SGX Weekly Review | STI Rises 1.6%; SGX Jumps 6%; DBS, Keppel, SIA, OCBC Gain 3%; Singtel Drops 5%

Singapore stocks rose this week, with the STI up 1.6%, as investors responded positively to hopes of the US and Iran reach a deal to end hostilities.

In terms of individual stocks, ST Engineering rose 8.7%; SGX rose 6%; DBS rose 3.2%; Keppel rose 2.9%; SIA rose 2.7%; OCBC rose 2.6%; Sembcorp rose 1.3%; UOB rose 1.1%; Yangzijiang Shipbuilding and Singtel fell 4.8%; Wilmar fell 5.5%; NIO fell 13.6%.

Market News

Singapore Tops Indonesia as Biggest Southeast Asia Stock Market

Singapore has overtaken Indonesia as Southeast Asia's largest stock market, signaling investors’ endorsement of the city-state's market reforms and their diminishing confidence in the larger country’s economic management.

Singapore's market capitalization has climbed to $645 billion, while that of Indonesia has fallen by more than 30% from a peak in January to $618 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

The city-state's shares have benefited from economic and political stability, as well as government-led initiatives aimed at reviving a previously lackluster equity market. In contrast, investor sentiment has soured toward Indonesia in recent months amid uncertainties over a potential equities reclassification to frontier markets, as well as credit rating outlook downgrades by Fitch Ratings Inc. and Moody’s Ratings.

OpenAI Commits $234 Million for New AI Lab in Singapore

The ChatGPT maker agreed to spend more than S$300 million ($234 million) to establish its first so-called applied AI lab outside the US, it said in a statement Wednesday. The effort will expand its Singapore-based technical team to more than 200 roles over the next few years. OpenAI established its Singapore office in 2024.

The AI firm backed by Microsoft Corp. and Nvidia Corp. is striking partnerships with governments across the planet, part of a bid to stay ahead of rivals such as Anthropic PBC and Alphabet Inc.’s Google. The new lab will support Singapore’s implementation of AI in areas such as public service, finance, health care and digital infrastructure, while working with the island nation’s startups.

Singapore has made AI a strategic priority, with Prime Minister Lawrence Wong’s administration focused on training citizens and reinforcing social safety nets while urging Singaporeans to adapt to faster changes in the job market.

Singtel to Sell Minority Stake in Australian Unit, Shares S$3 Billion Spending Plan

Singapore Telecommunications said on Thursday it was looking to sell a minority stake in its Australian unit Optus, and shared capital spending plans of S$3 billion ($2.35 billion) in 2027.

Singtel said it was looking for a "like-minded ​long-term local partner owning a meaningful minority stake" in the Australian operator, which has been owned by ​Singtel for over 25 years and is Australia's second-largest telecom firm.

Optus has been under ⁠intense scrutiny over two back-to-back outages of an emergency number that affected thousands of users and were ​linked to four deaths. The incidents led to the departure of two senior executives, including its finance chief.

Australia's Tuas Scraps $1.1 Billion Deal to Buy Keppel's M1 Stake

Australia's Tuas ‌said on Friday it had terminated an agreement with Singapore's Keppel (KPLM.SI), opens new tab to buy its stake in mobile operator M1 via unit Simba Telecom in a deal ​worth S$1.43 billion ($1.12 billion).

The termination comes days after Singapore's telecom regulator ​suspended its review of the deal due to an investigation into the ​radio frequency bands that Simba could have been using.

The Infocomm Media Development Authority said earlier this week it found during a review that Simba could have been using ​radio frequency bands it had not been assigned to provide mobile ​services.