’s decision to declare a final dividend of only S$0.02/share” which is unchanged from the previous year, Citigroup Inc. analysts including George Choi wrote in a note.
SingTel posts flat Q3 profit as weak local results offset Optus growth
Singapore Telecommunications (SingTel) said on Friday its third-quarter underlying net profit came in at the same level as last year, as weak local operations offset growth in its information technology and Australian telecom units.
SingTel, Southeast Asia's largest telecom company, said its underlying net profit for the quarter ended Dec. 31 was S$559 million ($416.45 million), same as last year.
On a constant currency basis, underlying profit rose 1.5% from a year earlier.
"Our underlying financial results in the third quarter were stable despite a tough macroeconomic environment and persistent currency headwinds," CEO Yuen Kuan Moon said.
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