SGX Weekly Review｜SIA Gains 1%; ThaiBev Jumps 7%; SingPost Surges 8%; NIO Drops 4%; YZJ Shipbldg Sinks 10%

Singapore stocks slid this week, with the STI down 0.2%, as investors continue to digest the threat of Donald Trump’s tariffs.

Meanwhile, Singapore’s core inflation in October slowed to the weakest pace since December 2021, as heathcare and recreation price gains eased.

In terms of individual stocks, SIA and Seatrium rose 1%; Singtel rose 1.3%; Mapletree Ind Tr rose 2.2%; CapitaLand Ascendas REIT rose 2.3%; Mapletree Log Tr rose 2.4%; Keppel DC Reit rose 2.9%; iFast rose 4.4%; Olam rose 6%; ThaiBev rose 7.2%; SingPost rose 8.4%.

While OCBC fell 1%; Genting Singapore fell 1.3%; Sats fell 2.1%; CapitaLandInvest fell 2.2%; ST Engineering fell 3%; NIO fell 4.1%; AEM fell 4.4%; Yangzijiang Shipbuilding fell 10.4%.

Market News

Singapore Core Inflation at Weakest Pace in Almost Three Years

Singapore's core inflation in October slowed to the weakest pace since December 2021, as heathcare and recreation price gains eased.

The core measure, which excludes housing and private transportation costs, rose 2.1% last month from a year earlier, government data showed Monday. That's lower than the median estimate of 2.5% in a Bloomberg News survey.

Headline inflation came in at 1.4%, the slowest pace since March 2021, the data showed. That was slower than the 1.8% median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey. The non-seasonally adjusted monthly measure fell 0.3%.

Singapore’s Factory Output Growth Down to 1.2% in October, Misses Expectations

Singapore’s factory output rose 1.2 per cent year on year (yoy) in October, a far more modest increase than in the previous month’s surprise jump, data from the Economic Development Board (EDB) showed on Tuesday (Nov 26).

This was also lower than the forecast given by private-sector economists polled by Bloomberg, who predicted a 2.6 per cent expansion.

Excluding the typically volatile biomedical sector, last month’s industrial production grew just 0.4 per cent yoy, easing from September’s revised 3.6 per cent growth.

Singapore’s Real Incomes Rebound in 2024 as Inflation Eases, but Real Wage Growth for Last 5 Years Still Low

Real incomes in Singapore made a rebound in 2024 as inflation eased, recovering from the previous year’s decline, the Ministry of Manpower’s (MOM) annual Labour Force in Singapore Advance Release report showed on Thursday (Nov 28).

For full-time workers, the nominal median gross monthly income including Central Provident Fund (CPF) contributions rose to S$5,500 this year, up 5.8 per cent from 2023.

After adjusting for inflation, real income growth was 3.4 per cent, according to preliminary estimates, recovering from a decline of 2.2 per cent in 2023.

DBS Inks MOU with Japan Partner to Help Japanese SMEs Expand into Singapore, Key Asian Markets

Japanese small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) can now receive financing support to expand into key Asian markets including Singapore, under a new partnership by DBS and Japan Finance Corporation (JFC), a Japanese financial institution.

Both corporations signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on Wednesday (Nov 27) to help Japanese SMEs expand into six markets in Asia – Singapore, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia and Taiwan – through a single banking partner, DBS.

Headquartered in Tokyo, JFC is a public corporation wholly owned by the Japanese government.

Amazon Injects S$2 Billion into Its Singapore Businesses in 2023

Amazon on Thursday (Nov 28) announced that it injected more than S$2 billion into its retail and cloud businesses in Singapore in 2023.

The outlay comprised capital expenditure, including improvements to existing infrastructure such as fulfilment centres, delivery stations and data centres.

It also covered operating expenditure, such as expenses related to technology, safety, the expansion of programmes for its customers, delivery partners, small and medium business, and employee compensation.

Sanofi Boosts Preparedness with S$800 Million Singapore Plant

Sanofi added a new plant in Singapore to make vaccines and other medicines, as the French pharmaceutical group seeks to bolster preparedness for emergencies, including potential pandemics.

The facility, named Modulus, came up at an investment of S$800 million at Tuas Biomedical Park, according to a statement. It can be adapted to manufacture up to four vaccines or biopharmaceuticals at the same time, and will be fully operational in mid-2026 and create 200 skilled jobs in the city-state.

Modulus can also be reconfigured within a few days to transform between technological platforms, a process which traditionally takes months or years, the company said. It can house the equivalent of 34 standardised production modules.

Mapletree Logistics Trust Divests Two Warehouse Properties in Japan for S$37.5 Million

Mapletree Logistics Trust (MLT) has completed the divestment of two warehouse properties in Japan for 4.25 billion Japanese yen (S$37.5 million).

Its manager said on Wednesday (Nov 27) that MLT’s trustee – HSBC Institutional Trust Services (Singapore) – had entered into sale and purchase agreements with a third-party buyer for the proposed divestment of Toki Centre and Aichi Miyoshi Centre in Japan.

This was done through HSBC Institutional Trust Services (Singapore)’s special purpose entities incorporated in Japan.

SingPost in "Exclusive" Talks over Divestment of Australia Assets

Singapore Post says it is in "exclusive discussions" with a potential buyer for its Australia business, as part of its "strategic review" flagged since June this year.

However, SingPost notes that there's no definitive transaction in relation to the Australia business, including any possible sale, yet.

"There is still no certainty that any such transaction will materialise," the company says.

Analysts have estimated that the possible sale of some of its Australia-based subsidiaries, plus divestment of SingPost Centre and other properties can fetch the company proceeds which can then be used to pare debt. SingPost Centre alone is worth more than $1 billion.