Market Snapshot
Singapore stocks opened higher on Friday. STI up 0.1%, SGX up 1%, SATS fell 2%, Nio fell 1.4%.
Stocks to Watch
$Mapletree PanAsia Com Tr(N2IU.SI)$: Its manager posted a 9.1 per cent year-on-year fall in distribution per unit (DPU) to S$0.02 for its third quarter ended Dec 31, 2024. This came as revenue fell 7.4 per cent to S$223.7 million amid the absence of contributions from its divested office property Mapletree Anson, and lower contributions from assets overseas, which were further weighed down by the Singapore dollar’s strength. Units of MPACT closed S$0.01 or 0.8 per cent higher at S$1.19 on Thursday, before the results were released.
$Keppel DC Reit(AJBU.SI)$: The manager of the real estate investment trust (Reit) on Friday posted a DPU of S$0.04902 for the second half ended Dec 31, up 13.2 per cent from S$0.04332 in the previous corresponding period. This brrought total DPU for FY2024 to S$0.09451. The increase in DPU came amid contribution from the Japan data centre, higher variable rents, as well as strong reversions and higher finance income. Units of Keppel DC Reit ended Thursday 0.5 per cent or S$0.01 higher at S$2.22.
$Suntec Reit(T82U.SI)$: Its DPU slid 13.9 per cent on the year to S$0.0315 for the second half of 2024 ended Dec 31. This brought its full-year DPU down 13.2 per cent to S$0.06192. The fall came as its full-year distributable income shrank 12.5 per cent to S$180.9 million on higher financing costs and lower contributions, said the manager. Units of Suntec Reit closed flat at S$1.21 on Thursday, before the announcement.
$ESR-REIT(J91U.SI)$: The manager on Friday posted a DPU of S$0.00997 for its second half ended Dec 31, 2024, down 15.9 per cent from S$0.01186 a year prior. This brought total DPU for FY2024 to S$0.02119. The decrease in DPU was primarily driven by the loss of income from the divestments of non-core assets, as well as the decommissioning of 2 Fishery Port Road in FY2024. Units of ESR-Reit ended Thursday unchanged at S$0.26.
$OUEREIT(TS0U.SI)$: Its manager announced that the Reit’s DPU climbed 8.7 per cent on the year to S$0.0113 for the second half of its financial year ended Dec 31, 2024. This brought its full-year DPU down 1.4 per cent at S$0.0206. This came as H2 revenue grew 1.7 per cent to S$148.8 million on the stable operational performance of its Singapore office portfolio, and the asset enhancement of Crowne Plaza Changi Airport, which was completed in December 2023. Units of OUE Reit closed flat at S$0.30 on Thursday, before the announcement.
$StarhillGbl Reit(P40U.SI)$: Its DPU rose 1.1 per cent on the year to S$0.018 for its first-half ended Dec 31, 2024. This came as revenue was up 1.7 per cent at S$96.3 million, in line with higher contributions from its properties in Singapore and Perth, Australia, and the Malaysian ringgit’s appreciation against the Singapore dollar, the manager said. Units of Starhill Global Reit fell 1 per cent or S$0.005 to S$0.50 on Thursday, before the results were released.
SG Local News
Singapore’s Central Bank Eases for First Time Since 2020
Singapore’s central bank eased its monetary policy settings for the first time since 2020 as price pressures show signs of abating.
The Monetary Authority of Singapore, which uses the exchange rate as its main policy tool rather than interest rates, will “reduce slightly” the slope of its policy band, according to a statement released Friday. There will be “no change to the width of the policy band or the level” at which it is centered.
A majority of the 17 economists polled by Bloomberg News anticipated that MAS would reduce the slope of the currency band. The central bank had tightened five times since October 2021 before an extended pause that began in 2023.
The Singapore dollar weakened against its US counterpart after the decision.
Singapore Retailers Association Calls for Relaxed Foreign Worker Quotas, Levies in Budget 2025
An increase in the dependency ratio ceiling (DRC) and reduced foreign worker levies are among the measures that Budget 2025 could adopt to help Singapore retailers manage rising costs and a tight labour market, the Singapore Retailers Association (SRA) said.
In its Budget 2025 recommendations released on Jan 23, SRA proposed easing the DRC to “facilitate the employment of more foreign workers” to fill front-line retail roles.
The DRC sets the maximum share of S Pass and work permit holders in a company. The current DRC of 35 per cent for the services sector creates “significant challenges” for manpower resourcing, SRA noted.
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