Market Snapshot
Singapore stocks opened flat on Monday. STI down 0.03%, SIA fell 0.31%; Thomson Medical rose 1.96%, ComfortDelGo rose 1.45%, UOB fell 0.45%, Keppel rose 0.14%.
Stocks to Watch
Cordlife Group: TROUBLED cord-blood bank Cordlife Group on Sunday (Mar 24) said it will table seven ordinary resolutions listed in a requisition notice from substantial shareholder Nanjing Xinjiekou Department Store at its next general meeting.
$Vividthree Holdings(OMK.SI): DIGITAL content production house Vividthree Holdings on Sunday (Mar 24) noted the arrest of its board chairman and independent director Ho Choon Hou by the Commercial Affairs Department (CAD) in relation to alleged breaches-of-disclosure obligations by private cord-blood bank Cordlife Group.
Shangri-La Asia: The hospitality group on Friday recorded a net profit of US$184.1 million for its full year ended Dec 31, 2023, compared with a US$158.5 million loss a year earlier. Its revenue for FY2023 rose 46.5 per cent to US$2.1 billion, and the group proposed a final dividend of HK$0.15 per share for the full year. Shares of Shangri-La closed flat at HK$5.25, before the announcement.
Sabana Real Estate Investment Trust: (Sabana Reit): The Reit’s trustee has established an internalisation committee including several employees from activist investor Quarz Capital. This is part of the trustee’s plans to internalise the Reit manager. Units of Sabana Reit closed flat at S$0.365 on Friday, before the announcement.
Best World International: The group on Friday announced its intention to delist from the Singapore Exchange by way of a selective capital reduction. Separately, Best World’s shareholders requisitioned an extraordinary general meeting to vote on dividend policy and directors’ pay. Best World called for a trading halt on Friday. Its shares were up 1.1 per cent or S$0.02 at S$1.77, before the announcements. The counter resumes trading on Monday.
SG Local News
Singapore Dollar’s Stellar Run Seen Ending on Monetary Easing
The Singapore dollar’s two-year streak as the top-performing Asian currency is seen ending this year as the nation’s central bank may start loosening its policy as soon as April.
The Monetary Authority of Singapore, which uses the exchange rate as its main policy tool rather than interest rates, has let the local dollar appreciate against major trading partners’ currencies to counter price pressures. That may change now as inflation shows signs of slowing.
Private-Home Sub-Sales Continue to Hit New Highs in 2023
SUB-SALE volumes in Singapore’s private housing market rose yet again in 2023 to their highest level since 2013 with 1,294 transactions, a 69.2 per cent jump from the previous year.
This is the second straight year of strong growth in the sub-sales market, which is typically seen as a proxy for speculative buying behaviour. Volumes had hit a decade-long high in 2022 with 765 transactions, up 34.7 per cent from 2021.
Singapore Doing All It Can for Gaza Relief Efforts, the Community Can Help Too: DPM Wong
The situation in Gaza is horrific with many innocent lives lost and people continuing to suffer, and that is why the Government has been doing all it can to help with global relief efforts, said Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Lawrence Wong on March 24.
He added that the community can play its part too, no matter how big or small their contribution.
Top Laotian Official Visits Singapore on LKY Exchange Fellowship
A senior Laotian civil servant is in Singapore for a four-day visit under the Lee Kuan Yew Exchange Fellowship.
Mr Thongsavanh Phomvihane, the head of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party’s External Relations Committee, is the 77th person to be invited here under the programme, and the third from Laos.
His visit coincides with the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Singapore and Laos in 2024, said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a statement on March 24.
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