Market Snapshot
Singapore stocks opened lower on Friday. STI fell 0.6%, DBS fell 0.4%, OCBC fell 1.1%, UOB fell 0.7%, SingTel fell 1.2%, Nio fell 3.4%, Keppel fell 1%.
Stocks to Watch
Singapore Airlines (SIA) (C6L): The flag carrier has priced US$500 million of 10-year, 5.25 per cent bonds at a re-offer price of 99.646 per cent of their nominal value to yield 5.296 per cent. The fixed-rate notes will bear a coupon of 5.25 per cent per annum until their maturity on Mar 21, 2034, said DBS on Thursday as a joint coordinator and bookrunner for the bond. Shares of SIA closed S$0.03 or 0.5 per cent higher at S$6.42, before the announcement.
Frasers Logistics and Commercial Trust (FLCT) (BUOU), Frasers Property (TQ5): The real estate investment trust is acquiring an 89.9 per cent interest in four logistics assets in Germany from its sponsor, Frasers Property, for a consideration of 118.7 million euros (S$173.1 million). On Friday, FLCT said the acquisition is expected to be accretive to distribution per unit and net asset value. Units of the Reit ended Thursday unchanged at S$1.04, while Frasers Property shares were flat at S$0.835.
No Signboard (1G6): The counter resumes trading on Friday more than two years after it voluntarily suspended its trading. On Thursday, No Signboard said it was granted approval to do so by the Singapore Exchange Regulation. The restaurant operator also intends to consolidate its shares six to one. The company’s shares last closed at S$0.031 on Jan 24, 2022, down from its initial public offering price of S$0.28.
Chemical Industries (C05): The chemical manufacturer on Thursday said that companies linked to its co-founder, Lim Soo Peng, do not use the group’s office for business. This was in response to queries from Securities Investors Association (Singapore), or Sias. The company’s shares closed flat at S$0.50 on Thursday, before the announcement.
Cordlife Group (P8A) called for a trading halt on Thursday afternoon, pending the release of an announcement. The counter was trading down S$0.015 or 6.3 per cent at S$0.225 on Thursday before the trading halt.
SG Local News
Singapore's Job Vacancies Rise to 79,800, While Re-Entry Rate of Retrenched Workers Falls in Q4
Job vacancies in Singapore edged up slightly in the fourth quarter of 2023, while a lower re-entry rate of 61.5 per cent was observed among residents six months after retrenchment, according to the Ministry of Manpower’s (MOM) Labour Market Report on Thursday (Mar 14).
Job vacancies grew to 79,800 in December, from 78,200 in September, after falling for six consecutive quarters since peaking in March 2022.
The ratio of job vacancies to unemployed persons, at 1.74, has been rising since March 2021 when it was 0.96, indicating a “moderately tight labour market”, said MOM.
SIA Prices US$500 Million Notes Due 2034 at 5.296% Yield
Singapore Airlines has priced US$500 million of 10-year, 5.25 per cent bonds at a re-offer price of 99.646 per cent of their nominal value to yield 5.296 per cent.
The fixed-rate notes will bear a coupon of 5.25 per cent per annum until their maturity on Mar 21, 2034, said DBS on Thursday (Mar 14). The coupon will be paid semi-annually.
DBS and Citigroup are joint global coordinators for the bond. They are also the joint bookrunners with HSBC and JPMorgan.
Singapore May See "Short Pause" in Investments
Singapore is likely to see a “short pause” in investments in the near term, as large multinational enterprises (MNEs) wait to see what incentives other countries will offer in light of global tax changes, said PwC global tax policy leader William Morris in a recent interview with The Business Times.
This is especially because Singapore will lose two major tax incentives following these tax changes: the Pioneer Certificate Incentive, which provides a tax exemption for qualifying activities; and the Development and Expansion Incentive, which provides a concessionary tax rate of either 5 or 10 per cent on income derived from qualifying activities.
“I don’t think businesses are going to leave as a result of that,” said Morris. “But it does mean that the amount of investment that takes place in the next year might be affected.”
Singaporean Bank UOB Aims to Double Private Wealth Assets By 2026
Singaporean lender United Overseas Bank (UOB) is planning to double its private wealth assets under management over the next couple of years as it bets on increased wealth inflows into the city-state and Southeast Asia, a top executive said.
Total assets under management (AUM) at UOB, Southeast Asia's third biggest lender by assets, rose to a record S$176 billion ($132.04 billion) as of end-December.
Assets from its private wealth clients - affluent individuals with assets worth at least S$2 million - account for more than half of the total AUM, said UOB's head of private bank Chew Mun Yew.
"With the increased wealth flow opportunities into ASEAN region and the strong organic growth within Singapore, we believe there will be continued strong growth momentum in the wealth management space," Chew told Reuters.
Philippines Says It Can Overtake Singapore Next Year as Asia’s No. 2 Casino Hub
The Philippines can overtake Singapore as soon as next year as Asia’s second-largest gambling destination after Macau, the head of Manila’s gaming agency said, with new integrated resorts seen boosting visitors and offsetting a decline in Chinese tourist arrivals.
A new integrated resort by billionaire Enrique Razon’s Bloombery Resorts Corp. will open in Manila later this year, while up to eight more casino projects are being planned, Alejandro Tengco, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of state regulator Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp., or Pagcor, said in an interview at his office on Tuesday. The regulator also plans to sell state-run casinos by no later than early 2026, he said.
“If Singapore doesn’t expand, they will plateau. Don’t be surprised if next year we will surpass them,” Tengco said. The Philippines expects gross gaming revenue to reach a new high of 336 billion pesos ($6.1 billion) this year, up from last year’s record 285 billion pesos.
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