Market Snapshot

Singapore stocks opened higher on Monday. STI rose 0.26%; Centurion up 4%; SIA Engineering up 0.85%; Keppel DC Reit up 0.5%; SingPost down 0.9%.

Stocks to Watch

THE following companies saw new developments that may affect trading of their securities on Monday (Feb 17):

Keppel DC Real Estate Investment Trust (Keppel DC Reit): The trust is selling Kelsterbach Data Centre in Frankfurt, Germany, to an unrelated third party for 50 million euros (S$70.6 million). On Monday, the trust manager said the divestment is estimated to take place in the first half of 2025 and it is not expected to materially impact Keppel DC Reit’s net asset value and distribution per unit for the fiscal year ending Dec 31, 2025. The counter ended Friday 2.8 per cent or S$0.06 lower at S$2.10.

Centurion: The accommodation assets operator issued a profit guidance on Monday forecasting “a substantial increase” in net profit for FY2024. This is primarily attributable to gains in net fair value on the group’s investment properties and the investment properties of its associated companies expected for FY2024. The company is expected to release its full year results on Feb 26. Shares of Centurion closed 1 per cent or S$0.01 lower at S$1.01 on Friday, before the announcement.

Singapore Post (SingPost): The company announced its appointment of two new directors as part of its board renewal. On Monday, it said that Chng Lay Chew and Ng Chin Hwee had been appointed as non-executive, independent directors of the company. This comes as the company announced in December the firing of three senior management executives over their negligence in the handling of internal investigations related to a whistleblower’s report. SingPost shares closed 0.9 per cent or S$0.005 up at S$0.56 on Friday before the announcement.

SIA Engineering (SIAEC): The aircraft maintenance provider said in a business update on Friday that its net profit for the third quarter ended Dec 31 increased 42 per cent to S$38.2 million, compared with the same period in the previous year. Revenue was up 11.3 per cent at S$324.8 million in the same period. On a per share basis, earnings increased to S$0.0342 from S$0.024. Shares of SIAEC closed trading on Friday flat at S$2.35 before the update.

Paragon Real Estate Investment Trust (Paragon Reit): It announced on Friday the appointment of PrimePartners Corporate Finance as the independent financial adviser (IFA) for its privatisation offer. The IFA would advise the independent directors of the Reit’s manager to make a recommendation to its minority unitholders on the privatisation offer. Units of Paragon Reit fell 0.5 per cent or S$0.005 to close at S$0.99 on Friday, before the announcement.

SG Local News

Singapore’s Key Exports Chart Surprise 2.1% Slide in January

Singapore’s non-oil domestic exports (NODX) surprised in January as it declined 2.1 per cent year on year, with electronics rising but non-electronics decreasing, data from Enterprise Singapore (EnterpriseSG) showed on Monday (Feb 17).

The latest print reversed from the preceding month’s revised 9 per cent expansion, and underperformed against the median 0.3 per cent growth forecast in a Bloomberg poll of private-sector economists. It also came after two months of growth.

More Than S$407 Million Allocated to Upgrading Works for 29,000 Flats

Singapore: More than 29,000 Housing and Development Board (HDB) flats will benefit from the next tranche of the Home Improvement Programme, with more than S$407 million (US$304 million) allocated to the upgrading works.

Making the announcement on Sunday (Feb 16), Minister for National Development Desmond Lee said the programme will be extended to another 371 blocks.

This will bring the total number of flats selected for the programme to 494,000, or nine in 10 eligible flats since the programme was launched in 2007, he added.

Singapore Opposition Leader Faces Court Verdict in Lying Scandal

A Singapore court is set to rule on Monday whether opposition leader Pritam Singh lied under oath to a parliament committee in a widely-watched decision coming months ahead of a national election.

Singh, 48, who heads the main opposition Workers’ Party, faces two charges of lying under oath. The case centers on his testimony to a parliament committee investigating a former lawmaker from his party who lied in parliament about a sexual assault case. Singh pleaded not guilty.