Market Snapshot

Singapore stocks opened higher on Monday. STI rose 0.5%; Sin Heng Mach rose 6%; NIO rose 3%; Yangzijiang Shipbuilding and Seatrium rose 1%; DBS rose 0.8%; OCBC and UOB rose 0.5%.

Stocks to Watch

Keppel: It said on Monday that its wholly owned subsidiary, Kepland Investama, is in a civil action over ownership rights for land plots in Jakarta, where the International Financial Centre Jakarta Tower 2 building complex is situated. It noted that an individual, Tumpal Hutabarat, has commenced civil action against its subsidiary and others, claiming he is the legal owner of the land plots measuring about 24,500 square metres. He is seeking a declaration that he is the legal owner of the land plots, compensation of about 2.28 trillion rupiah (S$186.3 million), as well as a return of any unused land plots. Shares of Keppel closed 0.6 per cent or S$0.04 lower at S$6.66 on Friday.

Sats: Ground handler Sats announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Vietnam Airlines to build and operate an air cargo terminal in Vietnam’s new Long Thanh International Airport. Under the MOU, which seeks to expand the state-owned carrier’s cargo handling capabilities, the two companies will share best practices, productivity indicators and technologies, to improve operational efficiency and service quality across those areas. Shares of Sats ended 0.3 per cent or S$0.01 higher at S$3.03 on Friday, after the announcement.

Far East Orchard: Hotels under Far East Orchard’s hospitality joint venture, Toga Hotel Holdings Unit Trust, were hit by a cybersecurity incident, the group said on Friday. The incident affected networks under TFE Hotels, the joint venture’s operating business. TFE Hotels said that systems in many of the affected hotels have been restored, with the hotels able to serve guests, and that it is working with cyber experts to restore operations. Shares of Far East Orchard closed flat at S$1.03, before the announcement.

Sin Heng Mach: A consortium led by two executive directors of Sin Heng Heavy Machinery made a voluntary unconditional offer to take the mainboard-listed lifting service provider private at S$0.58 in cash per share, the company announced on Friday. The offeror Tal United is a consortium formed between controlling shareholders of Sin Heng Tal Holdings and United Hope. Tal United said the offer presents Sin Heng’s shareholders with an opportunity to realise their investment in the company’s shares at a premium over the shares’ historical trading prices without incurring brokerage costs. The counter closed at S$0.545 on Thursday before it called for a trading halt, which was lifted after market close on Friday.

SG Local News

Singapore’s Key Exports up 7.6% in February, Reversing from January Drop

Singapore’s non-oil domestic exports (NODX) grew 7.6 per cent in February, reversing from the previous month’s contraction, as both electronics and non-electronics exports charted increases, data from Enterprise Singapore (EnterpriseSG) showed on Monday (Mar 17).

Electronics exports rose 6.9 per cent in February, narrowing from the 9.5 per cent rise in the month before. Disk media products (40.6 per cent), integrated circuits (6.9 per cent) and PCs (28.5 per cent) led the increase.

Non-electronic shipments grew 7.8 per cent year on year, rebounding from the 4.8 per cent decline recorded in January. Non-monetary gold (106.9 per cent), measuring instruments (23.1 per cent) and other specialty chemicals (37.5 per cent) contributed most to the increase.

Temasek-Backed 65 Equity Partners Eyes 2-3 SGX Listings in as Many Years

Investment firm 65 Equity Partners aims to list two or three companies on the local bourse in the next two to three years, with one of the listings likely to be quite soon, its management told The Business Times.

Backed by Temasek Holdings, 65 Equity Partners has S$4.5 billion in assets under management. One of its funds is the S$1.5 billion Anchor Fund @ 65 which aims to list “good quality” companies on the Singapore Exchange’s (SGX) mainboard.

As at March, the fund has deployed some S$700 million into five companies: immersive entertainment company Neon, used car trading platform Carsome, cashback rewards platform Shopback, data management and security solutions provider Avepoint and cloud developer Tuya.

DBS Announces Year-Long "60-Themed" Offers, Additional Support for SG60

DBS on Saturday (Mar 15) announced a range of year-long measures for its customers to commemorate SG60.

Many of the measures are “60-themed”, including S$0.60 grocery deals and 60 per cent off selected attractions. 

Lim Him Chuan, DBS Singapore country head, said it is “important to commemorate this SG60 year by continuing to give back to fellow Singaporeans and residents”, noting that the bank has been a part of the country’s “nation-building years” over the decades.