SG Morning Call | Singapore Stocks Open Lower on Friday; SGX and SingPost Drop 1%

Market Snapshot

Singapore stocks opened lower on Friday. STI fell 0.3%; SGX fell 1.3%; SingPost fell 0.9%; DBS and UOB fell 0.6%; NIO fell 0.4%; Singtel fell 0.3%;

Stocks to Watch

$Sembcorp Industries(U96.SI)$: The group’s wholly owned subsidiary, Sembcorp Fuels, signed a 10-year sale-and-purchase agreement with oil major Chevron Corp for approximately 0.6 million tonnes of liquefied natural gas each year. Its delivery is expected to commence in 2028. Shares of Sembcorp closed at S$5.65 on Thursday, up 2.7 per cent or S$0.15, before the news. 

$Suntec Reit(T82U.SI)$%: Property tycoon Gordon Tang and his wife Celine have made a mandatory conditional cash offer to acquire all the units of the Reit at S$1.16 per unit in cash. The cash offer was made through their investment holding company Aelios. It was triggered after Aelios acquired 62.5 million units, about 2.1 per cent of the Reit’s total units, on Thursday by way of on-market transactions at S$1.16 apiece. Previously, Aelios was deemed to have a 29.3 per cent stake in the Reit. Units in Suntec Reit closed at S$1.17 on Thursday, up 0.9 per cent or S$0.01, before the announcement.

$DigiCore Reit(DCRU.SI)$: The Reit’s manager announced on Friday its completion of the acquisition of a 15.1 per cent stake in a Frankfurt data centre for a purchase consideration of around 71 million euros (S$100.6 million). The acquisition, through Digital Core Reit’s subsidiary Singapore Sub 5, brings its interest in the facility to 65 per cent. It was funded by borrowings on the Reit’s multicurrency credit facilities. Units of Digital Core Reit ended Friday flat at US$0.60. 

$SingPost(S08.SI)$: The company has been placed on CreditWatch negative by global ratings agency S&P, following the sale of its Australian business and a change in its future strategy. To S&P, SingPost loses a key earnings pillar by selling its Australian business, considering how it accounted for 58 per cent of the national postal service provider’s total revenue in the first half of the 2025 fiscal year. Shares of SingPost closed at S$0.59 on Thursday, down 0.8 per cent or S$0.005, prior to the news. 

$Keong Hong Holdings(5TT.SI)$: Keong Hong Holdings requested for a trading halt on Friday morning. Its shares closed on Wednesday at S$0.095.

SG Local News

Economists Cautious on Singapore Growth Next Year

Growth in Hong Kong and Singapore for next year may come under pressure as Donald Trump returns to the White House armed with tariffs that may further slow China’s economy, according to the latest estimates from a Bloomberg survey.

Singapore’s economy is likely to expand 3.5% in each of the first two quarters of next year, according to the latest survey. However, economists cut their outlook by more than one percentage point to 1.5% in the third quarter and expect the economy to grow at 2.5% in the last quarter in 2025.

Annual outlook for next year is upgraded to 2.6% from 2.5% previously, according to 33 economists.

Economists kept their headline and core inflation outlook for next year unchanged at 2% and 1.8% respectively, both within the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s latest forecasts of a 1.5%-2.5% range.

Hongkong Land Is Said to Weigh Sale of Singapore Developer MCL

Asian real estate group Hongkong Land Holdings Ltd. is considering selling its closely held property developer arm MCL Land Ltd., according to people with knowledge of the matter.

The Jardine Matheson-backed firm, which owns 100% of MCL Land, is seeking to divest the Singapore-based company at a premium to its book value of S$1.1 billion ($820 million), said the people, asking not to be identified as the process is private. Hongkong Land is speaking with prospective financial advisers to help prepare for a transaction, the people said.

Hongkong Land’s Singapore-listed stock erased earlier losses and closed 4% up on Thursday, the biggest gain in a month. The shares have climbed 35% this year, giving the company a market value of roughly $10.3 billion.

S&P Places Singapore Post on Credit Watch Negative Following Strategy Reset, Sale of Australia Business

Global ratings agency S&P said on Thursday (Dec 5) it has placed Singapore Post : S08 0% (SingPost) on CreditWatch negative, following a change in its future strategy and the sale of its Australian business. 

On Monday, the national postal service provider said it has entered a share purchase agreement to divest its Australian business at an enterprise value of A$1 billion (S$870 million). This was part of the outcome of a strategic review, launched earlier this year, seeking to explore strategic options to enhance its business value and maximise shareholder value.

S&P believes that the sale will be “transformative” for SingPost and clouds its future strategy.

ST Telemedia Sells Majority Stake in Malaysian Telecom Firm U Mobile

Singapore Technologies Telemedia said on Wednesday Malaysia's Mawar Setia will acquire a majority stake in the company's U Mobile unit, a mobile and broadband service provider in Malaysia.

Under a conditional share purchase deal, Mawar Setia will acquire the stake in U Mobile from Straits Mobile Investments, a unit of ST Telemedia, the Singapore-based firm said in a statement.

Straits Mobile will hold a 20% stake following completion of the deal. Other financial details of the deal were not disclosed by ST Telemedia, which is owned by Singapore state investor Temasek.