SG Morning Call

Market Snapshot

Singapore stocks opened lower on Thursday. STI fell 0.11%; Keppel DC Reit rose 2.3%; Del Monte Pacific fell 3.75%.

Stocks to Watch

THE following companies saw new developments that may affect trading of their securities on Thursday (Dec 12): 

$Del Monte Pacific(D03.SI)$: The Philippine food-and-beverage manufacturer’s net loss deepened to US$22.2 million for the second quarter ended Oct 31 from US$8.5 million in the previous corresponding period. The company on Wednesday attributed this to its US subsidiary Del Monte Foods’ lower profit and higher costs. It expects a net loss for FY2025, but aims to “actively restore” its gross margins and gradually improve in FY2026 and FY2027 by reducing inventory, cutting costs and consolidating underused assets. The counter closed flat at S$0.08 before the update.

$Trek 2000 International(5AB.SI)$: Massage chair and appliance manufacturer Osim International and its founder Ron Sim have alleged that former Trek 2000 chairman Henn Tan made fraudulent representations that they relied on to purchase 24 million ordinary and four million treasury Trek 2000 shares in 2015. The mainboard-listed technology company, which has been on the Singapore Exchange’s watch list since 2023, said on Wednesday that the allegations were baseless. Tan was sentenced to jail in 2022 for accounting fraud that covered up the company’s dismal financial performance. The counter closed 1.4 per cent or S$0.001 lower at S$0.072 before the update.

SG Local News

Singapore Mansion Deals Are Increasingly Shrouded in Secrecy

Singapore’s ultra-rich are increasingly cloaking their purchases of mansions in the city-state in secrecy, to avoid drawing attention to their wealth and social status.

The market for exclusive, multimillion-dollar houses called Good Class Bungalows has heated up this year in the Asian financial hub. At least S$1.1 billion ($819 million) worth of deals were inked from January to early December, according to data compiled by Bloomberg News and List Sotheby’s International Realty, a luxury residential brokerage.

Close to half of those bungalow purchases, as measured by value, didn’t include legal filings known as property caveats that make the transactions widely known. Deals without caveats are much harder to track because they don’t show up in a database maintained by Singapore’s Urban Redevelopment Authority. They usually become public through press leaks and directed searches of local real estate ownership records.

Singapore Economists See Growth of 3.6% in 2024, Monetary Policy Unchanged in January

Singapore's economy will grow 3.6% this year, up from a previous forecast of 2.6% expansion, while monetary policy settings are expected to remain unchanged at an upcoming review in January, a survey by the central bank showed on Wednesday.

The median forecast of 25 economists surveyed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore expect growth of 3.1% in the final quarter of 2024 and 2.6% growth for the whole of 2025.

Last month, the trade ministry raised its GDP growth forecast for 2024 to 3.5% from a previous range of 2.0% to 3.0%, after third-quarter growth surpassed estimates at 5.4%.

A majority of economists surveyed expect the MAS to maintain its current monetary policy in its quarterly reviews in January, April and July.

OCBC Bank Tightens Scrutiny on International Clients

Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp., Singapore’s second-largest lender, told some international clients to show proof of residence in the city state to avoid having their accounts shut, a signal of heightened scrutiny in the wake of a spate of money-laundering cases.

OCBC gave clients a deadline to confirm they are Singapore residents with verified addresses, or face service restrictions that could lead to account closures, according to notices sent by consumer financial services. A spokesperson for the bank verified the authenticity of the documents.