SG Morning Call | STI Rises 0.6%; NIO Gains 6%; OCBC Bank Jumps 1.6%; Hai Leck Falls 1%

Market Snapshot

Singapore stocks opened higher on Tuesday. STI rose 0.6%; NIO rose 6%; OCBC Bank rose 1.6%; Hai Leck fell 1%.

Stocks to Watch

THE following companies saw new developments that may affect trading of their securities on Tuesday (Dec 10):

$Sembcorp Industries(U96.SI)$: The group on Tuesday said it received an update on legal proceedings where the South African Supreme Court of Appeal affirmed its 718 million rand (S$70 million) asset sale made in 2018 as valid and enforceable. A party who unsuccessfully attempted to gain a minority shareholder stake in one of the divested assets, Sembcorp Silulumanzi, had previously challenged the sale in the South African High Court. Shares of Sembcorp Industries closed 0.7 per cent or S$0.04 higher at S$5.62 on Monday.

$Hai Leck(BLH.SI)$: Cheng Buck Poh, the founder and chairman of Hai Leck, has proposed to privatise the company at S$0.55 a share in cash via a scheme of arrangement. The offer price represents a premium of about 34.1 per cent over Hai Leck’s last traded price of S$0.41 on Dec 3, its last full trading day before the offer announcement. Cheng is a controlling shareholder of Hai Leck, owning a total interest of 88.9 per cent of the company via his direct stake and vehicle, Cheng Capital. The industrial equipment supplier had an issued and paid-up share capital of S$65.4 million, which consisted of 226.2 million shares, as at Monday. Shares of Hai Leck closed S$0.135 or 32.9 per cent higher at S$0.545 on Monday, following the announcement.

$DBS(D05.SI)$: The local bank announced on Monday that it has appointed Han Kwee Juan as head of institutional banking with effect from Jan 1, 2025. He will succeed deputy CEO Tan Su Shan who currently holds the position, and is set to take over from Piyush Gupta as CEO when he retires in March. Han is currently the bank’s Singapore country head, a position he has held since 2023. Shares of DBS closed S$0.03 or 0.1 per cent lower at S$43.65, before the news.

SG Local News

Singapore’s Financials and Real Estate Employers Take Cautious Stance on Hiring

Employers, especially those in the financials and real estate sector, are choosing to stay cautiously optimistic as Singapore’s economy gains momentum.

Hiring sentiment in Singapore remains relatively stable, with employers reporting a strong outlook for staffing levels in the first quarter of 2025, according to the latest ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey which covered 42 countries.

In Singapore, 525 employers across nine sectors were asked about their hiring plans, with 45 per cent planning to hire, 20 per cent expecting staff reductions, and 34 per cent foreseeing no change in staffing levels for the next quarter.

Singapore’s Resident Employment Rebounds in Q3

Resident employment in Singapore rose by 4,000 in the third quarter of 2024, reversing from a seasonal decline in Q2, driven by strong hiring in outward-oriented sectors such as information and communications, professional services and financial services.

Non-resident employment rose by 18,200, primarily due to the hiring of work permit holders in construction and manufacturing, based on the Ministry of Manpower’s (MOM) quarterly Labour Market Report released on Monday (Dec 9).

Employment among S Pass holders also rose in Q3 after declines in the previous two quarters, with financial services and health and social services contributing to this growth.

NTUC to Raise Staff Retirement and Re-Employment Ages

THE National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) will raise the retirement and re-employment age ceilings for all its workers one-and-a-half years ahead of the national schedule, to benefit older employees. 

From Jan 1, 2025, NTUC will raise the retirement age of its workers to 64 and the re-employment age to 69, it said in a statement on Monday (Dec 9). 

Speaking on how the NTUC aims to give its older workers “meaningful employment opportunities”, NTUC secretary-general Ng Chee Meng said: “By raising the retirement age and re-employment age for our NTUC employees ahead of the national schedule, we are taking proactive steps to build a more inclusive workforce.”