With the good performance of stars such as Riverstone, Emperador,Yanzijiang Shipbuilding and more in the stock market, STI rose 1.42% this week.
RHB upgraded Riverstone Holdings to “buy” from “neutral”
The brokerage is positive that the group will ride on a robust recovery of global semiconductor sales with its unique exposure to the cleanroom segment, on top of benefitting from an increased demand for healthcare gloves.
While expecting the Malaysian glove maker to chart a 23 per cent core profit growth in FY2024, RHB raised its earnings forecast for the year up 12 per cent. It also raised the earnings estimate for FY2025 up 24 per cent. This is to account for improving sales volume with a better product mix that sustains the group’s average selling price (ASP).
UOB chief Wee Ee Cheong’s 2023 pay up 11.9% to S$15.9 million
UOB chief executive Wee Ee Cheong received S$15.9 million in total remuneration for the financial year ended Dec 31, 2023, implying an 11.9 per cent increase from his annual salary of S$14.2 million in 2022.
The jump in pay came in tandem with UOB’s FY2023 financial results release. Net profit for the full year rose 24.9 per cent to a record high of S$5.7 billion despite missing a S$6 million consensus forecast.
Based on the bank’s annual report released on Thursday (Mar 21), Wee’s annual remuneration included a base pay of S$1.2 million, a bonus of S$14.7 million and benefits-in-kind, and other transport-related benefits amounting to S$39,701.
Olam Agri proposes to acquire Australia’s Namoi Cotton for A$122 million
OLAM Group’s indirect 64.57 per cent-owned subsidiary, Olam Agri, has launched a non-binding indicative offer to acquire all shares in Australian-listed cotton ginning company Namoi Cotton for A$122 million (S$107.8 million).
The consideration of A$0.59 per Namoi share comprises A$0.58 in cash and a permitted special dividend of A$0.01 per share, said Olam on Thursday (Mar 21) morning before the market opened.
SingPost considers divesting S$1.1 billion SingPost Centre and floating Australian business
SINGAPORE Post (SingPost) is looking at divesting its non-core assets, including its flagship retail-commercial mixed development SingPost Centre at Paya Lebar Central. Floating its Australian business is another option that has stemmed from its strategic review.
In a briefing on Tuesday (Mar 19) to disclose the findings, the listed national postal service provider’s group chief executive officer Vincent Phang said that SingPost Centre – valued at S$1.1 billion as at September 2023 – is a non-core asset.
However, he did not want to provide a timeline of the divestment of this property or other non-core assets, as the company pivots to be a pure-play logistics player.
Sats sells US military contractor unit Maytag Aircraft for US$46 million
Inflight caterer and ground handler Sats has sold its ground handler unit Maytag Aircraft for an enterprise value of US$46 million to private direct investment firm Albion River, it announced in a Saturday (Mar 16) bourse filing.
Maytag provides aircraft refuelling, fuel storage, base operations support, support, ground handling and weather observation and forecasting services as a contractor for the US Department of Defense, at its US and international military bases.
It was acquired by Worldwide Flight Services (WFS) in 2021, which was in turn acquired by Sats in 2023.
SIA Group flies 28.2% more passengers in February
Flag carrier Singapore Airlines (SIA) : C6L +0.31% carried 3.1 million passengers on a group level in February, up 28.2 per cent from a year ago, it said in its operating results filed to the bourse on Friday (Mar 15).
Passenger traffic for the group was up 20.4 per cent from a year ago. The growth in passenger traffic was in line with its capacity increase of 20.7 per cent over the same period, added the carrier.
Passenger demand was boosted by the Chinese New Year holiday season across Asia, said the group.