Market Snapshot
Singapore stocks opened flat on Friday. SIA rose 0.2%, DBS rose 0.3%, UOB fell 0.2%, Sats rose 0.4%, NIO fell 3.2%.
Stocks to Watch
Jardine Cycle & Carriage (C07) (Jardine C&C): The conglomerate said that Jean-Pierre Felenbok will join the company’s board from Apr 29 as a non-executive independent director. In a bourse filing on Thursday, the company said Felenbok was the founder of Bain Indonesia and has been an advisory partner for Bain South-east Asia since 2022. The counter closed S$0.60 or 2.3 per cent higher at S$26.71, before the news.
Sabana Industrial Real Estate Investment Trust (M1GU) (Sabana Reit): In a letter posted by Sabana Reit to the bourse on Thursday, a few unitholders of the Reit voiced concerns about Quarz Capital and four other unitholders who are requisitioning a third extraordinary general meeting. Chan Wai Kheong – a former independent non-executive director of the Reit – called on the requisitionists to respect certain details that have been set out in the trust deed. Units of Sabana Reit closed S$0.01 or 2.8 per cent higher at S$0.37, before the announcement.
SG Local News
Singapore Central Bank Keeps Policy Unchanged on Inflation Risks
Singapore’s central bank kept its monetary policy settings unchanged for a fourth straight time on still-elevated price pressures and with the economy continuing to show signs of resilience.
The Monetary Authority of Singapore, which uses the exchange rate as its main policy tool rather than interest rates, maintained the slope, width, and center of the currency band, it said in a statement Friday. That will keep the local dollar on an appreciating path to blunt imported inflation.
All 20 economists in a Bloomberg survey had predicted the decision, which came alongside the release of first-quarter advance estimates for the city-state’s gross domestic product showing growth slowed more than expected.
Singapore Economy Expands Slower Than Expected in First Quarter
Singapore’s economy expanded slower than economists forecast, as a spending boost from increased tourism spurred by Taylor Swift concerts failed to offset a decline in manufacturing output.
Gross domestic product grew 0.1% in the quarter ended March from the prior three months, according to advance estimates Friday from the Ministry of Trade and Industry. That was slower than the median 0.5% gain forecast by economists in a Bloomberg survey, and follows the 1.2% pace in the three months ended December. On a year-on-year basis, the economy expanded 2.7% last quarter.
Services producing industries grew 1.2% on a sequential basis, while manufacturing and construction contracted 2.9% and 1.7%, respectively.
Singapore’s largest property deal of 2023 falls apart on regulatory snag
A blockbuster deal backed by a Chinese commodities billionaire to purchase Far East Shopping Centre in the prime Orchard Road shopping district for about $908 million fell apart after plans for its redevelopment were rejected by authorities, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
The enbloc deal involved a firm connected to Chinese tycoon Du Shuanghua, the people said, asking not to be identified because the matter is private. It collapsed after the parties failed to get approval from the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), the people added.
The transaction was set to be Singapore’s largest for a commercial property in 2023, according to data compiled by Cushman & Wakefield. It was a rare big-ticket deal in a market that’s been hit by reduced demand from institutional buyers due to high interest rates.
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