SG Morning Call | Malaysia’s Sunway to Buy Hongkong Land’s Development Arm MCL Land for S$738.7 Million Cash

Market Snapshot

Singapore stocks opened higher on Friday. STI rose 0.1%; HongkongLand up 7%, Yangzijiang Shipbuilding rose 2%.

Stocks in Focus

$ComfortDelGro(C52.SI)$: The transport giant announced on Thursday that commuters heading to Johor Bahru will be able to book a cross-border ride from any location in Singapore through ComfortDelGro’s hotline from Sep 25. This initiative will ensure that all its 90 cabbies with a valid cross-border taxi licence will be available for this service, and most trips will be at a fixed cost of $80. The drop-off point will be Larkin Sentral Terminal in Johor Bahru, designated for Singapore taxis. Shares of ComfortDelGro closed flat at S$1.50, before the news.

$HongkongLand USD(H78.SI)$: The real estate group said on Thursday that it will sell its Singapore and Malaysian property arm MCL Land to Malaysia’s Sunway Group in a S$738.7 million cash deal. Hongkong Land chief executive officer Michael Smith said that most of the proceeds will build future endeavours such as growing its ultra-premium integrated commercial projects in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Singapore and other Asian gateway cities. The deal brings the total capital recycled by the Jardine Matheson-owned company since 2024 to US$2 billion, hitting half the company’s target of at least US$4 billion by end-2027. The sale is effectively at net asset value as well, noted Smith. The counter closed down 1.6 per cent or US$0.11 at US$6.65 on Thursday.

SG Local News

Singapore Expands Taxi Services Into Johor With $60 Rides

Singapore’s largest taxi operator ComfortDelGro Corp. Ltd. is offering one-way rides into Malaysia starting next Thursday, boosting travel options for one of the world’s busiest land crossings.

Passengers picked up from most locations in Singapore will be charged a fixed rate of S$80 ($62) and dropped off at Larkin Terminal in Johor Bahru, according to its Facebook post.

The launch comes after Singapore authorities met with taxi and private hire associations in August. The groups flagged that current cross-border taxi services could not meet demand from Singaporeans traveling to Malaysia, according to a Land Transport Authority’s Facebook post. Travelers include large families with young children, elderly Singaporeans visiting relatives and businessmen.

Temasek EMEA to Seek Big Deals, Ditch Smaller Holdings

Temasek Holdings will largely avoid making smaller deals in Europe as it looks to manage fewer positions in a challenging era for investing, according to its regional head Nagi Hamiyeh.

The Europe, Middle East and Africa arm of the Singapore state-owned investor will favour a “sweet spot” of transactions ranging from around 500 million euros(S$755.2 million) to 1 billion euros, Hamiyeh said in an interview in Paris. 

Hamiyeh was appointed to lead Temasek Global Investments, which managed S$155 billion in assets as of March, around 36 per cent of the firm’s portfolio, and will start operations on April 1 as part of a broader reorganisation.