Market Snapshot
Singapore stocks opened higher on Monday. STI rose 0.3%; Wilmar Intl up over 2%; Golden Agri-Res, iFast, YZJ Shipbldg, CityDev, Kep Infra Tr, Mapletree Log Tr up around 1%.
Stocks in Focus
$Mapletree Industrial Trust(ME8U.SI)$: The chief executive of the manager, Lily Ler, is stepping down from her position to become group chief financial officer of Mapletree Investments, the trust’s sponsor. She will officially vacate her positions as CEO and executive director of the manager on Oct 1, the manager said on Friday. She will be replaced by Anand Tze Ming Chandran, the current head of Asia-Pacific data centres at Mapletree Investments. The trust’s units closed at S$1.92 on Friday, up 0.5 per cent or S$0.01, before the news.
$OUE(LJ3.SI)$ and $OUE Healthcare(5WA.SI)$: Mainboard-listed OUE’s wholly owned subsidiary, Treasure International Holdings, has proposed to privatise Catalist-listed regional healthcare group OUE Healthcare (OUEH) via a scheme of arrangement at S$0.050 per share in cash, a joint announcement on Monday indicated. The scheme consideration of S$0.05 in cash values the offer at a 28.2 per cent premium to OUEH’s last transacted price of S$0.039 on Aug 21, the last full trading day prior to the announcement. Shares of OUE ended at S$0.98 on Friday, S$0.005 or 0.5 per cent lower.
SG Local News
Singapore Unveils Sweeping Family Support as Births Tumble
Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong announced a package of childcare benefits to support families as the city-state grapples with a record-low birth rate and rising concerns over the cost and pressures of raising children.
Each Singaporean child will receive almost S$70,000 ($55,150) in direct assistance through age 17, starting with a S$10,000 baby gift, Wong said during his National Day Rally Speech on Sunday. The government will also significantly increase paid childcare leave and aims to cut monthly fees for subsidized full-day childcare to S$150.
“Today, families everywhere are under growing pressure,” Wong said during the annual address, which is typically used to set out the government’s key policy priorities. “We want to make a fundamental shift in how we support families.”
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