SG Morning Call | Singapore Stocks Open Higher on Thursday; DBS Gains 1%; OKH Global Soars 33%

Market Snapshot

Singapore stocks opened higher on Thursday. STI rose 0.4%; OKH Global rose 33%; Genting Singapore rose 1.3%; Hong Fok rose 1.2%; DBS rose 1%; NIO fell 1.3%.

Stocks to Watch

$CapitaLand Investment(9CI.SI)$ (CLI): The real asset manager said on Thursday its self-storage platform Extra Space Asia (ESA) has entered into a partnership with Japan’s largest indoor self-storage manager Ambitious. With the alliance, ESA is set to expand its portfolio in Japan by leveraging Ambitious’ operations in Osaka and Tokyo. ESA has bought four self-storage facilities in Osaka from Ambitious, which brings its total self-storage assets in the country to 14, spanning more than 60,000 square feet of gross floor area. It plans to add two in Tokyo by early 2025. Shares of CLI rose S$0.01, or 0.4 per cent, to close at S$2.77 on Wednesday.

$Hong Fok(H30.SI)$: Through its wholly owned subsidiary Super Homes, the property developer has acquired five ground-floor units in Singapore’s International Building for S$27.8 million. With the acquisition, Hong Fok owns all units in the 12-storey commercial development, as well as the location and potential of the properties, it said on Wednesday. The group said the five units were bought from two third-party vendors on a 999-year lease which started on Jan 1, 1971. Its shares ended flat at S$0.83, before the announcement.

$OKH Global(S3N.SI)$: The company said on Wednesday it has entered into an agreement to purchase the entire issued and paid-up share capital of Chip Eng Seng Construction. This was worth S$127.2 million at the time of the announcement. The integrated property developer plans to pay by issuing new shares at S$0.05252 each. After the deal, Chip Eng Seng’s parent Acrophyte will hold more than 50 per cent of OKH. The company said the acquisition could present a new growth opportunity in the building and construction industry. OKH’s shares closed 12.5 per cent or S$0.002 higher at S$0.018, before the announcement.

SG Local News

Malaysia, Singapore Postpone Economic Zone Deal to January

Malaysia and Singapore will postpone next week’s signing to formalize a special economic zone in Johor, Malaysia Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said on Wednesday.

Anwar said Malaysia was asked to reschedule the annual leadership meeting with Singapore to January after Prime Minister Lawrence Wong contracted Covid. Malaysia was slated to host the leaders retreat and the deal for the special economic zone was supposed to be signed then.

Wong “informed me last night that he has contracted Covid and we need to postpone the signing to January,” Anwar told the Senate in Kuala Lumpur. “He does not want to pass the infection to me and my wife.”

Singapore PM Wong Appointed Chief of Ruling Party Ahead of Poll

Singapore’s ruling party appointed Prime Minister Lawrence Wong as its secretary general, in a widely expected move ahead of a general election due next year.

The appointment, announced in a statement on Wednesday, consolidates Wong’s leadership as the People’s Action Party hopes to regain voter confidence amid a series of setbacks, including a former minister sentenced to jail.

Wong, who became prime minister in May, has pledged to boost safety nets and re-skilling programs as part of a national strategy to fight income inequality. He replaces Lee Hsien Loong, who was also former premier and will remain on the party committee.

Mainstream Car COE Premium Spikes by 4.6% to S$94,000

The Certificate of Entitlement (COE) premium for the mainstream car category, Category A, has increased by 4.6 per cent or S$4,111 to S$94,000 in December’s first round of COE bidding.

The only other category to go up in price was the commercial vehicle category, while premiums for the big car, open and motorcycle categories all dipped.

The Category A COE applies to mainstream cars with engines of up to 1,600 cubic centimetres (cc) in capacity or that have less than 97 kilowatts (kW) of power, or for electric vehicles with less than 110 kW.

NXP, TSMC Affiliate Aim to Expand $8 Billion Singapore Plant

NXP Semiconductors NV and a Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. affiliate are discussing an expansion of their $7.8 billion Singapore venture, recognizing a need to diversify chip production in anticipation of growing US-Chinese tensions over technology.

The Dutch firm and its Taiwanese partner Vanguard International Semiconductor Corp. on Wednesday broke ground on a joint chip plant in Singapore’s east. The partners are already working on a phase two expansion, NXP Executive Vice President Andy Micallef told Bloomberg News on the sidelines of the ceremony, though he said that addition has yet to be formally approved.

This week, tensions between the US and China intensified after the Biden administration slapped more curbs on Chinese access to foreign technologies, while Beijing retaliated by banning exports of some critical materials to America.